Fan insight, creativity and passion
The team here consists of football players, rugby fans, armchair pundits, marathon runners and motor sport enthusiasts.
Some would say we're dedicated to the sporting cause, others might say we're obsessive.
To read the news, views, disappointments and glories we've been sharing with each other this week, read on.
Mon 25 Jun 2007
A Star is Born... There’s nothing like a new British sports talent to get people talking and in the past few weeks the country (if not the world) seems to have gone Lewis Hamilton crazy. Viewing figures for Formula 1 have increased throughout the season, he seems to be on every back page and Vodafone are trying to get him to sign a separate sponsorship contract outside of the one they already have with McLaren. But clearly, Hamilton’s rise to the top hasn’t been overnight. The BBC have unearthed coverage of him on Blue Peter as a seven year old and again as a teenager already displaying his talent and determination to succeed. There will be an inevitable media focus on Hamilton in the next few weeks, particularly now that we won’t be following Andy Murray at Wimbledon, but there’s still a strong feeling that more should be done to nurture future sporting stars. Pat Cash has hit out at the LTA for not doing enough to find the next young tennis star and accused them of snobbery. The London Olympics should be a great opportunity to change this and schemes like Barclays Spaces for Sports are providing investment in sport at a grassroots level. British sports fans love getting behind talented youngsters, and hopefully the next generation of stars will give them something to shout about.
Tue 22 May 2007
European Showdown The Champions League Final is going to be a real culture clash - Liverpool's system against Milan's individual flair. There'll be some fascinating battles going on in the midfield, Gattuso v Gerrard, Mascherano v Kaka, Alonso v Pirlo and most pundits are tipping the winner of that scrap to settle the contest. But there's one player that hasn't really mentioned that much in the build-up - the crowd. Ok, we've heard all about how much fans are willing to pay for a ticket, but don't discount the contribution the Liverpool fans will make on the pitch. Cast your mind back to the amazing come-back in the last final and all the Liverpool players were paying tribute to the supporters' role in getting them back from 3-0 down. For me, there's no sound in sport that can compare to the Kop singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in full voice. On paper, Milan should win it but with the travelling Kop behind them, I'm going for Liverpool.
Wed 18 Apr 2007
Chris's blog Three races into the new F1 season and suddenly a sport which seemed to be past its peak has come roaring back to life with a vengeance. Growing up as an adrenalin-seeking speed hound, I loved F1 back in the days of Prost, Senna and Mansell when the sheer unpredictability, combined with tempestuous driver relationships made the sport a fantastic spectacle. Following the tragic death of Ayrton Senna back in 1994, however, a whole host of safety precautions had to be brought in, and quite rightly, but you couldn’t help but think that this was to the detriment of the viewing public. The diminishing watchabilily factor was compounded by a certain Mr. Schumacher who seemingly won everything in sight for about a decade. Now with Schumi hanging up his boots, the Championship has been blown wide open and for the first time in years we have a wide open battle for the title, made all the more amazing by the startling start to life in F1 by British rookie, Lewis Hamilton. Despite the moderate success of David Coulthard and Jenson Button in recent years, Hamilton looks like being the first real Championship contender Britain has had in more than a decade. Already being touted as the Tiger Woods of F1, Hamilton is a marketing man’s dream and if his early form continues is set to have the pick of a wide variety of brands clamouring after personal endorsement. Four weeks to the next race in Barcelona and our Lewis is sitting pretty alongside Alonso and Raikkonen at the top of the drivers standings – keep it quiet…. but F1 just got interesting again!
Fri 30 Mar 2007
More Awards for Lexis Sport! It's been another winning week for the sport team as we took home a highly coveted Sport Industry award last night for Barclays Spaces for Sports. In front of a star studded audience including David and Victoria Beckham, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger, the £30m community programme won the Sport England Community Programme Award. We were up against tough competition but the judging panel were impressed not just by the sheer size of the project but also by the legacy the programme is creating. Barclays are delighted as it's the second industry award we have picked up for the programme in the last week following the Hollis Award win last Wednesday. A big thanks to all the team who have worked so hard driving awareness of Barclays' investment across national and regional media over the past three years. Looking forward to winning even more awards at next year's event. Emma
Fri 23 Mar 2007
Hollis Award Success! It's been a winning week for the sports team at Lexis as Barclays Spaces for Sports won the Hollis award for the Best Grass Roots Sponsorship on Wednesday night. Launched in 2004, Barclays Spaces for Sports is a groundbreaking £30million partnership between Barclays, the Football Foundation and Groundwork and focuses on creating sustainable sports sites in areas where sport facilities are lacking. Over the past three years, more than 130 sport sites have opened and the scheme has awarded more than 2,900 coaching packs to local communities up and down the country, giving over 360,000 disadvantaged people the opportunity to benefit from the programme. The Hollis Sponsorship Awards judging panel said: “With big budgets, we always look harder for evidence that this is money well spent. What impressed us about Barclays Spaces for Sports was the emphasis on sustainability and the diversity of groups benefiting. With more than 1,000 Barclays staff volunteering to participate and 19% of customers aware of the scheme, it's an excellent use of resources.” A big well done to all the team at Lexis for their hard work over the past three years. It's great to get industry recognition for this programme and the guys at Barclays are also delighted with their win. Let's hope our winning streak takes us into the Sport Industry Awards next week where we are shortlisted for another award.
Thu 22 Mar 2007
Gareth's Blog Ronaldo is the best player in the world at the moment, without a doubt. And I take my hat off to the lad, to come back to England and play in the Barclays Premiership after the abuse he received post England's World Cup exit, is a tremendous achievement. For me, he has it all. He's big, strong, quick, two footed, plays on the left, the right, or through the middle, and actually gets back and defends. Rooney's goal last week was a testament to the young Portuguese star's attributes. Ronaldo picked up the ball on his own penalty spot, five passes later and Rooney was chipping the Bolton keeper for one of the best goals of the season. The interaction, speed and power play by the pair of them was something to watch, and showed how Ronaldo has developed into a real team player - setting up as many goals as he scores. Ronaldo's also a testament to the way Sir Alex Ferguson nurtures young talent. He's the best in the business and I just hope he can keep his young star interested in the Barclays Premiership. I think he will, and here's hoping we see many more seasons of this young prodigy - like I said, he's the best in the world and we should be thankful we have him.
Wed 28 Feb 2007
Why we love the Six Nations! I have to admit, I always love finishing work on a Friday knowing that it is a Six Nations weekend. Having the excuse to sit in front of a TV all weekend watching rugby, or getting a chance to go to a game is never a bad thing as far as I’m concerned! I went to university in Cardiff and the atmosphere when Wales were playing was always fantastic. Unlike during football games when the city was divided by a line of mounted police, whenever the rugby was on the city used to really come alive and we would all pile into town to make the most of the atmosphere. Even as an England fan you could always appreciate the sense of great pride and history that the Welsh fans had when it came to rugby and everyone would get caught up in it. This year has so far had its fair share of historical and proud moments; notably the use of Croke Park as a venue for non-Gaelic sports for the first time. I don’t doubt that the England team were very much aware of the historical implications of them stepping out onto the Croke Park pitch, as were both teams’ fans and the rugby community as a whole. The emotion and respect that was obvious during the singing of the national anthems before the game really made the weekend’s rugby and was certainly something for the fans to take in. While I’m sadly not able to make it to either Dublin or Cardiff for the England games this year I’ll know exactly what the fans will be adding to the cities involved.
Fri 09 Feb 2007
What's wrong with England?? I promised myself that I wouldn't get my hopes up about the England football team ever again - unfortunately, that was after Euro 2000, and with Phil Neville back in the team this week, how much has changed since then? It's an age old argument but why, with the players we've got, doesn't our national team perform a lot better? Because we're obsessed by the players and not the team. It's all about who's going to be selected not how the team plays as a unit. Can you name the Reading first team? I couldn't, but I do know they're having an amazing season in the Barclays Premiership and are more than the sum of their parts. That's what we're missing. It's so frustrating being an England fan that a lot of fans are turning their back on their national side and focussing solely on their club. I was shocked to hear Man U fans chanting 'Portugal, Portugal' (for Cristiano Ronaldo) when at the Spurs game last week, but frankly who can blame them. I'd much rather watch Ronaldo flying down the wing than see long balls being whacked at Peter Crouch. I think it's time for McClaren to get ruthless. You can't play all of the best English players in one team because you end up putting square pegs in round holes. Sacrifice the big name players and build a team that can play together and wants to play together. That'll win the fans back, the media's respect and I might just get my hopes up for next year's Euros. Providing we qualify of course…
Mon 22 Jan 2007
A few thoughts... So this week Keith Hackett from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (that’s the football refs association to you and me) has announced they’re going to look into an idea copied from rugby. The plan is to allow team physiotherapists to come onto the pitch and treat injured players without the match referee having to stop play. Why’s this significant? Well in one fell swoop it could bring an end to players feigning injury in order to get play stopped and allow their team time to re-group. If the ref simply allows play to continue there would be no benefit from the often seen theatrical dive (double pike with twist), 15 rolls on the floor with agonised facial expression indicating probable requirement for leg amputation, which promptly disappears after swift application of ‘magic’ sponge, allowing the player to sprint off for the next challenge. This got me thinking; what other rules could be transferred form rugby to football? How about enabling the ref to move the ball 10 yards nearer to the goal where a player abuses him after awarding a foul. In recent years several clubs have become experts at crowding round the ref and shouting off simply for doing his job and calling a foul when he sees it. Rugby League in particular has led the way in rule innovation and there really can be no excuse now for cameras not to be used for goal-line decisions. With most top-level matches covered by dozens of TV cameras and Hawk-Eye technology in widespread use, this change could be introduced quickly while enabling refs to get more decisions correct. It’s not just rules that could transfer from rugby to football. Chelsea ‘keeper Petr Cech will be wearing a rugby scrum cap on his return to football following his horrific injury early in the season. However small mounds of sand or kicking tees for free kicks might be taking things a step too far……..
Wed 06 Dec 2006
Nico's blog So this Sunday sees the 2006 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards Ceremony with what must be one of the most open fields for years. Interestingly, no football or rugby players make it to the shortlist, no surprise though when you think about the disappointing seasons the national side in each sport has had… Who's going to take the top prize this year? Zara Phillips? Joe Calzaghe? Beth Tweddle? What'cha reckon? I actually got carried away with the cricket euphoria after the Pakistan series win and lumped a small sum on Monty to win the hallowed trophy. Shame he hasn't played since! Surely the time has come though for him to play in the Third Test in Perth. I'd actually have picked him in front of Gilo for the Second Test. Reckon he could have generated more turn and possibly (very possibly) even scored more runs on the Adelaide wicket that was flatter than a witch's chest… Anyway back to Sports Personality. The cricket was followed, in the major summer sporting calendar, by golf in the form of the Ryder Cup and I reckon it is here that our winner for the 2006 award emerged. Darren Clarke's emotional victory with the Ryder Cup team touched all sports fans around the world and will surely see him crowned victor this Saturday. That final day at the K Club truly was a special sporting occasion and Dazza would be a fitting winner. As a 'personality' and as a 'sportsman' he was awesome all week. His partnership with Lee Westwood in the doubles was an inspired choice by Captain Woody as Lee was the perfect foil to the rapier of Clarke and a great source of support. If Darren does walk off with the trophy on Sunday it certainly won't be a sympathy vote, it will be most deserved and I bet there won't be a dry eye in the house.
Thu 30 Nov 2006
Ben's Blog The weekend's nearly here and I can't wait to get on my mountain bike and get some fresh air! Its nice to get out of London. Il set out nice and early, hopefully the weather will be good and I can go hunting for some new trails in the Kent countryside. You can't beat the feel of an invigorating ride and getting caked in mud! I'll probably end up in the pub like most people watching the 'Boro take on Man Utd at the Riverside. It will be interesting to see whether Gareth Southgate's men can spring a surprise over the leaders like they did last season when they shocked Chelsea 3-0. After that I'll probably stick my skates on and hit one of London's latest outdoor ice rinks with my mates. It's not really the same as when i used to play Ice Hockey but these days it's difficult to find the time, what with all the practice and games. I prefer to take part in sports rather than just sit and watch them, although a cheeky pint down the pub while the football's on never hurt anyone... Until next time...
Wed 22 Nov 2006
Chris's blog Well… it’s finally here – it doesn’t seem five minutes since we were basking in the glory of Flintoff & co, sharing in his bleary-eyed joy as we reclaimed the famous little urn for the first time in almost two decades. But at midnight tonight (UK time), a fair few sports fans will sacrifice sleep in the name of watching this year’s Ashes hopefuls take on the ageing Aussies in their own backyard. Fresh from his pom-bashing comments in 2005, motormouth Glenn McGrath has predicted another 5-0 drubbing, and whilst I think we’ll struggle more this time around, it would be foolish to write us off completely. Ian Bell, despite a knock to his wrist, scored a morale boosting century last week and added to some impressive performances in the Summer, he will be keen to make amends for a pretty average Ashes series in 2005. Alistair Cook is another youngster who has shown the ability needed to succeed at Test level – with Marcus Trescothick out of the reckoning, the pressure will be on more than ever for him to produce the goods with the bat, particularly if he is to open the order with Andrew Strauss as widely predicted. One area of contention sure to rumble on throughout the series is the ongoing Giles v Panesar debate. It now looks as though despite not playing any first class cricket for months, Giles will take to the field at the Gabba tonight as Duncan Fletcher goes for the safe option. Gilo’s superior batting and fielding ability has clearly won the day, along with his Ashes experience, but his defensive style isn’t conducive to claiming wickets and in a Test which could set the tone for the rest of the series, I’d much rather England went with the man they call ‘Magical Monty’ and make a statement of attacking intent. If this series turns out to be half as entertaining as last year I’ll be happy, so set the alarm clocks, stock up the fridge with Red Bull and settle back for what will undoubtedly be the sporting event of the year.
Wed 15 Nov 2006
Chris H's blog Just under a week to go until the biggest sporting event of the year: The Ashes Feelings are mixed at the moment. All's not been well in the England camp for a while, with injuries and poor form raising questions as well as eyebrows over England's hopes. Losing a batsman like Trescothick is a big blow, but I'm backing Alistair Cook to step up to the plate and do England proud. Victory over New South Wales this week was a big morale booster. Decent scores for the batters, especially Pietersen and Flintoff, was great news seeing as they faced at least two of the Aussie starting attack, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee. Brett Lee is actually the player I'm most looking forward to watching this series, more so even than any Englishman. For me, he's the ultimate competitor, whether snarling in to fire the ball down at 99mph or hitting the biggest six you've ever seen out of the ground. He's what the fans want to see, a player who always gives his all and takes victory and defeat with equal grace. As for the fans, it'll be interesting to see how most English supporters follow the tour. Live action will be broadcast in the middle of the night for most, so the BBC has a big role to play with it's new evening highlights package, fronted by Manish Bhasin from Football Focus. With scheduling still an issue (some of the highlights programmes won't be on until 11:30pm), the BBC has embraced the 'red button' and made footage available on demand for digital viewers at 10pm, plus match action online the next day. However you decide to watch it, make sure you tune in on Thursday 23rd for the fireworks of Brett v Freddie, round one…
Tue 07 Nov 2006
Jon's blog What a weekend - it was certainly worth the wait (I don't just mean the Monday to Friday at work either). First Great Britain beating Australia in Sydney on Saturday - their first win in Oz for 14 years. All the talk before had been the uproar over Leon Pryce's comments on Blackpool being better than Bondi - and the Aussies certainly took the bait! So great to see the GB lads put one over the green and golds - especially having been written off in advance. Superb to see so many young players in the side too which shows the good state of the game in England. Youtube has certainly been busy this week with RL fans watching the replays of the 'fight' between Stuart Fielden and Willie Mason which lasted for one big right hand from the 18 stone Aussie! (and I can't believe how Mason got away with the elbow into Sean Long's face a few minutes later which left Longy needing stiches... even if he is a foot taller than him) Dave Woods' BBC Online column is also a great way of keeping up to speed with the inside track from Down Under for any fans not lucky enough to be there - very insightful into how big RL is in Australia... With the England cricket lads now out there, it would certainly be a good trip for a sports fan. Then on Sunday, this was all backed up with Spurs (my team) beating Chelsea for the first time in 16 years. Even though I was stuck on a train travelling to Birmingham for the BTCC Awards Dinner so missed the game - but a big well done to Colin Turkington, Team RAC driver, who collected his trophy for finishing third overall. I also ended up missing the West Ham goal that defeated Arsenal, I was at the game but had left early to catch the train - so I didn't really have the best of luck - although as my mum always says, Spurs lose when I watch, so maybe there is some truth in that really (although Spurs do tend to lose more than they win). I'm not too sure if Chelsea have any Australian roots too, as they've started with the usual moans and groans after their defeat - suppose its not something they're used to either. So dare I say it, Spurs look like they've got their season back on track - although they do play Port Vale tomorrow night so I might have spoken too soon - hopefully Robbie Williams' boys will not turn out to be another Grimsby Town...
Tue 31 Oct 2006
Nina's Blog Jose Mourinho is up to his old tricks again ahead of tonight's Champions League clash against Barcelona. The Chelsea manager, never one to keep his opinions to himself, has always attempted to get under his opponent's skin ahead of a big game. This time he's taken it a step further by targeting Eidur Gudjohnsen, a player who until this season was one of his own. Mourinho claims that since Gudjohnsen arrived in Barcelona he has played a little more theatrically. Eidur has managed to laugh off the comments and as a Chelsea fan I find it a little difficult to take this seriously when I think back to the acrobatic performances of Drogba and Robben last season. But anything that takes the pressure off the players is a good thing and it all adds to the entertainment of another meeting of the two clubs. Sitting pretty comfortably at the top of the group with 9 points, Chelsea don't necessarily need the win but a double over Barcelona would be great to see.
Fri 20 Oct 2006
Lou's Blog This week has been largely dominated by Chelsea’s goal keeping injuries, which resulted from Saturday’s eventful game at the Madejski Stadium. In the aftermath Jose Mourninho has fostered a family atmosphere at the club. We have seen photos of the players visiting Petr Cech in hospital and Frank Lampard, among others, has hinted at the togetherness of the team and the desire to remain strong throughout their clash with Barcelona on Wednesday. Mourinho spent this week fighting the corner for his goalies, despite the ruling that nobody will be disciplined over the incidents, and the players all signed the ball for Hilario, following his efforts in Wednesday’s 1-0 win. I think this week has really brought things into perspective by highlighting the huge support network that exists behind-the-scenes in football, and in sport as a whole.
Wed 11 Oct 2006
Branch's Blog The questions are flying thick and fast as rugby's moment in the spotlight draws near with the visit of the All Blacks to Twickers on the 4th; Should he even be in the training squad? Was he a waste of money? Will he ever be any good at union? (and perhaps the most important of the lot) What position should he play? I'm a Sarries fan and like most (I'm sure) was over the moon when I heard that the rugby league legend, that is Andy Farrell, was coming to Vicarage Road. That was followed by months of frustration as the team struggled on the pitch and Farrell remained firmly off of it. Now that the big man is fit again I want to see some sign of why a stack of cash has been shelled out for a guy that (some say) was already past his peak. The problem is no-one seems to know where he should play. Now you can't tell me that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent without anyone working out why they spent it in the first place! Personally, I think everyone needs to get off of Farrells back. They guy hasn't played any form of rugby in 18 months so he's not match fit, he's never played competitive rugby union of this level in his life so he needs time to learn the game and finally (in my opinion) he's being played out of position. England lacked a creative player in midfield to play alongside Hodgson, Farrell spent the best part of a decade tearing the world's best defences to shreads with his deft passing in and out of the tackle and he has the size and strength to crash it up when needed. Add this to one of the sweetest left boots in any sport and it the answer to that ever so important question seems fairly obvious to me. Another question I'd like to add to the list should be: what message is being sent out to young players like David Seymour and Ben Skirving, two of our brightest back row talents, when they're having to keep the bench warm while a union novice and a back row non-starter is starting in their place?
Fri 29 Sep 2006
This week has seen the first casualty of the BBC's Panorama investigation into football bungs with the departure of Kevin Bond from Newcastle. The assistant manager claims the edited footage on Panorama was misleading and once the full transcripts and results of the FA investigation are available he will have no problem in clearing his name. Nevertheless, it seems the damage is done. Anyone connected with the programme, despite their fervent protestations of innocence, is now tainted with corruption allegations and they are feeling the strain. Sam Allardyce's rightous indignation at Jeff Stellings' question about whether he has ever taken a bung failed to hide the fact he didn't actually answer it. We clearly need a full, through and independent investigation of corruption allegations so we can at last make out the true story.
Fri 22 Sep 2006
Sport Blog Well it's another busy weekend of sport as the biggest event in the golfing calendar, the Ryder Cup swings into action down at the K Club in Dublin. Monty's already been pitched against the Tiger in what has surely been one of the most hotly anticipated transatlantic battles in recent times. Just like Cheryl, Coleen and co in Germany, the Ryder Cup WAGS have also been making headlines, firmly putting their husbands in the shade when it comes to style; while the Europeans plumped for largely inoffensive suede jackets upon their arrival, the Americans rolled into Dublin airport looking like extras from a Sherlock Holmes movie - all that was missing was the deerstalker and pipe! This weekend also sees Britain's Davis Cup hopes resting on the broadened shoulders of young Andy Murray to stop us dropping further into tennis oblivion, and a busy schedule of Premiership action - will Pompey still be top come Monday???
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