HJK 5-0 RoPS (Veikkausliiga)

It was never likely to form a highlight of the European sporting weekend. In the end, though, it barely even registered in its own nation’s media, which came as something as a surprise to me, having become acquainted with the sporting obsession of the UK.

I started to realise my anticipation was perhaps a little overstated upon taking my seat in the Sonera Stadion, one of the newest stadiums in Finland. Completed in 2000, it has a capacity of 10,000, and is situated right next to the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (the Finnish capital hosted the Games in 1952).

By twenty past six, however, just ten minutes before kick-off, not more than one in fifteen seats can have been occupied. The polite applause given to each of the players as they were introduced over the tannoy illustrated a further difference; I realised that there would be little of the kind of atmosphere – passionate, occasionally bordering on dangerous – that are the norm in more established leagues.

Admittedly, the clash I watched was hardly a spicy fixture. Pitting top versus bottom – hosts HJK now have a twelve point lead with twelve games remaining, while opponents RoPS have an almighty task to avoid relegation – it was not likely to be a tense encounter.

RoPS are based in the small town of Rovaniemi, in Lapland. Up against the relative might of HJK, fresh from a triumphant midweek 2-0 victory over Schalke 04 in the home leg of their Europa League qualifier, it would have taken a minor miracle for the visitors to avoid defeat.

And so it proved. After just four minutes, RoPS goalkeeper Arto Vikman comically spilled a regulation cross to give HJK striker Erfan Zeneli a tap-in. Indeed, Vikman can be held at least partially responsible for all five goals – and primarily at fault for no fewer than three.

Within fifteen minutes, the lead had trebled, more questionable defending giving Zeneli his second, with Akseli Pelvas also getting his name on the scoreboard. Predictably, the hosts saw this as an opportunity to take their foot off the pedal, and though the visitors occasionally pressed forward – most notably through left winger Omar Yasin – HJK’s goal never truly looked under threat.

Jarno Parikka notched the fourth goal on the stroke of half time, and I began to hope for double figures – something HJK had managed, after all, in an earlier round of European qualification against Bangor City of the Welsh Premier League.

It was not to be, though. Only one goal was forthcoming in the lacklustre second half – a second for Pelvas. The highlight was the half-time introduction of 40 year-old Finnish legend Jari Litmanen, which got the crowd of just over 1,000 excited. The former Ajax and Liverpool forward, who is widely acknowledged as Finland’s greatest ever footballer, was, as expected, slow and his many attempts at clever passes and other such tricks rarely worked. Not that the home fans worried too much; not at 5-0, at least.

The match as a whole was of an incredibly poor quality. Only one of the goals – Zeneli’s second – was thanks to any particular skill on the part of a Helsinki player, and even that featured another elementary mistake in the build-up. Both teams misplaced numerous passes, hacked their opponents instead of tackling them and there was an exceptional – and frustrating – lack of vision shown by most on the artificial pitch (Litmanen was an exception, but his execution let him down). With a vacuum of an atmosphere, and a fussy, whistle-happy referee (being a ref myself I am reluctant to make such a criticism) hardly made this a great advert for the Veikkausliiga. Nor, indeed, is the rampant commercialism, which saw adverts blaring out over the PA system at every dead-ball situation.

Even so, I cannot deny that I loved the experience – and it was undeniably refreshing to have a break from the glamour of the top English leagues.

Newcastle United 0-0 Arsenal

It would be almost an understatement to call it an ignominious off-season for Newcastle United. Yet despite the departure of the captain and of arguably the best performer over the last two seasons (Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique respectively) – as well as the well-publicised social media shenanigans of creative spark Joey Barton – there was a definite air of optimism at St James’ Park yesterday evening when the Magpies welcomed Arsenal as the 2011-12 Premier League curtain was raised.

The visitors had also had a difficult summer, exacerbated in the days leading up to Saturday’s match, with the apparently imminent departure of the highly-prized midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri from the Emirates Stadium. For Arsene Wenger, so often viewed as one of the most astute managers in England, the desperation to end the Gunners’ trophy drought has sees him under more pressure than ever before.

With Jack Wilshere also missing through injury, Toon fans sensed that a midfield – in which the transfer-listed Barton was included, news that was greeted with a rapturous Geordie cheer – that has been bolstered by the signing of Yohan Cabaye from Lille, alongside Cheik Tiote – hero of the last outing between the sides, an incredible 4-4 draw – could outmuscle and even outplay Arsenal’s.

The match did not turn out in the way that many expected, however. ESPN, who moved the kick-off for broadcasting purposes, will have been disappointed with the offering. Tiote and Cabaye were relatively quiet, and the Arsenal midfield, particularly new signing, and former Newcastle target, Gervinho, demonstrated that they are far from pushovers.

It was Gunners fans, too, who were making all the noise. Attempts by the upper echelons at St James’ Park to relocate the ‘singing section’ away from their previous position, adjacent to the away end, proved not to have been fully effective, but did have a noticeably calming effect on that area of the ground. As Arsenal fans outsang their hosts, so their team outplayed the Magpies, but failed to have any real clearcut chances. Home keeper Tim Krul was bailed out by Danny Simpson, who hacked off the line after the young Dutchman flapped at a Tomas Rosicky corner, but other than that, Arsenal would come unstuck thanks to the dominant presence of new Toon captain Fabricio Coloccini.

It was painfully apparent for home fans, though, that what threat Arsenal did pose came nearly always down the visitors’ right flank. Gervinho simply outclassed stand-in left back Ryan Taylor, who was always going to find it difficult to replace new Anfield star Enrique. Jonas Gutierrez, too, looked somewhat clueless without Enrique; the two used to form a productive partnership on Newcastle’s left wing, and the frustrating Gutierrez looked unsure how to adjust to Enrique’s absence.

The second half – and particularly the introduction of United’s newest acquisition, Gabriel Obertan, who replaced fellow summer signing, the subdued Demba Ba – was slightly more positive for the hosts, but again Arsenal looked like the only team likely to make an impression on the scoresheet. Skipper Robin van Persie clipped the top of the net with a free-kick, but in truth the deadlock never truly threatened to be broken.

Only the incident that has got the Twitterati tongues wagging furiously caused any real excitement over the course of the ninety minutes. With fifteen minutes left on the clock (though St James’ Park has no longer got any – the digital corner timepieces having been replaced by an extension in electronic advertising hoardings – Gervinho fell to the floor dramatically inside the Newcastle penalty area. Replays suggested he may have been tripped by Tiote, but Barton had no doubts that Arsenal’s Ivorian had dived.

Dragging him from the floor, Barton proceeded to hurl himself to the turf after Gervinho gave him a slap to the face. Referee Peter Walton – much to Wenger’s chagrin – booked the former but dismissed the latter. There can be no doubt about the red card, but Wenger argued that Barton should have also been sent off for violent conduct when he pulled Gervinho forcefully to remonstrate with him.

Opinion will no doubt stay divided over that issue, but there should be no doubt that Arsenal’s Alex Song was fortunate to stay on the field after a deliberate stamp on Barton earlier in the half. As an aside, that clash provided an amusing indication as to the concern amongst the Toon Army about the future of Barton. As he walked over to the fourth official to complain, many fans who had, like Mr Walton, missed the Song stamp, seemed worried that Barton had snapped – had he gone over to shout at Alan Pardew, the Newcastle boss, about something? Had he simply had enough, and stalked off back to the dressing room? A paranoia gripped the Leazes Corner; spectators rose as one, and there was a palpable, sharp, collective intake of breath which accompanied it; this was followed by an audible sigh of relief as the fans took their seats once Barton re-emerged from the dugout.

The final whistle was greeted by dismay from the away fans. A chorus of boos rained down, aimed particularly at Wenger, who had had to endure numerous rounds of “spend some f****** money” as Gunners fans, frustrated by their team’s failure to convert possession into pressure, or pressure into chances, made clear their dissatisfaction with their manager’s transfer policy. By contrast, there was a general round of applause from the home fans, most of whom would certainly have been happy with a goalless draw before kick-off.

But as a spectacle, this game contrasted perfectly with that eight-goal thriller last season. Fans were delayed leaving the environs of the ground due to a burst drain, which was spewing its putrid contents into Gallowgate. Its contents, many fans pointed out, provided something of an apt metaphor for the ninety minutes of football they had just witnessed.

• At half time, Mark Allison, also known as Run Geordie Run, was introduced to the crowd after having run 3,100 miles – from California to New York – in 100 days in the name of The Children’s Foundation and St Benedict's Hospice. He has raised £81,000 and counting.

Wales 19-9 England

Wales displayed their impressive defensive as they beat England in their latest World Cup warm-up game at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Both teams were much changed from last week’s encounter between the sides at Twickenham, in which England triumphed 23-19.

As well as the scoreboard, the style of the game was very different to that witnessed at Twickenham. This week, in what was a much tighter, forward-dominated game, England dominated both possession and territory but were restricted to three Toby Flood penalties.

Wales grabbed the game’s only try, through James Hook, who converted the try himself and also notched two penalties; the talented Rhys Priestland also kicked a pair of penalty kicks.

Wales’ try, which was the result of an excellent, patient build-up, was scored with what seemed to be their first second-half foray into England’s 22.

After phase after phase of stretching the English defence, Hook crashed over to give Wales what was at that stage a four-point cushion. But England head coach Martin Johnson will be scratching his head as to how his team had failed to establish more of a lead before Hook touched down.

From midway through the first half, England looked like they were simply biding their time until they made the breakthrough – at which stage, you felt, the floodgates could open.

A series of five-metre scrummages were broken up by the Millennium Stadium turf and Welsh infringements came to nothing; a sloppy failure to control the ball at the back of the scrum meant that England had thrown away the chance of a penalty try that referee Alain Rolland had looked set to award.

Little Shane Williams played a crucial part, causing Matt Banahan to spill the ball forward just as he attempted to pile over in the corner.

In total, England made ten visits to the Welsh 22, and yet scored on not one of them. And that was even despite the fact that, for twenty minutes, Wales were forced to play with fourteen men, with Jamie Roberts and Mike Phillips both spending time in the sin bin.

Wales conceded sixteen penalties, a large number, but is to be expected when they spent the majority of the game defending their line.

Very impressively – and pleasing to head coach Warren Gatland and defensive coach Shaun Edwards – Wales missed just two tackles all game, making over 130. That statistic represents an incredible effort by the Welsh, who were again led admirably by man-of-the-match Sam Warburton.

Wales will be naturally concerned that they could barely take a hold of possession, and will be concerned that the more clinical southern hemisphere teams will not be as wasteful as were England.

Johnson will have much thinking to do before the World Cup kicks off in just under four weeks. Gatland, by contrast, will be much boosted by this win.

And with South Africa losing their second consecutive Tri-Nations match in demoralising fashion – yesterday’s 14-9 home defeat to Australia followed a 40-7 thumping by New Zealand a fortnight ago – Wales will be growing in confidence for their opening encounter, against the Springboks, in Wellington on 11th September.

Premier League Preview Part Three: Relegation Candidates

Last season, Wolverhampton Wanderers escaped the drop by a single point; with just three minutes left of the season, a Stephen Hunt goal clawed Mick McCarthy’s men out of danger by virtue of goals scored at the expense of Birmingham City (though a later goal conceded by the Blues gave Wolves their final one point cushion). This campaign, Wolves have been bolstered by the acquisitions of Jamie O’Hara and the solid Roger Johnson, and if they can both build on a number of impressive results that they achieved last time out (beating all of the top three at Molineux as well as Liverpool at Anfield) and eliminate the errors that cost them a more comfortable league position, they should be able to wrap up survival before the final day.

Wigan Athletic, another club that at various stages of last season looked prime candidates to be playing Championship football, but engineered a spectacular escape from that fate in the dying weeks of May, taking eight points from their final four games, and six from their last two. Roberto Martinez relied mainly on players such as Ali Al-Habsi, Charles N’Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega, but with N’Zogbia having left the DW Stadium, Martinez will be short of a key playmaker. In James McCarthy, they have arguably one of the best young talents in the league, but a general lack of class might make this an even tougher season than last term.

One of the bigger transfers in the league this season was Manchester United’s purchase of young Blackburn Rovers centre back Phil Jones for £16.5m. A price that Rovers could hardly have turned down, it has seemed to some that the club has cashed in the player while it still retained the bargaining position of a Premier League place, and, indeed, Blackburn are among the favourites for the drop this term. To date, their only signing of note has been Dundee United’s exciting striker David Goodwillie, but whether his addition will be enough to rejuvenate a time that looked prime Championship stock last season is open to debate.

Bolton Wanderers, a relatively unfashionable – but often effective – club, will be looking to consolidate last season’s lower mid-table finish, and looking to break into the top ten. They have lost some key players from the last campaign – Johan Elmander and Matty Taylor have both left while Daniel Sturridge has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell at the Reebok Stadium. In addition, South Korean winger Lee Chung-yong, among the most impressive performers for the Trotters over the past few months, will miss nearly the whole campaign after breaking his leg in pre-season. Owen Coyle remains a highly rated manager, but has barely added to his squad over the summer. This could prove to be a difficult season for Bolton, and it would be no great surprise to see them dragged down as far as the relegation mix.

Swansea City, last year labelled by some the ‘Barcelona of the Championship’, make far more passes on average each game than any other team in England's top four divisions. Under the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, they finished third in the second tier last year, and secured promotion via the play-offs – sealed with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Reading at Wembley. As with most Premier League novices, they are among the favourites to go straight back down, but an excellent team spirit at the Liberty Stadium is complemented by the signing of last season’s top scorer in the Championship, Watford striker Danny Graham. It will be a tough season for the first Welsh team to reach the Premier League, but as Hull and Blackpool have proved in recent seasons, albeit before both teams faded, smaller teams do have the element of surprise.

Queen’s Park Rangers, who romped to the Championship title last season, are relishing their return to the Premier League for the first time since their relegation in 1996. They have one of the second tier’s top performers in 2010-11, Adel Taarabt, but question marks remain as to how he will fare in the more physical top flight. However, Neil Warnock – whose position as manager at Loftus Road has looked somewhat precarious during the off-season – has bought astutely over the summer, signing Cardiff striker Jay Bothroyd, West Ham duo Danny Gabbidon and Keiron Dyer along with Blackpool hitman DJ Campbell. QPR fans would be content with survival, and Rangers’ squad are surely capable of achieving that. Even so, with the majority of the players Premier League novices, Warnock must hope that his squad can quickly adapt to the division.

In August 2009, two Norwich City fans made headlines after running onto the field, tearing up their season tickets during a 1-7 opening day defeat to lowly Colchester United. Two years – and two promotions – later, the Canaries have made that pair look somewhat sheepish, as they prepare to welcome Premier League football back to Carrow Road. Manager Paul Lambert is treated as something of a hero in Norfolk, but he will be more than aware of the challenges that lie ahead for his side. His players are not what might be regarded as typical top flight players – indeed, only a handful have played in the division before. Norwich will be reliant on striker and captain Grant Holt, who was as prolific last year as he was in League One the previous season. His form will be crucial to Norwich’s success – but even if he is relatively successful, it is difficult to see anything but a relegation struggle for his side.

Relegation prediction:

Blackburn Rovers
Norwich City
Wigan Athletic

Premier League Preview Part Two: Mid-table

In a manner reminiscent of Phil Jones’ departure from Blackburn, Sunderland sold their England midfielder Jordan Henderson to Liverpool for £20m; unlike Steve Kean at Rovers, however, Steve Bruce has not been shy of spending the revenue. The Black Cats have added no fewer than nine players to their squad, including Manchester United defenders Wes Brown and John O’Shea, Birmingham duo Sebastian Larsson and Craig Gardener and also fought off competition to sign Ipswich’s highly-rated midfielder Connor Wickham. Bruce must hope that the squad gels quickly and easily, but he would surely be disappointed if his side did not improve on last season’s 10th place.

Recent weeks have been another episode in the perennial Newcastle United farce. With Joey Barton threatening to follow Jose Enrique and Kevin Nolan out of St James’ Park, many Toon fans expect a frustrating season ahead. With a relatively impotent strike force of Shola Ameobi and new signing Demba Ba, manager Alan Pardew has been urged by fans to invest more of the £35m received for Andy Carroll in January. Whether or not owner Mike Ashley permits this is a matter of debate, and while Newcastle have added some (Francophone) midfielders – Sylvain Marveaux, Gabriel Obertan, Mehdi Abeid and the impressive-looking Yohan Cabaye – to their squad, they still desperately require another striker. It might be a difficult season, but Newcastle should still have too much quality, including Hatem Ben Arfa and new captain Fabricio Coloccini, to return so soon to the second tier.

West Bromwich Albion, who clawed back a three-goal deficit against Newcastle on the last day of last season to leapfrog the Magpies into 11th place, had a season of two halves. After Roberto Di Matteo was sacked as manager in February – following a run of seven defeats in nine matches – Roy Hodgson presided over a rise in fortunes and the table for the Baggies. With Peter Odemwingie on prolific goalscoring form last year – and this season joined up front by record signing Shane Long – Hodgson will be hopeful that he and other key players, including midfielders Somen Tchoyi and Chris Brunt, will be able to build on that mid-table finish. It would be a surprise if they fail to do so.

Stoke City are commonly regarded as one of the least glamourous clubs in the top division, but fans – reputedly among the loudest in the country – will not care. Their three seasons in the Premier League have seen Tony Pulis’ side finish 12th, 11th and 13th, and there is few reasons to believe the Potters cannot engineer another safe mid-table spot this time around. Stoke’s focus last season was on the FA Cup, in which they reached the final before capitulating to Manchester City. Famous for the long throws-in of Rory Delap, Stoke have talent throughout the team, particularly in imposing centre back Robert Huth, winger Matthew Etherington and triggerman Kenwyne Jones. Matthew Upson is a solid signing, too, but Stoke will have to be wary of the potential effects of their Europa League campaign on their domestic fortunes.

Like Stoke, Fulham have already kicked off their Europa League campaign – indeed, they did so before the end of July. Last time out in the Premier League, under Mark Hughes, they were the draw specialists, finishing a satisfactory 8th. The summer, however, has seen Hughes being replaced with former Tottenham manager Martin Jol, and although the new boss is yet to bring any true blockbuster signings to Craven Cottage, he will be hopeful that a team that boasts undoubted defensive talents – including goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and defenders Brede Hangeland, Chris Baird and former Liverpool left back John Arne Riise, who joined this summer from Serie A outfit Roma – will be able to secure another top-half finish. It would be a surprise if the well-regarded Jol were to fail in that task.

For Jol’s former club, the 2011-12 season would have to be a remarkable one to eclipse the adventure of last term. Tottenham Hotspur won their Champions League group in their first outing in Europe’s premier club tournament, and then knocked out AC Milan before finally succumbing to Real Madrid in the quarter finals. The continental adventure might have distracted Spurs, who this season will revert back to the Europa League. With Liverpool’s apparently rising fortunes, Spurs will struggle even to retain last season’s fifth spot. Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, a fantastic shot-stopper but subject to frequent lapses of concentration, may be usurped by the signing of Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel, but this season is likely to be something of a letdown after the heights of the previous two.

The Aston Villa club hierarchy were embroiled in much controversy at the start of the summer, upsetting many of their fans by appointing Alex McLeish as manager – despite not only arriving from archrivals Birmingham City, but also having got them relegated. He has brought in a couple of useful players, however, namely goalkeeper Shay Given and midfielder Charles N’Zogbia. In England striker Darren Bent, they have one of the top forwards in the league, but his task will be made more difficult by the loss of wingers Stewart Downing and Ashley Young to Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. In order to build on last season’s ninth place finish, McLeish will hope that young players such as Marc Albrighton, Ciaran Clark and Nathan Delfouneso can build on the promise they showed last year.

Everton have had a remarkably quiet off-season. A very satisfactory seventh place finish last time was achieved despite having very few options for the position of striker; indeed, Tim Cahill, with nine goals, was the top league goal-scorer for the Toffees. Despite this lack of strikers, however, Everton have a number of high quality players that were crucial to last season’s relative success, particularly left-back Leighton Baines, centre back (and apparent Arsenal target) Phil Jagielka, the freekick master Mikel Arteta as well as Australian international Cahill. Along with the likes of the Irish youngster Seamus Coleman, Everton can become an established top-half side, even in spite of the vacuum up front.

Premier League Preview Part One: The Title Contenders

The first week or two of August is traditionally time for widespread optimism amongst football fans. With the season a matter of days away, supporters believe that this is ‘their year’ for success, and with the addition of high-profile signings and the prospect of more to come, there is an almost tangible air of excitement.

For the English football powerhouses, such positivity is easy to come by. Last season’s champions Manchester United, who took the title – in the end relatively comfortably – despite being commonly regarded as something of a shadow of the team of a few seasons ago, have bolstered the squad with the additions of goalkeeper David de Gea, centre-back Phil Jones and winger Ashley Young. De Gea and Jones are just 20 and 19 years of age respectively, and their signings underline Sir Alex Ferguson’s desire to build his squad for long-term success. With last season’s breakthrough of Javier Hernandez – to the extent that he kept joint top goal-scorer Dimitar Berbatov on the bench towards the end of the season – as well as a host of other young players such as Chris Smalling, these remain exciting times for United fans (not that that can apply more particularly to this off-season than any other at Old Trafford). Dutch star Wesley Sneijder has proved elusive to United so far, but his addition remains on the radar, and would make the defence of the league title that much easier.

Chelsea have not added any players, but in appointing Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager created one of the first talking points of the summer. Villas-Boas, echoing his compatriot Jose Mourinho in arriving at Stamford Bridge from FC Porto and with the experience of having worked under Sir Bobby Robson, is the youngest manager in the Premier League at just 33. He will be under immediate pressure – although presumably less intense than that felt by his predecessor Carlo Ancelotti – to win trophies, but the lack of arrivals gives Villas-Boas a hard task in freshening up a team that, at times, looked stale and even predictable last season. Fernando Torres, after his frustrating goalless spell following his move from Liverpool, will be keen to justify his £50m price tag. Finally scoring at the end of last season will have eased the tension greatly, and it is not hard to see this being a relatively fruitful season for the Spaniard.

Torres’ quest for the golden boot, however, will be made all the more difficult by Manchester City’s signing of Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero, in probably the biggest transfer of the summer. City, who will grace the Champions League group stage this year, have been – admittedly, with some justification – accused of attempting to buy success. But whilst it is true that City have spent even more money than Chelsea since Roman Abramovich’s takeover, their signings have had much less of an effect, and a large transfer fee paid by the club is far from a guarantor of future productivity. The £27m paid for Edin Dzeko is yet to be justified; the £24m for Mario Balotelli has been little more than a waste. Yaya Toure, though, performed superbly last season, and this is no time to write Manchester City off, for as soon as the squad gels – the most significant missing ingredient over the last two seasons – success will surely follow. It is not difficult to envisage a Manchester double act atop the league by the end of May 2012.

Arsenal, by contrast, have avoided splashing out. The debacle towards the end of last season, when they took just 12 points from their last 11 league matches and were knocked out of three cups in less than a fortnight has led to a level of dissatisfaction with Arsene Wenger that is probably the most intense of his time in North London. The perennial goalkeeper problem continues to dog Arsenal, though Wojciech Szczeny appears to be a marked improvement on the likes of Manuel Alminua and Lucasz Fabianski. Two of the club’s top midfielders, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, have not guaranteed their return to the Emirates Stadium, and it would be a terrible blow to Arsenal’s fortunes if they cannot retain at least one of the two.

Wenger deserves praise for his thrift, but the patience of Gunners fans is wearing extremely thin, and if no trophy is forthcoming this season it will surely prove to be his last at the club. As always, it would be foolish to dismiss the Arsenal challenge completely, but their strength in depth is not enough to win the league. To extend his time with the Gunners, Wenger will probably have to overcome his traditional hostility to the League and FA Cups.

Arsenal’s problems, however, looked set to be overshadowed for much of last season by those at Anfield. As late as January this year, thousands of Facebook users cheekily anticipated a spontaneous party to celebrate what was apparently unthinkable – the relegation of Liverpool from the Premier League. Everton’s 2-0 derby victory put Liverpool into 19th place, and the club had barely recovered by the time manager Roy Hodgson left his post after just seven months in charge. Under new boss, and Reds legend, Kenny Dalglish, the side’s fortunes changed, and they finished sixth, only just missing out on European qualification. This season, with one of the top strike partnerships in the league, Liverpool will aim to break back into the top four. Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, both of whom joined in January, were the first fruits of last season’s takeover by the American Fenway Sports Group.

There has been plenty of transfer activity this summer, too. Dalglish has acquired Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam, and is thus hardly short of midfielders. Although questions have been asked about the cost of Dalglish’s signings – Carroll, Downing and Henderson cost a combined £75m – if the Reds can build on the relative success of the second half of last season, a top-three finish is not inconceivable. Indeed, under Dalglish Liverpool triumphed over both Manchester teams and Chelsea, and snatched a dramatic draw at Arsenal. Liverpool’s problem has been their consistency against lesser teams, but it would be no great surprise if, in May 2012, Liverpool have achieved a Champions League spot – and have added to the Anfield trophy cabinet.

This article was originally published at The Vibe

England 23-19 Wales

England saw off a late Welsh challenge to secure a win in this World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham in a fixture that saw both nations field experimental line-ups. With the tournament in New Zealand just one month away, clinical kicking from Jonny Wilkinson edged England home – as so often – after Wales scored three tries to the hosts’ two.

Neither team was at full strength, and most English focus was on debutant Manu Tuigilagi. The twenty year-old centre made an instant impression on the international stage, dancing through the Welsh defence for England’s second try to the delight of the majority of the 81,000 crowd.

Wilkinson’s form will have pleased home supporters, too. The outside half scored thirteen points, and his 100 percent goalkicking record will give hope that he can emulate his achievements in the last southern hemisphere World Cup, in 2003.

Perhaps, though, England’s back line today is even more electric than eight years ago; along with Tuigilagi, Delon Armitage was solid at full back and Matt Banahan made solid yards with every touch. Martin Johnson will surely be satisfied that he has players of sufficient quality to call on throughout the backline. That said, however, the pack does not have the same kind of experience or class that propelled England to glory in Australia.

For their part, Wales will not be too disheartened with the result considering the relatively makeshift side they fielded. Outside half Stephen Jones was injured just prior to kick off; his place was taken by Rhys Priestland, and Morgan Stoddart came into the side at fullback to replace Priestland.

It was to be an afternoon of contrasting fortunes for the Priestland and Stoddart. The former was excellent in kicking both from hand and at goal, and looked strong and confident at stand off. Stoddart, however, was stretchered off in obvious pain with a suspected broken leg, and his place in New Zealand now looks under serious doubt.

Winger George North continued to demonstrate his talent, scoring two tries and looking powerful facing Mark Cueto. North and Priestland are excellent prospects for the Welsh for the coming years. Captain Sam Warburton, too, impressed, and in spite of the defeat there is plenty to encourage Wales coach Warren Gatland. Not least amongst these factors was the resilience and determination Wales showed in coming within a score of snatching a win in a game that, at one stage, England threatened to dominate. Gatland will hope his side can build on these in the return fixture at the Millennium Stadium next weekend.

New Zealand 30-14 Australia

New Zealand continued their ominous pre-World Cup form with a comfortable win over Tasman rivals Australia in Auckland, and in form like this - combined with the home advantage the tournament will give them - it is difficult to see who can deny them the chance to reclaim the William Webb Ellis trophy.

Today's triumph over Australia, which followed a crushing defeat of South Africa in Wellington last weekend, gives New Zealand a clear lead in this season's truncated Tri-Nations tournament. More importantly perhaps, it has given a psychological boost to the favourites, who have been perceived as having choked at every World Cup since they won the inaugural version in 1987.

Dan Carter, who regained his international point-scoring record from Jonny Wilkinson last weekend, appears - still - to be at the peak of his game. Ma'a Nonu, too, seems to have regained the form of his prime, and combined well with former Hurricanes centre partner Conrad Smith to rip through the Australian backline.

Lock Ali Williams was solid in his first appearance for the All Blacks for three years, and despite his traditional frosty glare, New Zealand coach Graham Henry will have been satisfied with the display at the redeveloped Eden Park.

For their part, the Wallabies might feel aggrieved with the scoreline, which failed to reflect the pressure that they exerted on their hosts for large periods. Australia dominated territory and possession in the first half, and coach Robbie Deans will have been disappointed that they headed in for the interval 17-0 in arrears.

Australia - particularly through scrum-half Will Genia and wingers Digby Ioane and James O'Connor (despite missing three penalties) - have an exciting backline, and if they all click, they could tear almost any team apart with stylish ease. The Wallabies' main box office attraction Quade Cooper, however, had a poor game, attempting simply to be too clever.

Cooper's apparent loss of rugby intelligence was epitomised by an offload he made out of the back of his hand when facing down three All Blacks on his own tryline; the pass, in the general vicinity of O'Connor, landed dangerously in the in-goal area, and only O'Connor's smart reactions, hacking the ball away, prevented Conrad Smith from falling on the ball for what would have been a gifted score.

Cooper is one of the potential stars of this tournament, but if he insists on trying to force plays, he risks undermining all that he is undoubtedly capable of achieving. His sublime mispass in the build-up to Rocky Elsom's score underlined his talents, but he threw numerous forward passes, at times kicked loosely and his reckless flip pass illustrated that, if he is not allowed space to be creative, he turns from Australia's spark to something of an Achilles' heel.

Otago’s new stadium: finally, some character

Dunedin’s new Forsyth Barr Stadium, opened today by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, is a ground purpose built for next month’s Rugby World Cup, at which it will host four matches. It replaces Carisbrook, the (in)famous arena known as ‘the House of Pain’ because of the physical nature of its residents, the Highlanders and the Otago regional team.

And it is quite a feat of architecture. Most new stadiums, in the UK at least, are taken from the same mould, soulless, faceless, bland – and the same. Look at the (relatively) recently-opened stadiums in Cardiff, Swansea, Leicester, Derby, Sunderland, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Southampton…

Stadiums need character. The House of Pain had that, and, albeit for different reasons, the Forsyth Barr Stadium will, too. Admittedly, it has succumbed to the other scourge of modern stadia – namely, the need to include a sponsor in its name.

Its plastic roof is made of the same substance as that of the Water Cube of Beijing Olympics fame, which gives a futuristic look to the ground that might seem somewhat out of place in its hilly surroundings. The translucency might also hinder the watching of the game, as the connectors will cast all sorts of lined shadow on the pitch.

And it remains to be seen whether the atmosphere will suffer from the closed-off, set-back nature of the stands, particularly those behind the goals. But even these concerns cannot detract from my appreciation of it as an arena – its unique nature might be something of a risk, but it also allows supporters to actively appreciate and admire the stadium, rather than see it as yet another generic, identikit piece of engineering.

The turnstiles at Carisbrook have worked their last shift

New Zealand general election: is the contest already over?

This (southern hemisphere) spring, New Zealand will host the biggest international event in its history. Tens of thousands of foreign fans are expected to descend on the Land of the Long White Cloud for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off next month. There is a growing wave of optimism amongst Kiwis that that the All Blacks, seemingly perennial favourites for the tournament, can reclaim the trophy for the first time since 1987. Bookmakers see New Zealand as the favourites, but as has been proved time and again, in such a competition the overall winner is difficult to predict.

That cannot be said about another national event taking place later this year. Less than five weeks after the World Cup final – and timed, surely, to take advantage of what is hoped to be feelings of national pride and contentment that will fill New Zealanders as a result of that match – sees a general election in which Prime Minister John Key is expected to consolidate his position at the head of government. Three years after ending a run of three consecutive electoral wins for the Labour Party under Helen Clark, Key’s National Party looks set to be surging towards victory – and has his sights firmly set on achieving the first majority government since Jim Bolger’s 1993 triumph.

National, a party very similar in ideology to the British Conservative Party (indeed, John Key and David Cameron share a warm personal friendship; Key was one of the first world leaders to phone with congratulations for Cameron on his entry into 10 Downing Street last year), has held comfortably held off any Labour challenge throughout this Parliament. Indeed, Labour, under former Defence Minister Phil Goff, has been consistently around 20 percentage points in arrears of National.

Admittedly, one poll published on 22 July put National just ten points ahead, on 37.7 percent. That, however, appeared to be an outlier; National has not had any other poll rating of less than 48 percent since December 2008, while Labour has not polled higher than the mid-thirties since well before its defeat three years ago. The latest Herald Digipoll survey, published last Saturday in the New Zealand Herald newspaper, makes typical grim reading for Goff. His party sits on 33 percent, with National hardly visible in the distance on 52 percent.

Such poll ratings invoke the prospect that Key can overcome the hindrances of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system (the future of which is dependent on the result of a referendum to be held on the same day as the election) that operates in New Zealand. To ensure that an overall majority of the new parliament’s 120 MPs are coloured National blue, Key requires a majority barely larger than he attained three years ago. At that election, National won 58 seats, three short of an overall majority, on less than 45 percent of the vote. With the party polling higher than that, this could well turn out to be an era-defining election.

National, if the vast majority of the polls are to be believed, look on course to become the first party to win more than half of votes cast since the party polled 54 percent sixty years – and twenty elections – ago.

Politics in New Zealand over the last decade has, in many ways, mirrored events in the UK. Both countries had three-term Labour governments during the late 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century. Both National and the British Tories elected young, charismatic and telegenic leaders who undertook rebranding exercises; both fell just short of parliamentary majorities. New Zealand’s current deputy prime minister, Bill English, has overcome leading the party into a landslide defeat in 2002 to become a key member of the government, in much the same way as David Cameron’s unofficial party deputy, William Hague, put behind his disastrous loss in 2001.

There, however, the similarities seem to end. New Zealand Labour dreams of a poll showing it with only a single-digit deficit; British Labour holds a relatively consistent lead over the Tories. Cameron has negative approval ratings; John Key appears to have had a honeymoon of record length and remains enormously popular.

The problem for Labour is that their leader remains politically toxic. In the ‘preferred prime minister’ stakes, Goff is suffering even more obviously than his party. While Key got the thumbs-up from 70 percent of voters, Goff’s score of 9 percent barely beat the rating received in the same poll by Helen Clark.

And even when voters express a preference for many Labour policies over those of National – as has been the case in recent weeks, for example, with the electorate expressing a general preference for Labour’s proposed capital gains tax over the government’s desire for increased privatisation – this trend does not translate into increased support for the party.

Perhaps, then, the largest obstacle for Labour is one that they have little power to shift: the stubbornly elevated level of approval for the Prime Minister and the government in general. Both have ridden out their share of controversies with no more than superficial damage, and the New Zealand public looks set to endorse overwhelmingly their three years in office.

Key’s down-to-earth attitude, his attempts to distance himself from the widely denigrated habits of the typical politician and his anti-waste austerity drive have played well with New Zealanders, and he is seen as somebody the electorate can easily relate to. Even his cringe-worthy comedic performance on the Late Show with David Letterman, when he announced the top 10 reasons to visit his country (including having the ‘loosest slot machines in the Pacific Rim’) was hailed by supporters to demonstrate Key’s likeability.

Ignoring the personal reasons behind support for Key and his party, the political implications for New Zealand and beyond are significant. For a party to be riding so high in the polls, in spite – or even because of – its announcement of spending cuts of NZ$1bn (around £500m) over the coming year perhaps bodes well for British Conservatives and Republicans in the Unites States who have supported similar plans. The New Zealand model of deficit reduction with the retention of political popularity may well be studied closely by David Cameron and George Osborne, as well as Republican presidential candidates and, indeed, fiscal conservatives throughout the West.

This article was originally published at The Vibe

Barton Affair: The Latest Episode in the SJP-enders Soap Opera

Returning from a holiday in Brittany – two weeks with no internet or television, and where the only contact I had with the sporting world was the French newspaper L’Equipe. Apart from its mournful updates on Hatem Ben Arfa’s latest injury – and the chance to note that Cabaye, Marveaux and Abeid were all signed from French clubs – there was very little news on English transfer activity.

When I returned to these shores yesterday I excitedly logged on, anticipating (admittedly naively) a flurry of transfers, with a striker atop my priority list (as is surely the case with nearly every other Newcastle fan).

So, naturally, I was somewhat dismayed to discover that there were no additions to the squad. My holiday fantasies (which got out of hand probably even before I reached Dimitar Berbatov) lay shattered.

However, I have tended to be more of a supporter of Alan Pardew than the average Toon fan, and decided that in the two weeks before Arsenal arrive at SJP (or at least before the closing of the transfer window), he would demonstrate why I have had faith in him so far. Please, Pards.

But today’s developments regarding Joey Barton’s transfer-listing has simply exposed us to more of the same ridicule that has dogged the club ever since Sir Bobby Robson’s sacking in 2004.

OK, so Barton might not be the easiest person to get on with, but the board’s heavy-handed reaction is just another instance of the powers-that-be cutting off the NUFC nose in order to spite its face. The departure of Kevin Nolan, top scorer in the last two seasons, was something of a disappointment. But for Newcastle’s crosser-supreme, Barton, to leave would be to go too far.

Some have said that Barton’s departure has been inevitable. Certainly, Newcastle are not short of midfielders. But the manner in which this affair is being played out does yet more damage to the club’s professional standing – and cannot do anything positive for any players (hopefully, surely) being courted by the club.