When friends ask me just how good Adil Rashid is going to be, I'm generally stumped (see what I did there?).
Having read more than enough about him, I know enough to think he's going to be pretty damn special. However, I can never tell those asking with good authority that he's the answer to all our long standing prayers. English cricket fans have been crying out for their own version of Shane Warne for years now and the last thing Rashid needs is to be built up to those stupendous heights. He's 21, for goodness sake.
Finally, the other day, I had the pleasure to watch him bowl, live on TV in a Twenty20 game. Admittedly, T20 is hardly the best way to judge a cricketer's skills, let alone a young prospect like Rashid. Throw into the mix the fact that his team, Yorkshire, were defending an extremely modest total. Needless to say, it's hard to judge him on this sole performance. But, I digress.
Regardless of the context, Rashid was brought on to bowl the fifth over, with Lancashire rollicking away on 40 odd for no wicket. His first ball was a gem - tossed up high and dipping back down, the left handed batsman advanced down the wicket to heave it over midwicket, only to misread the pitch of the ball. Luckily for him, he got a healthy edge and the ball darted away for a couple of runs.
Very next ball, Rashid pitched it up a little higher. The batsman tried to repeat the shot, missed and the ball spun sharply back and bowled him through the gate. It caught everyone by surprise and delighted the hordes on Western Terrace at Headingley; it was a cracking delivery and completely out of the blue, given the consummate ease with which the batsman had gone about the first four overs. Rashid then bowled four dot balls, beating the bat twice more. In Twenty20 terms, the over was absolutely fantastic. In pure cricketing terms, it was still bloody brilliant.
I'm not one for grandiose statements and outlandish predictions but watching Rashid bowl was thrilling. He has a nice, natural action - slightly reminiscent of Warne but with his own unique style. The way the ball comes out of his hand, you sense that something is going to happen and that it won't be that easy to play, regardless of how set the batter is. If that three minute example was any indication, Rashid will be an immense force for the future, maybe not quite in the Warne category but definitely a match winner in his own right.
He even bats like a dream, from what I'm told. He has two first class hundreds and has shown a capability to bat in the middle order. I know what many may be thinking; an English leg spinner who can bat? Must be a dream. It's important to keep both his and our own feet on the ground regarding Rashid but if potential is good enough to go by then this kid is going to be a beauty of a player - potential is something he has in abundance.
Rashid is in England's Twenty20 World cup squad as a replacement for Andrew Flintoff and his all round skills could possibly see him get a game. However, those six balls I witnessed may have just been flukes (although I severely doubt it). Having praised the value of the over to my housemate, the first ball of his next over was dispatched for six.
I knew, almost immediately, that I had cursed the poor soul.
30 May 2009
14 May 2009
Not just for the kids - Chessington World of Adventures review
There is a place nearby, where you can one minute be surrounded by the dark and mysterious reaches of Transylvania before finding yourself just a few moments later entrenched in the mystical Eastern wonders of the Orient. There’s even a chance to witness exotic wildlife in the flesh should you so choose. And before you think it, this place is not a fantasy or a work of fiction. It‘s actually extremely easy to access; it’s just down the road at Chessington World of Adventures.
Whether you’re a thrill seeker or simply after a wholesome family day out, you’re certain to be entertained. With a vast array of rides, amusements and animal exhibits, there really is something for everyone and many leave the place wishing that they had just a few more hours to spend there. CWoA is a local institution, known previously as Chessington Zoo. Since those early days, the park has undergone several facelifts, the latest of which saw the addition of a 150 room Holiday Inn hotel, enabling guests to extend their stay and make the most of their visit.
In 2008, CWoA opened the Sea Life centre, a 250,000 litre aquarium allowing visitors to come face to face with a range of marine wildlife such as miniscule shrimp, glowing jellyfish and even fearsome sharks. The Sea Life centre is a real treat for guests and is a new dimension of the park’s focus on animals. Of course, the land based creatures are just as impressive; Trail of the Kings showcases some heavyweight kings of the jungle such as the Asiatic Lions and Sumatran Tigers whereas the Monkey and Bird Garden features a selection of colourful and striking winged creatures and playful, mischievous monkeys.
The rides at CWoA vary from family oriented to the more adrenaline based. A compulsory visit must go to the Vampire, a rollercoaster that suspends you above the ground leaving your feet dangling and flies you rapidly through the air above the park. It’s a thrill-a-minute adventure and highly recommended but is certainly not a tame experience! Another highlight is Dragon Falls, a winding river adventure that comes with a big plunge at the end - it’s sure to leave you both excited and a little soaked.
But if fast and stomach churning rides aren’t you’re thing, there’s plenty to keep you going. Younger visitors can enjoy Beanoland, an area based on cartoon character Dennis the Menace and friends. There you’ll find the big spinning Billy’s Whizzer and the highly enjoyable Roger the Dodger’s Dodgems. If you’re looking for something less child focused then head to the Forbidden Kingdom and check out Tomb Blaster. Armed with a laser gun, you’re transported through an ancient Egyptian labyrinth where shooting little green lights earns you points which can be viewed in your seat.
Those who label CWoA as an attraction purely for children obviously haven’t paid a visit in a while. Whilst there is, admittedly, a strong family atmosphere, it is genuinely possible to enjoy yourself, regardless of your age. So if your in the area and your bemoaning the lack of things to do, bear in mind that there’s a massively entertaining theme park lying just around the corner waiting for you.
(Chessington Chat Magazine, 2009)
Whether you’re a thrill seeker or simply after a wholesome family day out, you’re certain to be entertained. With a vast array of rides, amusements and animal exhibits, there really is something for everyone and many leave the place wishing that they had just a few more hours to spend there. CWoA is a local institution, known previously as Chessington Zoo. Since those early days, the park has undergone several facelifts, the latest of which saw the addition of a 150 room Holiday Inn hotel, enabling guests to extend their stay and make the most of their visit.
In 2008, CWoA opened the Sea Life centre, a 250,000 litre aquarium allowing visitors to come face to face with a range of marine wildlife such as miniscule shrimp, glowing jellyfish and even fearsome sharks. The Sea Life centre is a real treat for guests and is a new dimension of the park’s focus on animals. Of course, the land based creatures are just as impressive; Trail of the Kings showcases some heavyweight kings of the jungle such as the Asiatic Lions and Sumatran Tigers whereas the Monkey and Bird Garden features a selection of colourful and striking winged creatures and playful, mischievous monkeys.
The rides at CWoA vary from family oriented to the more adrenaline based. A compulsory visit must go to the Vampire, a rollercoaster that suspends you above the ground leaving your feet dangling and flies you rapidly through the air above the park. It’s a thrill-a-minute adventure and highly recommended but is certainly not a tame experience! Another highlight is Dragon Falls, a winding river adventure that comes with a big plunge at the end - it’s sure to leave you both excited and a little soaked.
But if fast and stomach churning rides aren’t you’re thing, there’s plenty to keep you going. Younger visitors can enjoy Beanoland, an area based on cartoon character Dennis the Menace and friends. There you’ll find the big spinning Billy’s Whizzer and the highly enjoyable Roger the Dodger’s Dodgems. If you’re looking for something less child focused then head to the Forbidden Kingdom and check out Tomb Blaster. Armed with a laser gun, you’re transported through an ancient Egyptian labyrinth where shooting little green lights earns you points which can be viewed in your seat.
Those who label CWoA as an attraction purely for children obviously haven’t paid a visit in a while. Whilst there is, admittedly, a strong family atmosphere, it is genuinely possible to enjoy yourself, regardless of your age. So if your in the area and your bemoaning the lack of things to do, bear in mind that there’s a massively entertaining theme park lying just around the corner waiting for you.
(Chessington Chat Magazine, 2009)
5 May 2009
Lacklustre England Claim Crucial Win
Stuart Pearce’s England Under-21’s laboured to a 3-0 win over Republic of Ireland Under-21’s at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton last night - a result that virtually assures them of a play-off place for next year's European Championships.
On a cold, wet night on the south coast, England took to the field confident of victory, and were able to field stars such as Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott, who were not included in the main national team. But Walcott, on his return to Southampton, struggled to make an impression as Ireland kept out the England attack in the first half.
Newcastle’s James Milner had a shot saved by Ireland keeper Darren Randolph as England found it hard going on slippery pitch. Premiership stars Tom Huddlestone and Mark Noble were unable to provide the killer pass and the sides went in at the break at 0-0.
Ireland came out strong after the break and Wolves striker Andy Keogh missed three wonderful chances to give his side the lead but each time he found England keeper Joe Hart in good form. On the hour mark, it all changed and in England’s favour. James Milner fired in an innocuous looking cross which cannoned off Southampton defender Stephen O’Halloran and dribbled into the net.
If it was a lucky breakthrough, England certainly took advantage. Eight minutes later and Milner found himself with time on the outside of the area before he drilled in a right footed shot which went in off the inside of the post.
England were flying and with ten minutes to go, Theo Walcott got the ball just inside the box and curled a beauty past Randolph for England’s third. The Southampton crowd warmly received Walcott’s goal before welcoming another local hero, Andrew Surman, onto the pitch.
It was not a convincing performance but it was a professional one and the watching Trevor Brooking and Fabio Capello’s coaching staff will have been reasonably happy with what they saw. With only a home game against Portugal to come, England will be confident of achieving the point they need to claim top spot in the group and guarantee themselves a play off place.
(RE:SUS Magazine, 2008)
On a cold, wet night on the south coast, England took to the field confident of victory, and were able to field stars such as Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott, who were not included in the main national team. But Walcott, on his return to Southampton, struggled to make an impression as Ireland kept out the England attack in the first half.
Newcastle’s James Milner had a shot saved by Ireland keeper Darren Randolph as England found it hard going on slippery pitch. Premiership stars Tom Huddlestone and Mark Noble were unable to provide the killer pass and the sides went in at the break at 0-0.
Ireland came out strong after the break and Wolves striker Andy Keogh missed three wonderful chances to give his side the lead but each time he found England keeper Joe Hart in good form. On the hour mark, it all changed and in England’s favour. James Milner fired in an innocuous looking cross which cannoned off Southampton defender Stephen O’Halloran and dribbled into the net.
If it was a lucky breakthrough, England certainly took advantage. Eight minutes later and Milner found himself with time on the outside of the area before he drilled in a right footed shot which went in off the inside of the post.
England were flying and with ten minutes to go, Theo Walcott got the ball just inside the box and curled a beauty past Randolph for England’s third. The Southampton crowd warmly received Walcott’s goal before welcoming another local hero, Andrew Surman, onto the pitch.
It was not a convincing performance but it was a professional one and the watching Trevor Brooking and Fabio Capello’s coaching staff will have been reasonably happy with what they saw. With only a home game against Portugal to come, England will be confident of achieving the point they need to claim top spot in the group and guarantee themselves a play off place.
(RE:SUS Magazine, 2008)
Southampton vs Burnley, Coca Cola Championship
Match Preview
Southampton go into tomorrow’s crunch game with Burnley in the knowledge that relegation to League Two is a certainty. The decision of the Football League to deduct ten points from the Saints is a massive blow to both the team and the fans and is the icing on the cake on what had been a desperately poor season.
Nevertheless, there is still much to play for. If Southampton are able to finish out of the bottom three this season, effectively avoiding relegation, then the ten point penalty will be effected immediately and they will drop down a division. Should Saints stay in the bottom three, the deduction will take place next season and they will start in League One with minus ten points.
It’s a bleak outcome regardless but that goal should be what coach Mark Wotte is drilling into his players. Saints are expecting a big turnout at St. Marys for what is the last home game of the season and the fans will want to make one last massive effort to raise the players and to show their love for the club. Wotte has spoken about the deduction and the effect it may have on his players. “We felt that there has been an injustice and it’s an extra inspiration for us to put in a good performance and leave the fans with a good feeling when they go home.”
Saints are able to welcome back Simon Gillet, who was back in training this week despite having surgery recently for a knee problem. However, the game has come too soon for defender Wayne Thomas who has just returned from a knee ligaments injury. David McGoldrick is expected to partner Bradley Wright Phillips in attack and continue the goal scoring form he has found himself in recently.
As for the visitors, they arrive well in the hunt for a coveted play-off spot. Having earned plaudits for their giant killing Carling Cup campaign in which they dispatched three Premier League sides in Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal, they came within a minute of reaching a Wembley final, almost beating Tottenham in the semi finals before two goals knocked them out. Their line will be lead by 33 year old talisman Robbie Blake who, despite his advancing years, is having a tremendous season
.
Their cup exploits this season have dramatically increased the workload for the players but manager Owen Coyle is in confident mood ahead of the game. “It’s in our own hands from here on in and as long as we continue to play at the sort of level we have managed for much of the season, we should get ourselves into the top six.”
It certainly promises to be a lively game on Saturday, with both teams chasing very contrasting goals. One thing’s for sure, expect the Saints fans to create a unique atmosphere as they try one more time to raise their side.
Match Report
Southampton will begin League One next season minus ten points behind everyone else after a 2-2 draw at home with Burnley consigned them to a bottom three place and relegation from the Championship.
Saints took the lead early on through Bradley Wright Phillips’ deflected shot after being played by Andrew Surman. However, Burnley levelled midway through the first half after a penalty that Graham Alexander slotted down the middle of the goal.
David McGoldrick put Saints back in front just before the break with a tap in after Burnley keeper Brian Jensen had brilliantly saved from Paul Wotton. McGoldrick had the chance to increase Saints’ lead with a penalty but his tame effort was saved by Jensen.
And Burnley made Southampton pay with an equaliser from Clarke Carlisle who blasted home after a corner wasn‘t cleared. Not even a post match pitch invasion from the home fans could lighten the mood encapsulating the St Mary’s Stadium.
Southampton began the game knowing that victory could help them avoid a ten point deduction next season and there was a touching pre-match speech from Saints legend Lawrie McMenemy, urging fans to get behind the team.
They began the game in control as Burnley struggled to hold onto the ball. And their early pressure paid off in the 10th minute after two successive corners weren’t dealt with by the visiting defence and Wright Phillips’ shot took a lucky deflection and nestled into the bottom corner.
Saints continued to dominate with Simon Gillett having his weak effort saved by Jensen when he should have made more of it. Wright Phillips then had a golden chance but dawdled when played through one-on-one and his shot was smothered by the keeper.
Burnley then hit back when striker Martin Paterson was tripped by Jan-Paul Saeijs and veteran Graham Alexander struck the kick firmly past Saints keeper Kelvin Davis. Southampton continued to press forwards, however, and got their reward in the 43rd minute when Wotton’s effort was expertly kept out by Jensen only for McGoldrick to slot home and send the home fans into half time satisfied.
Burnley rallied after the break and substitute Jay Rodriguez forced an excellent save from Davis. Nevertheless, McGoldrick had a chance to further the lead from the spot after Rhys Williams fouled Wright Phillips but his penalty lacked power and was saved.
Burnley then scored the goal that their second half pressure had deserved when Carlisle found himself with space in the area after a goal mouth scramble and smashed home. Rodriguez then got through one-on-one with Davis but the Saints keeper heroically kept him out.
The game then flattened out slightly with neither team wanting to take a chance, with only a late charge into the area for a corner from home keeper Davis enough to rouse the crowd. The final whistle sounded to a anti-climatic atmosphere amongst the fans with the realisation that League One football is coming to St Mary’s hitting hard.
Quotes led piece
Southampton boss Mark Wotte has slammed the decision of the league to deduct ten points from the club at the start of next season, saying that they were punishing the club’s fans. Wotte, speaking in the wake of his side’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at St Mary’s, stated that he thought the points penalty was unfair on the loyal fans who had played no part in the downturn of the club and that they should not be punished.
“For me, the league is punishing the fans that we have, the fans that turn up every week and support the club. It is not their fault,” said Wotte, as the stadium stewards were doing their best to safely remove those fans from the pitch following a final whistle invasion.
Wotte also spoke of his pride in the performance of his players and how happy he was with how they had composed themselves. “I can only be proud of my players and how they performed. They were competitive and aggressive and tried to pass whenever possible and scored some great goals. It was one of our best performances at home this year but the fact that we didn’t win the game probably shows the reasons why we are going down.”
Wotte made no secret of his team’s deficiencies on the pitch but took the time to praise their effort. “You have to take your chances and be clinical up front to really go and secure the win. It’s unfortunate and I really feel sorry for the boys because everyone was giving 100% and they played a terrific game with an excellent team spirit.
“We deserved to win the game. In the first half we were much the better team, created some good chances and scored some good goals. We had chances to make it 3-1 with Bradley Wright Phillips, Simon Gillett and the penalty from Dave McGoldrick.
“We allowed them to score the second goal after a poor decision from the referee but at the end of the day we didn’t take our chances and that’s why we didn’t win. We’ve seen this before of course, and it’s not the first time this has happened to us.”
The Saints manager was keen to praise the fans for their passionate support of the club during the recent hardships, and bared no grudges over the pitch invasion at the end of the game. “We wanted to go out onto the pitch and thank the fans for their support but it wasn’t possible which is a little sad. My message to the fans would be to come back and support us again like you did today.
“It made me proud to be the manager of Southampton Football Club because although we were relegated, the way we played and the way the fans supported us is the way we have to continue doing things to get back to where we belong.”
Reflective piece
At the end of it all, the ups and downs of Southampton’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at St Mary’s were a perfect mirror to the rollercoaster fortunes of the club this season, although this seasons ride for Saints fans was worryingly short on highs.
It is perhaps fitting that Saints should go down on the back of one of their best displays of the season but, that being said, it is also fitting that their improved display should bring them only a draw. Quite simply, Southampton have had a shocker of a year, lurching from financial crisis to some downright awful performances on the pitch. Whilst the core of the team is young and promising, the results haven’t been good enough. For all the resonances of good, attractive football seen by Saints, there is nothing to show for it and now that relegation has been confirmed, a great deal of those bright young things will surely escape the sinking ship.
The 24,000 strong crowd at St Mary’s on Saturday were treated to a pre-match rousing speech from Saints legend Lawrie McMenemy, who did his best to create a passionate atmosphere and implored upon the fans not to turn their back on the club. McMenemy’s speech may have had an effect on the players - their first half performance left many wondering why the hell they are languishing at the bottom of the Championship. The passing was crisp, the finishing was confident and determined and the team spirit was evident for all to see.
That Saints were unable to close out the game and, ultimately, only take a point from it speaks volumes for their mental fragility and vulnerability. The game flattened out, much like Southampton’s season, and there was no great push for a winning goal until captain and keeper Kelvin Davis sprinted forward for a late corner, to no avail.
The final whistle sounded like a death knell for Saints fans. With Paul Wotton injured on the pitch, the ref blew his whistle and the home fans streamed onto the pitch in a mass invasion, completely oblivious to Wotton on the ground. Manager Mark Wotte later spoke of his disappointment that the players could not thank the fans after the match but surely had they stayed on the pitch the baying Saints supporters may have lynched them.
All in all, there’s hardly much to shout about. Going down, ten points in the red, no money and little hope of keeping their best players, Southampton Football Club appear to be in dire straits.
But the old saying ‘it is always darkest before the dawn’ sounds sufficiently suitable for this situation and if Southampton can keep their loyal fan base and consolidate their financial position, the only way could well and truly be up. Avoiding going out of business completely looks to be the main priority for now.
It’s going to be a depressing few months for the men in red and white.
(University assignment on Sports Writing, 2009)
Southampton go into tomorrow’s crunch game with Burnley in the knowledge that relegation to League Two is a certainty. The decision of the Football League to deduct ten points from the Saints is a massive blow to both the team and the fans and is the icing on the cake on what had been a desperately poor season.
Nevertheless, there is still much to play for. If Southampton are able to finish out of the bottom three this season, effectively avoiding relegation, then the ten point penalty will be effected immediately and they will drop down a division. Should Saints stay in the bottom three, the deduction will take place next season and they will start in League One with minus ten points.
It’s a bleak outcome regardless but that goal should be what coach Mark Wotte is drilling into his players. Saints are expecting a big turnout at St. Marys for what is the last home game of the season and the fans will want to make one last massive effort to raise the players and to show their love for the club. Wotte has spoken about the deduction and the effect it may have on his players. “We felt that there has been an injustice and it’s an extra inspiration for us to put in a good performance and leave the fans with a good feeling when they go home.”
Saints are able to welcome back Simon Gillet, who was back in training this week despite having surgery recently for a knee problem. However, the game has come too soon for defender Wayne Thomas who has just returned from a knee ligaments injury. David McGoldrick is expected to partner Bradley Wright Phillips in attack and continue the goal scoring form he has found himself in recently.
As for the visitors, they arrive well in the hunt for a coveted play-off spot. Having earned plaudits for their giant killing Carling Cup campaign in which they dispatched three Premier League sides in Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal, they came within a minute of reaching a Wembley final, almost beating Tottenham in the semi finals before two goals knocked them out. Their line will be lead by 33 year old talisman Robbie Blake who, despite his advancing years, is having a tremendous season
.
Their cup exploits this season have dramatically increased the workload for the players but manager Owen Coyle is in confident mood ahead of the game. “It’s in our own hands from here on in and as long as we continue to play at the sort of level we have managed for much of the season, we should get ourselves into the top six.”
It certainly promises to be a lively game on Saturday, with both teams chasing very contrasting goals. One thing’s for sure, expect the Saints fans to create a unique atmosphere as they try one more time to raise their side.
Match Report
Southampton will begin League One next season minus ten points behind everyone else after a 2-2 draw at home with Burnley consigned them to a bottom three place and relegation from the Championship.
Saints took the lead early on through Bradley Wright Phillips’ deflected shot after being played by Andrew Surman. However, Burnley levelled midway through the first half after a penalty that Graham Alexander slotted down the middle of the goal.
David McGoldrick put Saints back in front just before the break with a tap in after Burnley keeper Brian Jensen had brilliantly saved from Paul Wotton. McGoldrick had the chance to increase Saints’ lead with a penalty but his tame effort was saved by Jensen.
And Burnley made Southampton pay with an equaliser from Clarke Carlisle who blasted home after a corner wasn‘t cleared. Not even a post match pitch invasion from the home fans could lighten the mood encapsulating the St Mary’s Stadium.
Southampton began the game knowing that victory could help them avoid a ten point deduction next season and there was a touching pre-match speech from Saints legend Lawrie McMenemy, urging fans to get behind the team.
They began the game in control as Burnley struggled to hold onto the ball. And their early pressure paid off in the 10th minute after two successive corners weren’t dealt with by the visiting defence and Wright Phillips’ shot took a lucky deflection and nestled into the bottom corner.
Saints continued to dominate with Simon Gillett having his weak effort saved by Jensen when he should have made more of it. Wright Phillips then had a golden chance but dawdled when played through one-on-one and his shot was smothered by the keeper.
Burnley then hit back when striker Martin Paterson was tripped by Jan-Paul Saeijs and veteran Graham Alexander struck the kick firmly past Saints keeper Kelvin Davis. Southampton continued to press forwards, however, and got their reward in the 43rd minute when Wotton’s effort was expertly kept out by Jensen only for McGoldrick to slot home and send the home fans into half time satisfied.
Burnley rallied after the break and substitute Jay Rodriguez forced an excellent save from Davis. Nevertheless, McGoldrick had a chance to further the lead from the spot after Rhys Williams fouled Wright Phillips but his penalty lacked power and was saved.
Burnley then scored the goal that their second half pressure had deserved when Carlisle found himself with space in the area after a goal mouth scramble and smashed home. Rodriguez then got through one-on-one with Davis but the Saints keeper heroically kept him out.
The game then flattened out slightly with neither team wanting to take a chance, with only a late charge into the area for a corner from home keeper Davis enough to rouse the crowd. The final whistle sounded to a anti-climatic atmosphere amongst the fans with the realisation that League One football is coming to St Mary’s hitting hard.
Quotes led piece
Southampton boss Mark Wotte has slammed the decision of the league to deduct ten points from the club at the start of next season, saying that they were punishing the club’s fans. Wotte, speaking in the wake of his side’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at St Mary’s, stated that he thought the points penalty was unfair on the loyal fans who had played no part in the downturn of the club and that they should not be punished.
“For me, the league is punishing the fans that we have, the fans that turn up every week and support the club. It is not their fault,” said Wotte, as the stadium stewards were doing their best to safely remove those fans from the pitch following a final whistle invasion.
Wotte also spoke of his pride in the performance of his players and how happy he was with how they had composed themselves. “I can only be proud of my players and how they performed. They were competitive and aggressive and tried to pass whenever possible and scored some great goals. It was one of our best performances at home this year but the fact that we didn’t win the game probably shows the reasons why we are going down.”
Wotte made no secret of his team’s deficiencies on the pitch but took the time to praise their effort. “You have to take your chances and be clinical up front to really go and secure the win. It’s unfortunate and I really feel sorry for the boys because everyone was giving 100% and they played a terrific game with an excellent team spirit.
“We deserved to win the game. In the first half we were much the better team, created some good chances and scored some good goals. We had chances to make it 3-1 with Bradley Wright Phillips, Simon Gillett and the penalty from Dave McGoldrick.
“We allowed them to score the second goal after a poor decision from the referee but at the end of the day we didn’t take our chances and that’s why we didn’t win. We’ve seen this before of course, and it’s not the first time this has happened to us.”
The Saints manager was keen to praise the fans for their passionate support of the club during the recent hardships, and bared no grudges over the pitch invasion at the end of the game. “We wanted to go out onto the pitch and thank the fans for their support but it wasn’t possible which is a little sad. My message to the fans would be to come back and support us again like you did today.
“It made me proud to be the manager of Southampton Football Club because although we were relegated, the way we played and the way the fans supported us is the way we have to continue doing things to get back to where we belong.”
Reflective piece
At the end of it all, the ups and downs of Southampton’s 2-2 draw with Burnley at St Mary’s were a perfect mirror to the rollercoaster fortunes of the club this season, although this seasons ride for Saints fans was worryingly short on highs.
It is perhaps fitting that Saints should go down on the back of one of their best displays of the season but, that being said, it is also fitting that their improved display should bring them only a draw. Quite simply, Southampton have had a shocker of a year, lurching from financial crisis to some downright awful performances on the pitch. Whilst the core of the team is young and promising, the results haven’t been good enough. For all the resonances of good, attractive football seen by Saints, there is nothing to show for it and now that relegation has been confirmed, a great deal of those bright young things will surely escape the sinking ship.
The 24,000 strong crowd at St Mary’s on Saturday were treated to a pre-match rousing speech from Saints legend Lawrie McMenemy, who did his best to create a passionate atmosphere and implored upon the fans not to turn their back on the club. McMenemy’s speech may have had an effect on the players - their first half performance left many wondering why the hell they are languishing at the bottom of the Championship. The passing was crisp, the finishing was confident and determined and the team spirit was evident for all to see.
That Saints were unable to close out the game and, ultimately, only take a point from it speaks volumes for their mental fragility and vulnerability. The game flattened out, much like Southampton’s season, and there was no great push for a winning goal until captain and keeper Kelvin Davis sprinted forward for a late corner, to no avail.
The final whistle sounded like a death knell for Saints fans. With Paul Wotton injured on the pitch, the ref blew his whistle and the home fans streamed onto the pitch in a mass invasion, completely oblivious to Wotton on the ground. Manager Mark Wotte later spoke of his disappointment that the players could not thank the fans after the match but surely had they stayed on the pitch the baying Saints supporters may have lynched them.
All in all, there’s hardly much to shout about. Going down, ten points in the red, no money and little hope of keeping their best players, Southampton Football Club appear to be in dire straits.
But the old saying ‘it is always darkest before the dawn’ sounds sufficiently suitable for this situation and if Southampton can keep their loyal fan base and consolidate their financial position, the only way could well and truly be up. Avoiding going out of business completely looks to be the main priority for now.
It’s going to be a depressing few months for the men in red and white.
(University assignment on Sports Writing, 2009)
Wes Hall - Profile
For many an international batsman in the 1960’s, the sight of a West Indian fast bowler steaming in towards you for afar with a shiny red ball in his hand and a steely determined look on his face was the stuff of nightmares. Surviving against them was hard enough, let alone the possibility of scoring runs against them. It took a great deal of heart and nerve to face them and those who took on the challenge would have often been left with the battle scars to prove it.
Facing Wes Hall in his pomp was no different. Frighteningly tall and devastatingly quick, Hall was a breed of fast bowler that the West Indies would come to rely on heavily over the next few decades. Famous for his extended run-up, Hall in full flight must have been quite a sight to behold. He ended his career with 192 Test match wickets in 48 games at an average of just over 26, paying tribute to his skill and natural ability.
But for such an aggressive and feared bowler, Hall’s off field persona paints a distinctively alternative picture. Known by fans of cricket in the Caribbean as ‘a man for all the people, all the time’, Hall’s life is fascinating in terms of his achievements and contributions to life in his native Barbados. After playing, he was team manager of the West Indies for three decades. He was a national selector and eventually became President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Outside of the sport, he was a politician, becoming a Member of Parliament in both the Upper and Lower Houses. In the 1980’s, Hall was the Minister of Tourism in Barbados and, even at the age of 71, he continues to serve, as an Evangelical Church Leader. Hall even found time to be on the board of directors for the ill-fated Stanford Twenty20 project.
When asked about his dedication service, Hall is philosophical.
"What is life if it is not a life of service? Cricket and life gave me so much, it’s only fair that I return as much as I can.” Wise words, indeed.
After all the authoritative positions he has held over the years, it is a figurehead one that he finds himself in these days. The Cricket Legends of Barbados museum is just across the road from the redeveloped Kensington Oval and Hall, as a chairman of the institute, is often found inside talking to visitors about his experiences and sharing opinions about the game which brings them all together.
The museum is steeped in Barbadian and West Indian cricket celebrity, with memorabilia and artefacts as far as the eye can see. One of Hall’s own contributions is a weathered and beaten cricket ball, protected in a large glass case. It is the ball he bowled with when taking the first Test hat-trick by a West Indian against Pakistan. It’s 60-odd years old now and is decorated with a signature from the man himself.
“My children, they don’t want it lying about the place, taking up room! So I thought that the best place for it would be here in the museum. That way it will have a legacy that will hopefully last a long time. Even if it is just an old ball!” Hall jokes, but it is clear that his achievements and those of Barbados cricket as a whole do mean something to him. What other interesting little nuggets of cricket history are in store?
“We’re waiting to receive the bat used by (Gordon) Greenidge in his last home innings, the 223 versus Australia, a wonderful innings. I think it’s another case of his family not wanting it lying around! We’ve also got signed pictures of other Bajan greats - Joel Garner, Desmond Haynes, Everton Weekes, the great Garry Sobers. All the guys are really interested in helping out and contributing to the place and really making it a kind of home for cricket legends in Barbados.”
Indeed, there are some eye-catching jewels on display; a large, looming picture of Sir Garfield Sobers stares at you as you enter a side room and you’re reminded that you truly are in the company of some historical greatness. But it’s the presence of Hall himself at the museum that impresses most. He is friendly, approachable, affable and more than happy to share his anecdotes regarding the great game.
On the field of play, Hall was a colossal opponent to face. In addition to that hat-trick, the Bajan great is also famed for bowling the last over of the first ever tied Test match with Australia in Brisbane in 1960. Australia needed six runs to win of the eight ball over (standard practice for Tests in Australia at the time) and were at 227-7. Hall had Richie Benaud caught behind early in the over and then saw Wally Grout ran out after a flurry of singles. With one wicket remaining and two balls left to bowl in the Test, Australia required a single.
“It was the strangest over I have ever bowled in cricket. Purely because of the tension. I just kept running in and tried not to think too much about what I was doing, what I was going to bowl him.”
Was he nervous?
“Yeah, of course I was, man! But you couldn’t let it get to you, you know? I had a job to do and I just ran up and bowled my best and hoped they didn’t hit it. From the second I let that last ball go, it was all a blur. A wonderful, wonderful blur.”
Hall’s seventh ball of the over turned out to be the last. With the scores tied, new batsman Lindsay Kline made contact with the ball and set off for a risky single. If they made the run, Australia would win. Joe Soloman stooped low to grab the ball and sent in a throw to the striker’s end. With just one stump to aim at, Soloman’s throw hit the wicket, running out the other batsman by a matter of inches. West Indies had dismissed the Australians and the scores were level for the whole match, thus rendering the match in a tie. To this day, it remains one of only two tied Test matches in history.
“It was amazing, the jubilation we felt at that moment was unparalleled. It was a landmark moment as well, you know, because cricket in Australia was going through a bit of a dull patch and audiences weren’t that good. I remember (Australia captain, Richie) Benaud and Frank Worrell, our captain, encouraging us all to play attacking cricket, to try and get the crowd going and just make things entertaining.”
Hall even managed a fifty with the bat in the first innings of the match.
“I was able to contribute with the bat which was something I was really pleased with. I only ever hit two fifties so it was good to get a chance to raise the bat. I think I got something like nine wickets in that whole game too,”
He did.
“I did? Damn that was a good game!”
Hall’s energy and stamina as a bowler made him an excellent option for his captains. His long run-up and searing speed would point to the opposite but he was able to bowl fast spells for long periods of time. In a Test match at Lords with England in 1963, Hall bowled unchanged in a marathon spell of over three hours on the final day. In a era where it seems like Andrew Flintoff cannot bowl more than five overs without tweaking his ankle and Ryan Sidebottom needing a two month lay-off in between Test matches, it’s surprising to hear of a fast bowler being able to go to such extremes.
Hall’s partnership with fellow quick bowler Charlie Griffith was a fearsome one and they were among the first in a battery of mind-bogglingly quick Caribbean fast bowlers, including the illustrious names of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts and many others. Those bowlers played in an era where West Indian cricket reigned supreme amongst the rest of the world. To face them was intimidating, the beat them was nigh on unthinkable.
Sadly, there has been a decline in the standard of West Indian cricket over the last few decades but with the recent series win over England, coupled with some promising recent performances, shows that perhaps the West Indies are developing slowly into a force again. How does Hall view the current crop of Caribbean cricketers?
“The series win over England was quite important because up to then we’d had some improved displays but not much success. I think we’re definitely moving in the correct direction. There’s some good young bowlers out there, the likes of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, who really look like they could be dangerous given the proper development. Taylor’s spell at Jamaica (5-11 in England’s 51 all out) was magical and shows how far he has come.”
Is Chris Gayle the right man to lead them?
“I think so. There was a long time where we moved from captain to captain all the time. First Lara, then Chanderpaul, then Lara again, then Sarwan, then even Daren Ganga! I don’t think it helped stabilise the team and now that Gayle is there I think there’s a stability again. Some of his decisions haven’t been too clever but he’s got them winning and he’ll learn more about captaining a side as he goes. Plus, he is a brilliant batsman and likes to lead from the front.”
The West Indies certainly do not look like pushovers anymore. It makes one wonder just where the ranks of fast bowling greats would fit in with today’s team and, in fact, today’s game.
“I think I’d get hit around a bit!” Hall says, unequivocally. “Batsman are much better at playing fast bowling then they were, what with the introduction of helmets and better protection. I think it’s still tough to play against; you look at the success of Brett Lee, Dale Steyn, Andrew Flintoff… But batsman have better coaching on fast bowling now so they are better prepared. I don’t know, I think I’d get a game but I don’t know how well the ball would come out!”
Hall’s responses paint the picture of a humble man. His successes have not gone straight to his head and its refreshing to see a sportsman with such fond memories of playing and with such a dedication to the sport after his playing days are over. Hall has a deep invested love of cricket and of life in general and takes nothing for granted.
He has certainly had to cope with adversity. In 2007, Hall’s eldest son John died after drowning on holiday. Just a few weeks before the World Cup took place in the Caribbean, Hall had to deal with the most distressing of emergencies. Having to deal with the ramifications was surely life’s hardest test on Hall as he strove to be strong and to help his family deal with their loss. Still, he has not let it dictate the rest of his life. Hall is a deeply religious man and continues to live as though he is still that young, fiery fast bowler with a glistening gold chain around his neck. Poor health forced him to resign as President of the WICB but to this day he remains fit and firing again.
Hall remains a cherished figure in the annuls of West Indian cricket, both for his formidable stature as a player and for his good-natured and distinctively Caribbean way of living. Tony Cozier wrote in The Wisden Cricketer magazine, ‘If he happens to be a little late, he is always worth waiting for. When he turned up at my 50th birthday bash at 1am, numbers were beginning to thin. Wes kept it going for another four hours.’
‘A man for all the people‘, they say on the streets of Barbados. He certainly is that.
(University essay on Sports Writing, 2009)
Facing Wes Hall in his pomp was no different. Frighteningly tall and devastatingly quick, Hall was a breed of fast bowler that the West Indies would come to rely on heavily over the next few decades. Famous for his extended run-up, Hall in full flight must have been quite a sight to behold. He ended his career with 192 Test match wickets in 48 games at an average of just over 26, paying tribute to his skill and natural ability.
But for such an aggressive and feared bowler, Hall’s off field persona paints a distinctively alternative picture. Known by fans of cricket in the Caribbean as ‘a man for all the people, all the time’, Hall’s life is fascinating in terms of his achievements and contributions to life in his native Barbados. After playing, he was team manager of the West Indies for three decades. He was a national selector and eventually became President of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Outside of the sport, he was a politician, becoming a Member of Parliament in both the Upper and Lower Houses. In the 1980’s, Hall was the Minister of Tourism in Barbados and, even at the age of 71, he continues to serve, as an Evangelical Church Leader. Hall even found time to be on the board of directors for the ill-fated Stanford Twenty20 project.
When asked about his dedication service, Hall is philosophical.
"What is life if it is not a life of service? Cricket and life gave me so much, it’s only fair that I return as much as I can.” Wise words, indeed.
After all the authoritative positions he has held over the years, it is a figurehead one that he finds himself in these days. The Cricket Legends of Barbados museum is just across the road from the redeveloped Kensington Oval and Hall, as a chairman of the institute, is often found inside talking to visitors about his experiences and sharing opinions about the game which brings them all together.
The museum is steeped in Barbadian and West Indian cricket celebrity, with memorabilia and artefacts as far as the eye can see. One of Hall’s own contributions is a weathered and beaten cricket ball, protected in a large glass case. It is the ball he bowled with when taking the first Test hat-trick by a West Indian against Pakistan. It’s 60-odd years old now and is decorated with a signature from the man himself.
“My children, they don’t want it lying about the place, taking up room! So I thought that the best place for it would be here in the museum. That way it will have a legacy that will hopefully last a long time. Even if it is just an old ball!” Hall jokes, but it is clear that his achievements and those of Barbados cricket as a whole do mean something to him. What other interesting little nuggets of cricket history are in store?
“We’re waiting to receive the bat used by (Gordon) Greenidge in his last home innings, the 223 versus Australia, a wonderful innings. I think it’s another case of his family not wanting it lying around! We’ve also got signed pictures of other Bajan greats - Joel Garner, Desmond Haynes, Everton Weekes, the great Garry Sobers. All the guys are really interested in helping out and contributing to the place and really making it a kind of home for cricket legends in Barbados.”
Indeed, there are some eye-catching jewels on display; a large, looming picture of Sir Garfield Sobers stares at you as you enter a side room and you’re reminded that you truly are in the company of some historical greatness. But it’s the presence of Hall himself at the museum that impresses most. He is friendly, approachable, affable and more than happy to share his anecdotes regarding the great game.
On the field of play, Hall was a colossal opponent to face. In addition to that hat-trick, the Bajan great is also famed for bowling the last over of the first ever tied Test match with Australia in Brisbane in 1960. Australia needed six runs to win of the eight ball over (standard practice for Tests in Australia at the time) and were at 227-7. Hall had Richie Benaud caught behind early in the over and then saw Wally Grout ran out after a flurry of singles. With one wicket remaining and two balls left to bowl in the Test, Australia required a single.
“It was the strangest over I have ever bowled in cricket. Purely because of the tension. I just kept running in and tried not to think too much about what I was doing, what I was going to bowl him.”
Was he nervous?
“Yeah, of course I was, man! But you couldn’t let it get to you, you know? I had a job to do and I just ran up and bowled my best and hoped they didn’t hit it. From the second I let that last ball go, it was all a blur. A wonderful, wonderful blur.”
Hall’s seventh ball of the over turned out to be the last. With the scores tied, new batsman Lindsay Kline made contact with the ball and set off for a risky single. If they made the run, Australia would win. Joe Soloman stooped low to grab the ball and sent in a throw to the striker’s end. With just one stump to aim at, Soloman’s throw hit the wicket, running out the other batsman by a matter of inches. West Indies had dismissed the Australians and the scores were level for the whole match, thus rendering the match in a tie. To this day, it remains one of only two tied Test matches in history.
“It was amazing, the jubilation we felt at that moment was unparalleled. It was a landmark moment as well, you know, because cricket in Australia was going through a bit of a dull patch and audiences weren’t that good. I remember (Australia captain, Richie) Benaud and Frank Worrell, our captain, encouraging us all to play attacking cricket, to try and get the crowd going and just make things entertaining.”
Hall even managed a fifty with the bat in the first innings of the match.
“I was able to contribute with the bat which was something I was really pleased with. I only ever hit two fifties so it was good to get a chance to raise the bat. I think I got something like nine wickets in that whole game too,”
He did.
“I did? Damn that was a good game!”
Hall’s energy and stamina as a bowler made him an excellent option for his captains. His long run-up and searing speed would point to the opposite but he was able to bowl fast spells for long periods of time. In a Test match at Lords with England in 1963, Hall bowled unchanged in a marathon spell of over three hours on the final day. In a era where it seems like Andrew Flintoff cannot bowl more than five overs without tweaking his ankle and Ryan Sidebottom needing a two month lay-off in between Test matches, it’s surprising to hear of a fast bowler being able to go to such extremes.
Hall’s partnership with fellow quick bowler Charlie Griffith was a fearsome one and they were among the first in a battery of mind-bogglingly quick Caribbean fast bowlers, including the illustrious names of Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Curtley Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Andy Roberts and many others. Those bowlers played in an era where West Indian cricket reigned supreme amongst the rest of the world. To face them was intimidating, the beat them was nigh on unthinkable.
Sadly, there has been a decline in the standard of West Indian cricket over the last few decades but with the recent series win over England, coupled with some promising recent performances, shows that perhaps the West Indies are developing slowly into a force again. How does Hall view the current crop of Caribbean cricketers?
“The series win over England was quite important because up to then we’d had some improved displays but not much success. I think we’re definitely moving in the correct direction. There’s some good young bowlers out there, the likes of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, who really look like they could be dangerous given the proper development. Taylor’s spell at Jamaica (5-11 in England’s 51 all out) was magical and shows how far he has come.”
Is Chris Gayle the right man to lead them?
“I think so. There was a long time where we moved from captain to captain all the time. First Lara, then Chanderpaul, then Lara again, then Sarwan, then even Daren Ganga! I don’t think it helped stabilise the team and now that Gayle is there I think there’s a stability again. Some of his decisions haven’t been too clever but he’s got them winning and he’ll learn more about captaining a side as he goes. Plus, he is a brilliant batsman and likes to lead from the front.”
The West Indies certainly do not look like pushovers anymore. It makes one wonder just where the ranks of fast bowling greats would fit in with today’s team and, in fact, today’s game.
“I think I’d get hit around a bit!” Hall says, unequivocally. “Batsman are much better at playing fast bowling then they were, what with the introduction of helmets and better protection. I think it’s still tough to play against; you look at the success of Brett Lee, Dale Steyn, Andrew Flintoff… But batsman have better coaching on fast bowling now so they are better prepared. I don’t know, I think I’d get a game but I don’t know how well the ball would come out!”
Hall’s responses paint the picture of a humble man. His successes have not gone straight to his head and its refreshing to see a sportsman with such fond memories of playing and with such a dedication to the sport after his playing days are over. Hall has a deep invested love of cricket and of life in general and takes nothing for granted.
He has certainly had to cope with adversity. In 2007, Hall’s eldest son John died after drowning on holiday. Just a few weeks before the World Cup took place in the Caribbean, Hall had to deal with the most distressing of emergencies. Having to deal with the ramifications was surely life’s hardest test on Hall as he strove to be strong and to help his family deal with their loss. Still, he has not let it dictate the rest of his life. Hall is a deeply religious man and continues to live as though he is still that young, fiery fast bowler with a glistening gold chain around his neck. Poor health forced him to resign as President of the WICB but to this day he remains fit and firing again.
Hall remains a cherished figure in the annuls of West Indian cricket, both for his formidable stature as a player and for his good-natured and distinctively Caribbean way of living. Tony Cozier wrote in The Wisden Cricketer magazine, ‘If he happens to be a little late, he is always worth waiting for. When he turned up at my 50th birthday bash at 1am, numbers were beginning to thin. Wes kept it going for another four hours.’
‘A man for all the people‘, they say on the streets of Barbados. He certainly is that.
(University essay on Sports Writing, 2009)
Evaluate how new media has revitalised the democratic participation in the 2008 US presidential elections
The success of Barack Obama in the 2008 United States Presidential elections was historic and groundbreaking for a number of reasons. Notably, Obama’s race, which made him the first black man to lead the country. Obama’s political hooks and promises offered much hope to a beleaguered nation of people, tired of the war-ravaged and generally incompetent George W Bush administration hat had been in power for eight years.
However, the tools used by the various political masterminds of Obama’s election campaign were innovative and made fine use of the growing shift towards new media and the internet, in particular. Social media played an impossibly large role in the election outcome, with candidates using a variety of means to communicate with their voters. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, You Tube - all social networking websites that were cleverly used by both Obama and rival John McCain in order to get in touch with the people and secure more votes.
The turnout for the election was significantly better as a possible result. 62.8% of the voting age population turned out to register their vote, one of the highest ever figures, equalling the turnout for the 1964 election but narrowly losing out to the 1960 vote, where John F Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon. The numbers certainly make good reading when you hold them in comparison with recent years. In 1996, just over 50% of the voting population bothered to vote, a number that only slightly increased for the 2000 elections.
Now, one of the reasons for the surge in voters may have been Obama’s popularity and the fact that he was a new and different candidate but experts are crediting the use of new media for the revitalisation of democratic participation in the election. So just how did they do it?
A look at Barack Obama’s official Facebook page tells an interesting story. Obama currently has 6,072,317 ‘supporters’, meaning that those people are linked to his page and are made aware of any updates or communication coming from the page. It’s a heft amount of online followers, especially when compared to the 574,107 supporters for John McCain. The Facebook page is probably never updated by Obama himself (he likely has teams of people to do that for him) but it contains photos of him at key speeches and addresses and videos of him and his election promises. Now that he has been elected and inaugurated, the page is still updated almost every day, with news of his exploits and newsworthy moments. It’s an excellent device for getting media coverage and the brilliant thing about it is that Obama’s people were able to spin it whichever way they wanted.
On the information section of the page, Obama is even decent enough to provide us with a list of his hobbies and interests. He states them as ‘basketball, writing, spending time w/ kids’ before a list of his favourite musicians, films and books. It’s through this tool that his audience can relate to Obama and see a different side to him than the stern authoritative, political one that people are used to. It’s Obama’s way of showing that he’s, to borrow a popular phrase, ‘down with the kids’. In the job description section, it states, rather frankly, that he is ‘President of the United States’ from January 2009 onwards.
It’s a fascinating tool to use as it makes him seem just like any of the 6 million odd supporters he has. People would have looked at the information provided and related it to the information they had themselves provided regarding their own interests and employment. It may not have made people instantly want to vote for him, but it was a new tactic, devised to make best use of the growing demand around the world for new and social media.
Jesse Hirsh, in a interview with CBS News back in 2007, made the valid point that by using Facebook, candidates were able to access the locations of their supporters, by looking at their information. Hirsh cites the example that members in New Hampshire could be informed of a special announcement or speech from the candidate at the touch of a button. The point is also raised that the general desire of people for daily usage of Facebook and similar social networking sights means that there is greater chance for quick responses. In essence, the word can be spread faster and to more people and in a frenzied campaign such as the ‘08 Elections, that function could have be absolutely vital for Barack Obama.
However, it’s not just his Facebook page that won the election for Obama. The role of internet blogging will have had a huge and unprecedented effect on the election. With citizen journalism on an almost inexorable rise, it is doubtless that blogs covering the election would have been extremely popular. Blogs were a way for the media to gauge what the public were talking about regarding the election. For example if a large number of blogs were devoted to a particular address from a candidate then the media would know to post special coverage of that event. The advantage blogs have over mainstream media is that they can be posted out quicker. The Internet has the capability to make everything faster and more accessible to the people.
As a result of the probably deluge of political bloggers, the Obama campaign could have also had a better access to public reaction. Gone are the days when only opinion polls would give a true suggestion as to how well a campaign was being received. It’s possible that the rise in political blogging could have had a positive effect on the turnout for the election; anyone in their right mind can blog. It isn’t like mainstream media where only qualified people get to voice their opinions. The availability of blogs and the internet mean that the average Joe can convey his feelings and try to convince others of what they believe just by a few words and a click of a button. Essentially, the bloggers will feel like they’re involved in the political media process and the election will mean a whole lot more to them and to others.
The beauty of these new media functions is that the great majority can be anonymous; if, say, John Smith is posting a scathing attack of a candidate’s policies online from his basement in Nebraska, then no-one need know it is John Smith who is writing. That way he can be free to give his full opinion, however controversial or drastic it may be.
The anonymity of the Internet can mean that a campaign can manipulate the process in their favour. Blogs have a large influence on the public and would have a significant effect on undecided voters. Due to this effect, it is possible that pro-Obama blogs could have been written in order to raise a positive feeling in the Democrat Party and to generate more support for them.
One thing is for certain; Obama was definitely a popular blog topic. Statistics show that almost 500 million blog mentioned him since the end of August, just a few months before the election. During the same time period, only about 150 million blog posts mentioned his rival John McCain. Could it have been the increased publicity, both in the media and on the Internet, that won Obama the election?
YouTube is another new media vehicle that was utilised heavily by both candidates. And it’s interesting to note that the most popular election related video on the site is an anti-Obama one, attracting more than 11 million hits. Made by a soldier who returned from Iraq, the man talks about Obama’s stance on the war, saying, "When you call the Iraqi war a mistake you disrespect the service and sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom... Because you do not understand or appreciate these principles Sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president." He then walks away from the camera to reveal he has an artificial leg and a typically tacky pro-America song is dramatically played as he leaves.
It’s extremely theatrical, almost, and has clearly been designed carefully to tug at the heartstrings and appeal to the undecided. Still, it’s videos such as this one that candidates used to get their messages across to the people and to a newer generation of people that used the Internet as their main source of information and knowledge. The Democrats themselves put out a video of several well known celebrities echoing Obama’s popular phrase ‘Yes we can’. These videos are all meticulously prepared so that the correct message and values are conveyed and can be an extremely useful tool.
Andrew Rasiej, from the Techpresident blog, which monitored the impact of the Internet on the election, says that YouTube played a big part in changing the political landscape. He said, in an interview with the BBC, “The power to control the message is no longer in the hands of the political parties and candidates or the mainstream media. It's now shared by the public at large. They can distribute a piece of media on YouTube faster in a 15-minute news cycle than traditional media can in a 24-hour news cycle."
Perhaps the greatest effect had by YouTube was that the majority of the videos watched were light-hearted and moved away from the intense, seriousness of Presidential debate. Julie Germany, from the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University, said that while serious videos such as a landmark Obama speech on race notched up millions of viewers, it was the lighter videos that the people were more into. She commented, "Some of the most popular videos are the ones which show a lighter side and tap into pre-conceived notions and bias. They tap into characteristics that we either find funny or we fear, and these sorts of messages help them become viral."
Certainly, YouTube realised that their site would be at the forefront of the rush on new media for political attention. They even launched a new sub-section of their site, ‘You Choose ‘08’, which focused solely on the election and featured official party videos, interviews with Obama and McCain and all the election information that you would possibly need to know. In the end, it benefited Obama the greatest, although it is worth noting that the McCain campaign, with an inferior budget to the Democrats, ploughed the majority of their resources into YouTube and away from television advertisements, a sign that they recognised the opportunity for new media to play a role in getting the message across.
Dr. Paul Haridakis, associate professor of Communication Studies at Kent State University, investigated the impact of all new and social media on the election and said, in an article for Sciencedaily.com, "Many people will watch videos and use traditional media like TV to acquire political information about the candidates, but they also are going to the Internet and using social networking sites to see who people they know support. The information gleaned from their social networks may be the information they find most credible and persuasive.
“They'll listen to their buddy on his MySpace page, not necessarily the traditional messengers that candidates employ to reach out to the voters, or even the candidates themselves. That exploits the power of social media pretty well. The candidates in this election season have not fully harnessed the power of these tools."
There are plenty of reasons why Obama's Presidential campaign gained a lot more attention and publicity on social networks, blogs and other new media forms than the McCain campaign. The demographics and ages of social media users tend to fall in line closer with those of today's common Democratic voters. Looking ahead to the next election in four years time, it seems abundantly obvious that all political campaigns will be taking advantage of social media trends and failure to do so could very well end up in defeat.
(University essay on New Media Contexts, 2009)
However, the tools used by the various political masterminds of Obama’s election campaign were innovative and made fine use of the growing shift towards new media and the internet, in particular. Social media played an impossibly large role in the election outcome, with candidates using a variety of means to communicate with their voters. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, You Tube - all social networking websites that were cleverly used by both Obama and rival John McCain in order to get in touch with the people and secure more votes.
The turnout for the election was significantly better as a possible result. 62.8% of the voting age population turned out to register their vote, one of the highest ever figures, equalling the turnout for the 1964 election but narrowly losing out to the 1960 vote, where John F Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon. The numbers certainly make good reading when you hold them in comparison with recent years. In 1996, just over 50% of the voting population bothered to vote, a number that only slightly increased for the 2000 elections.
Now, one of the reasons for the surge in voters may have been Obama’s popularity and the fact that he was a new and different candidate but experts are crediting the use of new media for the revitalisation of democratic participation in the election. So just how did they do it?
A look at Barack Obama’s official Facebook page tells an interesting story. Obama currently has 6,072,317 ‘supporters’, meaning that those people are linked to his page and are made aware of any updates or communication coming from the page. It’s a heft amount of online followers, especially when compared to the 574,107 supporters for John McCain. The Facebook page is probably never updated by Obama himself (he likely has teams of people to do that for him) but it contains photos of him at key speeches and addresses and videos of him and his election promises. Now that he has been elected and inaugurated, the page is still updated almost every day, with news of his exploits and newsworthy moments. It’s an excellent device for getting media coverage and the brilliant thing about it is that Obama’s people were able to spin it whichever way they wanted.
On the information section of the page, Obama is even decent enough to provide us with a list of his hobbies and interests. He states them as ‘basketball, writing, spending time w/ kids’ before a list of his favourite musicians, films and books. It’s through this tool that his audience can relate to Obama and see a different side to him than the stern authoritative, political one that people are used to. It’s Obama’s way of showing that he’s, to borrow a popular phrase, ‘down with the kids’. In the job description section, it states, rather frankly, that he is ‘President of the United States’ from January 2009 onwards.
It’s a fascinating tool to use as it makes him seem just like any of the 6 million odd supporters he has. People would have looked at the information provided and related it to the information they had themselves provided regarding their own interests and employment. It may not have made people instantly want to vote for him, but it was a new tactic, devised to make best use of the growing demand around the world for new and social media.
Jesse Hirsh, in a interview with CBS News back in 2007, made the valid point that by using Facebook, candidates were able to access the locations of their supporters, by looking at their information. Hirsh cites the example that members in New Hampshire could be informed of a special announcement or speech from the candidate at the touch of a button. The point is also raised that the general desire of people for daily usage of Facebook and similar social networking sights means that there is greater chance for quick responses. In essence, the word can be spread faster and to more people and in a frenzied campaign such as the ‘08 Elections, that function could have be absolutely vital for Barack Obama.
However, it’s not just his Facebook page that won the election for Obama. The role of internet blogging will have had a huge and unprecedented effect on the election. With citizen journalism on an almost inexorable rise, it is doubtless that blogs covering the election would have been extremely popular. Blogs were a way for the media to gauge what the public were talking about regarding the election. For example if a large number of blogs were devoted to a particular address from a candidate then the media would know to post special coverage of that event. The advantage blogs have over mainstream media is that they can be posted out quicker. The Internet has the capability to make everything faster and more accessible to the people.
As a result of the probably deluge of political bloggers, the Obama campaign could have also had a better access to public reaction. Gone are the days when only opinion polls would give a true suggestion as to how well a campaign was being received. It’s possible that the rise in political blogging could have had a positive effect on the turnout for the election; anyone in their right mind can blog. It isn’t like mainstream media where only qualified people get to voice their opinions. The availability of blogs and the internet mean that the average Joe can convey his feelings and try to convince others of what they believe just by a few words and a click of a button. Essentially, the bloggers will feel like they’re involved in the political media process and the election will mean a whole lot more to them and to others.
The beauty of these new media functions is that the great majority can be anonymous; if, say, John Smith is posting a scathing attack of a candidate’s policies online from his basement in Nebraska, then no-one need know it is John Smith who is writing. That way he can be free to give his full opinion, however controversial or drastic it may be.
The anonymity of the Internet can mean that a campaign can manipulate the process in their favour. Blogs have a large influence on the public and would have a significant effect on undecided voters. Due to this effect, it is possible that pro-Obama blogs could have been written in order to raise a positive feeling in the Democrat Party and to generate more support for them.
One thing is for certain; Obama was definitely a popular blog topic. Statistics show that almost 500 million blog mentioned him since the end of August, just a few months before the election. During the same time period, only about 150 million blog posts mentioned his rival John McCain. Could it have been the increased publicity, both in the media and on the Internet, that won Obama the election?
YouTube is another new media vehicle that was utilised heavily by both candidates. And it’s interesting to note that the most popular election related video on the site is an anti-Obama one, attracting more than 11 million hits. Made by a soldier who returned from Iraq, the man talks about Obama’s stance on the war, saying, "When you call the Iraqi war a mistake you disrespect the service and sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom... Because you do not understand or appreciate these principles Sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president." He then walks away from the camera to reveal he has an artificial leg and a typically tacky pro-America song is dramatically played as he leaves.
It’s extremely theatrical, almost, and has clearly been designed carefully to tug at the heartstrings and appeal to the undecided. Still, it’s videos such as this one that candidates used to get their messages across to the people and to a newer generation of people that used the Internet as their main source of information and knowledge. The Democrats themselves put out a video of several well known celebrities echoing Obama’s popular phrase ‘Yes we can’. These videos are all meticulously prepared so that the correct message and values are conveyed and can be an extremely useful tool.
Andrew Rasiej, from the Techpresident blog, which monitored the impact of the Internet on the election, says that YouTube played a big part in changing the political landscape. He said, in an interview with the BBC, “The power to control the message is no longer in the hands of the political parties and candidates or the mainstream media. It's now shared by the public at large. They can distribute a piece of media on YouTube faster in a 15-minute news cycle than traditional media can in a 24-hour news cycle."
Perhaps the greatest effect had by YouTube was that the majority of the videos watched were light-hearted and moved away from the intense, seriousness of Presidential debate. Julie Germany, from the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University, said that while serious videos such as a landmark Obama speech on race notched up millions of viewers, it was the lighter videos that the people were more into. She commented, "Some of the most popular videos are the ones which show a lighter side and tap into pre-conceived notions and bias. They tap into characteristics that we either find funny or we fear, and these sorts of messages help them become viral."
Certainly, YouTube realised that their site would be at the forefront of the rush on new media for political attention. They even launched a new sub-section of their site, ‘You Choose ‘08’, which focused solely on the election and featured official party videos, interviews with Obama and McCain and all the election information that you would possibly need to know. In the end, it benefited Obama the greatest, although it is worth noting that the McCain campaign, with an inferior budget to the Democrats, ploughed the majority of their resources into YouTube and away from television advertisements, a sign that they recognised the opportunity for new media to play a role in getting the message across.
Dr. Paul Haridakis, associate professor of Communication Studies at Kent State University, investigated the impact of all new and social media on the election and said, in an article for Sciencedaily.com, "Many people will watch videos and use traditional media like TV to acquire political information about the candidates, but they also are going to the Internet and using social networking sites to see who people they know support. The information gleaned from their social networks may be the information they find most credible and persuasive.
“They'll listen to their buddy on his MySpace page, not necessarily the traditional messengers that candidates employ to reach out to the voters, or even the candidates themselves. That exploits the power of social media pretty well. The candidates in this election season have not fully harnessed the power of these tools."
There are plenty of reasons why Obama's Presidential campaign gained a lot more attention and publicity on social networks, blogs and other new media forms than the McCain campaign. The demographics and ages of social media users tend to fall in line closer with those of today's common Democratic voters. Looking ahead to the next election in four years time, it seems abundantly obvious that all political campaigns will be taking advantage of social media trends and failure to do so could very well end up in defeat.
(University essay on New Media Contexts, 2009)
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