Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
Two weeks later and no championship has been won. All we were treated to were two flaccid affairs.
That afternoon's impotence was instantly forgettable, any points won may well be promptly dropped at Fratton Park - the graveyard of any top four team to visit them this year. Are Sky billing Portsmouth v Arsenal as the title deciding game? Even they wouldn't be that crass, but the fixture carries as much weight as those so highly billed on the 16th of December.
I talked about Steven Gerrard in a previous blog, and argued that he is not a world class player. He is a very good player, don't get me wrong, but he is not yet world class. Deep in injury time at Pride Park Gerrard is the man you want, as he proved this week. But where was he at Anfield on 'Grand Slam Sunday'?
It seems to me like Gerrard, in the fine tradition of all English sportsmen, bottles the big occasion. As an England fan, and a Liverpool admirer, I wish he wouldn't. In my previous blog I also asked 'who is to blame?' Perhaps Sky should have made the shortlist too.
Sky are bleeding the game dry.
In over hyping the games between the big four, Sky are shooting themselves in the foot. If Gerrard is to become a truly world class player then these games are where he is going to learn how. But Sky exaggerate the consequences to such an extent that teams are afraid to attack at home. Gerrard seemed to play the whole game in his own half against Man U. That's just not his game.
If Sky had not hyped the game to the extent they did, then sure, the fixture would have still been tense - but simply not on the same level. It's true for any sportsman or women that it is much easier to perform when feeling relaxed and calm. Away at Derby when surging forwards Gerrard is relaxed, calm and confident in his ability. Sky are putting too much pressure on the Premiership's best players, so much so that they are simply not performing in the biggest games. These games should be the showcases of Premiership football, but instead they choke, stutter and become nervous affairs. Sky are bleeding the game dry.
Had Liverpool met Manchester United on more relaxed terms, with both sides attacking for the win, then we would have seen a beautiful game of football. The players would have benefited too, learning from playing against the best the division has to offer. England fans are justifiably complaining that England's top players are not producing their Premiership form on the international stage, and I think Sky are partly to blame.
If Sky stop over hyping these games, then they will become the showpiece affairs that they hope to broadcast. The players will learn how to play against the best, and mature into the world class players that they are threatening to become.
So far this season the most entertaining games have barely featured the top four. Wigan beating Blackburn, Villa, Chelsea, Man City and Blackburn again all playing out intriguing draws in the week. Sky have brought a hell of a lot to English football, but they seem to be continuously shooting themselves in the foot whenever England's top sides meet.
I'm not saying I want the 'big four' to play out goal feasts, I just want to see the teams start to attack each other without fear, both for the sake of viewing entertainment, and for the sake of the English game. It's not a coincidence that Arsenal were the most entertaining side on 'Grand Slam Sunday', they're foreigners with a foreign style of football. The English players must learn from them in these top Premiership fixtures, else they will never be able to progress on the international stage.
Mate your post couldnt be any further from the truth.
Firstly you no i hate Liverpool but unfortunately Gerarrd has on a number of occasions won games for them all by himself. We only need to say Champ League Final even tho it was a couple of seasons ago, it was so important that it still is so critical. How can you compare Gerrards winner at derby (which he somewhat was gifted by a rash clearance) to a performance against united where it was a tough tough game. Ask any top team in the world, would you have him in your first 11, i would say with certainty that the very high majority would scream at the chance. He is world class. End of (even though it pains me to say it)
Now onto your issue with Sky. The reason i believe (and so do a number of high profiled experience pundits) that the so called big 4 hav boring games is because so much is at stake and no one wants to lose to the other. Firstly due to the lost points but more importantyl it has such a negative effect on your confidence. Both teams are generally comfortable sitting on the ball and this leads to slow tempo dull 1-0's. I firmly believe that even if these games on Grand Slam sunday were not televised that the games would have not been affected in the slightest.
The so called lesser teams such as Man City, blackburn, villa (all that u mentioned) do possess players with strong attacking ability and flair and in many cases they decide that attack is their best form of defence (villa more so than any other) there games are exciting but i cant see how not being televised has any effect. I agree that the constant marketin on the big games by sky is annoyin but it isnt degrading on the quality of the game, its just about making money.
i posted that btw george
ash
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