Over the last few weeks, the England cricket team have produced an historic victory – breaking countless personal and collective records and, of course, becoming the first England team to win an Ashes series Down Under since 1987.

Ahead of the fifth and final Test, Tab Sport caught up with former England international cricketer and fast bowler Angus Fraser. Fraser was also Middlesex County Cricket Captain until he was succeeded by current England Captain Andrew Strauss in 2002.

At 6’6″, Fraser towered into Jesus College bar, with a pint of ale in one hand and a smile that suggested it probably hadn’t been his first. Pleased with the success of the England team, Fraser said ‘this is the best England side in years, and the team has been on the best run of form in decades.’

The press in both England and Australia have been printing some sensationalist headlines of late. The front page of The Australian Herald last week branded their team a “joke” and a “disgrace”. Fraser was quick to add a note of  caution to the headlines of some English newspapers: ‘It’s important to remember that whilst this is a very strong England side, it is also the worst Australian side in a very long time.’

Fraser, playing for England in the ’90s, came up against Australian sides boasting some of the best players in the world, and said this was always on their minds on the way Down Under. ‘The most daunting thing about any Ashes series is playing against the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist,’ he explained.

Alistair Cook, now England’s second highest run-scorer ever in an Ashes series, has been the pundit’s player of the series. Interestingly, he was made an offer to study at Fitzwilliam College, but turned it down to follow his cricket career, in a decision that is paying off.

Wonderboy Cook (left) celebrates his successful partnership with Captain-fantastic Strauss (right)

However, for Fraser, Strauss has been the most important player: ‘Strauss has led by example; compare his performance with the bat to Ponting’s and the difference is clear. You simply cannot underestimate how important a captain is in such pressurised situations, especially during an Ashes series in the Aussies’ backyard.

‘Playing an Ashes series Down Under is more physically and mentally demanding – the weather can get intensely hot, and the Australian media are just waiting for an opportunity to slate you.’

Fraser celebrates his eight-wicket haul against  the West Indies in 1994

Although it is inevitably difficult for any England cricketer in Fraser’s era to point to a single Ashes series as a high, he explained: ‘The moment that really stands out as a personal high was taking eight wickets in the first innings against a strong West Indies team in Barbados, 1994. As a team, it would have been the series victory against South Africa when they were heavy favourites and nobody had really given us a chance before the series.’

After a long description of the South African victory, he sat back in his seat to describe his worst moment, which as a team would be being bowled out for 46 runs by the West Indies in 1994.

For Liam, the most embarrassing moment of his entire career was in an Ashes test against Australia in Brisbane. ‘The Aussie fans were notorious for their jeering, particularly when we were fielding. With the heat and the constant abuse, I decided to give the fans behind me a bit of verbal back. Then two balls later, I dropped a catch from Ian Healy and received a torrent of abuse from hundreds of Aussies.’

For both cricket, as a game, and England’s place in it, the last 10 years have seen a transformation.  What did Fraser think? ‘The prominence of T20 is good if it makes cricket more accessible and encourages greater participation,’ he explained.

‘For the players, the game has changed massively – the main difference being the amount of money in the game from sponsorship and tournaments such as the IPL. Whilst this is maybe desirable, one thing I don’t envy is the increasing intrusion by the media into the personal lives of players, which is reaching a ridiculous level now.’

As the university’s footballers get stuck into Cuppers this weekend, Liam Conlon looks at how the top league is shaping up so far.

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Trinity and Emma are neck and neck at the summit of college football after the first three matchdays, both having achieved 100 per cent records so far this season.

The Tab’s title tip and last season’s runners-up, Trinity, are looking the team most likely to lift the title with wins over Homerton and Christ’s in their first two games, followed by a 4-0 drilling of Girton. The true test of their title credentials will come next weekend against Downing. 

Emma looked shaky in their narrow 1-0 wins over both Jesus and Caius, but they thumped Catz resoundingly 8-1, and look likely to stay near the top until the business end of the season.

The PWC Division One table.

Jesus and Fitz both suffered culls to their squad and both have had mixed starts, but along with Christ’s look set for upper mid-table finishes this season.

Fitz on the other hand will need to get their kit in order after one of their freshers narrowly avoided being reported after being seen stumbling around their pitches in his y-fronts and a pair of roller-blades.

Downing will be disappointed with their start to the season, and on current form look unlikely to defend their title, with narrow victories over Caius and Catz before a 2-0 defeat to Christ’s.

The two newcomers from the second division, Homerton and Caius, have had distinctly average starts to the season, with Caius in 9^th and Homerton in 7^th.

At the other end of the table, Girton have made a simply appalling start, with three defeats from three, including a 2-0 defeat to Homerton, and are still yet to score.

Girton’s talismanic midfielder and Tab favourite Lukas Wang blamed Homerton for their poor start: “It’s just not fair really. We had to go to their pitches to play them. That meant booking a minibus and Travelodge so we could stay over the night before. It got everyone down and it affected our performance”.

Girton desperately need a win over Catz this weekend in a match that could prove crucial to both sides come the end of the season.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxOj5_s_8m0

Tab favourite Lukas Wang

When league matches resume next week, the match to watch will be Downing vs. Trinity. If Trinity can get the better of Downing, they will surely make a huge dent in the champions’ title hopes, whilst 3 points for the home side would throw the whole division wide open again.

Should Christ’s, Fitz, Jesus and Downing all win this weekend, only two points will separate 1^st place from 6^th, compared to six points at the same stage last season.

Attention this weekend turns to the first round of the Cuppers Competition. Look out for all the high and lows on The Tab on Monday!

Full college league tables, fixtures and results can be found here.

Cambridge Women 1-0 Oxford Women

Cambridge’s Women Footballers comfortably took victory in their Varsity Match in Oxford on Saturday, the eventual 1-0 scoreline not reflecting the extent to which they dominated their Dark Blue counterparts.

Hordes of travelling supporters greeted the Cambrige team, on an Oxford pitch which was badly cut up in places. The Light Blues bossed the show from the outset, captain Leesa Haydock coming close twice in the first ten minutes, seeing one shot deflected by an opposition defender and the other forcing a good save from the Oxford shot-stopper. Emma Eldridge also had a couple of excellent chances from free-kicks, one of which went agonisingly close to giving the visitors the lead.

The Cambridge girls must have felt their luck was out, when a series of corners came to nothing and several opportunities went unconverted. A clear foul on Catherine Murphy inside the Oxford box then went unpunished, adding to the Light Blues’ mounting frustration. The Oxford team lacked any attacking presence though; Cambridge keeper Sara Haenzi didn’t have a single save to make during the first period.

A jubilant team celebrates after the game. Photo: Danielle Griffiths.

The deadlock was finally broken with 40 minutes on the clock. Speedster Maisie-Rose Byrne linked up nicely with Ashley Winslow, their one-two leading to a searching cross from Byrne which found fox-in-the-box Kate Robinson unmarked. With only the keeper to beat, Robinson stayed cool and slotted the ball home into the top-right corner.

Robinson was unlucky not to double her personal tally a few moments later as Cambridge caught Oxford napping, only to have the goal disallowed for a rather dubious offside.

The half-time break was marred by controversy. A heated debate arose between the sides about one of the Oxford players who was thought to be ineligible to play. The fact that the girl in question was wearing a shirt with a different name and number to her own made it all the more suspicious. When confronted, the Oxford team looked decidedly shifty and the girl in question never returned from the dressing room, making a speedy exit from the ground.

Despite this set-back, Oxford looked an improved side in the second half. Nonetheless, all their efforts were thwarted by the Cambridge defence, Eldridge and Murphy holding off the Oxford strikers whilst Griffiths and Bellfield ensured that their wingers had nowhere to run. Haenzi still had little to do.

At the other end of the pitch, Kate Robinson was again denied by some dodgy refereeing. Clean through on the Oxford goal, Robinson was cynically hacked down from behind. The referee, amazingly, did nothing, sending the Cambridge supporters into frenzy and even eliciting a look of surprise from the Oxford coach.

As it happened, the decision proved inconsequential and Cambridge closed the game out with relative ease.

Speaking to The Tab after the match, Blues Captain Leesa Haydock said “The result in no way reflects our overall domination of Oxford, but a win is a win and I will happily take that! The girls have been fantastic all season and all their hard work has been rewarded. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Meanwhile, The Tab can exclusively bring you news of a post-game mishap. Rumour has it that the Cambridge team somehow contrived to misplace the Varsity Trophy amidst their celebrations. It was later found in a bar and is still awaiting its return to Cambridge…

The Tab’s Woman of the Match: Kate Robinson

London Dragons 8 – 6 Cambridge Blues

Cambridge took on the might of the London Dragons last week, ahead of their Varsity Match this coming Saturday. Two London goals in the final five minutes of the last period condemned Cambridge to defeat after a hard-fought encounter.

Ice Hockey is one of Cambridge’s forgotten sports. Despite being a member of an audience of only six at the game, I am forced to admit that it is by far the most exciting sport I have ever watched a team from Cambridge play. Players are only on the ice for shifts of 40 seconds at a time and, as President Rich Trueman noted, “It’s a 40 second sprint. It demands pace, stamina, strength and skill”.

Any student from any University in London is eligible to play for the Dragons and as a result their pool of potential ice hockey players is far greater than that of Cambridge. Already big rivals, the fact that nearly all the Blues players were from North America and most of London’s players were Russian added more ferocity to this icy showdown.

The first period was dead even. London took the lead twice, but both times Cambridge equalised through Randlett and Whillier. The teams ended the period at 2-2.

The second period was a tense affair, seeing some massive hits from both sides. After London had taken an early advantage Tavana popped up twice for Cambridge to make it 4-3 to the Blues halfway through. Cambridge keeper Mazurek made some great stops and London, despite scoring two more points, became increasingly frustrated.

Several Dragons vented their irritation by making some harsh challenges on Cambridge players who clearly weren’t interfering with play. One such challenge on Blues player Fielding left the players, coach and Cambridge’s boisterous travelling support (me) shouting at the referee to do his job.

It was Dave Waterman who struck back for Cambridge, slamming the offending player from London so hard into the side-wall that one of the London WAGs screamed in shock. Waterman left the Dragon moaning on the ice in a world of pain and skated off, shouting “Woo! I fuckin’ love this sport!” at his team-mates. A late shot from Whillier then levelled the scores at 5-5 going into the final period.

Cambridge started the third period on fire, Pete Morelli shooting home to make the score 6-5 to the Light Blues. This was, however, the final point that the away team would net in the match. London made full use of their home advantage to slot home 3 times in the final ten minutes to snatch the win from Cambridge’s grasp.

Blues coach Bill Harris was of the opinion that Cambridge were “unfortunate to lose”. Harris was clear that their attention is now solely focused on the Varsity Match – “It’s going to be a tight one, a big one, and yes, we’re confident!”

Blues Ice Hockey President (and the team’s only Englishman) Rich Trueman said “This is the best team we’ve had for years. We lost Varsity 4-2 last year, but this year I really believe we can produce a win!”

The Tab will be bringing you exclusive coverage from this weekend’s Varsity Match. We’ll also be bringing you highlights on TabTV.

Pembroke 7 – 5 Fitz

Pembroke edged Fitz in this relegation decider, compounding their opponents to spend next season in the basement of college rugby. 

After nearly two terms of rugby, this match was essentially as important as a Cup Final for both sides. A draw would be enough to secure Fitz their Division 2 status for another season; Pembroke had to win in order to avoid the drop.

Fitz went into the game as firm favourites, having demolished their opponents 30-5 on home turf, and were confident of rolling over Pembroke who took a 50-15 hammering at the hands of Division 3 outfit Homerton in Cuppers last week.

Perhaps the occasion got the better of the sides as the contest proved to be scrappy at best. In a nervy first half Fitz came closest to breaking the deadlock, but a try-saving tackle by Pembroke’s Rob Jones prevented the visitors from taking the lead; 0-0 at half time.

It was much of the same after the break. However 10 minutes from full time Fitz Captain Ed Thornton picked up from the base of the scrum, 5 metres from the Pembroke line, and went over for a try under the posts.

Amazingly the conversion was charged down by Pembroke skipper Sean Adams; 5-0 to the visitors. As things stood Fitz were staying up.

With just 4 minutes to go Pembroke staged an incredible comeback. After good work at the breakdown by the Pembroke forwards, prop Jack Sunter rumbled over to level the scores. Fly-half Jones slotted the all important conversion to give Pembroke a 7-5 lead.

In a frenetic finish Pembroke managed to hold out for the win to guarantee themselves Division 2 rugby next season and send Fitz crashing down into the depths of Division 3.

Final Division 2 Table

For more of The Tab’s coverage of college rugby click here

Jesus 4-2 Fitz (AET)

Jesus today sank Fitz in a thrilling Cuppers tie. The win, which came in extra time, surely makes Jesus the favourites to win this year’s competition outright.

Despite the incredible number of university-level players on show, the game began scrappily. Neither team was able to assert itself on proceedings; Fitz, in particular, looked sloppy. The home supporters speculated that their college’s lack of a first team kit (which had allegedly been stolen) might have had something to do with it.

Either way, it was Jesus who seized the early initiative with a nicely-worked team effort. A well-weighted cross from the left wing saw the ball find the feet of Blues captain Michael Johnson. Johnson made no mistake, slotting the ball home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Fitz lacked presence up front; though they were winning the midfield battle for periods during the half, they struggled to really convert those chances into genuine goal-scoring opportunities. Fitz’s Bulmore did see his follow-up shot from a free-kick come agonisingly close to wiping out the deficit, striking the post before going out for a goal-kick.

Photo: Tim Sherrington.

As Jesus went searching for the goal that would double their advantage, graduate student Paul Avery went down cheaply in the box. The referee duly showed him a yellow card, even as Avery was still on the ground moaning.

Whatever the Fitz camp said during the interval seemed to do the trick; the boys in blue came out all guns blazing. It wasn’t long before their increased intensity was rewarded. A cross found Harry Gamsu at the far post, which the Fitz forward slammed into the back of the net, bringing his team back to level pegging at 1-1.

Photo: Tim Sherrington

Solid defending from both sides saw the scores remain level. Gwyther and Jesus captain Micael Canavan kept Fitz’s Kerrigan quiet, while Johnson and Stetler ensured that Kalil Rouse’s adventurous runs down the right flank went unrewarded.

It was, however, a defensive error that led to Fitz’s second goal. Jesus keeper Chris Ellis made a weak pass to left-back Gerrett, which Fitz’s Bulmore intercepted. Bulmore bought himself some space before rifling the ball home to make it 2-1 to Fitz.

Jesus pressed hard for an equalizer, but were frustrated as several chances went over the bar. Fitz shot-blocker James Gillingham also made some excellent saves to deny Laakso and Johnson.

Just as the raucous Fitz support on the touch-line were baying for the final whistle, forward Aki Laakso flicked the ball on to Johnson, whose return pass struck the arm of Stetler in the penalty area. A  feisty on-field confrontation quickly developed as players from both sides massed around the referee. The Fitz players argued that it was a simple case of ball to hand, while the Jesus boys predictably saw it as a clear-cut penalty. Ultimately, however, the referee’s decision to award a controversial penalty stood; it was left to Max Wolke to restrain his team, shouting “Come on boys, he’s not going to change his mind now!”.

It was Blues skipper Michael Johnson who stepped up to take the spot-kick. Seemingly impervious to the pressure-cooker atmosphere, Johnson struck the ball with power and precision to level the scores at 2-2 after 90 minutes and send the contest to extra-time.

Photo: Tim Sherrington

Despite some excellent creative play, the scores remained level throughout the first half of extra-time. Hartley and Johnson both had shots saved, as Ellis and Gillingham put in a wonderful display of goal-keeping. A crunching tackle from Fitz’s Tom Johnson also ensured that a counter-attack led by Jesus’ Laakso came to nothing.

As the second half of extra-time began many on the sidelines were bracing themselves for a penalty shoot-out until Jesus’ Laakso popped up with a goal to make it 3-2 to the visitors with only 8 minutes on the clock. Fitz threw everything at Jesus, bossing the midfield through sterling work from Hartley and Wolke.

Tom Johnson then bravely went in for a 50-50 challenge, which left him injured and meant that Fitz had to play the last few minutes with only 10 men.

Jesus outnumbered Fitz as they surged on the break; the ball broke to Avery outside the box, who struck a venomous effort straight into the top-left corner, making it 4-2 to the visitors with less than 60 seconds to play. It was a shot that the keeper simply could not have stopped, a fitting ending to a pulsating Cuppers encounter.

After the game, Jesus captain Micael Canavan commented “2-2 at full-time was a fair result between two extremely strong sides. We were unlucky to concede from a set-piece and then a mistake but we’re glad to be through to the next round. Now we’re going to go all the way and win this competition!”

Fitz midfielder Eddie Burrows noted that “today’s game was a real battle. We’re disappointed not to have won and the penalty decision was very dubious indeed. I guess we’ll just have to focus on climbing further up the league”.

The Tab’s Man of the Match: Dan Gwyther (Jesus)

For pictures from today’s game, click here.

Cambridge 4 – 0 University of East Anglia

Cambridge yesterday trounced UEA in a match billed as being much closer than it turned out.

The Light Blues made their intentions clear after with a goal after only 42 seconds, catching the UEA defence napping with some slick passing; Chris Gotch duly slotting home to make it 1-0.

Cambridge’s defence remained impenetrable and they repeatedly hit UEA on the counter-attack, Mark Baxter and Matt Stock making pacy runs down either flank.  It was Baxter who set up the next goal, crossing from a corner in the 25th minute to find the head of Paul Hartley at the near post, doubling the Blues’ advantage.

Despite the lead, Cambridge’s momentum never dropped. They persisted with their positive football, attacking relentlessly to the delight of their coach.

Cambridge’s centre-backs, James Day and Dan Gwyther, held their line well throughout, snuffing out any opportunities and preventing an already frustrated opposition from breakthing through.

UEA’s first – and only – real chance of the first half came in the 35th minute, when their number 8 put a ball wide of the posts. Even if his shot had been on target, Stu Ferguson in goal had it more than covered.

Blues forwards Danny Kerrigan and Chris Gotch squandered several chances up front but it was UEA whose frustration levels rose, their right-back at one point shouting “F*ckin’ ‘ell… Can someone please get in the box?” as he saw Day clear another of his crosses up the field.

If anything changed in the second half it was that Cambridge dominated their opposition even more. Captain Mike Johnson subbed himself off for Eddie Burrows, looking relaxed as he watched the game unfold from the sidelines.

It didn’t take long for Cambridge to extend their advantage. Under pressure from yet another Light Blue counter-attack, a UEA defender made a dreadful pass-back, so bad that it didn’t even reach the keeper. ‘Fox in the box’ Mark Baxter pounced on the loose ball, taking it around the keeper with a brilliant first touch and drilling it into the net from a tight angle to make it 3-0.

As the light at the end of the tunnel faded, UEA’s attention began to turn to the minibus at the end of the car park.

By the 82nd minute any hope that UEA had of salvaging the game had been well and truly extinguished. Still Cambridge didn’t let up; after a crunching tackle from Burrows, Baxter collected the ball and jinked his way through half the UEA team to set up Chris Gotch, who scored his second goal, making it 4-0 to the home side.

The final goal was typical of the performance from the Blues today; positive football, a determination to score even when the opposition had no avenues back into the game, unselfish play from every player and great team spirit.

As a player from U.E.A said after the match, “Cambridge were simply in a different class today”

The Tab’s Man of the Match: Mark Baxter

Fitz 2-1 Girton

Fitz today left Girton’s title ambitions hanging by a thread, beating them by one goal in a tight encounter.

It didn’t take Fitz long to get off the mark, Akram beating a few defenders and seeing his shot punched directly into Harry Gamsu’s path by the keeper. Gamsu made no mistake, striking with precision to make it 1-0.

Girton began to apply pressure to the Fitz defence, but their efforts were thwarted by Max Stechman at centre-back who, along with Johnson, prevented a whole host of Girton opportunities throughout the match.

Despite Girton’s midfield domination, they lacked penetration as an attacking force, rarely threatening Fitz’s backline or offering their strikers any options.

After a couple of near misses at either end, Fitz’s Akram and Girton’s Miguel and Wong both going close, it was Fitz who scored next through debutant Ayres.

A swift counter-attack saw Ayres glide through the Girton defence, finishing the move with a sumptuous strike to double Fitz’s advantage.

A stern half-time team talk saw Girton emerge rejuvenated after the break and Fitz were largely on the back foot for the remaining 45 minutes.

However, some schoolboy defending from Girton saw Fitz awarded a free-kick only 10 yards out for a back-pass. Ed Evans smashed a powerful effort straight into the Girton wall, before the referee controversially blew his whistle to signal a re-take, deeming that several Girton players had run out before the kick had been taken. Evans’ second attempt fared no better than his first, Girton clearing their lines without undue difficulty.

Sloppy midfield work from the Fitz team saw Girton’s Tom Bordell played into space. Bordell’s jinking run left the Fitz defenders for dead and he made no mistake with the finish, to leave the score at 2-1.

A thrilling final 15 minutes were completely dominated by Girton, who looked strong in attack and were pretty unlucky not to salvage a point from the match. On the rare occasion that Fitz did counter-attack, they looked tired and Evans failed to capitalise on several chances up-front.

Girton captain Andy Stone told his players after the game: “We played well today but were unlucky not to have scored another goal… I’d much rather we’d have had a shit game but got a result. We need to learn from this ahead of our clash with Homerton next week in Cuppers”

Fitz captain James Gillingham said “This result was a great birthday present for me. All in all we deserved the win, and despite having several injuries and a few others unable to play, I was proud of the lads today. We’re now looking to the next game which is against Jesus in Cuppers, it looks like it’ll be the game of the season!”

The Tab’s Man of the Match: Harry Gamsu, Fitz

Don’t miss TAB TV’s post-match interviews the Fitz and Girton boys.

For more of The Tab’s coverage of College Football, click here.

Alan Curbishley spills the beans on life as a Premier League manager in this exclusive interview with The Tab

In a career spanning 35 years, Llewellyn Charles “Alan” Curbishley played 459 matches as a professional footballer but is best known for his spells as manager of both Charlton Athletic and West Ham United.

Curbishley resigned from his post as West Ham in September 2008, citing that he had been undermined as a manager by the club’s owners who had sold players without his consent.

It is well known that you left West Ham amid acrimonious circumstances. How do you now feel regarding the situation?

AC: ‘As a manager, your job is to sculpt a team capable of improving your performances on the pitch. The last thing I had on my mind at West Ham was the board breaching my contract. I started my career at West Ham when I left school; I’ve been a lifelong fan ever since and was upset at the way I had to leave the club. The last few months surrounding the court case have been time consuming; I’m happy the right outcome was reached, and now we all need to move on’.

Do you foresee a return to management in the near future?

AC: ‘Ideally I’d like a club with the potential and ambition to challenge for the top six. 14 out of the 20 teams in the Premiership today spend the entire season looking over their shoulder. As a manager you want to be looking upwards. I suppose the dream job would be a challenging one, but with the resources to push on; so clubs like Tottenham, Everton or Aston Villa. We’ll see what comes up, but I’m in no rush and wouldn’t take a job for the sake of it’.

Best career moment?

AC: ‘Promotion to the Premiership with Charlton. It was career changing and put Charlton on the map’.

Worst career moment?

AC: ‘The way I left West Ham’.

Best player you signed?

AC: ‘Clive Mendonca. Only cost £700,000, and scored some important goals for us including a hat-trick at Wembley. He gave the team a lift and changed the way we played.

Worst player you signed?

AC: ‘Dennis Rommedahl. He’d done well at PSV and internationally; we paid big money for him. We bought him for his attacking flair, but all he could do was defend’.

Most embarrassing moment?

AC: ‘Getting caned by Reading 6-0 when managing West Ham. We’d beaten Manchester United the previous week, the team was looking good and we weren’t expecting it. It did the rounds for a few days on the back pages of the national papers’.

Any training ground bust-ups?

AC: ‘Always, always. They seem to be part and parcel of the game. When I was a player they stayed in the changing rooms which is what should happen. Unfortunately, all the PR people, agents and press contacts in the modern game mean they get reported and its the manager who normally ends up looking bad, not the players’.

Most Intelligent Player?

AC: ‘There’s probably only one player I’d describe as intelligent and that’s American international Jonathan Spector. He’s the only player I ever saw actually reading the Financial Times; the rest of them focused on Page 3 of The Sun’.

Least Intelligent Player?

AC: ‘God! I don’t even know where to start… it would probably be unfair to single one of them out. I could easily field a full starting XI of unintelligent players’.

Who were the biggest boozers of all the footballers you knew?

AC: ‘It’s been well publicised but probably Paul Gascoigne. I suppose the difference is that now footballers can be tested for drugs and alcohol randomly at any time so they’re less likely to get involved with it’.

Any smokers?

AC: ‘Claus Jensen, Mark Fish and George Costa all smoked like chimneys’.

What was the weirdest pre-game ritual?

AC: ‘When I was a player at West Ham, Alan Devonshire who was also an England international used to get a bit nervous before the match. He’d walk into the changing rooms and sleep on the physio table before the game so he could relax. Often we’d have to wake him up 5mins before kick-off’.

‘The other pre-game ritual that I’d single out would be Mark Fish blaring Heavy Metal music in the changing rooms before the games to get psyched up. I didn’t say anything, but we’d all be thinking “Thank God” once it’d reach 2.20pm and he’d go on the pitch for a warm-up.’

What do you think of Cambridge University Sport?

AC: ‘Well I always watch the Varsity Rugby match every year, as well as the Varsity Football and the Boat Race when I remember. I’d say, and not just because you’re interviewing me, I always support Cambridge! I was talking to a few people about this yesterday; there’s no real reason – I suppose it’s because Cambridge is only an hour away’.

What will the outcomes be in the following competitions this season?

Premier League: Chelsea

Top Four: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs

Relegation: Portsmouth, Wolves, Burnley

F.A. Cup: Spurs

Champions League: Barcelona

World Cup: Spain

Downing came out on top in the clash of the two undefeated teams of league 1 as they beat Girton in a gritty game.

On a windy afternoon, Downing started explosively, and after the left back shafted it down the dirt-track, James Corcut delivered a cross to the feet of Sam Issacs who put it home to make it 1-0 with only 2 minutes on the clock.

The rest of the first half was even, with both teams having a number of long-range shots. The game was disciplined, with few free-kicks or hard challenges and the referee did well to nip any bad behaviour in the bud, whilst sporting his mahoosive tash for “Movember”.

The second half saw Girton bring on the cavalry in Blues’ players Matt Cook and Jack Hylands. However, Downing played a tight defensive game with captain Tom Marsh controlling things at the back.

In the 55th minute, Tom Nutt made a darting run pass the Girton right-back and played a lovely through-ball to leave Dan Sellman one-on-one with the keeper. He smashed it straight into the keeper’s gut and the ball fell to Nutt, who from a tight angle slotted it into the bottom left corner to make it 2-0.

This only seemed to stir up the Girton players, and within a minute a cross from the right wing found Captain Andy Stone to make it 2-1. Stone had a good game, and his team always looked like they could grab an equaliser to draw the match level if their shots had been a bit more controlled.

Man of the Match has to go to Downing’s fresher Tom Nutt who worked tirelessly and always looked threatening with a killer through-ball.

The rest of the game was played out with the help of Downing’s strong defence and Girton not converting chances. Lukas Wong, a Girton fresher on the subs bench, said “Look at them! They’re resorting to Sunday League tactics and killing the game. We came here to put on a show of silky skills, this is a farce!”

There was more action on the sidelines than on the pitch for periods of the game. Downing’s support, led by Downing philosopher Ray Brooks, were chanting “They wear green and white, but they’re still bloody shite, They’ve got red in their kit, but their still really shit. They’re sponsored by CUSU ents, but all their team are bent. It’s Girton!”

The Downing team were pleased to hear the final whistle, and Marsh said his team’s performance was “under par and we were suffering a few injuries. It’s now our title to lose provided we don’t fanny around like today!”

Girton’s Captain Stone rightfully noted that the wind was influential on the result and his team’s inability to convert chances cost them the points. However, he said the league isn’t assured, any team can beat any other and his side will fight all the way.

Full league round up and tables to follow.