Adios Amigo

There are some things in football that you just don't see coming, and for Swansea City fans, the departure of their much heralded manager, Roberto Martinez, was a bitter pill to swallow.

This, the same Roberto Martinez who spoke of wanting players who would 'walk through the night' to play for Swansea City; players who could look at their long-term careers rather than short-term financial gain. And yes, the same man who professed from very early on that his departure from Swansea City as a manager would be as it was as a player - forced.

Indeed, Martinez seemed like a different breed. His loyalty was a breath of fresh air in today's modern game, where players and managers alike jump ship at the drop of a hat. The 35 year old always conducted himself with dignity and class, and combined scintillating football with some astute signings in the transfer market. In the eyes of the Swansea faithful, Martinez could do no wrong.

So when the Spaniard jumped ship and returned to Wigan Athletic, fans at the Liberty Stadium could be forgiven for feeling a little betrayed, disappointed, and let down - all in equal measure.

People will point to the fact that Martinez is returning to Wigan; the place where he made a name for himself in the English game as part of the 'three amigos that Dave Whelan brought to the club in the summer of 1995. And while this may be true, by Martinez' own admission, he didn't feel nearly the same affiliation for the Lancashire club as he did for his beloved Swansea.

This love for Swansea goes back to 2006, where a personality clash with then manager Kenny Jackett left the midfielder surplus to requirements. But rather than sign for another side in League One, the Spaniard dropped a division to sign for Chester City in League Two, such was his love for the Swans, in that he couldn't bare to face them as an opposing player.

And that's what makes the situation all the more painful for the Swansea faithful. They placed their trust in Martinez; a man who seemed to love the club as much as they did. Unfortunately, their faith was misplaced.

Others will say that Swansea should express gratitude towards the man who gave them so much success - on and off the field. This may be true, but by the same token, should Martinez not repay the same gratitude given to him by the club that gave him his big break in management as an untried 33 year old? Of course, Martinez proved the doubters wrong, delivering promotion to the Championship with champagne football that had never been seen in South Wales. However, chairman Hew Jenkins deserves credit for being so bold in appointing the Spaniard in the first place.

In an ironic twist, a man linked with the job at the Liberty Stadium has shown loyalty to his current employers. Much like Martinez, Paul Tisdale, manager of Exeter City, is a manager held in high regard by his own fans after back to back promotions. But instead of jumping ship, Tisdale is staying loyal to his current employers, where he knows he will be afforded the patience that other chairman lack, thanks to his glowing reputation at St James Park. One would think that Martinez would also be given time at the Liberty Stadium, should he have a bad spell, such is his popularity amongst the Swansea fans. He might not be afforded the same patience at Wigan, for whom survival in the Premier League with all it's riches is paramount. There will be little room for sentiment.

What now for Swansea? The next appointment is a crucial one, with the ideals of Martinez firmly stamped all over the playing squad. The footballing philosophy cannot change; the fans nor the players would accept it. Gus Poyet seems like a sound choice, a manager with limited experience, yes, but that didn't do the last manager any harm, did it? He would get the Swans playing the way they've become accustomed to, and with the fans behind him, could help the club progress to the Premier League.

Swansea in the Premier League, with Wigan Athletic going in the opposite direction? It seems unlikely now, but football has a habit of being unpredictable, doesn't it?

Murray marches on as Wimbledon draws ever closer

The road from Queen’s Club to Wimbledon is one that can lead to great success. Just ask Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, or last year’s winner at Queen’s club, Rafael Nadal - three players who won at Queen’s on their way to the bigger prize. So while it may be premature to mention Andy Murray in the same breath as such fine players, on current form, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to discount the young Scot from his maiden grass court title, and, whisper it quietly, Wimbledon.

Granted, we’ve been here before, but with 11 ATP Tour titles to his name, and three titles won this year alone, it’s clear that Murray is made of sterner stuff than his British predecessors.

The number one seed booked his place in the semi-finals at Queens Club, comfortably defeating Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-3. The Scot will now face former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero for a place in the final, who looked impressive on the grass yesterday and has the pedigree to trouble the 22 year old. On current form, however, it’s hard to look past the ever confident and assured Murray, who doesn’t look like dropping a set, let alone lose a match.

Fish’s game plan came as no surprise. The American was heavily reliant on his powerful serve, and looked to come to the net at every opportunity; a throwback to the days of Tiger Tim, if you will.

But to win tournaments consistently you need more variety, something that Murray has in abundance. The Scot played intelligently, as you would expect, and served well - 69% of his first serves found the mark, and 30 of 31 points that were contested on his first serve were won.

The breaks of serve were just as impressive. In the eleventh game of the first set, Murray raced into a 0-40 lead, and after getting back into the game at 30-40, a routine smash from Fish went awry, gifting the set to Murray.

There were two breaks of serve in the second set, both coming from fine backhand service returns. The first left Fish trapped on the baseline, and the American duly swallowed the bait. The second came at match point, wrapping up proceedings in one hour and ten minutes. A job well done, and Pimms all round.

Things are certainly looking promising for Murray. Indeed, he’s made the transition from clay to grass with ease, and with no Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in action, one could argue that Murray is the in-form player on grass as Wimbledon draws ever closer. A daunting prospect, yes, but one you feel he will take in his stride, such is the confidence that he exudes on court.

As Wimbledon approaches, the crowds at SW19 will undoubtedly have similar thoughts. All the talk may be of Federer and his quest to become the greatest of all time, and rightly so. A certain Scot is providing his own narrative, however, and it could prove to be fascinating.

Evans has the last laugh as Crawley hold firm against Torquay

Before this match, Crawley Town’s manager Steve Evans had spoke about Torquay United’s chances of automatic promotion - and Paul Buckle’s apparent precarious job prospects should the Gulls lose out. Today’s result may well have consigned the Gulls to defeat on that front.

In a pulsating encounter at Plainmoor, it was Crawley who took the three points, with goals in each half from

Dannie Bulman and substitute Robbie Matthews all but ending Torquay’s promotion hopes, and in the process giving themselves a slim chance of making the playoff lottery.

The Scotsman is no stranger to controversy, of course, nor is he averse to mind-games with opposition managers. With tax evasions and refusals to shake other manager’s hands just some of the indiscretions to his name - Evans has built himself quite a reputation. And today he was at it again, gesturing and hurling abuse to the officials at every opportunity, and instructing his players to waste time whenever possible.

Clearly, Evans’ comments before the match had the desired effect. He had spoke of big budgets and the big expectations faced by Torquay prior to this match, and it appears his comments only added to the weight of expectation facing his opponents. From the kick-off his Crawley side looked the more lively - with his side outworking and out battling a clearly nervous Torquay, and his wingers proving to be a constant danger on the flanks.

So it proved for the opener. When Jamie Cook picked the ball up on the right touchline, there appeared to be little danger. However, the skilful winger had the beating of Gulls centre-back Chris Robertson on the edge of the box. His square pass to Bulman was perfectly measured, and the finish was slotted home coolly. A 3000 strong Plainmoor had been silenced.

Torquay responded immediately. Some good work from Blair Sturrock on the left hand channel kept alive what looked like a lost cause, and his persistance gave an unmarked Tim Sills the chance to even things up. His shot lacked accuracy, however, and fizzed well wide of former Gulls keeper Simon Rayner’s goal.

Half-time approached, and with that a big team talk was required from Paul Buckle. Only wins would do at this stage of the season, and his team responded in kind in the second half.

Indeed, it was constant pressure from Torquay - helped by a triple substituion on the hour mark - a signal of intent if there ever was one. It was substitutes Mustafa Carayol and Roscoe Dsane who came closest to breaking the deadlock - Carayol with a powerful effort that was tipped onto the crossbar after cutting inside from the left touchline, and Dsane with a shot that was tipped over by Rayner in the Crawley goal, who was clearly relishing his return to Plainmoor.

With Torquay committing so many players forward, a counter-attack was always likely. And in the dying minutes of the match, a swift Crawley move was finished by substitute Scott Matthews, who saw his powerful shot creep under goalkeeper Scott Bevan.

It was the least the visitors deserved, who have now beaten the league’s top two teams in the space of a week, and find themselves seven points from the playoffs with five games to play. As for Torquay, the dream of automatic promotion has now disappeared, and the playoffs are surely looming. And on today’s evidence, the prospect of Crawley over two legs is one they’d like to avoid. It’s a clash Evans would certainly relish.

Gulls ready to swoop as as the Blue Square Title race reaches it's climax

Months ago, it seemed impossible. Weeks ago, there was a glimmer of hope. Now, with just eight points in it and four games remaining - it appears that Torquay United are well and truly back in the hunt for the Blue Square Premier title. A 1-0 win over league leaders Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on Monday night kept the Devonshire club’s hopes alive, and with 11 matches without defeat, it appears Paul Buckle’s side have found consistency and form at just the right time.

In what was billed as the Gulls biggest game of the season, it was the smallest player on the pitch; the diminutive winger Danny Stevens, who delivered the goal after ten minutes which gave Torquay hope, and left Burton looking nervously over their shoulders as the business end of the season approaches.

Of course, without such a bad start, the Gulls might not be in this position. After taking just five points from their opening seven games, questions were being asked about the side who came so desperately close to promotion last season, only to go down 5-2 on aggregate to local rivals Exeter City in the semi finals of the playoffs in such heartbreaking fashion.

Those questions were answered however, and in some style. Torquay proceeded to go on a 17 match unbeaten run; and in the process put themselves back in the promotion race. Indeed, if not for such a poor start, the Gulls may not have found themselves with so much to do.

On the contrary, Burton were suffering from no such hangover. In February promotion seemed certain, with some bookies already paying out on the Brewers as winners of the Blue Square Premier. A 19 point lead seemed unassailable, and most had given up on catching the Champions elect. It would take a mighty collapse to lose it now, wouldn’t it?

And so it’s proved. The departure of Nigel Clough was a blow, but with the experienced Roy McFarland taking over and immediately steadying the ship, the title seemed like a formality. Uncharacteristic defeats against the likes of Ebbsfleet and Sailsbury City marked the end of an impressive fun of form, however, and in the process gave their opponents hope. Burton weren’t quite so invincible any more.

Now, with just five games remaining, the pressure is well and truly on for Roy McFarland’s team. To say their run in is tough would be an understatement, with games against fellow promotion hopefuls Kidderminster and Histon to come, and a trip to Torquay again on the final day of the season.

And the Gulls are piling on the pressure. Just five points separate the two teams, with Torquay having a game in hand, too. They have the momentum which is so crucial at this stage of the season – with no loss in 11 games. Compare and contrast that run with Burton’s record of three wins in their last ten games, and it’s clear that the nerves are getting to them.

It’s still Burton’s title to lose, however. It’s all about how many points you have on the board at this stage of the season – something which the Gulls found out to their peril last season when they chased Aldershot for the title. Two more wins would probably see them over the line, although that’s easier said than done with games against an in-form Kidderminster and the season’s surprise package, Histon.

For Torquay, all they can do is keep winning. Their run-in is slightly more kind, with trips to Barrow and Sailsbury alongside tricky fixtures against the ever unpredictable Crawley Town and playoff hopefuls Stevenage. The Gulls have nothing to lose, though, and everything to gain. A final day showdown at Plainmoor would be a fitting way to end the season, with the winner taking all in front of the Setanta cameras.

Whatever happens, it promises to be a thrilling end to the season, that’s for sure.

Fernando Verdasco’s Dream Year Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down

After a fantastic Australian Open campaign that exceeded perhaps all expectations, you could forgive Fernando Verdasco for feeling the pressure.

After all, the Spaniard has gone from "also-ran" to "genuine contender" in a matter of months. People now expect things from him.

Verdasco, however, is showing no signs of buckling under the weight of expectation. In a tight encounter, he defeated his countryman and occasional doubles partner, Feliciano Lopez, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in their third-round matchup in the Sony Ericsson Open.

Fernando is now set up for a fourth-round showdown against Radek Stepanek.

Monday's match was a battle throughout, with neither player truly gaining the upper hand at any point.

It was Lopez who started stronger. An early break gave him the advantage, and he showed his mettle by saving five break points as his opponent strived to get back into the match.

The world's No. 34 player was serving strongly, firing seven aces and winning 80 percent of his first-serve points.

The second set belonged to Verdasco, however. The No. 8 seed broke his compatriot quickly and raced into a 3-0 lead; from there, he never looked back, and began to dominate from the baseline, dropping only four points in five service games.

The momentum was with Verdasco as the third set began, and after an early break and hold, a comfortable win looked like a foregone conclusion. Some sloppy tennis allowed Lopez back into the match, however, and at 2-2 in the final set, the match was evenly poised.

Both men held serve until Lopez cracked at 4-4 with a double fault that virtually gifted Verdasco the match, who held and saw the contest off.

Make no mistake about it, Monday's was a match that Verdasco could have lost a year or so ago.

Closing out matches has been a big problem for the 25-year-old; he at one time was prone to double-faults and a lack of concentration, particularly at the end of sets.

But in recent months, there’s been a mental transformation to his game.

One could argue that Verdasco’s defining moment came in the Davis Cup. Rafael Nadal’s injury gave him the chance to shine, and he delivered the winning point for Spain in the final against Argentina.

It was a win that gave Verdasco self-belief—since then, he has continued to roll on the crest of a wave.

A semifinal appearance at the Australian Open immediately followed, and he defeated the likes of Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Andy Murray on the way only to lose out to the eventual champion Nadal in a five set thriller.

That bout with Rafa was the longest match in the history of the tournament - at over five hours to be exact, and Verdasco had proved he can hang with the big hitters.

Determined to show he’s not a one-hit wonder, Verdasco now finds himself in the last 16 of the Miami Masters. And though his tennis looked disjointed at times against Lopez, he had enough to get the job done and now has a winning mentality.

And his new attitude could take him even further.

Murray makes hard work of it in Miami

Well, that was far from straight forward, wasn’t it?

In a match which many thought would represent a relatively easy passage to the third round, Andy Murray gave us quite the scare - before rediscovering his touch to beat Juan Monaco 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and in the process seal his place in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Make no mistake about it, this wasn’t the vintage Murray performance that we’ve become accustomed to. There were actually times where he seemed in real danger against the Argentinean. Fortunately, though the usual swagger of his performance was missing, there was no shortage of character from the young man.

In fairness to Monaco, he’s no slouch on the tennis courts. The Argentine currently sits at 59th place in the rankings, and only last year was as high as 14th on the tour - his highest position to date.

And his quality showed, as he comprehensively outplayed an out of sorts Murray in the first set, breaking him in the third game as the Scot struggled to get going.

However, as the match wore on, Murray’s superiority began to tell. He secured a break in the fourth game of the second set, and, in the deciding game of the set, broke the World Number 59 again to level the match.

The force was with Murray at this point, and after raising his game at first, Monaco just couldn’t maintain his level of performance for the whole match. The next set was duly wrapped up by Murray, and he closed out the match comfortably.

Indeed, there’s no doubting Murray made harder work of this match than he should have - in the first set at least. The old Murray might have wilted under such pressure.

He’s now made of sterner stuff, though and he deserves credit for coming back into the match, with the Scotsman showing his fighting qualities in the second and third sets. It was never truly comfortable, however, with Monaco showing stiff resistance throughout. Murray will certainly need to play much better if he is to go far in this tournament and close in on Novak Djokovic’s Number 3 ranking.

On the upside, today’s results have been quite kind to Murray, who has been spared the unenviable prospect of possibly facing David Nalbandian in the 4th round, after the Argentine crashed out at the expense of

Viktor Troicki of Serbia, losing 6-1, 6-3. The powerful Mardy Fish was also eliminated, going down to Nicolas Massú of Chile. And it’s the gutsy Massú next up for Murray.

He won’t be short of match sharpness, that’s for sure.

Nadal strives for back-to-back Masters titles

With one Masters title already in the bag this season, it appears Rafael Nadal is not done just yet.

Just three days after capturing the BNP Paribas Open title in Indian Wells, the Spaniard is at it again, as he sets his sights on the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida.

The event features a field of 96 players – making it one of the biggest events on the tour outside the four grand slams, and with defending champion Nikolay Davydenko unable to compete due to injury, a new champion is guaranteed.

So, is a Nadal victory a forgone conclusion?

You can be sure Roger Federer will have something to say about that, as the world number two looks to win his first title of 2009 – and in the process silence some of his critics.

The draw has worked out nicely for Federer, who shouldn’t face too many problems on his way to the quarter finals. An encounter with Andy Roddick seems the most likely scenario here, which would present us with a rematch from last year’s quarter final, in which the American ended an 11 match losing streak against Federer. A win here would certainly shut up the doubters, and give himself some much needed momentum.

Should Roddick be considered? Some have their doubts about the lack of variety to his game, but his serve is big enough to trouble anyone on tour. A quarter-final against Federer looks a daunting task for the American given his record against him, and a repeat performance from last year may be required.

And what about Andy Murray? The British number one was so impressive en route to the final at Indian Wells, only to be blown away, quite literally, by Nadal in the final. The draw hasn’t been kind to Murray – he could meet Mardy Fish as early as the third round, before meeting the always tough David Nalbandian in the fourth round. Come through that, and Murray could meet the sensation of the Australian Open, Fernando Verdasco or hard-court specialist Radek Stepenek in the quarter finals. Murray will need to be at his very best to progress.

Novak Djokovic is a player who will be looking to find some form. The Serb is seemingly a victim of his own early success at the moment, and a good showing in Florida would go some way towards repairing what has been a disappointing start to 2009 so far. He could meet the powerful Jo Wilfred Tsonga in the quarter finals – a player who has troubled Djokovic in recent meetings.

The aforementioned Radek Stepenek could also spring a surprise. Indeed, the Czech is showing some strong form, and with one trophy to his name already this year, the hardcourt specialist could well ruffle a few feathers in Florida.

Overall though, it’s hard to look past Nadal. The world number one is in imperious form as things stand, and is simply brimming with confidence.

Back to back titles? It’s hard to look past that.