Questions over Hodgson and Ponting

HODGSON ON THE BRINK

The Guardian’s Paul Hayward says Roy Hodgson's problems are not only of his own making - Liverpool have recruited dozens of duds over the last 10 seasons while Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have signed very few. In The Times Tony Cascarino writes that he would give the Liverpool job to Ian Holloway tomorrow. A manager with charisma, craziness, style. Someone who plays football that makes your heart soar and the crowd sing. The Sun’s Phil Thomas thinks Hodgson cannot point the finger at anyone but himself. Harry Redknapp urges Liverpool to keep their fingers off the trigger as far as Hodgson is concerned. In The Daily Mirror Robbie Savage believes Hodgson is suffering from not being Kenny Dalglish. He will be lucky to survive. The Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman argues that Liverpool must not turn back to Dalglish or Rafa Benitez if they decide to sack their manager. The Independent’s James Lawton says Hodgson is a good football man, unquestionably, but he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and without, it seems increasingly obvious, any striking ability to do much about it. He should walk away.

FOOTBALL TRANSFERS

The Daily Telegraph’s Jason Burt thinks the tightness of the Premier League means few clubs will loan out players to other top-flight clubs.

THE ASHES

The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Vaughan wants England to build on their success. They need to win the final Test in Sydney. Steve James thinks it would be a shame if we have seen the last of Ricky Ponting in the Test arena. The Guardian’s Mike Selvey thinks that Paul Collingwood’s Test career may end before that of Ponting. At 34 it could be time for the England all-rounder to concentrate on short forms of the game. In The Daily Express Colin Bateman crowns Andy Flower as sporting coach of the year. In The Times Gideon Haigh says the Australia captaincy is Michael Clarke’s, but it also his to lose.

RUGBY UNION

In The Guardian Shaun Edwards chooses his dream team from the past ten years. He goes for Dan Carter over Jonny Wilkinson at fly half and picks just four England players. The Daily Mail’s Chris Foy tips England to win the Six Nation next year.

QUOTE

‘We would not be here today if I had not done what I did. I got rid of the captaincy for the good of English cricket.’ England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Thursday December 30

ASHES VICTORY

In The Independent England wicketkeeper Matt Prior says the side do not want to draw the series. We have played too much good cricket and worked too hard to be content with retaining the Ashes. That's not the way the team thinks. James Lawton believes that in all sport the greatest of goals is the perfect performance and rarely has a team got so close to it. Peter Roebuck thinks Ricky Ponting may survive but the Australia coach and selectors should pay the price of defeat. In The Guardian Duncan Fletcher says England's bowling unit has been outstanding right through this series, but there is a recurring fragility about their batting. In the next few years England will need to beat better teams than Australia. Michael Knox believes Australia need to learn a few things from England but first they must learn the lesson of humility. In The Sun England bowler Graeme Swann says he will ignore advice to keep his feet on the ground and, instead, float 15ft in the air for the next day or two. In The Daily Telegraph Jonathan Trott claims he has no interest in finding out what his batting average is. For the record it’s 111.25. Shane Warne believes patience and planning is the key to an Australian revival. Michael Holding compares the Aussies to the West Indies team that followed their greatest side. They can’t find the players to live up to their world class predecessors. The Daily Mail’s Martin Samuel says England no longer buy into the myth of the baggy green cap and are determined to make their own mark on history instead. Nasser Hussain thinks this is just the beginning for England but they must go on to win the Sydney Test and wrap up a series victory. Michael Henderson laments the fact that BBC TV did not cover the series. To ignore the cricket from Australia was an act of surrender. The Daily Telegraph’s Jim White says what a day it was for the Barmy Army, the ragtag collective who have followed the England cricket team for the past 20 years – more in hope than expectation. It was the day they finally saw their heroes win the one that matters. In The Daily Express Henry Blofeld thinks Australian cricket is in a mess and they have no one to blame but themselves. In The Times Matthew Syed thinks Roger Federer’s mindset has been co-opted by the England cricket team and has led them to an historic retention of the Ashes. The Swiss understands the meaning of the pecking order and revels in the knowledge that while he is No1, nobody else can be. Gideon Haigh says England have looked more like the home side.

CHELSEA CRISIS

The Guardian’s Paul Hayward points out that history says great teams tend not to die in a two-month spiral. Decline is more gradual. Bad teams look over the edge and fall. Good ones peek and then pull back. Instinct and desperation tend to save them. In The Daily Express Mick Dennis believes Roman Abramovich will keep Carlo Ancelotti in charge and that the Russian billionaire will invest heavily in the January transfer window.

BOLTON CHEER

 In The Times Patrick Barclay says defeat for Bolton’s Owen Coyle— only a fifth loss in 20 league matches — is hardly a season-breaker. Nor does it contradict the suspicion that British managers are staging a revival.

LIVERPOOL STRIFE

In The Times Tony Evans thinks it is time for Liverpool to turn again to Kenny Dalglish. Roy Hodgson is alienating players, staff members talk disparagingly about his methods and attitude and now the supporters have crossed a line that not long ago would have been unimaginable.

QUOTE

‘I have to hope the fans will become supporters because we need support. We are not deliberately losing games.’ Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson.

Wednesday December 29

THE ASHES: The Daily Mail’s Nasser Hussain thinks Melbourne was the perfect performance from England. Discipline sums it up. In The Financial Times Matthew Engel says that in a manner one can only describe as un-English, England have done everything right. Australia watched in some awe and with an unfamiliar kind of respect. The Guardian’s Mike Selvey credits England’s astute choice of selecting Tim Bresnan for driving Australia into the abyss. In The Times Simon Barnes says never let the fact that Australia have been, by their high own standards, a bad team obscure the fact that England are, by their own much lower standards, a very good team. Matthew Syed thinks the most vital and intriguing question surrounding Andrew Strauss and his men today is not technical or tactical, it is psychological. It is a question of whether they can continue to repudiate the slightest tendency to contentment. The Daily Mirror’s Oliver Holt thinks England have finally banished their ghosts and the Aussies have started to hate themselves. What a series. Ian Botham believes England have not just beaten the Aussies , they have broken them. England will be hungry for more in Sydney. The Independent’s Mark Steel says it feels like we’ve all taken part in the victory because it takes effort to stay up all night watching The Ashes. Those of us who took the trouble have earned the trophy. Peter Roebuck thinks England deserve enormous credit for the sustained excellence of their cricket in this series. Watching them has given pleasure to all save the most one-eyed observer, a breed not unknown in either nation.

ANCELOTTI UNDER PRESSURE: The Independent’s James Lawton argues that if Carlo Ancelotti goes the way of JoseMourinho and Luiz Felipe Scolari, Roamn Abramovich's gunbelt notches will provide the darkest evidence of his extraordinary belief that in football matters he knows best.

QUOTE: ‘I definitely have to re-evaluate where I'm at as far as being a Test batsman is concerned.’ Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Friday December 24

THE ASHES: In The Guardian Duncan Fletcher thinks the series has come alive but this is no time for panic. Andrew Strauss must stick to his guns. Vic Marks urges England to remember that Australia batsman Mike Hussey is good but he’s no Don Bradman. In The Daily Telegraph Shane Warne believes the next Test is make-or-break for both sides. Momentum tilts it to Australia. Jonathan Trott thinks his side has to make a lot of runs in the first innings. But he is refreshed and ready to retain The Ashes. The Daily Mail’s Nasser Hussain insists that the Aussies aren’t back – the Perth win just papered over the cracks. The Independent’s James Lawton argues that in a composite team only two of the Australia side would have made the cut before the last Test but things have changed.  In The Times Christopher Martin-Jenkins is concerned that when professionals start ascribing success to sledging, which in its rawest form is unfair play and clearly against the spirit of the preamble to the Laws, the amateurs who admire them, especially the young ones, will get the wrong idea.

FOOTBALL: In The Times Simon Barnes says football is news, football is business, football is politics, football is fashion, football is gossip. Football is practically everything, except football. In modern football, the clothes have no emperor. In The Daily Mirror Robbie Savage nominates Blackpool boss Ian Holloway as his man of the year and offers himself up as an assistant. In The Sun Karren Brady, vice-chairman of West Ham, thinks Tottenham are trying to muscle in where they are not wanted by attempting to have the Olympic Stadium as their new home. Harry Redknapp would like to see the return of professional players coaching in schools. In The Independent Neil Warnock says he has finally met a referee who gives as good as he gets – Scott Mathieson. The Daily Telegraph’s Jason Burt believes Carlos Tevez’s surprise decision to withdraw his transfer request at Man City marks an uneasy truce but nothing more than that.

QUOTE: ‘We’ve put Perth to bed, talked about that and we’re very much focused on what could be a massive week.’ – Andrew Strauss

Thursday December 23

NEW FA CHAIRMAN: In The Times Patrick Barclay thinks that the last thing the FA needs is another businessman. The game was crying out for a football man like Howard Wilkinson. The Daily Mail’s Charles Sale says the FA played it ultra safe with the appointment of David Bernstein. Former Arsenal chairman David Dein would have been much more likely to bring about needed change in football. The Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter concedes that consensus is important but a real leader would have arrived with a plan of attack. Even FIFA has real football men like Beckenbauer and Platini. The Guardian’s David Conn thinks that Bernstein is a man of substance but he must prove that he has the vision for the job. He needs a positive programme for the game’s reform and rejuvenation.The Daily Mirror’s Martin Lipton says  Bernstein should prioritise the national team. Everyone benefits from a strong England team. In The Daily Express John Dillon insists that the FA’s relationship with the Premier League must improve. The Independent’s Sam Wallace thinks that the success of the England team, and the appointment of Fabio Capello’s successor, will be a major factor in how Bernstein is judged.

FOOTBALL: In The Daily Express Graham Taylor says he would do the England job again if asked. You can’t say no to England.

THE ASHES: In The Daily Mirror Ian Botham tells the England players that there is nothing else to save themselves for. The MCG represents the culmination of 18 months’ worth of hard work. In The Times Mike Atherton argues that Andy Flower would have been a more worthy recipient of the BBC’s coach of the year award than golf’s Colin Montgomerie. In The Independent Bob Willis believes Graeme Swann can be England’s trump card in Melbourne. The Daily Telegraph’s Michael Vaughan wants to see Jimmy Anderson do for England what Mitchell Johnson did for Australia. Simon Hughes explains why England’s latest problems are good for the game of cricket.

RACING: In The Times Tom Scudamore discounts the view that racing conspired to get their man, Tony McCoy, to win the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.

QUOTE: ‘Perfect for the FA – he [Bernstein] never offends anyone, and ­allegedly never makes a decision.’ - Alan Sugar

Wednesday December 22

FOOTBALL: The Guardian’s Paul Hayward thinks Man City boss Roberto Mancini must be privately dividing his squad into those just want to take the money and others driven by grander aims. David Conn says the new owners of Blackburn Rovers view their purchase as a leg on the journey toward seeing India as No1 on the poultry map of the world. The Daily Telegraph’s Mark Ogden argues that Mario Balotelli’s attitude is causing concern at Man City. The Daily Mirror’s Oliver Holt thinks that there were three wise men of 2010 that we should have listened to when they tried to point out that something was wrong. Former FA chairman Lord Triesman, John Terry and ex-FA chief executive Ian Watmore. The Independent’s James Lawton says there may come a day when Internazionale boss Rafa Benitez runs out of other people to blame.

SPORTS POLITICS: In The Guardian Tom McNab, a motivational speaker, believes sport, like the arts, is a vital element in the glue which holds our society together.

THE ASHES: In The Independent Angus Fraser thinks Paul Collingwood should be dropped for the fourth Test and Steven Finn retained. In The Times Mike Atherton argues that England should keep their faith in Finn. Matthew Syed says we should celebrate England’s defeat as a victory for Test cricket.

QUOTE: ‘There’s only one that is a little stronger than me – Lionel Messi.’ Mario Balotelli