F1 2011: Team-by-team review

1 RED BULL-RENAULT 650 points
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 392 (11 wins)
3 Mark Webber (Aus) 258 (1 win)
RED BULL and Vettel did in 2011 exactly what they had threatened to do in 2010 by utterly dominating their respective championships. While their 2010 victories came in spite of reliability issues and driver error, this year Vettel was seemingly on a one-man mission to break as many records as he could. Twice, the 24-year-old German went on a streak of winning five races out of six on his way to becoming the youngest double world champion.
Vettel notched up 11 Grand Prix wins and achieved more pole positions in a single season (14) than anyone previously, beating Nigel Mansell's record from 1992. Vettel also beat Mansell's record of leading more Grand Prix laps (739) in a single season in F1 history. Even with the proviso that this was a longer F1 season than most in the past, this was still a huge achievement.
Team-mate Webber had a less happy time with Vettel's imperious performance in qualifying converting into a race-day record that the Australian was simply powerless to match. In 19 Grand Prix, Webber out-qualified Vettel just three times, and he also had a better final result on only three occasions. The last of these came in Webber's solitary Grand Prix win of the season at the final race in Brazil but, while the victory did at least promote him into third place in the championship by a single point, the feeling remains that 2010 was Webber's last chance of ultimate glory.

2 McLAREN-MERCEDES 497
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) 270 (3 wins)
5 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) 227 (3 wins)
McLAREN was the only team able to hold a light to the dominant Red Bull on a consistent basis with the two drivers racing to three wins each. That is pretty much, however, where the similarities to the respective campaigns of Button and Hamilton end.
Considering their parity in totalling their race wins, that Hamilton finished 43 points behind his team-mate is not inconsiderable - but then that is what happens to drivers who get into too many tangles. Indeed, Hamilton was involved in six incidents with Ferrari's Felipe Massa alone in a season-long spat which seemingly developed from a grouchy rivalry to outright hostility.
Hamilton's race day problems also negated a strong qualifying performance in which he beat Button in 13 of the 19 sessions. But what Button lacked on a Saturday, he more than made up for on Sundays, generally staying out of trouble and recording a series of highly impressive results in the second half of the season. In a low point, the Frome flyer suffered consecutive retirements in the British and German GPs in mid-season but, after that, he finished off the podium only once more in the remaining nine races. Even then, that was a fourth-placed finish in Korea and it all contributed to a runners-up finish in the drivers' championship.
Considering that this season could have so easily been a Red Bull whitewash, Button can reflect positively on an excellent campaign. Meanwhile, Hamilton needs to get his head sorted out, though there were signs that he is finally doing exactly that in much-improved late-season performances in Korea and Abu Dhabi.

3 FERRARI 375
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) 257 (1 win)
6 Felipe Massa (Bra) 118

FERRARI suffered another dispiriting campaign with just one win all season coming courtesy of Alonso after he took advantage of an uncharacteristic Red Bull error in the pits at Silverstone. Indeed, his team mate Massa failed even to appear on the podium once - and his fifth-placed finishes in the Grand Prix in Malaysia, Europe, Britain, Germany and Abu Dhabi were the height of his attainment. Massa was also out-qualified by Alonso on 15 out of 19 occasions, the second worst record in the paddock, and so it was no surprise to see Ferrari warn the Brazilian that the 2012 season represent his last chance at Maranello.

It must be said, though, that Massa's performance was possibly closer to the natural ability of this Ferrari model. Alonso seemed at times to outperform his team and, after a slow start, the Spaniard finished on the podium in four races out of five in a mid-season purple patch. That is all it proved to be, however, and there were only three further podium finishes followed in the last nine races.

Nevertheless, this still gave him a creditable total of nine top-three placings in the campaign as a whole but Alonso will demand so much more of his team next season as he looks to beat Vettel in the race to become F1's youngest ever triple world champion, a record currently held by Ayrton Senna. 

4 MERCEDES 165

7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) 89
8 Michael Schumacher (Ger) 76

While German giants MERCEDES went backwards in a season that many expected them to up their game, one thing did not change - Nico Rosberg's dominance of seven-time former world champion Michael Schumacher. Rosberg out-qualified his more illustrious compatriot on no fewer than 16 occasions out of 19, the best record of any driver against his team-mate in the paddock.
It is a shame then that, unlike last season when the younger German scored three podium finishes, Rosberg was unable to make it into the top-three once this season. Nevertheless, Rosberg still outscored Schumacher and finished in the points in all but one of the last 12 races.
Just like last season, Schumacher improved as the season went on, and he can at least boast that he got the team its best result of the year with a weather-assisted fourth-placed finish in Canada. But that result is rather counter-balanced by a poor record of five retirements in the season. Schumacher will turn 42 years old in January and perhaps it is time that he realises that he will never be the champion he once was. For a start, the Mercedes team still has far too much work to do to catch the top three.

5 RENAULT 73
10 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) 37

11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) 34

18 Bruno Senna (Bra) 2
After the first two hectic races, it looked as if the two RENAULT drivers were going to challenge those top three teams - or at least appear prominently in the skirmish behind Red Bull. Petrov and Heidfeld had one podium apiece in Australia and Malaysia respectively but, after that bright start, the big points pretty much dried up. A smattering of eighth- to tenth-placed finishes for both men meant the Renault team was always likely to end up topping the mid-table battle - but, in the end, it was a close call and only secured by four points.
In that respect, Bruno Senna's two points for ninth place at Monza - though not decisive - were hugely welcome after he replaced Heidfeld in the team for the second half of the season. However, some encouraging performances from Ayrton's nephew went unrewarded in terms of points - and so it is perhaps easy to understand why Lotus Renault has chosen to pair Petrov with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen instead for next season.

6 FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES 69
9 Adrian Sutil (Ger) 42
13 Paul di Resta (Gbr) 27
Button and Hamilton may steal the headlines at McLaren but there was a third British driver on the circuit who impressed in his rookie season at FORCE INDIA. Scot Paul di Resta opened his account with two points from the opening two races in Australia and Malaysia before a tough, pointless eight-race spell followed despite him regularly out-qualifying his more experienced team-mate Sutil. Credit must go to di Resta, then, for the way he turned it around to score in six of the last nine races.
German Sutil also improved as the campaign went on with only four points finishes in the first 11 races but five top-ten placings in the last eight Grand Prix, including ninth, eighth and sixth in the last three races. If only the Force India team could put a full season of form together - but, then, it was always said by legendary BBC commentator Murray Walker that if is the longest word in F1.
Having enjoyed a bright start in 2010 that faded, 2011 went the opposite way with a flurry of points at the end as Force India gave Renault a bit of a fright. The driver line-up for 2012 has yet to be confirmed but hopes will be higher of further improvement whoever takes the seats.

7 SAUBER-FERRARI 44
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) 30
16 Sergio Perez (Mex) 14
20 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) 0
Following an inauspicious opening weekend in Australia, in which both drivers were disqualified after the race for technical infringements, SAUBER soon settled into the expected mid-table role, picking up points here and there.
Unsurprisingly, the majority of them came from Japan's Kobayashi, a driver whose aggressive style in the middle of the pack during the last two years has earned him plenty of plaudits. At Monaco this season, Kobayashi was at his best and finished fifth, the highlight of six successive points finishes in the first part of the season. Sadly, he was not able to continue this run and he scored points just three times in the last 12 races.
While Kobayashi enjoyed his best weekend in Monte Carlo, team-mate Perez - the first Mexican in F1 for 30 years - suffered a nasty crash in the tunnel, missing that race and the one which followed in Canada. Away from that, though, Perez's form was mildly impressive with six points finishes and season-best seventh place at Silverstone enough for Sauber to hold off Toro Rosso in the Constructors' championship. The two drivers' reward for their efforts is a seat each for the 2012 campaign.

8 TORO ROSSO-FERRARI 41
14 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) 26

15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) 15

With a combined age of 44, the TORO ROSSO team has an enjoyable refreshing take on its driver line-up. Spaniard Alguersuari and Switzerland's Buemi lined up for their second full season together and improved on their effort from last year with more than three times as many points.
Indeed, on four separate occasions - in Canada, Hungary, Italy and Korea - both drivers finished a race in the top ten together, though it was also the case that certain circuits, such as Malaysia, Spain and Germany, favoured neither man. A low point came at Spa, the only race in which both cars retired, but in two of the four races which followed, in Italy and Korea, the fast-improving Alguersuari finished in a season-high of seventh. Buemi's best finishes were two eighth places in Australia and Hungary as Toro Rosso fell just three points short of matching Sauber.

9 WILLIAMS-COSWORTH 5

17 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) 4

19 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) 1

After an incredible 19 seasons, it looks like it could be farewell to Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian has raced in 322 Grand Prix, more than any other driver in F1 history, and driven enough miles to go around the world twice. His support to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari and, later, to Jenson Button in their season at Brawn GP has resulted in Barrichello being portrayed as a right-hand man but he enjoyed plenty of moments in the sun himself.
Only four men - Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Fernando Alonso - have finished on the podium more times, and only Schumacher has finished more races in any points scoring position. In all, Barrichello won 11 Grand Prix and enjoyed a memorable maiden win, at the 123rd attempt, at the German GP in 2000, having started in 18th.
Sadly, in perhaps WILLIAMS' worst-ever season, the team was never going to provide him with a race-winning car for this particular campaign. But, as game as ever, Barrichello still recorded successive ninth-placed finishes in Monaco and Canada to finish on four points. Aged 26, Maldonado is closer to the start of his motor racing career and the Venezuelan will hopefully benefit in the long run from being in the same team as Barrichello. The Williams car did little to help this rookie and, though he managed to pick up his first F1 point in Singapore, three retirements from the last four races meant a hugely disappointing season closed at its lowest ebb. 

10 TEAM LOTUS-RENAULT 0
21 Jarno Trulli (Ita)
22 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin)
28 Karun Chandhok (Ind)
For the second year running, TEAM LOTUS finished as the best of the back-markers while failing to get on the board. The experienced line-up of Trulli and Kovalainen failed to score for a second season in a row but a smattering of 13th- and 14th-placed finishes throughout almost provides some vague veneer of respectability.
Still, Trulli's race-winning antics at Renault in 2004 and Kovalainen's two years at McLaren in 2007-08 now seem to belong to a parallel universe. The two drivers can only hope that a change of name to Caterham and more Malaysian investment can make their ride more competitive in 2012.

11 HRT-COSWORTH 0
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita)
26 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)
27 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind)
HRT recovered from another embarrassing opening weekend to avoid the indignity of finishing last in the Constructors' championship after Liuzzi's 13th place finish following the torrential rain in Canada.
First, thought, it was a case of deja vu as, for the second year running, the Spanish team's cars arrived at the opening Grand Prix without any pre-season testing - and it showed. Liuzzi and Karthikeyan both finished outside of the re-instated 107% qualifying threshold and failed to qualify. Thankfully, that never happened again but the second race was only modestly better with a double retirement in Malaysia.
Little did anyone expect then that Liuzzi would haul HRT off the bottom but, with this in the bag, the team was seemingly content to amble its way through the rest of the races. Perhaps the arrival of Pedro de la Rosa for 2012 will encourage a little more from this perennial minnow.

12 VIRGIN-COSWORTH 0
24 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel)
25 Timo Glock (Ger)
A change to Russian backers failed to bring a change of fortune to the VIRGIN team as it finished 2011 exactly in the same place as it had finished 2010 - beaten by HRT to the bottom of the table and without a single point. There was no surprise that Glock out-qualified his rookie team-mate d'Ambrosio on a regular basis but the Belgian youngster had the last laugh, finishing in 14th - one place ahead of the German in the team's best performance in Turkey.
Russian manufacturer Marussia has further increased their stake in the team and apparently secured its status until 2014. Consequently, the Virgin racing cars will carry the Marussia name from 2012 onwards with Glock joined by another F1 rookie, Charles Pic. A finish at least above HRT for next year is a must.

F1 2011 SEASON RESULTS

PODIUMS

Australian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

3 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault

Malaysian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

3 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault

Chinese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

Turkish GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

Spanish GP (Pole: Mark Webber)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

Monaco GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

Canadian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

European GP (Valencia) (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

British GP (Pole: Mark Webber)

1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

German GP (Pole: Mark Webber)

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

Hungarian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)

1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

Belgian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

Italian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

Singapore GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

Japanese GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault

Korean GP (Pole: Lewis Hamilton)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault

Indian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
3 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari

Abu Dhabi GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes
2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

Brazilian GP (Pole: Sebastian Vettel)
1 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault
3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes

F1 2011 FINAL STANDINGS

World Drivers' Championship

1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 392 (11 wins)

2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 270 (3 wins)
3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 258 (1 win)
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 257 (1 win)

5 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 227 (3 wins)

6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 118

7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 89
8 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes 76

9 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 42
10 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 37

11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault 34

12 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 30

13 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India-Mercedes 27
14 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 26

15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15
16 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 14

17 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams-Cosworth 4

18 Bruno Senna (Bra) Renault 2

19 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Cosworth 1

Nine drivers failed to score: (20 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Sauber-Ferrari, 21 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus-Renault, 22 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus-Renault, 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT-Cosworth, 24 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin-Cosworth, 25 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin-Cosworth, 26 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT-Cosworth, 27 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-Cosworth, 28 Karun Chandhok (Ind) Lotus-Renault).

Constructors' Championship

1 Red Bull-Renault (Aut) 650

2 McLaren-Mercedes (Gbr) 497

3 Ferrari (Ita) 375

4 Mercedes (Ger) 165

5 Renault (Gbr) 73

6 Force India-Mercedes (Ind) 69

7 Sauber-Ferrari (Swi) 44
8 Toro Rosso-Ferrari (Ita) 41

9 Williams-Cosworth (Gbr) 5

There were three teams (10 Lotus-Renault (Mal), 11 HRT-Cosworth (Spa), and 12 Virgin-Cosworth (Rus)) which failed to score.

Euro 2012 playoffs: Ireland exorcise playoff hoodoo

QUALIFIED TEAMS:
Seedings:

• Poland (co-hosts), Ukraine (co-hosts), Spain (holders), and Netherlands
• Germany, Italy, England and Russia
• Croatia, Greece, Portugal and Sweden
• Denmark, France, Czech Republic, and Republic of Ireland

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND qualified for a major championship finals for the first time in 10 years after a convincing 5-1 aggregate win over Estonia in the Euro 2012 playoffs.

Two years on from their heartbreak in Paris, the Irish made sure to do most of hard work in the first leg, away in Tallinn where they won 4-0.

Keith Andrews gave the Irish a perfect start with a header after 13 minutes and Estonia went into half time a man down as well as a goal behind after Andrei Stepanov was sent off for a second booking.

Midway through the second half, Ireland made their numerical advantage count when Jonathan Walters headed a rebound after Aidan McGeady's free-kick had been parried, and Robbie Keane quickly added a third goal.

Incredibly, it got worse for the hapless Estonians, whose first ever playoff appearance had become a nightmare when Raio Piiroja was dismissed for handball.

And, with just a couple of minutes remaining, the evergreen Keane punished the nine men with his 53rd international goal from the penalty spot after Ats Purje's foul on Stephen Hunt.

Giovanni Trapattoni attempted to warn his team that the tie was not over but an expectant crowd in Dublin were already in the mood to party.

Feeding off the support, Ireland started brightly to crush any Estonian hopes of a memorable comeback, and Keane should have added to his goal tally but missed two good chances.

His profligacy mattered little, of course, and the Irish did still eventually stretch their advantage to five goals when Wolves' Stephen Ward prodded in a rebound from club mate Kevin Doyle's header.

Estonia gave the impression of a side who knew their Euro 2012 journey was at an end but the men from the Baltic played better in the second period.

Indeed, Konstantin Vassiljev levelled the game on the night when his shot squirmed under Shay Given but that only made it 5-1 and Ireland were easily able to see out the rest of the match.

The first leg results also proved decisive in two of the other ties as Croatia crushed Turkey and the Czech Republic ended Montenegro's dream.

It was not too long ago that Turkey was seen as a tough place to go but Croatia made a mockery of that with a 3-0 away win as they gained revenge for their Euro 2008 quarter final defeat to the same opponents.

Of course, an early goal always helps and Slaven Bilic's men got the perfect start through Ivica Olic's strike inside two minutes.

By half time, Croatia had silenced the crowd in Istanbul with Mario Mandzukic having doubled the lead on 32 minutes before the tie was effectively settled six minutes into the second half.

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Vedran Corluka made it 3-0 on 51 minutes and a soporific 0-0 in the second leg in Zagreb meant that the Croats' first leg performance had been more than sufficient.

The Czech Republic also put themselves in control of their tie after victory in the first leg but they took their time to shrug off Montenegro in Prague.

At 0-0 on the hour mark, the Montenegrins were still in with a good shout but Vaclav Pilar hit an important opener before a real hammer blow from Tomas Sivok. The Besiktas midfielder struck in the 92nd minute and left Montenegro with it all to do in the second leg.

In the end, it was too much to ask and the Czechs made sure of qualifying for their fifth straight European Championship finals with a late away goal from Petr Jiracek.

But, while Montenegro's dream was over, the identical hopes of a first major finals for Bosnia-Herzegovina were very much alive going into their second leg against Portugal.

A 0-0 draw in the first leg in Zenica had seemed to leave the tie in the balance but, once again, the favourites eventually prevailed by a comfortable margin.

Two super strikes by Manchester United wingers past and present - Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani - looked to have put the Portuguese on their way.

Bosnia were not giving up the fight easily, though, and they halved their deficit at half time thanks to a Zvjezdan Misimovic penalty, needing just one more goal to go through.

Instead, Ronaldo restored Portugal's two-goal lead shortly before the decisive moment when Senad Lulic was sent off for dissent.

That left the Bosnians with the figurative mountain to climb but they threatened briefly again when Emir Spahic scored against the run of play to make it 3-2 on 66 minutes.

But, from then on, Bosnia were powerless to stop the Portuguese from becoming the 16th and final country to qualify for Euro 2012 next summer.

Former Spurs striker Helder Postiga netted twice either side of Miguel Veloso's goal as Portugal ended up hitting Bosnia for six in a thumping win.

EURO 2012 PLAYOFF RESULTS:
First leg
11 November 2011

Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-0 Portugal
Czech Republic 2-0 Montenegro
Estonia 0-4 Republic of Ireland
Turkey 0-3 Croatia

Second leg
15 November 2011

Portugal 6-2 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Portugal won 6-2 on aggregate)
Montenegro 0-1 Czech Republic (Czech Republic won 3-0 on aggregate)
Republic of Ireland 1-1 Estonia (Republic of Ireland won 5-1 on aggregate)
Croatia 1-0 Turkey (Croatia won 4-0 on aggregate)

11/11/11: Remembrance Day, lest we forget

THE FINAL INSPECTION

Sgt Joshua Helterbran
---

The soldier stood and faced God,

Which must always come to pass.

He hoped his shoes were shining,

Just as brightly as his brass.
*

'Step forward now, you soldier,

How shall I deal with you ?

Have you always turned the other cheek ?

To My Church have you been true?'
*

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,

'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.

Because those of us who carry guns,

Can't always be a saint.
*

'I've had to work most Sundays,

And at times my talk was tough.

And sometimes I've been violent,

Because the world is awfully rough.
*

'But, I never took a penny,

That wasn't mine to keep...

Though I worked a lot of overtime,

When the bills got just too steep.
*

'And I never passed a cry for help,

Though at times I shook with fear.

And sometimes, God, forgive me,

I've wept unmanly tears.
*

'I know I don't deserve a place,

Among the people here.

They never wanted me around,

Except to calm their fears.
*

'If you've a place for me here, Lord,

It needn't be so grand.

I never expected or had too much,

But if you don't, I'll understand.'
*

There was a silence all around the throne,

Where the saints had often trod.

As the soldier waited quietly,

For the judgment of his God.
*

'Step forward now, you soldier,

You've borne your burdens well.

Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,

You've done your time in Hell.'

• Donate to the Royal British Legion (1921-2011), the charity which organises the Poppy Appeal, here.

FIFA were wrong in poppy wrangle

FIFA took their time but eventually performed a U-turn to allow England players to wear poppies on their black armbands during the friendly with Spain at Wembley on Saturday.

But the climbdown only came after Duke of Cambridge Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron had written to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Earlier Mr Cameron had branded the original decision of an outright ban on poppies as "outrageous", and he added: "The idea that wearing a poppy to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom is a political act is absurd.

"Wearing a poppy is an act of huge respect and national pride."

FIFA had stated, by way of explanation, that the ban on poppies had to be enforced as "such initiatives would open the door to similar initiatives from all over the world, jeopardising the neutrality of football".

However, Blatter's organisation has failed to realise that, despite the intervention of Mr Cameron, the poppy itself is not a political or religious symbol at all. It simply serves to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives in war for their country.

Jon Snow, the Channel 4 news presenter, famously refuses to wear a poppy (or indeed any symbol which may represent his views) on screen, condemning what he calls "poppy fascism".

Mr Snow added: "In the end, there really must be more important things in life than whether a news presenter wears symbols on his lapels."

But that is not the issue here, either, as the England players were more than happy to have a poppy embroidered on their shirt.

That was certainly the case for Arsenal youngster Jack Wilshere who tweeted: "My great-grandad fought for this country in WW2 and I'm sure a lot of people's grandparents did.

"[The] England team should wear poppies on Saturday. It's the nation's tradition and it would be disrespectful not to."

Indeed, the only extremism seemed to come from FIFA, the organisation with a president dictator who has famously been reelected unopposed on the last two occasions.

Meanwhile, the Royal British Legion expressed their disappointment at the original stance. George Batt, the general secretary of the Normandy Veterans' Associated, described the decision as "disgraceful".

Mr Batt added: "I'm lost for words. I can't see any harm in wearing a poppy. It's so sad.You surely don't need rules and regulations in Fifa like this?"

It is little wonder the soldiers were bemused and upset. They know that 90 minutes of exposure from England's top footballers would do much to help a good cause which celebrated its 90th birthday this year.

Of course, the row brought the usual measured response from the right-wing press and, even in supporting the cause, the Daily Mail slipped up.

First, the newspaper inexplicably pinned the blame for the poppy ban on the Germans before making a U-turn of its own.

But it is FIFA's change of heart which is more telling as the organisation gradually realised it was on the wrong side of the argument once again.

Indeed, as row escalated, the governing body went from banning poppies altogether to allowing black armbands to allowing poppies on the black armbands.

Nevertheless, the poppies will still not be on the shirts and so it could be argued that Blatter and co have still not nearly gone far enough.

Pakistan cricket scam puts ICC in the dock

ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss has launched a scathing attack on the anti-corruption unit of the International Cricket Council today, labelling it a "toothless tiger".

The ICC has unsurprisingly come in for criticism after three Pakistan cricketers were found guilty of conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls at pre-determined times in last year's Test match against England.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was jailed for 30 months while Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir face one year and six months behind bars respectively.

However, the problem arises in that their crimes were uncovered in a sting operation by a British tabloid newspaper, rather than by the sporting body's anti-corruption unit.

ICC chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan has said there is little to be worried about and claimed that illegal betting is "engaged in by a tiny number of people".

But Strauss has questioned whether the ICC has enough resources to be sure that corruption is indeed "not rampant in the world of cricket", as Sir Ronnie also suggested.

"They can't do sting operations like the News of the World. They can't infiltrate these betting networks. I'm hopeful only a minor percentage of cricketers are involved in it but the truth is we really don't know," Strauss said.

Strauss is not the only person to speak out about the ICC. One of his predecessors, Sir Ian Botham, has also criticised the governing body over their handling of the case.

Sir Ian said: "I think the ICC have just sat on their hands and pretended it's not there. Well now they have got to act."

In response, Sir Ronnie has insisted that the members of anti-corruption unit is "doing the best job they possibly can".

But that is not the issue here. The issue is that the ICC simply have not put enough money or man-power into their own investigations.

And, while the unit probably is doing the best it can, the truth is that it currently falls woefully short of being an adequate regulator.

The worst part of it is that Sir Ronnie and his team seem so relaxed that their job was effectively done by News of the World journalists, rather than themselves.

The newspaper may now have deservedly bitten the dust but it goes to show that, amid the calls for vigilante justice and the illegal phone-hacking, occasionally it served its readers well.

One thing which is for sure is that the papers in Pakistan are glad of the verdict even though a minority of fans has screamed that the case was a Western conspiracy against their team.

In fairness, the majority of Pakistan supporters is pleased to be following an improving team which is working hard to cast off its negative image by actually winning some cricket matches.

But a significant match-fixing underworld still exists, and the temptation to make a fast buck remains present, especially in the sub-continent.

Surely the ICC, which is not a poor organisation by any stretch, needs to put more money and man-power into ripping apart these shady practices once and for all.

For, cricket supporters all around the world deserve far better assurances that what they are watching is a genuine reflection of the teams' abilities - and not based upon the vagaries of the bookmakers' odds.