Mihir Bose's Blog, page 46

Why the FA Cup is going the way of the British manufacturing

Time was when the third round of the FA Cup produced excitement, surprise, fun and often a touch of magic to keep the winter blues away. Now all it does is produce moans about how the Cup has been devalued and the competition is not what it was back in the old days. The only surprise is this year the moans began even before the third round matches had been played, ignited by comments of Paul Lambert of Aston Villa that the FA Cup did not mean much to Premier League teams.

The events since then have merely emphasised this with attendances falling in this year's third round by an average of 34%, more than double the fall in last year's third round when it was around 15. And Wigan, defending the Cup with what seemed an easy home fixture against MK Dons, recorded the biggest fall, a whooping 55%. Doncaster's gate compared to 2013 also declined by 55% but they were not the holders. I cannot recall an occasion when a first time Cup winner plays its first home match since its victory and is greeted with empty seats as Wigan was last weekend.

Jose Maria Olazabal: Rory McIlroy found his shine again in Sydney… now for that Ryder Cup sparkle

Europe may have won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups but, for Jose Maria Olazabal, retaining the trophy at Gleneagles this September will not just be a question of the Europeans turning up.

“It’s not going to be a shoo-in at all,” says the man who, as captain two years ago in Medinah, engineered the greatest comeback in the Ryder Cup’s 85-year history. Then Europe, 10-4 behind at one stage on the Saturday, retained the cup by a point come Sunday.

The streets with no names but only numbers that show the other Qatar

Much has been made in recent weeks of the terrible working conditions of migrant labour in Qatar. As the hosts for the 2022 World Cup, the spotlight was always going to be on the Gulf state but even then Amnesty International's report on migrant workers presented a dreadfully bleak picture of the conditions of those involved in the infrastructure projects Qatar is undertaking as it prepares for its historic moment in the sun.

Can Qatar learn from South Africa?

Nelson Mandela, as we have been told endlessly in the last few days, belongs to the world. So it was no surprise to arrive at the Doha Goals Forum last week to see that pictures of Nelson Mandela were festooned all over Aspire Academy, the multi purpose sports and conference venue where the forum was being held. Even had this not been the week when the eyes of the world were glued to Mandela's funeral a forum such as Doha Goals, whose purpose is to "create initiatives for social change through sport", would have invoked the great man's name.

AP McCoy: I might go for 5,000 winners

EXCLUSIVE: 18-times champion jockey reveals he has shelved plans to retire in the near future

Over the years, AP McCoy has given the bookies little reason to smile. But this Sunday he could make them laugh all the way to the bank should he pip Andy Murray for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Nelson Mandela used sport to help heal a nation and spare it from violence

It is common for politicians to use sport to promote themselves but what set Nelson Mandela apart was that he used sport to bridge deep-seated historical, divides.

Mandela, like no other modern political figure, understood that the language of sport can bring people together even those who have been kept apart for centuries on the basis of race.

NZ cricketers under investigation by ICC – report

New Zealand Cricket has confirmed that three former New Zealand players are under investigation for match fixing. Today's New Zealand Herald says an International Cricket Council unit has been in this country, investigating claims of match fixing by New Zealanders competing overseas, and also spot fixing where punters bet on specifics such as runs scored.

Here's a radio interview I did on the matter

How British football is learning to use a European idea.

Andre Villa-Boas may or may not get the sack soon. Certainly the media pressure on him is huge and with the Tottenham board keeping the shutters down in the way the old Soviet-style Kremlin would have envied there is no way of knowing what will happen to Spurs' Portuguese head coach. Observe I use the words head coach to describe his job, not manager.

The reason is that what is really interesting about this saga is the light it throws on the concept of director of football, an idea English football was supposed to shun. Indeed its acceptance means the constant changing of the head coach, something that has always been routine on the continent, is now beginning to emerge in this country.

Rolling back the years: I retrace a childhood journey from Mumbai to Kolkata

In India, the past is not a foreign country. I had no sooner arrived at Mumbai's railway station than I was immediately made aware of this profound Indian truth.

I was back at the station I had come to at the age of five for my first train journey to Kolkata. My parents came from that part of the world, and this was an annual pilgrimage.

Damien Comolli: I thought I’d stay at Tottenham for the rest of my life

Damien Comolli has two mobiles: one French, one English. But, despite having moved back to France, it is his English phone he never switches off. This is because he does not want to miss a call to bring him back to a Premier League club as director of football.

For a man whose spells in that job at Tottenham and Liverpool ended in the sack, this may suggest he is in denial. However, he is convinced he was a success at both clubs.