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Arsenal misses chance to pressure United

Arsenal was held to 0-0 by Sunderland to halt its charge for the Premier League title while West Bromwich Albion and West Ham picked up crucial victories at the other end of the table on Saturday.

Sunderland was thankful to Simon Mignolet at the Emirates Stadium, with the goalkeeper producing an inspired display to keep second-place Arsenal at bay in a one-sided match.

League leader Manchester United, which has played the same number of games as the Gunners, can move six points clear at the top if it beats Liverpool away on Sunday.

Third-place Manchester City moved four points behind Arsenal by beating bottom side Wigan 1-0. Midfielder David Silva grabbed the winner when his low shot in the 38th was bundled into his own net by Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.

In-form West Ham eased past Stoke 3-0 to climb out of the bottom three, replaced by Birmingham which lost 3-1 at home to relegation rival West Brom.

In the other games, Bolton and Fulham both scored late goals to clinch 3-2 wins over Aston Villa and Blackburn respectively, and Everton rallied to defeat Newcastle 2-1 away.

Substitute Marouane Chamakh's close-range header against the crossbar was the closest Arsenal came to breaking the deadlock on a day of frustration for the London team, which will now travel to Spain ahead of the second leg of its Champions League last-16 match with Barcelona.

With Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie among the players already out for Arsenal, manager Arsene Wenger will be unhappy to see midfielder Jack Wilshere come away nursing a minor ankle injury. The England international should be fit for the Barcelona game, though.

Wenger was more concerned his side wasted the chance to apply heavy pressure on United and was unhappy at what he believed was a wrong decision to disallow Andrey Arshavin's second-half goal for offside.

"I am too disgusted to speak about these things," Wenger said. "These kind of things have too big an impact on the Premier League and we are really disappointed but we have to take it on the chin for the next game."

Mignolet defied Nicklas Bendtner with a superb tip over the bar at the end of the first half, while Samir Nasri saw the Belgian deny him three times to somehow keep the score level.

City was lucky to come away from Eastlands with three points, given the circumstances surrounding Silva's goal and with Wigan wasting a host of clear-cut chances in the second half.

City, in the middle of a busy run of fixtures and playing three days after an FA Cup win over Aston Villa, was lethargic all match.

"In the first half, we played well, but in the second half we were so tired and Wigan played well," City manager Roberto Mancini said.

There was more movement at the foot of the standings as West Ham continued its upward progress with a comfortable victory over Stoke.

Demba Ba, with his fourth goal in three games, Manuel da Costa and Thomas Hitzlsperger were the scorers for the Hammers as they moved a point above Birmingham, which came back down to earth after its 2-1 win over Arsenal in the League Cup final last weekend.

Alex McLeish's side was deservedly beaten by West Brom, which produced an inspired second-half performance to claim a first win since mid-January.

Youssouf Mulumbu, James Morrison and Paul Scharner found the net for the visitors after the break, with Chile midfielder Jean Beausejour scoring Birmingham's consolation.

Those two victories brought Blackburn back into the relegation picture after its defeat at Fulham.

Bobby Zamora scored the winner from the penalty spot, his first goal in more than a year, to see Fulham home and leave Blackburn just two points off the bottom three.

Blackburn twice came from behind to equalize, through goals by Grant Hanley and David Hoilett, after strikes from Fulham winger Damien Duff at Craven Cottage.

Bolton provisionally moved above Liverpool into sixth place thanks to the victory over Villa, whose winger Ashley Young will rue missing a penalty when his team was 2-1 up.

Darren Bent and Marc Albrighton twice put Villa ahead only to be hauled back by a brace from Gary Cahill, before substitute Ivan Klasnic scored the winning goal for Bolton.

Leon Best opened the scoring for Newcastle at St. James' Park but goals by Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka earned Everton the win. (Steve Douglas)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com

Stewart slams Tilke-designed tracks

Sir Jackie Stewart has come out and slammed the German architect, saying 'he has not done much for the spectators'.

Tilke's association with Formula One started way back in 1999 when he designed the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and since then he has been involved in the design of Bahrain International Circuit, China's Shanghai International Circuit, Istanbul Park Racing Circuit in Turkey, Valencia Street Circuit in Spain and Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit, to name just a few.

Overtaking is notoriously difficult in Bahrain and Valencia and, instead of looking at the design of the circuits, F1's powers that be have opted to alter the cars. In recent years they've introduced KERS and adjustable rear wings in an attempt to boost passing.

However, overtaking remains very difficult at most tracks and Stewart is convinced Tilke's designs are the big problem.

'My belief is that the major reason for the lack of overtaking in modern grand prix racing is down to the modern tracks, nearly all of which have been designed by the same man, the German architect Hermann Tilke,' he wrote in his The Telegraph.

'Yes, braking zones are now much shorter due to highly efficient brakes and aerodynamic downforce, meaning there is a much smaller overtaking zone (in my day it may have been as much as 200m; now it is more like 50m).

'But the new circuits themselves must take their share of the blame. Put simply, they are largely carbon copies of each other and they tend not to penalise mistakes.

'Take the last race of 2010 for example. There were four drivers who could have clinched the championship in Abu Dhabi but Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was the overwhelming favourite.

'He had only to finish fourth to secure his third world crown. It didn't happen because he could not find a way past Vitaly Petrov, a rookie in his first season in F1 and with little or no experience of being under such pressure.'

He added: 'Tilke has been behind almost every new circuit in F1 since the early 1990s. In some respects, he has done a great job, bringing fantastic amenities and luxuries to the sport. But I fear he has not done much for the spectators.

'Unless circuits are modified, spectators and television viewers might have to live with a lack of overtaking for some time.'

Although thankful that racetracks are no longer as dangerous as they used to be, Stewart believes maybe it's 'we have now gone too far the other way'.

'Racetracks have changed since my day and thank God for that. Back then a driver who raced for five years had a two in three chance of being killed.

'Four to six drivers a year lost their lives. It was totally unacceptable and I campaigned hard for improved safety in the sport, which happily came to pass.

'It is nearly 17 years since a life was lost in an F1 car. I can't think of an industry, a sport or a business where that standard of risk management has been achieved.

'But we have now gone too far the other way. Circuits should not permit liberties to be abused without a penalty that can be instantly recognised by spectators or TV viewers. Safety is one thing; abuse of privilege is another.'

Source: http://www.planetf1.com

McLaren duo admit car is not up to scratch

The two McLaren drivers had a lot of reliability issues with their new car during the first three winter tests and as a result didn't get enough mileage under the belts. With only one more pre-season test to come in Barcelona, McLaren will have their work cut out for them.

Button admits he had concerns about the MP4-26 pretty much from the word go.

"When I first jumped in the car my first reaction was not 'wow, we're going to blow everyone away'," Button told Press Association Sport.

"But then I don't think anyone would have felt that because the car has a lot less downforce and the tyres (Pirelli) are working very differently to the previous tyre (Bridgestone).

"There's nothing that really scares me about the car in a negative way, so there's a lot we can improve through general set-up work.

"This year, at the moment, we've had some issues in testing in terms of getting parts to the circuit and a couple of reliability issues.

"So we've not done as much running as we would have liked, which has hurt our set-up work.

"But we do have four more days and hopefully things are going to run more sweetly at the next test, we get a lot of laps in, and then we can improve the base we have."

Team-mate Hamilton concedes that they probably left their car launch a little too light.

"The team are aware of it, and of course we'd love to have had more mileage, but there is a real balance," he said.

"We left it (unveiling the car) a bit later, not because the car was late, but because we wanted a week or two more to develop it, and perhaps it's not played right into our hands.

"We've good things in the pipeline, and we definitely improved in the last couple of days' testing, doing 107 laps on the final day at the last test.

"We've not done the mileage at the beginning, but hopefully we can pick up on reliability, and that the downforce is on its way."

The 2008 World Champion added that there were some similarities between the 2009 car and the 2011 model when it comes to downforce.

"The '09 car was terrible as it was hopping, three-wheeling through corners, locking up, and it had no downforce," he said.

"This car doesn't lock up, it doesn't three-wheel, and it handles really nice, better than last year's car, but it just doesn't have as much downforce.

"Because the regulations have changed, it's a similar downforce level to '09.

"We have a little more, but it's not far off, so it feels weak in that area. Hopefully we've more downforce coming onto the car."

Source: http://www.planetf1.com

Renault Driver Kubica in Hospital After Rally Crash

By Alan Baldwin

London. Polish Formula One driver Robert Kubica was flown to a hospital on Sunday after a high-speed crash while competing in a rally in Italy, his Renault team said in a statement.

A team spokeswoman said Kubica, Renault’s leading driver and a race winner in Canada in 2008 with his former BMW-Sauber team, was conscious but gave no further details.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported, however, that the 26-year-old had suffered serious injuries with little more than a month to go before the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

“Lotus Renault GP driver Robert Kubica suffered an accident at high speed this morning while competing in the Ronde di Andora Rally,” the Renault statement said. “The driver was airlifted to Pietra Ligure Hospital, where he is currently undergoing medical checks. His co-driver is fine.”

Renault has Brazilian Bruno Senna and France’s Romain Grosjean as their official third drivers. Senna competed last season for the HRT team while Grosjean started seven races for Renault in 2009.

Neither has ever scored a point in Formula One. Kubica’s race teammate is Russian Vitaly Petrov, who made his debut last season.

ANSA said Kubica was heading to the start of the Ronde di Andora event near Genoa in a Skoda Fabia when the car went off the road and hit a church wall.

The co-driver, Jacub Gerber, got out unhurt while Kubica had to be extracted by firemen.

Kubica, a rally fan who has entered several events in the past, tested the new Lotus-backed Renault last week ahead of the Formula One season, which starts in Bahrain on March 13.

He closed Formula One’s first test session of the season with the fastest time over three days in Valencia, Spain.

The Pole walked away virtually unscathed from a massive crash in Canada in 2007 but still bears the scars of a serious road accident as a passenger in 2003 that left him with titanium bolts in his arm.

Reuters

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Schumacher: No Regrets for Scratchy Year Behind Wheel

Berlin - Michael Schumacher insisted on Wednesday that he did not regret returning to Formula One despite a disappointing 2010, finishing ninth for Mercedes behind fellow German Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ title race.

The seven-time former world champion acknowledged in an interview on his official Web site that the season had been “a big challenge” and that in terms of results “we clearly did not meet our expectations.”

The 41-year-old German continued: “But then, you have to fight for the things you want to achieve, which has always been my credo. Mercedes, the whole team, me — we are working together to build something great.

“I think I have proved over many years that I love challenges and that I am able to handle them. I have not regretted my decision to come back at all.”

Schumacher mustered 72 points, almost half the tally attained by his younger compatriot and teammate Nico Rosberg, and was the target of some scrutiny, which he said he was taking in good spirits.

“I can live with criticism very well, you just have to differentiate it and it can bring you forward as well,” he said.

“What is much more important is that I deeply enjoy building what we are building here at this team and that is always the best base for success because you do not need to question the motivation.

“And please don’t get me wrong here; you don’t question the seriousness either. I can’t wait already to get the new season started.”

Despite his age, the motor racing legend said he was itching for the 2011 season to start.

“Yes, I look forward to some quiet days with my family over Christmas but I also notice that I am going all tingly already thinking about next year,” he said. “We ended the season with a positive feeling and things were starting to come together with a tendency that was clearly positive.

“So, knowing our developments for the new year makes me confident that we can fight for some race victories from our own power. This is a prospect which makes me look forward to competing again.”

Despite his modest showing on his comeback he stated winning the F1 title was still Mercedes’ objective.

“Hey, we are Mercedes! But this is a three-year project, and even if obviously it would be nicer if it worked out sooner, we are talking about competing at the absolute peak of motorsport.

“You cannot just come along, put a new team together and beat everybody. But you can be sure that we are working very hard with all our combined power to achieve our aims.”

Formula 1

Agence France-Presse

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

Prince Has Final Call On Bahrain GP: F1 Boss

London - Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone will rely on Bahrain’s crown prince to decide whether the season-opening grand prix will have to be canceled because of unrest on the Gulf island.

The March 13 race has been cast into doubt over the last week as protests mounted, with people demanding the ruling monarchy gives up its near-absolute control over key policies and positions.

At least seven people have been killed and hundreds injured in the capital Manama, where the streets are lined with banners publicizing Bahrain’s premier international event.

Ecclestone said a decision on whether to postpone the race was set to be taken by Tuesday by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also deputy supreme commander of the armed forces.

“If anyone’s going to sort it out he’s the right guy to do it,” Ecclestone told BBC radio on Sunday. “He would decide whether or not it’s safe for us to be there. ... Let’s wait until Tuesday and see if this one’s going to take place before we decide what to do.”

Ecclestone said the race could be moved to later in the season, but said it’s not feasible to move the race to another circuit on short notice.

Meanwhile, the chances of resolving the complex Lotus naming dispute out of court look increasingly bleak, meaning there could be two teams starting the new Formula One season with almost the same name.

Automaker Proton, which owns a controlling stake in Lotus Group and says it alone has the rights to the Lotus name, and aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes have so far failed to agree on an out-of-court settlement.

With the case scheduled to be heard in London’s High Court on March 21, the two Malaysian protagonists had hoped to reach a deal well before then.

But if they cannot, Proton’s Lotus Renault GP team will be lining up on the Bahrain grid — assuming the race goes ahead — along with Fernandes’s Team Lotus, also known as 1MRT.

Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir, Proton’s group managing director, said Fernandes was seeking up to 37 million pounds ($60 million) to give up the famous Lotus name.

Proton offered five million pounds, he said.

AFP, AP

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com

NGO Field Coordinator (Refugee Camp) Job in Kenya

Programme Background:

A leading non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Kenya is seeking to recruit candidates to fill the post of Field Coordinator.

The NGO’s current activities in Kenya are in the sectors of Health/HIV and education in the following provinces: North Eastern, Rift Valley, Nairobi and Western Provinces.

Position: Field Coordinator (Refugee Camp)

Duties and Responsibilities

Overall leader and Manager of the project that includes Health/HIV and Primary education.

Preparing of assessment plans, proposals and budgets for existing and new projects in conjunction with the relevant team and Nairobi office, while ensuring operational, programmatic, administrative, financial and procurement systems/procedures are functional and effective.

Basic requirements

A degree in social or medical sciences with a Masters Degree preferable in public health and minimum 8 years’ experience in a senior project/programme management position in the context of emergency relief and development.

Interested candidates can submit their CV/Resume and cover letter including salary requirements to:

Human Resource Officer,

P. O. Box 67509, 00200,

Nairobi

by 14th March 2011 or email teneyeslimited@gmail.com

Full Job description may be viewed on the website; www.bentleysinter.com

Telephone: 020-2224319/2225841.

Source: http://kenyanjobs.blogspot.com