Does money buy you success?

With recent figures published for what clubs in Europe have spent this summer the debate about buying success is topical again.  This has been an on-going debate for years in many countries like Spain where Real Madrid have been known to accumulate huge debts to bring in the best players.  In the premiership this craze started mainly thanks to the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea and now we have Man City spending extravagantly.  Football is probably the best example of money trying to buy success in sport but we will also look at another perspective on money buying success in sport. 

In 2009 Castrol (I know the fuel company!) brought out statistics to show that teams who spend money get success.  Castrol believed that Man City’s £124 million spending spree in 2009 should have guaranteed them a top 3 finish, however they finished 5th.  Even last year when they spent again they still only finished 3rd.  They have again spent this year and have started well however Man Utd did beat them in the charity shield, which could be an omen for the rest of the year.  So did Castrol get it completely wrong! 

Well not entirely: Castrol do a strong case for spending money and getting success with their next points.  In the four seasons previous to 2009 clubs in the European leagues who spent more improved on previous positions while those who spent less each year went backwards.  In previous years Castrol also have facts to support that the team who spends the most wins the league especially in Spain and France.  Is this all coincidental or is this theory true?

In my opinion successful clubs obviously have more money to spend, so the more they succeed the more they can spend to stay successful.  Man Utd are the perfect example of this as they don’t spend as extravagantly as Man City but they do spend large enough amounts to ensure success each year.  However Utd became successful through an ambitious and fearless manager who trusted his youth and changed the culture of the club. 

These aspects are more important than money, as you need a team to gel and understand the overall objectives and aims of the club.  Clubs like Man City can buy the best players but 11 individuals never win anything and that is why I think if Utd keep their values and buy smart (players who can fit into these) then they will remain successful (my money is on them this year again!!!). 

To prove this Real Madrid have spent more than anyone else in the last decade but yet have not won much recently.  Barcelona with their strong tradition and culture stand in their way and although they have spent money as well these last few seasons there starting team is full of players who came through the academy. 

Looking at money buying success in a different way in terms of sport is those from wealthy backgrounds vs. those from poorer backgrounds.  You see people would automatically assume those from wealthier backgrounds should do better as they are in the advantageous position of being able to afford good trainers, equipment and so forth.  However boxing is one sport which disproves this assumption.  Most legendary boxers have come from a poorer background.  One of the reasons they are successful is that they want to become wealthier so money drives them on.  However I think what holds them in good stead is that they learn how to fight for everything while growing up and obtain skills such as determination, hard work, courage and bravery through this.  There are many sports where we come across Cinderella stories which prove that money is not needed for success but hard work, determination, natural ability, commitment and courage are. 

I think these factors are more important than money and I think, going back to Man Utd, this is one of the reasons Sir Alex makes his players think they are working class. 

There is the point that those clubs spending huge sums of money are destroying the tradition of the leagues and sports they are in and are in an unfair position.  Well I will just say I’m glad there is no money in GAA as it keeps the value and tradition of the sport and leaves everyone on a level playing field.  I do think also that those teams who don’t try to buy success would enjoy it more than those who do.       

I will conclude by saying like in life money in sport can only buy you so much, but to be successful requires all the aforementioned attributes.       

Rugby World Cup 2011 Preview

The Rugby World Cup is only 16 days away and the anticipation grows from all involved as squads are starting to be announced with surprise inclusions and exclusions. 

On home soil Ireland have left out Tomas O'Leary, Lions winger Luke Fitzgerald, who would have been seen as an automatic selection a year ago, John Hayes and Marcus Horan.  They have included youngster Conor Murray which will be a surprise to some Irish Rugby experts and fans. 

The other home nations have notable absentees as well: England have left Flutey at home despite his ability to act as cover in various positions, Wales have left the experienced Martyn Williams out and in the Scotland squad there is no place for number 8 James Beattie. 

On the southern side of the globe there are also some selection shocks.  Matt Giteau is the most notable omission, Australia’s third-highest point’s scorer having twice been shortlisted for the IRB World Player of the Year award.  The All Blacks have decided to leave star wingers Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu out and also Wyatt Crockett, Liam Messam, Jarrad Hoeata and Hosea Gear with Mr Henry sticking with youth and form.

It will be interesting to see if these are the only shocks in the World Cup!!!  Unlike football, the Rugby World Cup normally doesn’t see many shocks, with the larger nations (in rugby terms) normally dominating the smaller ones.  The only shock really is when the All Blacks are eliminated.  This year again the All Blacks are clear favourites especially as they are at home.  However they have been tagged a sure thing at every World Cup and fail to deliver except on the single occasion.  If they do so this time, especially on home soil, it will be the biggest travesty of all.  Worse would be the fact if one of the other tri nation’s teams won it on their soil which they will love to do.  Normally the All Blacks peak too soon during the 4 year cycle and I would say some fans are maybe happy that they lost in the tri nations at the weekend as it may be a wakeup call for them in perfect time. 

As for the other nations I can only really see the tri nation’s teams challenging the All Blacks.  The defending champions South Africa have a pool of talent for every position while the Aussies have the most exciting backline in world rugby.  If these 2 teams click at the right time they could upset the odds.

The northern hemisphere teams have been beaten by the tri nation’s teams on several occasions over the last few years but we can’t read into this too much.  However I still feel they are a little behind and will struggle against the tri nation’s teams.  Ireland have had a bad warm up campaign but on their day they can beat anyone, a bit like the French.  England can never be written off as the last World Cup showed and Wales, Scotland and Italy provide entertainment but looking at the draw they will be lucky to get out of their group or get past the ¼ finals. 

With all this said I agree with the bookies and think it will be a tri nations 1, 2, 3 with the All Blacks lifting the trophy on home soil, however this has all been said in previous years and it will be interesting to see if a northern hemisphere team can upset the odds.

Premiership season has a dull start

The start of the Premiership season is always an exciting time as it is a fresh sense of optimism for all involved (players, fans, the board etc).  Normally there are many exciting high scoring games which makes for an interesting analysis on Match of the Day.

However this year, to be totally honest, the first round of games of the season were a little bit dull.  All in all in the first 9 games of the Premiership season there was 5 draws, 3 of which were scoreless and there was in total 18 goals scored (8 of which came in 2 games).  These 2 games were the exception of course with Bolton and Man City (Sergio Aguero in particular - wish I had him in my dream team ha) sending out clear warnings to new boys QPR and Swansea City. 

In the case of Man City it sent out a warning to the rest of the league of their intentions for this season, although it is hard to gauge as we do not know how well Swansea will handle Premiership life.  In terms of the other top 4 contenders (normally anyway) Man Utd did what they do best and stumbled over the finish line, although new signing De Gea has alot to prove after another mistake.  Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and failed to record first day wins.  The scoreless draw between Newcastle and Arsenal was probably the biggest surprise considering their game last season.  It also turned out to be the worst game of the opening day thanks to Gervinho diving and slapping, Joey Barton wrestling and then play acting and Steven Taylor claiming to see the non existent.

Chelsea would be happy with a point at Stoke as it is a hard place to go but Liverpool will see their draw as 2 points lost, although good news for them is that Luis Saurez looks to have brought his Copa America form to the new season.

Wolves and Blackburn gave us some entertainment, as did Norwich with their first point of the season but Fulham and Villa played out a result which typified the first weekend for me.  Hopefully this sense of teams not wanting to lose their first game so badly that we got so many draws was just for the first weekend and things will get back to normal from here on in.  It's a long season and more weekends like that one will make it even longer!!! Let's get back to shocks, goals galore and fast paced action from now on please and thank you.   

 

The impact of these riots on Sport

Hi Guys,

Its hard at the minute not to get away from the violent scenes that are sweeping our major cities.  What originally started as a so called peaceful protest has now moved to complete criminality leaving all those not involved fearing for their safety.  Obviously the safety of innocent bystanders is the most important issue for local authorities and our government but another aspect of the riots is the impact it is having on the sporting world.

London is due to hold the Olympics in less than a year.  What kind of message are these rioters sending the athletic world?  Teams are probably watching these riots on the news and fearing for their safety, and may decide to move their pre and during training camps away from England.  What's the view of the Olympic Committee?  I am sure they are regretting their decision to award London the Olympics at this moment in time and this bad image will have resonating future effects for when England or even the UK try to be awarded future events.

Already in the footballing world England's international friendly vs Holland has been called off.  The Premier League are going to have talks to discuss whether games will go ahead in London this week.  Now with riots breaking out in other major cities it could end up that the Premier League push the start of the league back until this issue is resolved.  So the ones like us looking forward to the start of the new premiership season are deprived of this.  The cancellations will more than likely spread into the npower leagues and also other sports.

What these rioters do not realise is that while they are having a smashing time, they are causing the government millions of pounds in damage as well as huge losses from the cancellation of these sporting events.  Now as if the government didn't have enough to deal with from the recession they have this huge headache as well.

Maybe if some of these rioters participated in recreational sport it may give them focus and drive in their lives and keep them of the streets.  Sport can teach you so many important life skills such as team work and honesty.  Now I am sure a lot of these rioters play sport but they obviously have not taken in the lessons they should have learnt from it.

Hopefully these riots can be sorted as soon as possible so that those who live and work in these areas can do so in peace most importantly, but also so we do not damage our major event holding reputation and us sports enthusiasts can enjoy our favourite sports at weekends.   

Ice bathing

Hi Guys,

Do you use ice bathing as a recovery method after exercise and if so how long do you usually take an ice bath for?  Do you follow this with a warm shower?