Seven Players To Light Up The Masters: Phil Mickelson

With the 73rd annual Master Tournament set to get underway in a weeks time it seems like the ideal period to look at the contenders for this years title, with the finish guaranteed to be one of the tightest in recent memory.

Over the next seven days leading up to the competition I will be evaluating the main competitors, and who could even be wearing the famous Green Jacket come Easter Sunday.

The first player that I’ll be looking at is Phil Mickelson, who is looking for his third Master title of the decade, and his forth career major.

Mickelson is currently the World Number two, but now the return of Tiger Woods is threatening to undo all the good work of the left-handed player, whose two titles this year already sees him as one of the form players going into the Championship.

Mickelson’s victories came fully ten months after his previous win in May of last year, and this return to form is part of the reason to take him very seriously in this years Masters.

Now why is the American worthy of being on of the favourites for the title?

Well his pedigree is one of the best in the field comes from his two previous wins at Augusta and his experience of nearly 16 years on the PGA tour.

The left-handed style is almost unique to the tour, but it could well be his rivalry with Tiger Woods that lights up this year’s tournament.

Maybe the biggest prize for Mickelson could be him claiming the world number one spot, something that could happen if he assures victory at Augusta.

Woods has held the number one ranking for a record 264 weeks, after last being usurped by Vijay Singh in 2005, preceding the Fijian’s USPGA victory the previous year.

So going into one of the most famous weeks in golf Mickelson has plenty to fight for, we all know his temperament can take the pressure, but can his status as one of the men to beat be his stepping stone to greatness in 2009.

World Cup Qualifying Progress Report: European Qualifying

With qualification for next summers 2010 World Cup at the half way stage it seems to be the appropriate time to access how qualifying is going, and who is set to grace the tournament in South Africa next year.

Starting with Group One and one of the more tighter looking groups on paper has seen two runaway leaders in Denmark and Hungary extend their lead after Wednesday night matches.

Both sides lead the group with 13 points each, while both Portugal and Sweden lie off the pace with six points along with surprise package Albania who are keeping pace with the European heavyweights.

Portugal and Sweden endured a goalless draw at the weekend to allow the two leaders to extend their lead both converting 3-0 home wins over Albania and strugglers Malta respectively.

Sweden having played just four games are far from out of it, but former Real Madrid boss Carlos Quiroz will have a task on his hands to turn around the fortunes of Portugal in there final five group games.

Group Two sees the top four separated by just four points at the top of the group, something that should produce a thrilling finale to qualifying.

Both Greece and Switzerland find themselves at the top of the group with 13 points while Latvia follow with 10 and Israel with nine.

The top three were all-victorious on Wednesday evening, with Israel going down 2-1 to Greece, Georgios Samaras was the savour for the home team with a late penalty, after the two sides had drawn 1-1 all the previous weekend in Tel Aviv.

Northern Ireland find themselves top of Group Three after picking up six points in there two group games over the last four days, but will wary of both there victors Slovakia and Poland with games in hand for the duo.

The Irish have played seven out of ten groups games already and only lead by a single point from Slovakia, whom they beat on Wednesday evening, and three from Poland who they beat on Saturday.

Slovenia showed they are no push overs either by beating fourth placed Czech Republic in Prague to move to within two points of third placed Poland.

With matches in hand for the chasing teams it will be vital for them to take advantage, with the big match sure to be when the Irish travel to Poland when qualifying gets back underway in September.

Germany are the overwhelming favourites in Group Four after a comfortable victory over Wales in Cardiff.

Michael Ballack gave the away side the early lead before defender Ashley Williams scored an own goal to assure victory in the first half.

Russia will have cause for optimism that they could catch the run away leaders, after grinding out another win, this time over Lichtenstein.

With a game in hand and the two still to meet in the group, Guus Hiddink’s side will live in hope of catching their German counterparts before the end of the qualifying campaign.

Back-to-back wins over Turkey have further strengthened Spain’s position at the top of Group Five, as they continue their 100% record in qualifying after a last gasp Albert Reina goal on Wednesday evening.

The 2-1 win has all but assured Spain a place in South Africa as the European Champions continue on from there success of last summer with six wins in a row in the group.

Bosnia find themselves as the surprise chasing side, and with a four point gap from Turkey they will feel confident they can join Spain in next year’s World Cup, especially after their win over group rivals Belgium on Wednesday.

Another side with a 100% record in qualifying is England, who beat Ukraine at Wembley to retain their five-point gap over Croatia, who were 2-0 winners over Andorra.

Croatia’s meeting with Ukraine later in the year is sure to decide who finishes second in the group, as England look to run away with Group Six.

France have bounced right into contention in Group Seven with the help of two goals from Frank Ribery to win both games against Lithuania in the space of four days.

The French has trailed Lithuania by five points going into the double header, but successive wins leave them just two point behind Serbia whose victory at Romania on Saturday looks all the more important.

Giovanni Trapattoni came away from his home country Italy with a credible 1-1 draw for his Republic of Ireland side in the fixture of the week in Group Eight.

Giampaolo Pazzini’s sending off in the opening minutes had left the hosts with an uphill task, before Juventus forward Vincenzo Iaquinta gave the Azure the lead.

Robbie Keane equalized with just a minute remaining, to leave the team separated by just two points, with the sides still to meet at Croke Park before the end of qualifying.

The Republic are sure to be kicking themselves however, after letting a goal slip late on against Bulgaria on Saturday, a result that could have seen the two sides level on points at this stage.

Finally in Group Nine Holland are running away with qualifying with five wins out of five after a crushing 4-0 win over Macedonia.

Scotland are now clear in second after beating Iceland 2-1 at Hampden Park, but as things stand are the weakest of the second placed sides in qualifying, and need to pick up maximum points from there remaining three games if they are to stand any chance of making the play-offs.

So there we have it, a brief run down of how each group is shaping up, and as nothing has been decided yet the coming months are sure to be intriguing as the road to South Africa continues.

Alan Shearer Becomes New Newcastle United Manager

The fairytale story that had at one point looked like a distant dream became reality for Newcastle United fans on Tuesday night, as Alan Shearer was confirmed as the new manager of the North East club.

After constantly furthering himself from the job, the former England Captain has finally wilted to the wishes of both Mike Ashley and the ardent Geordie supporters, as the 'the prodigal son' returns to St James' Park.

Shearer will take charge of the side up until the end of the season at least, as he attempts to guide his team away from a relegation zone they have occupied since their last league defeat at home to Arsenal.

Under the reigns of Chris Hughton, the Magpies had struggled to pick up any sort of points as they edged further towards the bottom three with the former Spurs coach picking up just one win since taking over from the ill Joe Kinnear.

Kinnear had hoped to return as soon as next week, but with Shearer now taking over the team on the pitch, the former Wimbledon manager is expected to become a director at the club in the near future, due to his unpredictable health.

With the club in such a desperate situation Shearer's introduction will come as a welcome relief for the fans, and a boost to a squad that was starting to contemplate next season in the Championship.

Shearer's success at the club is by no-means a given, and with his first task being one of the toughest he'll experience as manager of the club, we're sure to find out the managerial credentials of the club's record goal-scorer.

In terms of qualifications Shearer doesn't quiet match up with many of his Premiership counterparts, but don't expect that to be an issue in the short term as Gareth Southgate found out when he became manager of Middlesbrough in the summer of 2006.

Boro' argued that the defender hadn't had time to complete the sufficient qualifications due to his playing commitments having gone straight into management following his retirement, a situation that Shearer can’t relate to, having retired in the same summer as Southgate nearly three years ago.

With the end of the season in sight, the Premier League Board are expected to allow Shearer the time to get the necessary qualifications, while the board will need assurance that by the new season he abides by the rules fully

Shearer staying on till next season is no given either, with his future sure to be subject to the clubs survival.

With Shearer’s none-existence experience, apart from a short stint as assistant to Glen Roeder at the back end of his time at St James’ Park, is this appointment a crazy one?

My belief is that it will turn the clubs fortunes around, in the short term at least.

Shearer’s profile at the club and in football generally is so big that he’s bound to get plenty of support, but considering where the club are, and the pressure on his shoulders it’s a daunting task.

Newcastle certainly weren’t going to stay up with Hughton at the helm, but with Shearer on board maybe there is a slight glimmer of hope that dreams of surviving relegation can become true.

Button Gives Brawn His Greatest Victory yet

Jenson Button has won the Australian Grand Prix after completing a Brawn GP 1-2 in the opening race of the new season.

It was only Button’s second career victory, his first for three years after a long over due win in Hungary in 2006.

However it’s the team headed by Ross Brawn that will get most of the attention, as they completed an amazing 1-2 finish, with Rubens Barrichello finishing behind the Brit to cap a story that is sure to overshadow the current protests over the diffuser system, used by Brawn car amongst others.

Jarno Trulli finished third after starting from the pit lane, but he could see his podium place taken away from him after surpassing Lewis Hamilton during the final safety car lap at the end of the race.

Hamilton himself drove nobly throughout the race, despite starting at the back of the grid as he saw his attacking strategy pay off, something that could result in an unforeseen six point reward.

In truth grid positions were slightly disjointed after the safety car was deployed twice, once when Kazuki Nakajima went off on lap 16, and again three laps from the end when both Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica crashed out after striking each other in contention for a podium place.

Both teams seemed to be devastated at the crash, with vital points missed out on, and what BMW claim to be a winning position for Kubica with just three laps to go.

It was a bad day for Ferrari however, who saw both Kimi Raikonen and Felipe Massa retire early on, to compound a miserable weekend for the team, and a repeat performance of last years Grand Prix where both men again failed to finish the race.

Button began the race on pole position and after a solid start to the race he started to open a gap on Vettel, who along with many others had surpassed Barrichello.

The Brazilian’s start left a lot to be desired, but he was soon moving up the field, and he was one of a number of drivers who took advantage later in the race.

The superiority of the Brawn car was obvious to see even at this early stage of the season, and if their main competitors, especially the loaner of the car’s engine McLaren don’t change the fortunes of there own car a different Brit could be topping the podium for the rest of this season.

Contrasting Fortunes for the Home Nations

The Home Nations Countries hopes of qualifying for the World Cup were further complicated on Saturday as both Wales and Scotland experienced difficult defeats, while Northern Ireland overcame Poland In Belfast.

Wales knew going into the match with Finland that the winner of the qualifier would be the main challenger to both Russia and Germany at the top of Group Four.

Clearly the enormity of the match affected the Welsh side, as they produced a performance full of nerves, and one that wouldn’t have instilled confidence with Manager John Toshack, whose job after this latest defeat is surely in the balance.

Goals from two players based within the British Isles Jonatan Johansson, formerly of Charlton Athletic, and Shefki Kuqi currently of Crystal Palace scored the goals just minutes before the end of each half to condemn Wales to a 2-0 defeat, a result that looks set to end there bid to reach South Africa in 2010.

Wales rarely threatened in the match, and must be fearing the worst when they host Germany on Wednesday.

The mid-week game against the German’s could be the final game in charge for Toshack, whose ambitious aim of reaching next summers finals seem to have petered out half way through the campaign.

The questionable words of striker Craig Bellamy about the quality of opposition that the home side came up against may be called into question, words he imparted during a hostile post match interview.

Scotland’s fortunes weren’t much better as they travelled to Group leaders Holland, a result that could have been much different had Kenny Miller converted an early chance.

The Rangers forward found himself clean through in the opening minutes, only for a tight angle and a brilliant tackle by Joris Mathijsen denying him getting a shot away.

It was to be one of the few chances the away side would get as Holland took a strange hold of the group match before half time.

Headers by Jan Klass Huntelaar and Robin Van Persie gave Holland a two goal advantage before half time, a lead that reflected their opening period dominance.

Scotland’s hope of getting back into the match was made all the more difficult when Gary Caldwell saw his seemingly legitimate header ruled out for a foul, a decision that bemused the visiting supporters and players.

And in the typical cut and thrust style that is International Football, the Dutch went down the other end and forced a penalty when Christophe Berra tripped Huntelaar.

Dirk Kuyt completed the victory, a defeat that will only take its toil if the Scot’s don’t beat Iceland on Wednesday.

Smiles around the British Isles were therefore left for Northern Ireland, who dodged a plucky Poland side to record a 3-2 victory at Windsor Park.

Warren Feeney opened the scoring from close range, after Polish keeper Arthur Boruc had misjudged a deep cross by Chris Brunt, which was headed back by Damien Johnson for Feeney to tap into an empty net.

The home side’s dominance wasn’t fully pressed home however, as Ireneusz Jelen broke the offside trap to fire past a despairing Maik Taylor.

The home side had to wait till the second half to regain there lead when defender Jonney Evans met a Grant McCann corner, and then Boruc’s evening went from bad to worse as he missed kicked a back-pass from Michal Zewlakow, which had travelled fully 25 yards before meeting the Celtic keeper.

Marek Saganowski pulled a goal back 12 minutes before then end, but the goal did nothing to affect the final result, as Windsor Park enjoyed a victory that puts Northern Ireland top of Group Three.

Before the game there were plenty of concerns about where the goals would come from for the Irish after injuries to Martin Paterson and Kyle Lafferty, and with David Healy severely lacking form and match fitness.

But an indifferent performance by Boruc all but gifted the win for the home team, as they look set to challenge just as strongly for World Cup qualification, as they did for the European Championships, two years ago.

Maybe a bit more Irish luck will see Nigel Worthington’s men reach South Africa, a major tournament that would be the countries first since 1988.

A quick mention for the forth-home nation side England, who cruised to a friendly victory over Slovakia who after yesterday were usurped at the top of Group Three, with a 4-0 win at Wembley.

Goals by Emile Heskey, two by Wayne Rooney and a Frank Lampard striker ensured the win, ahead of the visit of Ukraine on Wednesday.

Injuries to a host of strikers, including Heskey tarnished the victory, which highlighted Slovakia’s lightweight nature as much as England’s improvement under Italian manager Fabio Capello.

Formula 1 2009 Season Preview

With the drama of last season's drivers championship still very much fresh in the memory, you would fooled into thinking this year's Formula 1 season could never live up to the previous season.

With various rules changes- concentrating on livening up the sport, and the introduction on a new team or two, this new Formula 1 season could prove to be one of the most exciting in living memory.

It's not like the sport needed this radical overhaul though was it?

With the Championship being decided on the 2nd to last corner of the final Grand Prix the sport was hardly in the need of an influx of excitement.

We've had three different champions in the past three years, and with the emergence of the BMW and Williams teams, who were gradually starting to catch up with their Ferrari and McLaren rivals, we had an exciting drivers championship.

This season sees the competition between every team become slightly more interesting, with several changes to the normal format.

With Bernie Eccleston's cost cutting solutions each team will have slightly smaller resources, which are set to boost reliability.

One of the more interesting changes are that information about tire and fuel changes are set to be shared throughout all teams, so everyone has the same information.

On the technical side plenty has been done to develop the sport with the most important being the introduction of KERS or Kinetic Energy Support System.

Basically the system is in place to store any lost energy built up by breaking and then for it to be used at any given time to give the car a slight boost during a race.

Not every team has gone for the idea, and it's unlikely to be used in every race as the teams get used to the new innovation.

The new look of the cars also changes the performance with overtaking set to become easier, and with slick tyres set to re-introduced it's sure to lead to faster laps and a more exciting season on the track.

A track that will no longer see the name of Honda after the team decided to pull out of racing altogether, only for Ross Brawn to come in with an 11th hour bid to save the team.

Brawn GP will bring a new edge to the season, and with a new car and team Jenson Button is sure to be keen to show what he can do.

Unreliability has hindered the progress of the Brit, who is starting to live in the ever-growing shadow of Lewis Hamilton, maybe this is his season to shine at last?

If there was ever a time to usurp Hamilton as the main man in Formula 1 it would be this season, with his team McLaren already admitting they are well off the pace at the beginning of the new season.

This will bring new vigour to his rivals, but with the new point system changed back to the original system Hamilton has been given time to reignite his title challenge.

Days before the new season was due to start a new system of attaining the winner of the drivers championship was decided, in which the driver with the most wins would take the title, only for it to be scrapped days later.

The change of decision didn't reflect on the Formula 1 too well, as confusion reined as too why the decision was made to change it in the first place, don't change what isn’t broke was the message from the drivers.

Ferrari are sure to want to regain there drivers champions crown, with Felipe Massa agonisingly missing out last year he will be keen to prove a point.

Picking a winner of this season’s drivers championship, is a task not many journalists have warmed to, but unlike any jolly fence sitter I’m going to pick out a few men who might make a break for it this season

The first of which is two-time champion Fernando Alonso, whose form at the back end of last season made plenty sit up and take notice.

His resurgence to form coincided with the car reliability issues, which resolved itself in the final third of the championship, too late for a title serge but enough time to remind the rest of the field he is still a force to be reckoned with.

The second if BMW’s Robert Kubica, who might be short with the media but his effort on the track do much of the talking.

After recording his first win in Canada last year Kubica showed the driving world his natural talent behind the wheel, and plenty of top eight finishes followed.

For me both these guys are contenders for the title, along with Massa of course who undoubtedly has plenty to make up for after last season disappointment.

For me these three have the quality to fight for the title all the way. Now you may ask why am I neglecting the world champion?

Well simply because of the time it may well take for the team to adapt to the new rules, it might be too late in the title race for the Brit to have any impact, but we will see.

It won't always read Hamilton-Massa on the front row, and Nakajima and Barricello on the 10th, things are sure to switch around in 2009.

Excitement and Formula 1 are terms never far apart, and this season especially things are bound to be close.

This Boy's a Bit Special- Steve Morison

This is the first in a series of features highlighting players who apply their trade in the lower leagues, but could easily move up to the higher echelons of the football pyramid.

This week sees us dip down as low as the Blue Square Premier to follow the progress of Stevenage Borough striker Steve Morison, whose currently top scorer of the Conference with 20 goals already this season.

Morison began his career with Northampton Town after failed trials with Leicester City, but his first experience of the football league didn’t quiet work out.

After just 24 appearances for the club a fall out with manager Colin Calderwood spelled the end of his time at the Sixfields, and he moved down to Blue Square South side Bishop’s Stortford.

The move proved as a perfect antidote for Morison’s Northampton heartache as he banged in 28 goals in 55 games for the non-league side.

This impressive goal-scoring record attracted interest from the Conference promotion contenders Stevenage, who duly signed the striker in 2006.

His impact was almost immediate; as he scored the winning goal in his first season in the FA Trophy Final as Stevenage came from two goals down to win 3-2 over Kidderminster Harriers.

He was instantly written into Stevenage folklaw, and he followed up the Wembley winner with 22 goals the next season, installing himself as indispensable to the Stevenage promotion cause, which while Morison was flowering in the division was constantly being hindered by underachievement.

It’s this constant disappointment that has always linked Morison away from the club, something that led to him submitting a transfer request, something that almost resulted in a move to Crewe Alexandra in 2008.

Even with constant rumors of unrest, the striker has been nothing less than professional and his contribution has been fantastic for Graham Westley’s men.

His role within the club’s progress is such that Westley has said time and again he would sell off other players to keep Morison in the squad.

Morison should be commended for his commitment so far, but at the age of 25 it seems that it is finally time for the pivotal player to move on.

Terms in the players contract state he is free to leave if the club aren’t promoted this season, a promotion race that sees Borough outside the play-offs by a single point.

As apprehensive as the home support would be about losing the striker, the development of what is a great talent is surely the most important thing, with the club failing time and time again to be promoted, it would hardly be Morison betraying the club that he’s done so much for.

His performances this season have suggested no signs of unrest on the players part, as he continues to bang in goals left right and centre, helping Stevenage again reach the FA Trophy Final last week, disposing of holders Ebbsfleet United.

If Stevenage can’t gain promotion through the play-offs then Morison’s last act as a Borough player could be to lead the side in the Trophy Final, just like he did in his first season just two years ago.

A player of the calibre of Morison shouldn’t be allowed to reside in the Conference for much longer, and a second Wembley appearance could re-invigorate the player onto greater things in a second spell in the Football League.