Lions maul Aussies in series decider

THE BRITISH & IRISH Lions proved the doubters wrong with a record-breaking win over Australia in the series decider in Sydney.

Leading 19-3 at the half time hooter, thanks largely to Alex Corbisiero's try inside two minutes, the Lions looked at one stage as if they were going to throw it all away. 

In stoppage time in the first half, the Aussies crossed the line for the first and ultimately only time when James O'Connor repaid his skipper James Horswill for his brave approach in opting to kick for touch, rather than the posts. 

Despite being outplayed, it meant, suddenly, that the hosts were back in the game - and they certainly were when, early in the second period, Christian Leali'ifano dispatched two penalties. Indeed, at 19-16, it was very much 'Game On'. 

Now this decider had only come about after the first Test in Brisbane had been taken by the Lions by two points and the second Test in Melbourne was won by the Wallabies by a single one. 

There was only half an hour of the whole tour left and it was all set up for yet another close encounter - but Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny eased the tension a notch with another nerveless kick. 

Man of the series Halfpenny has indeed been exemplary in the last five weeks and his total of 49 points is the best ever by an individual Lion on tour, beating his compatriot Neil Jenkins' 1997 record. 

But his biggest three points were undoubtedly those to stem the Aussie tide and put the Lions 22-16 ahead. 

From then on, Warren Gatland's men were unstoppable. Halfpenny proved indispensable again, sending a pass into Jonathan Sexton before converting to make it 29-16. 

And Halfpenny also assisted the next try, stepping inside Will Genia and away from Joe Tomane to put in George North in the left-hand corner. 

Now, the lead was back up to 18 points and everyone was breathing much more easily.

However, the Lions did not stop there, instead opting to turn on the style as Conor Murray put Jamie Roberts in for a fourth try. This was a thrashing. 

 At full time, a mixture of relief and downright ebullience crossed each of the Lions' faces. It was all in sharp contrast with the tense build-up and the many questions over the Welsh-dominated line-up. 

Of course, the biggest call of all had been Gatland's decision to drop Ireland's iconic centre Brian O'Driscoll, and - even in victory - the Kiwi coach admitted he had been shocked by the "almost vitriolic" criticism which had come his way. 

Gatland said: "At the moment I do not feel a lot of pleasure because of the amount of personal criticism that was placed on me after the team announcement. I was absolutely shocked by what was said: the criticism was almost vitriolic.

"When we sat down on Tuesday to pick the team, we knew we were making a tough call with Brian but there have been other players on this tour who have been unlucky in terms of selection.

"I have not enjoyed the last 72 hours and it has been tough personally. It is not a case of feeling vindicated after the win: maybe in a week or two I will get some pleasure out of the achievement."

Hopefully it will not take that long as Gatland should now just enjoy the moment in Australia alongside the estimated 30,000 travelling fans.

The celebrations have been and will be wild, no doubt - after all, it is not as if they come along too often. This was the Lions' first tour win since beating South Africa 2-1 in 1997 following three successive defeats so far this century.  

And in that sense, perhaps more than any other, this was an important victory from a historical context for the red British & Irish Lions shirt. 

All the marketing and branding in the world will be unable to bring the same appeal as a tremendous series win.

It may have been a bumpy ride at times but the Lions have certainly restored pride back to their shirt this summer.


LIONS RESULTS AND SCORERS
Test matches: British & Irish Lions won series 2-1
 

First Test	Australia	21-23	British & Irish Lions	Brisbane
22 June, 11:05am	Tries Folau 12, 34 Con O'Connor 13 Pens O'Connor 51, Beale 61, 68		Tries North 25, Cuthbert 48 Cons Halfpenny 27, 48 Pens Halfpenny 23, 31, 65	Attendance 52,499

Australia Berrick Barnes; Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali'ifano, Digby Ioane; James O'Connor, Will Genia; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, James Horwill (capt), Kane Douglas, Ben Mowen, Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu.
Replacements Saia Fainga'a, James Slipper (for Robinson, 68), Sekope Kepu (for Alexander, 58), Rob Simmons (for Douglas, 68), Liam Gill (for McCabe, 47), Nick Phipps (for Ashley-Cooper, 77), Pat McCabe (for Leali'ifano, 2) Kurtley Beale (for Barnes, 38).
British & Irish Lions Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, Brian O'Driscoll, Jonathan Davies, George North, Jonathan Sexton, Mike Phillips; Alex Corbisiero, Tom Youngs, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Paul O'Connell, Tom Croft, Sam Warburton (capt), Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements Richard Hibbard (for T Youngs, 65), Mako Vunipola (for Corbisiero, 52), Dan Cole (for A Jones, 52), Geoff Parling (for AW Jones, 70), Dan Lydiate (for Croft, 73), Ben Youngs (for Phillips, 62), Owen Farrell, Sean Maitland.
Referee Chris Pollock (NZ)

Second Test	Australia	16-15	British & Irish Lions	Melbourne
29 June, 11:05am	Try Ashley-Cooper 74 Con Leali'ifano 76 Pens Leali'ifano 16, 23,36		Pens Halfpenny 9, 27, 32 39, 62	Attendance 56,771

Australia Kurtley Beale; Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali'ifano, Joe Tomane; James O'Connor, Will Genia; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, James Horwill, Kane Douglas, Ben Mowen, Michael Hooper, Wycliff Palu.
Replacements Saia Fainga'a, James Slipper (for Robinson 60), Sekope Kepu (for Alexander 58), Rob Simmons (for Douglas 53), Liam Gill (for Palu 60), Nick Phipps, Rob Horne (for Ashley-Cooper 79), Jesse Mogg.
British & Irish Lions Leigh Halfpenny, Tommy Bowe, Brian O'Driscoll, Jonathan Davies, George North, Jonathan Sexton, Ben Youngs; Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Geoff Parling, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements Richard Hibbard (for T Youngs 56), Ryan Grant, Dan Cole (for Jones 58), Tom Croft (for Warburton 66), Sean O'Brien (for Heaslip 62), Conor Murray (for B Youngs 53), Owen Farrell, Alex Cuthbert.
Referee Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Third Test	Australia	16-41	British & Irish Lions	Sydney
6 July, 11:05am	Try O'Connor 40 Con Leali'ifano 40 Pens Leali'ifano 8, 41, 45		Tries Corbisiero 2, Sexton 57,  North 64, Roberts 67 Con Halfpenny 2, 57, 69 Pens Halfpenny 7, 12, 15, 25, 51	Attendance 83,702

 
Australia Kurtley Beale, Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Christian Leali'ifano, Joe Tomane, James O'Connor, Will Genia; Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, James Horwill (capt), Kane Douglas, Ben Mowen, George Smith, Wycliff Palu.
Replacements Saia Fainga'a (for Moore, blood, 55-62, then 72), James Slipper (for Robinson, 66), Sekope Kepu (for Smith, 26-36, for Alexander, 36), Rob Simmons (for Douglas 62), Ben McCalman, Michael Hooper (for Smith, 5-10, then 66), Nick Phipps (for Genia, 69), Jesse Mogg (for Folau, 27).
Yellow card: Alexander (24)
British & Irish Lions Leigh Halfpenny; Tommy Bowe, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, George North; Jonathan Sexton, Mike Phillips; Alex Corbisiero, Richard Hibbard, Adam Jones, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), Geoff Parling, Dan Lydiate, Sean O'Brien, Toby Faletau. Replacements Tom Youngs (for Hibbard 48), Mako Vunipola (for Corbisiero, 67), Dan Cole (for A Jones, 55), Richie Gray (for Parling, 68), Justin Tipuric (for Faletau, blood, 55, for O'Brien, 60), Conor Murray (for Phillips, 51), Owen Farrell (for Sexton, 64), Manu Tuilagi (for Roberts, 69)
Referee Romain Poite (France)

Other tour matches

1 June	Barbarians	8-59	British & Irish Lions	Hong Kong
5 June	Western Force	17-69	British & Irish Lions	Perth
8 June	Queensland Reds	12-22	British & Irish Lions	Brisbane
11 June	Queensland/NSW County	0-64	British & Irish Lions	Newcastle
15 June	New South Wales Waratahs	17-47	British & Irish Lions	Sydney
18 June	ACT Brumbies	14-12	British & Irish Lions	Canberra
25 June	Melbourne Rebels	0-35	British & Irish Lions	Melbourne

Lions points scorers (all matches)
114 Leigh Halfpenny (record)
51 Owen Farrell
23 Stuart Hogg
20 George North, Alex Cuthbert
19 Jonathan Sexton
15 Jonathan Davies, Brian O'Driscoll
10 Ben Youngs, Conor Murray, Sean O'Brien, Tom Croft, Mike Phillips
5 Richard Hibbard, Dan Lydiate, Geoff Parling, Mako Vunipola, Alun Wyn Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Alex Corbisiero, Sean Maitland, Tommy Bowe, Paul O'Connell, Jamie Roberts, one penalty try

Lions points scorers (Test only)
49 Leigh Halfpenny (record)
10 George North
5 Alex Cuthbert, Alex Corbisiero, Jonathan Sexton, Jamie Roberts

Lions try scorers (all matches)
4 George North, Alex Cuthbert,
3 Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Sexton, Jonathan Davies, Brian O'Driscoll
2 Ben Youngs, Conor Murray, Sean O'Brien, Tom Croft, Mike Phillips
1 Owen Farrell, Stuart Hogg, Richard Hibbard, Dan Lydiate, Geoff Parling, Mako Vunipola, Alun Wyn Jones, Jamie Heaslip, Alex Corbisiero, Sean Maitland, Tommy Bowe, Paul O'Connell, Jamie Roberts, one penalty try

Lions try scorers (Test only)
2 George North
1 Alex Cuthbert, Alex Corbisiero, Jonathan Sexton, Jamie Roberts

LIONS HISTORY since 1989

Year			Coach	Captain(s)
1989	Australia	W2-1	Ian McGeechan	Finlay Calder
1993	New Zealand	L1-2	Ian McGeechan	Gavin Hastings
1997	South Africa	W2-1	Ian McGeechan, Jim Telfer	Martin Johnson
2001	Australia	L1-2	Graham Henry	Martin Johnson
2005	New Zealand	L0-3	Sir Clive Woodward	Brian O'Driscoll, Gareth Thomas
2009	South Africa	L1-2	Ian McGeechan	Paul O'Connell
2013	Australia	W2-1	Warren Gatland	Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones

F1 2013: Pirelli passes the buck after tyre fiasco

ITALIAN tyre manufacturer Pirelli has blamed the Formula One teams for misusing its tyres after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone was marred by a series of dangerous high-speed blow-outs.

The Milanese firm released a statement following the race which claimed that this year's tyre "does not compromise driver safety in any way if used in the correct manner".

Pirelli's argument is simply that the teams have not been using the tyres properly - for example, by mounting the rears on the wrong way around, running low pressures, and using extreme cambers.

The sole supplier also blamed the punctures on the "high kerbs" at the Northamptonshire track even though it has hosted a British Grand Prix in every year since 1987.

Ultimately, Mercedes' German driver Nico Rosberg was triumphant for his second win in the last three races, the other being in the rather more luxurious surroundings of Monte Carlo five weeks previously.

But this victory came only after his team-mate, leading Briton Lewis Hamilton, was one of the six to suffer problems with the wheels below him.

For the record, the five others were Ferrari pair Fernando Alonso (on lap nine) and Felipe Massa (lap 10), as well as Jean-Eric Vergne (lap 15), Esteban Gutierrez (lap 29) and Sergio Perez (lap 47).

However, it was pole-sitter Hamilton who led a chorus of severe concern after he was denied only a second home Grand Prix win.

The 2008 champion said afterwards: "After my incident, I was definitely nervous for the rest of the race that the tyres might go again.

"Safety is the biggest issue. It's just unacceptable really. It's only when someone gets hurt that someone will do something about it.

"It's a waste of time talking to the FIA [Formula 1's governing body] and if they don't do anything that says a lot about them."

But support for immediate action was forthcoming across the paddock with a threat from the drivers to boycott this weekend's German Grand Prix.

Former McLaren driver-turned-BBC pundit David Coulthard added: "There are any number of issues which can prevent a Formula One car finishing a race - engine failures, gearbox failures, hydraulics, you name it. They are annoying and frustrating.

"But there are a few issues that are more serious that that. And tyre failures - like brakes failures - are right up there as being as bad as it can get. It is a really big worry and something urgently needs to be done about it.

"If I was still a driver, I would be very anxious about racing on those tyres again."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has even suggested Alonso is lucky to be alive after he narrowly missed being hit by debris from the exploding rear tyre of McLaren’s Perez which exploded.

It was a truly ridiculous situation - and particularly dangerous given that the tyres were being torn to shreds at some of the fastest parts of the track.

Thankfully, far from simply just blaming the teams and the Silverstone kerbs, Pirelli has come up with both a short-term fix and a longer-term solution to the problem.

For a start, at the Nurburgring, the supplier has replaced the internal steel belt on its rear tyres with the synthetic strengthening material, Kevlar.

Then, with three weeks until the following race in Hungary, a revised tyre - to be used at the Young Drivers Test at Silverstone - will be based upon last year's design.

In return, Pirelli has demanded some control over the way the teams are allowed to use the tyres - but such a move is unlikely to come quickly as it would require a regulatory change.

After all, the teams were not actually breaking any rules - and who can blame them for seeking out every possible advantage in a sport as competitive as F1?

But, despite four different winners from the opening eight races, the Drivers' Championship has a familiar face at the top.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel remains on target for a fourth successive world title, despite retiring from the lead at Silverstone with gearbox failure only 11 laps from the finish.

If, for once, Vettel's luck had not deserted him, the German's advantage at the top of the standings would have been stretched to 49 points - almost two clear race wins.

Instead, his arch-rival Alonso - with whom Vettel fought a close championship battle last year - has closed the gap to 21 points after recovering to a third-place finish.

Leading the chasing pack is Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen who broke Michael Schumacher's record for the most consecutive points finishes with a fifth-place last weekend. The Finn, on 98 points, has now scored from the last 25 races.

The next three drivers behind him are separated by just seven points with Hamilton on 89, Mark Webber on 87 and Rosberg on 82 - before a larger gap to Massa in seventh on 57 and Force India's Scottish driver Paul di Resta on a creditable 36.

Whither the McLarens? Well, the Woking-based team has not won the Constructors' Championship since 1998, and this can only already be considered another complete write-off.

Having finished the 2012 season with the quickest car on the grid, the close season decision to alter the 2013 car has dramatically backfired.

A clearly unhappy Jenson Button is down in 10th place in the standings and new team-mate Perez has only managed 13th so far with a paltry 12 points from just three scoring finishes.

Overall in the Constructors' Championship, it means McLaren can only manage sixth, 87 points adrift of Lotus and even 22 points behind Force India, as the season moves towards its summer break.


CALENDAR

Date	Television		Pole position	Fastest lap	Winner
17 March	Sky	Australian Grand Prix	Vettel	Raikkonen	Raikkonen
24 March	Sky	Malaysian Grand Prix	Vettel	Perez	Vettel
14 April	BBC Sky	Chinese Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Alonso
21 April	Sky	Bahrain Grand Prix	Rosberg	Vettel	Vettel
12 May	BBC Sky	Spanish Grand Prix	Rosberg	Gutierrez	Alonso
26 May	Sky	Monaco Grand Prix	Rosberg	Vettel	Rosberg
9 June	BBC Sky	Canadian Grand Prix	Vettel	Webber	Vettel
30 June	BBC Sky	British Grand Prix	Hamilton	Webber	Rosberg
7 July	Sky	German Grand Prix
28 July	Sky	Hungarian Grand Prix
25 August	BBC Sky	Belgian Grand Prix
8 September	BBC Sky	Italian Grand Prix
22 September	Sky	Singapore Grand Prix
6 October	Sky	Korean Grand Prix
13 October	BBC Sky	Japanese Grand Prix
27 October	BBC Sky	Indian Grand Prix
3 November	Sky	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
17 November	Sky	United States Grand Prix
24 November	BBC Sky	Brazilian Grand Prix

STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship

P	Driver	Team	Points
01	Sebastian Vettel (Ger)	Red Bull-Renault	132 (3 wins)
02	Fernando Alonso (Spa)	Ferrari	111 (2 wins)
03	Kimi Raikkonen (Fin)	Lotus-Renault	98 (1 win)
04	Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	89
05	Mark Webber (Aus)	Red Bull-Renault	87
06	Nico Rosberg (Ger)	Mercedes	82 (2 wins)
07	Felipe Massa (Brz)	Ferrari	57
08	Paul di Resta (Gbr)	Force India-Mercedes	36
09	Romain Grosjean (Fra)	Lotus-Renault	26
10	Jenson Button (Gbr)	McLaren-Mercedes	25
11	Adrian Sutil (Ger)	Force India-Mercedes	23
12	Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	13
13	Sergio Perez (Mex)	McLaren-Mercedes	12
14	Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)	Toro-Rosso-Ferrari	11
15	Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)	Sauber-Ferrari	6
16	Pastor Maldonado (Ven)	Williams-Renault	0
17	Valtteri Bottas (Fin)*	Williams-Renault	0
18	Esteban Gutierrez (Mex)*	Sauber-Ferrari	0
19	Jules Bianchi (Fra)*	Marussia-Cosworth	0
20	Charles Pic (Fra)	Caterham-Renault	0
21	Max Chilton (Gbr)*	Marussia-Cosworth	0
22	Giedo van der Garde (Ned)*	Caterham-Renault	0

*= Debut season in F1

Constructors' Championship

P	Team	Points
01	Red Bull-Renault	219 (3 wins)
02	Mercedes	171 (2 wins)
03	Ferrari	168 (2 wins)
04	Lotus-Renault	124 (1 win)
05	Force India-Mercedes	59
06	McLaren-Mercedes	37
07	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	24
08	Sauber-Ferrari	6
09	Williams-Renault	0
10	Marussia-Cosworth	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

Persistence pays off for my Blaydon Races sis

BREAKING the hour mark became something of an obsession for my fitness-mad sister this year as she took part in her third Blaydon Race on a glorious "Ninth of Joon".

Last year, the Race was run in a terrible monsoon on the 150th anniversary of Geordie Ridley's tune - and it would prove even more agonising for my sister as she was officially clocked at 61 minutes.

But, another 12 months on, she was determined not to run it so close again. An increased gym regime on the treadmill began, and it has ultimately delivered a superb result with her unofficial time coming in at 55 minutes.

The official time for my sister will follow soon - though, for the first time, the 4000 competitors had an immediate opportunity to find out the fruits of their efforts, thanks to the long-desired introduction of chip timing.

Entirely understandably, my sister was rather more concerned with getting home, showered and changed before heading back to town for a few drinks. For, undoubtedly, the most wonderful thing about the Blaydon Race is the sheer sociability of the event.

This is no more exemplified than by the goody bag at the finish line, which includes a t-shirt that changes year-on-year and, perhaps, the most welcome of prizes - a bottle of ale from the Wylam brewery.

Certainly, the beer was well-deserved for this year's athletes after a run in which the sun shone high and the temperatures soared during the hottest part of the day.

But, while the weather was the complete opposite to the downpour in 2012, the course remained faithfully based on Geordie Ridley's song.

Beginning at Balmbras at the bottom of the Bigg Market with a hearty version of the Geordie anthem, the run twisted its way through Newcastle city centre, heading alang Collingwood Street, up the Westgate Road and past the Metro Radio Arena.

That put the competitors onto the famous Scotswood Road and they then all crossed over the Scotswood Bridge before looping around the Derwenthaugh Marina near the MetroCentre.

In the final part of the race, the runners headed onto Chainbridge to take them "reet into Blaydon toon" before they finished on the football fields near to Shibdon Pond.

There, I witnessed the efforts of a man dressed as the angel Gabriel - unnervingly with horn and golden hotpants, another man carrying a fridge on his back, a Wonderwoman and a Batman.

Most of all, though, I looked out for my sister, and then watched proudly as she crossed the line just after 4pm.

Note: the official race charity of the 2013 Blaydon Race was Heel and Toe Children's Charity, a local charity which offers free conductive education therapy to children with cerebral palsy, dyspraxia and other motor disorders.


THE BLAYDON RACES (1862)
by Geordie Ridley

(1) Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

(chorus)
Ah me lads, ye shuda seen us gannin',
Passin' the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,  
Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road, t'see the Blaydon Races.

(2) We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines, an' the veils that hide their faces,
Aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

(3) When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' some to Doctor Gibbs's,
An' sum to the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

(4) Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

(5) We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's show in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon

(6) The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they yelled, "Whe stole the cuddy."
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me lads, for riders."

The Season 2012/13: Fergie signs off in style

Sir Alex Ferguson celebrates his 13th (and final) Premier League title with Manchester United

1 MANCHESTER UNITED (P38 W28 D5 L5 F86 A43 Pts 89)
LWWWWLWWWWWLWWWWWDWWWWDWWWWWWWLWDWDLWD
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Chelsea (A) in QF replay, after 2-2
League Cup: lost 4-5 aet v Chelsea (A) in fourth round
Europe: lost 2-3 on agg v Real Madrid in second round (1-1a, 1-2h)
Top scorer: Robin van Persie (30)
Title number 20 was Sir Alex Ferguson's parting gift to the club which he has led since 1986, the last of an extraordinary 38 trophies which he had brought to Old Trafford in his 27 years. This was sweet revenge for Ferguson whose side overcame three defeats in their opening 12 league games to stretch their lead over defending champions, their noisy neighbours Manchester City, throughout the winter. Robin van Persie, appropriately wearing shirt number 20, scored 26 times in the league as his £24m signing paid immediate dividends, though the campaign ended with the bombshell that Wayne Rooney had submitted another transfer request. Can his former manager at Everton, David Moyes - the new man at Old Trafford - persuade him to stay?

2 MANCHESTER CITY (P38 W23 D9 L6 F66 A34 Pts 78)
WDWDDWWWWDWWDWDLWWLWWWWDDLWWLWWWLWDWWL
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Wigan Athletic in Final at Wembley
League Cup: lost 2-4 aet v Aston Villa (H) in third round
Europe: Finished bottom of Champions League group D [W0 D3 L3 F7 A11]
Top scorers: Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez (17)
A miserable season for defending champions Manchester City was completed by a miserable day out at Wembley where Wigan upset the odds to walk away with the FA Cup. City were actually the last unbeaten side in the Premier League this season, and briefly led the table in November. But a spate of early draws belied their vulnerability and they were generally short on goals despite being able to call upon the likes of Aguero, Tevez, Edin Dzeko and David Silva. An exit from Europe before Christmas left the FA Cup as City's only hope of a trophy - and when Ben Watson rose at the near post in the last minute to condemn Roberto Mancini's men to defeat, it was clear the Italian's reign at the Etihad was coming to an end. Former Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini is widely expected to be the new man in charge.

3 CHELSEA (P38 W22 D9 L7 F75 A39 Pts 75)
WWWDWWWWLDDLDDLWWWWLWDWDLWLWWLWWDWWDWW
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Manchester City in SF at Wembley
League Cup: lost 0-2 on agg v Swansea City in SF (0-2h, 0-0a)
Europe: won 2-1 v Benfica in Europa League Final in Amsterdam. Finished third in Champions League group E [W3 D1 L2 F16 A10].
Top scorer: Fernando Torres (23)
A trophy and a place in the Champions League was the end result of Rafa Benitez's short period in charge at Stamford Bridge after the Blues became the first Premier League club to sack their manager this season. Roberto di Matteo's failure against Juventus in the Champions League resulted in Chelsea dropping into the Europa League which, ultimately, they won against Benfica, thanks to Branislav Ivanovic's stoppage-time winner. Despite this, Benitez never did win over the fans following comments he had made about the Blues as Liverpool boss. Presumably the next boss - the likely return of Jose Mourinho - will be greeted with much more positivity, particularly if the Portuguese can convince owner Roman Abramovich that all-time club top scorer Frank Lampard is worth another contract.

4 ARSENAL (P38 W21 D10 L7 F72 A37 Pts 73)
DDWWDLWLWLDWDDLWWWWDLLWDWWWLWWWWDWDWWW
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Blackburn Rovers (H) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 2-3 on penalties (after 1-1) v Bradford City (A) in QF
Europe: lost v Bayern Munich on away goals in second round (1-3h, 2-0a)
Top scorer: Theo Walcott (21)
Arsenal repeated their late season surge from last year to steal the last Champions League spot from under the noses of their great north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, again. Defeat to Spurs at White Hart Lane on 3 March left the Gunners with little room for error, and they duly dropped only four more points in the remaining 10 games. Arsene Wenger thus kept up his 100% record of qualifying for the Champions League in full seasons at the club - but, after bad defeats to lower league opposition in both domestic cup competitions this season, what the fans really want is an end to the eight-year trophy drought.

5 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (P38 W21 D9 L8 F66 A46 Pts 72)
LDDWWWWLWLLLWWWLWDWWWDDDWWWWLLWDWDWDWW
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Leeds United (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Norwich City (A) in fourth round
Europe: lost 1-4 on penalties (after 4-4 on agg) v Basle in QF (2-2h, 2-2a)
Top scorer: Gareth Bale (26)
Incredibly, it happened again. Tottenham have been pipped at the post for a Champions League place despite holding an seven-point lead over Arsenal after beating them 2-1 at White Hart Lane on 3 March. Indeed, all looked good for Andre Villas-Boas' men after they overcame an autumn wobble but an over-reliance on one man, Gareth Bale, to produce the goods in the run-in left Spurs just too vulnerable. Nevertheless, 72 points remains Tottenham's best haul in a season since 1985 and Villas-Boas deserves another shot next season.

6 EVERTON (P38 W16 D15 L7 F55 A40 Pts 63)
WWLDWWDDDDWLDDDWDWWLWDDWDLLWWWDWDLWDWL
FA Cup: lost 0-3 v Wigan Athletic (H) in QF
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Leeds United (A) in third round
Top scorer: Marouane Fellaini (12)
David Moyes may have been defeated in his last game as Everton boss at Chelsea but the Scot still went out on a high note, finishing above Liverpool for a second successive season and achieving a top-six placing for the fifth time. Expected new manager Roberto Martinez has a tough act to follow, especially if the Merseysiders' better players follow Moyes out the door, but the Spaniard will no doubt stick to his short passing principles regardless.

7 LIVERPOOL (P38 W16 D13 L9 F71 A43 Pts 61)
LDLDLWDWDDDWDLWWLWLWWLWDDLWWWLWDDDWDWW
FA Cup: lost 2-3 v Oldham Athletic (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 1-3 v Swansea City (H) in fourth round
Europe: lost v Zenit St Petersburg on away goals in second round (0-2a, 3-1h)
Top scorer: Luis Suarez (30)
A slow start to Brendan Rodgers' reign resulted in another disappointing league finish for the Anfield club. Since finishing runners-up in 2008-09, Liverpool have now completed four seasons under four different managers in 7th, 6th, 8th and now 7th again. Nevertheless, there is hope going forward. Luis Suarez, when he is not biting defenders' arms, has added more goals to his game - and, indeed, the Reds were the Premier League's top scorers after the turn of the year. 

8 WEST BROMWICH ALBION (P38 W14 D7 L17 F53 A57 Pts 49)
WDWLWDWLLWWWWLLLDWWLLLDLLWWLWDLLDWLLLD
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Queens Park Rangers (H) in third round replay, after 1-1 (A)
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Liverpool (H) in third round
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku (17)
Four successive wins in November gave rise to high hopes at the Hawthorns as the Baggies made an unexpected autumn challenged for a top-four place. However, the second half of the season - devoid of a cup run - became somewhat of a grind to the finish line, though there was a rare victory at Anfield to celebrate and, ultimately, a best finish in the top flight since 1981. The loss of Lukaku back to his parent club Chelsea will cause boss Steve Clarke most concern over the summer.

9 SWANSEA CITY (P38 W11 D13 L14 F47 A51 Pts 46)
WWDLLLDWLDDWDWWLLDDWDDWDLWLWLLLDDLDWLL
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Arsenal (A) in third round replay, after 2-2 (H)
League Cup: won 5-0 v Bradford City in Final at Wembley
Top scorer: Miguel 'Michu' Perez Cuesta (22)
Swansea eschewed any thoughts of second season syndrome under their new manager Michael Laudrup with not only a first top-half finish in the top flight since 1982 but also their first major trophy in English football. A 5-0 thumping of Bradford City at Wembley came after having beaten Liverpool at Anfield and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge so the League Cup was well-merited. Top scorer Michu was brilliant to watch throughout the campaign.

10 WEST HAM UNITED (P38 W12 D10 L16 F45 A53 Pts 46)
WLWDDWLWLDWDLLWLDLLWLDLLWLLWLWDDDWLDLW
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Manchester United (A) in third round replay, after 2-2 (H)
League Cup: lost 1-4 v Wigan Athletic (H) in third round
Top scorer: Kevin Nolan (10)
West Ham's return to the top flight after a one-year absence was a success, ending with a top half finish thanks to a strong home record which included draws against the two Manchester clubs and a delightful 3-1 win over Chelsea. Following the Hammers away was less fun, though, with Sam Allardyce's men managing only 11 goals on the road all season, the lowest in the league.

11 NORWICH CITY (P38 W10 D14 L14 F41 A58 Pts 44)
LDDDLLLWDWDWDDWWWLLLLDLDDDWLDDLDLWLLWW
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Luton Town (H) in fourth round
League Cup: QF v Aston Villa (H) on 11 December
Top scorer: Grant Holt (8)
Norwich City took half of their 44 points in a 10-match unbeaten streak in the run-up to Christmas, a sequence which included impressive 1-0 home wins against Arsenal and Manchester United. In the rest of the season, though, the Canaries struggled - particularly in front of goal - until a well-timed flurry of seven brought two wins in their last two games against West Brom (4-0) and Manchester City away (3-2). Chris Hughton will hope that the new signing of Dutch striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel from Sporting Libson will permanently resolve the issue.

12 FULHAM (P38 W11 D10 L17 F50 A60 Pts 43)
WLLWWLDWDDDLLDLWLLDLWDLWLDWDWWLDLLLLLW
FA Cup: lost 1-4 v Manchester United (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 0-1 v Sheffield Wednesday (A) in second round
Top scorer: Dimitar Berbatov (15)
Fulham did enough to stay out of relegation trouble throughout as Martin Jol completed his second campaign at Craven Cottage. The Londoners, like their languid top scorer Dimitar Berbatov, seemed to play in fits and starts, beginning the season well before a mid-term blip, then improving again to ensure their late-season bid for oblivion was ultimately insignificant.

13 STOKE CITY (P38 W9 D15 L14 F34 A45 Pts 42)
DDDDLWDLDLWDWWWDDDWDLLLDLWLLLDLLLWWDLD
FA Cup: lost 0-1 v Manchester City (H) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 3-4 aet v Swindon Town (H) in second round
Top scorer: Jonathan Walters (11)
Time is up for Tony Pulis at the Britannia Stadium after a bit of a season of what-might-have-been for the Potters. Sitting pretty in eighth at the turn of the year, Stoke - who were unbeaten at home - had their eyes on a top half finish in the top flight for the first time since 1981. But just three league wins in 2013 meant instead they had to settle for a fifth successive finish between 11th and 14th, and only Queens Park Rangers scored fewer than their pitiful 34 Premier League goals. That said, new man Mark Hughes had endured a frosty reception so far.

14 SOUTHAMPTON (P38 W9 D14 L15 F49 A60 Pts 41)
LLLLWLDLLLDWWDLWLDDDWDDLDWLLDWWWDDLLDD
FA Cup: lost 1-5 v Chelsea (H) in third round
League Cup: lost 0-3 v Leeds United (A) in fourth round
Top scorer: Rickie Lambert (15)
Southampton recovered from a very slow start to life back in the top flight and seemed to be moving away from trouble when Nigel Adkins was surprisingly given the chop in January. Nevertheless, Argentine successor Mauricio Pochettino impressed the St Mary's faithful with a trio of home wins against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, as Saints secured their Premier League place with an entertaining style.

15 ASTON VILLA (P38 W10 D11 L17 F47 A69 Pts 41)
LLDWLDLLDWLLDWDDWLLLDLDLDWLLWWLWDLWWLD
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Millwall (A) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 3-4 on agg v Bradford City in SF (1-3a, 2-1h)
Top scorer: Christian Benteke (23)
Paul Lambert's young side suffered several embarrassments this season - most notably, the 8-0 loss to Chelsea and a two-legged defeat against League Two Bradford City in the League Cup semi finals. But, thanks to Christian Benteke's goals, the Villa lads were able to tough it out and they finished the season strongly, recording a thrashing of their own - 6-1 against Sunderland - in their penultimate home game.

16 NEWCASTLE UNITED (P38 W11 D8 L19 F45 A68 Pts 41)
WLDDWDLDWDLLLLWLLWLLLDLWWLWLWLLWLDLDWL
FA Cup: lost 0-2 v Brighton & Hove Albion (A) in third round
League Cup: lost 1-2 v Manchester United (A) in third round
Europe: lost 2-4 on agg v Benfica in QF (1-3a, 1-1h)
Top scorer: Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse (13)
From fifth place last year, Newcastle United endured a prolonged relegation battle in this campaign with the squad at St James Park stretched to its limit by injuries and extra games. Even accounting for those circumstances, though, the long-ball tactics and on-field performances were simply not up to scratch. The Magpies lost exactly half of their league games - including painful defeats at home to Sunderland and Liverpool - and only investment in another batch of French players in January saved the club from a second relegation in four years.

17 SUNDERLAND (P38 W9 D12 L17 F41 A54 Pts 39) 
DDDDWLDDLLWLDLLWLWWLLWWDLLLDLDLLWWLDDL
FA Cup: lost 0-2 v Bolton Wanderers (A) in fourth round replay, after 2-2 (H)
League Cup: lost 0-1 v Middlesbrough (H) in fourth round
Top scorer: Steven Fletcher (11)
So, in the end, Sunderland finished just above the relegation line, a reasonable reflection given that their ship was sinking fast under Martin O'Neill. In came 'charismatic' fascist Paulo di Canio to immediate effect with an unforgettable 3-0 win at Newcastle, followed up by a first home win in three months against Everton. Those six points effectively secured safety but form tailed off again at the end of the campaign and the Black Cats failed to make it to 40 points.

18 WIGAN ATHLETIC (P38 W9 D9 L20 F47 A73 Pts 36)
LWDLLLDLWWLLWLLDLLLWLDLDDLWLWWDLLDWLLD
FA Cup: won 1-0 v Manchester City in Final at Wembley
League Cup: lost 2-4 on penalties (after 0-0 draw) v Bradford City (H) in fourth round
Top scorer: Arouna Kone (13)
Wigan Athletic became the first team to win the FA Cup and get relegated in a typically topsy-turvy season at the DW Stadium. Victory at Wembley against Man City thanks to Ben Watson's stoppage-time goal brought the Latics their first ever major trophy but, in the Premier League, Wigan had played with fire once too often, especially as the habitual late-season surge spluttered against Swansea and Arsenal this time.

19 READING (P38 W6 D10 L22 F43 A73 Pts 28)
DLLLDDLDDDWLLLLLLLDWLWWDWLLLLLLLDLDWLL
FA Cup: lost 1-2 v Manchester United (A) in fifth round
League Cup: lost 5-7 aet v Arsenal (H) in fourth round
Top scorer: Adam Le Fondre (14)
Reading were perhaps the weakest team in the top flight last season and so did well to avoid finishing rock bottom. It looked for a short while, with a run of just one defeat in seven after Christmas, that the Royals might even escape. But seven successive defeats in the spring swiftly ended those hopes and the run also called time on Brian McDermott's stay at the Madejski.

20 QUEENS PARK RANGERS (P38 W4 D13 L21 F30 A60 Pts 25)
LDLDLLLDLDLLLDDDWLLLWDDDDLLWWLLDLLDLLL
FA Cup: lost 2-4 v Milton Keynes Dons (H) in fourth round
League Cup: lost 2-3 v Reading (H) in third round
Top scorer: Loic Remy (6)
Harry Redknapp was unable to live up to his Houdini nickname and added a second relegation to his own CV following his demotion with Southampton eight years ago. Now, Redknapp - touted as the next England boss only 12 months ago - has said he will stay with Queens Park Rangers in the Championship after a dreadful campaign from the west Londoners from start to finish.

Bayern Munich won the European Cup in an all-German Final at Wembley

THE SEASON 2012/13: FOR THE RECORD
ENGLAND
Premier League
Champions Manchester United
Runners-up Manchester City
Champions League Chelsea, Arsenal
Europa League Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan Athletic, Swansea City
Relegation Wigan Athletic, Reading, Queens Park Rangers

Championship
Champions Cardiff City
Runners-up Hull City
Playoff winners Crystal Palace (beat Watford 1-0 aet in the Final)
Relegation Peterborough United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bristol City

League One
Champions Doncaster Rovers
Runners-up Bournemouth
Playoff winners Yeovil Town (beat Brentford 2-1 in the Final)
Relegation Scunthorpe United, Bury, Hartlepool United, Portsmouth

League Two
Champions Gillingham
Runners-up Rotherham
Also promoted Port Vale
Playoff winners Bradford City (beat Northampton Town 3-0 in the Final)
Relegation Barnet, Aldershot Town

Conference Premier
Champions Mansfield Town
Playoff winners Newport County (beat Wrexham 2-0 in the Final)
Relegation Stockport County, Barrow, Ebbsfleet United, AFC Telford United

Conference North
Champions Chester
Playoff winners FC Halifax Town (beat Brackley Town 1-0 in the Final)
Relegation Corby Town, Droylsden, Hinckley United

Conference South
Champions Welling United
Playoff winners Salisbury City (beat Dover Athletic 3-2 aet in the Final)
Relegation AFC Hornchurch, Billericay Town, Truro City

Domestic Cup Finals
All matches played at Wembley
FA Cup Final Wigan Athletic 1-0 Manchester City
League Cup Final Swansea City 5-0 Bradford City
FA Community Shield Manchester City 3-2 Chelsea
Johnstone's Paint Trophy Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Southend United
FA Trophy Wrexham 1-1 Grimsby Town (after extra time). Wrexham won 4-1 on pens.
FA Vase Spennymoor Town 2-1 Tunbridge Wells

SCOTLAND
Premier League
Champions Celtic
Runners-up Motherwell
Europa League Motherwell, St Johnstone, Hibernian (Cup runners-up)
Relegation Dundee

Division One
Champions Partick Thistle
Runners-up (not promoted) Greenock Morton
Relegation Dunfermline Athletic, Airdrie United

Division Two
Champions Queen of the South
Runners-up (promoted) Alloa Athletic (beat Dunfermline Athletic 3-1 on agg)
Relegation Albion Rovers

Division Three
Champions Rangers
Runners-up (not promoted) Peterhead (lost 0-1 on agg v East Fife)

Domestic Cup Finals
FA Cup Final Celtic 3-0 Hibernian
League Cup Final St Mirren 3-2 Hearts
Challenge Cup Final Queen of the South 1-1 Partick Thistle (after extra time). Queen of the South won 6-5 on pens.

WALES/NORTHERN IRELAND
Welsh Premier League
Champions The New Saints
Europa League Airbus UK Broughton (runners-up), Prestatyn Town (Cup winners), Bala Town (playoff winners)
Relegation Llanelli

IFA Premiership
Champions Cliftonville
Europa League Crusaders (runners-up), Linfield (third place), Glentoran Town (Cup winners)
Relegation Donegal Celtic, Lisburn Distillery

Domestic Cup Finals
Welsh FA Cup Final Prestatyn Town 3-1 Bangor City (after extra time)
Welsh League Cup Final Carmarthen Town 3-3 The New Saints (after extra time). Carmarthen Town won 3-1 on pens.
IFA Cup Final Glentoran 3-1 Cliftonville (after extra time)
IFA League Cup Final Cliftonville 4-0 Crusaders

EUROPE
UEFA Finals
Champions League Bayern Munich (Ger) 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (Ger)
Europa League Chelsea (Eng) 2-1 Benfica (Por)
Super Cup Atletico Madrid (Spa) 4-1 Chelsea (Eng)

Major European League champions
Spain Barcelona
Italy Juventus
Germany Bayern Munich
France Paris Saint-Germain
Portugal FC Porto
Netherlands Ajax Amsterdam
Belgium Anderlecht
Greece Olympiacos
Turkey Galatasaray

Defamation 101: Sally Bercow's Twitter folly

JUST seven words and a bit of punctuation was all it took to land Sally Bercow in a lot of trouble on Twitter.

Mrs Bercow, wife of the House of Commons Speaker John, made her post on 4 November last year, querying "Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*".

Lord McAlpine, though he was not named in a Newsnight report two nights earlier, had subsequently been identified on the internet as the Conservative politician from the Margaret Thatcher era, accused of child abuse.

Except that he had never done such a thing and had instead been a victim of mistaken identity - as his accuser admitted after seeing a different photograph.

The failure to check these facts cost BBC Newsnight - and ITV who repeated the allegations - dearly, with Lord McAlpine being easily able to prove in court that the story referred to him.

But the modern world of social media, such as Twitter, added an extra element to the mess.

Indeed, Lord McAlpine was able to identify thousands of Tweets which he considered defamatory, though he later dropped claims against Twitter users with fewer than 500 followers in return for a charitable donation to the BBC's Children in Need.

With 56,000 followers at the time, Mrs Bercow did not qualify for the exception - and instead she decided to fight her corner, claiming there was nothing defamatory in what she had written.

Unfortunately for her, the judge Mr Justice Tugendhat decided she was wrong.

Now, to bring about a suit of defamation - that is, slander or, more commonly, libel if the relevant material is published on a permanent record such as newspapers or indeed Twitter - the claimant must show three things:

• that the statement referred to him or herself - in the case against Mrs Bercow, he had no problem on this point given that he was named;
• that the statement was published to a third party- again, this was easy to prove given that Mrs Bercow was not denying she had made the Tweet;
• and that the statement was actually defamatory - this is the trickier one in the case of Mrs Bercow's Tweet but, again, defamation law is quite clear on what might be considered defamatory. 

Something is defamatory if it tends to:

1. Expose him/her to hatred, ridicule or contempt;
2. Cause him/her to be shunned or avoided;
3. Lower him/her in the estimation of right-thinking members of society, generally;
4. or Disparage him/her in their business, trade, office or profession

• Notice, the words 'if it tends to' - this means that the person suing does not actually have to prove that the words actually caused any of the four above things to happen. It is enough that they might have happened as a result of the offending statement.

Mrs Bercow's defence in court was none of the traditional defences against defamation - i.e. justification, fair comment or privilege - but simply that her Tweet was not defamatory.

Of course, in the purest sense, the Speaker's wife is correct that her query - "Why is Lord McAlpine trending?" - is not defamatory, but merely inquisitive.

However, the law of defamation is more complicated than that, and it is her addition of "*innocent face" which has really landed her in trouble.

In ruling on the case, Mr Justice Tugendhat, said that her tweet meant “in its natural and ordinary defamatory meaning that the claimant was a paedophile who was guilty of sexually abusing boys living in care.

He added: "If I were wrong about that, I would find that the tweet bore an innuendo meaning to the same effect.”

Innuendo is best eschewed if a hefty legal bill is to be avoided.

For, if the followers of Mrs Bercow's can read between the lines in her appendage "*innocent face*", then so can libel judges, as the Daily Star found out in the 1980s.

The newspaper, under the headline 'A lordly price to pay, wrote: "There's been much excited chatter as to why dashing poetry-scribbling Minister Lord Gowrie left the Cabinet so suddenly.

"What expensive habits can he not support on an income of £33,000? I'm sure Gowrie himself would snort at suggestions that he was born with a silver spoon round his neck."

Lord Gowrie's lawyers said: "The reference to [his] expensive habits, the suggestion that he was unable to support those habits on his ministerial salary, the use of the word 'snort' and the reference to a 'silver spoon around his neck' all bore the plain implication, to all familiar with the relevant terminology, that [he] was in the habit of taking illegal drugs, in particular cocaine."

Now, for future journalism students, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) can update its course textbook McNae's Essential Law for Journalists with the Bercow case.

Meanwhile, those of us, like me, who are just joining Twitter would do well to learn from Mrs Bercow's expensive folly.

You can follow my worldly observations on my new account, @gallowgate_pete.

If it bleeds, it leads

Drummer Lee Rigby of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, aged 25. 
May he Rest In Peace.

THE OLD adage "if it bleeds, it leads" was in full evidence in the media coverage of the tragic killing of Royal Fusiliers Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on Wednesday.

Almost all of the national newspapers carried the horrifying image on their front pages of one of the perpetrators Michael Adebolajo, clutching a meat cleaver in his bloodied hands.

The evening bulletin of the ITV news, broadcast at 6.30pm, showed an exclusive video which the attacker had forced a member of the public to film.

And, of course, the rolling news went into an inevitable overdrive. There were the ubiquitous live blogs on the websites of the BBC, the Guardian, the Telegraph and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, BBC political editor Nick Robinson landed himself in hot water by describing the suspect as being "of Muslim descent", whatever that means.

At first, Robinson defended his description as having been taken directly from a quote by a Whitehall source - but, later on his blog, he gave a full apology "for using a phrase that, on reflection, was both liable to be misinterpreted and to cause offence".

ITV was also on the defensive after it had received hundreds of complaints for its broadcast of the aforementioned video - but it defended its decision as "editorially justified".

"We carefully considered showing this footage ahead of broadcast and made the decision to do so on a public interest basis as the material is integral to understanding the horrific incident that took place yesterday," said an ITV News spokesman.

"It was editorially justified to show such footage in the aftermath of such a shocking attack, and we prefaced it on ITV News at 6.30pm and News at Ten with appropriate warnings to make viewers aware in advance of the graphic images about to be shown."

Sky News executives opted not to show it on the grounds of taste and that it could be a potential platform for terrorists, but the BBC did join ITV in showing the clip on its later bulletins.

Now, the issue for the print media with breaking news events is that, by the time they publish the following day, the images are already very much in the public domain.

Even if the broadcasters had chosen to be more cautious and not shown the video, the chilling material could easily be found on Twitter and other social media outlets.

It is therefore not difficult to agree with Media Guardian commentator Roy Greenslade that the newspapers would have "looked completely daft to ignore what was already in the public domain".

After all, to do so would be tantamount to self-censorship, and again I agree with Greenslade when he states that editors "cannot edit in order to ensure they protect us from the feeble-minded".

As for those who suggest all that newspapers or broadcasters are interested in is their sales or ratings - well, there is always the option not to buy the paper and always an off-button on the television remote.

At the same time, though, it is important that newspaper chiefs show some respect for the victim and his family in their editorial decisions.

The Sun, The Daily Star, The Telegraph and The Times all took the curious (and, in my view, incorrect) decision to include Mr Rigby's stricken body on their front page.

In his column, Greenslade again defends the newspapers on the basis that they "needed to convey the brutality of a murder that appeared to have been carried out as an act of terrorism" - but it comes across as a breach of privacy to me.

Indeed, ITV has since sensibly edited the video on its website to obscure Mr Rigby's body.

Nevertheless, it was the Guardian with perhaps the most harrowing front cover. Its editors chose a full-page close-up photo of Adebolajo with his words "You people will never be safe" running alongside.

If that is not the dissemination of irrational fear - so often railed against within that very newspaper - then I do not quite know what is. 

Of course, it is not just the media which has stirred up the reaction to Mr Rigby's death.

While the action can accurately be described as terrorism, the repetition of the phrase over and over again by media commentators and politicians has served little purpose than to stir up more tension.

Similarly, the actions of Home Secretary Theresa May calling an emergency COBRA meeting and Prime Minister David Cameron cutting short his holiday both smack of politicians wanting to be seen as decisive, regardless of the consequences.

Instead, they have arguably made the situation worse and played right into the hands of bone-headed extremists like the English Defence League, which has already sadly caused some damage. 

Would the numbskulls have acted in the same manner if the media and politicians had have reacted differently? Very possibly so. 

But, have the media and politicians treated the matter as sensitively as they could have? Almost certainly not. 

After all, there were some very good news stories related to this horrific incident which almost immediately restored my faith in humankind. 

Witness the bravery of the mother and daughter who tended to Mr Rigby just yards from the knife and meat cleaver-wielding terrorists.

Or, how about giving more coverage to Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, the cub scout leader who confronted the terrorists just seconds after their attack, asking them to hand over their weapons?

"It is only you versus many people, you are going to lose," said Mrs Loyau-Kennett to the terrorists at the scene - if only the Guardian had used those words on its front page instead.

Eurovision 2013: Barefoot Emmelie becomes a Great Dane

FAVOURITE Emmelie de Forest justified her strong pre-show odds after 'Only Teardrops' won the 58th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo for Denmark.

The 20-year-old from Randers chalked up 281 points to finish ahead of Azerbaijan's Farid Mammadov on 234 and Ukraine's Zlata Ognevich on 214.

Those were the only three countries to breach the double century in what was a much tighter contest than last year when Sweden's Loreen blew the opposition away with 'Euphoria'.

Of course, for that edition, the United Kingdom entered 76-year-old crooner Engelbert Humperdinck - and, this year, 61-year-old Bonnie Tyler was chosen by the BBC to represent our interests.

In fairness to Bonnie, she did much better than her predecessor, picking up points from seven different countries, including seven from Ireland, five from Malta, and four from Spain.

In total, she received 23 points to finish in 19th place out of 26 - not a bad effort taking into account just how insipid her ballad 'Believe in Me' actually was.

Reflecting on the result, the Welsh singer said: "I'm sure a lot of people will be disappointed on my behalf but I have really enjoyed my Eurovision experience.

"I did the best that I could do with a great song. I don't feel down and I'm ready to party."

At the bottom, no country suffered the complete indignity of nul points - but it was Ryan Dolan for Ireland who surprisingly brought up the rear with just three points all night.

That was somewhat of a surprise for his song 'Only Love Survives' which seemed primed to do well, bringing the acts to a close amid a flurry of pyrotechnics and topless, oiled-up drummers.

Perhaps Europe had just got bored of the entire show by then. Or, more likely, Ireland's desperately low score was just punishment for the appearance of Jedward for the last two years.

EUROVISION 2013: THE RESULTS 
Voting for the United Kingdom: Ireland (7), Malta (5), Spain (4), Romania (3), Switzerland (2), Slovenia (1), Sweden (1) = 23

	Country	Song - Artist	Points	Douze
01	Denmark	Only Teardrops - Emmelie de Forest	281	(8)
02	Azerbaijan	Hold Me - Farid Mammadov	234	(10)
03	Ukraine	Gravity - Zlata Ognevich	214	(5)
04	Norway	I Feed You My Love - Margaret Berger	191	(3)
05	Russia	What If - Dina Garipova	174	(2)
06	Greece	Alcohol Is Free - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis	152	(2)
07	Italy	L'essenziale (The essential) - Marco Mengoni	126	(3)
08	Malta	Tomorrow - Gianluca	120	(-)
09	Netherlands	Birds - Anouk	114	(1)
10	Hungary	Kedvesem (My darling - Zoohacker remix) - ByeAlex	84	(1)
11	Moldova	O mie (A thousand) - Aliona Moon	71	(1)
12	Belgium	Love Kills - Roberto Bellarosa	71	(1)
13	Romania	It's My Life - Cezar	65	(-)
14	Sweden	You - Robin Stjernberg	62	(1)
15	Georgia	Waterfall - Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani	50	(-)
16	Belarus	Solayoh - Alyona Lanskaya	48	(1)
17	Iceland	Eg a lif (I am alive) - Eythor Ingi	47	(-)
18	Armenia	Lonely Planet - Dorians	41	(-)
19	United Kingdom	Believe in Me - Bonnie Tyler	23	(-)
20	Estonia	Et uus saaks alguse (So there can be a new beginning) - Birgit	19	(-)
21	Germany	Glorious - Cascada	18	(-)
22	Lithuania	Something - Andrius Pojavis	17	(-)
23	France	L'enfer et moi (Hell and me) - Amandine Bourgeois	14	(-)
24	Finland	Marry Me - Krista Siegfrids	13	(-)
25	Spain	Contigo hasta el final (With you until the end) - ESDM	8	(-)
26	Ireland	Only Love Survives - Ryan Dolan	3	(-)

EUROVISION 2013 RUNNING ORDER
BBC One, 8pm

Click on the links for the official Eurovision videos of each of the songs. Odds supplied by Ladbrokes. See www.oddschecker.com/tv/eurovision/winner 

	Country	Song - Artist	Odds
01	France	L'enfer et moi (Hell and me) - Amandine Bourgeois	150/1
02	Lithuania	Something - Andrius Pojavis	250/1
03	Moldova	O mie (A thousand) - Aliona Moon	100/1
04	Finland	Marry Me - Krista Siegfrids	25/1
05	Spain	Contigo hasta el final (With you until the end) - ESDM	250/1
06	Belgium	Love Kills - Roberto Bellarosa	150/1
07	Estonia	Et uus saaks alguse (So there can be a new beginning) - Birgit	100/1
08	Belarus	Solayoh - Alyona Lanskaya	150/1
09	Malta	Tomorrow - Gianluca	80/1
10	Russia	What If - Dina Garipova	14/1
11	Germany	Glorious - Cascada	33/1
12	Armenia	Lonely Planet - Dorians	150/1
13	Netherlands	Birds - Anouk	25/1
14	Romania	It's My Life - Cezar	50/1
15	United Kingdom	Believe in Me - Bonnie Tyler	50/1
16	Sweden	You - Robin Stjernberg
17	Hungary	Kedvesem (My darling - Zoohacker remix) - ByeAlex	66/1
18	Denmark	Only Teardrops - Emmelie de Forest	8/13 fav
19	Iceland	Eg a lif (I am alive) - Eythor Ingi	100/1
20	Azerbaijan	Hold Me - Farid Mammadov	12/1
21	Greece	Alcohol Is Free - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis	20/1
22	Ukraine	Gravity - Zlata Ognevich	9/1
23	Italy	L'essenziale (The essential) - Marco Mengoni	25/1
24	Norway	I Feed You My Love - Margaret Berger	11/2
25	Georgia	Waterfall - Nodi Tatishvili and Sophie Gelovani	20/1
26	Ireland	Only Love Survives - Ryan Dolan	25/1

RELATED LINKS
- Official Eurovision website (Facebook - Twitter)
- Official Eurovision Youtube website
- BBC Eurovision website
- Wikipedia Eurovision page

PREVIOUS REPORTS
2009 - Norway storm Eurovision
2010 - Lena out of the world with 'Satellite' as UK finish bottom
2011 - Azerbaijan surprise leaves Britain feeling Blue
2012 - Loreen lives up to her billing as Sweden win

On second thoughts...

HELLO again. I have decided to write here again; I suppose I just couldn't stay away.

Of course, I elected to stop updating this blog about a month ago with the aim of reducing the amount of unproductive time I spend waste on the internet.

Guess what? It didn't really work. I still spend waste far too much time online - on forums, on Facebook, on the BBC and Guardian news sites... and, ahem, elsewhere.

Indeed, on second thoughts, my blogging was actually a much more positive use of my time on the web - even if I think I did sometimes focus on the quantity over the quality of my posts.

Consequently, I am now returning to the fold and I intend to cover my usual interests with write-ups on politics and the media, football, cricket and other sports.

In addition to all that, though, I would also like to write more articles from a personal perspective about my issues with anxiety and depression.

Obviously, there are many personal matters which I will discuss in therapy that will not be published here. But, if I can perhaps share a few things which are helping me every now and then, my posts may even become half-decent reference points in themselves.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to say it's good to be back, more soon. Oh, and thanks for reading again. :-)

Local elections 2013: UKIP arrives on the mainstream scene (results only).

OVERALL COMPOSITION

Party	Vote	Councils		Councillors
CON	25%	18	(-10)	1116	(-335)
LAB	29%	3	(+2)	538	(+291)
LD	14%	0		352	(-124)
UKIP	23%	0		147	(+139)
GRN		0		22	(+5)
OTH	9%	0		187	(+24)
NOC	n/a	13	(+8)	n/a

NOC = no overall control (i.e. no party has a majority)

FULL RESULTS
UNITARY
Bristol (⅓)
Cornwall
Durham
Isle of Wight - NOC gain from Con
Northumberland
Shropshire
Wiltshire

COUNTY COUNCILS
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire - NOC gain from Con
Cumbria
Derbyshire - LAB gain from Con
Devon
Dorset
East Sussex - NOC gain from Con
Essex
Gloucestershire - NOC gain from Con
Hampshire
Hertfordshire
Isle of Angelsey
Kent
Lancashire - NOC gain from Con
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire - NOC gain from Con
Norfolk - NOC gain from Con
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire - LAB gain from Con
Oxfordshire - NOC gain from Con
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Warwickshire - NOC gain from Con
West Sussex
Worcestershire

MAYORAL
Doncaster - Ros Jones - LAB gain from Ind
North Tyneside - Norma Redfearn - LAB gain from Con

SOUTH SHIELDS BY ELECTION LAB hold

Emma Lewell-Buck Labour	12,493	50.5% (-1.6%)
Richard Elvin UKIP	5,988	24.2%
Karen Allen Conservatives	2,857	11.6% (-10.1%)
Ahmed Khan Independent	1,331	5.4%
Phil Brown Independent Socialist	750	3.0%
Dororthy MacBeth Brookes BNP	711	2.9% (-3.6%)
Hugh Annand Liberal Democrats	352	1.4% (-12.8%)
Howling Laud Hope Monster Raving Loony	197	0.8%
Thomas Darwood Independent	57	0.2%

Total votes: 24,780 Turnout: 39.3% Majority: 6,505