There are times when the attitude of the New Zealand Rugby Union when it comes to preparing their women's team for the World Cup could be summed up as "Our team can beat you all with one arm tied behind our backs!" Not content with hiding their team away from rest of the world for most of the time between tournaments, the NZRU have excelled themselves by cancelling not only their most important domestic tournament and now also the only international fixtures they had planned this year - a two test tour by Canada - which was called off over the weekend.The excuse is that a major financial crisis in New Zealand has resulted in cuts to all teams - other than the All Blacks - though even given that slashing back their most successful international team (well, how many World Cups...

Monday’s post was originally going to be entitled, “********. There Are Going To Be A ******** Of ******* Whinging ******** About This Week”. Seems I wasn’t alone in thinking that. Darius agrees. This past week is one of the most depressing I have witnessed as an Arsenal supporter. I’m not talking here about the loss to Man United in the Sunday league fixture at the Emirates. Far from that as I’m a bit more realistic that we won’t win every match we play. It’s more the mass hysteria and the venomous negativity after the self destruct button was engaged by the footballing establishment and Arsenal’s own home grown doom and gloom merchants. I always find that 2 things help following a disappointing loss. Firstly, the faster the team gets back on the pitch and corrects...

Britain's Olympic selectors could be obliged to provide places in the team for those from poor backgrounds as it emerged today that one in three of the team went to private schools. Harriet Harman, the Equalities Minister, said yesterday "Only seven percent of the population go to private schools, and our Olympic Team should reflect this in the interests of equality. I'd expect to see selectors giving special consideration to poorly performing athletes from poor backgrounds in their final decisions for 2012."If Olympic selectors fail to put together a team that reflects Britain's social make up, they could be in breach of the new Equalities Act. They are understood to be in contact with the IOC over the proposed changes, and also to deal with an appeal from Grey Mist, the UK older adults...

I may be alone here in feeling a little outraged on behalf of the players of Togo at what I have just found out... but I doubt that I am somehow. Everybody knows that the team where attacked by machine gun fire on Friday and that thus far the death toll stands at three. Most people will also be aware that despite some uncertainties about whether Togo will return to the tournament they left after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Angolan Government officials were unable to make guarantees regarding the player’s security.However, the CAF have told Ghana, who were due to play Togo on Monday that they must proceed as if the Group B match is going ahead; Togo will then be officially disqualified from the tournament for failing to field a team for the match. Ghana may be forced...

Mick McCarthy appears to have rested his strongest side against Manchester United. No doubt, reasoning that his side had no chance of getting even a draw at Old Trafford. The reasoning continues that if he rested his strongest side they would all be fit, fresh and raring to go at home to Burnley on Saturday.There are a number of reasons why such logic does not work and such practices should be severely punished by the premier league.At the start of this evening Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) were lining up to play Manchester City. Spurs were 10 points behind Manchester United in the table. However, if Wolves had played their weakest side against Spurs on Saturday and Spurs had won and Wolves played their strongest side against Manchester United on Tuesday Night then Spurs could have started...

I’d like to open up a bit of good old fashioned debate here on EPL Talk concerning the recent exploits of one Mick McCarthy. Tuesday night at Old Trafford saw Manchester United draw level on points with league leaders Chelsea with a 3-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers. You might be thinking, “that doesn’t sound out of place”. Wolves were surely looking at a year long fight to stay in the Premiership after winning the Championship last season. That’s yet to be determined, what is known is that in anticipation of his team’s clash with potential relegation fighters Burnley at home this Sunday, McCarthy made 10 changes in his starting eleven that won at White Hart Lane v Tottenham this past Saturday. In the aftermath of the defeat, the Premier...

• Branson confirms Manor GP to be rebranded as Virgin Racing • Driver Lucas di Grassi signed as partner to Timo GlockSir Richard Branson has confirmed that Manor GP, one of four new teams who will help make up an expanded 13-team Formula One grid next season, have been rebranded Virgin Racing.Branson launched the new team at a press conference in London, also confirming the signing of Lucas di Grassi as partner to Timo Glock after two seasons in GP2, and as test and reserve driver with Renault.Branson said: "Our first year in F1 [with Brawn GP] was tremendous for the Virgin brand, so why not go in again with a new team from scratch? If you look at the history of Virgin we've loved supporting technical breakthroughs, great engineers, and there's something like 120 engineers working...

I don't know how they have done it. It seemed like it was not going to be possible but Bradley Wiggins joins Team Sky | Latest News | Cycling Weekly.Good news for supporters of Brad and good news for the Sky team. Obviously a blow to the Garmin team but hopefully they will continue to grow their young riders plus Christian Vande Velde is well worth watching for some big wins.Hat tip: Dave Walker on Twitter...

• 'There was only one team I was going to come home for'• 'He will get better still,' says director Dave BrailsfordBradley Wiggins has signed a four-year deal to race with the new British professional squad Team Sky from 2010, it was confirmed this morning at a central London press conference attended by the triple Olympic champion and the team principal, Dave Brailsford. He is the 25th rider to sign for the team.The 30-year-old finished fourth in this year's Tour de France, equalling the best British finish and will make a full-throttle assault on the overall standings next July backed by up-and-coming riders such as Edvald Boasson-Hagen of Norway, Geraint Thomas of Great Britain, and Thomas Lovkvist of Sweden."It was always a difficult situation trying to leave Garmin because I had...

Slemish College has come 2nd in the Make Your Mark Challenge 2009. This is an Enterprise competition aimed at 14-16 year olds who were given the task of “Create a cool creation using local inspiration”. Students had to come up with a viable business idea which would make money. After winning the North East Area heats in the Make Your Mark Challenge just over a week ago, the Year 11 Business Studies team attended the NI Finals on Friday 27th November at the Odyssey Arena. The standard of entry from the other 8 schools who had reached the finals was very high, but our team gave an outstanding presentation to the judges and cruised through the questions they were asked by the Dragons. The team were placed 2nd in NI, a fabulous achievement as 42 schools participated in the...

• Sauber back in control at team he previously owned• FIA still to award BMW-Sauber a grid positionBMW have pulled out of a move to sell their Formula One team to Qadbak Invesment, the company involved in Notts County, and instead have agreed a new deal with Peter Sauber. It means that Sauber, who already owns a stake in the BMW-Sauber team, will be back in control at the company he owned before BMW's involvement.However, the move still relies on the sport's governing body, the FIA, allowing the team to have a slot on next year's starting grid. BMW-Sauber are not guaranteed a place as BMW failed to sign the new Concorde Agreement whose deadline passed shortly before the manufacturer pulled out of the sport. Sauber, though, is confident his team will be given the vacant slot created...

There are many theories that attempt to identify the skills necessary to make a team operate at its optimum capacity. Generally, a team needs a mixture of personalities and skills to function effectively. Over the years, there have been a number of studies conducted and I would like to discuss with you the team building theory pioneered by Belbin in the early 1980’s. Belbin observed...

When researching the previous post, I found a whole host of SNP press releases and news stories about the Olympics and a Scottish football team:21/12/08: Scottish Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell has given the SFA his full backing over their opposition to a GB team at the London 2012 Olympics as Gordon Brown continues his efforts to force a GB football team.10/3/09: The cut and shut creation of a GB side would endanger Scotland’s long term ability to compete in international football, and the UK government must ditch their crazy proposals and look at ways in which the situation can be resolved.We must allow no precedent that could be used against us in the future, and no reason or argument given by those who seek to change the status quo has addressed that. 11/11/05: The Scottish...

Darius from Stone Cold Arsenal issues his own personal State of the Union on 2009/10… International breaks are notorious for inducing chronic cases of Arsenalitis, so it is timely to reflect on how the season is progressing. This time last year, we had already received shock therapy from newcomers Stoke and Hull with Villa and Fulham turning us over for good measure. Even so, we were just a couple of weeks shy from the turning point of the season when Gallas was relieved off his captaincy, his ass nailed onto the naughty step at London Colney just before Manchester City spanked us. No one would blame ardent Arsenalists for having cold sweats during what is traditionally a ‘nightmarish’ month. The least we would expect is that our team has learnt the lessons of previous...

The Welsh Rugby League team came to Smederevo to play against Serbia on 25 October, in the second round of the European Cup.  I was born and grew up in Wales, and played rugby when I was young, so naturally I was keen to see the game.  It was good to see the Welsh flag, with its red dragon, flying alongside the Serbian flag over the stadium.  Smederevo Mayor Predrag Umićević also came to enjoy the game. Rugby League is still a growing sport in Serbia; the Welsh team are all full-time professionals, while most of the Serbian team are not, so it was no surprise that Wales won.  But it was the enthusiasm of the Serbian team that stood out, together with the encouragement they are getting from other Rugby League nations and teams.  One of the Serbian team members...

It’s been over 20 years since Liverpool last lost four games in a row and it is time for some changes at Anfield. Rafa Benitez has enjoyed a big support from the fans even though he did little to deserve it but it is more than clear he has taken this team as far as he could. He’s had his ups and downs at Liverpool but for the team that should be fighting for honours to lose four games in a row is simply inexcusable. Something needs to be done if the Reds are to save this season and seeing it’s impossible to change the players in the midst of the season, the only solution is to sack Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard had five years to make this team his own, to bring players capable of winning the Premier League title but all he could do during this period was to win the Champions League...

For Hull City the week seemed like it couldn't get any worse after they were on the receiving end of a 6-1 thrashing by Liverpool on Saturday. But after saving the life of an apparently suicidal woman from the Humber Bridge on Wednesday, the team were in decidedly higher spirits.It certainly would have been an unusual sight for the drivers making their way across the world's fifth largest suspension bridge, as manager Phil Brown took the entire first-team "looking for clarity" during a walk over the bridge.Instead, as Brown revealed in a weekly news conference, the team found the woman who Brown managed to "sweet talk" to safety."We walked across there [Wednesday]. We saved a girl actually – considering her future, shall we say," Brown told reporters. He said the woman had been...

I’m delighted that Tony Kelly has agreed to join our Conservative Action Team for Cadishead and Irlam, joining our two excellent local Councillors Liz Hill and Lyn Bramer-Kelly. Tony brings a huge amount of local experience to the team and I know that he will be an excellent advocate for local residents in both Cadishead and Irlam. I’d also like to welcome Antony Yates as the Conservative Action Team leader for Barton ward. Antony lives locally in Eccles and I look forward to working with him over the coming weeks and months. Outside of the constituency I’d like to welcome David Wolfson, Abdul Mannan jnr and Christine Allcock as Conservative local campaigners in Kersal, Eccles and Claremont wards respectively. We are building an excellent Conservative team across...

Slemish Girls PE department organised a team building session for the hockey teams. • Team spirit is one of the most important factors in determining the success of sport teams. • Having the most talented players does not matter if they refuse to get along, sacrifice and play as a team. • Spending time together away from the field is an excellent way to build team spirit. It was a successful day enjoyed by all the girls and we plan to do more next term!! Girls PE...

Thank you to everyone who entered our X-Factor competition – we enjoyed reading all of them!! But there can only be 2 winners, and we finally manged to choose them. Congratulations to Alison Reid from Co Antrim, who wins our Team Dannii X-Factor tee: “i  will be switching allegiances to team dannii this year, anyone who is...

Well it’s almost time for us to select our winners of the X-Factor Team Cheryl – Team Dannii T-Shirts Competition on offer from The Fashion Guide! We have had a lot of very good entries so far but you still have a chance to enter but better be quick! TFG has a gorgeous pair (of black...

What a difference two years make. In November, 2007, England succumbed to Croatia at Wembley by a scoreline of 2-3 and thus surrendered their qualifying for Euro 2008. Cue the images of a fumbling Steve McClaren and an England team with so little confidence. Croatia, meanwhile, looked like world beaters. Yesterday, it was a different story entirely and it was England who looked like world beaters while Croatia were completely outplayed. In previous years, many EPL Talk readers had asked my opinion about why England were so poor and whether the England national team should still be considered a football power or not. At the time, it was quite perplexing. Was it the players who were that poor, but how could they fail so miserably in a mid-week yet play next to some of the best players in...

An academic has used a scientific analysis of David Bowie's career to write a song which would a be guaranteed chart success for the star. Using something called Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, Dr Nick Troop compared the language used and success in the charts of all of Bowie's 26 albums and 266 songs.The Psychology expert from the University of Hertfordshire found that songs with positive emotion and social processes had been the artists more successful.Based on his findings the Bowie fan then penned a song 'Team, Meet Girls; Girls, Meet Team' which he claims (according to psychological theory) should lead to success if Bowie was to release it.As that seems unlikely, Dr Troop has recorded it himself - complete with faux Bowie vocals - and put it on YouTube ... something tells me the...

A UK football coach has become the boss at the world's worst international football team.Pohnpei have never won a competitive match and regularly receive double figure drubbings at the hands of footballing giants like Guam.But Brit duo Paul Watson and Matthew Conrad think they can turn things around for the Micronesian island after taking over as coaches of the national team.Paul, a 25-year-old sports journalist from Bristol, said he hopes to make the team more professional and encourage the development of the game at youth level.He hopes to gain sponsorship for training equipment and kit ... which will no doubt go down well with his players, some of who currently have to walk five miles barefoot to the ground for training.  A spokesperson for Pohnpei Football said: "After a...

A word of congratulations to the "other" England women's rugby team - the team that makes Catherine Spencer's team-mates seem high profile celebrities. The team that finished third in their World Cup in Australia. I am, of course, talking about the England Women's Rugby League team.It must be slightly deflating to fight your way through to the peak of your sport, represent your country on foreign soil, come back with an unbeaten record, and still have your press coverage limited to a few paragraphs in the Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News. But such is life, presumably, for coach Brenda Dobek's young team (average age 22, with three U18s!). So its worth recording here that her team beat France 36-0 last Saturday, following up on their 28-8 win the Sunday before.That performance co-incided...

The step from Championship to Premiership is probably the biggest step a team have to make in football and Wolverhampton are obviously aware of this. Wolves made it to the Premier League after winning the play-offs in 2003 but were relegated the following season and have been unable to return to the top division until this season. Mick McCarthy’s team were very convincing in the Championship last term and were even crowned champions. However, it is now time to stand up and be counted, although things are looking much more promising than few years back. The team that were so convincing in the Championship last season stayed together, while several very good players were brought this summer. Mick McCarthy has got a very talented team at his disposal, although I am a bit worried about the...

The Reserve fixtures were announced today and are available to view on Arsenal.com. Normally I would not get excited about such an event and would skip past this “Breaking News”, but this season’s fixtures need a second look.  In fact if you look a second time you would see what a farce Reserve team football is. Arsenal have two games in August, one in September and then two in October, November is more meaningful with a four games whilst December and January have one each.  We then have games in February, three in March and the season ends on 5 April. How are players supposed to be ready for the first team if they have such big gaps between games?  How is Neil Banfield supposed to get some continuity in his team if the team rarely plays two weeks in a row?  The reserves are...

Today (10 July) is Team Green Britain Day. Or something. Sponsored by EDF Energy it seems to be promoting the environment and trying to encourage people to do something green for the day. What I’m a little unclear on is where the ‘team’ bit comes in. I think it’s to do with if you want to ride a bike, you join Team A to B and if you want to switch off the TV properly rather than on standby you join Team Energy. It’s not been that well publicised and I’m not aware of any events happening near me but if you join one of the teams they’ll email you. Maybe the name is meant to be like when we’re at the Olympics and it’s Team Great Britain? Maybe. You can check out the website here. All information is © Life Goggles 2008 Happy Team...

The Prime Minister stated that Milan had the best team in Italy even without Kaka and new signings. This is nothing special when it comes from someone like Berlusconi, but the public in Italy believes that this is Milan’s weakest team in Berlusconi’s 23-year reign. Most of Silvio Berlusconi’s statements cause various reactions but one thing is for sure, no one remains indifferent. The Prime Minister of Italy is well known for his ridiculous statements on both sports and politics. Milan’s pre-season training starts today and the fans are angry with the club for selling Kaka, but also for not signing new players. It is now clear that neither Kaka will be adequately replaced nor the team are going to be rebuilt. One of the most influential players in the team Massimo Ambrosini...

From ECB.co.uk:   The England team returned to the United Kingdom yesterday after a two-day visit to Flanders Field in Belgium as part of their preparations for the forthcoming npower Ashes against Australia… The team also visited the Tyne Cot cemetery where more than 12,000 Allied soldiers are buried   OK, so, I’ve got no problems with England going to Flanders Field for team building, leadership and team ethics purposes, and I can only applaud the fact that they have gone to learn about the sacrifices made by a previous generation.   I do, however, get slightly uncomfortable about the trip being used for publicity purposes – being press released, webcast, photoshot and paraded for the media. I suppose npower wouldn’t have been happy without it being used to...