Rio Ferdinand must be recalled by England – Neil Ashton

Posted on February 7, 2013 by adminsports

Neil Ashton: Cahill's slip against Brazil shows Hodgson needs Ferdinand at the heart of England's defence

By
Neil Ashton

PUBLISHED:

00:07 GMT, 7 February 2013

UPDATED:

01:39 GMT, 7 February 2013

High up in the stands at Wembley, the best available central defender in the country left his calling card. Rio Ferdinand is itching to play for England again, tweeting in advance of Brazil’s visit that he was on his way to north-west London.

Ferdinand will never give up hope, and Gary Cahill’s elementary mistake at the start of the second half is the reason why.

This is the scenario unfolding for England’s head coach Roy Hodgson as he continues to hide behind the ‘footballing reasons’ for Ferdinand’s continued exclusion. Cahill is a good defender, but not good enough at the very highest level.

Rio Ferdinand

Out in the cold: Rio Ferdinand has not played for England since the draw with Switzerland last June

He was brutally exposed when his failure to complete a pass allowed Fred, on as a substitute, to equalise at the start of the second half.

There will have been reminders from Hodgson at half-time for England to keep their composure after Wayne Rooney’s sweetly taken goal put them in front. Instead the mistake by Cahill is a cause for concern, an alarming moment for a player with a Champions League winner’s medal.

Until that moment he had done well enough, twice snuffing out the threat of Neymar in the first half as the Brazilian worried England’s defence.

At 34, Ferdinand is still good enough to represent his country. Frank Lampard, who scored after coming on in the second half, is the same age. Lampard has been assured that he will be part of Hodgson’s squad if England get through Group H and board the plane to Brazil next summer.

By then he will be nearly 36 and the assumption is that the remaining members of the Golden Generation will call it a day after the World Cup.

Gutted: Gary Cahill is dejected after his mistake allowed Fred to equalise for Brazil against England (below)

Fred scores against England

Lampard has made 17 Barclays Premier League appearances for Chelsea this season, but if Hodgson is number crunching then Ferdinand represents full value as well. The Manchester United defender has started 19 games for the club in the Premier League and come on as a substitute in one other.

He is playing, unquestionably, for the best team in the country and his selection, fitness permitting, against Real Madrid next week is automatic.

That is a Champions League tie, a second-round first-leg clash in the Bernabeu where Cristiano Ronaldo and Co will take some beating.

Fergie always turns to Ferdinand in big games, just as he has against Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea.

In command: Ferdinand has impressed in defence for Manchester United this season

After his injury just days before the start of the 2010 World Cup, Ferdinand made only a handful of appearances under Fabio Capello the following season.

Hodgson has never picked him in a squad, preferring John Terry at the heart of his defence until he made the surprise decision to retire.

Recalling Ferdinand would provide some mild embarrassment for Hodgson, but ending the defender’s international career on the Tube is way out in front when it comes to wincing.

England have important games next month, particularly when they travel to Montenegro for a vital World Cup qualifier.

Those are the games that really count at international level, true tests for the top players.

Italy's Franco Baresi

Paolo Maldini

Examples: Franco Baresi (left) and Paolo Maldini both continued into their thirties at international level

Some of the great defenders, Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi among them, have been to World Cups when they were well past their prime.

Simply because they were 34 at the time didn’t make them bad players and that is something Hodgson should consider carefully when he selects his squad next month.

Beyond that, Hodgson hopes this team will be heading for Brazil and the World Cup finals.
To do well, he will need England’s best players with him.

Mark Ramprakash named Middlesex batting coach

Posted on December 20, 2012 by adminsports

England old boy Ramprakash named Middlesex batting coach

UPDATED:

18:58 GMT, 19 December 2012

Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash has been appointed batting coach at Middlesex for the next two years.

Ramprakash, 43, retired from playing in July after losing his place in the Surrey team following a lean spell of form and takes up the coaching post with the county that gave him his break in cricket.

He played for Middlesex from 1987 to 2000 and had a period as captain, before moving across London to join Surrey.

All smiles: Ramprakash has been appointed batting coach at Middlesex

During his spell at The Oval he passed the career landmark of 100 first-class centuries, reaching 114 in total.

Ramprakash also recently agreed to take on a two-year consultancy with the England and Wales Cricket Board as a batting coach and has been in India with the England Lions.

End of the road: Ramprakash retired earlier this year

Middlesex are relishing his return to Lord's, with his former county and international team-mate Angus Fraser, now Middlesex's director of cricket, saying: 'I am thrilled to have Mark back at Middlesex CCC.

'It is my job to provide Middlesex's cricketers with the best possible coaching, support and advice available and in Mark Ramprakash they have that.'

Ramprakash takes over from Australian Mark O'Neill, who announced last month he was leaving Middlesex after a three-year stint.

Fraser said: 'Mark Ramprakash will offer our batsmen something different. His record speaks for itself and in the past 25 years there has not been a better batsman in county cricket.

'Mark moved from Middlesex to Surrey in 2000, but I never felt his heart left the club.' Ramprakash said: 'Middlesex is the club that gave me the chance to achieve what I have in cricket and I am delighted to be able to return to work with and help the current and next generation of Middlesex cricketers.

'I am excited by the talent in the current crop of players and look forward to contributing to the club.'

Jason Roberts on why he didn"t wear Kick It Out T-shirt

Posted on October 24, 2012 by adminsports

The bananas have gone, but that doesn't mean the fight is won

UPDATED:

21:45 GMT, 23 October 2012

When I said last week that I wouldn't wear a Kick It Out T-shirt I wasn't trying to lead a protest.

I was speaking for myself. But what happened over the weekend has, I believe, underlined the depth of the issues I was trying to draw attention to.

I have not been involved in any discussions about creating a black players' union, although I heard human rights barrister Peter Herbert saying on Tuesday that talks had taken place.

Battle's not won: Jason Roberts decided not to wear a Kick It Out T-Shirt this weekend

And if those discussions have happened, then it shows that the existing union is not doing enough.

They were told that Saturday's protest might happen, and that this situation could occur.

Myself and a group of other players have been in detailed discussions with the PFA for some time.

We suggested to them all along that this week could be an issue, because people didn't want to wear the T-shirt.

There are lots of players from ethnic minority backgrounds at every level of the game who feel strongly about these things.

It has nothing to do with whether you are fortunate to play in the Premier League or at any level below that.

Me too: Rio Ferdinand (left) opted not to wear the T-shirt

No way: Rio's brother, Anton, also chose to boycott the T-shirt campaign ahead of QPR's clash with Everton at Loftus Road

I speak to players who are exasperated by the suggestion that the fight against racism has been won, simply because bananas no longer get thrown and monkey noises aren't made.

The last generation might have suffered from monkey chants, but we have to move it forward from just being happy that we no longer get that. Yes, it was progress.

But we can't decide that it is good enough, and we must keep moving the conversation forward.

We should have the same rights as other people to get into management and coaching.

For the number of players from ethnic minority backgrounds who have appeared at every level, there are still too few who have made it through into other aspects of the game.

It isn't just managers and coaches, either. There is not the representation in commercial jobs or other positions behind the scenes at football clubs.

People ask me what I'm looking for, and the answer is pretty simple.

It needs a serious approach to representation with proper resources to do the job that is needed to take things forward.

Longstanding: Manchester City's Joleon Lescott has not worn the campaign's shirt since 2007

Kick It Out has done some substantial things, but as an organisation it is not seriously funded, and it should be.

The equality department in the PFA needs to change and should have stonger leadership and more than just one or two staff. It doesn't have the resources or the manpower to tackle the job.

These are the issues that I felt needed to be raised. Detailed discussions and recommendations have been tabled for a year now, across several meetings, without any progress being made.

If the protests by different individual players over the weekend have helped to get people talking about them then it has done some good.

I have been greatly encouraged by the support I have received from fans who understood the points we have been trying to make.

What we want to see now is for the authorities to recognise the depth of feeling, and do something about it.

Demba Ba will wear Kick It Out T-shirt

Posted on October 23, 2012 by adminsports

Ba won't boycott Kick It Out after deciding to wear T-shirt before West Brom clash

UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 22 October 2012

Newcastle striker Demba Ba will wear the Kick It Out T-shirt before his team's home game this weekend.

Ba is the latest Premier League star to be subjected to alleged racist abuse and Northumbria Police confirmed on Monday they are still investigating claims that the Senegal international was targeted during Sunday's North East derby at Sunderland.

But following the refusal of several high profile players to wear a T-shirt in support of football's anti-racism movement at the weekend, and despite his own reservations about the campaign, Ba has decided he will show his support when the Newcastle squad are asked to wear the T-shirts before their game at home to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

Support: Demba Ba (right) will wear the Kick It Out T-shirt

Ba told Sportsmail: 'I have read a lot of things about the campaign, for example about Rio Ferdinand not wearing the T-shirt. I do not know if he is right not to wear it but that is his choice.

'I am unaware of the campaign because it is going to give a signal that you see it and read it and probably people will think the players act like this, and we have to do our bit.

'Something is right about the campaign but a T-Shirt won't change a lot of things unfortunately.

'I will wear it because it is just kick racism out of football and it is a good message but I don't truly think that is going to change something.

'It is difficult to know the solution. You have to go to the source and when I say the source I mean the grown men who do it and it is going to be difficult to change them and their mentality.

'What you can change is the little boys going to school. We have to change the next generation and maybe the campaign helps to get that message out there.'

Oops: Ba's own goal gifted Sunderland a draw against Newcastle on Sunday

Police are investigating claims that Ba was racially abused during Sunday's 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light in which he scored an unfortunate late own goal. It follows a complaint made by a member of the public watching the game on television.

The incident came during a volatile game in which both sets of supporters subjected rival players to vile and disgusting chants. Claims that Sunderland supporters threw golf balls at players were dismissed after it was discovered the objects were rolled up pieces of paper.

Ba added: 'I did not heard it (the abuse) but I was made aware of it after the match.

'People are stupid. You can't ask the whole of the population to be intelligent. You need everything to make a world and you need some stupid people but because of them we are going forward.'

Fraizer Campbell: I was racially abused as a 13-year-old

Posted on October 22, 2012 by adminsports

I was racially abused as a 13-year-old in Argentina, says Sunderland striker Campbell

UPDATED:

12:58 GMT, 22 October 2012

Fraizer Campbell has revealed he was subjected to racist abuse as a 13-year-old when playing against a team in Argentina.

The Sunderland striker has revealed the disgraceful levels of abuse he faced while playing in South America and also believes racism is far from being eradicated in the UK.

In an interview with North East charity Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC), he said: 'It was in the hotel before the match.

Target: Campbell was racially abused while playing in Argentina

'You recognise some of the words that they call black people. They were giving us all that. I couldn’t believe it. I was quite young at the time, about 13. It was a bit of a shock.

'That was the first time I really remember a stand out incident.

'In that particular instance, we had to play them later that day and we battered them. We were all celebrating, buzzing, that we had beaten them. It was weird, because after the game they came over to us to shake our hands.

'It was as if it was all forgotten. It was a strange feeling. But is wasn’t just me. There were a few black lads in the team. They were saying stuff to all of them.'

He added: 'Times have changed a lot. It's a lot better than it used to be, but racism is not completely dead.

'A long time ago it used to be a lot worse. Maybe the ideas are passed down from generation to generation.

'I had a great childhood. I've friends from different backgrounds and it makes you wise to the world. You learn about different cultures and it makes you a better person.'

Slow start: Campbell's last goals for the Black Cats came in january and February this year

Steven Gerrard hits back at Patrick Vieira claims

Posted on October 16, 2012 by adminsports

Pride of Lions: Vieira is so wrong – our kids are all right, says Gerrard

UPDATED:

21:44 GMT, 15 October 2012

Steven Gerrard has hit back at Patrick Vieira, speaking with pride about his passion for leading his country as he and Ashley Cole close in on a century of England caps.

Gerrard and Cole will each play their 99th international in Tuesday night’s important World Cup qualifier in Warsaw. Their commitment has rarely been in doubt and the England captain claims the next generation of stars have exactly the same appetite, despite Vieira’s claims to the contrary last week.

Laughable: Hodgson and Gerrard speak to the media in Warsaw

Young Lions: Gerrard defended England's new generation

‘It surprised me to read that,’ said Gerrard. ‘The impression I get from young players at Liverpool is that they’re desperate to get into this set-up.

‘You can see in their faces that when they’re left out, they’re really disappointed. It didn’t annoy me because I don’t really care what Patrick Vieira says. England’s young players are hungry.’

Cole returns for his first game since offending FA chairman David Bernstein with an abusive tweet, for which he has since apologised.

‘That’s been dealt with very clearly and quickly to the FA’s satisfaction,’ said Roy Hodgson, before warning the Chelsea left back that there is more pressure than ever on his place in the team.

‘Alongside Ashley Cole, who was regarded as the only left back in England for many years, we have Leighton Baines who will always push him and some interesting younger left backs like Kieran Gibbs and Ryan Bertrand,’ added the England manager.

‘I would think the competition is as great as it’s ever been. This has been a problem position in many of the countries I’ve worked, but we’re very well off and that’s encouraging.

Stirring it up: French World Cup winner Vieira (centre)

‘Full backs have always played an important role but, if anything, the importance of their role has increased.’

Gerrard also paid tribute to Cole’s impact, saying: ‘He’s a top player. It’s important to speak about him as a player. Privately, he’s quite quiet and reserved but he comes alive on the pitch.

Raring to go: England train in Warsaw on Monday

‘It’s been an absolute pleasure to play with him over the years. He’s been one of the best left backs this country has ever produced. Let’s enjoy the last few years of his time with us.’

Gerrard and Cole will be among up to six changes to the team which beat San Marino 5-0 at Wembley on Friday. Joleon Lescott, Glen Johnson and James Milner are also expected to return, as is Jermain Defoe, who partnered Wayne Rooney for a large part of Monday night’s training session here in Warsaw.

Brian Marwood focused on producing young players for Manchester City not England

Posted on October 14, 2012 by adminsports

We make stars for City… not England: Home-grown talent is not a priority, says Marwood

UPDATED:

21:37 GMT, 13 October 2012

Manchester City's sporting director Brian Marwood has highlighted the problems of producing top-quality English players by admitting his club ‘should not be ashamed’ to help develop foreign starlets.

In a week when the FA opened their national football centre at St George’s Park in Staffordshire, Marwood struck a more realistic tone as he discussed the motivation behind City’s 100million Etihad Campus, which will be the most advanced and expensive academy in the Premier League when it opens in 2014.

As a former player who came through the ranks at Hull City to win a league title with Arsenal and play for England, Marwood says he would like to help his national team whenever possible.

Next generation: Manchester City want the future stars of the club to come through their system and aim to produce the 'next' Yaya Toure

But he confessed that his main priority is to help City find players regardless of nationality, to save owner Sheik Mansour millions in transfer fees.

‘Our priority is to produce players who will get into City’s first team. From a selfish point of view, that may mean to the detriment of the England team,’ said Marwood. ‘And while it would be great (to help England) because I came through the system and it helped me, we also have to be realistic.

Looking to the future: Brian Marwood wants City to produce their own players

‘If we are trying to produce real top quality to play for City, if they happen to come from another country and we’ve developed them, we shouldn’t be ashamed to embrace it.

We can’t expect our owners to keep spending at the rate they’ve been spending for the past three or four years. We have to start somewhere and change that — and it’s something we’re trying to do.

‘We are looking to produce youngsters to play alongside the likes of Yaya Toure and David Silva. That is the benchmark if we want to be a side competing in every cup competition at home and in Europe.

‘The harsh reality is we have to produce local boys or bring in players from abroad. You see players for our under-21s who have come from Spain, Norway and France. It is something everyone has to deal with because it is a global game.’

Marwood’s candour highlights the problem for future English teams when the domestic league is dominated by clubs who will shop anywhere for the best talent.

Made in Manchester: City want the next David Silva to be a product of their academy

Quotas where clubs have to name eight homegrown players in their squad do not automatically help the England team. Overseas players are categorised as homegrown if they have spent three years at a Premier League academy, as Cesc Fabregas and Gael Clichy did at Arsenal.

City see themselves as market leaders in the new raft of academies with the Etihad Campus.

It will have more pitches than the St George’s complex — 15 compared to 12 — and provide on-site accommodation and education.

A complex to be proud of: City hope to open a training centre to rival St George's Park

Around a fifth of players who have taken part in this season’s Under-21 Premier League are not qualified to play for England, and City’s Academy already takes in the best young players from around the world. The number of international under-21s who have graduated through their academy include Denis Suarez (Spain), Jeremy Helan (France), Karim Rekik (Holland), Luca Scapuzzi (Italy), John Guidetti (Sweden), Omar Elabdellaoui (Norway), Mohammed Abu (Ghana), Abdul Razak (Ivory Coast), Abdisalam Ibrahim (Norway).

It represents a change in policy for City’s owners, who have splashed out 400m on players to land the title. They now want to reduce their spending to comply with UEFA financial fair play rules.

City’s facilities are a far cry from Marwood’s days as a youngster but he insists the current generation will not be spoilt by the club.

He said: ‘You have to teach them the right values and behaviour — that is ultimately the most important thing.’

Lance Armstrong revelations cast cloud on Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy and everyone else – Dave Brailsford

Posted on October 12, 2012 by adminsports

Armstrong revelations cast cloud on Wiggins, Hoy and everyone else, admits British Cycling chief Brailsford

UPDATED:

23:47 GMT, 11 October 2012

British Cycling head Dave Brailsford has admitted that Lance Armstrong’s emergence as a confirmed drugs cheat could lead the public to doubt the achievements of riders such as Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy.

Brailsford is the man who masterminded Wiggins’s Tour de France triumph this year and led Team GB to eight gold medals in the London Olympics and the Beijing Games of 2008.

And although there is no suggestion that his riders are not clean, Brailsford admitted on Thursday night that the public now has the right to question every achievement they have witnessed in the sport in recent years.

Scroll down for video

Dark: Bradley Wiggins achievements have had a shadow cast over them by the Lance Armstrong revelations

Competition: Wiggins (left) racing next to Lance Armstrong

‘We set this team up as clean and our job is to make them go faster,’ said Brailsford. ‘But some of the tentacles of the past are impacting. In cycling we’ve got a past, a present and a future. Generation EPO is now the past. We can’t deny it.

‘So when people see the huge advances we are making, because of what happened, it is understandable that people are sceptical. It is understandable now for people to look at any results in cycling and question them.

Doubts: Sir Chris Hoy is another great rider who may be unfairly tarnished by the revelations, says Dave Brailsford (below) with Roberto Mancini

Brailsford shows Mancini around

‘It completely and utterly lost its way and I think it lost its moral compass. What we want to work towards is a future where there is no doubt, so that when someone moves performance forward nobody questions it.

‘I’ve been thinking about Armstrong a lot. The more you read, the more the jaw drops. But let’s accept it happened. Now we have the present. It’s up to us to change people’s views.’

The world of cycling — and sport in general — is still coming to terms with the fact that one of the greatest stories of triumph over adversity has been built on artificial substances and lies.

Disgraced: Armstrong's career achievements have been tarnished

USADA's reasoned decision

Click here to read the reasoned decision from the USADA

Armstrong’s recovery from cancer to
win the Tour de France seven times now counts for very little after a
report from the United States Anti-Doping Agency revealed hard evidence
that all of the 41-year-old’s triumphs came with the help of performance
enhancing drugs.

Brailsford added: ‘I think there are plenty of people out there who saw this guy and what he did as an amazing achievement.

‘He is one of the first cyclists that maybe transcended the sport and became a hero beyond cycling.

‘It was an amazing thing and people got behind that. So to now find out what was behind it is, of course, disappointing.’

The achievements of British cyclists such as Wiggins and Hoy have inspired a new wave of athletes to take up the sport.

Hoy appealed to them to stick with cycling and implored them to use Wiggins — not Armstrong — as their role model.

Lying again: Armstrong has a medical test before the 2002 Tour

Shock, anger and revulsion

It sends a message that no matter what you have achieved and how you have done it — karma will come and get you
Mark Webber, F1 driver

We did our best to test and bring samples to labs according to rules, but I’m speechless about the systematic use
Martin Bruin, ex doping inspector

Sad to read about how Lance Armstrong cheated for so many years. So many people idolised him. It’s sad for sport
Dai Greene, 400m hurdles world champion

It’s what [these revelations] could do in terms of tarnishing the sport. It could put us all out of not just our jobs but doing what we love
Alex Dowsett, Team Sky rider

Important they are clamping down on that sort of thing. This is a negative thing for Lance but his books are great and you can still take a lot from them
Jenson Button, F1 driver

Revelations beyond depressing for those who love sport
Jonathan Edwards, Olympic triple jump gold medallist

Hoy said: ‘On the Tour de France every
day for three weeks you’re struggling with physical and mental
challenges. It’s an extremely arduous event, probably the most arduous
event in the world of sport.

‘Bradley Wiggins was frustrated during
the Tour de France and he had a couple of outbursts about it. But his
frustration is with the previous generation who have let down the
public.

‘Bradley winning the Tour clean, that
has to be the inspiration for the next generation to see that this is
terrible. We’re not proud but it happened in the past and we’re moving
on. I think it’s the scale of it that’s really shocked people as well
as who it is. The number of people involved, it’s on a huge scale.

‘In that era, there were a lot of
people testing positive. The guys who were coming second and third
behind Lance were testing positive so there was an element of suspicion
surrounding him, but I always try and give people the benefit of the
doubt.’

One of the team-mates who testified
against Armstrong was Michael Barry, who admitted to doping while a
member of Armstrong’s US Postal Service team and who rode under
Brailsford for Team Sky from 2010 until his retirement this year.

Brailsford said: ‘During his time at
Team Sky, we have had absolutely no cause for concern. There has never
been any question in terms of his performances, his training, his
behaviour on the team. There have never been any issues. But ultimately
he lied.

‘We set out with a zero-tolerance
policy, so we said that anyone who has had a doping conviction or proved
to have been involved in doping hasn’t got a place on Team Sky. That is
our policy. When you take someone you ask them a question and if
someone lies to you and you find out later it’s disappointing.’

LANCE ARMSTRONG FACTFILE

1971: Born September 18, in Dallas.

1991: Signs with Subaru-Montgomery and becomes US national amateur champion.

1993: Crowned US national champion. Wins first stage in Tour de France but fails to finish. Beats Miguel Indurain to win world championship.

1994: Wins Liege-Bastogne-Liege spring classic.

1996: October 2 – Diagnosed with testicular cancer. The disease later spreads through his whole body. Founds Lance Armstrong Foundation for Cancer.

1997: Declared cancer-free after brain surgery and chemotherapy. Signs with US Postal Service team after being dropped by Cofidis.

1998: Wins Tours of Holland and Luxembourg.

1999: Claims first Tour de France title, winning four stages.

2000: Wins second Tour. Secures time-trial bronze in Sydney Olympics.

2001: Victorious in Tour of Switzerland.

July 29: Becomes only the fifth rider to win three Tour de France titles in a row.

2002: Wins Dauphine Libere and Midi Libre.

July 28: Becomes only the fourth person to win four successive Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis

2003: Equals the record of five victories in the Tour de France, but is pushed to his limit by German Jan Ullrich, who finishes just 61 seconds off the pace.

2004: July 25 – Clinches record sixth Tour de France victory.

2005: July 24 – Wins his seventh Tour de France, two more than anyone else, before retiring.

September 6 – Claims he is considering coming out of retirement after being angered by drug allegations against him.

2008: September 9 – Announces he will return to professional cycling and will attempt to win his eighth Tour de France in 2009.

2009: March 23 – Suffers a broken right collarbone when he crashes out on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon in Spain.

May – Appears in first Giro d'Italia, finishing 12th. Tour is somewhat marred by financial cloud over Armstrong's Astana team and the American is linked to a takeover.

June – Astana's financial issues are resolved and Armstrong is named in the Tour de France team, but with 2007 champion Alberto Contador of Spain as leader.

July – Contador and Armstrong endure a fractious relationship. Contador claims a second Tour title, while Armstrong finishes third. Armstrong announces he will launch his own squad in 2010, Team Radio Shack.

2010: January – Team Radio Shack make their debut at the Tour Down Under in Australia. Armstrong finishes 25th overall.

Lance Armstrong riding on the Champs Elysees

May – Armstrong's former US Postal team-mate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, launches allegations at the Texan.

June 28 – Announces that the 2010 Tour de France will be his last.

July – Finishes final Tour in 23rd place, 39 minutes and 20 seconds behind winner Contador.

2011: February 16 – Announces retirement for second time.

May – Forced to deny claims made by former team-mate Tyler Hamilton that they took performance-enhancing drugs together.

2012: February 4 – An investigation into alleged doping by Armstrong is dropped by federal prosecutors in California.

June 13 – The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirm they have initiated legal proceedings over allegations of doping against Armstrong.

June 30 – The USADA confirm they will file formal doping charges against Armstrong.

July 9 – Armstrong files a lawsuit in a US federal court asking for a temporary restraining order against the agency. Armstrong also claims the USADA offered “corrupt inducements” to other cyclists to testify against him.

July 11 – Armstrong refiles lawsuit against the USADA after initial lawsuit was dismissed by a judge as being a “lengthy and bitter polemic”, designed to attract media attention and public sympathy.

August 20 – Armstrong's legal action against the USADA dismissed in court.

August 24 – Armstrong announces he will not fight the doping charges filed against him by the USADA, saying in a statement he is “finished with this nonsense” and insisting he is innocent. He is stripped of all his titles banned for life from cycling by USADA.

October 10 – USADA claim 11 of Armstrong's former team-mates have testified against him. The organisation say the US Postal Service team “ran the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen”, with “conclusive and undeniable proof” of a team-run doping conspiracy.

VIDEO: USADA explains drug test procedures

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Chris Hoy rides velodrome for Commonwealth Games 2014

Posted on October 3, 2012 by adminsports

Hoy enjoys flavour of Commonwealth Games with spin around velodrome

UPDATED:

17:16 GMT, 2 October 2012

Sir Chris Hoy believes the next generation of cycling champions can come from Scotland as he cycled the first lap of the Commonwealth Games velodrome named in his honour.

Britain's most successful Olympian was at the venue in the east end of Glasgow to see it for the first time since its completion.

Along with the National Indoor Sports Arena, the velodrome officially opens on Friday but Sir Chris was allowed in early to try out the 250m timber track.

Raring to go: Sir Chris Hoy as he checks out the Velodrome for the first time

He said: 'It's just fantastic. It's amazing to be here to finally see it in the flesh.

'I've seen lots of pictures of it and I was here a number of years ago when it was just a load of wasteland and to see the scale of it now is fantastic.

'It's great fun to ride on, very smooth, very quick. So I think there's going to be some great racing here.'

Outside the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the entire 113 million development will be known as the Emirates Arena after a sponsorship deal was agreed last week.

On track: Hoy hopes to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow

The velodrome has a 2,500 capacity
which can be extended to 4,000 for major events. It is the only indoor
track in Scotland, something that Sir Chris believes is key to the
development of future athletes.

He said: 'To have this facility here now in Scotland, it guarantees the future of track cycling for the country because until this point we've only had Meadowbank and Caird Park and they are both outdoor tracks, so as soon as it rains you can't use them.

'And through the winter months they are shut and that means young athletes getting into the sport don't get the chance to progress, and the guys at the elite level can't train for the full year.

'But having this velodrome means that we now have a chance to really develop the sport, to host major championships, to train future champions and to let schoolkids and club-level cyclists come down, try it out and enjoy it.

Scotland's finest: Hoy won two gold medals at the London Olympics this year

'It's not just about producing
champions, it's about getting more people interested and involved in the
sport and enjoying it, and that's what can happen here.'

Since winning his sixth Olympic gold medal at London 2012 the 36-year-old has said he wants to compete at Glasgow 2014 but will wait to see if he stays injury-free at the top of the sport before making a final decision.

Asked if cycling round the velodrome made him want to compete in the Commonwealth Games more than ever, he said: 'No, not really. I mean, I couldn't want to compete any more than I do already.

Familiar pose: Chris Hoy in Glasgow

'Being here today you can visualise it, you get a sense of what the Games are going to be like.

'In your mind's eye you can see the place full of spectators and feel the atmosphere and the noise and I think it's going to be a spectacular venue.

'But in terms of me competing, I've always had the same desire. It's just whether my body is up to it or not, that's the big question.

'It would be fantastic to compete here in front of a home crowd and it would be a great way to end my career.'

Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg was at the velodrome to welcome Sir Chris and described the venue as a world-class arena that can be used by everyone.

'I think the ambition around the Games is as great as, or even greater than, the Games itself.

'And I think one of the things a facility like this presents is a hub of sport, a place that really beacons people to come to it, whether it's spectating or participating.

'This type of facility builds an enormous amount of pride. It will be used by local people but also allows world-class athletes to prepare at optimum level and I think, from that perspective, it has a little bit for everyone.'

Frank Lampard likes the mix of young and old in the England squad

Posted on September 10, 2012 by adminsports

Generation game means a Brazilian blend is key, says veteran Lampard

UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 9 September 2012

It is not often a senior England footballer confesses to staying in an hotel ‘with an older man’, but Frank Lampard is quick to point out that a space as wide as Wembley divided their two beds.

This was something, he went on to explain amid much laughter at the England team hotel on Sunday, that happened when he was sent on loan as a 17-year-old to Swansea. Back in 1995 the Welsh club did not have much money and a teenage Lampard and 32-year-old Robbie Dennison found themselves sharing a twin room ‘in a Hilton on an industrial estate’.

No wonder Lampard now thinks the emerging footballers of today get ‘too much too young’.

Times have changed: Frank Lampard says the youngsters are fearless

‘We were both on loan there,’ recalls Lampard. ‘But he was in his 30s and I was 17, at opposite ends of our careers. It was… interesting. I didn’t really know what to say to him when I lay in bed at night. He had two kids and I wanted to go out.

‘But it was a great learning curve for me. I was a boy being chucked into a man’s world, without the privileges I even had at West Ham at that time. It was character-building in itself having to stay with an older man.

‘But I should stress there were two single beds, and he left after a month while I stayed there for two. For some reason we actually got our own rooms after a couple of weeks. Probably because he asked.’

The Table

There is a point to this story and it concerns the blend of youth and experience in the current England squad.

Lampard, 34, says there is no sense of awkwardness in this group of players; no generation gap even if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Butland are 15 years his junior.

‘There is a nice freshness about the young boys at meal times and around the hotel,’ he said. ‘I actually enjoy mixing with them; it makes me feel a bit younger when you mix.

‘There is a relationship between that good atmosphere at meal times and going on the pitch, and the more we can improve that the better. The young players have this free spirit. They are playing for fun.’

Friday’s 5-0 defeat of Moldova did see Roy Hodgson use his resources well. Between the senior players like Lampard, who scored two goals, and youngsters like Oxlade-Chamberlain, the England manager struck a good balance. But, with one eye on the next World Cup in Brazil, as well as tomorrow’s qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley, the England team do need to keep evolving.

High five: Lampard with young gun Tom Cleverley

‘I have certainly noticed that younger
players are getting more of a chance compared to when I got in the
squad,’ said Lampard. ‘But then I think we have a crop of players now
who play with less fear than we did when we came through.

‘These boys now mix it. They do not seem fazed at all.’

The question of how England progress, how they arrive in Brazil a significantly better team than they were in Eastern Europe over the summer, is one Lampard ponders.

‘It is the youth and it is helping the youth progress while at the same time getting results,’ he said. ‘That is why there is a lot of talk about the oldies and the youngies and the experienced players helping the Oxlade-Chamberlains and the Cleverleys play like they did.

Bang bang: Lampard scored twice against Moldova

‘That will help the team and the country move on and be in a better position for the World Cup. It is just a case of trying to do the best with what you have. It is a case of nurturing the young talent. They will nurture themselves but, if that happens and we also get the results we need, we will put ourselves in the best possible position.’

Right now Lampard is a major part of Hodgson’s plans, as he should be after becoming England’s leading goalscorer in World Cup qualifiers. ‘I am proud of my England career,’ he said. He is also excited by the emergence of these young players and what Hodgson is trying to implement.

‘He didn’t have enough time to put his full imprint on the squad before the Euros but now he has that,’ said Lampard. ‘We have to be positive. We got a good result against Moldova and it is important we keep showing that progress, get the results and see the young boys come through.

‘It’s now all about the development of these young kids.’

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