Sharing the trophy is what sport is all about BTW, Atherton has often been critical of Gilchrist's 'walking crusade'... I wonder what he thinks after he gave himself out against Bangladesh when he didn't come within a foot of hitting the ball

Super match.. had no trouble staying up until 4 am!! As Beefy Botham said during the last over.... if the Ashes are as good as that match, we are all in for a treat this month. Woo-hoo!

Very good point. Taylor was one match away from being dropped...but managed to grab it all together at the last minute during the 93 tour. The English bowlers seem to have the wood on the Australian middle order... and that hasn't happened in years.

I'm almost beginning to think that England is going to win the Ashes! The England run chase will be very interesting on this pitch and conditions.

A coach with at least passable training skills is mandatory. Ideally, get a solid coach. Leadership is important if you want to win those close games. Although you can probably only afford inadequate/passable leadership.

I still stand by my earlier comments. Australia's ability to win cricket games this summer is dictated by the wobbly old joints of McGrath, Warne and Gillespie. Mind you it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, as Nasser Hussien has been saying similar things in the papers lately. He did make a good point who Australia has been very successfull in seamlessly replacing its batsmen when they retire with players of quality (e.g. Mark Waugh for Damien Martyn), but the same policy hasn't been so successfull with our bowlers. Hussien thinks that Brett Lee will be the key player of the series. I can't wait for the Ashes to start.

Solid Coach...and as much leadership as you can afford.

Decent enough point, but I'd also list Lance Kluesner (sp). I remember him destroying the Aussies in the best game of cricket of all time only for them to run Donald out in the last over. Until then, he'd pulled them back from certain defeat to within inches of victory. 325369[/snapback] Now that WAS an amazing game. An absolute nail-biter... Bill Lawry absolutely lost it in the commentary box. But was it better than Steve Waugh's not-out century to beat South Africa in the 'Super Eight' stage?!? Complete with the 'how does it feel to drop the world cup?' quip to the South African opener fielding at short mid-wicket?

Can Australia win a game on tour?!?! Jim obviously has a short memory.. perhaps a sign of early dementia ...as the 1985 touring side was clearly a lot worse than the current mob

Well, that's what you get for picking hairstyles (e.g. Michael Clarke) instead of decent hard-working players (e.g. Brad Hodge).

Well there is a result that is certainly 'good for the game'

Englands major problem is that they no longer have home field advantage. Every Aussie in the team now plays county cricket and knows the English grounds and conditions almost as well as the English test players. It could be argued that the only way England will regain the ashes is to level the playing field and either : 1) Ban Aussies from country cricket... or at the very least put a limit on them. 2) Come out themselves and play a few games of Sheffield Shield Cricket before an Ashes series. Assuming of course that Australia's old and weatherbeaten attack manages to survive the English summer and we don't cop a hiding.

I predict lots of pontificating, boasting, trolling and masterful baiting from the likes of Jim, Cheeky Sidders and Sam Dingle. Which reminds me, doesn't he still owe Dave Birch 50 quid from the previous Ashes series? As for the score... I don't really care as long as the rain stays away and the tests go for five days, and Gilly lets loose with another classic 100 scored at greater than a run a ball.

Cheers for the link Bellamy!!

No surprise there then. Tiresome, insular lot. 319071[/snapback] You're wrong as usual, troll-boy "Kewell may have been a victim of bad advice and certainly of bad luck, but it is poignant that on the day he won his first trophy in English soccer, the experience was soured by the boos of his own supporters. At 26, there is still time for Kewell to get his ankle, groin and mind right, to be the superstar his talent says he should be. His most pressing priorities, after he recovers from this latest setback, are to win over Liverpool fans and to prove his commitment to playing for his country. Otherwise he will be remembered more for his lame excuses than his exquisite skills and that would be a shame." Full article : The Age

So if ManU somehow manage to miss out on the Champs League this season... does this mean that they are screwed?!?!

Yep, they knocked out Bayern Leuverkeusen, Juventus, Chelsea and AC Milan. Yes they had a little of bit luck in the final, but overall, you can't begrudge the trophy after the run they've had and the teams they have beaten. They have beated the current champions of England and Italy over two legs.

Correction.. there is no history behind 'some' clubs...not all. If the owners of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears or New York Giants (ie the 'old' NFL teams) ever wanted the move, there would be hell to pay.

Well all I can say is god bless Freddy Shepherd!!

I reckon we'll have a bunch of Aussies playing for us... as Robbie Slater has showed how well they can adapt to the English game. Of course by then Australia will be a world footballing powerhouse so I'm sure these players will have loads of World Cup experience as well.

Oaklahoma - training defence is hard if you want to win. I managed to do it many seasons ago. Often you will have to play 3-5-2 to win a game. Which means sacrificing training spots. But if you play 5-4-1 in a midweek friendly, its not too bad. Unless you have the right mix of players, it is very hard to win with a 5-4-1 or 5-3-2. But you can play 4-4-2 (either symmetric or with 3 inner mids) or 4-5-1 with some success. Most of the top defender trainers in Oz play 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 CA.

erm.... by mis-reading your previous post

philipl - hasn't Berlusconi resigned?!? Or is about to be pushed by his own party? Secondly.... why would the Euro league feature 72 teams?!? Who would pay money to watch PSV vs Porto?!? I would imagine that a Euro super league would involve : ManU, Arsenal, Chelsea.. maybe Liverpool. Real Madrid, Barcelona. AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan Lyon Porto Ajax Bayern Munich Celtic Rangers Those are the 'brand teams' which can generate significant amount of revenue from TV rights. You'd maybe add another 10 or so teams to pad things out. Surely a Euro league with 72 teams would become too large to manage, and feature too many matches between 'no-name' teams?

I find it amusing that in the land of the free and rampant capitalism, professional sport is organsied along socialist lines. The poorer-performing teams get the first picks of young up and coming star players, and the TV revenues are shared by the big and small teams alike. Otherwise, teams such as the Green Bay Packers would have gone bust years ago. I'm gobsmacked that the FA don't enforce the 'brand' of the Premier League over that of two-three 'big' clubs. But as others have pointed out, perhaps a Euro 'Super Leauge' would be a good thing. Let all the 'bling bling players' earn their hundreds of thousands of pounds a week, playing in front of relatively small crowds whilst the clubs get rich off the TV rights. This would mean that : 1) Blackburn would have a much greater chance of winning the FA Cup and League Championship 2) Costs of maintaining a premier league club would fall, average season ticket prices would also fall, and football would become more affordable for the average team. And sooner or later, Arsenal fans will realise that travelling to continental Europe every second week isn't as much fun as you thought. And its nice to put three goals past Tottenham every now and then. I think for the local football fan, the creation of a Euro super league would be mostly positive. Unfortunately for those of us overseas, it would almost become impossible to watch Blackburn Rovers on the TV. I suppose there is always the internet though.....

One can only hope!!