Frampton's refreshing focus

Carl Frampton’s and his promoter Barry McGuigan’s confidence in the young Belfast fighter has been shown again as he prepares to square up to former European title challenger Yuriy Voronin at the Ulster Hall on September 18.

After just six fights for the man known as ‘The Jackal’, it’s certainly a bit of a risky decision to take on an experienced boxer like Voronin who, despite seven losses, has 27 wins and 18 knockouts to his name.

Voronin also pushed Irishman Bernard Dunne to the limit back in 2005, losing by just two rounds and has drawn one of his European title challenges against France's Cyril Thomas.

However, the Ukrainian lost in his last outing against Manchester featherweight Joe Murray who, like Frampton, had just six bouts under his belt before he faced Voronin back in February.

And at 37-years-old, Voronin is certainly no spring chicken which means it is a fantastic match up by Frampton’s team as it provides him with a credible opponent that may be tough, but is certainly beatable.

There are so many young fighters, too many to mention in fact, that are over-protected by promoters who are keen to ensure they can cash in on their men in the future, McGuigan’s stance is refreshing.

The former world featherweight champion wants his man in against top opponents and is happy to take the chance but there’s no doubt it’s not a silly risk, he’ll know that Frampton is ready for a bout like this.

Moving his fighter on quicker means it keeps people interested in him and there’s enough hype about Frampton already that McGuigan can put him top of the September 18 bill, despite it only being his first eight round contest.

McGuigan is hoping that the ‘The Jackal’ made enough of an impression on the Belfast faithful in his Kings Hall win over Londoner Ian Bailey in June so that he can fill the Ulster Hall this time and the selection of a tough fighter will be key to increasing Frampton’s support.

As McGuigan said at the announcement of Voronin as the opponent, boxing fans in Belfast won’t stand for him putting a dud in front of Frampton.

And he’s right, fans in Northern Ireland have been treated to watching some world class fighters over the years fight in their capital– McGuigan himself, Wayne McCullough and Dave McAuley have all defended world titles in the city.

They won’t settle for seeing a 23-year-old prospect easily stopping another young fighter in the early rounds as top of the bill entertainment and Voronin will provide a good enough fight to excite fans while also giving the Belfast man a chance to show his worth.

Frampton is also keen to take on better opponents and he wants to keep moving quickly and at a young age he’s certainly got the world at his feet.

A win over an opponent like Voronin who is known across Europe would certainly increase the Belfast boxer’s reputation across the continent.

Not only that, but it will show how he can handle a strong, experienced opponent as he continues to learn the ropes in the paid ranks.

It’s certainly Frampton’s biggest test yet but it should just be a small bridge that this exciting fighter has to cross on his way to the top of the super-bantamweight division.

Paul Scholes - Loyalty pays off for both sides

In the past few days we have seen Paul Scholes receiving plenty of adulation from football fans after two outstanding performances against Chelsea and Newcastle United in the red shirt of Manchester United.

And it’s certainly well deserved as the Premier League’s quiet man continues to churn out top-class performances at the age of 35 and looks set to have a solid season with last year’s Premier League runners-up.

Four-years-ago, Scholes’ career looked like it was declining after a number of injuries hampered his performances, and he wasn’t a regular on the Sir Alex Ferguson’s team sheet.

However, now, as his manager pointed out, he’s had his first season in a long time last year where he remained injury free and that has helped him regain the level of performance that we saw from him in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In fact, some would say Scholes is a better player nowadays. Having had to curb his box-to-box style of his younger days, the Salford born midfielder now let’s the younger legs do the running as he picks out pass after pass with consummate ease.

Analysts, fans and opposition players seem flabbergasted that at his age he can still do it but it’s for the same reason the like of Paulo Maldini could keep going for so long at the top level – a loyalty to one club.

When Scholes was struggling with injuries a few seasons ago, it would have been easy for Ferguson to decide his midfielder’s days were up at the club and sold him on to a lesser club.

But the United boss never even thought of doing such as thing, as he was in debt to Scholes and he had to repay the faith the ginger haired number 18 displayed for Manchester United over the years.

Scholes’ head has never been turned by big-name clubs on the continent and he’s never been tempted to ‘face a new challenge’ as all these top stars seem to say when they sign on the line of a contract double their previous salary.

No, Scholes has stuck with the club he grew up supporting and his challenge has always been to help United win trophies and represent his country before his international retirement, there aren’t many more challenges bigger than that.

If the 35-year-old moved to another club five or six-years-ago, it is unlikely he would be still playing at the top level as other manager’s may have grown impatient with him when he continued to pick up niggling injuries and he could have found himself constantly out of favour.

Ferguson repaid his loyalty by sticking with him and is now reaping the benefits of having Scholes returning to top form as £18million man Owen Hargreaves struggles to get back to fitness.

It’s not been a risk for Sir Alex, he knew Scholes still had the burning desire in him and he knows the ability is still there from the midfielder.

But when you know a player inside out, when you grow a professional relationship with him and when he has helped bring you success in the past, you’ll always give him opportunities.

Staying with the same club also means less moving about, a solid base and not having to constantly adapt your playing style to suit different teams. Scholes knows how Ferguson works and he knows how United play better than most.

The same can be said for Scholes’ team-mate Ryan Giggs too as his loyalty to United has meant he is still being utilised at the top level but you also have to look at how the pair have dealt with the glitz and glamour of a professional footballer’s life – they shunned it and lived a normal life, well as normal as it gets for top class sportsmen.

There’s never been a story of Scholes urinating in the streets of Manchester at 5am or bedding an £800 hooker on a trip away. He’s a family man, and a better footballer for it.

Keeping himself out of the spotlight has helped him live a low profile life with less stress so he can just enjoy his football. And he certainly seems to be having fun on the pitch at the moment.

It is a shame that his interviews are as rare as a well-timed tackle from him, because he has spoken to Sky Sports after his last two games and it just proves how much of an intelligent football man he is.

But it’s all proof that young players living the high life and signing more contracts and sponsorship deals than Nike itself, won’t be around at the top level as long as Paul Scholes and if they are, certainly not putting in performances of his calibre. It’s just a shame he can’t tackle!

It's time to let the wounds heal

Meath County Board confirmed on Tuesday night there will be no replay of Sunday’s controversial Leinster Senior Football final as they have refused to offer Louth an olive branch so now it’s time for the Wee County to put the bitterly disappointing day behind them, even though it feels so very wrong to do so.

For those from outside of Ireland, or anyone who is from Ireland but has been living under a rock for the last four days, Louth were robbed of their first Leinster crown in 53 years thanks to a goal from Meath forward Joe Sheridan that never should have been allowed.

It was clear to see for the 48,000or so supporters in Croke Park on Sunday and however many were watching on TV, that Sheridan carried the ball over the line before throwing it further into the back of the net, but three important men missed this – the referee and his two umpires.

The scenes that followed were even more disgraceful as referee Martin Sludden was attacked by a small number of incensed, but still out of order, Louth supporters.

However, on Tuesday both Louth and Meath County Boards received copies of the referee’s report on the game, in which Mr Sludden admits he should not have given the goal but claims he was about to give a penalty, but then realised the ball was over the line and awarded a goal.

I nearly fell off my chair when I read the quotes, if they wanted to rub salt in the wounds they could have waited until they were a little more healed.

The report overlooked the fact that before any issues of penalties or goals, that it should have been a free out for a square ball (you’re not allowed in the small box before the ball, for our UK readers).

Also, that the fact his umpire never raised the green flag to signal a goal immediately after it crossed the line, which is the general rule, should have told the referee something but he seemed to just tell his umpire to raise the flag rather than discuss the situation with him.

The referee claims he ‘saw the ball had crossed the line’, which raises the question, how can you give a goal when you don’t know how it got there?
If Mr Sludden believed it was a penalty, then why not just give it when there’s doubt over the goal?

It is all irrelevant now anyways as the matter has been dealt with. However, Mr Sludden should never get to referee a senior championship game again after Sunday but I feel the GAA will look kindly on him giving the situation he was put through after the final whistle.

The Meath players and management have taken a lot of abuse for the incident but they should not be held to blame for what occurred, they did what any team does and that is do everything you can to win.

It’s the job of the officials to ensure the rules are adhered to but the way ‘goalscorer’ Sheridan conducted his interview afterwards were wrong as they showed little remorse for the Wee County.

Sheridan refused to admit it wasn’t a goal, saying on the Sunday Game that he played the ball over the line when replays and pictures clearly show him over the line with the ball.

He would have done himself a great favour to admit it shouldn’t have been allowed and apologised, even a certain Thierry Henry had enough grace to do that.

And the Meath board SHOULD have offered a replay, as there was little chance of it being sanctioned by the Leinster Council anyways but they would have come out on the moral high ground.

However, they decided not to and that’s where the matter should stop now. Louth are talking about taking a legal route on this but it’s pointless as it is laid out in black and white that what is said in the referee’s report is the result is final, unless the winning team offer a replay.

What the Louth management need to do is get their players focused again, as the campaign is not over yet. Yes, there’s no Leinster title but there’s the All-Ireland qualifiers to comprehend and they are one match away from an All-Ireland quarter final.

It’s not going to be easy to pick themselves up from such a heart-wrenching defeat but if Louth can put in another performance like the one on Sunday and take their chances when they get them, then they’re capable of causing any team problems on the day.

Let’s just hope that an afternoon like Sunday never happens to Louth again but we’ve said that before...

This could be a shocking World Cup but in a good way

So the World Cup begins today and after much worrying about South Africa being ill-prepared to host the tournament, much worrying about a host of star players picking up injuries and much worrying amongst the players on what colour boots to wear, it looks like it could be an exciting four weeks of football.

Exciting because I feel there is the potential for more than a couple of upsets that will cause a stir and yet again convey the magic of tournament football.

With the favourites, Spain, having a history of bottling it on the big stage, it leaves the race for the coveted crown fairly open.

Along with Spain - Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Holland, Italy and, not surprisingly, England have been some of the nations touted with a strong chance of claiming glory.

However, all those teams have huge doubts about their credentials to go all the way.

Argentina may have one of the most gifted footballers in the world on the pitch in Lionel Messi, but their former great Diego Maradona is in charge and he was, quite frankly, bonkers with his squad selection.

Leaving Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti at home despite them leading Inter Milan to Champions League glory is more than enough proof that, while it might not be cocaine now, Maradona is definitely on something.

Germany are missing Michael Ballack through injury and with former tournament hotshots Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose not firing on all cylinders this season, the former three time winners may struggle.

Brazil have ditched the flair and Ronaldinho too, with former World Cup winner, now manager, Dunga favouring a more conservative approach. This could be their downfall as their defence is hardly as robust as the Italians’ or the Germans’ but let’s hope stars like Robinho, Kaka and Fabiano defy their boss and bring some of that well loved samba style to South Africa.

Spain have a reputation for bottling it on the big stage but there is one country who are ahead of them in the league of the, eh, bottle jobs and that is Holland.

No matter how much class they have in their ranks the Dutch always seem to crumble under pressure but, with the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie in the squad, they could have a say.

The reigning champions Italy haven’t been touted about as much as I would have imagined. They were just edged out by Spain in Euro 2008 on penalties so they are far from also rans, but with captain Fabio Cannavaro the wrong side of 30 along, with a couple of other key players, maybe this squad is on its last legs.

Every time England qualify for a major tournament the phrases ‘this is our best chance’ and ‘this is our time’ are echoed around in the media.

Ironically, this year they seem to have tried to dampen down all that pre-tournament excitement and tried to be realistic when this time it is in fact their best chance since 1966.

England have always lacked something at the big tournaments, usually a player with pride, passion and the talent to take a tight game by the scruff of the neck and smash home a goal out of nowhere and this time they have Wayne Rooney, a much improved player over the last four years who is in top form.

However, penalty shoot-outs always have a say in the World Cup and that is England’s Achilles heel which could yet again be their downfall.

So with the so called big boys all with doubts hanging over them here’s hoping to some of the ‘smaller’ teams causing some upsets.

While there was cries of fixes, corruption etc when South Korea made it all the way to the semi-finals in 2002, it was nothing short of fascinating to watch.

The plucky Koreans did their nation proud when they played out of their skins to knock both Spain and Italy out along the way, before Germany finally defeated them.

This year there are a few teams who could cause an upset or two.

Ivory Coast, if they can be counted as an outsider with their surprisingly strong squad, have a superb chance of making a big impact in South Africa.

Serbia are well within their means of taking on the big nations with a number of players with big stage experience, including Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic along with Marko Pantelic of Ajax and not to mention Inter Milan’s Dejan Stankovic.

If Serbia finish second in their group they could face England and I’m sure Fabio Capello would rather different opposition than the robust and well-organised eastern Europeans.

It would also be a bit of a surprise to me if Portugal perform at this World Cup. Despite having one of, if not the best player in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo, they lack any real firepower up front.

However, the Real Madrid man could find the net enough times to give them an outside chance of success.

If we don’t get a shock with the results, then we’re sure to get a few with during the games as sadly no World Cup would be complete without a controversy.

Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ in 1986, Rivaldo’s despicable play acting in 2002, Maradona’s drug test failure in 1994, the sham game between Germany and Austria in 1982 and Zidane’s head butt in the 2006 final are just some of the incidents that have left a bitter taste over the years.

Will there be controversy in South Africa? Maybe. Diving? Without a doubt. Offside debates? For sure. Video technology? Sadly not thanks to Mr Blatter but that’s a whole different debate.

But let’s just hope there aren’t too many controversies, a few upsets, some moments of magic and more exciting football than you could shake a stick at. Don’t know about you but I can’t wait. Bring it on!

Rooney cannot be calmed if England want success

There’s only two days to go to the start of the world’s biggest football tournament and it seems Wayne Rooney has lost his temper and is a reckless man who could ruin England’s hopes at the World Cup in South Africa.

Rooney ranted at the referee in England’s last warm-up game against local minnows and suddenly everyone is worried that the Manchester United striker is a ticking time bomb ready to explode and blow the World Cup for a nation.

Preparing a scapegoat? Sounds like it. There has to be one after all, why not Rooney? Why not the one who is carrying the hopes of a nation on his back?

The fact remains that in probably every game the England No10 played for his club this year, he swore at the referee, even if it was from afar on certain occasions. Why is it suddenly a big deal?

In fact, John Terry does it a lot, Steven Gerrard also has a go at testing his French skills on a regular basis on the pitch and I’m sure everyone’s loveable giant Peter Crouch has showed his dismay at more than one referee this season.

The referee in question in Monday’s game, Mr Jeff Selogilwe, claimed Rooney said ‘F*** you’ in an outburst towards him. Should he be swearing? No. Will it get him sent off in South Africa? Unlikely.

The reaction to this incident, which would have been nothing if the referee had not spoken to the press, has been over the top.

Suddenly all the enthusiasm and passion Rooney shows on the pitch is now recklessness and stupidity.

Certain members of the media have been claiming Rooney constantly shows his frustration when his, and his fellow players’, performances drop below par. Since Monday’s incident, some are complaining that he is harming morale with his constant berating, some claim he is risking a red card when he jumps into a tackle to regain possession and some say he needs to calm down.

To them people I would say don’t be so inane. As an outsider looking in on the foray surrounding England at South Africa, Rooney’s passion is key, in my view to any slim hopes of success at this World Cup for Fabio Capello's men.

He has led the line for Manchester United all season with that same passion, a fire in his belly that his keeping the hunger for success warm. He lets his team-mates know when they’ve made a mistake, he shows his anger at himself when he loses possession by sprinting 40 yards to reclaim possession and he inspires others around him.

In an age of overpaid players, who couldn’t care less what colour shirt they’re wearing but more about the zeros on the pay cheque, Rooney’s attitude is a breath of fresh air.

When he wears the white of England or the red of United, he wants to succeed, he has the passion, so much in fact it has the potential to boil over but Rooney has only been sent off once since the infamous Ronaldo wink incident in 2006.

Rooney has matured greatly since that night in Germany and being managed by men like Sir Alex Ferguson and Capello has certainly helped. The striker has put all that over aggression into his performances which have reaped dividend to say the least.

Rooney needs to be left to let rip, to let that fire breathe and roar like one of these English lions that you go on about all the time. He has the passion that others crave but if Capello tries to stifle it by telling him to calm down then England’s slim World Cup chances will be well and truly smothered.