In (Partial) Defence of Maria

One of the first posts I ever produced on this blog was on fallen idols in sport, written in the aftermath of the extraordinary Lance Armstrong doping scandal which brought cycling to its knees. I concluded that we ought to be careful with the cult of personality and hero-worship in general. I bring this up, not to directly associate this odious individual with the subject of this article, but to highlight the sheer discomfort of returning to the topic of doping and discussing (on International Women’s Day no less) the revelation that a long-time idol of mine, Maria Sharapova, has failed a drugs test.

There is very little hard information at the moment outside of what Maria herself detailed in a press conference yesterday; that she had failed a drugs test on the 26th January following her defeat to Serena Williams in the Australian Open Quarter-Finals, and that the drug named meldonium which she had been taking since 2006 allegedly for health issues, was recently added the WADA prohibited substances list on January 1st. The substance in question, which is not licensed in the United States or most of Europe, has been on WADAs watch-list for over a year, with it being found in a substantial amount of athletes’ samples, and is said to increase blood flow thereby increasing exercise capacity, which is why it has been banned as a performance-enhancing drug. Tom Fordyce of the BBC wrote rather damningly earlier that:

‘there have been 55 positive tests for meldonium in 2016 alone […] a 2015 study revealed that 724 of 4,316 Russian athletes tested were found to have meldonium in their system.’

It’s a disconcerting statistic, and even more so given the widespread doping allegations in Russian athletics, but right now we have to deal with the facts and wait until the investigation, which will presumably involve consulting the doctor who prescribed her the medication on health grounds and verifying the condition, has concluded.

It’s an extraordinary situation then, when individuals such as Jennifer Capriati come out and claim that Maria ought to be stripped of her previous titles on the basis of taking the drug at all, but since the drug was not illegal until the date of January 1st 2016, her previous wins are completely irrelevant. It’s not a drug that was previously unknown, and been manufactured to deceive the WADA drug testers; the authorities have known that it exists and until the January 1st 2016, deemed it to be legitimate to take. The problem lies in the fact that she continued to take it after this date until the 26th January, and whilst I ultimately do believe that it is the athlete’s responsibility to be aware of what is going into their system and its legalities, does this demonstrate malicious intent and deception? I certainly don’t think so.

The fact is that Sharapova has willingly taken meldonium, either knowing that it was illegal and thereby cheating, or not knowing and being guilty of negligence, and she will face a ban as a result of it. I don’t dispute this, and I think it’s important that we maintain these sanctions in order to reiterate how serious we take doping as a sporting community. However, I think that the ban has to take the circumstances into account and reflect how we want to deal with drugs in sport. Individuals like Justin Gatlin, Dwain Chambers, Ben Johnson, Lance Armstrong; they doped without regret and because they could, knowing the consequences of taking drugs which they believed to be undetectable, and with the latter directly implicating and ruining countless lives in the process. These individuals brought utter shame upon their sport, themselves, and tore at the fabric of the sporting world. Sharapova has made a seemingly honest but ultimately stupid mistake, subsequently gone public and apologised, acknowledging her own negligence. She has been transparent, and that’s a rare thing indeed. As someone who has given so much to her sport and taken responsibility for her errors upfront, I do hope the authorities appropriate the correct sanction.

Notts County preview: Sheffield Wednesday (A)

Derry speaks to the press at the new Arnold Town training ground

With a league cup game at Hillsborough on Tuesday night, Shaun Derry reflected upon a positive weekend away at Preston, securing a draw against the promotion favourites. The Magpies did let three points slip, conceding in the 89th minute, but the manager viewed it as a good point away from home and an opportunity to “carry all the good things we did into Tuesday night”.

The Magpies face Sheffield Wednesday, who took three points away at Brighton on Saturday afternoon, return to Hillsborough with high expectations for the season. Notts are also in good form off the back of the pre-season win against Osasuna and the point at Preston, and Derry expects more from his squad: “I’ve always said that I want us to be competitive this year and I don’t want it to be sporadically, I want it to be on a weekly basis.” The cup is an opportunity to string a few wins together; cup runs breed confidence and an excitement amongst the fans which can be conducive to league form. Sheffield Wednesday are the strong favourites and are expected to achieve in the Championship which takes the pressure off the visitors and may allow them to express themselves. Derry expressed the importance of the cup, and the respect which must be given to it in terms of team selection and competitiveness, citing that:

“As much focus is going into tomorrow night [Sheffield Wednesday] as it did into the Preston game…our preparation is going to be as good as it can be”

The pre-match presser took place at the new training ground, based at Arnold Town FC, and Derry acknowledged the usefulness of the facility, commenting that “this is our training ground, our home, our workplace that we can come in every day and I can become a better manager and the players can become better players. It’s a great facility…the players make us better, but this facility makes them better.

More information can be found on tickets for the game at: http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/tickets/

 

Celtic are back in the Champions League!

Celtic drubbed by Legia Warsaw, find themselves in a fortunate position [credit: SkySports.com]

Following this week’s 6-1 drubbing at the hands of Legia Warsaw, prompting scores of angry Celtic fans to leave Murrayfield early, the Scottish side have been handed a reinstatement into the tournament. Warsaw, with two minutes to go in the away fixture, subbed on Bartosz Beryszynski who had been sent off last season and handed a three-match European suspension. The confusion was down to the fact that Beryszinksi did miss three European games, but because he wasn’t registered to play in one of the games he missed (St Patrick’s), the ban didn’t apply, and therefore rolled over to the second leg of the Celtic tie.

Legia are aggrieved by the decision, which sends Celtic through on away goals having been awarded a 3-0 ‘walkover’ following their 4-1 loss in Warsaw, and argued that the situation was down to “basic human error”. UEFA protocol is clear on suspensions however, and Celtic will consider themselves remarkably fortunate to have been rewarded a place in the next round of qualifying. Ronny Deila, who took over from Neil Lennon in the summer, has struggled in pre-season with Celtic and the Norwegian will have to do some serious work to turn around their endeavours on the pitch if they want to qualify for Europe.

Notts County preview: Preston North End (A)

Meadow Lane ready for the return of League One

Ahead of the first game of the season, Derry spoke to the press, along with a string of new signings including Elliott Whitehouse, Nicky Wroe, and Gary Jones, all recently unveiled, with Jones unveiled just this morning. He commented that “I know the league. It’s a tough league and it will be a long hard season but we have a good group of lads. I’ve only been here a week but I’ve fit right in.” Notts fans will note that despite Jones’ ripe age of 37, he has kept himself fit and has played every game for Bradford in the past two years. His consistency and persistent presence in the face of inevitable injuries could well be a major factor in how the team perform throughout the season. Gary was optimistic ahead of the new season proclaiming that “my aim for the season is promotion!”
Nicky Wroe, who departed from Preston for Notts County in the summer expressed his desire to kick-off well against his old club. Preston are favourites to be promoted, alongside Bristol City and Sheffield United, and Wroe commented that “You always look forward to the first game but there is extra incentive to perform against your old team and put in a good performance.” On the club’s chances to go up, he stopped short of promotion, but noted that “energy levels have been high in pre-season and you never know. you saw what [Leyton] Orient did last year, so there is every possibility!”

Elliot Whitehouse, who recently signed on from Sheffield United, after being released is one of Derry’s younger prospects in the team. At 20, Whitehouse has little experience but hopes to draw upon players like Alan Smith and Gary Jones. Speaking to the press, he commented that  “in pre-season games I have been watching players like Alan Smith and trying to copy what they do and add it towards my game.” Speaking on what he can bring to Notts, Elliott represents himself as the following:

“I’m a young enthusiastic box-to-box midfielder. I can play the holding role or play more advanced. I’m a hard worker; you could say I’m an old-fashioned midfielder!” – Whitehouse on his footballing abilities.

The manager was a huge draw for the youngster, adding that having played with Derry in a pre-season game against Rolls Royce, he noted the gaffer to be  “a good communicator, as you’d expect, and in terms of one-on-one management, he’s unbelievable, so it’s a privilege to be working under him”.

The addition of Woodhouse has bulked up the squad in the midfield area of the pitch, and with extra numbers comes extra competition. The new signings expressed their desire to fight for spots, with Derry assessing that he now has the right characters to deal with the battle for places this season, whereas last season there had been slight friction.

“When players don’t play, they get the hump. It’s how you harness that and put it to one side; it needs to be done in the right way. That didn’t happen enough last year, but that’s water under the bridge and the characters we have brought in this year will be able to handle it better.”

In the past hour, County have also confirmed that they have added Leicester winger Adam Dawson to their ranks on an emergency 1-month loan to bring even more depth to an already bulging number of midfielders.

With the new season beginning on Saturday, Derry checked expectations of fans, staying that “I do want people to take a step back and look where the club has been in the past six or seven months. I want some progression but more importantly, some stability. There needs to be someone here for some time to come, and I hope that is me. What we will be is absolutely competitive, and if we are against the big sides then who knows”

Preston v Notts tickets are still on sale, and are available on the day for fans. More information can be found at http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/tickets/

 

 

Notts County transfer and pre-season roundup

With the new season looming, it feels like only yesterday that the Magpies secured their League One status with a truly ‘great escape’ on the final day of the season, prompting celebrations amongst the away fans. Notts have needed to recruit over summer, whilst also trimming the squad for financial purposes, to avoid a repeat of last year’s nightmare season. Derry and Abbott have done exactly that, with a plethora of comings and goings from the Nottingham club. The ‘pies have seen regular first-teamer Alan Sheehan leave on a free to Bradford City early on in pre-season which was a blow but one that was expected, with Sheehan’s wages a financial conundrum for the club. Further hampering the ‘pies was Jimmy Spencer’s season-long injury. On a positive note, Roy Carroll signed on a free from Olympiakos following an impressive trial period in pre-season, stringing a series of good performances together and impressing the manager. Carroll’s signing counters the exit of long-term Notts ‘keeper Barthosz Bialkowski who departed for Ipswich in the summer for an undisclosed fee. County have also secured the services of veterans Alan Smith and Hayden Mullins, the latter who played a part in the Magpies survival last season. Two of the youngsters from the academy, Brad McGowan and Harry Andrews have been rewarded central contracts and promoted to the first team which is a boost for the club’s academy. The full list of dealings are as follows:

Ins

Brad McGowan (Academy)
Harry Andrews (Academy)
Alan Smith (MK Dons)
Hayden Mullins (Birmingham City)
Liam Noble (Carlisle United)
Taylor McKenzie (Sheffield Wednesday)
Nicky Wroe (Preston North End)
Cieron Keane (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Zeli Ismail (On Loan From Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Garry Thompson (Bradford City)
Jake Cassidy (On Loan From Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Roy Carroll (Olympiakos)
Elliott Whitehouse (Sheffield United)

Outs

Bartosz Bialkowski (Ipswich Town)
Andre Boucard (Released)
Jamaal Cambell-Ryce (Sheffield United)
Adam Coombes (Released)
Mark Fotheringham (Released)
Andy Howarth (Cheltenham Town)
Joss Labadie (Torquay United)
Malachi Lavelle-Moore (Released)
Dean Leacock (Released)
Gary Liddle (Bradford City)
Romello Nangle (Released)
Gareth Roberts (Released)
Alan Sheehan (Bradford City)
Enoch Showumni (Loan Expired)
Manny Smith (Released)

 

---

 Pre-season results

Notts 2 – 0 Osasuna
Notts 0 – 4 Birmingham City
FC Halifax Town 1 – 0 Notts
Carlton Town 0 – 4 Notts
Notts 1 – 3 Derby County
Rolls Royce Leisure 1 – 4 Notts
Mansfield Town 3 – 1 Notts

 

The Magpies’ curtain-raiser is away at Preston on August 9th. Further information  can be found at: http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/article/ticket-details-preston-north-end-v-notts-county-sky-bet-league-1-1759489.aspx

 

 

Notts County announce club partnership with Arnold Town

Notts County have announced a partnership of mutual benefit with local side Arnold Town. The agreement forges an official link between the clubs, meaning that the Magpies are able to use the Arnold ground for training for the next two seasons, and have announced a pre-season friendly with the club, taking place on Wednesday 9th July (KO 19:30). It is likely that Notts will send players on loan to Arnold for first-team experience, with Derry previously mentioning his intention to make full use of the Magpies’ youth academy. The move is also instrumental in promoting grass roots football, with the benefit for Arnold Town being that it should, potentially, bring more revenue into the club through the agreement.

Chief executive, Jim Rodwell commented:

“I am delighted to have finalised this agreement and would firstly like to thank everyone that we have dealt with at Arnold Town for their professionalism and cooperation in getting this over the line.

“In Eagle Valley we have found a first class training base for the club and I hope that this is just the start of a long and successful partnership between our two clubs.”

The Meadow Lane ground staff doing an excellent job on the pitch. [Credit: Notts County Facebook page]

Meanwhile, the ground staff are working hard on the Meadow Lane pitch ahead of the pre-season, ready for when the players return to full training on June 29th with the season beginning in August, away at Preston. It was discussed last season that the constant wear and tear due to usage by Nottingham Rugby and Notts County Ladies, as well as the men’s team, was detrimental to the quality of football, with the converse view being that the other teams bring in considerable gate revenue. Decisions are yet to be made on the future of this agreement.

 

World Cup Roundup – The champions are out!

Spain on their haunches following a woeful early exit [Reuters.com]

The world cup in Brazil has brought us many things over the first week; squiggly foam, dreadful defending, goal-line technology, goals, goals, more goals, and a sprinkle of more goals for good measure. To date, there have seen sixty goals in the past seven days. Why is this? A lack of top quality centre-backs? A proverbial purple patch for attacking players? Probably a combination of both.

To take the recently relegated Spain; Pique and Ramos have been terrible and the pacey, ever-threatening Jordi Alba was non-existent. Coming up against an Arjen Robben in the form of his life, and a resurgent Robin Van Persie, there was no contest. There are a lot of strikers either in-form, or with a point to prove in this tournament, whilst the centre-backs are not up to the same standard. Even England and Italy, who both have a rich history of world class defenders, will admit their defences are the weak points.

It has probably been one of the more open world cups too, with a host of teams now in with a chance of winning. Pre-tournament, the same names of Argentina, Germany, Spain and Brazil were cited as likely winners, but with the holders Spain now eliminated, the hosts Brazil looking nervous under home pressure, and Argentina’s history of peaking early, it is wide open.

A number of teams have staked their claims to the trophy after the first round of matches too; Netherlands demolished Spain and saw out an uncomfortable but professional victory over a dogged Australian side, Croatia are the in-form team, and Chile put Spain to the sword with apparent ease. Italy, despite not having much second half possession, looked a classy side against England, who themselves showed an attacking verve not seen since the 90s.

Germany and France, as ever, are colossal threats despite a pre-world cup fall-out between the manager of France and a couple of the players. No European side has ever won a South American world cup, but there could well be one this year.

The openness of the Brazilian world cup is not only down to teams underachieving, but aside from Cameroon and Iran, the lower ranked teams in the tournament have proven to be a challenge. Australia are the lowest ranked team and they can be very disappointed to be on 0 points following spirited performances against Chile and Netherlands respectively.

Costa Rica also surprised Uruguay with a commanding 3-1 win. Full credit goes to their coaches for the way they have set up against the top teams. A favourable formation seen fairly often so far, mastered by Chile, has been the 3-5-2/5-3-2 formation, with the full-backs functioning more as wing-backs; the whole set-up revolving round their stamina and ability to provide the overlap for creative midfielders, whilst also tracking back. These guys are the fittest players in the tournament. Many teams have also opted to simply play five in midfield with the 4-2-3-1; it floods the midfield with creativity and provides the striker with a wealth of opportunities (in theory).

Spain being eliminated in the first round is a catastrophic loss to the tournament, but Chile’s success is refreshing and might just spur some of the other dark horses on, creating more potential ‘cupsets’.

Pre-match: Oldham vs Notts

Grealish speaks to the press ahead of Oldham (Credit: Notts County Football Club)

After a strong 2-0 win against promotion hopefuls Swindon on Saturday, and relegation rivals Tranmere and Crewe failing to pick up points, Notts go into the last game of the season two points ahead of the drop, knowing that a single point away at Oldham will secure their survival, due to superior goal difference. Ahead of the Oldham game, Derry commented that:

It [Swindon] was an elation…this weekend is a huge game though. I don’t want to go with a defensive line-up…we need to play our football which has given us success.

Notts are currently fourth in the League One form table after a phenomenal spell, winning five games out of seven, and rescuing themselves from 10 points adrift at the bottom of the table. The Magpies, despite not needing any extra motivation ahead of their most important match of the season, will have taken note of what Oldham manager Lee Johnson mentioned ahead of the fixture however:

“I want our crowd to go for the jugular and help try to send a team down, without being too disrespectful.”

Notts will miss Hayden Mullins however, who was recalled to his parent club Birmingham earlier in the week, following a spate of injuries at the Midlands club who are also in a relegation battle of their own.County fans will take heart from the kind words said by the experienced Mullins about his young centre-half partner Haydn Hollis, who has become a regular in Derry’s team in recent weeks. It is expected that either Sheehan or Liddle will drop to centre half alongside Hollis, with Roberts or Vela filling their roles respectively, depending on the formation.

Derry hopes to bring Mullins back to Meadow Lane in the summer however:

It’s a blow, he was a leader for us, but somebody else will get an opportunity…I would love to bring Hayden back to the club in the summer though.

Looking back on the season, he acknowledged that the club had come a long way since he had arrived at the club, with togetherness of the squad being a prime reason for County’s resurgence. Looking ahead to next season, Derry wants to set out a plan that links the first team closer to the youth team, citing a potential set-up being that

‘I want 19 players who are ready to play for the first team, and the 5 or 6 who are training with the first team but are part of the u18s…I want to speed up the development squad, and then get some more young players into the Notts County team’

The young players involved with the side this season have been instrumental in the battle against relegation and have acquired a considerable amount of experience under pressure, taking them into next season. One in particular has been Jack Grealish, who earlier this week, was nominated for League One player of the month. Speaking to the press, ahead of his final game of the club before he goes back to Aston Villa, he praised his time at the club as being a great character builder:

Everything has changed since I joined County, it has helped my confidence…I have had Alan [Sheehan] behind me and reminding me of my defensive duties!

Commenting on the Oldham game, Grealish admitted: ‘I actually had a dream last night that we stayed up…I didn’t score though!’

League One table ahead of the final game of the season. Credit: (bbc.co.uk/sport)

Derry previews Swindon fixture

Derry speaks to the press. [Credit: Notts County Press Office]

With two games to go of the Football League season, the Magpies come up against a Swindon side which is still vying for a play-off spot. Notts go into the match, one point from safety after taking three points against Crawley on Easter Monday, but suffering a cruel 2-1 defeat at Ashton Gate at the hands of Bristol City, on Good Friday. Looking ahead of the tough fixture, Derry commented that:

This game brings up a different type of opposition…Swindon have to come here to win. They will have pressure on them, like us…John Gregory will have wanted to win on Monday, but Crawley didn’t need to win.

Looking back since he took over, the fans played a big part, which he has commented on in this weekend’s ‘The Mag’:

We have had some dark days away from home and here at Meadow lane, but they [the fans] have been right behind us. They will be a driving force for us…we’re the form team; you don’t get given that title, you earn it.

Though the Magpies are sitting one point from safety, they do have a superior goal difference to Carlisle, Tranmere, Colchester and Crewe, who are also battling to avoid the drop into League 2. All four have tough fixtures ahead, so Derry will hope to motivate his players to take at least four points from the next two games and ensure safety, results depending.

18	Colchester United	44	11	14	19	48	60	-12	47
19	Tranmere Rovers	44	12	11	21	51	75	-24	47
20	Crewe Alexandra	44	12	11	21	52	79	-27	47
21	Notts County	44	14	4	26	61	76	-15	46
22	Carlisle United	43	11	11	21	43	72	-29	44
23	Shrewsbury Town	44	9	14	21	41	60	-19	41
24	Stevenage	44	10	9	25	43	68	-25	39

Remaining fixtures

26/04/14

Bristol City v Crewe

Carlisle v Oldham

Colchester v Brentford

Leyton Orient

Notts County v Swindon

29/04/14

Crawley v Carlisle

03/05/14

Crewe v Bristol City

Oldham v Notts County

Tranmere v Bradford

Walsall v Colchester

Wolves v Carlisle

 

Looking forward to next season, the County manager speculated on the state of the pitch, given that Nottingham Rugby, and both the men’s and ladies’ team use the pitch every week, leading to a difficult situation for the ground staff:

‘It’s a Championship facility…I don’t know the contract [with Nottingham Rugby] and I understand that they have a business that they need to take care of too, I understand that…I just need to see what will help us get better and a better pitch will help that.’

Derry acknowledged the revenue that Nottingham Rugby does bring in however, and seeks talks over what can be done in order to help the facility progress.

 

Ellen White Injury blow for Notts County Ladies

After missing the first couple of games of the season, against Arsenal and Everton, Notts County Ladies have announced that striker Ellen White will face a period out of the game with a cruciate ligament injury, after picking it up in the final pre-season fixture against Durham ladies.

The England international was one of the Magpies marquee signings ahead of the new season, so it will come as a massive blow to the team, especially considering the standard recovery period for cruciate ligaments is around six months.

Jess Clarke, usually a wing forward has been selected at center forward in her absence, and has flourished, scoring three goals in the process, but White will be a loss as the season progresses and fatigue sets in.

The Magpies next face Aston Villa at Meadow Lane; Adults £6, Concessions £3