Sports Ladder (12th-18th August)

A new weekly blog I intend to do as often as possible. The point of the blog will be to revisit the weeks top stories and see who has gone up and down in the opinion of the public. I shall try to incorporate as many sports as possible and do it every week but this shall not always be possible (For instance, next weekend I shall be at Reading Festival so I will not be able to write one). ENJOY!


UP - Mo Farah - What a week for the British athlete. Completing the Double-Double (5,000 and 10,000 metre Olympic and World titles) and being described as Britain's greatest ever athlete by Brendan Foster, Farah can relax and spend time with his ever-supportive wife and children. Watch out for Farah vs Murray at this years Sports Personality of the Year.

UP - England Cricket Team - England had already retained the Ashes but this week they won it. Outstanding bowling from Stuart Broad, gaining himself eleven wickets in the fourth test, was the main reason for the victory. Now Cook and the boys will be looking to win the fifth and final test and claim a 4-0 Test victory.

UP - Rickie Lambert - The week of his life. Not only did he score a 90th minute winner for Southampton yesterday, he also scored with his first touch on his England debut midweek. He described it as a 'dream come true' and will be looking to retain his place in the England team. The 'rags-to-riches' striker gained a lot of public support this week.

UP - Barclays Premier League - After the relentless tedium of the Bale/Suarez/Rooney transfer sagas over the last month or so, the Premier League finally regained my attention on the opening weekend. A weekend full of penalties, debut goals and a few upsets has certainly reminded us why the Premier League is the greatest League in the world.

UP - Anna Nordqvist - As Europe head towards their first Solheim Cup victory on American soil, a special mention must go to Anna Nordqvist. On the par three 17th, Nordqvist scored the first ever Solheim Cup hole-in-one to win the four ball 2&1 and give Europe momentum on a fantastic Saturday. They go into the final singles day on 10 and a half points to America's 5 and a half.


DOWN - Marion Bartoli - Only 40 days after winning her maiden Wimbledon title, Bartoli announced a shock retirement, claiming that physical pain was the reason for her decision. After troubles with the French Tennis National body over the last few years it will be a shame to lose Bartoli's unorthodox style from the sport.

DOWN - Lee Westwood - After finishing way off the pace at the PGA last weekend, Westwood went on a rather embarrassing tipsy outburst on twitter, attacking 'girly boy trolls'. A rather sad way to end what has been a relatively successful year. Come on Lee, you don't need to get sucked in by the twitter trolls, you are an excellent golfer and your time will come.

DOWN - Farnborough FC - I couldn't ignore my local team Farnborough FC. This week they took part in the most bizarre sponsorship deal I have ever seen, with all the players and managers changing their names, by deed poll, to that of a famous player. What a lesson in why not to let your club go into administration. Farnborough FC are now a national joke club.

DOWN - Arsene Wenger - Oh Arsene, don't make promises you can't keep. Despite promising to spend big this summer, he has spent less than I did in Tesco's earlier today and paid the price with a 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa yesterday. With fans restless and Wenger into the last year of his contract, are we seeing the end of Arsene's Arsenal?

DOWN - Yelena Isinbayeva - Russia's athletics sweetheart dropped considerably in the opinions of many Britons  this week after her verbal disapproval with other athletes protest against new 'anti-gay' laws in Russia. Despite saying she was misunderstood she has not apologised for her remarks and her inspirational role-model status may be dropping with many Global fans.