The Sting: Wasps continue their unbeaten run at the Wildcats

Hull Wasps keep up their good form, with a convincing victory against Durham Wildcats. Report courtesy of Dave Bushall taking in full from the Hull Wasps website.





Durham Wildcats 62 Hull Wasps 90

HULL Wasps made it two out of two in England Basketball’s National League division four north with a convincing 90-62 victory at Durham Wildcats II.


Player-coach John Brignell led all scorers with 37 points. The 6ft 8in centre dominated close to the basket on both ends of the floor as his side never looked in danger after leading 26-20 at the end of the first quarter.

Hull improved in the second quarter to enter the half-time break with an 18-point advantage, before putting the clamps on in a bad-tempered third period in which they kept the hosts to just seven points while pouring in 25 of their own to build a 38-point lead.

A scrappy fourth quarter saw Hull’s lead cut down after victory was assured.

Brignell said: “We still have a few things to work on before we take on some of the better teams in this division, but we showed again that we are capable of some brilliant defence when we want to apply it.”

Captain Jamie Goodwin and rookie guard Andrew Marr chipped in with eight points for the Wasps.

Hull face Middlesbrough Lions in their first home league game of the season on Saturday at 7.30pm at the Bonus Arena in Walton Street, west Hull.

Rooney: Red Light on Contract Talks, Top European Clubs Start Window Shopping.

Wayne Rooney declares his intention to walk out on Manchester United.

Article by Daniel Taylor taking in full from our friends at Guardian Sport.

This Article will appear on Monday 18th October in the Guardian.


Wayne Rooney has thrown Manchester United's season into a state of turmoil after informing the club he has no plans to sign another contract and intends to find new employers. Rooney's decision is based on serious differences with Sir Alex Ferguson, the Guardian understands, and will be a devastating blow to the supporters who have come to regard him as a talismanic figure in this troubled era under Malcolm Glazer's ownership.

United may have no option now but to sell the England striker, possibly in the January transfer window, rather than risk his transfer valuation dramatically lowering now that he is only 20 months away from becoming a free agent.

Rooney has always said he has no desire to play abroad and would like to remain in Manchester for the rest of his career, but his mindset has changed and his availability will inevitably attract interest from major forces such as Real Madrid and Barcelona. Manchester City may feel they have an outside chance of capitalising on what has gone wrong for him at Old Trafford, although their chances are undermined by the fact they already have a huge task ahead of them bringing down their wages to prevent Uefa banning them from European competitions under financial fair-play rules.

The full details are not yet clear but the underlying fact is that Rooney now feels that his working relationship with Ferguson has suffered potentially irreparable damage in the fall-out from tabloid allegations about the striker's private life, coinciding with a dramatic loss of form and a growing sense that the most successful manager in the business has taken a hard-line approach with his player.

Rooney has lost his place in the team, with Ferguson citing a supposed ankle injury, and the 24-year-old felt sufficiently emboldened last week to contradict his manager's version of events and make it clear he has not missed a single training session – and was, in essence, dropped for other reasons.

What has not been established is whether these events have coincided with a disagreement about the amount of money he expected to earn in a new contract. United had been willing to make him the highest earner at the club, with a weekly salary of £150,000, and the club's chief executive, David Gill, had stated several times earlier in the year that the matter would be resolved as soon as Rooney was back from the World Cup.

That now appears to have backfired on Gill, with the message already conveyed to senior figures at Old Trafford that Rooney is now counting down his days at the club. There remains a suspicion it might be a part of the negotiating process, but the Guardian has been informed that, for now at least, Rooney's mind is made up and that he and his family are already contemplating where next to take his career.

If that remains the case, it threatens to be an even more devastating blow to the club than Cristiano Ronaldo's £80m transfer to Real Madrid last year given that it was widely known the Portuguese would eventually move to the Bernabéu. Rooney has always given the opposite impression, immersing himself in the fabric of the club, and now appears to be on the brink of being one of the few players to leave against their wishes. Ferguson has moved on some great footballers, including Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Beckham, but always prides himself on players not being sold unless he says so; in this case it seems clear that the decision was made by Rooney first.

With United desperately trying to keep the matter in-house, Ferguson's views on the subject are not clear, other than he is known to be alarmed and angry about the headlines that Rooney has attracted because of his alleged relationship with a prostitute, Jennifer Thompson and mostly his faltering performances on the pitch. Some United fans will be angry that Rooney seems to have portrayed himself as the victim when it could be argued that he has brought these troubles on himself, but a rift has clearly developed between player and manager.

Rooney has been in the worst form of his professional life for the last seven months, without a goal in open play since the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich in March. Most worryingly, he is showing few signs of emerging from his current slump. Nonetheless, he remains a hero to the United support and was regarded as the player who would help to ensure continuity and success once Ferguson, plus the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, had retired.

March to the Arch. Potters Bar Town draw at Wealdstone

March to the Arch concentrated on the F.A.Trophy this weekend.  SportTrades representatives played at Wealdstone and earned a replay.  This match report taking in full from the Wealdstone FC Website.

Wealdstone 2- 2 Potters Bar Town


An outrageous piece of goal scoring panache from Scott Fitzgerald in the 94th minute of this FA Trophy tie dramatically prevented Wealdstone from exiting a second major Cup competition in the space of 5 days.

Potters Bar Town had just scored what appeared to everyone, in the newly sparsely populated St Georges Stadium, to be the certain winner on 93 minutes 30 seconds; everyone that is except for Fitzgerald, who took one touch from the re-start and struck a sublime effort from fully 50 yards that sailed over Shane MacWeeney into the net for a spectacular finish - the referee blowing for time literally seconds later.

The goal was perhaps harsh on the brooding MacWeeney, who trialled with Stones this close season, as he had previously kept his Ryman Division 1 side in the match with some excellent saves. But this draw cannot paper over another stuttering low-confidence performance from a Wealdstone side that have now only won a single game in nine outings. Not that Stones didn’t have their moments and certainly put together some snappy passing moves at times but still lack the spark and composure that comes from confidence and mental strength on the park – particularly when a goal is conceded, heads can drop like autumn leaves.

Perhaps Fitzgerald’s dazzling late strike will provide the vital spark to finally ignite Stones disappointing season – let’s hope so because something, somehow, needs to stop this run of excruciating defeats and draws.

Kicking off in front of a subdued crowd following Monday’s punishing and expensive visit from the Met, Stones started brightly enough and with the injured Scott Fitzgerald surprising included all things were again possible; Alan Massey almost stole in after a Greg Ngoyi effort was hooked forward after only 3 minutes.

But the Scholars soon hit back when a free header almost caught Jonathan North out only a few moments later. The first of several good stops from Shane MacWeeney occurred when, after a great Messi type run from Kieron Forbes, Ngoyi’s firm strike was tipped over.

Stones were putting together some decent ‘give it and go’ passing moves playing up the slope and into a strong wind but the final delivery was often inaccurate or well defended by a lively Town defence. Ngoyi again went close as the home side found more space than of late and tried hard to impose themselves on the game.

Scott Fitzgerald had to this point been peripheral, but he suddenly showed his class in one sweet movement when he controlled a high ball and volleyed agonisingly just over from 20 yards. Against the general run of play, The Scholars rocked Stones and grabbed the lead on 26 minutes. A decent forward move allowed a ball to be played into space for Elvis Balik to shoot past North’s dive.

To their credit Stones hit back quickly and Mark E’Beyer was unlucky with a speculative strike hit the woodwork from fully 30 yards out. Jake Parratt for Town hit over the bar when well placed as Stones pushed up; Alex Dyer was unlucky when a great raking cross was not touched in. There was concern as Chris O’Leary was felled and had to be substituted by Louis Lavers; the defence was reshuffled and Forbes was moved into a midfield position.

HT 0-1

After the restart, Stones were almost caught on the break after a Forbes ball was intercepted and their shape looked as ragged as recent performances. But Stones gradually got going again as Fitzgerald was unlucky when his goal bound effort was charged down by a brave MacWeeney at close range. Wealdstone were now enjoying their best spell of the match in terms of attacking possession and pressure but the equaliser seemed as elusive as a decent playing budget.

But suddenly, out of almost nothing, Stones grabbed the goal they and the pensive crowd craved. On 57 minutes Mark E’Beyer’s perfunctory strike seemed for all the world to be going out for a goal kick but fortunately Peter Dean’s cloth cap work rate allowed him to steal in unseen at the far post and sweep past MacWeeney for 1-1.

Forbes was now coming into his own through the middle now that he was freed from the restraint of his right back duties – his great run was unconverted by Lee Chappell. At least the tempo was up and space was being found but once again inexplicable and school boyish errors were confounding the players and the onlookers. A couple of times Alan Massey and others were guilty of misplaced passes that allowed Town to regain possession in the danger areas. George Daly came on for an increasingly hesitant looking Ngoyi and showed some nice touches and link up play in the final 20 minutes or so. Dyer thought he had scored from a Forbes through ball but the Assistant’s flag for offside brought celebrations to an end as soon as they had started.

Late pressure from both sides made for entertainment but neither side looked like making the vital breakthrough as time ticked by. Man of the match Forbes chipped beautifully after Daly had won the ball but the truculent MacWeeney somehow clutched the ball. Then, with the game deep into added time, Town’s Tom Pett appeared to clearly foul E’Beyer but play was allowed to continue and the midfielder swept the ball past North for what seemed to be the final hammer blow and another sickening cup exit for Stones. With many of Stones reduced faithful heading for the car park, Fitzgerald played the ultimate get out of jail card and booked his enormously grateful side a replay at Potters Bar on Tuesday evening. To add to this late, late drama Towns Jake Parratt was sent off in the ensuing mêlée. Stones Manager Gordon Bartlett said after the game: ‘Today feels like a win but I was seething that their late goal was allowed and I made my opinions very clear to the referee at the end of the match’.

Remember other Trackers in the March to the Arch series continue this week.  Thurrock play in the F.A.Youth Cup tomorrow night and Woking entertain Eastleigh in the F.A.Cup on Saturday. We will have a March to the Arch update during the week, with a catch up on results and merit tables.

Do Stockport's unique numbers SCAN?

A great story from our friends at the Football Supporters Federation.

Stockport County will approach the FA and the Football League to request permission to introduce a new player numbering scheme. The plans, drawn up by Stockport County Supporters’ Co-operative, would see every player to have appeared for the club in its history given a unique appearance number.

While this would be the first system of its kind in British football the England and Wales Cricket Board has long awarded Test players this honour. The club hope the FA and Football League will pass their plans in time for Saturday’s Edgeley Park clash with Barnet.

If approved the club will award every player a Stockport County Appearance Number (SCAN) along with a certificate which will record details of the date and opponent against whom their debut was made.

The Supporters’ Co-operative claim County have had 1284 players in their 124-year history – more than any other club in the Premier League or Football League. They argue the plans will “emphasise and strengthen the special relationship between the supporters, the players and the Club.”

Given that many traditionalists would like to see a return to 1-11, rather than the squad numbers system at present, it isn’t necessarily a move that would be popular with fans of every club.

Do the numbers SCAN? See if you can work out who’s who: Answers are below, so don’t cheat.

Number 796 – widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the game (no, not Brett Angell) he spent 11 years just along the road grabbing league titles and a European Cup before playing three times for County.

Number 867 – a huge fans favourite, in both senses of the word. This rotund goal-getter might have made his name with Portsmouth, Newcastle and Coventry but his record at County was still outstanding.

Number 1014 – grabbed 49 goals for County in 160 appearances before Middlesbrough snapped him up for £1.6m in 1998. Shares his name with a British actor whose first film appearance was Get Carter. And no, his name is not Michael Caine.







Answers



796 – George Best made 3 appearances for County in 1975. County was his first league club since leaving Manchester United.

867 – The Mighty Quinn. Mickey Quinn a fans favourite who went on to star for Newcastle United, now racehorse trainer,

1014 – Alun Armstrong who went on to become Countys record transfer in 1998 .

You really want to know Number 1 is Joe Birchenall, who played in an F.A.Cup match against Burton Wanderers on 27th January 1894

The legend Malcolm Allison passes away.

SportTrades Pulse sources have been informed of the death of Malcolm Allison.


Mr Allison was one of sports colourful characters during playing and management. A flamboyant man famed for his sartorial elegance and the finer things in life as well as his undoubted professional capability.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. Thank you Malcolm and rest in peace.

Below is a quick review of his career thanks to our friends at Mirror Sport

Club Career

Malcolm Allison began his career as a player with Charlton after the Second World War and he spent six years there before moving on to West Ham in 1951. A strong and reliable centre-half, he was a regular in the Hammers team for the next six seasons, before an unfortunate injury cut short his career.

He had fallen ill after a game against Sheffield United in September 1957 and, after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, he had to have a lung removed and never played professionally again.


Managerial Career

The most flamboyant manager in Manchester City’s history, Allison was nothing if not a bundle of contradictions and claimed he was always a City fan after listening to the Blues get beaten by Everton in the FA Cup Final of 1933.

He was a dedicated student of the game and a real football thinker, yet could often be heard making outlandish claims for the most average of footballers. He took his work extremely seriously, yet often seemed like a cartoon figure with his Fedoras, bottles of champagne and dalliances with sexy stars. What can’t be denied, however, is that Allison’s partnership with Joe Mercer produced the most successful and exciting period in City’s history.

Once he had been forced to hang up his boots, Allison was determined to make it as a coach and, after working at West Ham, took over as manager of non-league Bath City in 1963. After moving to Plymouth he left for Manchester City in 1965 as assistant manager to Mercer and helped craft a superb side that swept all before it between 1968 and 1970. Allison had no truck with City’s footballing neighbours. “I loathed the bumptious, patronising tones of their players, their hangers-on and many of their supporters,” he said. “It became a challenge to me when I drove past city parks and saw 90 per cent of the kids wearing red shirts.”

By 1972 Allison had decided that he wanted to be top dog but, with City undergoing massive internal political upheaval, he ended up leaving for Crystal Palace in 1973.

After a topsy-turvy time at Palace and short stints at Galatasaray in Turkey and back at Plymouth, Allison came back to City as manager in 1979. It was an unmitigated disaster and he left for Palace again in 1980. Stints with a number of other clubs never saw Allison scale those giddy City heights again, apart from a golden period out of the British spotlight where he won the Portuguese league and cup with Sporting Lisbon.

Allison’s last job was at Bristol Rovers in the early '90s, but since then his health has declined and was in a care home suffering from Alzheimer’s. It’s a sad end for one of football’s greatest entertainers

Ticket Prices For London Olympics Revealed

This post courtesy of our friends at Sky News.

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympics will start at £20 and go up to £725 for the showpiece 100m athletics final, organisers have announced.


The highest priced ticket for any event will be £2,012 for the best seats at the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium.


The lowest price for the same event will come in at £20.12 but seats priced at £1,600, £995 and £150 will also be available.

The closing ceremony will command a highest price of £1,500 going down to £20.12, with £995, £655 and £150 seats also on sale.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe described the policy behind the wide-ranging pricing structure as an effort to make the tickets "affordable and accessible to as many people as possible".


The organisers, who need to get 25% of revenue from ticket sales, said charging a high fee for the key contests and ceremonies will enable them to supply much cheaper tickets for the same events.


The number of tickets for the 26 Olympic sports has increased from 8 million to 8.8 million, London 2012 also confirmed.

About 75% of this total will be available to the public, and will go on sale in March.

The prices of two million tickets for the Paralympics will be announced at a later date.

Sol y Futbol: Lanzarote back on Course.

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife, as Lanzarote return to winning ways on the National day.

LANZAROTE 2 LAS ZOCAS 0


Two late goals see the Rojillos return to winning ways and go two points clear at the top of the league.


The Tenerife side that were unbeaten in their last four outings sent a clear message of their defending intentions by playing two sets of four players deep into their own territory.


Lanzarote´s domination of this match began from the Refs opening blow of the whistle. Man of the match for the visitors was goalkeeper Samuel and in the 14th minute he made a superb double save, firstly from striker Echedey whose powerful drive from close range was blocked then smothering the rebound from the feet of new boy Javi Morales.

Ten minutes on and the visitors number one was at it again producing a fine save from Rosman following good work from Toñito. The Tenerife side defended superbly to keep the score line goalless at the break but offered absolutely no danger to the bored Lanzarote keeper Ruyman.

The tempo in the second half didn’t change at all with Echedey spurning a good opportunity in the opening seconds. The Rojillos passed the ball quickly making their opponents work hard and gradually tire.

The introduction of striker Jonathan Torres on the hour mark injected a little more urgency and in the 72nd minute the deadlock was finally broken.

On a rare attack for the visitors the Rojillos robbed them in possession in midfield and counter attacked at pace. Torres won the ball and with a delightful pass sent Javi Morales on full flight down the left wing. His wonder cross to the far post was nodded back by Toñito directly into the path of ex Real Madrid star Jotha, he swiveled his body well to keep the half volley low and planted his strike into the far right hand corner finally beating the stubborn Tenerife Keeper. A cracker of a goal.

Five minutes later and the Rojillos killed off the match. Right back Saul whipped in a low cross and from 10 yards Rosman volleyed the ball against the inside of the right hand post and into the other side of the net.

The visitors decided to make a game of it and forced the Lanzarote keeper to be alert though still not required to make a save. In the 80th minute Jotha squared a ball to Torres and from eight yards and with the keeper in no mans land the experienced striker blasted his shot into the sky clearing the bar by a good 15 yards.

Two minutes from time and the visitors had their best chance of the match. A mistake from left back Guayo, losing possession in the centre in an otherwise faultless game led to Sub Oscar with a one on one with the keeper. The forward screwed his shot wide of the left upright and the Lanzarote keeper remained untested throughout the 90 minutes.

A top class performance from the Rojillos sends them two points clear at the top and next week they will fly to La Palma to take on third from bottom side C.D. Victoria.

GOALS
1-0 min 72 Jotha

2-0 min 77 Rosman