Seven Players To Light Up The Masters: Vijay Singh

In the third in the series of seven, concerning players who could end up winning the elusive Masters Championship next week at Augusta I look at a player who despite his high profile in the world of golf is a huge outsider for the tournament.

This player has been out of the spotlight for sometime when it comes to Majors, but the world knows that when he brings his A-game to the course, he can be a threat to the rest of the field.

That player is former World No.1 Vijay Singh, who after a baron spell at Major Championships could be ready to mount a charge at the first major of this season.

The Fijian has three majors to his name, most recently in 2004 when he won the USPGA title from Tiger Woods, one of nine tour titles collected that year by the new World No. 1.

Ever since hitting the dizzy heights of World No. 1 Singh hasn’t quiet been able to challenge regularly at Major Championships, and although it was nip and tuck between him and Woods for the best part of a year, it was Woods’ victory at the 2005 Masters that eventually set the two apart.

In 2007 Singh missed out finishing in the top ten of each major that year, and ever since his form in the big competitions has subsided.

Why have I considered him a contender? Well since a variation to his swing was introduced into his play, Singh has found the winning habit, winning three titles last year, including a crushing five-shot victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Even though the New Year has started with a few injuries, he is well on the road to recover and is set to take part at Augusta.

A crucial stat to consider is that Singh is a former winner of the Green Jacket this decade, as his win in 2000 came at the expense of Ernie Els an experience that is sure to be valuable for the Fijian.

Although he must be valued as a rank outsider due to his recent form at Major’s it would be naïve to completely write off the three-time major winner.

In a tournament where the world’s best are sometimes left wondering what if sometimes it takes a rank outsider to take that title, and with the pressure off Singh, this could be his perfect time to strike.

Seven Players To Light Up The Masters: Ian Poulter

This is the second in a series of seven players who should be keenly watched during next weeks Master Championship, and who could even be wearing the Green jacket by late Sunday afternoon.

Today I take a look at one of the main European contenders in Britain’s Ian Poulter who if his ability on the course can match his self-confidence off it, he can definitely mix it with the best in the world.

Poulter’s infamous words at the beginning of 2008 have followed him all around the tour, quotes that included comparing himself to the World No.1 Tiger Woods when the duo are at there best.

The American of course went on to win at the US Open last year, and while missing out at both the Open Championship and the USPGA Poulter wasn’t on hand to put his words into practise.

Now maybe I’m being slightly harsh on Poulter here, at the end of the day he one of Europe’s top players, something he proved at last years Ryder Cup, when as a wild card entry he top scored for Europe with four points.

He also acted as a huge motivator for the visiting team, and someone who really could get up the noses of the American’s, and similar acts of emotion could see him as one of the main forerunners for this year’s title.

Poulter’s pedigree at a competition like this isn’t brilliant with his highest Masters finish being tied for 25th at last years event.

However it’s his performance at last years Open Championship that for me adds him to the list of contenders.

He lay down a very credible score and was the clubhouse leader until Padraig Harrington overhauled the Englishman, and completed successive victories at the event.

Poulter’s display last year was one of a player who could perform in a pressure situation, and at the best of times with some of the finest in the world.

Although his comments at the start of the year might have been slightly premature, Poulter has shown he isn’t far off some of the world’s elite.

His Ryder Cup performance showed that he could perform even when the crowd was on his back, skills he will need if he is to succeed next week.

The Augusta galleries are sure never to forget Poulter’s own personal comparison with the great Tiger, but with the World No. 1 returning it could be his chance to prove all the doubters wrong.

Andy Murray In Danger Of Being Undercooked As Sony Semi Final Approaches

Andy Murray's straight sets victory over Fernando Verdasco on Thursday showed us all how the British Number 1 has come on as a player in such a short space of time, since he last took on the Spaniard at the Australian Open in January.

On that occasion Murray saw a rampaging Verdasco never give up, and come-back from two-sets to one down to win the match and progress to the quarter-finals.

Murray had high hopes for that tournament, after his US Open runner up finish he endured the previous year he was keen to build on his relative success.

Verdasco had hoped to do the same to Murray at this weeks Sony Ericsson Open, where the Brit had plans of leapfrogging Novak Djokovic into third in the ATP World Rankings, by winning this weeks competition in Miami.

Murray however showed his progression as a player, and disposed of an 'injured' Verdasco, dropping just three games en-route to sealing his semi-final birth with Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro.

I say ‘injured’ with inverted commas, because in the last twelve months eight players have withdrawn from a match with Murray due to injury.

This stat does make interesting reading, and for me is tribute to the fear-factor Murray has instil in players all over the tour.

Now Verdasco did continue with the match until the end, but for me he was well beaten before the injury occurred late in the first set.

Now in a tournament taking place over a week, momentum is important and being able to turn up day after day and put in a performance is vital, being underdone can being your undoing, while being too tired can see your performance drop considerably.

My concern is Murray’s time on court has been far shorter than most of his rivals, to the extend he hasn’t had enough match practise to get him through the tournament now we enter the business end.

The longest the Brit has spent on court was in his opening match against another Argentine Juan Monaco.

However 58 minutes were taken up beating Viktor Troicki, dropping just a single game in the 4th round.

Yesterday’s match against his first world class opponent, was expected to go the distance, something we didn’t even see a sniff of as Verdasco pulled off numerous unforced errors to gift Murray the win.

His previous two matches have hardly strained the world number four, and when he goes into his semi-final encounter with Del Potro he could find himself low on match time this week.

Should this pose a real problem against De Potro this evening though? Well Maybe not.

Game time is almost at the other end of the spectrum when you think about Del Potro, who was on court nearly two hours longer than Murray was on Thursday.

Del Potro of course took on Rafael Nadal, and as the final set went into a deciding tie-breaker the new world number five is sure to be feeling it after one of the biggest victories in his career.

Nadal made Del Potro fight for every point and the physical nature of the match is sure to have taken plenty out of Murray’s opponent.

Will he be able to rise again in the semi-final? Or will Murray he halted by the express train that is Del Potro, who is sure to be riding one crest of a wave after his win over the world number one, momentum could be the Brit’s undoing.

With Murray having little court time, maybe this is Del Potro’s chance to seize the moment and reach his first Masters Series final.

Plenty at Stake For England As One Day Series Comes To a Close

England will go into the one-day international series decider knowing that even after a strenuous tour of the Caribbean they can take away with them a glimmer of hope for the future by winning this five match one-day series.

With the series evenly poised at two games each, tomorrows fifth and final match is vital if England are to take any positives from this most arduous of tours.

Loosing the test-series 1-0 has drawn plenty of criticism at home, but the side know that victory tomorrow will shield them from some of those words when they return, just like they were in 2007 after beating Australia in the Commonwealth Bank series, after that humiliating 5-0 white wash in the test series.

In what was a disappointing and controversial series, Andrew Strauss will want his side to do the talking on the pitch, and Friday’s match gives the side a chance to gather some positives for the new coach in waiting, Andy Flower.

Flower has seen his tenure as temporary England coach start pretty poorly, but the one day matches have shown England’s progress in the shorter form of the game has improved over the last 12 months.

There was a time where England couldn’t win a 50-over match , and a radical overhaul of how the side was chosen was called for after a 5-0 demolition by Sri Lanka in 2006.

The side now has a more familiar look to it, with more of the players involved in the test matches incorporate into the shorter version of the game.

The likes of Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior, Paul Collingwood, James Anderson and Strauss have consolidated themselves in both test and one-day teams, and this core of players can only help the chemistry of the team.

Areas of improvement for the side include the sometimes naïve batting make-up which at times is forced into uncertain shot selection, as was shown in the third one-day international.

The levelling up of the series seemed to be more down to the embarrassment that came from that defeat more than the poor Cricket from the hosts, Strauss’ personal knock was one of the player who was keen to set the record straight.

The West Indies, while England will be searching for a much needed positive from the tour, have very little to loose as they attempt to complete a test and one-day double to continue what is a thrilling resurgence in international Cricket.

It’s been said Cricket in this part of the world has been turned on it’s head due to the test series win and the two wins in this current one day series, with success pleaded for by the home support, who were close to loosing complete faith with the side before this current tour kicked off.

Tomorrow’s match has far more on the line than just the win in the series; it’s what the series win will do for each side as a whole.

For England instilling some belief in a dressing room that has seen little plus points on what Pietersen has called an laborious tour, and one that the entire squad want to end sooner rather than later.

Let’s not forget, while Pietersen has come across very outspoken in the press, he comes with a credible point, being away for up to eleven weeks is one hell of shift for an international sportsman, something that might be worth looking into by the ECB.

With so much at stake, both sides will obviously be keen to win and with Pietersen’s recent comments about the tour and certain members of his opponents, England could be in for an uphill struggle as there painful tour comes to a close.

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.