.......gives his normal insipid evaluation. As one poster points out the fact that the team score more than 5/10 on average tells you everything. Hughes must be dating the sisters of a lot of the players or something.
The proof of the pudding would be to select the composite best side from both teams. Selecting is easy, spelling your selections is a bit more difficult!
(no login)
Of course the BBC sometimes doesn't get.......
December 22 2007, 11:59 PM
........much right.
I treasure Martin Lawrence's predictions for last weekend's premiere league matches:
Lawro's predictions
Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
Birmingham 1-2 Reading
Derby 1-1 Middlesbrough
Fulham 1-1 Newcastle
Liverpool 1-0 Man Utd
Man City 1-1 Bolton
Portsmouth 2-1 Tottenham
Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa
West Ham 1-1 Everton
Wigan 2-1 Blackburn
Actual results
Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
Birmingham 1-1 Reading
Derby 0-1 Middlesbrough
Fulham 0-1 Newcastle
Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd
Man City 4-2 Bolton
Portsmouth 0-1 Tottenham
Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa
West Ham 0-2 Everton
Wigan 5-3 Blackburn
Lawro got ONE result right and ZERO perfect scores
It's nearly a year since we gave the Ashes back nicely gift-wrapped and the Schofield report was long ago but here are some fairly elementary things like fitness, the known climatic conditions etc. We have a major entourage supporting the team and there is money for anything we may need. The preparations other teams make is no closely guarded secret - if Lloyd knows then so does the rest of the world.
It is 'bad form' to talk about taking positives or talking about what's been learned when you've just dropped from Second to Fifth. If we were deservedly second we should be the teachers rather than the students. I am forced to think that we may be lacking a bit or a lot of intelligence and brain-power at the top. This is a necessary pre-cursor to adding a bit more backbone and skill into the individual performances. Sri Lanka have shown us what's necessary, but have they shown us anything that we couldn't/shouldn't have known beforehand? This question is a very serious one.
When I hear/read comments like this I know that there is no future. If Moores said "I haven't earned my money and I'm giving it back" then I'd think "That's the guy for me".
Put away the rum, Bill. Nobody takes responsibility for anything any more.
...and all's right with the world. You can judge for yourselves. Merry Xmas!
"England chief backs Moores record
England's one-day fortunes have improved under Moores
England cricket boss David Collier has warned fans not to jump into criticising coach Peter Moores after the Test series defeat in Sri Lanka.
The 1-0 reverse saw England drop from second in the Test rankings - where they have been for three years under Duncan Fletcher - to fifth.
"We can't expect instant results," Collier told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I think he has made the impact. A lot of people have noticed subtle changes, but significant changes."
Since taking over after the World Cup in April, Moores has restructured the coaching team by bringing in new fast-bowling coaches in Allan Donald and Ottis Gibson as well as batting coach Andy Flower.
It's been a very disappointing year for Test results but we have started to make progress with one-day cricket
With Moores at the helm, England won the home Test series against West Indies but lost at home to India before the Sri Lanka tour.
"One of the plusses of the year was Peter pulling together a strong coaching team," said Collier, who is chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
"This is his first tour. He will learn a lot, getting to know the players a lot better."
Collier was keen to point to the improvement in one-day form following a fourth successive disappointing World Cup, when they failed to reach the knockout stage.
They beat India in a seven-match home one-day series in August and September.
And their subsequent 3-2 victory in Sri Lanka was the first time in 20 years they have won a head-to-head one-day series against a major side on the Asian subcontinent.
"It's been a very disappointing year in terms of some of the Test match results but we have started to make some progress with one-day cricket," he added.
"Peter's just appointed a new fielding coach who will start with us in March, Richard Halsall.
"Those sorts of innovations are how we need to move forward if we are to become one of the top two or three nations in the world, and regain those Ashes and win a major tournament."
ulsterkorean (no login)
Moores
December 23 2007, 3:59 PM
Sadly I have to say that the ECB picked the wrong guy in Moores. they went down the same road as the FA when they picked McClaren, chose a coach who is good in the practice sessions, and at keeping players fit.
As I said at the time we needed a tactician, who never wears a track suit, is once removed from the players,who preferably has played Test cricket, and who can use his brain, Moores will never make it, the best we can hope is that the players do better despite him.
This sounds a little harsh, and I can see he is an agreeable chap, liked by most, but its not enough,the team are almost all going backwards fast.Cut our losses now and get some one in who can read the game, understands International cricket, and can make our players play to at least their potential.
My fear is that we will continue to get these over inflated comments from Moores, throughout the next two series against New Zealand, which I assume we will win easily, and all will be covered up.
At the moment there's far too much sugar coating and spin from both the captain and coach, they need one of them to crack some heads together, rattle a few cages and get rid of the coziness that currently exists in the England team.
As for the Sri Lanka tour in my book they didn't go there with the right mindset, attritional cricket was the order of the day and some of them go there with the attitude that 'i'll play my shots and a showy 50 will do'. When Naz took the team to Pakistan and SL in 2001 they went with the right mindset, bat all day if we have to, which was drummed into them by the captain, and they ended up winning both series'.
Last few tours to the sub-continent they have this we'll play our shots attitude and have come unstuck. They really need to change their mindset for India next winter.
Dewsburian (no login)
Re: Test series: England averages and ratings
December 24 2007, 9:14 PM
Good point about attitude, but if the ECB agree to three back-to-back tests again, attitude may not be enough.
Statman (no login)
Hoggy: Why we failed (Times)
December 25 2007, 4:15 PM
From the Times...
It was nice to touch down on home soil again when my plane landed at Manchester airport at 9am yesterday, but it’s never as good coming home after losing a series. Whatever has happened in the meantime, if you haven’t won the series, you haven’t achieved your goals on tour, so you miss that feeling of elation on coming home of a job well done. When we took off from Heathrow six weeks ago, we knew that we would have to be at our best to beat Sri Lanka on their own patch and we fell some way short. Quite simply, they performed better than us at key moments throughout the series. And that’s what Test cricket is all about.
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