A £100million sponsorship plan for The Race to Dubai was thrown into doubt last night with the government takeover of the Middle East firm behind the ambitious five-year deal.
No expense was spared two years ago when The Race was launched in a seven-star hotel in Dubai as part of the $150million five-year sponsorship deal for the European Tour. All may not now be as it seemed, however, with the restructuring as there are concerns about the financial security of Leisurecorp, now that is has been restructured, and its chief executive has been ousted.
Leisurecorp specialises in developments and investments in the sports and leisure sector. In November 2007, it announced it was putting up $10million (now about £6.6million) annually for the European Tour Order of Merit to be renamed The Race to Dubai, and also said that it would sponsor the Dubai World Championship, the world's richest tournament, at a cost of $20million annually.
In addition, it would give the European Tour a generous war chest, part of which has been used to sponsor the European Open, to be played at The London Club in Kent in a fortnight, and part to build a Middle East headquarters for the European Tour at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the Leisurecorp property that will stage the Dubai World Championship in November.
Six months after this announcement Leisurecorp made another one, this time saying it had bought the Turnberry hotel and golf courses in Scotland for £55m, adding the venue for this year's Open, to the Pearl Valley Golf Estates it already owned in South Africa.
The global economic situation, however, has depressed the property market in Dubai and meant that most of the villas at Jumeirah Golf Estate, which were to be sold to raise money for Leisurecorp, remain unsold. David Spencer, the Australian chief executive officer (golf) of Leisurecorp, has been removed and is on medical leave and Leisurecorp itself has been taken over by Nakheel, a state-owned company in Dubai.
George O'Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, insisted yesterday that the sponsorship deal was secure. “This thing is, one, about marketing Dubai and, two, about marketing Jumeirah Golf Estates - and if you are not selling lots of houses there has got to be a possibly temporary issue. Our five-year contract with Leisurecorp is safe, as we speak today. It is unaffected. We are not renegotiating it. They might have moved it from Leisurecorp to Nakheel, but the bones of the contract remain the same. We are financially sound and secure.”
Source:The times
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Formula One gridlock as Ferrari take action
The crisis in Formula One intensified yesterday when it emerged that Ferrari have initiated legal action in the French courts to try to stop rule changes, including a budget cap, to which they are opposed.
The development came as the teams met Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights-holder, at Heathrow airport for what was being seen as a critical meeting to try to stave off a growing boycott of next season’s championship by the teams.
No agreement was reached but Mosley characterised the discussions as “friendly” and added that the FIA was not prepared to back down over its plans for a £40 million budget cap for next season or the deadline of May 29 for entries for 2010.
“It was quite a friendly meeting but, in the end, all that happened was that the teams have gone off to see if they can come up with something better than the cost cap,” Mosley said. “We explained we cannot put back the entry date, as this has all been published, and we cannot disadvantage the potential new teams who will come in. But we are prepared to listen to whatever they have to say.”
The legal action by Ferrari, with a hearing in Paris due on Tuesday, reflects the belief at Maranello that the FIA has broken an exclusive agreement with the team over consultation on new rules in its radical proposals for next year. The Italian team, whose president, Luca Di Montezemolo, was not present at the meeting after the death of his father, is thought to be seeking an injunction against the FIA in France, where the organisation is based, to stop the changes going ahead.
Ferrari said that legal action was supported by some of the other teams who regarded it as in their interests too. “There is a contractual agreement between the FIA and Ferrari — once this agreement is broken, we need to protect ourselves,” a spokesman said when asked whether taking action of this kind was something that could be said to be in the interests of the sport.
Although no overarching agreement was reached at Heathrow, there was important progress in key areas with Mosley showing signs of compromise in the wake of criticism from several teams about what they view as his dictatorial approach to setting the rules. According to Ecclestone, Mosley conceded that a two-tier championship, with cars running under two sets of technical rules, will not now happen. “Max agreed one set of regulations for everybody,” Ecclestone said. Mosley also agreed to discuss in more detail some of the teams’ outright objections to having their company books perused by FIA accountants as part of the policing of the cap.
Most important , however, was Mosley’s apparent preparedness to listen to any new proposals the teams may come up with to cut costs to the FIA target figure but without the imposition of a cap that Ferrari, in particular, believe would be unworkable and is out of step with the culture of the world’s most exclusive motor racing series. The teams told Mosley they would need two weeks to come up with their own version of cost-cutting; Mosley gave them seven days when a further meeting will presumably be required.
In the background Mosley’s advisers continued to convey the impression that this crisis is being made to look far more serious by the teams than is the case and that a deal will be reached. Uppermost in the FIA collective mind is the new teams who want to join Formula One — Lola confirmed yesterday they are planning to enter the championship next season — and ensuring the cost of entry is pegged at a level that is realistic.
“We still want to ensure that new teams can enter,” the FIA said. “We don’t want to lose existing teams and we are trying to find a radical solution that allows everybody to compete, while sustaining the same sporting values, but at the same time reducing overall costs in difficult economic times.” Ecclestone said he was “happy” with the state of play in his business and dismissed talk of a crisis.
He suggested that Ferrari’s legal action was too late. “It’s good, it keeps it in the bloody newspaper,” he said. “They should have done it before — idiots. They should have done it at the beginning.” Was he worried about its implications? “Nothing frightens me,” he said.
Source:The times
The development came as the teams met Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, the sport’s commercial rights-holder, at Heathrow airport for what was being seen as a critical meeting to try to stave off a growing boycott of next season’s championship by the teams.
No agreement was reached but Mosley characterised the discussions as “friendly” and added that the FIA was not prepared to back down over its plans for a £40 million budget cap for next season or the deadline of May 29 for entries for 2010.
“It was quite a friendly meeting but, in the end, all that happened was that the teams have gone off to see if they can come up with something better than the cost cap,” Mosley said. “We explained we cannot put back the entry date, as this has all been published, and we cannot disadvantage the potential new teams who will come in. But we are prepared to listen to whatever they have to say.”
The legal action by Ferrari, with a hearing in Paris due on Tuesday, reflects the belief at Maranello that the FIA has broken an exclusive agreement with the team over consultation on new rules in its radical proposals for next year. The Italian team, whose president, Luca Di Montezemolo, was not present at the meeting after the death of his father, is thought to be seeking an injunction against the FIA in France, where the organisation is based, to stop the changes going ahead.
Ferrari said that legal action was supported by some of the other teams who regarded it as in their interests too. “There is a contractual agreement between the FIA and Ferrari — once this agreement is broken, we need to protect ourselves,” a spokesman said when asked whether taking action of this kind was something that could be said to be in the interests of the sport.
Although no overarching agreement was reached at Heathrow, there was important progress in key areas with Mosley showing signs of compromise in the wake of criticism from several teams about what they view as his dictatorial approach to setting the rules. According to Ecclestone, Mosley conceded that a two-tier championship, with cars running under two sets of technical rules, will not now happen. “Max agreed one set of regulations for everybody,” Ecclestone said. Mosley also agreed to discuss in more detail some of the teams’ outright objections to having their company books perused by FIA accountants as part of the policing of the cap.
Most important , however, was Mosley’s apparent preparedness to listen to any new proposals the teams may come up with to cut costs to the FIA target figure but without the imposition of a cap that Ferrari, in particular, believe would be unworkable and is out of step with the culture of the world’s most exclusive motor racing series. The teams told Mosley they would need two weeks to come up with their own version of cost-cutting; Mosley gave them seven days when a further meeting will presumably be required.
In the background Mosley’s advisers continued to convey the impression that this crisis is being made to look far more serious by the teams than is the case and that a deal will be reached. Uppermost in the FIA collective mind is the new teams who want to join Formula One — Lola confirmed yesterday they are planning to enter the championship next season — and ensuring the cost of entry is pegged at a level that is realistic.
“We still want to ensure that new teams can enter,” the FIA said. “We don’t want to lose existing teams and we are trying to find a radical solution that allows everybody to compete, while sustaining the same sporting values, but at the same time reducing overall costs in difficult economic times.” Ecclestone said he was “happy” with the state of play in his business and dismissed talk of a crisis.
He suggested that Ferrari’s legal action was too late. “It’s good, it keeps it in the bloody newspaper,” he said. “They should have done it before — idiots. They should have done it at the beginning.” Was he worried about its implications? “Nothing frightens me,” he said.
Source:The times
England pile on pressure
ENGLAND continued their domination of the second npower Test yesterday and in the process all but reclaimed the Wisden Trophy that they surrendered in the Caribbean two months ago. They cannot now lose this game or the series; the only remaining issue is whether the bowlers can build on the good work of the batsmen and deliver victory in the team’s final match before the Ashes.
To do that they needed to capture 20 wickets in the space of seven sessions, a tall order for an attack that has not found 20 wickets easy to come by in much longer periods than that.
In the first of those sessions last night, one curtailed by rain, James Anderson, bowling in beautifully relaxed and confident fashion, dismissed Devon Smith, Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons in six overs.
Gayle, the most important of these scalps, was leg-before playing no stroke. Replays suggested the ball was probably going over the top but without referrals there could be no reprieve. All in all, a bad end to a miserable week for the West Indies captain.
England’s best chance now is that West Indian commitment continues to buckle. If Gayle’s side capitulate as feebly as they did at Lord’s, where they were dismissed twice for a combined total of 104.5 overs, then England may still win with something to spare.
Has a Test team visiting England ever looked less interested than Gayle’s? Only when Fidel Edwards has had a ball in his hands and Anderson in his sights have they appeared to bristle with intent. Otherwise they have mooched around with their hands in their pockets like a gang of labourers with no hole to dig. Strange behav-iour really, considering they are being paid over and above normal wages to make this hastily arranged tour.
Before England closed their innings at 569 for six at tea, West Indies gave another slapdash display in the field.
Dinesh Ramdin had a bit of a nightmare behind the stumps, letting off nightwatchman Anderson, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior with chances of varying difficulty, while Edwards repeatedly no-balled, off one of which Anderson was caught at gully. Stuart Broad was dropped for the fifth time in two innings, Sulieman Benn spilling a sharp return catch.
Extras, 61 of them in all, were sprinkled like confetti.
W e s t I n d i e s ’ b i z a r r e approach to this tour was reinforced when they yesterday summoned Runako Morton as replacement for the injured Dale Richards in the one-day squad. Morton was only recently suspended and stripped of the captaincy of his regional side for fighting a teammate during a match in Barbados. Morton’s presence is unlikely to lighten Anderson’s mood: he already has Edwards on his case and now he is going to have to deal with Morton, with whom he shared a shoulder-barging incident at Trent Bridge two years ago.
Strauss had difficulty with the timings of his declarations in the Caribbean, arguably batting on too long in Antigua and Trinidad, and he may have erred on the side of caution here again. The cricket became tiresome as England pushed on well past 500 when the time felt right to apply some pressure with the ball. Even the scoreboards lost interest, both of them breaking down simultaneously.
At least this passage of play provided further evidence that Matt Prior is the man to start the Ashes at No 6. The bowling could have been more demanding but the situation nevertheless presented a challenge he met, to score fast runs. He monopolised his stand with Collingwood, contributing 63 while his partner added 29 before sacrificing his wicket. In three Tests at No 6 his scores now read 131 not out, 61, 42 and 63 for an average of 99. Edwards’ eagerness to dispatch Anderson at least got Kevin Pietersen to the wicket early for the game’s first big crowd of around 12,000.
But neither Pietersen nor Alastair Cook, who had been in the nets early practising his cutting and pulling, were to have particularly satisfying days. Cook added 34 to his overnight 126 to finish with a career-best score but had his sights set on a double-century; Pietersen had to be content with 49.
Pietersen is the subject of a new biography by journalist Wayne Vesey called KP: Cricket Genius? The only bit of the title Pietersen might quibble with is the question-mark but the text recounts several spats that might make him shift uneasily in his seat.
One theme that emerges is Pietersen’s strong preference for southern hemisphere types whose backgrounds are similar to his own. Hence his greater respect for Clive Rice ahead of Mick Newell at Notts, and for Duncan Fletcher rather than Peter Moores with England. At least on this basis Andy Flower ought to have a chance of working well with him.
One revealing story Pietersen will not dispute is the regular canings he took from Pietermaritzburg schoolmasters and his own Afrikaaner father, Janie - experiences that perhaps played a part in Pietersen’s subsequent merciless treatment of bowlers.
After taking a first-baller at Lord’s, he was certainly hungry for runs here. He flinched a couple of times at Edwards’ pace before calming himself with three fours during a wayward over from Jerome Taylor. Soon, he was lacing Edwards through the casually patrolled covers, but his footwork did not really got going and this was never quite the Pietersen of old.
What was the Pietersen of old was the way he got out, making a hash of trying to bring up a landmark in the grand manner with a booming drive, which skewed off into the hands of backward point. It was the third time he had fallen to Sulieman Benn in Tests.
Prior’s success could be all the more important given the delay to Andrew Flintoff’s return from knee surgery. He is now all but certain to miss the World Twenty20, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
He now has the opportunity to play up to four first-class matches before the Ashes - three with Lancashire and one with an England XI against Warwickshire in a final collegiate warm-up at Edgbaston. It would be overdoing things to expect him to play all four games but three might be enough for him to find some form with bat and ball.
The danger is that his right knee flares up under the workload and jeopardises his part in the Ashes. Were this to happen, the more runs Prior, Broad and Swann can provide at six, seven and eight the better.
Source:The times
To do that they needed to capture 20 wickets in the space of seven sessions, a tall order for an attack that has not found 20 wickets easy to come by in much longer periods than that.
In the first of those sessions last night, one curtailed by rain, James Anderson, bowling in beautifully relaxed and confident fashion, dismissed Devon Smith, Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons in six overs.
Gayle, the most important of these scalps, was leg-before playing no stroke. Replays suggested the ball was probably going over the top but without referrals there could be no reprieve. All in all, a bad end to a miserable week for the West Indies captain.
England’s best chance now is that West Indian commitment continues to buckle. If Gayle’s side capitulate as feebly as they did at Lord’s, where they were dismissed twice for a combined total of 104.5 overs, then England may still win with something to spare.
Has a Test team visiting England ever looked less interested than Gayle’s? Only when Fidel Edwards has had a ball in his hands and Anderson in his sights have they appeared to bristle with intent. Otherwise they have mooched around with their hands in their pockets like a gang of labourers with no hole to dig. Strange behav-iour really, considering they are being paid over and above normal wages to make this hastily arranged tour.
Before England closed their innings at 569 for six at tea, West Indies gave another slapdash display in the field.
Dinesh Ramdin had a bit of a nightmare behind the stumps, letting off nightwatchman Anderson, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior with chances of varying difficulty, while Edwards repeatedly no-balled, off one of which Anderson was caught at gully. Stuart Broad was dropped for the fifth time in two innings, Sulieman Benn spilling a sharp return catch.
Extras, 61 of them in all, were sprinkled like confetti.
W e s t I n d i e s ’ b i z a r r e approach to this tour was reinforced when they yesterday summoned Runako Morton as replacement for the injured Dale Richards in the one-day squad. Morton was only recently suspended and stripped of the captaincy of his regional side for fighting a teammate during a match in Barbados. Morton’s presence is unlikely to lighten Anderson’s mood: he already has Edwards on his case and now he is going to have to deal with Morton, with whom he shared a shoulder-barging incident at Trent Bridge two years ago.
Strauss had difficulty with the timings of his declarations in the Caribbean, arguably batting on too long in Antigua and Trinidad, and he may have erred on the side of caution here again. The cricket became tiresome as England pushed on well past 500 when the time felt right to apply some pressure with the ball. Even the scoreboards lost interest, both of them breaking down simultaneously.
At least this passage of play provided further evidence that Matt Prior is the man to start the Ashes at No 6. The bowling could have been more demanding but the situation nevertheless presented a challenge he met, to score fast runs. He monopolised his stand with Collingwood, contributing 63 while his partner added 29 before sacrificing his wicket. In three Tests at No 6 his scores now read 131 not out, 61, 42 and 63 for an average of 99. Edwards’ eagerness to dispatch Anderson at least got Kevin Pietersen to the wicket early for the game’s first big crowd of around 12,000.
But neither Pietersen nor Alastair Cook, who had been in the nets early practising his cutting and pulling, were to have particularly satisfying days. Cook added 34 to his overnight 126 to finish with a career-best score but had his sights set on a double-century; Pietersen had to be content with 49.
Pietersen is the subject of a new biography by journalist Wayne Vesey called KP: Cricket Genius? The only bit of the title Pietersen might quibble with is the question-mark but the text recounts several spats that might make him shift uneasily in his seat.
One theme that emerges is Pietersen’s strong preference for southern hemisphere types whose backgrounds are similar to his own. Hence his greater respect for Clive Rice ahead of Mick Newell at Notts, and for Duncan Fletcher rather than Peter Moores with England. At least on this basis Andy Flower ought to have a chance of working well with him.
One revealing story Pietersen will not dispute is the regular canings he took from Pietermaritzburg schoolmasters and his own Afrikaaner father, Janie - experiences that perhaps played a part in Pietersen’s subsequent merciless treatment of bowlers.
After taking a first-baller at Lord’s, he was certainly hungry for runs here. He flinched a couple of times at Edwards’ pace before calming himself with three fours during a wayward over from Jerome Taylor. Soon, he was lacing Edwards through the casually patrolled covers, but his footwork did not really got going and this was never quite the Pietersen of old.
What was the Pietersen of old was the way he got out, making a hash of trying to bring up a landmark in the grand manner with a booming drive, which skewed off into the hands of backward point. It was the third time he had fallen to Sulieman Benn in Tests.
Prior’s success could be all the more important given the delay to Andrew Flintoff’s return from knee surgery. He is now all but certain to miss the World Twenty20, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
He now has the opportunity to play up to four first-class matches before the Ashes - three with Lancashire and one with an England XI against Warwickshire in a final collegiate warm-up at Edgbaston. It would be overdoing things to expect him to play all four games but three might be enough for him to find some form with bat and ball.
The danger is that his right knee flares up under the workload and jeopardises his part in the Ashes. Were this to happen, the more runs Prior, Broad and Swann can provide at six, seven and eight the better.
Source:The times
Diomansy Kamara sends Newcastle back into trouble
THE middle-aged man with the jelly belly, which he only partly concealed beneath a tight Newcastle shirt, made his prediction with a poker face. If Alan Shearer tried to imitate Canute, this fan insisted between long gulps of lager before the match, he wouldn’t get his suavely tailored suit wet. “The guy’s infallible,” he said confidently. “He could turn back the sea on Whitley Bay sands, no bother.”
Newcastle will be content for Shearer to hold back the tide of relegation, which threatens to engulf them right at the end of a convulsing season. For whatever the diehards think about his hold over Neptune and the North Sea, Shearer still needs to take control of the gravitational force that may yet yank Newcastle into the Championship.
After the intoxicating high of beating Middlesbrough, fortune’s wheel turned depressingly against him again yesterday. In fact everything conspired to make his afternoon miserable.Not only did Fulham eke out a win, courtesy of Diomansy Kamara’s goal shortly before half-time, but Newcastle were denied a stoppage-time equaliser. Mark Schwarzer thrust out his fingertips to claw away Nicky Butt’s almost point-blank effort. With a 60th-minute sending-off for Bassong after he tugged at the box-bound Kamara’s shirt, Shearer could only contemplate the precarious life of a manager.
With ample justification, Shearer also thought that Mark Viduka had headed in a perfectly legitimate second-half goal from a Danny Guthrie corner. Referee Howard Webb, however, detected a Kevin Nolan block on Schwarzer that seemed grossly harsh. “He got the big decision wrong,” said Shearer with a resigned sigh.
Newcastle revived their hopes of safety in the first place more from the sharp toe of Shearer’s hand-made shoes — strategically deployed against a few comfortable backsides — than because of a sudden, blazing epiphany. The manager may have to repeat those tactics in the coming week before next Sunday’s final game at Aston Villa, which he faces a point in arrears of Hull. “Whatever Hull do,” said Shearer, explaining the obvious mathematics, “we have to better them. But be sure of one thing: there are a lot more twists and turns before this thing is finished.”
The faithful ascribe extravagant talents to Shearer that he would never claim for himself, but it does demonstrate the strength of the bond between them. He is trusted. Through the streets around St James’ Park, the talk and the chanting before kick-off wasn’t for Martins or Viduka, the injured Owen or Butt. It was for Shearer. If he could play, as well as boss, the last month and a half might have been so different.
For one thing, it is difficult to imagine Shearer missing the opening that Obafemi Martins did early on, ramming his drive against the left post when Schwarzer had committed himself to his right.
It was no consolation that Newcastle had largely dominated possession before Kamara struck in the 41st minute. As Erik Nevland gathered the ball on the right and sprinted forward, Newcastle glanced — in an act of wishful thinking — towards the linesman and waited for off-side. They were hopelessly stretched as a consequence, and Nevland was able to entice Steve Harper well off his line. He then pushed a perfect pass towards the far post for Kamara, who had sufficient time to steady himself properly before lifting the ball into the roof of the net.
Without a clearance on the line from Dickson Etuhu, hooking his foot around the ball like a circus contortionist after it had slipped off Schwarzer’s fist, Newcastle would have been level shortly after the restart. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was nonetheless bullish about what he saw. “We came here in difficult circumstances. The crowd were willing on Newcastle. And Newcastle were fighting for their lives. The result proves how far we’ve come,” he maintained.
As for Newcastle, well, plenty of fans invest passionately in their team. Very few take its physical and emotional agonies to heart as do those in this corner of the country. After all, this is a place where a football and a black-and-white scarf are dropped into the cradle. “We’ve got to pick ourselves up,” said Shearer, making it sound achievable. The fans will expect nothing less of him. The fancy stuff at Whitley Bay can wait until next season.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Harper 7, Beye 7, S Taylor 7, Bassong 7, Duff 7, Guthrie 7 (R Taylor 62min), Butt 7, Nolan 7, Gutierrez 7 (Lovenkrands 76min), Viduka 7 (Carroll 80min), Martins 7.
FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Konchesky 7, Hangeland 7, Hughes 7, Pantsil 7, Gera 7, Murphy 8, Dempsey 7, Etuhu 7, Kamara 7, Nevland 7 (Johnson 75min).
Star man: Danny Murphy (Fulham)
Yellow cards: Fulham: Murphy, Nevland, Dempsey. Red card: Newcastle: Bassong 60.
Referee: H Webb.
Attendance: 52,114.
Source:The times
Newcastle will be content for Shearer to hold back the tide of relegation, which threatens to engulf them right at the end of a convulsing season. For whatever the diehards think about his hold over Neptune and the North Sea, Shearer still needs to take control of the gravitational force that may yet yank Newcastle into the Championship.
After the intoxicating high of beating Middlesbrough, fortune’s wheel turned depressingly against him again yesterday. In fact everything conspired to make his afternoon miserable.Not only did Fulham eke out a win, courtesy of Diomansy Kamara’s goal shortly before half-time, but Newcastle were denied a stoppage-time equaliser. Mark Schwarzer thrust out his fingertips to claw away Nicky Butt’s almost point-blank effort. With a 60th-minute sending-off for Bassong after he tugged at the box-bound Kamara’s shirt, Shearer could only contemplate the precarious life of a manager.
With ample justification, Shearer also thought that Mark Viduka had headed in a perfectly legitimate second-half goal from a Danny Guthrie corner. Referee Howard Webb, however, detected a Kevin Nolan block on Schwarzer that seemed grossly harsh. “He got the big decision wrong,” said Shearer with a resigned sigh.
Newcastle revived their hopes of safety in the first place more from the sharp toe of Shearer’s hand-made shoes — strategically deployed against a few comfortable backsides — than because of a sudden, blazing epiphany. The manager may have to repeat those tactics in the coming week before next Sunday’s final game at Aston Villa, which he faces a point in arrears of Hull. “Whatever Hull do,” said Shearer, explaining the obvious mathematics, “we have to better them. But be sure of one thing: there are a lot more twists and turns before this thing is finished.”
The faithful ascribe extravagant talents to Shearer that he would never claim for himself, but it does demonstrate the strength of the bond between them. He is trusted. Through the streets around St James’ Park, the talk and the chanting before kick-off wasn’t for Martins or Viduka, the injured Owen or Butt. It was for Shearer. If he could play, as well as boss, the last month and a half might have been so different.
For one thing, it is difficult to imagine Shearer missing the opening that Obafemi Martins did early on, ramming his drive against the left post when Schwarzer had committed himself to his right.
It was no consolation that Newcastle had largely dominated possession before Kamara struck in the 41st minute. As Erik Nevland gathered the ball on the right and sprinted forward, Newcastle glanced — in an act of wishful thinking — towards the linesman and waited for off-side. They were hopelessly stretched as a consequence, and Nevland was able to entice Steve Harper well off his line. He then pushed a perfect pass towards the far post for Kamara, who had sufficient time to steady himself properly before lifting the ball into the roof of the net.
Without a clearance on the line from Dickson Etuhu, hooking his foot around the ball like a circus contortionist after it had slipped off Schwarzer’s fist, Newcastle would have been level shortly after the restart. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson was nonetheless bullish about what he saw. “We came here in difficult circumstances. The crowd were willing on Newcastle. And Newcastle were fighting for their lives. The result proves how far we’ve come,” he maintained.
As for Newcastle, well, plenty of fans invest passionately in their team. Very few take its physical and emotional agonies to heart as do those in this corner of the country. After all, this is a place where a football and a black-and-white scarf are dropped into the cradle. “We’ve got to pick ourselves up,” said Shearer, making it sound achievable. The fans will expect nothing less of him. The fancy stuff at Whitley Bay can wait until next season.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Harper 7, Beye 7, S Taylor 7, Bassong 7, Duff 7, Guthrie 7 (R Taylor 62min), Butt 7, Nolan 7, Gutierrez 7 (Lovenkrands 76min), Viduka 7 (Carroll 80min), Martins 7.
FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Konchesky 7, Hangeland 7, Hughes 7, Pantsil 7, Gera 7, Murphy 8, Dempsey 7, Etuhu 7, Kamara 7, Nevland 7 (Johnson 75min).
Star man: Danny Murphy (Fulham)
Yellow cards: Fulham: Murphy, Nevland, Dempsey. Red card: Newcastle: Bassong 60.
Referee: H Webb.
Attendance: 52,114.
Source:The times
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