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Pitchcare & Ransomes Jacobsen Fantasy Football League 2012/13 - A New Year Update
Familiar names at the top of the table, and the bottom!
AS this magazine went to press, Christmas was fast approaching and Chelsea FC were popping out of many Christmas crackers as the seasonal the joke for 2012.
With Roberto Di Matteo shown the door after a paltry cameo of a Champions League and FA Cup double at the end of last season, their Russian billionaire boss chose to serve up Rafa Benitez as their seasonal turkey. And, like a turkey, Rafa has been duly fattened with a fast influx of pounds by the oligarch, whilst the Chelsea fans sharpened their carving knives, ready for the inevitable chop. Could Rafa be a microwave turkey, or will he be subjected to a longer stay in the Chelsea oven?
It’s certainly the case of ‘the usual suspects’ looking at the table toppers of the 2012/13 Pitchcare and Ransomes
Jacobsen Fantasy Football League, with a number of familiar groundsmen and greenkeepers contesting for the prize money.
Reading FC Groundsman, Dominic Murray (2010/11 winner), is hot on the heels of Connacht Rugby Club Groundsman, David Holland, with a number of members of the Henbury Golf Club greenkeeping team also contending for their share of the pot (again!).
As we went to press, the Champions League spots were occupied by leaders Manchester United, followed by Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham, with consistent point scoring from Messrs Van Persie (96pts), Tevez (94 pts), Bale (85), Hazard (84) Defoe (82) and Mata (79); evidence that performances in the league mean points in the
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ALASTAIR COOK EXCLUSIVE Fear of failure drives me on
Bumble’s good beer and grub guide
page 7
Bopara’s still in England picture says coach Flower
By Ian Baker
ANDY FLOWER insists Ravi Bopara’s interna- tional career is not over despite his withdrawal from the second Test squad due to ‘personal
reasons’. The England coach refused to
elaborate on the issues that saw the Essex all-rounder pull out of the side for Thursday’s encounter at Headingley. But he did confirm that Notting-
hamshire batsman James Taylor is all-but certain to take the No.6 spot in the side. “It doesn’t close the door on
Ravi Bopara,” said Flower. “He’s effectively made himself unavail- able due to the personal reasons he described to me. “It’s disappointing for him obvi-
ously but it opens the door for another player who has come
Door open: Andy Flower Warwicks must decide whether to battle Somerset over Rankin By Paul Bolton
SOMERSET want Warwickshire’s Ireland international fast bowler Boyd Rankin to beef up their pace attack for next season. Somerset have submitted a
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through the academy system and worked really hard over the years to get his chance. “I think four bowlers has
worked very well for us so not playing a sixth batsman will be unlikely.” But Flower did not rule out a
‘horses for courses’ selection on a pace-friendly Headingley pitch by dropping injury-hit Graeme Swann and playing an extra seamer. “An all seam attack is an option for us,” he admitted. “But we
WIN
formal 28-day approach for Rankin who is out of contract at Edgbaston at the end of the year and has yet to agree a new con- tract with Warwickshire. Rankin impressed Somerset when he bowled with hostility
SEE PAGE 3 FOR DETAILS token collect
against them on a flat pitch at Edgbaston last season and they now hope they can persuade the tall Ulsterman to move to his fourth county following earlier stints with Middlesex and Der- byshire.
Warwicks opened contract
talks with Rankin, 28, earlier this year but negotiations stalled when he suffered a foot injury playing for Ireland in the World t20 qualifiers in March. The injury forced Rankin to
miss the first three months of the season and he has come under pressure from Warwicks to give up his Ireland commitments. Rankin has also played for the
England Lions but his interna- tional prospects have receded
haven’t done that for a long time. Swanny’s elbow is improving. He has a chronic problem but it’s improving.” Taylor, 22, has long been touted
for an England call after coming through the ranks at Leicester- shire and the Lions set-up. He is just 5ft 5in but Flower does not consider his height an advantage or a disadvantage. “I think regardless of your
height, your skill, nous and deter- mination will see you succeed,” he said. “I certainly hope James can make six his spot for a while. “I don’t know him
that well. I watched him play against Sri Lanka at Derby last year. He looks like a young man that under- stands his game pretty well and he knows how to score runs.
Ruled out: Ravi Bopara walks off after play- ing on in the second innings at the Oval
PICTURE: Getty Images
Continued on Page 5 > pages 20-21
greatest all-rounder? page 9page 15
Hayter: Is Kallis the
7-page club section
Nixon: Titch can stand tall for England
TheRUGBYPaper Issue 201: Sunday, July 22, 2012 £1.50
THE BEST COVERAGE FROM ALLTHE WEEKEND’S RUGBY >> BACK PAGE
Brian Smith interview Issue No. 643
Springbok-style kick-chase is killing our great game
Sunday July 22, 2012 £1.50
Inside:
>> Guscott: Quins have talent to build dynasty
HATS OFF: Alex Lawless scores in Luton’s 7-1 win over AFC Dunstable
PICTURE: Gareth Owen PAGE 7
Geech set to go back ‘home’ to Headingley
8-PAGES OF LIVE ACTION
START PAGE 15
EXCLUSIVE By JON
NEWCOMBE PAGE 9
TELEPHONE TROLLS
LEEDS CARNEGIE have made an auda- cious bid to bring Sir Ian McGeechan
‘home’ to Headingley. McGeechan is currently
considering an offer from the Championship outfit to work with them in a part-time capacity. Leeds’s ambition as a club
Rude calls force Newport chief Blight to resign
has been questioned in many quarters since their relega- tion from the Premiership in 2011. But by making a second
move for McGeechan, who has worked with Northamp- ton, Wasps, Gloucester and Bath, not to mention his unri- valled track record in international rugby with the British & Irish Lions and Scot- land, Leeds are showing a clear sign of intent that they do not intend to languish out- side of the elite for too much longer.
MENACING telephone calls have led to Chris Blight resigning as chairman of Newport County.
Blight, who was also under attack Bid: Ian McGeechan The full details of the role
are yet to be disclosed, how- ever The Rugby Paper understands that, should he accept, McGeechan will be tasked with reviewing the whole of Leeds’ operation on and off the field. It is a broader role to the
on the club’s internet message board, said: “We received three calls that rather rudely reported the fact I should be looking at the message board.
“They were all from withheld
one he initially performed at Bath before he reluctantly took on the director of rugby duties at The Rec following the departure of head coach Steve Meehan. McGeechan told The
Coach: Diccon Edwards
numbers, and suddenly I realised that the club was coming in through my front door on a Sunday afternoon.
“It’s not a paid job for me, and as
it started to inflame itself, I started to take exception to what was hap- pening.”
FULL STORY PAGE 4
Rugby Paper: “I said after 2009 (the last Lions tour) that I didn’t see myself as a head coach again because I’ve had
30 years of that. What I was keen to do was help develop other coaches and develop playing groups. That’s an area where I still think I can be useful. “I’m looking forward to an
interesting next 12 months or so.” Leeds supremo Paul
Caddick, who has bankrolled the club to the tune of £10m in the professional era, tried to recruit his former Headingley team-mate and long-time friend a couple of years ago, only to be beaten to his signature by Bath.
Continued on Page 5>
Welsh on top: Exiles’ star man Aaron Myers tries to break from Leicester’s Harrison Lee-Everton
PICTURE: Getty Images JP Morgan Sevens action - Page 8>>
while he has been injured. Warwicks have 28 days to
decide whether they will try to keep Rankin, who joined them from Derbyshire four years ago, before Somerset will be allowed to open talks with the player.
>> Cain: Dingo Deans
gets Lions headache PAGES 16-17
>> BT set to bid for rugby
PAGE 24
Wales get all clear for World Cup matches
By PETER JACKSON
WALEShave won a victory for the right to stage their next World Cup campaign at home in the Millennium Stadium. Cardiff’s city centre venue
has been cleared to host as many as eight matches during the 2015 tournament following the revelation that all opposi- tion to the plan has been withdrawn. The Welsh capital will now play the chief sup- porting role to Twickenham in England’s World Cup. Ireland have abandoned a
threat to veto an Anglo-Welsh agreement. The IRFU had objected to Wales gaining a ‘competitive
advantage’
during the event which the Irish claimed should have been based entirely in Eng- land. Peter Boyle, a senior
member of the IRB’s executive committee, said: “The RFU ten- dered for the World Cup on the premise that it would take place in England. Wales seek- ing to play matches there was an issue to be considered. “Ireland drew the attention
of other countries to that fact. It was an issue but it is no longer an issue. I don’t think there are any objections to matches being played in Wales.” Irish teams have won a Six
Nations Grand Slam and three European Cup finals at the Millennium Stadium in the last six years. An earlier proposal
to In the unlikely relocate
any Wales-Ireland pool match to Wembley has been scrapped.
Continued on Page 3>
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incorporating £1.50 Issue 12: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 Fantasy Football League table.
It is the progress by some of the relatively new Premier League sides however, and the performances of their signings, which have perhaps offered the biggest potential gains for Fantasy Football League managers this season.
Michu (95 pts) looks the bargain of the season and has been a sensation for Swansea, with Michael Laudrup’s side earning a deserved reputation for attractive and stylish football. There is also some great value to be had from the Baggies high scoring squad, newcomers West Ham and delightful Deliah’s beloved Norwich, all teams exceeding pundit’s expectations thus far.
Christmas, of course, is a time to cherish with family and friends, but also to think about those in a worse off position than yourself,
so spare a thought for the Pitchcare staff holding up the table. With 171 players this year, Pitchcare staff occupy three of the bottom eight positions. Peter Britton (Magazine Sales & Production) has been left wondering why his chosen attack of Jimmy Greaves and Alan Gilzean hasn’t cut the mustard, whilst head honcho, Dave Saltman, appears to be guilty of paying too much attention to the turf plant and not his players! The embarrassment is so bad for marketing’s Todd Chambers that he has opted to flee to shores afar in 2013; Australia is still not far enough away to escape such a shameful performance.
THE ORIGINAL AND THE BEST
PC0912
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