The first entry in my 2018 sporting diary, including darts discussions, Jose Mourinho moaning, and Eden Hazard's balancing problems.
What a story Rob Cross wrote at the PDC World Darts Championship. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned by anyone yet, but did you know that Cross threw his first professional dart in February 2017, and that he used to be an electrician? And a year ago he was watching the tournament at home. Exclusives all the way in this blog.
In all seriousness, though, Cross' rags to riches tale, the journey from pub player to World Champion, really is heart warming. I'm off to the practice board sharpish. The fact that I always hit 26, and that my 11-year-old son beat me in our last match, will not deter me. At the rate that I'm losing my hair, I'll look like Cross and Michael van Gerwen soon. So maybe there is hope after all.
The epic match between Cross and MvG in the semi-final demonstrated what top sport is all about. Both players, put under the most intense pressure, proved that they were human after all, missing doubles as the crowd held their breath. But the behaviour of the Ally Pally spectators created a lot of debate during and after the classic.
Booing and whistling MvG during the conclusion of the match didn't sit comfortably with me. But you don't need to be a genius to work out why this happened. In an ideal world we would have the atmosphere at the Ally Pally, the fancy dress, the drinking, but also have a bit of respect when such a great sporting event is taking place. We don't live in an ideal world, though.
I find it hard to be too judgmental over the crowd at the Ally Pally. People have enough crap going on in their lives, so why begrudge them a few hours of escapism. Yes, the Toure brothers song is odd. Yes, the jeering of MvG was unnecessary and disrespectful. But I'm not going to moan too much about it. There are more important things to get het up about. For example, how the f**k did Nick Clegg receive a knighthood?
I see that Jose Mourinho is having a bit of a moan about a lack of money at Manchester United. The players, supporters, and club officials of Merthyr Town must have raised an eyebrow or two about the lack of resources at Old Trafford. Is there something we can do to help out? Perhaps Duncan Castles could organise a collection at the next home match?
Trying to compete against City with cheap buys such as Lukaku and Pogba is a thorough examination of Jose's managerial skills. He must think it's really unfair that there is another manager in the city, backed with an endless transfer kitty, coming in and sweeping all before him. Maybe he should get on the phone to Arsene Wenger, who could have a chat about his similar experiences in 2004. I can't remember the Special One complaining quite so much back then.
Jose has not limited his moans to the money, money, money. Oh no. This week he went all Alexander O'Neill on us, fed up that all Paul Scholes wants to do is criticise. "Scholes will be in history as a phenomenal player. Not as a pundit." It got me thinking; will anyone go down in history as a phenomenal pundit? Will people pass Gary Neville in the street in twenty years time, chanting "He's by far the greatest pundit the world has ever seen"?
It's that time of year again when us oldies lament the demise of the FA Cup. What used to be one of the most exciting weekends of the football season, is now a major inconvenience to managers at the top and bottom of the Premier League, as well as those trying to gain access into the money pit. I'm afraid there is no rescuing the famous old competition now, so well done to everyone involved in ballsing that up.
Personally, I still love the FA Cup. As an Arsenal fan it has provided me with three memorable and joyous days in my recent sporting life, and on my death bed I can assure you that I'll remember these occasions much more than the time we pipped Tottenham to Champions League qualification in 2012 and 2013. I still think it's a big trophy, even if Mauricio Pochettino has bigger fish to fry. Fish that he might have difficulty catching in the first place.
The aftermath of Storm Eleanor was in full effect at the Arsenal-Chelsea match on Wednesday. The gust of wind that floored Eden Hazard was frightening. My initial thought was that the Belgian took a dive, and this was confirmed when 1) I looked at the replay and 2) I heard Alan Brazil and Mick Quinn state that it was a penalty. As a general rule, if I disagree with either of these experts (or Graham Poll), then I know I'm probably right.
I can fully understand Arsene's frustration over the recent penalty decisions, although the conspiracy theory is a little over the top. It just boils down to officials making big mistakes; no agenda, just incompetence. VAR may help, but I have my doubts. It's fine for offsides, yet on some decisions you see one ex-referee disagreeing with another, so will it actually improve the situation?
What a match, though. Chelsea fully deserved a point, and if it wasn't for Alvaro Morata's Ade Akinbiyi tribute act, then Conte's men would have left Ashburton Grove with a win. Arsenal were so Arsenal it was unbelievable. Looked good going forwards, but so soft defensively. Only we could score a last gasp equaliser and then immediately let Alvaro Akinbiyi stroll through one-on-one with Petr Cech. You can't accuse us of being boring.
This has been a strange Ashes series. Firstly, I've hardly watched any of it, due to the fact that I haven't got BT, and when I did see their coverage their commentators spoke so much that I wanted to smash my mate's television in with a hammer. Secondly, England are 3-0 down, yet they have not been completely humiliated as in previous Ashes tours.
For the first three Tests, the general pattern seems to have been that the top six will all get starts, with very few converting these scores into hundreds. Then our tail is blown away by Australia's superior pace attack, and Steve Smith bats for a period of time that equates to four minutes longer than Eldorado was on our screens. And then we lose. After a blip at Melbourne, I'm wondering if normal service will resume at Sydney. I hope I'm wrong. Maybe I need to find out what Brazil and Quinn (and Graham Poll) think about it?
My son and I are off to Leyton Orient on Saturday to watch Boreham Wood. I have to say that attending non-league matches and seeing my son gain enjoyment out of watching live football has reminded me why I fell in love with the sport. A friendly welcome, affordable prices - our season tickets cost £130 combined - and players who give it their all, makes visits to National League and FA Trophy matches a great experience.
The race for promotion into the Football League is pretty exciting, and Boreham Wood are hovering around the play-offs. But it wouldn't matter if the team were rock bottom of Step 7 in the league structure. Going to the football is a bonding session for the two of us, and one that won't cripple the family financially. And the chips are good.
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