Football's Fallen - Phil O'Donnell

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Recently, I wrote a couple of pieces for a new website called Football's Fallen - a site dedicated to those footballers who sadly get taken away on the football field. Set-up by my former colleague at Total Football Magazine and fellow football fan, Laura Jones, I have written pieces on one of Scotland's brightest hopes, Phil O'Donnell and this one about the ex-York striker David Longhurst.

Christmas is a period where families come together and celebrate a special time. It is often the period for goodwill, giving and joy but not in all instances.

For the O’Donnell family, their world was feeling good as the end of 2007 dawned. Married with four children, Phil O’Donnell (pictured below) was skipper of SPL side Motherwell and was enjoying one of the best spells of his injury-hit career. Sadly their hearts were about to be ripped out by a tragedy that is among one of the worst to have hit the game in Scotland.

Phil O'Donnell had found form and fitness again before his shock death in 2007

Full of promise as a youngster, O’Donnell had won the Scottish Cup twice and experienced the big time as a Celtic player in the mid-1990s before injuries ruined his stint in England with Sheffield Wednesday. 

To continue reading this article, visit Football's Fallen

Categories: 1990s, 2007, Career, Celtic, Christmas, Family, Injury, Motherwell, Phil O'Donnell, Scotland

Trusting and believing in what you can do

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Over the last two weeks, thousands of students up and down the country, as well as Scotland and Wales have been receiving their exam results.  For some, it is the crucial A Levels that determine whether they get the place they want at Universities across the United Kingdom.  For others, it is proof that they are onto a bright future and for some unlucky ones, a nervous future might wait.  However if you didn’t get the results you were looking for, then don’t give up.  With hard work and sheer persistence, you will get to where you want to go.

I am speaking from personal experience, and will open up on a chapter of my life that I have always struggled to talk about.  I feel though that this is the right time to express my feelings on a subject that could have destroyed me, but was actually the making of where I am today.

The date was Thursday, 25 August 2005, and it was the turn of yours truly to receive my GCSE results.  At this time you believe everything your secondary school teachers say.  I was told eight months earlier that I would get eight GCSEs at A-C grade without Double Science, which was always going to be failed due to my lack of knowledge and understanding of all scientific aspects.  Others said that without Maths and English, you won’t get into University so basically your life is screwed if you don’t get these grades.  Being 16 at the time, you become naïve and believe they know what they are talking about.

Outlook and the reality

The reality was I never enjoyed the process of exams in those days.  While I wouldn’t say I was the brainiest child by some distance, I did carry strong knowledge in many subjects in the classroom, and this carried through into coursework too.  However when it came to exams, everything changed.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on it – whether it was nerves, the exam hall scenario or those irritating invigilators who have a job to do, but you wish they just weren’t there to oversee things.

My tutor at the time in Year 11 had forecasted eight GCSEs, and I’d made a realistic prediction of six.  So when I left my house to take the bus to my secondary school to collect that piece of paper, I was cautiously optimistic that I had done well.

When I got to the hall, I opened the paper and felt sick.  I remember feeling lost, everything in the hall was a blur.  I had got C grades in the English subjects, as well as French and Religious Studies, but it was well below my expectations.  I felt I would get good grades in History, Maths and Drama too – with Geography and I.C.T being subjects where it could go one way or the other.  Around me, everyone was celebrating their superb results and there was I – feeling down, gutted, devastated and trying to keep my emotions in check. 

Only one of my friends came to see me and could see I was struggling to take in the shock of what I had just seen on the white paper.  She gave me some comforting words before I departed.  I just wanted to get out of the place, find a corner down the street and throw up. 

In reality, I look back and realise I didn’t work hard enough.  I had revised in all my subjects, and given it my best but I could have studied harder and put in extra hours.  Perhaps I had got complacent.  Either way as I went home, I looked into the prospect of not knowing what to do next.

It was a bribe

The school I went to was a place called Radcliffe Secondary in Milton Keynes.  The main talk of the whole year was the mess the school was in, having just entered special measures after failing an Ofsted inspection.

Therefore the temporary headteacher came in and offered all students £200 if they passed five GCSEs at A-C level.  This was no more than a filthy and ungrateful bribe.  The headteacher, who will remain unnamed also, offered £50 to every single student who took their exams.

I even appeared on Central News in May 2005, around a week before the exams started to give my feelings on the money incentive.  I remember saying: “Everyone feels happier, morale gets higher.”  When you are 16 you think it is a good thing, but growing up it doesn’t feel right and shouldn’t be encouraged in schools up and down the land today.  Something like a free day out at a top theme park or a special event at the school such as a private audience with a former pupil who has gone onto becoming a star would be more appropriate. 

What’s more, I never saw any of this money.  It was given to the successful students, but I never received the £50 for taking exams.  At the time I would have taken it without a second thought but offered now; I would take it and donate it to charity.

I never made a fuss of it – because I knew I would probably be facing a losing battle, but the whole incentive was dirty, wrong and totally unethical.  I have nothing positive to say on the 'bribe.'

Fighting back

I did get into Sixth Form because I decided to retake my Maths GCSE, and this time I got it on the second attempt of asking.  I also found out that my History paper was re-marked, because I missed out on a C grade by just one mark.  Amazingly they couldn’t find the extra mark that could have made a difference. 

When I decided in the spring of 2006 that I didn’t want to go to University, the head of the sixth form I attended wrote me off and basically decided I was a failure.  That was entirely my decision.  I believed I wasn’t ready for the Uni challenge, and after some okay AS Level results, knew I wanted to pursue a career in the media industry.

That is where Milton Keynes College came along and offered me fresh hope.  I did complete the second year at sixth form, but had decided almost at the start of that second year that college was my next destination.  I slightly regret not leaving my sixth form in the summer of 2006, as I could have made the move to University a year earlier, but I probably wouldn’t have made the network of friends I have now from the sixth form days and the people that entered my life during the University of Northampton experience. 

After two fruitful years at college where I knuckled down and stayed out of the partying to get the results I needed, I went to University.  With the UCAS points I had built up, I could have gone to a top-class University but felt Northampton was a decent home for me to set-up for three years.

Now after some time on the sidelines before having started a permanent role with Topps Europe six weeks ago, I look back on my education history with pride.  I finished with a 2:1 journalism degree, a BTEC National Diploma in Media Production, A Levels in English Literature and General Studies, and AS Levels in History, Sociology and Travel & Tourism.  And all of this came from that day in August 2005 where it felt like I had no future.

Advice to keep it up

Results day can be both the best and worst days for students

To those students who got the results they wanted and were looking for over the past fortnight, many congratulations (students pictured looking ecstatic.  I hope you go on to have a brilliant time at University; college, sixth form or even full-time employment if that’s the avenue you decide to go down.

For the people who didn’t quite get what they wanted out of these exams, the bits of advice I would offer is always have a Plan B, keep believing and don’t give up.  In my experience, giving up is the easy option but quitters never win.  Trust in what you want to do, whether you want to be a journalist, a lawyer, a teacher, even a brain surgeon if you want!  You can achieve anything if you put the hard work and dedication into your chosen field.

Categories: 2005, A Levels, Bribery, Central News, GCSEs, Maths, Milton Keynes, Scotland, Wales

Great British sporting moments

By Simon Wright

At 5.24pm on Sunday evening, the longest drought in British sport was finally consigned to the history books.

After 77 years of hurt, pain and close calls, Britain has a men’s singles champion at Wimbledon.  Andy Murray battled through hot temperatures on a scorching day at SW19 and the persistence of his opponent, the world number one Novak Djokovic to beat the Serbian in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

The reaction of Murray afterwards was one of finally achieving his dream, and he has turned it around in the last 12 months.  He had a lot of people, me included who struggled to accept him as a great tennis player.  Last year’s agonising four-set final defeat on Centre Court to Swiss master Roger Federer was the turning point.

Murray’s emotional speech after the match showed the pain he felt at losing the biggest match of his career, but since then, the man from a small town in Scotland called Dunblane has turned his career around.

He dismantled Federer just under a month later on the same court to win Olympic Gold for Team GB, before seeing off Djokovic in a five-set marathon to claim his first Grand Slam at the US Open last September. 

Despite missing the French Open through injury in May, Murray has reached the Australian Open final, won three ATP titles including the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club, and now the biggest prize in tennis.

It is a feat that I never thought I would ever see – and over 17 million viewers tuned onto the BBC on Sunday to see history being made in London.

Sporting fans are going through a golden generation of British success.  Last year was simply unbelievable.  We had Bradley Wiggins becoming the first Brit to ever win the Tour de France, cycling’s ultimate race.  Manchester City won their first league title in over 40 years with a finish we will never see again in the Premier League, there was Chelsea finally becoming Champions of Europe in Munich and of course, the unforgettable fortnight of London 2012 – an event that truly brought sport and the nation together as we witnessed some remarkable feats.

Along with Murray, I've picked out five sporting feats that are among my favourites of all-time.

There are some that have just missed out, including Virginia Wade winning Wimbledon in 1977, Sir Steve Redgrave’s fifth Olympic Gold medal in Sydney in 2000, Liverpool’s breathtaking comeback to win the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005, and the famous Bolero dance in 1984 by Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean that won gold in Sarajevo.

England win the FIFA World Cup, 1966

This memory is way too early for me, but it is something that we will probably never see again – well unless we live in fantasy land.  That is England being football world champions.

It happened on home soil in 1966 and to make it better, West Germany were the opponents in the final.

Bobby Moore lifts the Jules Rimet trophy, England's finest football moment

Sir Geoff Hurst was the hero on the day, as he became the first player in World Cup final history to score a hat-trick.  England did lead 2-1, but were taken to extra-time before a linesman from the country of Azerbaijan declared that Hurst’s second goal did cross the line.

With the Germans pushing forward to score, gaps opened up in the defence and Hurst broke clear to complete his hat-trick, with the famous words from commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme; “And here comes Hurst, there’s some fans on the pitch, they think it’s all over.”

Alf Ramsay’s men won the game 4-2, and it was left for iconic captain Bobby Moore (pictured) to collect the Jules Rimet trophy to declare England as world champions. 

Since then, there were close calls in Italia 90 and Euro 96 for major prizes, before those darn penalties got in the way, and no-one will forget Germany 1-5 England in September 2001, but the drought of no success is set to continue for some time to come.

Rugby World Cup Glory Down Under, 2003

Getting up on a Saturday morning was never more anticipated than on Saturday, 22 November 2003.  Telstra Stadium in Sydney was the venue for the Rugby World Cup final between holders and hosts Australia and Sir Clive Woodward’s England.

England went to the finals as favourites and ranked as the number one side according to the IRB rankings.  However, they hadn’t found their best form in the tournament yet, lucky to beat Samoa in the pool stages and being outplayed but somehow winning the quarter-final with Wales.  Australia meanwhile had stunned the All Blacks to reach the final against the odds.

It was Australia who started the quickest, as Loite Tuqiri went over for the opening try inside five minutes.  Penalty goals on a blustery evening dominated a tense and nail-biting encounter, but Jason Robinson’s late try towards the end of the first half, coupled with three penalties from Jonny Wilkinson had England going in 14-5 at the interval.

Mistakes allowed the Aussies back into the game and with one minute left of normal time, Elton Flatley converted his third penalty in a row to level the scores at 14-14 and take the game into extra time.

Not much had changed after the extra 20 minutes, with sudden death approaching and the game on a knife-edge at 17-17, when Wilkinson, who had missed three earlier drop goal attempts, got his fourth attempt spot on.  With 25 seconds to go, England were back infront and held on to claim a 20-17 win and be crowned 2003 Rugby World Cup winners.

It was a momentous day, a superb feat and made English rugby the prime sport for a while in this country.  Another final has followed since, although more inconsistent form has been the story of the past decade.  However, rugby union never felt so good than it did on that November morning a decade ago.

England regain the Ashes, 2005

After 17 years of constant defeats from Australia’s legendary cricket side, England finally had a chance with a decent team of taking on the Australians in the 2005 Ashes series.  It turned out to be a momentous seven weeks for the game of cricket, as it became the most talked about sport during this period.

Australia waltzed to a convincing victory in the first test at Lord’s, with legendary bowler Glenn McGrath doing the damage, taking five wickets in his opening spell.  England fought back at Edgbaston where McGrath was ruled out through injury.  Despite the best efforts of Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz, England won the second test by just two runs in Birmingham in one of the most thrilling games of cricket that was ever seen.

The captains took their turn to control proceedings at Old Trafford a few days later.  Michael Vaughan became the first player in the series to hit a century, before Ricky Ponting defied England’s strong bowling attack of Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Ashley Giles on the final day to ensure the series remained at 1-1.

At Trent Bridge, England dominated, but almost threw the match away with some sloppy shots, and tremendous bowling from Warne and Lee.  Chasing 127 to win, it was the eighth wicket partnership from Giles and Hoggard that got the home side home by three wickets to take a 2-1 series lead.

So it came to The Oval, where England only needed to avoid defeat to regain the Ashes.  Australia had to win and showed early intent, reducing England to a below-par 373, before Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer started eroding the advantage significantly.  Flintoff, who had an unbelievable series, tore through the Australian middle order on the Sunday morning to leave England six runs ahead.

Michael Vaughan lifts the urn aloft after England's 2005 triumph

Then, on 57-3 on the final day, Kevin Pietersen survived two dropped catches and a couple of run out calls to hit a maiden test century, and take the game away from Australia.  The match was drawn and England could celebrate.  There were scenes (pictured) that hadn’t been seen since the dramatic home series of 1981, but were repeated four years later with victory in the 2009 series.

England start as overwhelming favourites to win the Ashes again this summer.  The first test starts tomorrow at Trent Bridge in Nottinghamshire.

Lewis Hamilton wins the Formula One title on the last corner, 2008

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship was one full of action, intrigue, stunning drives and some glaring mistakes.  It came down to a final race showdown in Brazil, with Britain’s Lewis Hamilton holding a seven-point lead over the local lad Felipe Massa.

Hamilton only needed a fifth place finish in Sao Paulo to become the youngest ever champion in the sport’s history and was untroubled for much of the day, looking secure in fourth place behind Massa, Fernando Alonso’s Renault and the second Ferrari of reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Then the rainclouds arrived and with five laps to go, all the top runners had to pit for intermediate tyres.  Toyota made a brave gamble and kept Timo Glock out on dry tyres, and Hamilton was now in a vulnerable position as the German slipped past whilst he was being serviced.

With three laps to go Hamilton allowed the lapped Robert Kubica to pass him, but slid wide and the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel dived past into fifth place, meaning Hamilton was now out of the world championship position he needed to be in.

Massa did everything he needed to do, cruising across the line to take his sixth win of the season, and for 30 seconds or so, the Brazilian had done it.  However, the rain intensified and Glock on his dry tyres was a sitting target.  Into the final corner, both Vettel and Hamilton passed the limping Toyota, with the McLaren powering up the hill to become the 2008 Formula One World Champion.

Ferrari didn’t notice this and started celebrating, but they had got it wrong.  It was Hamilton’s ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and the McLaren mechanics who had got their calculations right.  Hamilton was champion and in the most unbelievable manner possible.  He made history on the final corner of a truly remarkable season, all of this on ITV’s final afternoon of broadcasting the sport after 12 years.

Super Saturday, 2012

There are so many memories from last summer’s Olympics and we all have our own personal favourites.  Among mine was Sir Chris Hoy’s sixth gold medal in cycling, Jade Jones winning the Taekwondo and Katie Taylor taking Ireland’s first gold for 16 years in women’s boxing.

However, none of that can topple the amazing events on Super Saturday.  Not even a predictable Team GB penalty shootout defeat in football could turn the night into a sour one.

The team had already won three gold medals in the day, two more in rowing and one in the Velodrome, but it was the events in the Olympic Stadium that were simply awe-inspiring.

First, Jessica Ennis completed her domination of the women’s heptathlon event.  Ennis took victory in the final event, the 800m to stamp her authority on the two-day competition.  The Sheffield athlete broke her own British heptathlon record for points, and finished over 300 points clear of her nearest rival.  After the injury pain of missing out on Beijing in 2008, Ennis had shown to the world that she was the best all-round athlete.

Moments later, Greg Rutherford from Bletchley in Milton Keynes leapt 8.31m to extend his lead in the men’s long jump final.  No-one else got close and after his own injury nightmares of previous years, Rutherford had pulled off an unexpected but no less deserved gold medal.  He became the first Brit to win the long jump competition since Lyn Jarvis in Oslo in 1964.

Then, it was the turn of Mo Farah to take the limelight.  Against a top field of Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes, Farah showed them up with a brilliant tactical run, before kicking twice on the final lap to pull clear of the field and win the men’s 10,000m.  The stadium went crazy and Team GB had just won three gold medals in the space of half an hour.  It was undoubtedly the best night in British athletics history, and quite possibly, the greatest moment in British sporting history.

Those five moments, together now with Andy Murray’s glory at Wimbledon are my personal favourites.  I’m sure we will see many more great British sporting moments in the coming years, but for now, let’s enjoy and bask in recent glories and accept that at the moment, Great British sport is in a happy and very successful place.

Categories: Andy Murray, Ashes, Australia, Britain, England, Jessica Ennis, Jonny Wilkinson, Lewis Hamilton, Rugby World Cup, Scotland, Sir Geoff Hurst, Sport, Team GB, Wimbledon, World Cup

Autosport International Show 2013 – Stars and cars make up for lack of general content

By Simon Wright

The NEC in Birmingham hosted the annual motorsport exhibition, Autosport International from 10 – 13 January 2013. 

I went on Saturday, 12 January, the 10^th successive year I have been to the event that often is seen as the official start of the motorsport season.

Last year’s exhibition was the best in the proud history of the show.  12 months on, it was going to be difficult to beat this. 

Ultimately there were many cars for the public to see, and some top motorsport stars, but the lack of general content was noticeable to see.

Stewart leads the star guests

Leading the star guests at Autosport in 2013 was three-time world Formula One champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

The SF1 from 1997 was in attendance - beginning the team now known today as Red Bull

Stewart gave several interviews throughout the weekend, and was also around to promote his own collection of great racing cars.  Features included his three F1 world championship winning machines from 1969, 1971 and 1973, as well as the SF1 – Stewart Grand Prix’s first car in Formula One in 1997, which metamorphosed into Jaguar and lastly, the hugely successful Red Bull venture.

Scotland’s Paul di Resta also made an appearance for the second successive year.  Di Resta had a tough second season in F1 last year, but is ready to improve on his results with Force India, and seemed in good spirits.  He was the only Grand Prix driver to turn up in 2013.

Jake Humphrey was a big attraction, as he prepares for a new career

Outgoing BBC F1 anchor Jake Humphrey was also around, sharing F1 Racing Grid interview duties with Sky Sports F1 HD commentator David Croft.  Humphrey admitted that he found the 2012 season frustrating to watch, especially as the Beeb don’t have the live central contract anymore, and was surprised to hear that Lee McKenzie was overlooked for the presenter gig in 2013.  Jake’s replacement will be the unattractive Suzi Perry – who used to front MotoGP for the channel, but not since 2009.

Johnny Herbert and Anthony Davidson were also guests of honour, representing Sky as it continues to go from strength and strength.  There were also appearances from World Touring Car champion Rob Huff, DTM racer Andy Prialux, reigning BTCC champion Gordon Shedden and TV presenter Steve Rider.

Racing Grid lives upto expectations
The F1 Racing Grid, which has been a real letdown in recent years was a major plus point this year.  There were lengthy and amusing Q&A sessions between the presenters and the hundreds of fans who flocked to the NEC.  Croft, Herbert and Davidson played a version of the Sky Sports F1 Buzz Game, and Croft even spotted my nodding when I agreed with Davidson’s viewpoint that Nico Hulkenberg would have been a better fit at McLaren, rather than Sergio Perez. 

Testing the reactions with Pirelli was an enthralling experience

Grand Prix tyre supplier Pirelli was back, and allowed fans to test their instant and lightning reactions with the ‘Reactor Game.’  Each person taking part would donate £2 to Great Ormond Street Hospital, and had 30 seconds to see how many times they could press a variety of buttons that flashed up on the stand.  I did this three times, and got a high score of 33 – which was an excellent effort.  I have to say, I got very competitive and felt the high adrenaline buzz from taking part.

There were some flashy road cars from the likes of McLaren and Porsche at the show, along with plenty of go-kart and touring car models, plus a lovely tribute to former World Rally champion Richard Burns.

The tribute of cars to the late Richard Burns was the main highlight

Burns display was main highlight
Burns won the WRC title for Subaru in 2001, but sadly lost his fight against cancer in 2005, after being forced to retire from the sport due to ill health.  Some of Richard’s famous cars were in attendance, including his British Rally entries, the Subaru he drove to the title in 2001, and the Peugeot 206 with which he was leading the 2003 title race until his health declined. 

It was a popular part of this year’s exhibition and is a sad reminder of rallying’s fall from grace.  Both Burns and Colin McRae are no longer with us – the last two World Rally British champions – whilst Sebastian Loeb’s decision to walkaway might end his domination over the past decade, but means there is a severe lack of quality in the 2013 championship.

The Live Action Arena didn’t disappoint either.  Louise Goodman and some bald guy (his name is not familiar!) were the hosts for the usual thrills and spills.  Stunt driver Terry Grant put on another tremendous show with his own tribute to James Bond.  The McLaren Autosport nominees were in attendance, and there was a good luck message from the Road2Recovery rally team, who were involved in a tragic accident on the Dakar Rally last week. 

'Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!' - Classic Kimi

Not enough choice
Unlike last year though, it seemed like the amount of space had been condensed and there wasn’t as much to see.  There was a lack of book and DVD stalls, so if you wanted to take something away as a souvenir, clothing was your best bet.  I think I made the right decision to buy a black Kimi Raikkonen top, with his famous radio message from Abu Dhabi last year painted in the gold Lotus colours.  ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’ really does get the message across.

Many manufacturers were missing too.  The powerhouses from Japan, France and Germany were conspicuous by their absence.  Although Britain is in the midst of some freezing temperatures and snow at the moment, it would have been nice from a fan’s perspective to see more choice.  

The economic recession is probably the main factor though.  Many businesses are struggling after Christmas, and notable names like DUKE video were missing this year – suggesting they couldn’t afford to make it to Birmingham in 2013.

All in all – 2013 was a good and entertaining exhibition, but it struggled to match the success of 2012.  That probably won’t stop me though from making the annual pilgrimage again to Autosport International in 2014.  

Categories: Autosport International Show, BBC, Birmingham, David Croft, Formula One, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Jaguar, Jake Humphrey, January, NEC, Paul di Resta, Pirelli, Scotland, Sir Jackie Stewart, Sky Sports F1