THESE are the beautiful words of a man who truly loved football for all the right reasons. Sir Bobby Robson died from lung cancer exactly a year ago today, aged 76.
To mark the occasion, his boyhood club Newcastle United play another of Sir Bobby's former teams, PSV Eindhoven, in a friendly match at St James Park at 3pm.
Sir Bobby enjoyed his time in Holland, winning back-to-back Dutch championships in 1991 and 1992.
Of course, by then, he had already enjoyed a decent career at West Bromwich Albion and Fulham as a player, winning 20 England caps as a deep-lying forward.
After failing in his first job as a manager at Fulham, his major breakthrough came at Ipswich Town where he won the FA Cup in 1978 and the Uefa Cup in 1981.
The feat of bringing European silverware and regular top-half finishes to the provincial Suffolk club convinced the FA to offer Sir Bobby the England job.
At the end of his eight-year reign in 1990, his team reached the World Cup semi-final against West Germany but lost on penalties.
It remains the closest that England have come to winning the World Cup since 1966.
Once his time with the national team ended, Sir Bobby moved his interests abroad, first with Eindhoven and then at FC Porto where he won two league championships and a cup in three seasons.
Sir Bobby was unable to repeat his league championship wins at his next club, Barcelona.
However, he still managed to win three trophies - the Spanish Super Cup, the European Cup Winners' Cup and the Copa del Rey - in a single season, a feat which earned him the accolade of European Manager of the Year for 1996-7.
After his sojourn in Spain, Sir Bobby returned to PSV for a brief spell in which they qualified for the Champions League by finishing third.
Then came a job which he simply could not resist - with Newcastle at St James Park where 50 years earlier he watched Jackie Milburn play.
But Sir Bobby arrived at a club on its knees after the divisive reign of Ruud Gullit, with just one point from the first seven league matches in 1999-2000.
Once again, he worked his magic and an 8-0 home win over Sheffield Wednesday was the start of a fine recovery in which the Magpies eventually finished 11th.
Sir Bobby's first full season at St James Park was a disappointment as Newcastle settled for another 11th-placed finish but he gradually built a team of pace and flair, ready to challenge England's best.
In 2001-02, Newcastle led the Premier League on Christmas Day after successive away wins at Arsenal (3-1) and Leeds United (4-3) before eventually finishing fourth.
The Magpies under Sir Bobby reached their peak in 2002-03, progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League and challenging genuinely for the league until a devastating 6-2 defeat to Manchester United in mid-April.
Newcastle ended the season in third position behind Manchester United and Arsenal.
In 2003-04, Newcastle were well off the pace after a series of away draws but still finished in fifth place and reached the Uefa Cup semi final.
Some supporters voiced their disapproval at the decline and then-chairman Freddy Shepherd undermined Sir Bobby by announcing 2004-05 would be his last season.
In fact, Sir Bobby lasted just four games into that season after his team took just two points.
Sir Bobby ended his career in football with a brief spell as a consultant with the Republic of Ireland under Steve Staunton.
But, after the Irish failed to qualify for Euro 2008, he retired to put his efforts into his cancer research charity, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
Sir Bobby was the perfect man for the job, having beaten cancer four times, and many joked this time last year that the final score was still 4-1 in his favour.
For the record, Sir Bobby defeated bowel cancer in 1992, a malignant melanoma in 1995, and a tumour in his right lung and a brain tumour, both in 2006.
His last public appearance came at St James Park as England XI beat Germany XI 3-2 in a match which raised funds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
His funeral, a small private gathering, took place on 5th August before a memorial service on 21st September saw a thousand guests invited to Durham Cathedral.
The memorial service was screened on live television and to fans on screens at St James Park, Ipswich Town's Portman Road and Fulham's Craven Cottage.
We still miss you, Sir Robert William Robson of Sacriston. RIP x
Saturday, 31 July 2010
RIP Sir Bobby Robson - one year on
"What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes.
It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.
It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love"
Sir Bobby Robson (1933-2009)
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Silly season leaves Lib Dems with little to shout about but plenty to ponder
THE WESTMINSTER village began their, ahem, 'well-earned' six weeks rest this week from the hustle and bustle of politics.
But the summer recess has come amid growing concern from the Liberal Democrats about their coalition with the Conservatives.
Far from a enjoying the various silly season stories, Lib Dem MPs are worried about their position in government after their poll rating plummeted to the mid-teens.
A fall in the Lib Dems' popularity is actually quite commonplace after the hype of a general election has died away.
But they had hoped that, by being in power, they would keep their party in the public eye and negate this seemingly natural effect of support ebbing away after election day.
In fact, the opposite has happened. Rarely has a party's fortunes dwindled as dramatically as the Lib Dems in the last 10 weeks.
Nick Clegg's party received 22.9% of the vote on 6th May but YouGov showed support as low as 13% this week.
Moreover, on Monday, BBC Newsnight revealed that four in 10 people who said they voted for the Lib Dems in May would not have done in the knowledge that the party would enter a coalition with the Tories.
With MPs already in fear for their seats, Mr Clegg is struggling a little to keep his backbenchers on side. Six of the 57 Lib Dem MPs rebelled in vain against the Academies Bill.
Some Lib Dems have even gone somewhat off-message. The party's deputy leader Simon Hughes stated that the party would not have supported the Academies Bill if it were in opposition.
He added that the Lib Dems will need to make their voices heard to a much greater effect when Parliament resumes in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, was more forthright in his views, stating that David Cameron's Conservatives were a "toxic brand".
Another unnamed member was even more blunt in his assessment, adding: "You can't trust the fucking Tories."
Mr Clegg seemed to woo would-be rebels in his appearance in place of Mr Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions last week when he referred to the Iraq war as "illegal", despite the Tories having voted in favour of it.
But his subsequent admission tonight in a BBC documentary - that he agreed before the election with Conservative plans of immediate cuts - will have done him no favours.
Mr Clegg still campaigned against the cuts and perhaps, this clear hypocrisy explains why he was so sheepish when new chancellor George Obsorne announced his emergency budget in June.
More likely, Mr Clegg was embarrassed by the chancellor's rise in VAT to 20% from January 2011.
Mr Clegg had argued vigorously in the run-up to the election against any rise and even stood in front of a giant billboard which warned of the Tories' "VAT bombshell".
Nevertheless, the situation is not yet totally hopeless for Mr Clegg and the Lib Dems. Support for the Conservatives, currently just above 40%, is unlikely to remain so strong once the cuts start hurting society more widely.
Mr Cameron's party is probably still more associated with the cuts than the Lib Dems at this point. In time, the Lib Dems may even be credited with ensuring a rise in the personal tax allowance which means the poorest are not hit even harder.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems' other trump card - electoral reform - is still very much on the table with a referendum on the alternative vote system promised to take place next year.
And so, despite internal disenchantment, Mr Clegg can satisfy himself that the coalition is likely to struggle on at least until the vote on AV in May.
But, if the Lib Dems lose the referendum, while suffering heavy losses in the local elections, calls for a coalition collapse are bound to be deafening and possibly unavoidable.
Whatever the case may be, it is fair to say the brief dose of 'Cleggmania' is well and truly out of the British people's system.
Indeed, it even rests uncomfortably on the stomach of some Lib Dems.
But the summer recess has come amid growing concern from the Liberal Democrats about their coalition with the Conservatives.
Far from a enjoying the various silly season stories, Lib Dem MPs are worried about their position in government after their poll rating plummeted to the mid-teens.
A fall in the Lib Dems' popularity is actually quite commonplace after the hype of a general election has died away.
But they had hoped that, by being in power, they would keep their party in the public eye and negate this seemingly natural effect of support ebbing away after election day.
In fact, the opposite has happened. Rarely has a party's fortunes dwindled as dramatically as the Lib Dems in the last 10 weeks.
Nick Clegg's party received 22.9% of the vote on 6th May but YouGov showed support as low as 13% this week.
Moreover, on Monday, BBC Newsnight revealed that four in 10 people who said they voted for the Lib Dems in May would not have done in the knowledge that the party would enter a coalition with the Tories.
With MPs already in fear for their seats, Mr Clegg is struggling a little to keep his backbenchers on side. Six of the 57 Lib Dem MPs rebelled in vain against the Academies Bill.
Some Lib Dems have even gone somewhat off-message. The party's deputy leader Simon Hughes stated that the party would not have supported the Academies Bill if it were in opposition.
He added that the Lib Dems will need to make their voices heard to a much greater effect when Parliament resumes in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, was more forthright in his views, stating that David Cameron's Conservatives were a "toxic brand".
Another unnamed member was even more blunt in his assessment, adding: "You can't trust the fucking Tories."
Mr Clegg seemed to woo would-be rebels in his appearance in place of Mr Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions last week when he referred to the Iraq war as "illegal", despite the Tories having voted in favour of it.
But his subsequent admission tonight in a BBC documentary - that he agreed before the election with Conservative plans of immediate cuts - will have done him no favours.
Mr Clegg still campaigned against the cuts and perhaps, this clear hypocrisy explains why he was so sheepish when new chancellor George Obsorne announced his emergency budget in June.
More likely, Mr Clegg was embarrassed by the chancellor's rise in VAT to 20% from January 2011.
Mr Clegg had argued vigorously in the run-up to the election against any rise and even stood in front of a giant billboard which warned of the Tories' "VAT bombshell".
Nevertheless, the situation is not yet totally hopeless for Mr Clegg and the Lib Dems. Support for the Conservatives, currently just above 40%, is unlikely to remain so strong once the cuts start hurting society more widely.
Mr Cameron's party is probably still more associated with the cuts than the Lib Dems at this point. In time, the Lib Dems may even be credited with ensuring a rise in the personal tax allowance which means the poorest are not hit even harder.
Meanwhile, the Lib Dems' other trump card - electoral reform - is still very much on the table with a referendum on the alternative vote system promised to take place next year.
And so, despite internal disenchantment, Mr Clegg can satisfy himself that the coalition is likely to struggle on at least until the vote on AV in May.
But, if the Lib Dems lose the referendum, while suffering heavy losses in the local elections, calls for a coalition collapse are bound to be deafening and possibly unavoidable.
Whatever the case may be, it is fair to say the brief dose of 'Cleggmania' is well and truly out of the British people's system.
Indeed, it even rests uncomfortably on the stomach of some Lib Dems.
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Star-suckers
THE DAILY Star had to apologise yesterday after publishing a story which claimed that Rockstar Games was planning to call their latest release "Grand Theft Auto Rothbury".
The Star also paid "substantial damages" to the games company which has donated the money to charity, a generous act and the total antithesis of the newspaper's grubby attempts at journalism.
My earlier critique of the coverage of the Raoul Moat manhunt focused mainly on the broadcasting arm of the media.
But it forgot about the tendency of the national written press to go one worse in the lack of professionalism stakes - and this story in the Star comfortably accomplishes that.
In the apology, the Star states: "We made no attempt to check the accuracy of the story before publication and did not contact Rockstar Games prior to publishing the story.
"We also did not question why a best selling and critically acclaimed fictional games series would choose to base one of their most popular games on this horrifying real crime event."
The level of care - or lack of it - is absolutely ridiculous from a publication which still purports to be a national newspaper even though it looks more like a comic strip.
It places major questions marks over the extent of the fact-checking in any story in the tabloids, a matter which has already been investigated in the Chris Atkins documentary, Starsuckers.
In Starsuckers, the documentary production team planted a series of made-up stories about celebrities by calling up the 'Got A Story' telephone numbers which can be seen in all the tabloids.
It was a brave project which eventually landed the makers an email from Max Clifford's preferred law firm Carter-Ruck threatening them with an injunction.
But the papers, with plenty of white space to fill, had already lapped up the 'tip-offs' when a simple fact-check on each occasion would have proven the story was a fabrication.
And so, reports emerged of Avril Lavigne falling asleep in a London nightclub, of Amy Winehouse's hair catching fire, of Guy Ritchie receiving a black-eye after drinking too much at a restaurant, and of Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding taking an interest in astronomy.
Of course, while the Starsuckers documentary was a valid expose, it simply reaffirmed much of the justified public cynicism about so-called 'celeb news'.
The problem with the Star's GTA Rothbury story is that it cannot just be cast off as filler on the celeb pages.
The newspaper clearly believed that this was a proper news story - they even went as far as "soliciting critical comments from a grieving family member".
But not as far as actually checking for any truth behind the story.
The banner on the Star's website claims that it is "Simply the Best". In reality, this was simply not good enough.
The Star also paid "substantial damages" to the games company which has donated the money to charity, a generous act and the total antithesis of the newspaper's grubby attempts at journalism.
My earlier critique of the coverage of the Raoul Moat manhunt focused mainly on the broadcasting arm of the media.
But it forgot about the tendency of the national written press to go one worse in the lack of professionalism stakes - and this story in the Star comfortably accomplishes that.
In the apology, the Star states: "We made no attempt to check the accuracy of the story before publication and did not contact Rockstar Games prior to publishing the story.
"We also did not question why a best selling and critically acclaimed fictional games series would choose to base one of their most popular games on this horrifying real crime event."
The level of care - or lack of it - is absolutely ridiculous from a publication which still purports to be a national newspaper even though it looks more like a comic strip.
It places major questions marks over the extent of the fact-checking in any story in the tabloids, a matter which has already been investigated in the Chris Atkins documentary, Starsuckers.
In Starsuckers, the documentary production team planted a series of made-up stories about celebrities by calling up the 'Got A Story' telephone numbers which can be seen in all the tabloids.
It was a brave project which eventually landed the makers an email from Max Clifford's preferred law firm Carter-Ruck threatening them with an injunction.
But the papers, with plenty of white space to fill, had already lapped up the 'tip-offs' when a simple fact-check on each occasion would have proven the story was a fabrication.
And so, reports emerged of Avril Lavigne falling asleep in a London nightclub, of Amy Winehouse's hair catching fire, of Guy Ritchie receiving a black-eye after drinking too much at a restaurant, and of Girls Aloud's Sarah Harding taking an interest in astronomy.
Of course, while the Starsuckers documentary was a valid expose, it simply reaffirmed much of the justified public cynicism about so-called 'celeb news'.
The problem with the Star's GTA Rothbury story is that it cannot just be cast off as filler on the celeb pages.
The newspaper clearly believed that this was a proper news story - they even went as far as "soliciting critical comments from a grieving family member".
But not as far as actually checking for any truth behind the story.
The banner on the Star's website claims that it is "Simply the Best". In reality, this was simply not good enough.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Ashes cricket set to stay on Sky
THE ASHES cricket series looks set to stay on Sky Sports after the new coalition government rejected proposals to put the Tests on free-to-air television.
Sports and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson has deferred the decision to expand the number of listed events until after the digital switchover is completed in 2013.
That means broadcasting rights for the matches between England and Australia will be sold to the highest bidder which will almost certainly be Sky.
It is an outcome which will have pleased the England Cricket Board and its chairman Giles Clarke.
Mr Clarke has long argued that the ECB would lose a huge chunk of its income if it was forced to put the matches on free-to-air TV, making it harder for it to invest in grassroots cricket.
But, it must be said that the reliance on Rupert Murdoch's buck is rather perturbing, and the government's decision deprives the wider public of witnessing an event in which England has excelled in recent times.
The last Test cricket to be shown on free-to-air television was the last Ashes Test in 2005, a draw at the Oval which secured England's first success in the competition for 18 years.
The rights holders for the 2005 series were Channel 4 which regularly attracted eight million viewers and it would be fair to say that the event had "national resonance".
Four years later, in front of the Sky cameras this time, England repeated their 2-1 series win but only two million people tuned in on a regular basis.
That is not really a fair reflection on the Sky Sports coverage, which is excellent, involving a fine array of analysts and commentators, and a superb use of graphics.
Indeed, if it were not a subscription service, Sky's cricket coverage would undoubtedly attract a far bigger audience. Therein lies the problem, however.
And it was an issue recognised by an independent review panel led by former FA chief David Davies.
The panel recommended in November last year that the Ashes should be included on a list of protected events.
These are the so-called "crown jewels" of British sport which are said to have a "national resonance" and which must therefore be broadcast on a free-to-air channel.
The list currently includes the Olympics Games, the football World Cup and European Championships, the FA Cup final, the Grand National, the Epsom Derby, the Wimbledon tennis finals, the Rugby League Challenge Cup final and the Rugby World Cup final.
As well as inclusion of the Ashes, the panel also suggested that the Open golf championship and the whole of the Wimbledon Championships should be on the list, as well as the qualifiers for the national football teams.
Certainly, if these suggestions had been put in place, Britain would have been brought more in line with the much of the rest of Europe.
France and Italy, in particular, have many more protected events, ensuring a wider audience can see their national teams from various sports in action.
But, with the ECB so reliant on Sky for its funding, perhaps a better outcome would be for a compromise to be made.
Unwritten arrangements already exist in golf and tennis in which the major championships are shared between the broadcasters. Similarly, in rugby league, Sky shows the Super League while the BBC has the Challenge Cup.
My suggestion is that Sky should allow the First Test of a home Ashes series at Lord's, to be broadcast by the BBC (or Channel 4). The idea actually has advantages for both free-to-air and subscription channels.
For a start, Test cricket would get a few days back in the glare of free-to-air television at the home of cricket, and selecting the First Test would ensure the match was not a dead rubber.
By showing just one Test, the free-to-air broadcasters would not be bogged down with the problem of having to find up to 25 days of scheduling.
A maximum of five days would be required, taking up little more time than the BBC spends showing Royal Ascot or the Open golf.
Meanwhile, from Sky's perspective, the free-to-air coverage would act like an advertisement for the rest of the series.
The first Test would be sure to attract a larger audience, all of whom would be potential subscribers for the remaining matches.
Even if any live Test cricket on a free-to-air television channel is somewhat of a pipe-dream at the moment, surely a better highlights package than present could be negotiated.
The current highlights on Five last 45 minutes, less advert breaks. Again, there is not much wrong with the quality of the programme but its duration is far too short to reflect the narrative of a day's play and include a wide breadth of analysis.
Indeed, a programme length of 45 minutes is particularly meagre as compared to the free-to-air highlights of Premier League football which are on every week for over an hour between August and May.
Of course, if nothing else, I suppose there is always the unique listening experience that is Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 LW or Five Live Sports Extra.
And, in some good news today ahead of the Ashes tour this winter, Australia were all out for just 88 against an erratic Pakistan team looking to level the series.
The bad news? Pakistan are England's next Test opponents in a four-match series starting on 29 July.
Sports and Olympics minister Hugh Robertson has deferred the decision to expand the number of listed events until after the digital switchover is completed in 2013.
That means broadcasting rights for the matches between England and Australia will be sold to the highest bidder which will almost certainly be Sky.
It is an outcome which will have pleased the England Cricket Board and its chairman Giles Clarke.
Mr Clarke has long argued that the ECB would lose a huge chunk of its income if it was forced to put the matches on free-to-air TV, making it harder for it to invest in grassroots cricket.
But, it must be said that the reliance on Rupert Murdoch's buck is rather perturbing, and the government's decision deprives the wider public of witnessing an event in which England has excelled in recent times.
The last Test cricket to be shown on free-to-air television was the last Ashes Test in 2005, a draw at the Oval which secured England's first success in the competition for 18 years.
The rights holders for the 2005 series were Channel 4 which regularly attracted eight million viewers and it would be fair to say that the event had "national resonance".
Four years later, in front of the Sky cameras this time, England repeated their 2-1 series win but only two million people tuned in on a regular basis.
That is not really a fair reflection on the Sky Sports coverage, which is excellent, involving a fine array of analysts and commentators, and a superb use of graphics.
Indeed, if it were not a subscription service, Sky's cricket coverage would undoubtedly attract a far bigger audience. Therein lies the problem, however.
And it was an issue recognised by an independent review panel led by former FA chief David Davies.
The panel recommended in November last year that the Ashes should be included on a list of protected events.
These are the so-called "crown jewels" of British sport which are said to have a "national resonance" and which must therefore be broadcast on a free-to-air channel.
The list currently includes the Olympics Games, the football World Cup and European Championships, the FA Cup final, the Grand National, the Epsom Derby, the Wimbledon tennis finals, the Rugby League Challenge Cup final and the Rugby World Cup final.
As well as inclusion of the Ashes, the panel also suggested that the Open golf championship and the whole of the Wimbledon Championships should be on the list, as well as the qualifiers for the national football teams.
Certainly, if these suggestions had been put in place, Britain would have been brought more in line with the much of the rest of Europe.
France and Italy, in particular, have many more protected events, ensuring a wider audience can see their national teams from various sports in action.
But, with the ECB so reliant on Sky for its funding, perhaps a better outcome would be for a compromise to be made.
Unwritten arrangements already exist in golf and tennis in which the major championships are shared between the broadcasters. Similarly, in rugby league, Sky shows the Super League while the BBC has the Challenge Cup.
My suggestion is that Sky should allow the First Test of a home Ashes series at Lord's, to be broadcast by the BBC (or Channel 4). The idea actually has advantages for both free-to-air and subscription channels.
For a start, Test cricket would get a few days back in the glare of free-to-air television at the home of cricket, and selecting the First Test would ensure the match was not a dead rubber.
By showing just one Test, the free-to-air broadcasters would not be bogged down with the problem of having to find up to 25 days of scheduling.
A maximum of five days would be required, taking up little more time than the BBC spends showing Royal Ascot or the Open golf.
Meanwhile, from Sky's perspective, the free-to-air coverage would act like an advertisement for the rest of the series.
The first Test would be sure to attract a larger audience, all of whom would be potential subscribers for the remaining matches.
Even if any live Test cricket on a free-to-air television channel is somewhat of a pipe-dream at the moment, surely a better highlights package than present could be negotiated.
The current highlights on Five last 45 minutes, less advert breaks. Again, there is not much wrong with the quality of the programme but its duration is far too short to reflect the narrative of a day's play and include a wide breadth of analysis.
Indeed, a programme length of 45 minutes is particularly meagre as compared to the free-to-air highlights of Premier League football which are on every week for over an hour between August and May.
Of course, if nothing else, I suppose there is always the unique listening experience that is Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 LW or Five Live Sports Extra.
And, in some good news today ahead of the Ashes tour this winter, Australia were all out for just 88 against an erratic Pakistan team looking to level the series.
The bad news? Pakistan are England's next Test opponents in a four-match series starting on 29 July.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
F1 2010: Angry Webber repels Vettel to put pressure on McLaren pair
FURIOUS Mark Webber overcame Red Bull Racing's controversial decision to give his team mate Sebastian Vettel a new front wing by winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Webber finished ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg in third and Jenson Button in fourth despite Red Bull's decision to favour Vettel.
Vettel damaged his new front wing in final practice but he inherited the one from Webber's car before narrowly out-qualifying his Australian team mate in another Red Bull front-row.
But Webber, using an old front wing, beat Vettel to the first corner and gave no quarter as Vettel ran out of track.
Vettel then received a puncture to his right rear tyre after contact with Hamilton and this effectively ended any chance of the German making it back-to-back victories at Silverstone.
Having emerged from the opening lap in the lead, Webber was able to use Red Bull's superior pace to pull away from Hamilton for a comfortable - and highly satisfying - win.
As he took the chequered flag, Webber made his feelings clear over the team radio. His words - "not bad for a number two driver" - were dripping with injustice of it all as the Red Bull 'civil war' became public.
Webber later referred to his victory as "an appointment with karma" and he now moves above Vettel into third place in the Drivers' Championship behind McLaren pair Hamilton and Button.
Hopes for a British victory at Silverstone faded away in Saturday's qualifying session as McLaren's new exhaust unbalanced the car and left Hamilton in fourth and Button in 14th.
But both Britons made excellent starts to finish the race in second and fourth. Hamilton got past Fernando Alonso before the first corner then accidentally inflicted Vettel with a puncture.
Meanwhile, Button was up six places to eighth by the end of the opening lap and his fourth place keep him just behind Hamilton in the overall standings.
The season passed the halfway mark at Silverstone and 2008 champion Hamilton leads the way with 145 points with Button on 133, Webber on 128 and Vettel on 121.
Two-time champion Alonso is fifth but now lags somewhat behind on 98 points after Ferrari suffered another miserable race day.
Alonso had qualified in third to increase the chances of a first Ferrari win at Silverstone since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
However, the Spaniard collided inadvertently with team mate Felipe Massa and, by the time the race settled down, not only was Hamilton ahead of him but also Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Renault's Robert Kubica.
The clash caused Massa to receive a puncture which ended his interest of a competitive finish and left the Brazilian without a points finish for a third race in a row.
Alonso then fell foul of the race stewards having overtaken Kubica illegally on lap 19.
But his punishment - a drive-through penalty - was especially harsh as it was given after Kubica had retired and, worse, just as the safety car came out.
That dropped Alonso towards the back of the field and left him with an almighty task even just to score some minor points.
After five laps of struggling behind Force India's Vitantonio Liuizzi, Alonso finally made his move to pass the Italian but his haste cost him a puncture and he finished 14th.
By the time the safety car came out, Vettel had made his way through the field and was 12th. At the resumption, the German easily picked off Jaime Alguersuari, Vitaly Petrov and fellow German Nico Hulkenberg to move into ninth.
Then came more difficult resistance from his other fellow countrymen Michael Schumacher and Adrian Sutil but they were powerless to stop Vettel making the best of a bad day to finish seventh.
But far too often this season have the Red Bull drivers had to scrap around for points when they clearly have the fastest car on the circuit and simmering tensions between team mates have hardly helped.
Of course, the rivalry between Webber and Vettel was brought to a head earlier in the season at the Turkish Grand Prix at the end of May.
Webber qualified on pole and was on for a hat-trick of wins after successes in Spain and Monaco and, during the race in Turkey, he led Vettel in what looked like being a magnificent third 1-2 for Red Bull.
However, half way through the race, Vettel's pace picked up and he closed right up to Webber before attempting an overtaking manoeuvre on lap 39.
Webber adopted a defensive line but Vettel continued to pursue space that just was not there.
Needless to say, it went horribly wrong for the pair and their collision dropped Webber to third and put Vettel out of the race altogether.
As if it could not get any worse for Red Bull, the two cars to benefit from the incident were those of Hamilton and Button who managed to complete their own 1-2 instead.
Hamilton then replaced Webber as the form driver, becoming the first non-Red Bull of the season on pole in Canada.
On race day, Hamilton won again and McLaren completed their second successive 1-2 but only after an eventful afternoon in Montreal in which Hamilton overhauled Webber courtesy of a superior tyre strategy.
Two weeks later at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Vettel revived Red Bull's dominance as he recorded his first pole position in five races.
Vettel won the race easily but Webber failed to finish after a dramatic crash into the back of Heikki Kovalainen on lap eight.
The collision, at 190 mph, caused Webber's Red Bull to flip upside down in mid-air before bouncing down into the side-barriers.
It is truly a testament of the design of modern Formula 1 cars that the Aussie survived with nothing more than a few minor injuries.
But his retirement and Vettel's victory in Valencia clearly influenced Red Bull strategy at Silverstone with clear favouritism towards the German.
Now Webber has hit back and this four-horse race for the title looks set to stay close during the second half of a fascinating season.
Red Bull still have the faster car but there remain doubts whether their drivers can stop bickering for long enough to overhaul the lead of the McLarens.
EARLIER F1 2010 REPORTS
19 Apr 2010 Button takes an early lead (after Chinese GP)
13 Mar 2010 Team-by-team preview
2010 Season Results
PODIUMS
Bahrain GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
Malaysian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Monaco GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Turkish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Canadian GP (Pole: Lewis Hamilton)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
British GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Remaining races: German GP (25 July), Hungarian GP (1 August), Belgian GP (29 August), Italian GP (12 September), Singapore GP (26 September), Japanese GP (10 October), Korean GP (24 October), Brazilian GP (7 November), Abu Dhabi GP (14 November)
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 145 (2 wins)
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 133 (2 wins)
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 128 (3 wins)
4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 121 (2 wins)
5 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 98 (1 win)
6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 90
7 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 83
8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 67
9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 36
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 35
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 29
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 15
13 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India-Mercedes 12
14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
15 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 6
16 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rossi-Ferrari 3
17 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 2
Eight drivers have yet to score
Constructors' Championship
1 McLaren-Mercedes 278
2 Red Bull-Renault 249
3 Ferrari 165
4 Mercedes 126
5 Renault 89
6 Force India-Mercedes 47
7 Williams-Cosworth 31
8 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 15
9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 10
Three teams have yet to score
Webber finished ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg in third and Jenson Button in fourth despite Red Bull's decision to favour Vettel.
Vettel damaged his new front wing in final practice but he inherited the one from Webber's car before narrowly out-qualifying his Australian team mate in another Red Bull front-row.
But Webber, using an old front wing, beat Vettel to the first corner and gave no quarter as Vettel ran out of track.
Vettel then received a puncture to his right rear tyre after contact with Hamilton and this effectively ended any chance of the German making it back-to-back victories at Silverstone.
Having emerged from the opening lap in the lead, Webber was able to use Red Bull's superior pace to pull away from Hamilton for a comfortable - and highly satisfying - win.
As he took the chequered flag, Webber made his feelings clear over the team radio. His words - "not bad for a number two driver" - were dripping with injustice of it all as the Red Bull 'civil war' became public.
Webber later referred to his victory as "an appointment with karma" and he now moves above Vettel into third place in the Drivers' Championship behind McLaren pair Hamilton and Button.
Hopes for a British victory at Silverstone faded away in Saturday's qualifying session as McLaren's new exhaust unbalanced the car and left Hamilton in fourth and Button in 14th.
But both Britons made excellent starts to finish the race in second and fourth. Hamilton got past Fernando Alonso before the first corner then accidentally inflicted Vettel with a puncture.
Meanwhile, Button was up six places to eighth by the end of the opening lap and his fourth place keep him just behind Hamilton in the overall standings.
The season passed the halfway mark at Silverstone and 2008 champion Hamilton leads the way with 145 points with Button on 133, Webber on 128 and Vettel on 121.
Two-time champion Alonso is fifth but now lags somewhat behind on 98 points after Ferrari suffered another miserable race day.
Alonso had qualified in third to increase the chances of a first Ferrari win at Silverstone since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
However, the Spaniard collided inadvertently with team mate Felipe Massa and, by the time the race settled down, not only was Hamilton ahead of him but also Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Renault's Robert Kubica.
The clash caused Massa to receive a puncture which ended his interest of a competitive finish and left the Brazilian without a points finish for a third race in a row.
Alonso then fell foul of the race stewards having overtaken Kubica illegally on lap 19.
But his punishment - a drive-through penalty - was especially harsh as it was given after Kubica had retired and, worse, just as the safety car came out.
That dropped Alonso towards the back of the field and left him with an almighty task even just to score some minor points.
After five laps of struggling behind Force India's Vitantonio Liuizzi, Alonso finally made his move to pass the Italian but his haste cost him a puncture and he finished 14th.
By the time the safety car came out, Vettel had made his way through the field and was 12th. At the resumption, the German easily picked off Jaime Alguersuari, Vitaly Petrov and fellow German Nico Hulkenberg to move into ninth.
Then came more difficult resistance from his other fellow countrymen Michael Schumacher and Adrian Sutil but they were powerless to stop Vettel making the best of a bad day to finish seventh.
But far too often this season have the Red Bull drivers had to scrap around for points when they clearly have the fastest car on the circuit and simmering tensions between team mates have hardly helped.
Of course, the rivalry between Webber and Vettel was brought to a head earlier in the season at the Turkish Grand Prix at the end of May.
Webber qualified on pole and was on for a hat-trick of wins after successes in Spain and Monaco and, during the race in Turkey, he led Vettel in what looked like being a magnificent third 1-2 for Red Bull.
However, half way through the race, Vettel's pace picked up and he closed right up to Webber before attempting an overtaking manoeuvre on lap 39.
Webber adopted a defensive line but Vettel continued to pursue space that just was not there.
Needless to say, it went horribly wrong for the pair and their collision dropped Webber to third and put Vettel out of the race altogether.
As if it could not get any worse for Red Bull, the two cars to benefit from the incident were those of Hamilton and Button who managed to complete their own 1-2 instead.
Hamilton then replaced Webber as the form driver, becoming the first non-Red Bull of the season on pole in Canada.
On race day, Hamilton won again and McLaren completed their second successive 1-2 but only after an eventful afternoon in Montreal in which Hamilton overhauled Webber courtesy of a superior tyre strategy.
Two weeks later at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Vettel revived Red Bull's dominance as he recorded his first pole position in five races.
Vettel won the race easily but Webber failed to finish after a dramatic crash into the back of Heikki Kovalainen on lap eight.
The collision, at 190 mph, caused Webber's Red Bull to flip upside down in mid-air before bouncing down into the side-barriers.
It is truly a testament of the design of modern Formula 1 cars that the Aussie survived with nothing more than a few minor injuries.
But his retirement and Vettel's victory in Valencia clearly influenced Red Bull strategy at Silverstone with clear favouritism towards the German.
Now Webber has hit back and this four-horse race for the title looks set to stay close during the second half of a fascinating season.
Red Bull still have the faster car but there remain doubts whether their drivers can stop bickering for long enough to overhaul the lead of the McLarens.
EARLIER F1 2010 REPORTS
19 Apr 2010 Button takes an early lead (after Chinese GP)
13 Mar 2010 Team-by-team preview
2010 Season Results
PODIUMS
Bahrain GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
3 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari
Malaysian GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
Monaco GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault
Turkish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Canadian GP (Pole: Lewis Hamilton)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
British GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes
Remaining races: German GP (25 July), Hungarian GP (1 August), Belgian GP (29 August), Italian GP (12 September), Singapore GP (26 September), Japanese GP (10 October), Korean GP (24 October), Brazilian GP (7 November), Abu Dhabi GP (14 November)
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 145 (2 wins)
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 133 (2 wins)
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 128 (3 wins)
4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 121 (2 wins)
5 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 98 (1 win)
6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 90
7 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 83
8 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 67
9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 36
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 35
11 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 29
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) BMW Sauber-Ferrari 15
13 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India-Mercedes 12
14 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
15 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 6
16 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rossi-Ferrari 3
17 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 2
Eight drivers have yet to score
Constructors' Championship
1 McLaren-Mercedes 278
2 Red Bull-Renault 249
3 Ferrari 165
4 Mercedes 126
5 Renault 89
6 Force India-Mercedes 47
7 Williams-Cosworth 31
8 BMW Sauber-Ferrari 15
9 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 10
Three teams have yet to score
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Raoul Moat and the Rothbury media circus
THE MANHUNT for Raoul Moat gripped the nation this time last week as, with little else to report on, the 24-hour news channels went into overdrive.
Sky News and the BBC News Channel analysed every single emerging aspect of Northumbria Police's attempts to apprehend a man who had killed one and severely injured two others.
The level of coverage has drawn criticism from Martin Robbins on his blog post, titled Seven Questions for the Media.
In response, the excellent FleetStreetBlues blog has provided answers to each point, concluding that "the implication that journalists were too intrusive, too inquisitive and too obstructive to police is just inaccurate".
Personally, I thought the level of coverage was largely acceptable. This was a major news story - it involved one-tenth of the total police force in England and an RAF Tornado.
The nature of the manhunt, with details of locations, vehicles and letters, slowly seeping out, also suited a 24-hour news platform.
The climax to the case was utterly compelling viewing, and even though the ending was somewhat unedifying, it was also predictable.
However, my issue with the media on this case is not that the coverage was there but how it was conducted. Many of my gripes relate to the age-old problem of inaccuracy.
As a north east lad, I suppose I am at an advantage in that I know how to pronounce Ponteland (not 'Pontyland'), where Northumbria Police has its HQ. Or Seaton Delaval (not 'Seaton De-la-val'), where Moat allegedly held up a fish and chip shop.
Additionally, news presenters and reporters will presumably now be aware that the 'o' in Rothbury is pronounced like the one in hot, and not as in go.
These mispronunciations may seem a little persnickety on my part but place names are absolute basics of reporting and the continued errors were rather embarrassing.
Surely it was not too much to ask somebody local if they were getting the name of their town right.
Unfortunately, the inaccuracy did not just end with reporters getting a little tongue-tied and the geography of north east England was pulled apart at its seams.
At one stage, the BBC News Channel reported that Wrekenton was part of Newcastle even though it is south of Gateshead. The same channel also moved the border of North Tyneside so that it included the A1/A69 roundabout where PC David Rathband was shot.
Sky were no better, highlighting Birtley on a map as being to the west of Newcastle when again it is to the south of Gateshead, near Chester-le-Street.
But the big individual prize for inaccurate reporting goes to Sky's Kay Burley.
Burley repeatedly told us she was in Rothbury, "25 miles to the north east of Newcastle upon Tyne", even though that location would mean she was standing in the middle of the North Sea.
For the record, Rothbury is north-north-west of Newcastle. Again, the media fell foul of some fundamental inaccuracies - was it really too much work to ask?
Of course, Burley is not a particularly well-liked figure, her reputation having suffered further after the General Election when she was embroiled in an unseemly spat with an interviewee protesting in favour of proportional representation.
Burley was cleared this week by Ofcom of having breached impartiality rules but she provided plenty of ammunition for her detractors from her spell in Rothbury.
She veered from the completely inane - "If Moat is on the move, he could be absolutely anywhere, couldn't he?" - to the overly-dramatic, asking one resident, "Have you got enough food in to just sit this out? It could take hours."
Worst of all, as matters came to a head last Friday, she cut to an advertisement break with an unforgivably tactless line. "It's tense, it's dramatic, and it's live here on Sky" - it was as if she were introducing a top-of-the-table Premier League clash.
Little wonder that the satirical online newspaper The Daily Mash felt quite comfortable suggesting Burley should be taken down by taken down by armed police.
Elements of the media clearly attempted to create their own narrative, causing some harassment to the residents of Rothbury - probably more than the situation itself.
A low-point was reached by the BBC on Friday evening shortly after news broke of Moat having been located near the river in Rothbury and a police cordon was set up.
The cordon caused one woman, Paula, to become rather distressed as her elderly mother was effectively trapped inside her house.
She willingly gave a short, emotional interview but, as he broke off to speak to her mother on her mobile phone, the interviewer asked her to put the call on Speakerphone before taking the phone off her and doing it himself.
Attempts to script a narrative about anxiety among the Rothbury people had gone on all week but Paula's reaction was an exception.
As events between Moat and the police came to a head on Friday, the broadcasters ramped up the fear factor once more. One such exchange on Sky:
Interviewer: "This must be quite surreal for you."
Resident: "Yes", followed by a long pause.
Interviewer: "Are you frightened?"
Resident: "No, there's plenty of police about."
There was a similar interview on the radio with a resident whose house has been used by police to gain access to the area where the stand-off with Moat happened:
Interviewer: "So they screamed at you to go back in?"
Woman: "No, they just asked quite normally."
Interviewer: "And they (the police) rushed through your house?"
Woman: "No, they walked through very carefully."
The story was surely dramatic enough without the media needing to put words in the mouths of Rothbury residents.
At least the media adhered properly to the blackouts requested by the police on matters such as the hostage situation in the opening days - for that, they deserve credit.
Reporters were also right to ask questions of the police about their lack of response to the warning from Durham Prison, the length of time over which the investigation took place, and the use of Taser guns.
These were legitimate enquiries and it would be a strange world if journalists were not seeking answers to them, even though it is likely they will have to wait for the reports from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Until then, idle speculation and misguided commentaries are likely to be the order of the coming weeks, the worst of which makes Moat out to be the victim in this saga.
Several sick Facebook groups have already sprung up with thousands of members, many ready to acclaim Moat as some kind of anti-hero. Particular credit is given to Moat for his maiming of a police officer for life.
Moat's attention-seeking 'woe is me' attitude was evident in his 49-page letter and, at times, the media encouraged the idea that he was a victim of society.
Unfortunately, the brain-dead idiots of this world have picked up on this and made him a martyr with flowers left at the Rothbury riverside and outside his front door in the west of Newcastle.
Of course, some of the cretinous oxygen-wasters would have supported him anyway but the media must take some of the blame for him becoming such a cause célèbre in death.
Moat was a violent man, and a killer, for whom no sympathy should be reserved. He may have defied the police for over a week but he failed to terrorise the residents of Rothbury.
These are the only current known facts of this depressing (though fascinating) case - and they are enough of a story without the need for additional narratives.
Sky News and the BBC News Channel analysed every single emerging aspect of Northumbria Police's attempts to apprehend a man who had killed one and severely injured two others.
The level of coverage has drawn criticism from Martin Robbins on his blog post, titled Seven Questions for the Media.
In response, the excellent FleetStreetBlues blog has provided answers to each point, concluding that "the implication that journalists were too intrusive, too inquisitive and too obstructive to police is just inaccurate".
Personally, I thought the level of coverage was largely acceptable. This was a major news story - it involved one-tenth of the total police force in England and an RAF Tornado.
The nature of the manhunt, with details of locations, vehicles and letters, slowly seeping out, also suited a 24-hour news platform.
The climax to the case was utterly compelling viewing, and even though the ending was somewhat unedifying, it was also predictable.
However, my issue with the media on this case is not that the coverage was there but how it was conducted. Many of my gripes relate to the age-old problem of inaccuracy.
As a north east lad, I suppose I am at an advantage in that I know how to pronounce Ponteland (not 'Pontyland'), where Northumbria Police has its HQ. Or Seaton Delaval (not 'Seaton De-la-val'), where Moat allegedly held up a fish and chip shop.
Additionally, news presenters and reporters will presumably now be aware that the 'o' in Rothbury is pronounced like the one in hot, and not as in go.
These mispronunciations may seem a little persnickety on my part but place names are absolute basics of reporting and the continued errors were rather embarrassing.
Surely it was not too much to ask somebody local if they were getting the name of their town right.
Unfortunately, the inaccuracy did not just end with reporters getting a little tongue-tied and the geography of north east England was pulled apart at its seams.
At one stage, the BBC News Channel reported that Wrekenton was part of Newcastle even though it is south of Gateshead. The same channel also moved the border of North Tyneside so that it included the A1/A69 roundabout where PC David Rathband was shot.
Sky were no better, highlighting Birtley on a map as being to the west of Newcastle when again it is to the south of Gateshead, near Chester-le-Street.
But the big individual prize for inaccurate reporting goes to Sky's Kay Burley.
Burley repeatedly told us she was in Rothbury, "25 miles to the north east of Newcastle upon Tyne", even though that location would mean she was standing in the middle of the North Sea.
For the record, Rothbury is north-north-west of Newcastle. Again, the media fell foul of some fundamental inaccuracies - was it really too much work to ask?
Of course, Burley is not a particularly well-liked figure, her reputation having suffered further after the General Election when she was embroiled in an unseemly spat with an interviewee protesting in favour of proportional representation.
Burley was cleared this week by Ofcom of having breached impartiality rules but she provided plenty of ammunition for her detractors from her spell in Rothbury.
She veered from the completely inane - "If Moat is on the move, he could be absolutely anywhere, couldn't he?" - to the overly-dramatic, asking one resident, "Have you got enough food in to just sit this out? It could take hours."
Worst of all, as matters came to a head last Friday, she cut to an advertisement break with an unforgivably tactless line. "It's tense, it's dramatic, and it's live here on Sky" - it was as if she were introducing a top-of-the-table Premier League clash.
Little wonder that the satirical online newspaper The Daily Mash felt quite comfortable suggesting Burley should be taken down by taken down by armed police.
Elements of the media clearly attempted to create their own narrative, causing some harassment to the residents of Rothbury - probably more than the situation itself.
A low-point was reached by the BBC on Friday evening shortly after news broke of Moat having been located near the river in Rothbury and a police cordon was set up.
The cordon caused one woman, Paula, to become rather distressed as her elderly mother was effectively trapped inside her house.
She willingly gave a short, emotional interview but, as he broke off to speak to her mother on her mobile phone, the interviewer asked her to put the call on Speakerphone before taking the phone off her and doing it himself.
Attempts to script a narrative about anxiety among the Rothbury people had gone on all week but Paula's reaction was an exception.
As events between Moat and the police came to a head on Friday, the broadcasters ramped up the fear factor once more. One such exchange on Sky:
Interviewer: "This must be quite surreal for you."
Resident: "Yes", followed by a long pause.
Interviewer: "Are you frightened?"
Resident: "No, there's plenty of police about."
There was a similar interview on the radio with a resident whose house has been used by police to gain access to the area where the stand-off with Moat happened:
Interviewer: "So they screamed at you to go back in?"
Woman: "No, they just asked quite normally."
Interviewer: "And they (the police) rushed through your house?"
Woman: "No, they walked through very carefully."
The story was surely dramatic enough without the media needing to put words in the mouths of Rothbury residents.
At least the media adhered properly to the blackouts requested by the police on matters such as the hostage situation in the opening days - for that, they deserve credit.
Reporters were also right to ask questions of the police about their lack of response to the warning from Durham Prison, the length of time over which the investigation took place, and the use of Taser guns.
These were legitimate enquiries and it would be a strange world if journalists were not seeking answers to them, even though it is likely they will have to wait for the reports from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Until then, idle speculation and misguided commentaries are likely to be the order of the coming weeks, the worst of which makes Moat out to be the victim in this saga.
Several sick Facebook groups have already sprung up with thousands of members, many ready to acclaim Moat as some kind of anti-hero. Particular credit is given to Moat for his maiming of a police officer for life.
Moat's attention-seeking 'woe is me' attitude was evident in his 49-page letter and, at times, the media encouraged the idea that he was a victim of society.
Unfortunately, the brain-dead idiots of this world have picked up on this and made him a martyr with flowers left at the Rothbury riverside and outside his front door in the west of Newcastle.
Of course, some of the cretinous oxygen-wasters would have supported him anyway but the media must take some of the blame for him becoming such a cause célèbre in death.
Moat was a violent man, and a killer, for whom no sympathy should be reserved. He may have defied the police for over a week but he failed to terrorise the residents of Rothbury.
These are the only current known facts of this depressing (though fascinating) case - and they are enough of a story without the need for additional narratives.
Monday, 12 July 2010
World Cup 2010: For the record
CLASSIFICATION + FULL RESULTS + INDIVIDUAL AWARDS + SCORERS + RED CARDS
CLASSIFICATION
1 SPAIN (beat Netherlands 1-0 aet in Final)
2 NETHERLANDS (lost to Spain 0-1 aet in Final)
3 GERMANY (beat Uruguay 3-2 in third/fourth playoff)
4 URUGUAY (lost 3-2 to Germany in third/fourth playoff)
5 GHANA (lost on pens to Uruguay after 1-1 aet draw in QF)
6 BRAZIL (lost 1-2 to Netherlands in QF)
7 PARAGUAY (lost 0-1 to Spain in QF)
8 ARGENTINA (lost 0-4 to Germany in QF)
9 JAPAN (lost on pens to Paraguay after 0-0 draw in R2)
10 UNITED STATES (lose 1-2 to Ghana aet in R2)
11 SOUTH KOREA (lost 1-2 to Uruguay in R2)
12 SLOVAKIA (lost 1-2 to Netherlands in R2)
13 PORTUGAL (lost 0-1 to Spain in R2)
14 MEXICO (lost 1-3 to Argentina in R2)
15 ENGLAND (lost 1-4 to Germany in R2)
16 CHILE (lost 0-3 to Brazil in R2)
17 IVORY COAST (Group Stage: 4 points, +1 GD)
18 SLOVENIA (Group Stage: 4 points, 0 GD, 3 goals)
19 SWITZERLAND (Group Stage: 4 points, 0 GD, 1 goal)
20 SOUTH AFRICA (Group Stage: 4 points -2 GD)
21 AUSTRALIA (Group Stage: 4 points, -3 GD)
22 NEW ZEALAND (Group Stage: 3 points, 0 GD) - only unbeaten team at WC2010
23 SERBIA (Group Stage: 3 points, -1 GD)
24 DENMARK (Group Stage: 3 points, -3 GD, 3 goals)
25 GREECE (Group Stage: 3 points, -3 GD, 2 goals)
26 ITALY (Group Stage: 2 points, -1 GD)
27 NIGERIA (Group Stage: 1 point, -2 GD, 3 goals)
28 ALGERIA (Group Stage: 1 point, -2 GD, 0 goals)
29 FRANCE (Group Stage: 1 point, -3 GD, 1 goal)
30 HONDURAS (Group Stage: 1 points, -3 GD, 0 goals)
31 CAMEROON (Group Stage: 0 points, -3 GD)
32 NORTH KOREA (Group Stage: 0 points, -11 GD)
FULL RESULTS
Final:
Netherlands 0-1 Spain (aet)
Third/Fourth place:
Uruguay 2-3 Germany
Semi Finals:
Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
Germany 0-1 Spain
Quarter Finals:
Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet. Uruguay won 4-2 on pens)
Netherlands 2-1 Brazil
Argentina 0-4 Germany
Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Last 16:
Uruguay 2-1 South Korea
United States 1-2 Ghana (aet)
Germany 4-1 England
Argentina 3-1 Mexico
Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia
Brazil 3-0 Chile
Paraguay 0-0 Japan (aet. Paraguay won 5-3 on pens)
Spain 1-0 Portugal
Group Stage:
First matches + Second matches + Third matches
GROUP A
11/06 South Africa 1-1 Mexico
11/06 Uruguay 0-0 France
16/06 South Africa 0-3 Uruguay
17/06 Mexico 2-0 France
22/06 Mexico 0-1 Uruguay
22/06 France 1-2 South Africa
GROUP B
12/06 South Korea 2-0 Greece
12/06 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
17/06 Argentina 4-1 South Korea
17/06 Greece 2-1 Nigeria
22/06 Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
22/06 Greece 0-2 Argentina
GROUP C
12/06 England 1-1 United States
13/06 Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
18/06 Slovenia 2-2 United States
18/06 England 0-0 Algeria
23/06 Slovenia 0-1 England
23/06 United States 1-0 Algeria
GROUP D
13/06 Serbia 0-1 Ghana
13/06 Germany 4-0 Australia
18/06 Germany 0-1 Serbia
19/06 Ghana 1-1 Australia
23/06 Ghana 0-1 Germany
23/06 Australia 2-1 Serbia
GROUP E
14/06 Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
14/06 Japan 1-0 Cameroon
19/06 Netherlands 1-0 Japan
19/06 Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
24/06 Denmark 1-3 Japan
24/06 Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands
GROUP F
14/06 Italy 1-1 Paraguay
15/06 New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
20/06 Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
20/06 Italy 1-1 New Zealand
24/06 Slovakia 3-2 Italy
24/06 Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand
GROUP G
15/06 Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
15/06 Brazil 2-1 North Korea
20/06 Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
21/06 Portugal 7-0 North Korea
25/06 Portugal 0-0 Brazil
25/06 North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast
GROUP H
16/06 Honduras 0-1 Chile
16/06 Spain 0-1 Switzerland
21/06 Chile 1-0 Switzerland
21/06 Spain 2-0 Honduras
25/06 Chile 1-2 Spain
25/06 Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Golden Boot Thomas Mueller (Germany) - 5 goals, 3 assists
Golden Ball Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Golden Glove Iker Casillas (Spain)
Best Young Player Thomas Mueller (Germany)
SCORERS
145 goals in 64 matches. Average: 2.27 per match
5 Thomas Mueller (Germany), David Villa (Spain), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
4 Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), Robert Vittek (Slovakia), Miroslav Klose (Germany)
3 Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Landon Donovan (United States), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
2 Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Elano (Brazil), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Tiago (Portugal), Robinho (Brazil), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Brett Holman (Australia), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Kalu Uche (Nigeria), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Carlos Tevez (Argentina), Lee Chung-Yong (South Korea), Lee Jung-Soo (South Korea)
1 Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Martin Palermo (Argentina); Tim Cahill (Australia); Juan, Maicon (Brazil); Jean Beausejour, Mark Gonzalez, Rodrigo Millar (Chile); Nicklas Bendtner, Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark); Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe, Matthew Upson (England); Florent Malouda (France); Cacau, Arne Friedrich, Marcell Jansen, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil (Germany); Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari (Ghana); Dimitris Salpigidis, Vasilis Torosidis (Greece); Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Di Natale, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Fabio Quagliarella (Italy); Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Koffi Ndri Romaric, Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast); Yasuhito Endo, Shinji Okazaki (Japan); Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Rafael Marquez (Mexico); Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Dirk Kuyt, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Robin van Persie (Netherlands); Winston Reid, Shane Smeltz (New Zealand); Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria); Ji Yun-Nam (North Korea), Antolin Alcaraz, Cristian Riveros, Enrique Vela (Paraguay); Hugo Almeida, Liedson, Raul Meireles, Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao (Portugal); Milan Jovanovic, Marko Pantelic (Serbia); Kamil Kopunek (Slovakia); Valter Birsa, Robert Koren, Zlatan Ljubijankic (Slovenia); Bongani Khumalo, Katlego Mphela, Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa); Park Chu-Young, Park Ji-Sung (South Korea); Carles Puyol (Spain); Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland); Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey (United States); Edinson Cavani, Alvaro Pereira, Maxi Pereira (Uruguay)
2 own goals Daniel Agger (Denmark, for Netherlands), Park Chu-Young (South Korea, for Argentina)
RED CARDS
17 red cards and 260 yellow cards in 64 matches.
Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) v France
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria) v Slovenia
Aleksandar Lukovic (Serbia) v Ghana
Tim Cahill (Australia) v Germany
Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) v Uruguay
Sani Kaita (Nigeria) v Greece
Miroslav Klose (Germany) v Serbia
Harry Kewell (Australia) v Ghana
Kaka (Brazil) v Ivory Coast
Valon Behrami (Switzerland) v Chile
Yoann Gourcuff (France) v South Africa
Antar Yahia (Algeria) v United States
Marco Estrada (Chile) v Spain
Ricardo Costa (Portugal) v Spain
Felipe Melo (Brazil) v Netherlands
Luis Suarez (Uruguay) v Ghana
Johnny Heitinga (Netherlands) v Spain
CLASSIFICATION
1 SPAIN (beat Netherlands 1-0 aet in Final)
2 NETHERLANDS (lost to Spain 0-1 aet in Final)
3 GERMANY (beat Uruguay 3-2 in third/fourth playoff)
4 URUGUAY (lost 3-2 to Germany in third/fourth playoff)
5 GHANA (lost on pens to Uruguay after 1-1 aet draw in QF)
6 BRAZIL (lost 1-2 to Netherlands in QF)
7 PARAGUAY (lost 0-1 to Spain in QF)
8 ARGENTINA (lost 0-4 to Germany in QF)
9 JAPAN (lost on pens to Paraguay after 0-0 draw in R2)
10 UNITED STATES (lose 1-2 to Ghana aet in R2)
11 SOUTH KOREA (lost 1-2 to Uruguay in R2)
12 SLOVAKIA (lost 1-2 to Netherlands in R2)
13 PORTUGAL (lost 0-1 to Spain in R2)
14 MEXICO (lost 1-3 to Argentina in R2)
15 ENGLAND (lost 1-4 to Germany in R2)
16 CHILE (lost 0-3 to Brazil in R2)
17 IVORY COAST (Group Stage: 4 points, +1 GD)
18 SLOVENIA (Group Stage: 4 points, 0 GD, 3 goals)
19 SWITZERLAND (Group Stage: 4 points, 0 GD, 1 goal)
20 SOUTH AFRICA (Group Stage: 4 points -2 GD)
21 AUSTRALIA (Group Stage: 4 points, -3 GD)
22 NEW ZEALAND (Group Stage: 3 points, 0 GD) - only unbeaten team at WC2010
23 SERBIA (Group Stage: 3 points, -1 GD)
24 DENMARK (Group Stage: 3 points, -3 GD, 3 goals)
25 GREECE (Group Stage: 3 points, -3 GD, 2 goals)
26 ITALY (Group Stage: 2 points, -1 GD)
27 NIGERIA (Group Stage: 1 point, -2 GD, 3 goals)
28 ALGERIA (Group Stage: 1 point, -2 GD, 0 goals)
29 FRANCE (Group Stage: 1 point, -3 GD, 1 goal)
30 HONDURAS (Group Stage: 1 points, -3 GD, 0 goals)
31 CAMEROON (Group Stage: 0 points, -3 GD)
32 NORTH KOREA (Group Stage: 0 points, -11 GD)
FULL RESULTS
Final:
Netherlands 0-1 Spain (aet)
Third/Fourth place:
Uruguay 2-3 Germany
Semi Finals:
Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
Germany 0-1 Spain
Quarter Finals:
Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet. Uruguay won 4-2 on pens)
Netherlands 2-1 Brazil
Argentina 0-4 Germany
Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Last 16:
Uruguay 2-1 South Korea
United States 1-2 Ghana (aet)
Germany 4-1 England
Argentina 3-1 Mexico
Netherlands 2-1 Slovakia
Brazil 3-0 Chile
Paraguay 0-0 Japan (aet. Paraguay won 5-3 on pens)
Spain 1-0 Portugal
Group Stage:
First matches + Second matches + Third matches
GROUP A
11/06 South Africa 1-1 Mexico
11/06 Uruguay 0-0 France
16/06 South Africa 0-3 Uruguay
17/06 Mexico 2-0 France
22/06 Mexico 0-1 Uruguay
22/06 France 1-2 South Africa
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| URUGUAY | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| MEXICO | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| FRANCE | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
GROUP B
12/06 South Korea 2-0 Greece
12/06 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
17/06 Argentina 4-1 South Korea
17/06 Greece 2-1 Nigeria
22/06 Nigeria 2-2 South Korea
22/06 Greece 0-2 Argentina
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| ARGENTINA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
| SOUTH KOREA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| GREECE | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| NIGERIA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
GROUP C
12/06 England 1-1 United States
13/06 Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
18/06 Slovenia 2-2 United States
18/06 England 0-0 Algeria
23/06 Slovenia 0-1 England
23/06 United States 1-0 Algeria
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| UNITED STATES | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| ENGLAND | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| SLOVENIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| ALGERIA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
GROUP D
13/06 Serbia 0-1 Ghana
13/06 Germany 4-0 Australia
18/06 Germany 0-1 Serbia
19/06 Ghana 1-1 Australia
23/06 Ghana 0-1 Germany
23/06 Australia 2-1 Serbia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| GERMANY | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| GHANA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| AUSTRALIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| SERBIA | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
GROUP E
14/06 Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
14/06 Japan 1-0 Cameroon
19/06 Netherlands 1-0 Japan
19/06 Cameroon 1-2 Denmark
24/06 Denmark 1-3 Japan
24/06 Cameroon 1-2 Netherlands
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| NETHERLANDS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| JAPAN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| DENMARK | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| CAMEROON | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
GROUP F
14/06 Italy 1-1 Paraguay
15/06 New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
20/06 Slovakia 0-2 Paraguay
20/06 Italy 1-1 New Zealand
24/06 Slovakia 3-2 Italy
24/06 Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| PARAGUAY | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| SLOVAKIA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| ITALY | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
GROUP G
15/06 Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
15/06 Brazil 2-1 North Korea
20/06 Brazil 3-1 Ivory Coast
21/06 Portugal 7-0 North Korea
25/06 Portugal 0-0 Brazil
25/06 North Korea 0-3 Ivory Coast
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| BRAZIL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| PORTUGAL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 |
| IVORY COAST | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| NORTH KOREA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
GROUP H
16/06 Honduras 0-1 Chile
16/06 Spain 0-1 Switzerland
21/06 Chile 1-0 Switzerland
21/06 Spain 2-0 Honduras
25/06 Chile 1-2 Spain
25/06 Switzerland 0-0 Honduras
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| SPAIN | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| CHILE | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| SWITZERLAND | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| HONDURAS | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Golden Boot Thomas Mueller (Germany) - 5 goals, 3 assists
Golden Ball Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
Golden Glove Iker Casillas (Spain)
Best Young Player Thomas Mueller (Germany)
SCORERS
145 goals in 64 matches. Average: 2.27 per match
5 Thomas Mueller (Germany), David Villa (Spain), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
4 Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina), Robert Vittek (Slovakia), Miroslav Klose (Germany)
3 Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Landon Donovan (United States), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
2 Andres Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Elano (Brazil), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Tiago (Portugal), Robinho (Brazil), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Brett Holman (Australia), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Kalu Uche (Nigeria), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Carlos Tevez (Argentina), Lee Chung-Yong (South Korea), Lee Jung-Soo (South Korea)
1 Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Martin Palermo (Argentina); Tim Cahill (Australia); Juan, Maicon (Brazil); Jean Beausejour, Mark Gonzalez, Rodrigo Millar (Chile); Nicklas Bendtner, Dennis Rommedahl, Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark); Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe, Matthew Upson (England); Florent Malouda (France); Cacau, Arne Friedrich, Marcell Jansen, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil (Germany); Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari (Ghana); Dimitris Salpigidis, Vasilis Torosidis (Greece); Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Di Natale, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Fabio Quagliarella (Italy); Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Koffi Ndri Romaric, Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast); Yasuhito Endo, Shinji Okazaki (Japan); Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Rafael Marquez (Mexico); Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Dirk Kuyt, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Robin van Persie (Netherlands); Winston Reid, Shane Smeltz (New Zealand); Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria); Ji Yun-Nam (North Korea), Antolin Alcaraz, Cristian Riveros, Enrique Vela (Paraguay); Hugo Almeida, Liedson, Raul Meireles, Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao (Portugal); Milan Jovanovic, Marko Pantelic (Serbia); Kamil Kopunek (Slovakia); Valter Birsa, Robert Koren, Zlatan Ljubijankic (Slovenia); Bongani Khumalo, Katlego Mphela, Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa); Park Chu-Young, Park Ji-Sung (South Korea); Carles Puyol (Spain); Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland); Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey (United States); Edinson Cavani, Alvaro Pereira, Maxi Pereira (Uruguay)
2 own goals Daniel Agger (Denmark, for Netherlands), Park Chu-Young (South Korea, for Argentina)
RED CARDS
17 red cards and 260 yellow cards in 64 matches.
Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) v France
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria) v Slovenia
Aleksandar Lukovic (Serbia) v Ghana
Tim Cahill (Australia) v Germany
Itumeleng Khune (South Africa) v Uruguay
Sani Kaita (Nigeria) v Greece
Miroslav Klose (Germany) v Serbia
Harry Kewell (Australia) v Ghana
Kaka (Brazil) v Ivory Coast
Valon Behrami (Switzerland) v Chile
Yoann Gourcuff (France) v South Africa
Antar Yahia (Algeria) v United States
Marco Estrada (Chile) v Spain
Ricardo Costa (Portugal) v Spain
Felipe Melo (Brazil) v Netherlands
Luis Suarez (Uruguay) v Ghana
Johnny Heitinga (Netherlands) v Spain
Sunday, 11 July 2010
World Cup 2010: Spain win first ever World Cup in dour Final against Dutch cloggers
THE FINAL
Netherlands 0
Spain 1 Iniesta 116
After extra time. Half-time and 90 minutes: 0-0
Netherlands 1 Maarten Stekelenburg; 2 Gregory Van der Wiel, 3 Johnny Heitinga, 4 Joris Mathijsen, 5 Giovanni Van Bronckhorst (c) (15 Edson Braafheid, 105 mins), 6 Mark Van Bommel, 7 Dirk Kuyt (17 Elijero Elia, 70 mins), 8 Nigel De Jong (23 Rafael Van der Vaart, 99 mins), 9 Robin Van Persie, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 11 Arjen Robben. Booked: Van Persie, Van Bommel, De Jong, Van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Robben, Van der Wiel, Mathijsen. Sent off: Heitinga (second booking)
Spain 1 Iker Casillas (c); 3 Gerard Pique, 5 Carles Puyol, 11 Joan Capdevila, 15 Sergio Ramos, 6 Andres Iniesta, 8 Xavi, 14 Xabi Alonso (10 Cesc Fabegas, 87 mins), 16 Sergio Busquets, 7 David Villa (9 Fernando Torres, 106 mins), 18 Pedrito (22 Jesus Navas, 60 mins). Booked: Puyol, Ramos, Capdevila, Iniesta, Xavi
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
SPAIN became only the eighth country ever to win the World Cup after beating a cynical Netherlands team 1-0 after extra time in a scrappy Final.
Andres Iniesta scored the only goal with just four minutes of the extra period left, bringing down Cesc Fabregas' cross before firing a left-foot shot past Maarten Stekelenburg.
The ten-man Dutch felt hard done by after English referee Howard Webb denied them a clear corner off Fabregas only moments before Spain broke up to the other end.
But the Oranje had hardly endeared themselves to Webb after a series of cynical fouls which, quite frankly, spoiled the Final.
The Dutch tactics resulted in eight of their players being booked and, in extra time, Johnny Heitinga was sent off. Spain also picked up five yellow cards over the 120 minutes.
Bert van Marwijk's men clearly decided to employ such tactics to disrupt the Spaniards' rhythm but there was little evidence of its effectiveness in a bright start by Spain.
Sergio Ramos had the first real chance after just five minutes, producing a powerful header from Xavi's free-kick and forcing Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stelkenburg into a fine save.
Meanwhile, David Villa - on five tournament goals - prowled the Dutch line of defence looking to beat the offside trap.
The first booking of a busy evening for Webb came on 14 minutes when Robin Van Persie clattered Joan Capdevila, just after another terrible Mark Van Bommel challenge had somehow gone unpunished.
And so began a procession of nicks and hacks as the match completely lost its way.
Puyol and Ramos picked up bookings for the Spanish, and eventually Van Bommel did likewise for the Dutch, before a truly X-rated karate kick by Nigel De Jong into the chest of Xabi Alonso.
De Jong's offence merited a straight red card but Webb appeared reluctant to cause a numerical imbalance, fearing perhaps he would be accused of spoiling the Final.
Unfortunately, after 20 minutes of foul play in the middle of the half, there was little left of the contest to be spoiled.
As the first half drew to a close, the Dutch threatened and Spain captain Iker Casillas parried away a decent effort from Arjen Robben on the stroke of half-time.
But Webb's whistle for the interval received a predictably muted response from the 84,490 crowd inside the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
The start of the second half was almost a carbon copy of the first with Spain forcing the issue and creating a huge chance.
Again Xavi was the creator - this time, he swung in a corner, which was headed on by Puyol only for Capdevila to miss his kick completely from just a few yards out.
But, once more, the match soon lost its rhythm as Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Heitinga found their way into Webb's notebook.
Then, on 62 minutes, the Dutch stopped fouling for long enough to fashion the best chance of the match.
Wesley Sneijder played a beautiful ball from the halfway line to put Robben clean through, only for Casillas to foil him with his feet - a brilliant save.
The next major opening did not come for another 15 minutes and it came at the other end but it was just as gilt-edged as an unmarked Ramos headed a corner over from six yards.
That sparked a slightly more lively last ten minutes of normal time as gaps in both defences began to appear.
First, Iniesta jinked past a few Dutch defends and looked set to pull the trigger as he was blocked by Sneijder.
And, at the other end, the best chance again fell to Robben who escaped Puyol before he ran into Casillas who had dived at his feet.
But it was no great surprise that no breakthrough was forthcoming and this became the sixth of 19 World Cup Finals to go to extra time.
Yet again, Spain were quicker out of the blocks but Xavi's penalty appeal for Heitinga's challenge just three minutes in was optimistic at best.
A much better chance fell to Fabregas a couple of minutes later after Iniesta pierced the Dutch backline and sent the Arsenal man clean through.
But Stekelenburg matched Casillas' early effort by keeping out Fabregas' shot with his feet.
Spain continued to press as Jesus Navas, on as a substitute for Pedro, hit a speculative shot which deflected off Van Bronckhorst who was relieved to see it hit the side-netting.
Then, just five minutes after the restart, came a defining - if a rather predictable - moment: a red card.
Heitinga was the man to receive his marching orders after he fouled Iniesta on the edge of the box having been caught out by a quick one-two.
But, if anything, after Xavi had sent the resulting free-kick sailing over the bar, the dismissal briefly galvanised the Dutch, who won their own free-kick about 35 yards from goal.
Sneijder smashed it towards goal but it span wide after taking a clear deflection off the back of Fabregas.
Controversially, a goal kick was given and, sixty seconds later, Fabregas was at the other end, sending Iniesta through with a wonderfully-weighted pass.
Unlike Ramos, Robben and Fabregas before him, Iniesta kept his cool and slammed the ball into the net, giving Stekelenburg no chance and saving the match from the spectre of a shootout.
Spain, who had only conceded two goals throughout the tournament and none in the knockout stages, were not about to crumble against ten men from the Netherlands.
In fact, there was little response from the Dutch who have now lost each of the three World Cup Finals which they have been in after defeats to West Germany and Argentina in 1974 and 1978.
By contrast, Spain's record reads played one, won one - and this was a deserved victory for Vincente del Bosque's men despite a poor performance.
The Final match will not go down as a classic - indeed, it was the very opposite of that - but Spain tried, for the most part, to play the game in the right spirit.
Sadly, that is not something which could be said of the Dutch and, despite their valid protestations about the winner, the right team won.
Netherlands 0
Spain 1 Iniesta 116
After extra time. Half-time and 90 minutes: 0-0
Netherlands 1 Maarten Stekelenburg; 2 Gregory Van der Wiel, 3 Johnny Heitinga, 4 Joris Mathijsen, 5 Giovanni Van Bronckhorst (c) (15 Edson Braafheid, 105 mins), 6 Mark Van Bommel, 7 Dirk Kuyt (17 Elijero Elia, 70 mins), 8 Nigel De Jong (23 Rafael Van der Vaart, 99 mins), 9 Robin Van Persie, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 11 Arjen Robben. Booked: Van Persie, Van Bommel, De Jong, Van Bronckhorst, Heitinga, Robben, Van der Wiel, Mathijsen. Sent off: Heitinga (second booking)
Spain 1 Iker Casillas (c); 3 Gerard Pique, 5 Carles Puyol, 11 Joan Capdevila, 15 Sergio Ramos, 6 Andres Iniesta, 8 Xavi, 14 Xabi Alonso (10 Cesc Fabegas, 87 mins), 16 Sergio Busquets, 7 David Villa (9 Fernando Torres, 106 mins), 18 Pedrito (22 Jesus Navas, 60 mins). Booked: Puyol, Ramos, Capdevila, Iniesta, Xavi
Referee: Howard Webb (England)
SPAIN became only the eighth country ever to win the World Cup after beating a cynical Netherlands team 1-0 after extra time in a scrappy Final.
Andres Iniesta scored the only goal with just four minutes of the extra period left, bringing down Cesc Fabregas' cross before firing a left-foot shot past Maarten Stekelenburg.
The ten-man Dutch felt hard done by after English referee Howard Webb denied them a clear corner off Fabregas only moments before Spain broke up to the other end.
But the Oranje had hardly endeared themselves to Webb after a series of cynical fouls which, quite frankly, spoiled the Final.
The Dutch tactics resulted in eight of their players being booked and, in extra time, Johnny Heitinga was sent off. Spain also picked up five yellow cards over the 120 minutes.
Bert van Marwijk's men clearly decided to employ such tactics to disrupt the Spaniards' rhythm but there was little evidence of its effectiveness in a bright start by Spain.
Sergio Ramos had the first real chance after just five minutes, producing a powerful header from Xavi's free-kick and forcing Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stelkenburg into a fine save.
Meanwhile, David Villa - on five tournament goals - prowled the Dutch line of defence looking to beat the offside trap.
The first booking of a busy evening for Webb came on 14 minutes when Robin Van Persie clattered Joan Capdevila, just after another terrible Mark Van Bommel challenge had somehow gone unpunished.
And so began a procession of nicks and hacks as the match completely lost its way.
Puyol and Ramos picked up bookings for the Spanish, and eventually Van Bommel did likewise for the Dutch, before a truly X-rated karate kick by Nigel De Jong into the chest of Xabi Alonso.
De Jong's offence merited a straight red card but Webb appeared reluctant to cause a numerical imbalance, fearing perhaps he would be accused of spoiling the Final.
Unfortunately, after 20 minutes of foul play in the middle of the half, there was little left of the contest to be spoiled.
As the first half drew to a close, the Dutch threatened and Spain captain Iker Casillas parried away a decent effort from Arjen Robben on the stroke of half-time.
But Webb's whistle for the interval received a predictably muted response from the 84,490 crowd inside the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.
The start of the second half was almost a carbon copy of the first with Spain forcing the issue and creating a huge chance.
Again Xavi was the creator - this time, he swung in a corner, which was headed on by Puyol only for Capdevila to miss his kick completely from just a few yards out.
But, once more, the match soon lost its rhythm as Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Heitinga found their way into Webb's notebook.
Then, on 62 minutes, the Dutch stopped fouling for long enough to fashion the best chance of the match.
Wesley Sneijder played a beautiful ball from the halfway line to put Robben clean through, only for Casillas to foil him with his feet - a brilliant save.
The next major opening did not come for another 15 minutes and it came at the other end but it was just as gilt-edged as an unmarked Ramos headed a corner over from six yards.
That sparked a slightly more lively last ten minutes of normal time as gaps in both defences began to appear.
First, Iniesta jinked past a few Dutch defends and looked set to pull the trigger as he was blocked by Sneijder.
And, at the other end, the best chance again fell to Robben who escaped Puyol before he ran into Casillas who had dived at his feet.
But it was no great surprise that no breakthrough was forthcoming and this became the sixth of 19 World Cup Finals to go to extra time.
Yet again, Spain were quicker out of the blocks but Xavi's penalty appeal for Heitinga's challenge just three minutes in was optimistic at best.
A much better chance fell to Fabregas a couple of minutes later after Iniesta pierced the Dutch backline and sent the Arsenal man clean through.
But Stekelenburg matched Casillas' early effort by keeping out Fabregas' shot with his feet.
Spain continued to press as Jesus Navas, on as a substitute for Pedro, hit a speculative shot which deflected off Van Bronckhorst who was relieved to see it hit the side-netting.
Then, just five minutes after the restart, came a defining - if a rather predictable - moment: a red card.
Heitinga was the man to receive his marching orders after he fouled Iniesta on the edge of the box having been caught out by a quick one-two.
But, if anything, after Xavi had sent the resulting free-kick sailing over the bar, the dismissal briefly galvanised the Dutch, who won their own free-kick about 35 yards from goal.
Sneijder smashed it towards goal but it span wide after taking a clear deflection off the back of Fabregas.
Controversially, a goal kick was given and, sixty seconds later, Fabregas was at the other end, sending Iniesta through with a wonderfully-weighted pass.
Unlike Ramos, Robben and Fabregas before him, Iniesta kept his cool and slammed the ball into the net, giving Stekelenburg no chance and saving the match from the spectre of a shootout.
Spain, who had only conceded two goals throughout the tournament and none in the knockout stages, were not about to crumble against ten men from the Netherlands.
In fact, there was little response from the Dutch who have now lost each of the three World Cup Finals which they have been in after defeats to West Germany and Argentina in 1974 and 1978.
By contrast, Spain's record reads played one, won one - and this was a deserved victory for Vincente del Bosque's men despite a poor performance.
The Final match will not go down as a classic - indeed, it was the very opposite of that - but Spain tried, for the most part, to play the game in the right spirit.
Sadly, that is not something which could be said of the Dutch and, despite their valid protestations about the winner, the right team won.
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
World Cup 2010: Dream lives on for Spanish and Dutch
SEMI FINALS
06/07 Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
07/07 Germany 0-1 Spain
SPAIN reached their first ever World Cup Final after outclassing Germany in a repeat of their Euro 2008 Final win in Durban.
Carles Puyol scored the only goal with a bullet header from a corner with just 16 minutes left to seal a momentous victory for the Spaniards.
Spain's win guarantees that there will be a first-time champion in the Final on Sunday and either Spain or Netherlands will become just the eighth country to lift the World Cup.
Vincente del Bosque's men came into the Semi Final having scored just six goals in five games as compared to Germany's tournament-high of 13 goals.
But it was the Spanish who started the tie much brighter, dominating possession as expected, while the Germans resorted to playing long balls towards Miroslav Klose who had little support all night.
Barcelona centre-back Puyol had the first big chance of the Semi Final, heading over the bar from no more than eight yards from Andres Iniesta's cross on 14 minutes.
Spain were seeing plenty of the ball but the organised Germans were preventing David Villa, scorer of five of Spain's six goals, from making a nuisance of himself in the box.
This led to the likes of Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso sending their long-rang efforts frustratingly wide.
Germany were finding it even harder to gain any rhythm without the suspended Thomas Mueller in midfield.
It took fully 32 minutes for the Germans to have a shot - another long-range effort from Mueller's replacement Piotr Trochowski which was tipped around the post by Iker Casillas.
But, as the half wore on, Joachim Loew's men began to make more of an impression, denting the Spanish possession statistics.
And on the stroke of half time, Germany finally caught Spain on the break, a tactic that worked so well against the shaky defences of England and Argentina.
Mehut Oezil briefly got away from Ramos, forcing the Spanish full-back to bring him down. Oezil claimed a penalty but got nothing; it should have been a free-kick right on the edge of the box.
Despite a more encouraging finish to the first period for Germany, again it was Spain who started the second half in better shape as Alonso sent another two shots fizzing wide early on.
Then, a goal looked almost certain when Iniesta got around the back of the German defence and squared the ball across the six-yard box but Villa's stretched-out leg just failed to reach it.
Loew deserves credit for recognising that the match was getting away from Germany and he made two positive early substitutions in the second half in an attempt to swing the match in his team's favour.
On 52 minutes, Jerome Boateng was replaced at left full-back by Marcell Jansen, nominally a left midfielder; and ten minutes later, playmaker Toni Kroos was sent on for the disappointing Trochowski.
The changes seemed to be having some effect, though Jansen's cross for Klose left the striker with an awkward volley which he could only spoon over the bar.
Moments later, Kroos was presented with a great chance after Lukas Podolski's cross fell to him unmarked but Casillas produced a smart stop.
Just as it looked as if Germany had got back in the game, Spain went down the other end and won a corner.
Xavi sent over a brilliant ball into the ruck of players in the box and Puyol stole in just ahead of his fellow centre-back Gerard Pique to score Spain's most important goal in their World Cup history.
With just a quarter of an hour to go, Germany realised they were up against it but their long balls and a succession of corners by Kroos were easily dealt with by the towering presence of Puyol and Pique.
Indeed, the best chance of the final bit of the game fell again to the Spanish as, for once, the Germans fell victim to the break.
After another German attack broke down on the edge of the Spain box, the ball was cleared to Pedro with five minutes of the match left.
He found himself with substitute Fernando Torres in a two-on-one situation bearing down on the German goal.
But rather than shoot or, better still, square the pass to Torres to complete the victory, Pedro dwelt on the ball for so long, Arne Friedrich was able to get back and dispossess him.
It felt scripted that Germany would punish such profligacy but a brilliant spell of Spanish possession served to kill of their challenge without further threat on Casillas' goal.
Spain had done it at last and deservedly so - though few would have expected Puyol, and not Villa, would be the history man.
NETHERLANDS reached their first World Cup Final since 1978 after beating Uruguay 3-2 in the Semi Finals in Cape Town.
The Dutch dream of a first ever World Cup win lives on after a stunning first-half strike from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and second-half goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.
Diego Forlan had briefly got Uruguay back in the game with his own blockbuster goal to level the scores at 1-1 and Maxi Pereira set up a frantic finish.
But, despite the five goals, this was at times a disappointing and lacklustre affair between two teams weakened by suspension. Certainly, it was no classic.
The Dutch started brighter and, in the first 10 minutes, Dirk Kuyt should have done better than blaze his shot over the bar after Arjen Robben's cross evaded Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
The pair combined again moments later with Kuyt the provider setting up a header for Robben which Muslera did well to palm away from the goal.
But Netherlands did not need to wait too much longer for the breakthrough.
On 18 minutes, Giovanni van Bronckhorst found a bit of space away from a congested midfield and let fly from 35 yards, arrowing the ball in the top corner.
It was a brilliant goal, a definite contender for goal of the tournament and no less than what the Dutch deserved.
The match then got scrappy with a couple of scuffles - first after Martin Caceres' attempted overhead kick instead hit Demi de Zeeuw in the face; then, after Edinson Cavani made the most of a van Bronckhorst challenge.
Slowly but surely, Uruguay worked their way back into the match but their first real chance produced another cracking goal.
This time, Forlan picked the ball up with little on about 35 yards out and, with a little space in front of him, he swerved a shot over Johnny Heitinga's head and through Maarten Stekelenburg in the Netherlands' goal.
At half time, it was 1-1 and the Dutch, with whom the favourites tag does not always rest easily, could barely believe it.
But, rather than feeling sorry for themselves, Bert van Marwijk's men imposed themselves on the game again at the start of the second period.
Uruguay - playing in their first World Cup Semi Final since 1970 - defended deeply but well, restricting the Dutch chances and using Forlan to relieve the pressure.
They could only hold out for so long and, on 70 minutes, the Dutch took the lead again with a scrappy goal by Wesley Sneijder, his fifth of the tournament as he became joint top scorer with Spain's David Villa.
The Uruguayans were not happy, feeling that Robin van Persie had interfered with play in an offside position by stepping over Sneijder's shot - but there was no doubting the validity of the third just three minutes later.
Robben effectively won the tie with a brilliant header which went in-off the post after he and Kuyt combined again, the Liverpool man having swung in the cross.
Uruguay looked spent and, when Forlan was withdrawn with six minutes left, it seemed as if the match was ambling its way to full time with only the Dutch likely to score another.
But the South Americans are nothing if a bunch of battlers and Maxi Pereira set up a frantic finish by curling a shot from a short corner past a ruck of players and Stekelenburg into the net.
As the stoppage time ticked past the alloted three minutes of injury time, Uruguay desperately tried to get another to produce possibly the greatest ever World Cup comeback but their play was not measured and it wasn't to be.
The Netherlands, runners-up in 1974 and 1978, are back in football's showpiece event.
06/07 Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands
07/07 Germany 0-1 Spain
SPAIN reached their first ever World Cup Final after outclassing Germany in a repeat of their Euro 2008 Final win in Durban.
Carles Puyol scored the only goal with a bullet header from a corner with just 16 minutes left to seal a momentous victory for the Spaniards.
Spain's win guarantees that there will be a first-time champion in the Final on Sunday and either Spain or Netherlands will become just the eighth country to lift the World Cup.
Vincente del Bosque's men came into the Semi Final having scored just six goals in five games as compared to Germany's tournament-high of 13 goals.
But it was the Spanish who started the tie much brighter, dominating possession as expected, while the Germans resorted to playing long balls towards Miroslav Klose who had little support all night.
Barcelona centre-back Puyol had the first big chance of the Semi Final, heading over the bar from no more than eight yards from Andres Iniesta's cross on 14 minutes.
Spain were seeing plenty of the ball but the organised Germans were preventing David Villa, scorer of five of Spain's six goals, from making a nuisance of himself in the box.
This led to the likes of Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso sending their long-rang efforts frustratingly wide.
Germany were finding it even harder to gain any rhythm without the suspended Thomas Mueller in midfield.
It took fully 32 minutes for the Germans to have a shot - another long-range effort from Mueller's replacement Piotr Trochowski which was tipped around the post by Iker Casillas.
But, as the half wore on, Joachim Loew's men began to make more of an impression, denting the Spanish possession statistics.
And on the stroke of half time, Germany finally caught Spain on the break, a tactic that worked so well against the shaky defences of England and Argentina.
Mehut Oezil briefly got away from Ramos, forcing the Spanish full-back to bring him down. Oezil claimed a penalty but got nothing; it should have been a free-kick right on the edge of the box.
Despite a more encouraging finish to the first period for Germany, again it was Spain who started the second half in better shape as Alonso sent another two shots fizzing wide early on.
Then, a goal looked almost certain when Iniesta got around the back of the German defence and squared the ball across the six-yard box but Villa's stretched-out leg just failed to reach it.
Loew deserves credit for recognising that the match was getting away from Germany and he made two positive early substitutions in the second half in an attempt to swing the match in his team's favour.
On 52 minutes, Jerome Boateng was replaced at left full-back by Marcell Jansen, nominally a left midfielder; and ten minutes later, playmaker Toni Kroos was sent on for the disappointing Trochowski.
The changes seemed to be having some effect, though Jansen's cross for Klose left the striker with an awkward volley which he could only spoon over the bar.
Moments later, Kroos was presented with a great chance after Lukas Podolski's cross fell to him unmarked but Casillas produced a smart stop.
Just as it looked as if Germany had got back in the game, Spain went down the other end and won a corner.
Xavi sent over a brilliant ball into the ruck of players in the box and Puyol stole in just ahead of his fellow centre-back Gerard Pique to score Spain's most important goal in their World Cup history.
With just a quarter of an hour to go, Germany realised they were up against it but their long balls and a succession of corners by Kroos were easily dealt with by the towering presence of Puyol and Pique.
Indeed, the best chance of the final bit of the game fell again to the Spanish as, for once, the Germans fell victim to the break.
After another German attack broke down on the edge of the Spain box, the ball was cleared to Pedro with five minutes of the match left.
He found himself with substitute Fernando Torres in a two-on-one situation bearing down on the German goal.
But rather than shoot or, better still, square the pass to Torres to complete the victory, Pedro dwelt on the ball for so long, Arne Friedrich was able to get back and dispossess him.
It felt scripted that Germany would punish such profligacy but a brilliant spell of Spanish possession served to kill of their challenge without further threat on Casillas' goal.
Spain had done it at last and deservedly so - though few would have expected Puyol, and not Villa, would be the history man.
NETHERLANDS reached their first World Cup Final since 1978 after beating Uruguay 3-2 in the Semi Finals in Cape Town.
The Dutch dream of a first ever World Cup win lives on after a stunning first-half strike from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and second-half goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben.
Diego Forlan had briefly got Uruguay back in the game with his own blockbuster goal to level the scores at 1-1 and Maxi Pereira set up a frantic finish.
But, despite the five goals, this was at times a disappointing and lacklustre affair between two teams weakened by suspension. Certainly, it was no classic.
The Dutch started brighter and, in the first 10 minutes, Dirk Kuyt should have done better than blaze his shot over the bar after Arjen Robben's cross evaded Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
The pair combined again moments later with Kuyt the provider setting up a header for Robben which Muslera did well to palm away from the goal.
But Netherlands did not need to wait too much longer for the breakthrough.
On 18 minutes, Giovanni van Bronckhorst found a bit of space away from a congested midfield and let fly from 35 yards, arrowing the ball in the top corner.
It was a brilliant goal, a definite contender for goal of the tournament and no less than what the Dutch deserved.
The match then got scrappy with a couple of scuffles - first after Martin Caceres' attempted overhead kick instead hit Demi de Zeeuw in the face; then, after Edinson Cavani made the most of a van Bronckhorst challenge.
Slowly but surely, Uruguay worked their way back into the match but their first real chance produced another cracking goal.
This time, Forlan picked the ball up with little on about 35 yards out and, with a little space in front of him, he swerved a shot over Johnny Heitinga's head and through Maarten Stekelenburg in the Netherlands' goal.
At half time, it was 1-1 and the Dutch, with whom the favourites tag does not always rest easily, could barely believe it.
But, rather than feeling sorry for themselves, Bert van Marwijk's men imposed themselves on the game again at the start of the second period.
Uruguay - playing in their first World Cup Semi Final since 1970 - defended deeply but well, restricting the Dutch chances and using Forlan to relieve the pressure.
They could only hold out for so long and, on 70 minutes, the Dutch took the lead again with a scrappy goal by Wesley Sneijder, his fifth of the tournament as he became joint top scorer with Spain's David Villa.
The Uruguayans were not happy, feeling that Robin van Persie had interfered with play in an offside position by stepping over Sneijder's shot - but there was no doubting the validity of the third just three minutes later.
Robben effectively won the tie with a brilliant header which went in-off the post after he and Kuyt combined again, the Liverpool man having swung in the cross.
Uruguay looked spent and, when Forlan was withdrawn with six minutes left, it seemed as if the match was ambling its way to full time with only the Dutch likely to score another.
But the South Americans are nothing if a bunch of battlers and Maxi Pereira set up a frantic finish by curling a shot from a short corner past a ruck of players and Stekelenburg into the net.
As the stoppage time ticked past the alloted three minutes of injury time, Uruguay desperately tried to get another to produce possibly the greatest ever World Cup comeback but their play was not measured and it wasn't to be.
The Netherlands, runners-up in 1974 and 1978, are back in football's showpiece event.
Friday, 2 July 2010
World Cup 2010: Dutch spring a surprise on fallible Brazil while Germany storm through
QUARTER FINALS
02/07 Netherlands 2-1 Brazil
02/07 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet. Uruguay won 4-2 on pens)
Semi Final: Netherlands v Uruguay [Tue 6 July, 7:30pm]
NETHERLANDS produced a stunning second half comeback to send ten-man Brazil crashing out of the World Cup at the Quarter Finals for the second time in a row.
Brazil coach Dunga paid for the failure with his job, sacked along with the rest of his staff before he even had the chance to tender his resignation to Ricardo Teixeira, the Brazilian Federation chief.
Set pieces proved the Brazilians' undoing as a Felipe Melo own goal and a Wesley Sneijder header turned the tie on its head as the Dutch reached their first World Cup Semi Final since 1998.
A win for the Dutch never looked likely after a first period which was completely dominated by five-time champions Brazil.
Even before Robinho slotted home an inch-perfect pass from Melo to make it 1-0 on 10 minutes, the former Manchester City man had already had a goal ruled out for Dani Alves' offside.
After the goal, the pressure continued as Juan blazed over and Maarten Stekelenburg was forced to produce a top-drawer save from Kaka's curling effort.
The second half began in much the same style as the first until Arjen Robben, who was until that point having a frustrating game, pushed the ball past Michel Bastos on the right.
Bastos somehow avoided a second booking but Brazil were punished from Sneijder's delivery which caused confusion between goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Melo, flicking the defender's head and ending up in the corner of the net.
The goal, which came on 53 minutes, completely changed the feeling of the match. The Dutch were more energetic and the Brazilians were now much shakier at the back.
That was clear when Juan conceded a needless corner in the 68th minute. Robben curled it in and Dirk Kuyt flicked it perfectly for Sneijder to head his third goal of the World Cup finals.
Brazil were now on the back foot, behind for the first time in the tournament, and Dunga's men did not cope well.
They has already lost all semblance of organisation at the back when Melo then completely lost his discipline, giving Japanese ref Yuichi Nishimura no option but to send him off.
After fouling Robben who went to ground, Melo thought it justified to stamp on the flying Dutchman.
Brazil's task had just got harder and they were simply not up to it, resorting eventually to long-balls which were easily dealt with by Andre Ooijer and Johnny Heitinga.
Meanwhile, the Dutch had started playing on the break and Klass van Huntelaar and Kuyt both missed chances to seal the win.
But it did not matter - the Dutch survived a few nervy corners and one Kaka shot that went just wide to record a ninth successive win and extend their unbeaten run to 24 matches.
With a winning streak like that, it is no surprise that Bert van Marwijk's men are favourites in their Semi Final against Uruguay, now the only remaining South American team.
Uruguay killed off any hope of an African success at the first World Cup in Africa, knocking out Ghana in controversial circumstances on an emotional night in Johannesburg.
The Ghanaians looked set to become the first ever African team in the World Cup Semi Finals when they were awarded a last-minute penalty after Luis Suarez prevented a goal with handball on the line.
Poor Asamoah Gyan stepped up and, with the last kick of the game, hit his penalty hard enough but it was just too high, clipping the top of the bar and going over.
It meant Suarez, who was sent off meaning he misses the Semi Final, had effectively kept his team in the tournament though his improvised goal-tending looked more instinctive than anything.
But, certainly, the Black Stars entered the penalty shootout with a negative mindset after Gyan's dramatic miss.
Not that it seemed to effect the super-cool Gyan who showed real guts to strike Ghana's first penalty in the shootout into the top corner. If only...
Still, Uruguay also had the advantage of taking first and, at 3-2 ahead, it looked as if it had paid off.
Sunderland man John Mensah took no run-up before rolling a pathetically soft penalty into the hands of Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera.
But then Maxi Pereira put Ghana back in the game by blazing over meaning young Dominic Adiyah had the chance to level the scores back up.
The pressure told on the 20-year-old striker, though at least he forced Muslera into a save worthy of its name.
Substitute Sebastian Abreu applied the coup de grace sending Uruguay through to their first Semi Final since 1970 with an audacious chip down the middle.
Oscar Tabarez's men had started the match better as Suarez and Diego Forlan both drawing early saves from Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal.
But, after a nervy start, the Black Stars got more and more of a foothold in the game, building up a real head of a steam before half-time.
Isaac Vorsah put a header wide when he really should have scored before Gyan also went just wide after good work by Kevin-Prince Boateng down the right.
The breakthrough eventually came in first-half stoppage time. Nothing really looked on when Sulley Muntari picked the ball up 35 yards from goal and so he smashed the ball towards goal.
The early whipped shot caught Muslera off guard, finishing neatly in the bottom corner after moving in the air.
Unfortunately for Ghana, and all the home South Africans supporting them, their joy was to be short-lived in the second half.
Former Manchester United forward Forlan had wasted numerous set plays in the first period but none had been so ideally placed as the one from which he scored on 55 minutes.
John Pantsil had brought down Jorge Fucile on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and Forlan did the honours, curling an exquisite up-and-over the wall shot to the left of Kingson.
That left the game up for grabs but the players also seemed to realise this and, after an open first hour of the match, tiredness meant chances were at a premium.
Uruguay looked slightly more likely and Suarez glanced a header just past the post but as the match moved into its final 10 minutes, both sides seemed to cease hostilities momentarily.
Extra time was also a scrappy affair as Ghana's tired legs - they also played an extra 30 minutes in the Second Round against United States - held off Uruguay's attacks.
But this game deserved a dramatic finsh and Ghana, with some help from Suarez, gave it one.
Boateng swung in a corner, Adiyah had his shot blocked legally on the line by Suarez's legs before Adiyah's next attempt - a header - was saved by the Uruguayan forward.
Suarez left the field in tears but he was soon doing cartwheels down the tunnel after watching Gyan miss from the sidelines.
It was a cruel moment for Gyan who has impressed throughout this tournament and, despite him overcoming his own demons straightaway in the shootout, it became even crueller.
QUARTER FINALS
03/07 Argentina 0-4 Germany
03/07 Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Semi Final: Germany v Spain [Wed 7 July, 7:30pm]
GERMANY turned on the style again to thrash Argentina 4-0 and reach their third World Cup semi final in a row.
Miroslav Klose scored twice on his 100th cap to join his compatriot Gerd Mueller on 14 World Cup finals goals, one behind Ronaldo on the all-time scorers' list.
Thomas Mueller and Arne Friedrich got the other goals as Germany hit four for a second successive match and the third time in the tournament.
Joachim Loew's men got a perfect start when Mueller got ahead of all the Argentine defence to head Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick into the net off goalkeeper Sergio Romero inside three minutes.
It was the quickest goal in a match at World Cup 2010 and it put Germany in control for the whole of the first spell of the game with the Argentine full backs Nicolas Otamendi and Gabriel Heinze run ragged.
On 24 minutes, the contest should have been over - Mueller beat Heinze down the right and pulled the ball back at the perfect angle for Klose.
For once, the German striker lacked composure and blazed his shot over the bar, and it looked for a while that it could be a costly miss.
Argentina belatedly started to get some joy and Lionel Messi began to play further upfield, winning a couple of free kicks on the edge of the box.
From the rebound off the wall of one of these free kicks, Argentina worked the ball wide and put it in the net but no fewer than four forwards in the middle were offside.
But, as half-time approached, Argentina's defence remained hopelessly outclassed as Phillipp Lahm burst past Heinze again, only for Mueller's effort to be deflected wide.
Early in the second half, the Argentine forwards did their best to get their team back on level terms but Germany showed their other quality in addition to their fast attacking breaks: fully committed defending.
This was no more in evidence than when Per Mertesacher blocked Carlos Tevez's volley full in the face as Angel di Maria began to make inroads down the right.
Further shots from Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain meant Manuel Neuer was definitely working the harder of the two goalkeepers and the second goal was the very definition of a sucker punch.
With 67 minutes on the clock, Mueller spread the ball to Lukas Podolski on the left. He beat Otamendi all too easily before rolling the ball along the six-yard line for Klose to walk into the net.
Just seven minutes later, the Argentine defence collapsed again. This time, Schweinsteiger reached the byline against little resistance before pulling the ball back for Friedrich to score his first ever goal for Germany.
The Germans, who had started the match so brightly before riding out the Argentina storm, finished in full control, able to pick their runners on the break at will.
The fourth goal came in the death throes of the game as Podolski found Mesut Oezil and his cross was volleyed home with a great sense of finality by Klose.
At full-time, Diego Maradona left the pitch with much to consider about his future after Argentina's worst World Cup finals defeat since 1958.
Meanwhile, the Germans juggernaut continues to flatten all before them but next up is Spain in a repeat of the Euro 2008 Final which the Spaniards won 1-0.
But Joachim Loew's men come into the match on much better form after Spain laboured past Paraguay 1-0 in their Quarter Final.
While Germany have scored 13 goals in five matches, Spain have managed just six - and five of those have come from David Villa who saved them once again with a late winner.
With the match heading towards extra time, Andres Iniesta found Pedrito who hit the post before the rebound fell kindly for Villa who put his shot in off both posts.
Earlier in the second half, the match had exploded into life as both sides missed a penalty within two minutes of each other.
Paraguay got their chance from 12 yards first after Gerard Pique blatantly brought down Oscar Cardozo at a corner. Cardozo took the kick himself but Iker Casillas guessed correctly and saved well to his left.
Spain responded almost straightaway and Villa won a soft penalty after jinking past Antolin Alcaraz.
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso stepped up and put the ball in the net but Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres disallowed it for encroachment.
Alonso's next attempt was saved by Justo Villar but the miss only served to liven up the Spanish attacks, culminating in Villa's goal.
Until the penalties just before the hour mark, the match had been a cagey affair. Paraguay had never got this far in a World Cup while Spain were looking to breach the Quarter Finals for the first time.
The Paraguayans opened the better of the two sides and, though Spain improved as the first half went on, there was barely anything to test either goalkeeper.
Nelson Valdez could have done just that but the Paraguay forward blazed the final effort of the first half over moments after having been harshly flagged for offside from the best move of the first period.
Meanwhile, Spain were persisting with the ailing Fernando Torres up front and their short quick passes were really struggling to break down the Paraguay defence.
Matters were little improved at the start of the second half and it was perhaps typical of Torres' World Cup so far that the action only began after his withdrawal on 56 minutes.
But Paraguay will rue their penalty miss a minute later as, although Spain followed suite just two minutes after that, Vincente del Bosque's men belatedly started getting the game by the scruff.
Iniesta and Xavi went close but it was inevitable that it would be Villa to save the match from an extra 30 minutes.
With such little time left, Paraguay had time for just one last chance but Casillas made an excellent double save from Lucas Barrios and Roque Santa Cruz.
After a bit of keep-ball from the European champions, the full time whistle was blown. Spain had finally beaten their Quarter Final hoodoo - but not all convincingly.
02/07 Netherlands 2-1 Brazil
02/07 Uruguay 1-1 Ghana (aet. Uruguay won 4-2 on pens)
Semi Final: Netherlands v Uruguay [Tue 6 July, 7:30pm]
NETHERLANDS produced a stunning second half comeback to send ten-man Brazil crashing out of the World Cup at the Quarter Finals for the second time in a row.
Brazil coach Dunga paid for the failure with his job, sacked along with the rest of his staff before he even had the chance to tender his resignation to Ricardo Teixeira, the Brazilian Federation chief.
Set pieces proved the Brazilians' undoing as a Felipe Melo own goal and a Wesley Sneijder header turned the tie on its head as the Dutch reached their first World Cup Semi Final since 1998.
A win for the Dutch never looked likely after a first period which was completely dominated by five-time champions Brazil.
Even before Robinho slotted home an inch-perfect pass from Melo to make it 1-0 on 10 minutes, the former Manchester City man had already had a goal ruled out for Dani Alves' offside.
After the goal, the pressure continued as Juan blazed over and Maarten Stekelenburg was forced to produce a top-drawer save from Kaka's curling effort.
The second half began in much the same style as the first until Arjen Robben, who was until that point having a frustrating game, pushed the ball past Michel Bastos on the right.
Bastos somehow avoided a second booking but Brazil were punished from Sneijder's delivery which caused confusion between goalkeeper Julio Cesar and Melo, flicking the defender's head and ending up in the corner of the net.
The goal, which came on 53 minutes, completely changed the feeling of the match. The Dutch were more energetic and the Brazilians were now much shakier at the back.
That was clear when Juan conceded a needless corner in the 68th minute. Robben curled it in and Dirk Kuyt flicked it perfectly for Sneijder to head his third goal of the World Cup finals.
Brazil were now on the back foot, behind for the first time in the tournament, and Dunga's men did not cope well.
They has already lost all semblance of organisation at the back when Melo then completely lost his discipline, giving Japanese ref Yuichi Nishimura no option but to send him off.
After fouling Robben who went to ground, Melo thought it justified to stamp on the flying Dutchman.
Brazil's task had just got harder and they were simply not up to it, resorting eventually to long-balls which were easily dealt with by Andre Ooijer and Johnny Heitinga.
Meanwhile, the Dutch had started playing on the break and Klass van Huntelaar and Kuyt both missed chances to seal the win.
But it did not matter - the Dutch survived a few nervy corners and one Kaka shot that went just wide to record a ninth successive win and extend their unbeaten run to 24 matches.
With a winning streak like that, it is no surprise that Bert van Marwijk's men are favourites in their Semi Final against Uruguay, now the only remaining South American team.
Uruguay killed off any hope of an African success at the first World Cup in Africa, knocking out Ghana in controversial circumstances on an emotional night in Johannesburg.
The Ghanaians looked set to become the first ever African team in the World Cup Semi Finals when they were awarded a last-minute penalty after Luis Suarez prevented a goal with handball on the line.
Poor Asamoah Gyan stepped up and, with the last kick of the game, hit his penalty hard enough but it was just too high, clipping the top of the bar and going over.
It meant Suarez, who was sent off meaning he misses the Semi Final, had effectively kept his team in the tournament though his improvised goal-tending looked more instinctive than anything.
But, certainly, the Black Stars entered the penalty shootout with a negative mindset after Gyan's dramatic miss.
Not that it seemed to effect the super-cool Gyan who showed real guts to strike Ghana's first penalty in the shootout into the top corner. If only...
Still, Uruguay also had the advantage of taking first and, at 3-2 ahead, it looked as if it had paid off.
Sunderland man John Mensah took no run-up before rolling a pathetically soft penalty into the hands of Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera.
But then Maxi Pereira put Ghana back in the game by blazing over meaning young Dominic Adiyah had the chance to level the scores back up.
The pressure told on the 20-year-old striker, though at least he forced Muslera into a save worthy of its name.
Substitute Sebastian Abreu applied the coup de grace sending Uruguay through to their first Semi Final since 1970 with an audacious chip down the middle.
Oscar Tabarez's men had started the match better as Suarez and Diego Forlan both drawing early saves from Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal.
But, after a nervy start, the Black Stars got more and more of a foothold in the game, building up a real head of a steam before half-time.
Isaac Vorsah put a header wide when he really should have scored before Gyan also went just wide after good work by Kevin-Prince Boateng down the right.
The breakthrough eventually came in first-half stoppage time. Nothing really looked on when Sulley Muntari picked the ball up 35 yards from goal and so he smashed the ball towards goal.
The early whipped shot caught Muslera off guard, finishing neatly in the bottom corner after moving in the air.
Unfortunately for Ghana, and all the home South Africans supporting them, their joy was to be short-lived in the second half.
Former Manchester United forward Forlan had wasted numerous set plays in the first period but none had been so ideally placed as the one from which he scored on 55 minutes.
John Pantsil had brought down Jorge Fucile on the left-hand edge of the penalty area and Forlan did the honours, curling an exquisite up-and-over the wall shot to the left of Kingson.
That left the game up for grabs but the players also seemed to realise this and, after an open first hour of the match, tiredness meant chances were at a premium.
Uruguay looked slightly more likely and Suarez glanced a header just past the post but as the match moved into its final 10 minutes, both sides seemed to cease hostilities momentarily.
Extra time was also a scrappy affair as Ghana's tired legs - they also played an extra 30 minutes in the Second Round against United States - held off Uruguay's attacks.
But this game deserved a dramatic finsh and Ghana, with some help from Suarez, gave it one.
Boateng swung in a corner, Adiyah had his shot blocked legally on the line by Suarez's legs before Adiyah's next attempt - a header - was saved by the Uruguayan forward.
Suarez left the field in tears but he was soon doing cartwheels down the tunnel after watching Gyan miss from the sidelines.
It was a cruel moment for Gyan who has impressed throughout this tournament and, despite him overcoming his own demons straightaway in the shootout, it became even crueller.
QUARTER FINALS
03/07 Argentina 0-4 Germany
03/07 Spain 1-0 Paraguay
Semi Final: Germany v Spain [Wed 7 July, 7:30pm]
GERMANY turned on the style again to thrash Argentina 4-0 and reach their third World Cup semi final in a row.
Miroslav Klose scored twice on his 100th cap to join his compatriot Gerd Mueller on 14 World Cup finals goals, one behind Ronaldo on the all-time scorers' list.
Thomas Mueller and Arne Friedrich got the other goals as Germany hit four for a second successive match and the third time in the tournament.
Joachim Loew's men got a perfect start when Mueller got ahead of all the Argentine defence to head Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick into the net off goalkeeper Sergio Romero inside three minutes.
It was the quickest goal in a match at World Cup 2010 and it put Germany in control for the whole of the first spell of the game with the Argentine full backs Nicolas Otamendi and Gabriel Heinze run ragged.
On 24 minutes, the contest should have been over - Mueller beat Heinze down the right and pulled the ball back at the perfect angle for Klose.
For once, the German striker lacked composure and blazed his shot over the bar, and it looked for a while that it could be a costly miss.
Argentina belatedly started to get some joy and Lionel Messi began to play further upfield, winning a couple of free kicks on the edge of the box.
From the rebound off the wall of one of these free kicks, Argentina worked the ball wide and put it in the net but no fewer than four forwards in the middle were offside.
But, as half-time approached, Argentina's defence remained hopelessly outclassed as Phillipp Lahm burst past Heinze again, only for Mueller's effort to be deflected wide.
Early in the second half, the Argentine forwards did their best to get their team back on level terms but Germany showed their other quality in addition to their fast attacking breaks: fully committed defending.
This was no more in evidence than when Per Mertesacher blocked Carlos Tevez's volley full in the face as Angel di Maria began to make inroads down the right.
Further shots from Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain meant Manuel Neuer was definitely working the harder of the two goalkeepers and the second goal was the very definition of a sucker punch.
With 67 minutes on the clock, Mueller spread the ball to Lukas Podolski on the left. He beat Otamendi all too easily before rolling the ball along the six-yard line for Klose to walk into the net.
Just seven minutes later, the Argentine defence collapsed again. This time, Schweinsteiger reached the byline against little resistance before pulling the ball back for Friedrich to score his first ever goal for Germany.
The Germans, who had started the match so brightly before riding out the Argentina storm, finished in full control, able to pick their runners on the break at will.
The fourth goal came in the death throes of the game as Podolski found Mesut Oezil and his cross was volleyed home with a great sense of finality by Klose.
At full-time, Diego Maradona left the pitch with much to consider about his future after Argentina's worst World Cup finals defeat since 1958.
Meanwhile, the Germans juggernaut continues to flatten all before them but next up is Spain in a repeat of the Euro 2008 Final which the Spaniards won 1-0.
But Joachim Loew's men come into the match on much better form after Spain laboured past Paraguay 1-0 in their Quarter Final.
While Germany have scored 13 goals in five matches, Spain have managed just six - and five of those have come from David Villa who saved them once again with a late winner.
With the match heading towards extra time, Andres Iniesta found Pedrito who hit the post before the rebound fell kindly for Villa who put his shot in off both posts.
Earlier in the second half, the match had exploded into life as both sides missed a penalty within two minutes of each other.
Paraguay got their chance from 12 yards first after Gerard Pique blatantly brought down Oscar Cardozo at a corner. Cardozo took the kick himself but Iker Casillas guessed correctly and saved well to his left.
Spain responded almost straightaway and Villa won a soft penalty after jinking past Antolin Alcaraz.
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso stepped up and put the ball in the net but Guatemalan referee Carlos Batres disallowed it for encroachment.
Alonso's next attempt was saved by Justo Villar but the miss only served to liven up the Spanish attacks, culminating in Villa's goal.
Until the penalties just before the hour mark, the match had been a cagey affair. Paraguay had never got this far in a World Cup while Spain were looking to breach the Quarter Finals for the first time.
The Paraguayans opened the better of the two sides and, though Spain improved as the first half went on, there was barely anything to test either goalkeeper.
Nelson Valdez could have done just that but the Paraguay forward blazed the final effort of the first half over moments after having been harshly flagged for offside from the best move of the first period.
Meanwhile, Spain were persisting with the ailing Fernando Torres up front and their short quick passes were really struggling to break down the Paraguay defence.
Matters were little improved at the start of the second half and it was perhaps typical of Torres' World Cup so far that the action only began after his withdrawal on 56 minutes.
But Paraguay will rue their penalty miss a minute later as, although Spain followed suite just two minutes after that, Vincente del Bosque's men belatedly started getting the game by the scruff.
Iniesta and Xavi went close but it was inevitable that it would be Villa to save the match from an extra 30 minutes.
With such little time left, Paraguay had time for just one last chance but Casillas made an excellent double save from Lucas Barrios and Roque Santa Cruz.
After a bit of keep-ball from the European champions, the full time whistle was blown. Spain had finally beaten their Quarter Final hoodoo - but not all convincingly.
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