Dancing on Ice - Thank you and farewell

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Some programmes on television go far too soon before they become the hits they should be, whilst others stay on the air despite being completely out of date. One show that has reached its natural conclusion is the ITV skating show Dancing on Ice.

Presented by the silver fox Phillip Schofield and Christine Bleakley, the programme is currently in its ninth and final series which is a celebration of the previous eight years where a hosts of previous champions, runners-up and entertainers come back to make friends with the ice again in a bid to become the champion of champions. The show – not expected to be a hit when it first appeared in our winter schedules in January 2006 has become anything but a failure. However, the executives at the leading terrestrial commercial channel have made the right call in not deciding to continue with another series after 2014.

It is farewell to Dancing on Ice after nine series in March

This piece will look at some of the best moments of Dancing on Ice (logo pictured above), the top partnerships and routines, the blubbering moment where Todd Carty became an internet sensation and some of those acid tongue insults from Mr Nasty, Jason Gardiner.

Skating with Celebrities

To start with, the programme was titled as 'Skating with Celebrities' and ITV approached former Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean to help perform new routines and coach/mentor celebrities to perform on the ice. At first, the skating duo who had captured our hearts with the epic ‘Bolero’ routine that won gold in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo said no but after a change of title to Dancing on Ice and more thought, agreed to give this a go.

10 celebrities competed in series one, ranging from soap actors and actresses, to musicians, sports stars, journalists, models and Olympians. As the years have progressed, more competitors start on the journey with as many as 14 per series in recent years. All the celebrities are paired with professional skaters who have become almost as recognisable as the actual celebrities we watch with anticipation. However, only Matt Evers and Daniel Whiston have competed with an amateur to start with in every single series of the programme.

Dancing on Ice became an instant early hit, which was a surprise to the producers as Britain’s love of ice dancing was rekindled. 11.6m watched the grand finale to the first series, won by actress Gaynor Faye. The peak of the show came in the third series (2008) when the programme was moved to a Sunday night from its original Saturday evening slot. Ratings reached a peak of 14m during final evening when the former Hearsay singer Suzanne Shaw pulled off two amazing performances to land the first coveted maximum scores of 30.0 (five 6.0s) in the history of Dancing of Ice.

Panel Wars

The basics of the show haven’t changed but one thing that has often been reformed is the Ice Panel (pictured below) and they are a competitive lot of people who want their say and give natural and constructive criticism to the skating couples. Only former Olympic champion and head judge Robin Cousins has remained as a judge throughout every single series as different quotas have joined him on the panel. It started with five judges, which shrunk to three for series six before rising back to four in 2013. Other regulars have included Nicky Slater, Karen Barber (who also coaches the celebrities) and ex-Spice Girl Emma Bunton. Karen Kresge, Ashley Roberts, Ruthie Henshall and Natalia Bestemianova have also had at least one series on the panel.

The current Ice Panel: Robin Cousins, Karen Barber, Ashleigh Roberts and Jason Gardiner

The majority of the panel’s comments are justified. They will praise the good parts of a performance and give feedback on the weaker elements of a routine. Sometimes this can lead to serious disagreements between the Ice Panel themselves. Then you have Jason Gardiner in the mix. His comments have often been insulting, vile and distasteful towards the elements of competition but also fun with the programme. While some of his jibes have been fair enough, such as calling Gary Lucy ‘boring’ in series five because he was others were well wide of the mark.

He called Dame Kelly Homes a “man in drag!” in series one, said Kay Burley’s “smile makes you look demented!” in series two, told Tana Ramsey in series five that she had “the sensuality of a frigid schoolmistress” and accused former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies of “not looking human” in the same series. There isn’t any place for Gardiner to start character assassinating the celebrities for something they are trying to learn but I guess it is part of the entertainment value of the programme’s identity.

One of the funniest dialogues was in series three with tennis pro Greg Rusedski. After another lame performance from the 1997 US Open finalist, Gardiner said: “You know Greg; you have the charisma of cardboard! You are as dull as dishwater mate!” In typical Rusedski fashion, he responded back by saying “I’ll make the final and we’ll see.” Gardiner then said “if he would make the final, he wouldn’t be there!” It was a dialogue classic but Greg crashed out in the series three quarter-finals so ultimately it was all for nothing.

Injuries and snazzy costumes

Dancing on Ice has had its thrills but also its spills. Andi Peters fell over during the introduction to a show in series one, then got up in typical fashion and said “that’s Andi!” He was quickly sent packing by the public. David Seaman dropped his professional partner Pam O’Connor twice in 2006 and there have been other numerous injuries which have led for many celebrities and even pros needing medical treatment. The most serious was a broken ankle for entertainment reporter Michael Underwood which ruled him out of the 2008 series in the third week of the competition. Although the fear remained, Michael returned a year later to do the competition properly and was voted out in week four in a skate-off when he and his pro partner Melanie Lambert were beaten by Melinda Messenger and Fred Palascak, who is married in real life to Lambert.

Unlike Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing on Ice hasn’t seen many real-life romances formed although close bonds have been formed between celebrity and professional. However two of the celebs returning in 2013 are skating with their real-life partners. Series six winner Sam Attwater is skating with fiancée Vicky Ogden and Seaman got together with Frankie Poultney during the 2009 UK tour. They are also getting married later this year.

One other thing that has made DOI standout is some of the snazzy costumes that have been worn. Men in tight costumes, women in revealing outfits, it all adds to the appeal of the show. Main costumes designer Stephen Adnitt has managed to create over 1000 costumes during the nine series and millions of sequins have been used per year. His job is imperative to the success of the show.

The sublime to the ridiculous

There have been some incredible partnerships in the history of the show. Kyran Bracken and Melanie Lambert in series two, Ray Quinn and Maria Filippov in series four but top of the pile in my view was the pairing of Hayley Tamaddon and Daniel Whiston for the 2010 series.

Best friends for the best part of two decades, Tamaddon, who recently joined the cast of Coronation Street was the runaway favourite of series five. Together with Whiston, they put in my favourite ever routine, which can be seen below. They danced to ‘Jai-Ho’ from the Bollywood movie sensation ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and produced a flawless performance that wouldn’t be out of place in a professional competition.

That was sublime but the most ridiculous contestant and perhaps the funniest is Todd Carty. Best known for his roles as ‘Tucker’ in Grange Hill and Mark Fowler in EastEnders, Carty turned up for series four and he simply couldn’t skate or even perform. On week three, he made a spectacular exit from the ice arena when his toe pick got caught in the ice, taking out the cameraman and two other professional skaters. While partner Susie Lipanova continued with the routine, Carty was pushed onto his feet, came back onto the ice in time with the end of the music and then gave a rather pathetic plea to the public to keep in safe from the dreaded skate-off. It led to him becoming an internet phenomenon and DOI commentator, the late Tony Gubba struggling to keep his laughter in check.

Carty has returned for the final series and lord only knows what will happen five years on.

The final curtain

From the surprise rise of Donal McIntyre in series four, to Heather Mills becoming the first amputee to compete on the show a year later, Dancing on Ice has been on an incredible journey with the public. However it has reached its final curtain.

Series nine started a fortnight ago with 14 previous heroes from the show’s past coming back to perform in the all-stars edition. Four celebrities have already skated for the last time as Joe Pasquale, the recently departed Hollyoaks actress Jorgie Porter, Lucy and Seaman have exited the competition.

10 stars remain with the prize of being the all-star champion up for grabs. For Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, it will close the chapter on a sensational career which has seen them still gracing the ice 30 years after the first sight of ‘Bolero’ in Sarajevo. Unless it is a serial drama or you are Simon Cowell who can make something last forever, all programmes reach their natural conclusion and with format changes, lower ratings and lack of starring celebrities, the time has come for Dancing on Ice to be retired.

Hopefully the final series will go out with a bang and not a whimper. It is thank you for all the memories it has created since 2006 and in around eight weeks’ time, farewell.

CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE COMPETED IN DANCING ON ICE:

Series 1: Dame Kelly Holmes, John Barrowman, Bonnie Langford, Stefan Booth, Gaynor Faye, David Seaman, Andrea McLean, Sean Wilson, Andi Peters, Tamara Beckwith

Series 2: Kyran Bracken, Clare Buckfield, Lee Sharpe, Lisa Scott-Lee, Duncan James, Ulrika Jonsson, Stephen Gately, Emily Symons, Phil Gayle, Kay Burley, Neil Fox

Series 3: Chris Fountain, Suzanne Shaw, Gareth Gates, Zaarah Abrahams, Steve Backley, Natalie Pinkham, Michael Underwood, Linda Lusardi, Greg Rusedski, Samantha Mumba, Tim Vincent, Aggie MacKenzie, Sarah Greene

Series 4: Ray Quinn, Jessica Taylor, Donal MacIntyre, Zoe Salmon, Michael Underwood, Coleen Nolan, Todd Carty, Melinda Messenger, Ellery Hanley, Roxanne Pallett, Graeme Le Saux, Gemma Bissix, Jeremy Edwards  

Series 5: Hayley Tamaddon, Mikey Graham, Danniella Westbrook, Kieron Richardson, Heather Mills, Gary Lucy, Emily Atack, Danny Young, Sinitta, Dr. Hilary Jones, Sharron Davies, Jeremy Sheffield, Tana Ramsay, Bobby Davro

Series 6: Sam Attwater, Laura Hamilton, Jeff Brazier, Chloe Madeley, Johnson Beharry, Jennifer Metcalfe, Vanilla Ice, Denise Welch, Comedy Dave, Kerry Katona, Dominic Cork, Elen Rivas, Steven Arnold, Angela Rippon, Craig McLachlan, Nadia Sawalha

Series 7: Matthew Wolfenden, Jorgie Porter, Sebastien Foucan, Jennifer Ellison, Chico, Heidi Range, Chemmy Alcott, Andy Whyment, Sam Nixon, Charlene Tilton, Mark Rhodes, Rosemary Conley, Corey Feldman, Laila Morse, Andy Akinwolere

Series 8: Beth Tweddle, Luke Campbell, Samia Ghadie, Matt Lapinskas, Anthea Turner, Gareth Thomas, Oona King, Joe Pasquale, Lauren Goodger, Keith Chegwin, Shayne Ward, Pamela Anderson   

Categories: Bolero, Christopher Dean, Dancing On Ice, Hayley Tamaddon, ITV, Jason Gardiner, Jayne Torvill, Robin Cousins, Skating, Todd Carty

Horsemeat scandal - What lessons have been learned one year on?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Earlier this week was the first anniversary since one of the biggest crises developed in the history of the food industry. It is fair to say that the horsemeat scandal across the United Kingdom and Europe was bad news for many senior figures in the food process – from those working on the production line to the senior heads of supermarkets and food chains.

However as it is now a year on, what lessons have been learnt? Do you care about what is contained in your meal? Were supermarkets right to be blamed?

The short background

News of horsemeat started to emerge on the 16 January 2013 and it was an issue first highlighted in Ireland. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland said beefburgers with traces of equine DNA, including one product classed as an astonishing 29 per cent horse were being supplied to subsidiaries of the ABP Food Group. This included a food production line in Yorkshire. Whilst this was a concern, few could have predicted the revelations that emerged in the days and weeks ahead.

A day later, the ABP Food Group decided to investigate things further and closed their plant in Ireland while the matter was looked into. Not taking chances, 10 million burgers were pulled off the shelves by retailers including Iceland, Aldi, ASDA and Tesco, whilst fast food chain Burger King switched suppliers to ensure they weren’t dragged into the emerging mess.

Worse came in early February when tests showed traces of horsemeat were now being found in frozen lasagne and spaghetti meals. The Findus food group was now coming under scrutiny with their beef lasagne product believed to be one of the meals that had these disturbing traces. Again, the supermarkets reacted quickly and took away these products from our shelves. A day later, the FSA revealed a second case of “gross contamination” after some Findus UK beef lasagnes (pictured below), made by Comigel, a French food supplier contained upto 100 per cent horsemeat. Allegations of ‘criminal activity’ were made and more products from Comigel were being removed across the UK. The likes of Aldi and Tesco moved quicker than their counterparts, reacting almost as soon as they heard of possible trouble.

Turns out there wasn't much beef in Findus' Lasagne range

While David Cameron labelled the scandal as “completely unacceptable,” there was little he could do. After vigorous DNA testing, most cases had horsemeat down as just a filler ingredient but when some products were mismanaged and called ‘beef’ when they didn’t have any ‘beef’ in them, it damaged the creditability of many leading companies in the food sector. Nearly every meat seller in Europe has been affected, although it didn’t spread to a worldwide issue.

In May last year, Willy Selten, a Dutch meat wholesaler was arrested after it was reported he was selling 300 tonnes of horsemeat as beef. However only he and the interim director of his company Willy Selten BV were arrested and prosecuted. 21 further people were arrested in the south of France as recently as last month after consignments of horsemeat were seized but at the time of writing, no prosecutions have been publicly made.

Should you care?

First and foremost, it has been highlighted by several senior supermarket managers that the ingredient of horsemeat is not harmful to health and many countries across the globe actually eat it. However it is considered as a ‘taboo food’ in both Ireland and the UK.

In the aftermath of the scandal developing, some people were interviewed and were panicking that they were going to be seriously ill. To date, there has been no proven case of anyone dying after eating traces of horsemeat and as a consequence, the whole story was blown totally out of proportion.

One thing that the British public seems to do a lot is panic. It happens all the time if there is a strike looming such as the petrol strike of 2000 or the devastating foot and mouth crisis a year later which almost brought the farming and agricultural sectors to its knees. A small amount of snow also leaves a high proportion in a tailspin. There was a huge influence of media consumed news and too many inaccurate opinions given in the days afterwards.

The horsemeat scandal was not good for us to hear about and it was frankly appalling but it wasn’t going to turn everyday lives upside down. All it meant was perhaps taking more caution in what we digest as human beings. I know for a fact that I don’t normally check ingredients contained in meals and that hasn’t changed (although I have very limited cooking skills). Those who of course have supplements to stick to or are perhaps restricted to what they eat due to gluten-free diets or lactose-free diets should have been more concerned. It was this kind of thing that might mean you don’t totally trust a packet that says ‘this has no traces of wheat’ but it might actually have ‘wheat powder’ contained. This could make an individual very ill and that is gross misconduct, no matter what way you look at it.

What it did show was the levels in trust between consumer and supermarket and consumer to food chain were severely hit and possibly beyond repair. It was okay if you weren’t directly affected like me but what if your favourite meal was Findus Beef Lasagne when actually you were eating Findus Horse Lasagne. Poor packaging, a lack of truth and appalling misinformation turned what could have been something relatively minor into the biggest crisis in this country’s food production since British beef exports were banned by many EU partners in 1996.

I think you should care about what happened because it was quite disturbing, whether affected or not. Even if you don’t want the full details, the majority of people should have the basic ingredients knowledge of what they are eating on a regular basis. Put it this way, you’d be extremely unhappy if the chicken burger or spaghetti ready meal you were eating was actually a horse burger or a Cow Bolognese!

Did supermarkets react quickly enough?

Supermarkets were caught right in the middle by what was happening. In some cases, they were being directly blamed but unless the product was actually from their own various ranges, it is difficult to accuse them of causing the horsemeat scandal. The food is processed in the various food plants across Europe and is probably packaged too before it arrives in the supermarkets up and down the British Isles. The only thing you could blame them for is whether they reacted quickly enough to the horsemeat scandal.

As soon as food, especially the beef products mentioned was being tested and there was confirmation of traces of DNA of horsemeat, the likes of Aldi and Tesco were extremely quick in pulling the affected meals out of supermarkets. It could be seen as a precautionary measure but then again, it won’t have been good if they didn’t do anything. Other supermarkets and I won’t mention any names here were much slower in reacting and by the time they had, it was too late in comparison to their rivals.

The majority of our big supermarket chains were affected in some form as products disappeared. What it did suggest was that the lack of trust and knowledge should be aimed more in an argument between food production versus consumer rather than food seller versus consumer.

The top hierarchy at these stores should have had better knowledge but it isn’t their fault. Some areas of the media went for these guys and that was slightly unfair. The supermarkets did what they could in a very tricky and difficult situation for everyone. 

Still in these particular crisis stories, this is when social media can be at its best or even its worse and Twitter was the best place to find out what people were thinking. Below are three examples. Take your pick to decide what you thought was humorous or below the belt;

Its_Death Steve Death

Findus lasagne contains horse meat. I'd check the spaghetti bologneighs as well.  

StephenMorley Stephen Morley

Food scandal for vegetarians: radish found to be up to 100% horseradish  

GraemeGarden1 Graeme Garden

What's the fuss? For years we've been told that Ready Meals contain too much Salt and Shergar. #findus  

What lessons have been learned?

A year on, have lessons been learned from the fallout? That is open to debate. I feel that the supermarkets have moved on and it sounds like their Christmas sales showed marked improvements apart from Morrisons. The food production chains at those affected such as Findus might not ever recover from these setbacks. It will be a scar that will be with them at least in psychological form for a very long time.

For the consumer, it probably means we take a bit more time in supermarkets buying our products in the weekly shop or via online if the hustle bustle of the crowds is too much. Trust was broken, damage done but not something that can’t ever been fixed.

The horsemeat scandal of 2013 was a horrible story to hear about and a distasteful episode for the food industry. With the lack of prosecutions and the way the story disappeared from the newspapers, websites and bulletins after the end of February last year, it is difficult to say much if lessons have been learned. Hopefully, it will lead to more care and dedication taken to ensure that things like this do not and will not happen again. The people accused of the ‘criminal activity’ have to take the responsibility for their actions. It was bad but thankfully, didn't cause any deaths.

Categories: Aldi, ASDA, David Cameron, DNA, Dutch, Europe, Findus, Horsemeat, Lasagne, Tesco, UK

Autosport International Show 2014 - Plenty of cars, plenty of colour

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The motorsport season officially began for many budding fans of the sport this weekend. Some of the finest and colourful models were on display to the public for the 2014 Autosport International Show.

The annual exhibition, once again in Birmingham’s vast and spacious LG Arena or in the NEC as it might be better known saw some of last season’s cars pitted together with new designs for 2014 and echoes of a great past. As ever I made the trip on Saturday, 11 January for the 11^th successive year. Leaving Birmingham, I couldn’t say I had been shortchanged in going.

The Live Action Arena produced the usual blend of thrills and spills. Hosted by Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft and Pollyanna Woodward from Channel 5 programme The Gadget Show, the content was diverse from stunt driving to BRISCA racing and a display by the six contenders nominated for the prestigious McLaren Autosport Young Driver award. After a slow burning beginning with a fair amount of talking from the hosts, the action hotted up in the second part of the programme with the Freestyle Motocross at the end of the performance a definite highlight. Even if you left feeling a bit disappointed with the general content, everyone who had tickets for the arena would have to admit it was worth the value to see these experts in action.

One of the main selling points of the 2014 show was a grand exhibition of cars to celebrate the life and career of British racing driver John Surtees. This year marks the 50^th anniversary of his 1964 Grand Prix championship triumph with Ferrari and the great man was in attendance all weekend to reminisce about the past and share his thoughts on the current breed of driver. Among the exhibits of a man who is still the only individual to win major world championships on two and four wheels were his F1 winning car from 1964 which won races in Italy and on Germany’s daunting Nurburgring circuit and the 1970 Team Surtees TS7 which made its debut on home soil at Brands Hatch in that year. I was surprised with how good the quality of this part of the exhibition was and it was a fitting mark to a man who I think is sadly often overlooked for his achievements in British and world motorsport.

As ever, the Autosport Stage in association with KX Momentum Energy Drink was a place for the stars to be interviewed with some lucky fans winning tickets to the 2014 British Grand Prix for testing and challenging questions. It was short of mega superstars from Formula One although respected commentator Martin Brundle was a frequent visitor to the stage throughout the weekend. New Sauber driver Adrian Sutil was there too but only for the Sunday of the exhibition and Max Chilton was the other Grand Prix driver in attendance. After a 100 per cent finishing record in his maiden season in the elite, Chilton was confirmed this weekend as a Marussia driver once again for 2014. The show must carry on but there was also a small box for guests to come and leave messages of support for Michael Schumacher following his recent skiing accident which has left him fighting for his life. It was a nice gesture but I was personally disappointed there were no cards or paper left out for guests to fill out and post in the box. It was a good thing I brought pen and paper to the event. If you didn’t and wanted to leave a message for Schumacher, I’d imagine you’d be leaving a little bit annoyed.

The F1 Racing Grid was the last chance to see cars in their V8 guise

The F1 Racing Grid returned for another year and was a real highlight of this year’s proceedings. It was the last time that visitors will get to see the F1 cars in the previous regulations of the V8 era (Lotus Renault car pictured above). 2014 brings a new raft of technical changes including the return of turbocharged power and a switch to V6 units. There was easier access to the cars throughout apart of course from when top guests arrived to be interviewed. Sky commentator Brundle admitted in one of his many exchanges this weekend that “all bets are off for the 2014 season.”

It is fair to say that Pirelli attracted some difficult publicity in 2013, most notably when the Italian manufacturer’s tyres kept blowing up during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last June. Question the tyre construction if you want but don’t question the staff who work hard for them and the options open to fans for their stand. The racing simulator and driver reactions game were both back – both priced but at prices that wouldn’t leave anyone out of the market. I tried the driver reactions twice during the day and got a high score of 37 and an average in six 30-second stints of 33. I was pretty happy with that and it does get the adrenaline going. Those who don’t fancy a lengthy jog should try this. I must also credit Pirelli for the neat presentation of their display.

There was a lovely collection of cars from the likes of Caterham, Porsche, Ford and Subaru and the Asian manufacturer was also highly prevalent at the Wales Rally GB display. Celebrating its 70^th anniversary in 2014, three classic Impreza models were on show in Birmingham, including the late Colin McRae’s winning car from 1997 and the machinery that took Richard Burns to his WRC title four years later (pictured below). This was during a golden period for rallying which might have a brighter future following this weekend’s announcement that it has been added to the portfolio of events in 2014 to be live on BT Sport. It was another polished display but I for one would have liked to have seen two or three more manufacturers represented on this stand.

Richard Burns' 2001 WRC world championship car was a highlight

Lastly the pick of the exhibition this year was the Dunlop BTCC section. It looked superb, slick and stunning and you were able to get close to the drivers too. A whole host of the BTCC class were there which included a couple of mass signing sessions during the weekend. Those in attendance included defending champion Andrew Jordan, 2012 title winner Gordon Shedden, seasoned campaigners Matt Neal and Jason Plato and the popular Rob Austin. I was lucky enough to get autographs from many of the drivers and had a brief conversation with Neal, telling him I liked the look of the new Honda Civic that he and Shedden will be driving in the upcoming campaign. It was great to see the camaraderie between the drivers and I’m a huge fan of the championship. With F1 becoming more sanitised (especially when you think of the double points decider gimmick in Abu Dhabi), I will even go as far as saying the Touring Cars is my favourite motorsport and the championship I’m looking forward to the most in 2014.

So there you have it, another year and another exhibition at the NEC comes to an end. Autosport International continues to drive the crowds through every year and will be back next year hoping for another special exhibition. Having been to 11 of these now, I would happily admit that I have been to years where I enjoyed it more (2008 and 2012) being standouts but it was an improvement on last year and well worth going.

What will happen in the motorsport season in 2014? Well like Martin Brundle, all bets are off and I won’t be making any predictions. I’m sure though the sport in general will create many more headlines and talking points over the course of this calendar year.

Categories: Autosport International Show, Birmingham, BTCC, Caterham, David Croft, John Surtees, Motorsport, NEC, Pirelli, Subaru

England's nightmare Australian tour - A damming verdict

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

If you had a connection to the ECB or the England cricket team then look away now as you might not want to read my damming report into the debacle of the winter Ashes series which ended on Sunday, 5 January – two days earlier than scheduled. I suppose the only good thing is that it ended 48 hours before it should have done. Those who flew out to Australia should be refunded by the team. Those who stayed were brave to do so I think.

Brave is certainly not a word I would want to use on the England team of 2013. Plenty of descriptive words could sum up them up from woeful and hapless to shambolic and uninterested. Australia won the series 5-0 and I don’t think anyone can begrudge them either the urn back or the series whitewash they achieved. It is time to start again and for the bunch of drips to head home hanging their heads in shame.

England's tour of Australia this winter was the stuff of nightmares

Before I sum up the series from an English perspective (pictured), I want to share that I am not a huge cricket fan. The only cricket competition I’ve only ever been seriously interested in is the Ashes and that started with the epic 2005 series over in this country that saw a team inspired by Michael Vaughan’s captaincy and the heroics of Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff. Being an Englishman, I do enjoy getting one over the Aussies, whether that be cricket, rugby union or rugby league. Therefore I care about the Ashes.

However having seen highlights and read pieces of five Ashes series since 2005, I know enough to have my opinion on the class of winter 2013-14….or should I say the losers of winter 2013-14.

I will exonerate Jonathan Trott from any criticism though. The number three batsman had a difficult time in the opening test match in Brisbane and went home after that game suffering from stress. His career as an international cricketer is all but over but I wish Jonathan and his family the best in his recovery phase.

The batting display was horrendous. No Englishman that took part and there were 18 who figured in the five test matches got over 300 runs combined and only Ben Stokes and occasionally Stuart Broad showed any resistance with the bat. In the cricket industry of nowadays, the pitches are largely flat and dry, making them decent or excellent batting wickets. As a consequence, scores of over 400 runs per innings can be considered as marks that leave you firmly in a contest. England’s tally was absolutely shocking. 155 & 166 in Sydney, 255 & 179 in Melbourne, 251 & 353 in Perth, 172 & 312 in Adelaide and 136 & 179 in Brisbane. Only once (the second innings in Perth) could you argue and say it was a decent enough batting performance. The most annoying factor is that when wickets have fallen, they have fallen in sudden spurts. Dramatic collapses became almost a normality, not a one-off. Everyone has bad days or even a bad test match but for it to happen so regularly suggests that this side had the reliability of a BlackBerry smartphone! Expectation of retaining the urn quickly whittled away and after the first innings in Adelaide, talk immediately began of a 5-0 Australian win. It was horrific to hear about and it must have been terrifying to watch for the supporters who spent thousands of pounds to go Down Under and watch the team put in spectacular failure after spectacular failure. If you can bat well, you will never win cricket matches, it is as simple as that.

The bowling and fielding wasn’t much better either. In the field, there were too many dropped catches and the whole team was culpable for that. In the bowling spectrum, only Broad showed any potential threat and even that was nowhere near the levels of Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson. The England batsman seemed so terrified of Johnson; you would have thought he was a devil that would scare the life out of you in a bedtime nightmare. Johnson is a decent bowler but I wouldn’t put him in the world class bracket because he is too inconsistent. He just had an excellent series and England made him look unbeatable. The other English bowlers never contributed and must now consider their futures in test cricket. I’m afraid when Monty Panesar is your best spin bowler option, you would struggle to beat amateur outfits like Holland, Ireland and Bangladesh, let alone Australia and that’s no disrespect to those countries.

Too many of England’s top players had tours to forget. James Anderson was as useful as a 2p coin. He toiled and had no use to the team. He didn’t have a Plan B. Graeme Swann (pictured below) was a pale shadow of the man who had frightened batsman across the globe for the past four years. He decided to walk away from all forms of the game with immediate effect after Perth and I’m afraid he took the easy option. A decent career he might have had but stay and fight for the cause, even if it is in a losing side. Swann is a coward and has lost a lot of respect with many observers. The Ian Bell we saw in the summer when he smashed Australians all over the park and was Man of the Series was left behind in England. Bell has always been a frustrating player and that trend continued in these matches. I still think he could be a part of England’s future but maybe not in the shining light everyone thinks he is. That is something that Matt Prior shouldn’t be considering. Retirement is his best option after a woeful series which ended up seeing him lose his place in the side. With no form, no confidence and lack of conviction as a wicketkeeper, he was an easy target for the opposition. There is no way back for Prior. Lastly Kevin Pietersen is a sorry excuse to English cricket. While he might produce the fireworks with some spectacular shots, Pietersen is one of the country’s most one-dimensional players we’ve ever seen. He never learns from his mistakes and gets out to such daft shots so frequently. The ways he often concedes his wicket boggles the mind. I’m afraid England can’t move on with Pietersen in the side. If he is made captain as many want him to be, then don’t bank on anymore Ashes series wins for the next decade. Axing him and allowing new blood to come through is the most sensible and only viable option.

A smug Graeme Swann decided to quit early and lost a lot of respect for it

That leads me to the current captain Alastair Cook who everytime he has faced the hungry media seems to have aged that little bit more. Cook has to take the main responsibility for the debacle witnessed over the past seven weeks as the urn that was so comfortably retained in a frankly mediocre summer series slipped away so woefully. His position as skipper is now completely untenable in my eyes. He failed to lead from the front with some disappointing tactics, sloppy misjudgements with bat and ball and a lack of serious contribution to leave the opposition feeling concerned. For the coach Andy Flower, his position is also rather bleak although probably in a better position than Cook. He might be able to hang onto his job because of his largely excellent record since taking over. Three Ashes series have been won and only one major defeat occurred which was a home summer loss to South Africa a couple of years ago. He probably needs a successor to come through for a steady changeover but putting him up for the chop might be harsh. Either way, he and Cook cannot both continue in their current roles. One has to go and I think the buck has to lie with the captain.

It is easy to criticise, I will admit that but if you don’t deliver the performances and the fighting spirit required then what do you expect. England were lousy throughout the whole tour and won’t look forward to hearing the stick they will take when they arrive home later in the week, both from amateur bloggers and seasoned ex-professionals. I would expect plenty of retirements in the coming weeks. A new generation must come through, given the lack of fight shown. We pride on our sportsman and sportswomen giving everything and if they are beaten by better opposition or competitors, then we accept that. Be dignified in victory and gracious in defeat but once some of the players decided to urinate on the field of The Oval during the celebrations after the 3-0 series victory in the summer, it showed the lack of class they have. You don’t see Wayne Rooney giving up in a losing football cause; you don’t see Andy Murray decide not to stop playing his best in a difficult tennis situation; you don’t see British athletes give up when a medal at a major championships is unlikely but it seems like the cricketers decided to switch off mentally once the Ashes was good but over. Therefore they deserve the negative criticism and the tough press coverage they will get before the next series.

That next series is against Sri Lanka in May, followed by a summer duel with India. Both are decent test teams, especially India and it is a chance to rebuild for the future over the next few months. My belief is only Joe Root, Bell, Broad, Stokes and Tim Bresnan should be part of the squads in the summer. It is time to start again from scratch and give new youngsters a go – someone like Broad as captain would be an interesting choice but not a bad option. Failure to make a clean break after this forgettable series and English cricket is going to return to the doldrums of the 1990s. It is the ECB’s choice – the decision is in their hands.

Categories: Adelaide, Ashes, Australia, Batting, Ben Stokes, Bowling, Cricket, ECB, England, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Mitchell Johnson, Runs, Stuart Broad

Schumi's toughest battle

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

As fans of the legendary Italian car manufacturer Ferrari gather outside the Grenoble hospital in France to hold a silent vigil, the world of motorsport and particularly Grand Prix racing says a prayer, holds its breath and hopes that the greatest driver of his generation and possibly of all-time pulls through.

Friday, 3 January marked the 45^th birthday of the seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher but he would have known nothing about it. The former Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes GP driver has now been in an induced coma for a week after a skiing accident whilst on a family holiday in the French Alps.

Michael Schumacher faces his toughest battle - this one to survive

This isn’t going to be a piece about why the accident happened, or what might have saved Schumacher’s life, nor will it look into the consequences of skiing in the slopes. This will be looking at Michael Schumacher (pictured) the man, Michael Schumacher the racing driver and now the human being who is fighting for his life in a French hospital as we all hope he makes a complete recovery from the serious brain injuries suffered.

While my recent F1 2013 season review before Christmas was my last regular piece on the sport for this website, I felt this was something I wanted and needed to write about. There is no doubt that Schumacher has his millions of fans around the world and others who put him down as an arrogant, smut and petulant German who would win at all costs, even if that meant bending the rules to do so. However I’m sure we can all unite in saying that he needs to come through this barrier and that he is among the best that have ever driven a Grand Prix car.

The arguments will reign on to who is the greatest. Was it Juan Manuel Fangio at a time where drivers were racing with no safety restrictions and consequently, accidents were often fatal? Was it Ayrton Senna – the iconic Brazilian who showed the first signs of ruthlessness required to become a multiple world champion and died doing what he loved? Is it even Schumacher’s countryman Sebastian Vettel, who is sweeping all before him and could well surpass Michael’s records in the years to come? It is a debate that will rage on for years but Schumacher has to be placed among the best. The stats will back this up too. 91 wins, seven world championships, 68 pole positions, over 1500 points amassed and 308 Grand Prix starts.

As a racing driver, he was extremely competitive and hated losing but also loved a challenge. In 1995, he raced to a second successive title with the unheralded Benetton team, becoming the youngest back-to-back world champion until Vettel arrived. Rather than stick with the Enstone unit, he decided to turn his back on them and accept a new challenge. That was to lead the Prancing Horse of Ferrari back to the top. Ferrari had been in the doldrums for far too long when he arrived for 1996. They hadn’t won a constructors’ title for 13 years, a driver’s title for 17 years and there were tough times such as driveshafts snapping in the pitlane and engines blowing up on the formation lap. Not once did he criticise the team though and he moulded them into a winning breed once again. He deserves great credit for accepting a new challenge and building a team around him.

The near-misses were tough to take but the relief and the pride was always there. When he finally achieved his goal of becoming world champion for Ferrari after victory in a gripping wheel-to-wheel duel with Mika Hakkinen at the 2000 Japanese Grand Prix, the majority were delighted. Formula One is not the same without a winning Ferrari outfit. He then proceeded to crush the opposition for the next four seasons. He won the title in 2002 by late July, 2004 by late August – something that with the number of races nowadays is unlikely even for Vettel to achieve. Even when Ferrari didn’t have the best car in 2003, Schumacher put in some meteoritic performances when required to snare the titles away from McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

Of course there were dark moments in his career where he had to win at all costs and I’m sure these are things the great man would regret. His move to take Damon Hill out of the 1994 title decider in Adelaide was a rash moment of desperation; the attempt to eliminate Jacques Villeneuve in Jerez at the 1997 finale was blatant and frankly disgusting – even his own tifosi support were incensed by that rash moment. There was also the worst parking offence of the 2006 season at La Rascasse during the dying moments of qualifying in Monte Carlo when he deliberately stopped his car to prevent other quicker cars stealing his pole position. The dark stains on his character are a real shame as it does taint a great champion.

However, I will remember him more for the epic drives he produced time and again. His drive from 16^th on the grid to win the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix for Benetton; his first win for Ferrari at a wet and soggy Barcelona in 1996 when he didn’t have the best car but won by a mile; the 1998 Hungarian Grand Prix on a qualifying style strategy when McLaren had the measure of his chassis; the classic race with Hakkinen in Japan 2000 and the cameo in his comeback in Canada 2011 when he rolled back some of his prime days with clever overtakes in a car that was well below the standard he normally had underneath his disposal. 

As a man, Schumacher has great respect with the general public. He is a loving family man, who cares deeply about the achievements of his kids and his wife. He also spends a lot of time working for charities now his racing days are done and donating money to good causes. He gives a lot back to more unfortunate people who have suffered worst and that means he has my respect. While I admit that when he was winning all the time, it wasn’t great to watch – I appreciated the success and the ‘Dream Team’ at Ferrari more as history was being carved out, something we are witnessing again today with the Red Bull/Vettel combination.

The whole of the motorsport fraternity is thinking of Schumacher and his family at this horrible time. The tributes from former rivals, ex-team-mates and current competitors have been lovely to see. It shows that F1 and the sport in general is a family and we are all deeply affected when something terrible happens. Schumacher would know that from experience; shown when he broke down in floods of tears during a televised press conference after victory at Monza 2000 as he digested the news of a marshal being killed from injuries sustained in a multiple accident earlier in the race. I just hope Michael can pull through and will be able to see the general love, affection and respect that has been fully evident over the past week.

Ferrari fans show their support for their former hero outside hospital

Last Sunday, things didn’t look good whatsoever and I had almost given up hope with the way the reports were coming through of his injuries. Like the fighting desire he showed on the racing track time and again, the signs from Grenoble (Ferrari fans outside pictured) since 29 December have been slightly more positive. The situation is still critical and there is a long way back to recovery or even a stage where we can confidently say Schumacher is out of life danger. We will probably only know the severity more when the induced coma he is currently in is eased slowly by the hard-working and determined doctors over the next week. It would be a terrible irony that after 19 seasons driving around some of the hardest racing circuits at speeds upto 220mph relatively unscathed that this supremely fit human being succumbed to an impact that eyewitnesses have suggested was no more than 10mph.

My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher and the whole of his family. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed, say some prayers and hope that he comes back from the brink and makes a full recovery. This is his toughest battle yet but having seen him at his prime and peak, I know he can beat this, just like he did to all his rivals when he took the chequered flag in first place so often throughout his career.

Categories: Benetton, Charity, Controversy, Ferrari, France, Grenoble, Injury, Jordan, Michael Schumacher, Skiing

My favourite 10 pieces of 2013

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Before I start looking at future pieces, I wanted to reflect on my favourite 10 pieces of 2013 for Viewing Perspectives. These do not look at the yearly reviews I did in December, so it is pieces I covered from January 1 – November 30 2013.

1. WHAT MAKES US CARE – A STUNNING EXHIBITION – Written in September 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/what-makes-us-care-stunning-exhibition.html

Definitely, this was my most favourite piece of the year and it has easily attracted the most hits, with over 900 page views so far. The average audience of website hits per day I was getting for Viewing Perspectives before the review of ‘What Makes Us Care’ was no more than 8-10 which was slightly disappointing. So to see this rise into the hundreds comfortably was a lovely feeling. The cause, the photography, the venue were all perfect and it attracted strong social media following, especially on Twitter. I’d like to thank The Big Foundation, Centrepoint and Kathryn Prescott for sharing this piece and enjoying what I wrote about ‘What Makes Us Care.’ This is my number one from the past year and the one piece in the history of Viewing Perspectives I lookback on with the most vindication and satisfaction to date.

What Makes Us Care was a special exhibition

2. AUCKLAND – A GUIDE TO WHAT’S ON OFFER IN 2013 – Written in February 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/auckland-guide-to-whats-on-offer-in-2013.html

Back in February of last year, things were pretty bleak for me in regards to the job market. I was relying heavily on low-paid or unpaid freelance work but the job as a travel copywriter with Holiday-Weather.com was the best freelance position I had. The first task I was given was to write a detailed piece about the magnificent city of Auckland in New Zealand. Writing about travel destinations was exciting, a new challenge and one I greatly enjoyed. It is something I can not only put onto my CV in future but gave me a new scope on travelling and another new skill out of my comfort zone. This piece, along with the ones for Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca were the rare high points of a dismal opening six months to 2013.

3. SKINS FIRE – A DARK AND UNHAPPY ENDING – Written in July 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/skins-fire-dark-and-unhappy-ending.html

The groundbreaking British teenage TV drama Skins ended last summer after seven successful series which launched the careers of many young actors and actresses and delivered some amazing storylines along the way. I was intrigued to see what happened with the final series which had some of the previous generations return and the show take a new direction of entering adult lives. Skins Fire was the episode that interested me the most, considering it was the second generation (series 3 and 4) that I was mainly into. I enjoyed sharing my Skins passion and this article was favoured by one of the cast members on Twitter, so it must have been a decent piece of work. If it wasn’t, then I offer my sincere apologises but it was one of my favourites of the past 12 months.

4. 2013 IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW – Written in August 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/2013-iaaf-world-athletics-championships.html

Those who know my sporting background will be fully aware of the football, motorsport and tennis passions but maybe not so much with athletics. Having gone off the sport around a decade ago, I have been reintroduced in recent years by the feats of Mo Farah and of course, Usain Bolt. The IAAF World Championships in Moscow were an interesting competition and I’d rank it as my favourite sporting piece of 2013.

5. THE STATE OF FINANCES IN 21^ST CENTURY FOOTBALL – Written in April 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-state-of-finances-in-21st-century.html

I’m proud of this piece I did in April 2013, although I can’t honestly remember why I did it to start with. I e-mailed a few colleagues who I had worked with when Total Football Magazine existed and used my services. While I regret many aspects about that role, I don’t regret the extra skills collected, nor working with a team of talented contributors who I can call as friends and colleagues. It also showed I could ask people for quotes or to answer questions for me in feature pieces which wasn’t always a comfortable skill in the University days. My view is the result brought about a balanced and constructive piece of feature writing.

6. WHAT WENT WRONG FOR BLACKBERRY? – Written in October 2013

It is fair to say I had an unhappy time with BlackBerry smartphones

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/what-went-wrong-for-blackberry.html

I’m not going to lie; I don’t shed any tears seeing RIM and BlackBerry suffer, even though I do feel for those who have lost their jobs following profit losses and cutbacks. This was a feature I wrote during my time writing for TheRankTank and I took great pleasure in writing about the shortcomings of BlackBerry, especially having had one of their unreliable smartphones for the best part of two years. Taking my professional approach, it was an angle I wanted to cover and the piece I value the most during my freelancing with the retail website.

7. THE DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA – Written in June 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/the-dangers-of-social-media.html

To many of us, social media is seen as a friend of ours…well almost. This was an area I wanted to write about for months but never quite had the courage to do it until I did in June. I offered some advice from my experiences and shared some of my social media stories, especially with Twitter and Facebook. It was another topic I enjoyed sharing my feelings on.

8. IS SEBASTIAN VETTEL BORING? – Written in October 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/is-sebastian-vettel-boring.html

Grand Prix racing takes a backseat on Viewing Perspectives in 2014. While I will still be a casual viewer of the sport, the days of writing regular race reports and season reviews have now reached their conclusion. This was a reflection on the German destroyer that is Sebastian Vettel and giving my view on whether the critics are right to say that he is boring. One of the better pieces on F1 I feel and don’t worry regulars, there won’t be much of this in the next 12 months.

9. ONE YEAR ON FROM UNIVERSITY – A FRUSTRATING 12 MONTHS – Written in May 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/one-year-on-from-university-frustrating.html

Things have changed a lot since I wrote this as spring became summer in 2013. It marked the one-year anniversary of finishing my degree at the University of Northampton and it was at a time where I really felt in a position of no future and no potential being offered. However I wanted to ask the bigger question of whether I regretted going to University with the lack of opportunities around. Click on the link to see what I said. I definitely don’t regret going now too!

10. SUPPORTING TWO WORTHY CAUSES – Written in September 2013

http://viewingperspectives.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/supporting-two-worthy-causes.html

One of my New Year resolutions last year was to start making small contributions to a couple of charities who I have always valued for their amazing work for those who don’t enjoy the same quality of life compared to some of us. I did this after getting my job in the summer last year in the publishing industry and this piece highlights the work they do, why I decided to choose the British Heart Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust and the reasons for giving something back to the world.

Categories: 2014, Athletics, Auckland, BlackBerry, British Heart Foundation, Charity, Finances, Football, RIM, Sebastian Vettel, Skins, Social Media, Twitter, University, What Makes Us Care

New Year, New Look for Viewing Perspectives

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Hello readers

Fireworks welcome 2014 and a new look for this website

To start with I wish a Happy New Year to everyone. I wish you all have a successful, prosperous and fun-filled 12 months. 2014 is a year that will see plenty of new starts and big events such as the Commonwealth Games heading to Glasgow, the FIFA World Cup finals being staged in Brazil and Scotland votes for independence from the United Kingdom.

I decided over the festive season to give this website a new look as it is a new year. The old format has worked well for the past 15 months but I felt a change was needed as Viewing Perspectives becomes my prime website content following the decision to no longer update my sister website, Simon’s Football Zone before Christmas.

The days of writing about Skins and Formula One have gone but the direction of the site will remain the same. There will be more reviews, a feeling on some of the everyday issues or social backgrounds that we as people face and the occasional digest of a major story in the news.

In the coming days, I will be sharing my favourite 10 articles I wrote for Viewing Perspectives in 2013. I will also do a piece of my thoughts on the greatest racing driver of all if you go by the stats in Michael Schumacher, as the seven-time Grand Prix world champion fights for his life after a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.

Other pieces will vary from the annual review of the Autosport International Show this month and reviews of DVD’s, Games and TV programmes to football pieces in the build-up to the World Cup and articles about gambling, secrets and the effects of lying. Depending on the background freelance work currently with TheRankTank, there might be some work done for them that also appears on Viewing Perspectives.

So welcome to the new look website and enjoy what Viewing Perspectives has to offer throughout 2014.

Categories: