BRITAIN's most popular selling newspaper The Sun has made the unsurprising switch in its political allegiance from Labour to the Tories for the next general election.
The Sun's front page headline "Labour's Lost It" leaves readers in no doubt which party it will be supporting when the country goes to the polls next year.
The switch deals a mortal blow to the premiership of Gordon Brown just hours after his rallying call to Labour members in his conference speech in Brighton.
And it brings to an end 12 years of support for New Labour, which it first declared six weeks before the 1997 general election.
Tony Blair and his director of communications Alastair Campbell had courted owner Rupert Murdoch in the run-up to the landslide victory.
They put great importance on gaining The Sun's endorsement after the newspaper claimed to be the decisive factor in John Major's re-election in the 1992 general election.
On the eve of polling day, it famously ran a front-page image of then-Labour leader Neil Kinnock's head in a light bulb.
The picture was accompanied by the headline "If Kinnock Wins Today, Will The Last Person To Leave Britain Please Turn Out The Lights".
Then, although exit polls suggested a hung parliament, the result put Mr Major back into office and the paper declared "It Woz The Sun Wot Won It".
Despite this, the political influence of the newspaper on the public is much-debated and it is regarded by many simply to back the party already most likely to win.
Certainly, in 1997, Labour had been well ahead in the polls for some time when The Sun, which sells 3 million copies daily, finally declared its support.
And it's the same story for David Cameron's Conservative party this time around.
The Tories have been ahead in the polls since the infamous non-election in October 2007 and they now hold a comfortable lead of up to 16 points.
The latest poll by Ipsos-MORI even has Labour in third for the first time since February 1982, with the Conservatives on 36%, Labour on 24% and the Liberal Democrats on 25%.
Indeed, perhaps the only surprise in recent weeks has been the lack of an official declaration of support for the Tories from The Sun.
But it is now clear that the paper has held their announcement back in order to deal as big a blow as possible to the Prime Minister and his ailing administration.
And while it is easy to dismiss The Sun's pandering to the public, it is difficult to feel any sympathy for Mr Brown.
He and his party have introduced draconian laws onto the statute book, eroding the civil liberties of the general public.
Labour has also led the nation's forces into seemingly unending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Most incredibly of all, Labour seems to have forgotten about its grassroots support.
Of course, Mr Brown and his supporters will hark on about its credible first term achievements of the introduction of a minimum wage and the tax credits system.
But the fact of the matter now is that it is better financially to be on benefits than work for the minimum wage, and the tax credits system has long been a mess.
My personal view is that Mr Brown lost any credibility as Prime Minister in his last budget as Chancellor before he got the top job.
In that budget, he announced the removal of the 10 per cent starting rate income tax band from the following tax year.
I was working in the tax office at the time and was stunned to hear this.
With the aid of a calculator, it did not take me long to work out that this effectively forced anyone earning between £6,000 and £18,000 would pay more tax.
That included most members of my family and the majority of my friends. It was the last thing I expected a Labour Prime Minister to be doing.
A year later when the policy came into force, Mr Brown was Prime Minister and, unsurprisingly, there was a furore.
Realising his mistake, Mr Brown instructed new Chancellor Alastair Darling to reverse the policy by increasing the tax free allowance.
But it was too late - the original act had left its dirty mark and the damage had been done.
Even after the U-turn, there were still up to 1.3 million low-earning taxpayers for whom the allowance increase was insufficient.
Is it any wonder he no longer has the support of Britain's most populist rag?
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Sunday, 27 September 2009
So much for the "summer of rage"
AS THE late September sunshine gives way to the darkening nights and the chilly autumn winds, it seems a good time to reflect.
Back in February, there were dire warnings from the police of mass protests from the general public in a "summer of rage" faced with a deepening recession.
Superintendent David Hartshorn wrote in the Guardian that established activists "would be good at motivating people" who would not normally protest.
Supt Hartshorn added: "Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions changes that... Suddenly there is the opportunity to for people to mass protest.
"We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the sites as the highlight of what they see as a 'summer of rage'."
But, if nothing else, the aftermath of the G20 meeting in April centred on the tactics of the police, not the protestors.
While there were undoubtedly a few numpties in the crowd, who put out a window and looted the Royal Bank of Scotland, the decision of the police to employ kettling tactics on a 'peace camp' was rightly condemned for being excessive.
Worse followed in the days which followed after footage emerged of an apparently innocent man, Ian Tomlinson, being knocked to the ground by an officer. He died of a heart attack.
There was also video footage of officers failing to display ID numbers on their uniform, despite this being a requirement under Met Police rules.
Just a few weeks after the G20 controversy, the MPs were then involved in a huge scandal regarding their expenses.
The story unfolded in daily instalments, brought to us by the Daily Telegraph.
While the vast majority of us suspected that politicians were bending the rules as much as they could, I am sure I was not alone in being stunned by the extent of their cheek.
Flipping homes, avoiding Capital Gains Tax, and claiming for anything from swimming pools and moats to trouser presses, dog food and - of course - soft-core pornography. It was quite astonishing stuff.
But, again, the public response was markedly restrained.
There were some letters from disgusted of Tunbridge Wells in the newspapers and a kicking at the ballot box for the major parties in the European elections which caused a chaotic reshuffle in the government.
But nothing more than that - it would seem that the mass unemployed, now at 2.47 million, have largely suffered in silence.
For the rest of the summer, there have been the traditional moans about exams getting easier and MPs having too much time off - nothing out of the ordinary, though.
If anything, the police warnings in February just go to show how easy it is nowadays to put out a scaremongering story in the current society.
Back in February, there were dire warnings from the police of mass protests from the general public in a "summer of rage" faced with a deepening recession.
Superintendent David Hartshorn wrote in the Guardian that established activists "would be good at motivating people" who would not normally protest.
Supt Hartshorn added: "Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions changes that... Suddenly there is the opportunity to for people to mass protest.
"We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the sites as the highlight of what they see as a 'summer of rage'."
But, if nothing else, the aftermath of the G20 meeting in April centred on the tactics of the police, not the protestors.
While there were undoubtedly a few numpties in the crowd, who put out a window and looted the Royal Bank of Scotland, the decision of the police to employ kettling tactics on a 'peace camp' was rightly condemned for being excessive.
Worse followed in the days which followed after footage emerged of an apparently innocent man, Ian Tomlinson, being knocked to the ground by an officer. He died of a heart attack.
There was also video footage of officers failing to display ID numbers on their uniform, despite this being a requirement under Met Police rules.
Just a few weeks after the G20 controversy, the MPs were then involved in a huge scandal regarding their expenses.
The story unfolded in daily instalments, brought to us by the Daily Telegraph.
While the vast majority of us suspected that politicians were bending the rules as much as they could, I am sure I was not alone in being stunned by the extent of their cheek.
Flipping homes, avoiding Capital Gains Tax, and claiming for anything from swimming pools and moats to trouser presses, dog food and - of course - soft-core pornography. It was quite astonishing stuff.
But, again, the public response was markedly restrained.
There were some letters from disgusted of Tunbridge Wells in the newspapers and a kicking at the ballot box for the major parties in the European elections which caused a chaotic reshuffle in the government.
But nothing more than that - it would seem that the mass unemployed, now at 2.47 million, have largely suffered in silence.
For the rest of the summer, there have been the traditional moans about exams getting easier and MPs having too much time off - nothing out of the ordinary, though.
If anything, the police warnings in February just go to show how easy it is nowadays to put out a scaremongering story in the current society.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Liberal Democrats party conference: Clegg correct to reject Tory advances
NICK CLEGG closed the last Liberal Democrat party conference before the general election with a clear rejection of the Tories' advances.
In the Observer on Sunday, Conservative leader David Cameron cherry-picked policies on the third Heathrow runway, greener energy, ID cards and civil liberties.
Mr Cameron wrote that "there's barely a cigarette paper" on these issues between the parties and suggested they form an alliance to defeat their common enemy, Labour.
But, while making his speech on his wedding anniversary, Mr Clegg immediately rejected the Tory woos.
And rightly so, as for the good of British politics, I believe we need a Liberal Democrat party with a distinctive identity.
Unfortunately, distinction has been something which has troubled Mr Clegg in a tough week in Bournemouth.
High profile party members have grumbled that he has put their policy of scrapping tuition fees on the backburner, with him citing the need to save money in a recession.
This is despite it being something which had served them well according to former leader Charles Kennedy and it certainly attracted a lot of votes from students in 2005.
Mr Clegg was also criticised from members inside his party for using the term "savage" to describe the cuts which his party would make.
But he confirmed that much of this would be concentrated on freezing the salaries of executives and this sounds no bad thing to me.
It would stop incompetents like Paul Gray, former chairman at HMRC, picking up a £190,000 salary while leading a chaotic department merger which ended up with lost Child Benefit discs.
Other policy ideas also paint the Lib Dems as a progressive and radical force.
They were the first party to suggest a tax rate of 50 per cent on incomes above £100,000 before Labour adopted the policy.
And the Lib Dems remain the only party which would raise the personal allowance to £10,000, taking over four million people out of paying income tax.
Their position on scrapping the financial blackhole that is Trident is also something with which I agree, and they accurately predicted the carnage which would occur in Iraq.
Notably, they emerged from the Daily Telegraph's expenses revelations relatively unscathed - and certainly did so as compared to their Labour and Conservative counterparts.
While I accept the Lib Dems will not come close to winning the next election and Mr Clegg is unlikely ever to be Prime Minister, I would still like to see the party increase their representation.
The Lib Dems currently have 63 seats. This compares favourably with 46 seats when Labour came to power in 1997 and just 20 seats after the 1992 election.
But the first-past-the-post system still fails to reflect their vote and it is likely the party will lose several seats to the Tory juggernaut in the south.
It is therefore the disenchanted Labour voters in the north where the Lib Dems need to capitalise with a progressive manifesto.
They already control several important councils in Labour strongholds, including Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield, and Mr Clegg should be looking to take advantage of a weary Labour government in a national election.
Of course, if the Lib Dems are successful in increasing their number at the expense of Labour, it will have the inadvertent effect of helping Mr Cameron into office.
But, importantly, the Lib Dems would be gaining seats on their own terms at least and not on behalf of the Tories.
In the Observer on Sunday, Conservative leader David Cameron cherry-picked policies on the third Heathrow runway, greener energy, ID cards and civil liberties.
Mr Cameron wrote that "there's barely a cigarette paper" on these issues between the parties and suggested they form an alliance to defeat their common enemy, Labour.
But, while making his speech on his wedding anniversary, Mr Clegg immediately rejected the Tory woos.
And rightly so, as for the good of British politics, I believe we need a Liberal Democrat party with a distinctive identity.
Unfortunately, distinction has been something which has troubled Mr Clegg in a tough week in Bournemouth.
High profile party members have grumbled that he has put their policy of scrapping tuition fees on the backburner, with him citing the need to save money in a recession.
This is despite it being something which had served them well according to former leader Charles Kennedy and it certainly attracted a lot of votes from students in 2005.
Mr Clegg was also criticised from members inside his party for using the term "savage" to describe the cuts which his party would make.
But he confirmed that much of this would be concentrated on freezing the salaries of executives and this sounds no bad thing to me.
It would stop incompetents like Paul Gray, former chairman at HMRC, picking up a £190,000 salary while leading a chaotic department merger which ended up with lost Child Benefit discs.
Other policy ideas also paint the Lib Dems as a progressive and radical force.
They were the first party to suggest a tax rate of 50 per cent on incomes above £100,000 before Labour adopted the policy.
And the Lib Dems remain the only party which would raise the personal allowance to £10,000, taking over four million people out of paying income tax.
Their position on scrapping the financial blackhole that is Trident is also something with which I agree, and they accurately predicted the carnage which would occur in Iraq.
Notably, they emerged from the Daily Telegraph's expenses revelations relatively unscathed - and certainly did so as compared to their Labour and Conservative counterparts.
While I accept the Lib Dems will not come close to winning the next election and Mr Clegg is unlikely ever to be Prime Minister, I would still like to see the party increase their representation.
The Lib Dems currently have 63 seats. This compares favourably with 46 seats when Labour came to power in 1997 and just 20 seats after the 1992 election.
But the first-past-the-post system still fails to reflect their vote and it is likely the party will lose several seats to the Tory juggernaut in the south.
It is therefore the disenchanted Labour voters in the north where the Lib Dems need to capitalise with a progressive manifesto.
They already control several important councils in Labour strongholds, including Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield, and Mr Clegg should be looking to take advantage of a weary Labour government in a national election.
Of course, if the Lib Dems are successful in increasing their number at the expense of Labour, it will have the inadvertent effect of helping Mr Cameron into office.
But, importantly, the Lib Dems would be gaining seats on their own terms at least and not on behalf of the Tories.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
The Great North Run: A moment of personal pride in my family
MARTIN LEL might have won the Great North Run for the second time in three years but it was not his performance this time that I was really looking out for.
While the Kenyan's time of 59 minutes 32 seconds was undoubtedly impressive, my mam and my sister were also among a throng of 54,000 running the 13.1 miles between Newcastle and South Shields.
On an unseasonably warm September day, both found the going tough as the sun beat down on their weary bodies.
But, after overcoming the psychological barrier of 10 miles, they hung on and reached the final mile along the sea front.
It was the homecoming mile and the end not only to their race but what mam later called an "unforgettable experience".
For the record, my sister - running with work friends - finished in 2hrs 40minutes while my mam found participants of similar ability in the crowd to finish just under an hour further behind.
The times didn't really matter, though - certainly not to my mam, who achieved her stated aim of completing the Great North Run by the age of 50.
She turns 50 at the start of December and, having now done it once, she is proud enough of that fact and does not expect to participate in the event again.
My sister, at 23 years old, is a keen gym-goer but even she has no desire to follow Eddie Izzard's lead after the comedian's recent feat of 43 full marathons in just 51 days.
Nevertheless, I am very proud of them both and indeed of all the runners who took part in the largest half marathon in the world on Sunday.
The event has never been more popular since it was first devised in 1981 by former Olympic bronze medallist Brendan Foster.
It raises huge amounts for charity every year and has now become an institution itself - a major part of the North East calendar.
In this year's competitive races, Lel ran the second fastest winning time in the event's history to win a tight men's contest by just 12 seconds from his fellow Kenyan Kiplimo Kimutai.
Portugal's Jessica Augusto was a surprise but clear winner of the women's race, completing the course in 1hr 9 minutes and 8 seconds.
In the men's wheelchair race, David Weir broke the course record with a time of 41 minutes 34 seconds, and the women's race was won by Amanda McGrory who clocked 49 minutes 47 seconds.
Personally, I've always fancied myself as a bit of a long-distance runner and going for a run is something which I will do if I want to clear my head.
But, to my shame, I have only ever run one official UK Athletics race when I finished the 2003 Blaydon Race, a distance of 5.7 miles, in 55m 36s.
After seeing the pride in the faces of my mam and my sister, though, the temptation of completing this personal achievement has never been greater. Maybe next year...Thursday, 17 September 2009
The Season 2009/10 - August-September: Chelsea make early running
Premier League
Full table
CARLO ANCELOTTI's reign as Chelsea manager could not have got off to a better start as a last gasp win at Stoke made it five wins out of five and put his side top of the Premier League.
Ancelotti's Blues have enjoyed league wins against Hull City and Burnley at home, and Sunderland, Fulham and Stoke City on the road to produce their perfect record.
In pursuit on 12 points, are the two clubs from Manchester. United have lost just once but it was a shocker as newly promoted Burnley were sent into dreamland by Robbie Blake's winner in a 1-0 win.
City, like Chelsea, have a 100 percent record but have played a game less than their principle rivals.
Their latest victory, 4-2 against Arsenal at home, seemed to prove their top four credentials after their big-spending summer.
But the conduct of Emmanuel Adebayor - who ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans - looks set to rule him out of next weekend's derby against United.
Tottenham Hotspur are also on 12 points and round off the top four, having suffered their first defeat of the season, 3-1 at home against Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions.
Spurs face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend and will be looking to avoid further tainting an impressive start which has been notable for the form of England striker Jermaine Defoe.
Currently outside the top four by three points, Liverpool have already suffered two league defeats this season - the same amount as the whole of the last campaign when they finished runners-up.
It remains to be seen how costly the losses to Tottenham and Aston Villa will be at the end of the season but it would appear the Reds have only just got into their stride with their 4-0 thrashing of Burnley.
Villa have bounced back from an opening day loss against Wigan Athletic to win their other three matches - including the Birmingham derby 1-0 - and join Liverpool on nine points, with a game in hand on the Reds.
Sunderland have started in better form than usual under new manager Steve Bruce. The Black Cats are also on nine points after wins against Bolton Wanderers away, and Blackburn Rovers and Hull City at home.
At the bottom, Portsmouth fans must be already getting worried after their team's opening five matches resulted in precisely no return.
Five straight defeats is Pompey's worst ever start to a Premier League season and the pressure is on manager Paul Hart to gain a result at Villa Park this Saturday.
Pompey are joined in the bottom three by Bolton, who gained their first win and points of the season last weekend at Fratton Park in a topsy-turvy encounter which finished 3-2.
And, surprisingly, Everton complete the struggling trio with just one win and three points which came against Wigan Athletic.
But both they and Bolton have a game in hand on the sides which are immediately above them - Hull City, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, all of whom are on four points.
The Tigers look set for another long relegation struggle especially if their leaky defence continues to perform so poorly.
Phil Brown's team have shipped five goals against Spurs and four at Sunderland with only a 1-0 home win against Bolton and a point at Wolves providing any solace.
Wolves' away success at Wigan is their only league win while fellow newly-promoted side Birmingham City have also only won once in the league - unsurprisingly against Portsmouth.
The third promoted team, Burnley, provide most hope of a survivor at present.
The Clarets have had two outstanding home wins against Manchester United and Everton, but they have also suffered three straight away losses - the latest, a 4-0 mauling at Anfield.
The Championship
Full table
RELEGATED trio West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United have quickly found their feet to fill the top three places in the early Championship table.
West Brom are top, with five wins and 17 points from their opening seven games with Boro and Newcastle just a point behind.
Boro's only defeat came away at Bristol City while Newcastle lost at Blackpool to bring to an end five straight wins without conceding. Boro meet West Brom at the Riverside Stadium this coming weekend.
There is then a three-point gap to Cardiff City, who enjoyed two comfortable wins at their new stadium before losing to Newcastle.
And the Bluebirds are followed by a whole clutch of clubs on 12 points - Preston North End, Sheffield United, Watford, Bristol City and newly promoted Leicester City.
Ipswich Town were fancied to be among that group but Roy Keane's side have suffered a woeful start to the season.
The Tractor Boys are still without a win after seven matches with just three points to show for their efforts.
Only Plymouth Argyle are below them, the Pilgrims having only taken two points, with the long trip to Newcastle next on the fixture list.
Barnsley picked up their first win at the seventh attempt under new manager Mark Robins to leapfrog Ipswich and Plymouth.
The Tykes beat Derby County away to give Robins an early boost after previous manager Simon Davey became the first Championship manager to be sacked having taken just one point from 15.
Another struggle looks likely for the Yorkshire club, however.
Other slow starters include newly promoted Peterborough United on four points, Crystal Palace on five points and two clubs on six points - Swansea City and Reading - who are both finding life tough after summer managerial changes.
League One
Full table
UNBEATEN heavyweights Charlton Athletic and Leeds United enjoy an early four-point lead over the chasing pack after seven matches in League One.
Charlton have put their nightmare Championship season in 2008-09 behind them in some style, starting the season with six successive wins before a draw at Southampton halted the run.
Simon Grayson's Leeds also won their first six matches, a club record, and join Phil Parkinson's Addicks on 19 points.
While there is no surprise about the top two, Bristol Rovers have made an impressive start and are third with five wins and 15 points.
But the Pirates will do well to hold on to that position by the end of the season having sold talisman Ricky Lambert to struggling Southampton.
Free-scoring Huddersfield Town are in fourth on 14 points and Lee Clark's men are top scorers in all the English leagues with 25 goals in all competitions so far.
Behind the Terriers on goal difference only are Milton Keynes Dons under the tutelage of Paul Ince for a second time after Roberto Di Matteo's departure to West Brom.
The playoff places are rounded off by Swindon Town on 12 points. The Robins have recovered well from a 5-0 mauling against Gillingham in their opening game to take three wins and three draws from their next six.
Colchester United in seventh had a rather different opening day experience to Swindon. The U's beat Norwich City 7-1 at Carrow Road in an extraordinary match but the result ultimately cost them their manager.
Paul Lambert moved into the vacant hotseat at midtable Norwich after the thrashing proved to be the end for Bryan Gunn. Aidy Boothroyd is the new man at Colchester.
At the bottom, Southampton remain the only League One side without a win and have only managed to halve their points deduction so far with five draws.
John Barnes' Tranmere Rovers have also made a woeful start, with a solitary win providing their only points so far this season.
Rovers' leaky backline have conceded 18 league goals already and it is now six successive defeats for Barnes' men in all competitions.
Newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers have so far found life tough at this higher level with just one win and five points.
Oldham Athletic complete the bottom four but they are part of a whole clutch of clubs on six points, the others being Exeter City, Leyton Orient, Stockport County and Yeovil Town.
League Two
Full table
WHILE most the talk in the run-up to the League Two season focused on Sven Goran Eriksson's decision to join Notts County, it is Bournemouth who top the table with seven matches played.
The Cherries, who did well to finish midtable last season despite a points deduction, have won six matches and taken 18 points in an impressive start.
Rotherham United are another club who stayed in the league despite a points penalty last season and have reaped the benefit of starting on a level playing field in this campaign.
The Millers are currently third on 16 points - but their good start has cost them their manager Mark Robins who has moved to Championship strugglers Barnsley.
Between Bournemouth and Rotherham, also on 16 points, are Dagenham and Redbridge who finished just one place outside the playoffs last season.
With four straight wins and 15 goals at Victoria Road, the Daggers certainly know how to entertain in this, their third season of league football since promotion from the Conference when they will hope to go one better.
Barnet continue to prove their doubters wrong to sit fourth with a strong start featuring four wins and two draws, giving them 14 points.
And Sven's Notts County can be found in fifth on 13 points. It is their away form of one win and two losses which prevents them from being any higher but the Magpies' home form of 10 points from 12 - and 14 goals - is much stronger and may prove decisive over a full season.
Crewe Alexandra and Cheltenham Town, who were both relegated last season, complete the playoff places on 12 points. Five teams are just outside on 11 points, including newly promoted Burton Albion.
Troubled Darlington prop up the whole of the Football League with just a single point from 21.
The Quakers spent much of the summer in administration and always looked set for a long hard struggle in this campaign.
Worryingly for Colin Todd's men, Darlo are already getting cut adrift with Hereford United as their next nearest strugglers on four points.
The Bulls were only just relegated from League One last season and so their early appearance in the relegation places comes somewhat of a surprise.
Hereford may not have won yet in this campaign but they have plenty of teams above them who they can catch.
Morecambe, five points, are also without a win while Grimsby Town look set to repeat their season-long struggle of last season on six points.
Also on six points, Bury have made a disastrous start to the season at home with four straight losses and no goals scored at Gigg Lane.
Macclesfield Town and newly promoted Torquay United are the last of the bunch of teams on six points.
Blue Square Premier
Full table
OXFORD UNITED have opened up a seven point lead over nearest rivals Luton Town after the opening ten matches of the Blue Square Premier season.
The U's have won eight and drawn two to be the early frontrunners on 26 points, ahead of the Luton who have an identical home record - four wins and a draw - but just one away win.
Stevenage Borough are in third, a further point back on 18 points but with a game in hand.
And Boro are joined on 18 points by surprise packages York City and Kettering in fourth and fifth respectively.
At the other end of the table, Luton fans will empathise with the current plight of Chester City who started the season on -25 after two deductions.
The Hatters also had two deductions last season which put them on -30 and gave them no chance of staying in the Football League.
This time it is Chester who have what looks to be an impossible task, although they have managed to reach -16 with two wins and three draws.
Forest Green Rovers are second bottom on three points and are the only team without a win. Salisbury City, on four points, and Grays Athletic, on six, are not much better off in the current standings.
Ebbsfleet United, Gateshead and Hayes & Yeading are all just outside the relegation zone on seven points.
Gateshead and Hayes & Yeading have played a match less - the one against each other which was abandoned after 75 minutes when the Gateshead team refused to resume after a horrific injury to one of their players.
But that could mean a costly deduction for the Tynesiders.
Full table
CARLO ANCELOTTI's reign as Chelsea manager could not have got off to a better start as a last gasp win at Stoke made it five wins out of five and put his side top of the Premier League.
Ancelotti's Blues have enjoyed league wins against Hull City and Burnley at home, and Sunderland, Fulham and Stoke City on the road to produce their perfect record.
In pursuit on 12 points, are the two clubs from Manchester. United have lost just once but it was a shocker as newly promoted Burnley were sent into dreamland by Robbie Blake's winner in a 1-0 win.
City, like Chelsea, have a 100 percent record but have played a game less than their principle rivals.
Their latest victory, 4-2 against Arsenal at home, seemed to prove their top four credentials after their big-spending summer.
But the conduct of Emmanuel Adebayor - who ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans - looks set to rule him out of next weekend's derby against United.
Tottenham Hotspur are also on 12 points and round off the top four, having suffered their first defeat of the season, 3-1 at home against Sir Alex Ferguson's reigning champions.
Spurs face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend and will be looking to avoid further tainting an impressive start which has been notable for the form of England striker Jermaine Defoe.
Currently outside the top four by three points, Liverpool have already suffered two league defeats this season - the same amount as the whole of the last campaign when they finished runners-up.
It remains to be seen how costly the losses to Tottenham and Aston Villa will be at the end of the season but it would appear the Reds have only just got into their stride with their 4-0 thrashing of Burnley.
Villa have bounced back from an opening day loss against Wigan Athletic to win their other three matches - including the Birmingham derby 1-0 - and join Liverpool on nine points, with a game in hand on the Reds.
Sunderland have started in better form than usual under new manager Steve Bruce. The Black Cats are also on nine points after wins against Bolton Wanderers away, and Blackburn Rovers and Hull City at home.
At the bottom, Portsmouth fans must be already getting worried after their team's opening five matches resulted in precisely no return.
Five straight defeats is Pompey's worst ever start to a Premier League season and the pressure is on manager Paul Hart to gain a result at Villa Park this Saturday.
Pompey are joined in the bottom three by Bolton, who gained their first win and points of the season last weekend at Fratton Park in a topsy-turvy encounter which finished 3-2.
And, surprisingly, Everton complete the struggling trio with just one win and three points which came against Wigan Athletic.
But both they and Bolton have a game in hand on the sides which are immediately above them - Hull City, Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, all of whom are on four points.
The Tigers look set for another long relegation struggle especially if their leaky defence continues to perform so poorly.
Phil Brown's team have shipped five goals against Spurs and four at Sunderland with only a 1-0 home win against Bolton and a point at Wolves providing any solace.
Wolves' away success at Wigan is their only league win while fellow newly-promoted side Birmingham City have also only won once in the league - unsurprisingly against Portsmouth.
The third promoted team, Burnley, provide most hope of a survivor at present.
The Clarets have had two outstanding home wins against Manchester United and Everton, but they have also suffered three straight away losses - the latest, a 4-0 mauling at Anfield.
The Championship
Full table
RELEGATED trio West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United have quickly found their feet to fill the top three places in the early Championship table.
West Brom are top, with five wins and 17 points from their opening seven games with Boro and Newcastle just a point behind.
Boro's only defeat came away at Bristol City while Newcastle lost at Blackpool to bring to an end five straight wins without conceding. Boro meet West Brom at the Riverside Stadium this coming weekend.
There is then a three-point gap to Cardiff City, who enjoyed two comfortable wins at their new stadium before losing to Newcastle.
And the Bluebirds are followed by a whole clutch of clubs on 12 points - Preston North End, Sheffield United, Watford, Bristol City and newly promoted Leicester City.
Ipswich Town were fancied to be among that group but Roy Keane's side have suffered a woeful start to the season.
The Tractor Boys are still without a win after seven matches with just three points to show for their efforts.
Only Plymouth Argyle are below them, the Pilgrims having only taken two points, with the long trip to Newcastle next on the fixture list.
Barnsley picked up their first win at the seventh attempt under new manager Mark Robins to leapfrog Ipswich and Plymouth.
The Tykes beat Derby County away to give Robins an early boost after previous manager Simon Davey became the first Championship manager to be sacked having taken just one point from 15.
Another struggle looks likely for the Yorkshire club, however.
Other slow starters include newly promoted Peterborough United on four points, Crystal Palace on five points and two clubs on six points - Swansea City and Reading - who are both finding life tough after summer managerial changes.
League One
Full table
UNBEATEN heavyweights Charlton Athletic and Leeds United enjoy an early four-point lead over the chasing pack after seven matches in League One.
Charlton have put their nightmare Championship season in 2008-09 behind them in some style, starting the season with six successive wins before a draw at Southampton halted the run.
Simon Grayson's Leeds also won their first six matches, a club record, and join Phil Parkinson's Addicks on 19 points.
While there is no surprise about the top two, Bristol Rovers have made an impressive start and are third with five wins and 15 points.
But the Pirates will do well to hold on to that position by the end of the season having sold talisman Ricky Lambert to struggling Southampton.
Free-scoring Huddersfield Town are in fourth on 14 points and Lee Clark's men are top scorers in all the English leagues with 25 goals in all competitions so far.
Behind the Terriers on goal difference only are Milton Keynes Dons under the tutelage of Paul Ince for a second time after Roberto Di Matteo's departure to West Brom.
The playoff places are rounded off by Swindon Town on 12 points. The Robins have recovered well from a 5-0 mauling against Gillingham in their opening game to take three wins and three draws from their next six.
Colchester United in seventh had a rather different opening day experience to Swindon. The U's beat Norwich City 7-1 at Carrow Road in an extraordinary match but the result ultimately cost them their manager.
Paul Lambert moved into the vacant hotseat at midtable Norwich after the thrashing proved to be the end for Bryan Gunn. Aidy Boothroyd is the new man at Colchester.
At the bottom, Southampton remain the only League One side without a win and have only managed to halve their points deduction so far with five draws.
John Barnes' Tranmere Rovers have also made a woeful start, with a solitary win providing their only points so far this season.
Rovers' leaky backline have conceded 18 league goals already and it is now six successive defeats for Barnes' men in all competitions.
Newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers have so far found life tough at this higher level with just one win and five points.
Oldham Athletic complete the bottom four but they are part of a whole clutch of clubs on six points, the others being Exeter City, Leyton Orient, Stockport County and Yeovil Town.
League Two
Full table
WHILE most the talk in the run-up to the League Two season focused on Sven Goran Eriksson's decision to join Notts County, it is Bournemouth who top the table with seven matches played.
The Cherries, who did well to finish midtable last season despite a points deduction, have won six matches and taken 18 points in an impressive start.
Rotherham United are another club who stayed in the league despite a points penalty last season and have reaped the benefit of starting on a level playing field in this campaign.
The Millers are currently third on 16 points - but their good start has cost them their manager Mark Robins who has moved to Championship strugglers Barnsley.
Between Bournemouth and Rotherham, also on 16 points, are Dagenham and Redbridge who finished just one place outside the playoffs last season.
With four straight wins and 15 goals at Victoria Road, the Daggers certainly know how to entertain in this, their third season of league football since promotion from the Conference when they will hope to go one better.
Barnet continue to prove their doubters wrong to sit fourth with a strong start featuring four wins and two draws, giving them 14 points.
And Sven's Notts County can be found in fifth on 13 points. It is their away form of one win and two losses which prevents them from being any higher but the Magpies' home form of 10 points from 12 - and 14 goals - is much stronger and may prove decisive over a full season.
Crewe Alexandra and Cheltenham Town, who were both relegated last season, complete the playoff places on 12 points. Five teams are just outside on 11 points, including newly promoted Burton Albion.
Troubled Darlington prop up the whole of the Football League with just a single point from 21.
The Quakers spent much of the summer in administration and always looked set for a long hard struggle in this campaign.
Worryingly for Colin Todd's men, Darlo are already getting cut adrift with Hereford United as their next nearest strugglers on four points.
The Bulls were only just relegated from League One last season and so their early appearance in the relegation places comes somewhat of a surprise.
Hereford may not have won yet in this campaign but they have plenty of teams above them who they can catch.
Morecambe, five points, are also without a win while Grimsby Town look set to repeat their season-long struggle of last season on six points.
Also on six points, Bury have made a disastrous start to the season at home with four straight losses and no goals scored at Gigg Lane.
Macclesfield Town and newly promoted Torquay United are the last of the bunch of teams on six points.
Blue Square Premier
Full table
OXFORD UNITED have opened up a seven point lead over nearest rivals Luton Town after the opening ten matches of the Blue Square Premier season.
The U's have won eight and drawn two to be the early frontrunners on 26 points, ahead of the Luton who have an identical home record - four wins and a draw - but just one away win.
Stevenage Borough are in third, a further point back on 18 points but with a game in hand.
And Boro are joined on 18 points by surprise packages York City and Kettering in fourth and fifth respectively.
At the other end of the table, Luton fans will empathise with the current plight of Chester City who started the season on -25 after two deductions.
The Hatters also had two deductions last season which put them on -30 and gave them no chance of staying in the Football League.
This time it is Chester who have what looks to be an impossible task, although they have managed to reach -16 with two wins and three draws.
Forest Green Rovers are second bottom on three points and are the only team without a win. Salisbury City, on four points, and Grays Athletic, on six, are not much better off in the current standings.
Ebbsfleet United, Gateshead and Hayes & Yeading are all just outside the relegation zone on seven points.
Gateshead and Hayes & Yeading have played a match less - the one against each other which was abandoned after 75 minutes when the Gateshead team refused to resume after a horrific injury to one of their players.
But that could mean a costly deduction for the Tynesiders.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
One-day cricket: England avoid one-day series whitewash
ENGLAND avoided a 7-0 whitewash as they won the final one-day international at the Riverside by four wickets.
Notts spinner Graeme Swann was man of the match as he took career-best figures of 5-28 to dismiss Australia for 176 before England laboured to their target.
But this consolation victory will come as little comfort for the England fans who have seen their team thoroughly outplayed in this series.
Remarkably, England found themselves 5-0 down after the first five matches despite Andrew Strauss having won the toss each time.
He also won the toss in the seventh match, making the final outcome six correct calls to one.
After a close run opening game ended in defeat, brittle batting meant England failed to complete their overs three times, twice at Lord's and once at Trent Bridge.
It also meant they were unable to set a sufficient target at the Rose Bowl and even a high-score against Australia of 299 was not enough on a sedate batting surface.
Even this time in victory, England nearly managed to make a mess of it after a fine opening stand of 106 from the irrepressible Strauss (47) and Joe Denly (53).
From 106-0, they collapsed to 162-6 but Paul Collingwood (13 not out) on his home ground and Tim Bresnan (10 not out) ensured there would not be a seventh loss.
But the series has still been an embarrassment for England who now travel to South Africa to play more 50-overs cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Hopes will not be high after this drubbing.
The deficiencies of their limited overs team as a batting unit without Kevin Pietersen have been cruelly exposed by a well-drilled team intent on taking some joy from a hitherto long, miserable summer.
Australia were knocked out in the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup on these shores before losing the Ashes series 2-1.
But it is a good job for England's sake that the urn is not a shiny trophy - or else, it would have already lost some of its shine.
For the record:
1st ODI (The Oval): Australia 260-5 beat England 256-8 by four runs. Scorecard
2nd ODI (Lord's): Australia 249-8 beat England 210 by 39 runs. Scorecard
3rd ODI (The Rose Bowl): Australia 230-4 beat England 228-9 by six wickets. Scorecard
4th ODI (Lord's): Australia 221-3 beat England 220 by seven wickets. Scorecard
5th ODI (Trent Bridge): Australia 302-6 beat England 299 by four wickets. Scorecard
6th ODI (Trent Bridge): Australia 296-8 beat England 185 by 111 runs. Scorecard
7th ODI (Riverside): England 177-6 beat Australia 176 by four wickets. Scorecard
***
EARLIER REPORT AFTER FIVE MATCHES:
ENGLAND went 5-0 down and face the prospect of a whitewash in the one-day international cricket series against Australia after a four-wicket defeat at Trent Bridge.
The latest loss comes despite captain Andrew Strauss winning the toss for the fifth consecutive time.
In fairness to tonight's effort, England gave their best performance with the bat all series to score 299, a record by an England team against Australia in 50 overs.
But Ricky Ponting capitalised on some poor fielding to score 126 off 109 balls as the tourists held their nerve to win with 10 balls remaining.
Before this match, it had been England's batting which had gave most cause for concern with only Strauss performing with any consistency.
In the first match at The Oval, the scene of their Ashes triumph, England elected to field and Australia's total of 260 looked an achievable target.
But the hosts started slowly and lost wickets regularly, leaving the tail with just too much to do as they lost by four runs.
After that tight finish, hopes for another competitive series were high but England are clearly missing big-hitter Kevin Pietersen and have performed woefully since.
Strauss again chose to field in the second match at Lord's and this time Australia could only manage 249 runs from the 50 overs.
But it was more than enough to beat England who were all out for 210 in 46.1 overs with only Strauss (47) and Paul Collingwood (56) managing more than 30 runs.
In the third match at the Rose Bowl, England changed their tactics and chose to bat first.
It made little difference, though. Only Strauss (63) and Eoin Morgan (43) were the only real contributors to a measly total of 228 off a full 50 overs.
Australia made short work of the reply as Cameron White (150) and Michael Clarke (52) enjoyed a 143-run partnership in a six wicket victory.
In the fourth match, back at Lord's, England managed their most abject performance yet.
Batting first, they collapsed from 96-1 to 220 all out as they failed to last their 50 overs for the second time in the series.
Again Strauss scored 63 but the next highest individual score was 39 from Owais Shah.
Australia knocked off the runs with more than six overs to spare and have belatedly found something to celebrate about this tour after defeats in the Twenty20 World Cup and The Ashes on these shores.
Of course, the Aussies responded to their 2005 loss with a whitewash in the 2006-07 Test series.
And while this time many of the faces have changed and indeed the format of cricket is different, the riposte has been no less striking.
By Strauss's own admission, England remain a pretty inconsistent Test side. But, by that standard, their one-day international line-up without Pietersen is awful.
Even with KP, England frailties with the bat down the order ensure they remain a limited side in limited overs cricket.
It is of no surprise that they are capable of no higher than sixth in the ICC ODI rankings.
It will also be no surprise if Australia complete another post-Ashes whitewash with further wins at Trent Bridge and the Riverside.
Only, this time, it will have come 18 months sooner.
Notts spinner Graeme Swann was man of the match as he took career-best figures of 5-28 to dismiss Australia for 176 before England laboured to their target.
But this consolation victory will come as little comfort for the England fans who have seen their team thoroughly outplayed in this series.
Remarkably, England found themselves 5-0 down after the first five matches despite Andrew Strauss having won the toss each time.
He also won the toss in the seventh match, making the final outcome six correct calls to one.
After a close run opening game ended in defeat, brittle batting meant England failed to complete their overs three times, twice at Lord's and once at Trent Bridge.
It also meant they were unable to set a sufficient target at the Rose Bowl and even a high-score against Australia of 299 was not enough on a sedate batting surface.
Even this time in victory, England nearly managed to make a mess of it after a fine opening stand of 106 from the irrepressible Strauss (47) and Joe Denly (53).
From 106-0, they collapsed to 162-6 but Paul Collingwood (13 not out) on his home ground and Tim Bresnan (10 not out) ensured there would not be a seventh loss.
But the series has still been an embarrassment for England who now travel to South Africa to play more 50-overs cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Hopes will not be high after this drubbing.
The deficiencies of their limited overs team as a batting unit without Kevin Pietersen have been cruelly exposed by a well-drilled team intent on taking some joy from a hitherto long, miserable summer.
Australia were knocked out in the first round of the Twenty20 World Cup on these shores before losing the Ashes series 2-1.
But it is a good job for England's sake that the urn is not a shiny trophy - or else, it would have already lost some of its shine.
For the record:
1st ODI (The Oval): Australia 260-5 beat England 256-8 by four runs. Scorecard
2nd ODI (Lord's): Australia 249-8 beat England 210 by 39 runs. Scorecard
3rd ODI (The Rose Bowl): Australia 230-4 beat England 228-9 by six wickets. Scorecard
4th ODI (Lord's): Australia 221-3 beat England 220 by seven wickets. Scorecard
5th ODI (Trent Bridge): Australia 302-6 beat England 299 by four wickets. Scorecard
6th ODI (Trent Bridge): Australia 296-8 beat England 185 by 111 runs. Scorecard
7th ODI (Riverside): England 177-6 beat Australia 176 by four wickets. Scorecard
***
EARLIER REPORT AFTER FIVE MATCHES:
ENGLAND went 5-0 down and face the prospect of a whitewash in the one-day international cricket series against Australia after a four-wicket defeat at Trent Bridge.
The latest loss comes despite captain Andrew Strauss winning the toss for the fifth consecutive time.
In fairness to tonight's effort, England gave their best performance with the bat all series to score 299, a record by an England team against Australia in 50 overs.
But Ricky Ponting capitalised on some poor fielding to score 126 off 109 balls as the tourists held their nerve to win with 10 balls remaining.
Before this match, it had been England's batting which had gave most cause for concern with only Strauss performing with any consistency.
In the first match at The Oval, the scene of their Ashes triumph, England elected to field and Australia's total of 260 looked an achievable target.
But the hosts started slowly and lost wickets regularly, leaving the tail with just too much to do as they lost by four runs.
After that tight finish, hopes for another competitive series were high but England are clearly missing big-hitter Kevin Pietersen and have performed woefully since.
Strauss again chose to field in the second match at Lord's and this time Australia could only manage 249 runs from the 50 overs.
But it was more than enough to beat England who were all out for 210 in 46.1 overs with only Strauss (47) and Paul Collingwood (56) managing more than 30 runs.
In the third match at the Rose Bowl, England changed their tactics and chose to bat first.
It made little difference, though. Only Strauss (63) and Eoin Morgan (43) were the only real contributors to a measly total of 228 off a full 50 overs.
Australia made short work of the reply as Cameron White (150) and Michael Clarke (52) enjoyed a 143-run partnership in a six wicket victory.
In the fourth match, back at Lord's, England managed their most abject performance yet.
Batting first, they collapsed from 96-1 to 220 all out as they failed to last their 50 overs for the second time in the series.
Again Strauss scored 63 but the next highest individual score was 39 from Owais Shah.
Australia knocked off the runs with more than six overs to spare and have belatedly found something to celebrate about this tour after defeats in the Twenty20 World Cup and The Ashes on these shores.
Of course, the Aussies responded to their 2005 loss with a whitewash in the 2006-07 Test series.
And while this time many of the faces have changed and indeed the format of cricket is different, the riposte has been no less striking.
By Strauss's own admission, England remain a pretty inconsistent Test side. But, by that standard, their one-day international line-up without Pietersen is awful.
Even with KP, England frailties with the bat down the order ensure they remain a limited side in limited overs cricket.
It is of no surprise that they are capable of no higher than sixth in the ICC ODI rankings.
It will also be no surprise if Australia complete another post-Ashes whitewash with further wins at Trent Bridge and the Riverside.
Only, this time, it will have come 18 months sooner.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
World Cup Round-up
Europe
The nine group winners qualify for the finals. The eight best runners-up playoff for the other four places, the remaining runner-up will miss out altogether.
ENGLAND thrashed Croatia 5-1 at Wembley in Group Six to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa with two games to spare.
Two goals each for Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, and another by Wayne Rooney gave Fabio Capello's team another emphatic win and maintained their 100% record.
England only needed a draw to qualify after Ukraine's earlier 0-0 draw with Belarus in Minsk.
But Capello's attacking intent has rarely been in doubt during this campaign and was again clear from the start. England were rampant and went 2-0 up in 17 minutes.
The victory laid to rest the failure to reach Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren when the Croats beat England 3-2 at Wembley in the final qualifier.
Having already won 4-1 in Zagreb last November, England went one better to take their goals total to 31 from eight matches - more than any other team in the world.
The result leaves Croatia scrambling for a playoff spot with Ukraine two points behind with a game in hand.
And, of course, it meant England became only the second team from Europe to qualify after the Netherlands' success in June.
The Dutch also made it eight wins out of eight in Group Nine, beating Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park to end the Scots' hopes of a finals appearance for another four years.
In truth, Scotland hardly deserved to qualify, having failed to finish second in a mediocre group after Norway took the spot by beating Macedonia 2-1.
But even Norway look unlikely to make it into the playoffs as their 10 points will probably mean they finish with lowest total of all the runners-up.
Current European champions Spain joined Netherlands and England in winning their eighth straight qualifying and securing qualification for the finals.
The Spanish beat Belgium 5-0 on Saturday and enjoyed another comfortable Group Five win, 3-0 against Estonia to take full advantage of Bosnia's 1-1 draw with Turkey in Belgrade.
The Bosnians remain favourites to take second place - four points clear of the Turks with two matches left.
Group One was thrown wide open when front-runners Denmark were held to a surprising 1-1 draw against Albania in Tirana.
But the Danes remain favourites, three points clear of rivals Sweden after the Swedes squeezed home 1-0 against Malta, with their second late goal in a week.
Sweden had needed a stoppage-time winner to beat Hungary 2-1 on Saturday to set themselves up nicely for the tie next month in Copenhagen.
The Hungarians followed that weekend home loss up with another hugely disappointing defeat in Budapest as Portugal reignited their campaign with a 1-0 win.
But the Portuguese remain five points adrift of Denmark and will probably have to settle for the playoffs by overcoming Sweden.
In Group Two, Greece suffered an embarrassing 1-1 draw in Moldova and crucially failed to take advantage of top-placed Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Latvia.
The results mean the Swiss remain three points clear of Greece and Latvia and their next fixture, against Luxembourg at home, should put them in an even stronger position.
The Greeks and the Latvians play each other next in Athens and that result will go a long way to deciding who finishes as runners-up.
Northern Ireland's chances of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986 suffered a tremendous blow after a 2-0 defeat against Slovakia in Belfast.
The Slovakians extended their lead at the top of Group Three to five points with Slovenia now in second place after their fine 3-0 win against Poland.
It was the Poles' second disappointing result of the week after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against the Irish on Saturday and their qualification hopes are slim.
Slovakia only need two more points from their last two matches to qualify but the chase for the playoff place remains tight.
Slovenia and Northern Ireland are both on 14 points but the Irish have only one match left.
After their 7-0 thumping of whipping-boys San Marino, the Czech Republic are on 12 points and outsiders Poland are on 11 points. Both have two matches left.
Group Four is all about two countries - Germany and Russia after both countries moved well clear of their rivals in the latest round of matches.
Germany, who beat Azerbaijan 4-0, will take a one-point advantage to Moscow next month for an almighty clash and the Russians will be hoping home advantage counts.
Russia followed up their weekend 3-0 home win against Liechtenstein with a 3-1 away win against Wales in front of a sub-12,000 crowd at the Millennium Stadium.
France look in severe danger of missing out on top spot after Serbia secured a 1-1 draw with Les Bleus in Belgrade.
The result means Serbia remain four points clear of the French in Group Seven with two matches left, though France are four points clear of third-placed Austria and should still make it into the playoffs.
Lithuania, in fourth, started this campaign well with three wins out of four but four straight losses, including a terrible 2-1 defeat to the Faroe Isles, have all but killed off any playoff hopes.
Romania, with just two wins from their eight matches, have never looked in it.
World champions Italy will qualify next month with a win in either of their last two Group Eight matches after beating Bulgaria 2-0.
Their first chance will come against Republic of Ireland who currently sit five points clear of the Bulgarians in second place after they beat Cyprus on Saturday.
Current group leaders: Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain (Q), England (Q), Serbia, Italy and Netherlands (Q).
Current second-placed teams: Sweden, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Republic of Ireland, Norway.
South America
Top four teams qualify for the finals. Fifth-placed team enters a playoff with the fourth-placed North American team for a finals place.
BRAZIL beat Argentina 3-1 on Saturday to qualify for World Cup 2010, maintaining their record of being the only team to play in every tournament since it began in 1930.
Rarely has a Brazilian team looked so comfortable away in Argentina as they racked up a fourth successive win in the marathon South American group.
First half goals from Luisao and Luis Fabiano put the visitors in control and when Jesus Datalo pulled a goal back, Dunga's Brazil responded by immediately restoring their two goal cushion.
Four days later, Paraguay also secured their place to next summer's finals by beating the troubled Argentines.
The result completed an excellent week for the Paraguayans who had mathematically ended Bolivia's World Cup hopes with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
But, for Argentina, the week could not have gone any worse and legendary coach Diego Maradona is now under severe pressure from the Argentine press.
Third-placed Chile still need one more victory for qualification after a disappointing pair of results.
A 2-2 draw against Venezuela was followed by a 4-2 defeat against ten-man Brazil, who were intent on celebrating their hard-won finals place in style.
Ecuador have benefited most from Argentina's woes, taking fourth place after beating Bolivia 3-1 away in La Paz. That marked a good recovery from a 2-0 loss in Colombia.
Colombia's week went in the opposite direction after the Ecuador match which they hoped would spark a lacklustre campaign.
But the Colombians lost their next match 3-1 against Uruguay and dropped back down to eighth in the standings with a finals place looking a long way off.
The Uruguayans are sixth, having also endured a topsy-turvy week. Their win against Colombia came after a completely unxpected 1-0 loss to bottom-placed Peru.
That was only the Peruvians' second win in 15 matches but they returned to type in their next match against Venezuela who kept their hopes of a first World Cup apperance with a 3-1 win.
Current standings (16 matches of 18): Brazil 33 (Q), Paraguay 30 (Q), Chile 27, Ecuador 23, Argentina 22, Uruguay 21, Venezuela 21, Colombia 20, Bolivia 12, Peru 10.
North & Central America/Caribbean
Top three qualify for the finals. Fourth-placed team enters playoff with fifth-placed South American team for a place in the finals.
UNITED STATES took control and went top of the final qualifying group for the CONCACAF region with two wins in their latest matches.
The Americans followed up a 2-1 home win against El Salvador by winning 1-0 in Port of Spain against Trinidad and Tobago.
The home loss for Trinidad killed off any hopes of the Soca Warriors making a second consecutive finals appearance.
Mexico are just a point behind the United States as they put a troublesome start to the group under Sven Goran Eriksson behind them with four straight World Cup wins.
A fine 3-0 win in Costa Rica was followed by a 1-0 home victory against Honduras added to two wins in June and put the Mexicans in good shape on 15 points.
The Hondurans were previously front-runners and, though they lost in the Azteca, a 4-1 win in their earlier match against the hapless Trinidad and Tobago keeps them third.
Costa Rica are a point behind in fourth but seem to have hit terrible form at the worst possible time.
The 3-0 home loss to Mexico was followed by a last-minute defeat against El Salvador, making it three qualifying losses in a row without a single goal scored.
That 1-0 win for El Salvador came on the back of three successive losses and kept their slim hopes of progress alive but probably just for now.
Current standings (8 matches of 10): United States 16, Mexico 15, Honduras 13, Costa Rica 12, El Salvador 8, Trinidad & Tobago 5.
Asia
Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea qualified via group phase. The winner of Bahrain-New Zealand over two legs will also qualify for the finals.
BAHRAIN stunned Saudi Arabia with a stoppage-time goal to reach the inter-continental playoff against New Zealand for a place in the World Cup finals.
After a 0-0 draw in the opening match in Bahrain, regular qualifiers Saudi Arabia were hot favourites to meet the All Whites over two legs.
But, for long stages, Bahrain looked to be going through on away goals after Jaycee John equalised an early al-Shamrani goal.
Then, Al-Montashari hit what looked like a dramatic winner in the last minute for the Saudis. But Bahrain were not to be denied.
A 94-minute goal by Abdullatif ensured the away-goals rule would indeed knock Saudi Arabia out after a 2-2 draw in Riyadh.
If Bahrain beat New Zealand, they will join Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea as the qualifiers from Asia confederation.
Africa
The five group winners qualify for the finals.
GHANA became the first African country to qualify for the continent's first World Cup after a 2-0 win over Sudan.
The Black Stars made it a perfect four wins from four in Group D with goals from Sunney Muntari and Michael Essien against the bottom-placed Sudanese.
In Group E, Ivory Coast are all-but there after a 5-0 thrashing of their nearest rivals Burkina Faso.
Didier Drogba scored twice to leave the Ivorians needing just one more point from their final two matches.
Matters are much tighter in Group A where Cameroon lead the way but only by a point from Gabon, who the Cameroonians beat twice in the last week.
Samuel Eto'o scored in both matches as Cameroon recorded a 2-0 away win and a 2-1 home victory.
The other two teams in the group, Togo and Morocco, cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw but remain in contention.
Togo are two points behind with two matches left while Morocco's chances are slim - they are four points behind.
Tunisia remain favourites to qualify from Group B after a late goal against Nigeria secured a 2-2 draw.
Nigeria's third draw in four matches leaves them on six points, two points adrift of the Tunisians who face bottom-placed Kenya in their next match.
Mozambique, on four points, leapfrogged Kenya, on three points, with a 1-0 win on Saturday but both teams only retain very slim chances of qualifying.
In Group C, Algeria remain three points clear of Egypt after both teams enjoyed 1-0 wins in the latest qualifiers against Algeria and Rwanda respectively.
Algeria hold the advantage but if both teams win their matches in October, Egypt will face the Algerians at home in November in the group decider.
Current group leaders: Cameroon, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana (Q), Ivory Coast.
Qualifiers
SOUTH AFRICA (hosts), AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, ENGLAND, GHANA, JAPAN, NETHERLANDS, NORTH KOREA, PARAGUAY, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN. 11 teams out of 32.
The nine group winners qualify for the finals. The eight best runners-up playoff for the other four places, the remaining runner-up will miss out altogether.
ENGLAND thrashed Croatia 5-1 at Wembley in Group Six to qualify for World Cup 2010 in South Africa with two games to spare.
Two goals each for Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, and another by Wayne Rooney gave Fabio Capello's team another emphatic win and maintained their 100% record.
England only needed a draw to qualify after Ukraine's earlier 0-0 draw with Belarus in Minsk.
But Capello's attacking intent has rarely been in doubt during this campaign and was again clear from the start. England were rampant and went 2-0 up in 17 minutes.
The victory laid to rest the failure to reach Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren when the Croats beat England 3-2 at Wembley in the final qualifier.
Having already won 4-1 in Zagreb last November, England went one better to take their goals total to 31 from eight matches - more than any other team in the world.
The result leaves Croatia scrambling for a playoff spot with Ukraine two points behind with a game in hand.
And, of course, it meant England became only the second team from Europe to qualify after the Netherlands' success in June.
The Dutch also made it eight wins out of eight in Group Nine, beating Scotland 1-0 at Hampden Park to end the Scots' hopes of a finals appearance for another four years.
In truth, Scotland hardly deserved to qualify, having failed to finish second in a mediocre group after Norway took the spot by beating Macedonia 2-1.
But even Norway look unlikely to make it into the playoffs as their 10 points will probably mean they finish with lowest total of all the runners-up.
Current European champions Spain joined Netherlands and England in winning their eighth straight qualifying and securing qualification for the finals.
The Spanish beat Belgium 5-0 on Saturday and enjoyed another comfortable Group Five win, 3-0 against Estonia to take full advantage of Bosnia's 1-1 draw with Turkey in Belgrade.
The Bosnians remain favourites to take second place - four points clear of the Turks with two matches left.
Group One was thrown wide open when front-runners Denmark were held to a surprising 1-1 draw against Albania in Tirana.
But the Danes remain favourites, three points clear of rivals Sweden after the Swedes squeezed home 1-0 against Malta, with their second late goal in a week.
Sweden had needed a stoppage-time winner to beat Hungary 2-1 on Saturday to set themselves up nicely for the tie next month in Copenhagen.
The Hungarians followed that weekend home loss up with another hugely disappointing defeat in Budapest as Portugal reignited their campaign with a 1-0 win.
But the Portuguese remain five points adrift of Denmark and will probably have to settle for the playoffs by overcoming Sweden.
In Group Two, Greece suffered an embarrassing 1-1 draw in Moldova and crucially failed to take advantage of top-placed Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Latvia.
The results mean the Swiss remain three points clear of Greece and Latvia and their next fixture, against Luxembourg at home, should put them in an even stronger position.
The Greeks and the Latvians play each other next in Athens and that result will go a long way to deciding who finishes as runners-up.
Northern Ireland's chances of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986 suffered a tremendous blow after a 2-0 defeat against Slovakia in Belfast.
The Slovakians extended their lead at the top of Group Three to five points with Slovenia now in second place after their fine 3-0 win against Poland.
It was the Poles' second disappointing result of the week after they could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against the Irish on Saturday and their qualification hopes are slim.
Slovakia only need two more points from their last two matches to qualify but the chase for the playoff place remains tight.
Slovenia and Northern Ireland are both on 14 points but the Irish have only one match left.
After their 7-0 thumping of whipping-boys San Marino, the Czech Republic are on 12 points and outsiders Poland are on 11 points. Both have two matches left.
Group Four is all about two countries - Germany and Russia after both countries moved well clear of their rivals in the latest round of matches.
Germany, who beat Azerbaijan 4-0, will take a one-point advantage to Moscow next month for an almighty clash and the Russians will be hoping home advantage counts.
Russia followed up their weekend 3-0 home win against Liechtenstein with a 3-1 away win against Wales in front of a sub-12,000 crowd at the Millennium Stadium.
France look in severe danger of missing out on top spot after Serbia secured a 1-1 draw with Les Bleus in Belgrade.
The result means Serbia remain four points clear of the French in Group Seven with two matches left, though France are four points clear of third-placed Austria and should still make it into the playoffs.
Lithuania, in fourth, started this campaign well with three wins out of four but four straight losses, including a terrible 2-1 defeat to the Faroe Isles, have all but killed off any playoff hopes.
Romania, with just two wins from their eight matches, have never looked in it.
World champions Italy will qualify next month with a win in either of their last two Group Eight matches after beating Bulgaria 2-0.
Their first chance will come against Republic of Ireland who currently sit five points clear of the Bulgarians in second place after they beat Cyprus on Saturday.
Current group leaders: Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Spain (Q), England (Q), Serbia, Italy and Netherlands (Q).
Current second-placed teams: Sweden, Greece, Slovenia, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Republic of Ireland, Norway.
South America
Top four teams qualify for the finals. Fifth-placed team enters a playoff with the fourth-placed North American team for a finals place.
BRAZIL beat Argentina 3-1 on Saturday to qualify for World Cup 2010, maintaining their record of being the only team to play in every tournament since it began in 1930.
Rarely has a Brazilian team looked so comfortable away in Argentina as they racked up a fourth successive win in the marathon South American group.
First half goals from Luisao and Luis Fabiano put the visitors in control and when Jesus Datalo pulled a goal back, Dunga's Brazil responded by immediately restoring their two goal cushion.
Four days later, Paraguay also secured their place to next summer's finals by beating the troubled Argentines.
The result completed an excellent week for the Paraguayans who had mathematically ended Bolivia's World Cup hopes with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
But, for Argentina, the week could not have gone any worse and legendary coach Diego Maradona is now under severe pressure from the Argentine press.
Third-placed Chile still need one more victory for qualification after a disappointing pair of results.
A 2-2 draw against Venezuela was followed by a 4-2 defeat against ten-man Brazil, who were intent on celebrating their hard-won finals place in style.
Ecuador have benefited most from Argentina's woes, taking fourth place after beating Bolivia 3-1 away in La Paz. That marked a good recovery from a 2-0 loss in Colombia.
Colombia's week went in the opposite direction after the Ecuador match which they hoped would spark a lacklustre campaign.
But the Colombians lost their next match 3-1 against Uruguay and dropped back down to eighth in the standings with a finals place looking a long way off.
The Uruguayans are sixth, having also endured a topsy-turvy week. Their win against Colombia came after a completely unxpected 1-0 loss to bottom-placed Peru.
That was only the Peruvians' second win in 15 matches but they returned to type in their next match against Venezuela who kept their hopes of a first World Cup apperance with a 3-1 win.
Current standings (16 matches of 18): Brazil 33 (Q), Paraguay 30 (Q), Chile 27, Ecuador 23, Argentina 22, Uruguay 21, Venezuela 21, Colombia 20, Bolivia 12, Peru 10.
North & Central America/Caribbean
Top three qualify for the finals. Fourth-placed team enters playoff with fifth-placed South American team for a place in the finals.
UNITED STATES took control and went top of the final qualifying group for the CONCACAF region with two wins in their latest matches.
The Americans followed up a 2-1 home win against El Salvador by winning 1-0 in Port of Spain against Trinidad and Tobago.
The home loss for Trinidad killed off any hopes of the Soca Warriors making a second consecutive finals appearance.
Mexico are just a point behind the United States as they put a troublesome start to the group under Sven Goran Eriksson behind them with four straight World Cup wins.
A fine 3-0 win in Costa Rica was followed by a 1-0 home victory against Honduras added to two wins in June and put the Mexicans in good shape on 15 points.
The Hondurans were previously front-runners and, though they lost in the Azteca, a 4-1 win in their earlier match against the hapless Trinidad and Tobago keeps them third.
Costa Rica are a point behind in fourth but seem to have hit terrible form at the worst possible time.
The 3-0 home loss to Mexico was followed by a last-minute defeat against El Salvador, making it three qualifying losses in a row without a single goal scored.
That 1-0 win for El Salvador came on the back of three successive losses and kept their slim hopes of progress alive but probably just for now.
Current standings (8 matches of 10): United States 16, Mexico 15, Honduras 13, Costa Rica 12, El Salvador 8, Trinidad & Tobago 5.
Asia
Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea qualified via group phase. The winner of Bahrain-New Zealand over two legs will also qualify for the finals.
BAHRAIN stunned Saudi Arabia with a stoppage-time goal to reach the inter-continental playoff against New Zealand for a place in the World Cup finals.
After a 0-0 draw in the opening match in Bahrain, regular qualifiers Saudi Arabia were hot favourites to meet the All Whites over two legs.
But, for long stages, Bahrain looked to be going through on away goals after Jaycee John equalised an early al-Shamrani goal.
Then, Al-Montashari hit what looked like a dramatic winner in the last minute for the Saudis. But Bahrain were not to be denied.
A 94-minute goal by Abdullatif ensured the away-goals rule would indeed knock Saudi Arabia out after a 2-2 draw in Riyadh.
If Bahrain beat New Zealand, they will join Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea as the qualifiers from Asia confederation.
Africa
The five group winners qualify for the finals.
GHANA became the first African country to qualify for the continent's first World Cup after a 2-0 win over Sudan.
The Black Stars made it a perfect four wins from four in Group D with goals from Sunney Muntari and Michael Essien against the bottom-placed Sudanese.
In Group E, Ivory Coast are all-but there after a 5-0 thrashing of their nearest rivals Burkina Faso.
Didier Drogba scored twice to leave the Ivorians needing just one more point from their final two matches.
Matters are much tighter in Group A where Cameroon lead the way but only by a point from Gabon, who the Cameroonians beat twice in the last week.
Samuel Eto'o scored in both matches as Cameroon recorded a 2-0 away win and a 2-1 home victory.
The other two teams in the group, Togo and Morocco, cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw but remain in contention.
Togo are two points behind with two matches left while Morocco's chances are slim - they are four points behind.
Tunisia remain favourites to qualify from Group B after a late goal against Nigeria secured a 2-2 draw.
Nigeria's third draw in four matches leaves them on six points, two points adrift of the Tunisians who face bottom-placed Kenya in their next match.
Mozambique, on four points, leapfrogged Kenya, on three points, with a 1-0 win on Saturday but both teams only retain very slim chances of qualifying.
In Group C, Algeria remain three points clear of Egypt after both teams enjoyed 1-0 wins in the latest qualifiers against Algeria and Rwanda respectively.
Algeria hold the advantage but if both teams win their matches in October, Egypt will face the Algerians at home in November in the group decider.
Current group leaders: Cameroon, Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana (Q), Ivory Coast.
Qualifiers
SOUTH AFRICA (hosts), AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, ENGLAND, GHANA, JAPAN, NETHERLANDS, NORTH KOREA, PARAGUAY, SOUTH KOREA, SPAIN. 11 teams out of 32.
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