2006 All-England

[nasigoreng]

It's Friday morning and we have 2 pairs left in the competition. Robertson & Emms in the mixed, also Emms & Kellogg in the women's. Half-time report on England's achievement's , anyone?
I feel England have done as best as they can, although shame about Tracey Hallam and Liz Cann, not able to progress beyond Round 1. Men's Singles is to be expected. Men's Doubles, could do better. Maybe the new progressive scoring may help our players.
I won't try to mention Scotland's or Wales' efforts. What happened to Kelly Morgan & Susan Hughes?

[Markymark]

Susan Hughes lost 11-9 in the third end to the world number 11! Not bad I'd say. Tracey Hallam lost to someone far lower ranked.

[random]

Archer and Lindley cane very close to beating the number 4 seend Alven and Luluk and Clark and Blair bt the number 6 seeds in round one only to fall at the next hurdle. Granted nobody's made it that far but reasonably good results in what is a pretty competetive discipline. World no 1 pair and top seeds out too so they're not in bad company!!

[Luncheon]

Hallam lost to a very talented 19 year old Chinese Taipei girl....who is now in the quarters....and who looks a great prospect for the future.

[sAiYuK]

arghh Malaysia were so close, oh so close!!!

i just watched lin dan beat chong wei in probably one of the bets matches ive ever watched since re-acquainting myself with the sport after many years away from it. Unlucky to lee chong wei, but lin dan clearly proved why he is number 1. what a great match!!!

[daveyk]

i was at all england all day today. oh my god that could be the best days badminton ever seen. england through easily after playing some amazing badminton. malaysia vs china singles china were soo happy and all the malaysian team were watching and then china pull out the goods and took of his top in pure emotion.

[Observer]

This is the best All England semi finals seen for well over 40 years, especially to see it live in Birmingham. It was wonderful to witness the victory of Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson in the mixed doubles event in front of the so many home crowd and supporters. Gail was so effective at the front court and she fought like a little bull terrier and won point after point. Nathan did the demolishing job with his powful smashes. In my opinion, they have a very good chance of winning the mixed doubles title if they stick to their plan of attack rather than letting the Chinese pair attacking them. I am convinced all of us would like to wish Gail and Nathan the very best of luck and say to them,"You can do it.".

The men's singles between Lin Dan of China and Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia was very exciting to watch. Some of the returns made by both the players were incredible. The speed they played and the long rallies going on would make some spectators feel tired. In the third set, Chong Wei was leading 14-12 and had match point twice but he smashed out. Then Lin Dan caught up and won 17-14. This shows and proved the fighting spirit of a very good top player which explaines why he is ranked World no. one. He might be beaten in other minor tournaments but when the chips are down, he would rise to the occasion.

This is one of the reasons why the Chinese are looking and selecting their juniors who are showing and proving to be fighters. No coach can teach any child to be a fighter. It is something that a child has got it or not. The fighting spirit of a child can only be detected in tournaments. Let us hope that a few of these children can be spotted in the UK and then can we challenge the might of the Chinese players.

When there is a will, there is a way.

[sAiYuK]

I guess the home crowd wasnt enough, zhang jun and gao ling have always been the better pair in my opinion. China really is taking over this sport, among others. However the men's final was disappointing, i think Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei would have made the better finals opponent, not to mention a more exciting match. I think the best singles match for me would have to be Lin Dan vs Chong Wei in the semi's.

great tourney. If only taufik hidayat was present, what happeed to him anyway? injury?

[Bad Elf]

I was at the All England final on Sunday where Nathan and Gail lost the mixed.
The first two games were fantastic, especially with Nathan launching himself all over the court to reach seemingly impossible shots. They were unlucky not to finish it off in the second, and we all expected them to come out fighting in the third.
Gail did, but Nathan was like a different person. He seemed lethargic by comparison, unable to reach some shots, and often standing at the front while Gail worked hard at the rear, and he stood there with his racket down, looking tired and exhausted, and apparently quite happy to let Gail do all the work.
Had he injured himself? Did he also have the cold that Gail had earlier? Why did he run out of energy?
Any ideas?

[Sammyliu]

Just A note to organisers at the All England this year in Birmingham......What a top job you did. As a first timer to this major event. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, stalls were good, service was friendly and quality of badminton involved on Thursday was superb.

P.S Did they sort out the electronic system for the final rounds? :D

Oh and does anyone know where I can buy the DVD to the tournament??

[johng]

Sammyliu....glad you had a good time..yep scoring sytems were sorted out eventually (problem was a software bug I think) and look on BadmintonEngland site for purchase of dvds

[Maverick]

bad elf, from watching the mixed final on TV it always looked as if the chinese would win it if it went to 3. Nathan looked gutted that they couldn't close out the 2nd end, and I think he only had 2 hard ends left in him anyway. He had been injured from before the world champs and maybe he hasn't been able to do the amount of training he needed to do. It did look as if he just didn't want to be on the court which is very unfair to Gail who was wanting to still put up a fight.

[alansd]

I have been waiting to see if anyone would touch on the performance in the mixed doubles final. Maverick was very kind on nathan robertson. I think he was an absolute disgrace to the sport. For someone that is supposed ot be a role model he was pathetic at points. The truth is that when he and gail emms were playing well they were beyond any other pair but he just did not seem ot care a lot of the time. During some points he just stood at the T and scratched his ankle with his racket. If he were to make an effort then it would probably have been over in two. When they lost the second set I really had hopes that he would come out firing on all cylinders but it was not to be. If any club player (like us) had shown such disregard in an important match then I doubt we would be picked for the next and I think the england selectors should seriously consider playin gail emms with someone else ( probably robert blair) in future competitions until he proves himself. Giving effort and playing badly is one thing but not giving a **** is another. To top it off I am scottish so would not normally care but for the only british pair who can always compete with the best in the world to loose so badly is awful.
I have to make the point that gail emms was fantastic. Everyone makes mistakes but when she was smashing from the back to try to compensate for her partner ( who maybe was tired but she had played through to the quarters in the ladies doubles and all he played was one event) she really showed herself to be a great player.

[Lewisio]

I think that is slightly harsh....I would of thought Nathan cares a great deal....if he didn't he would probably behave like Ronnie O'Sullivan...caring then not caring, but still playing at a high level. Then wearing I love badders badges, then wearing I hate badders badges.
I think the only complaint that can be made against him (and lets remember he did get to the final), is that his stamina to play 3 hard sets wasn't there.....but this isn't something that new.
Before his injury at the World Champs his fitness/stamina wasn't never great anyway....he only really has one top smash per rally....unless it comes short...otherwise its dropshots (very good and accurate). Possibly why his best success came with Archer (a big hitter).

However, Nathan's style whether he puts in lots of fitness training or not (and I don't know) is a flamboyant style, he will play shots that most players wouldn't or couldn't....that is what makes him one of the best in the world.....and everyone knows this...hence he plays with a strong lady, who can play at the back equally as well as at the front. Lets remember Superstars in the summer, he was either just ahead or just behind Matthew Stevens the snooker player and they were both awful at it.
If you take an example from the world of football - Ronaldo. When he went to Real Madrid he was slow and overweight...alot was said of his fitness and his effort levels...but he still scored lots of goals for his club.
It is a pity and I'm sure both players were bitterly disappointed, but lets not start slating our best player.
He was quite embarressing in the 3rd set and on a couple of occassions he made an extra effort and it looked like he was choosing not to blow himself completely...rather than actually blowing himself till he fell over.

I definitely don't think partnering Emms with Blair is a punishment for Robertson...more a punishment for Emms!!!

[rhombus]

Alansd is dead on the money, Robertson look liked he'd given up from the start of the 3rd set. There is a pattern emerging here. I can't remember the tournament a couple of years ago ( possible the Danish open ) where he ran out of rackets and had to borrow a couple. In that game, again televised on Sky sports, he gave up and let Emms down. It was so obvious. We have all played games when we are down in a set but through determination and hard work pulled around the situation or at least made the score respectable. Pride in performance must be paramount, especially as these players are role models to youngsters.

[dermot]

Alansd is dead on the money, Robertson look liked he'd given up from the start of the 3rd set. There is a pattern emerging here. I can't remember the tournament a couple of years ago ( possible the Danish open ) where he ran out of rackets and had to borrow a couple. In that game, again televised on Sky sports, he gave up and let Emms down. It was so obvious. We have all played games when we are down in a set but through determination and hard work pulled around the situation or at least made the score respectable. Pride in performance must be paramount, especially as these players are role models to youngsters.


Drop him Gail .......Difficult call for Emms to make (especially that they are now ranked 2 in the world) but if she ever plans to get to number 1 she needs a partner who has a number 1 attitude not a poser.

[daveyk]

personally she should pick someone young and enrgetic. someone thats doesnt necesarily have the power of robertson but better mentality and energy than him. he was swinging at shots in semi's(they did well!) that gail had n he should know that!! she definetly needs a new partner.

[ians]

Alansd is dead on the money, Robertson look liked he'd given up from the start of the 3rd set. There is a pattern emerging here. I can't remember the tournament a couple of years ago ( possible the Danish open ) where he ran out of rackets and had to borrow a couple. In that game, again televised on Sky sports, he gave up and let Emms down. It was so obvious. We have all played games when we are down in a set but through determination and hard work pulled around the situation or at least made the score respectable. Pride in performance must be paramount, especially as these players are role models to youngsters.

Utter crap!!

A pattern emerging,from 2 years ago? Don't make me laugh! So in between those two years this pair have won Olympic silver,The All England, The Europeans, countless Grand Prix tournaments (including this seasons China open and Swiss open) Beat the world champs in the Semi Finals too this week.

So in all those tournaments and all those victories, do you not think there have been times when they were down and came back to win?? I guess not because as you say, there is a pattern emerging!! Brilliant! :rolleyes:

People react differently when they are seemingly tired, maybe you'd prefer someone who loses in the 1st round but shows real determination when tired.Is that a good role model? I'd prefer someone with a god given ability and unmatched talent who can beat anybody in the world but sometimes isn't maybe as strong mentally as others.

[ians]

Drop him Gail .......Difficult call for Emms to make (especially that they are now ranked 2 in the world) but if she ever plans to get to number 1 she needs a partner who has a number 1 attitude not a poser.

Another great post.

Number 1 for months last year and almost back there now after injury. Beaten everyone there is to beat and you think gail should ditch him for someone else to reach a non existant higher level?

Maybe they should be aiming at being number 1 on the same planet as you? Wibble

[ians]

I absolutely guarentee you that in any mixed partnership there are times when one player plays better than the other. So with this unbelievable Knee jerk reaction to Nathans performance everyone seems to have forgotten their achievements and is jumping on the bandwagon. I think a little perspective is needed!

[jamesd20]

I'd prefer someone with a god given ability and unmatched talent who can beat anybody in the world but sometimes isn't maybe as strong mentally as others.

So would I, but we don't have that.

Likewise, I also agree with iansullivan about jumping on the bandwagon. What good would a split do? get us another pair who can make it to the QF if lucky, and otherwise lose in the early to mid rounds. We need them as a strong pair for sparring and raise profile by reaching some finals.

I have to disagree on the countless titles though. I think they usually win 1 or 2 sometimes 3 a year out of about 12 tournaments.

There isn't a pettern emerging, his concentration has always wavered, just not at such a high profile event on live TV, so creating the bandwagon effect.

They are a good top 5 pairing who are consistent in reaching later stages of tournaments. And given the current state of play in Badminton as a whole for a european pair, this is quite good.

[alansd]

I have to say that some people have taken my comments and gone a bit far. I said the the england selectors should consider pairing her (gail em) with another partner who is probably equally as strong until nathan r proves that he is actually hungry for that sucess again. It is not good for the players to be above comeback on their performance. Do you think any of the chinese players would get away with that performance?
Also, I agree that sometimes in a partnership sometimes one is better than the other but the effort has to be there from both even if all the shots are not coming off.
If it was a fitness issue then get on a treadmill and stop being so lazy . I would imagine all of us here are club players who are at work all day then have to travel maybe an hour or two to get to a match play between 6 and 9 sets with little break then get home in time to go straight to bed so we can get up first thing the next day to go back to work. Fitness for a pro athelete is probably the worst possible reason for loosing as they having nothing else to do but train and compete.

[Luncheon]

Alan....tell me someone else in the England or even British teams, who is as strong as Nathan. Archer is the only other one who you could argue is a top 5 mens player, but with his injury problems and retirement plans, plus the fact that he's tried playin with Gail and they didn't set the world alight. There is no one!

Blair's good but not in Nathan's class, Clark again is a good player....but neither can compete (and beat) the far east players.

The only criticism that can be levied is that after the Olympics they were more focussed on media attention than badminton training....but then they were World No.1 for a part of last year....so that argument is out the window. Also after his injury at the world champs he might have not been back up to full training or got his full fitness back. I agree this should be no excuse....but if its the one downfall of Robertson....there are so many other positives.

I say congratulations to both of them for getting to the final, the win over Xie Zhongbo was a good win, then followed up by beating World Champs (could Nathan and Gail have won the Worlds???) and then for 1.9 sets they had the better of 2 time Olympic champions.The only pair with a better record than Zhang and Gao could be Kim and Ra.

As someone said previously look at the titles they've won! This is the best golden period of English badminton for some time...so lets be more positive towards them.

[nasigoreng]

England's doubles discipline is generally in good shape. It always has been there or therabouts in world's terms, and I have to agree with Luncheon, ( oh, my god, what am I doing?), Not for a long time can we boast about a top pair that the far east countries and denmark are fearful of meeting. It is the singles discipline that I am concerned about, after watching Lin Dan & Lee Chong Wei and the all- chinese Ladies singles, I just cannot see when we will be able to compete in years to come. You have to be so fit to compete in Singles, and just now I do not see it in our players.

[dermot]

I absolutely guarentee you that in any mixed partnership there are times when one player plays better than the other. So with this unbelievable Knee jerk reaction to Nathans performance everyone seems to have forgotten their achievements and is jumping on the bandwagon. I think a little perspective is needed!
Nobody can doubt Nathan’s talent. Nobody can take away his achievements. What I am simply questioning is his ability to continue succeeding at this extremely high level going forward if his attitude is anything like it was in the third set of the final (and also intermittently at other times during previous matches). Anyone can have a bad match and while it is always disappointing to have a bad match you can take consolation after it that you are capable of a lot better in your next match. Attitude runs deeper than this and has the capability of 'wrecking your day' on the day when you are playing 'out of your skin'. Nathan’s attitude and concentration thru out the tournament (even when winning) was very suspect and in my view must have been very frustrating to his partner to was 'giving it her all' on every point weather they were winning or losing. I hope someone who is close to him will have the 'balls' to drive this home to him as the potential of this pair is boundless. Otherwise I think that Gail should be looking elsewhere as this girl is in a class of her own.

[Luncheon]

All of our singles players have individual brilliant qualities:
Kidd's power
Honey's lungs
Rice's control
Smith's speed.
Ouseph's control
but unfortunately they're not the all round player that Lin Dan is.....but then look at denmark...they've got 1 all round player...but he can't beat all the top asians for 5 or 6 rounds of a tournament. (Gade) So I think Europeans need to accept that we're not going to be world beaters....not to look at them maybe going out in the 3rd round, but who they beat and how they played to get there.

I was fortunate enough to be at the All England on wednesday and thursday and I thought all the English singles players put up good fights, especially Carl Baxter, who went through 3 rounds of quals and then beat Rice in the 1st round and put up an excellent performance against Boonsak Ponsana.

In singles the odds will always be highly stacked in the Asians corner and Europeans will continue to struggle.
At the end of the day....If Lin Dan is on form...there's probably only Taufik who can match him.......maybe Bao Chunlai and Chen Hong, but no one else...as proved against Lee Chong Wei....he was down and out, turned on the magic and came through to win.

[nasigoreng]

Lee Chong Wei was 1 point from beating Lin Dan. Lee Chong Wei will be World No. 1 this year, and Malaysia will also have the World's No. 1 Doubles pairing this year. Rexy's input is already showing itself.
Malaysia Boleh.

[Luncheon]

Dermot.....not starting an argument....but just picking up on 2 of your points.......
Nathan's attitude has always been relaxed, regardless of the situation.....but from his obvious delight when winning and his expressions when losing...it is blatantly obvious to me that he really cares about playing, he just displays it in different ways......this is just a human trait...some people cry at bad news, some don't.
I'm sure if we asked Gail Emms....she probably knows what Nathan is like and knows thats the way he is on court.

Equally Rob Blair comes across very arrogant and condescending to Natalie Munt when playing....and watching you would have thought that Munt would ditch him cause he is forever giving her grief over shots she's playing....however...I would guess that as partners they know each others traits, accept what people are like on court, know that is just his way of trying to win and get on with playing their game.

I think if you try to change Nathan's attitude it'll change him as a player.

2nd point - Gail IS one of the best mixed players in the world...however I would say that Gao Ling, Big Korean girl - Lee and Rikke Olsen are all in that top female mixed players.
I think Gao is the top mixed lady....when on top form she is better than anyone else, with the exception of Ra Kyung Min......who with Kim Dong Moon...were by far and above the best mixed pair in the world......and probably ever!!!! (Well in my opinion).
So my point is that if you want Gail to be the top lady in the world...then she has to play with a top man......and Nathan is the only candidate in this country.

[daveyk]

nathan robertson seriously isnt w=very good full stop!!! his reactions are sloppy. he doesnt communicate properly with gail, he needs to improve hand eye co ordination and yeah he's got a smash on him but thats about it! no one can argue with any of that.

[johng]

so as has been mentioned before on this thread...he has an olympic silver, been No1 in the world and won european tournaments.........and he is no good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So come on daveyk ..what qualifies a player to be any good in your book

[Luncheon]

Daveyk - when have you seen him play? I hope you're not basing those bold statements on one match....or even one set. As mentioned before its all about styles of play and when I've seen Nathan play....he looks relaxed and casual...but he comes up with flair shots.
You watch Archer play or Clark who aren't as flamboyant, they're reactions are immediate and precise, they're both top players with excellant shots....but not the natural talent for the unknown as Nathan.

Likewise you wach Chen Hong play, he's very precise, he plays very deliberately with what he does......you watch Lin Dan play and he will entertain you...with random shots (i.e. the taxi he performed on Jonnassen in the quarter...to play it once was entertaining....to do him a second time shows his level in comparison to anyone elses).

[rhombus]

Dear ians,

The difference between being a world clas player and a true champion is very small. Any defect in character will be exploted at the top level. It is no differnet come to mention it at any level. Nature talent can not be taught and of course no one is denying that Robertson is a world class player with natural flair to his game. Others on this thread have obviously seen this little chink in his armour. If we can see it his opponents can see it also. You cannot argue against the fact that not giving 100% when playing doubles only lets your partner down. Point taken that in a doubles match players have times when they are on top of their game, and other times when they are not. In that particular match, the final of the All England, he did'nt seem to be giving 100%. I don't know the bloke personally so I have only the television coverage to make a judgement.

[Luncheon]

So is it still believed that Emms should drop her World No.1 partner?
Surely a foolish move...if you're sat top of the pile....you continue to stay top of the pile.

[daveyk]

i've already said what i think a good player is! so dont moan because you know i'm right ok. yeah ok they world number 1 but they need to prove it! true number 1's would have won that final and keep winning finals consistently. look at roger federer he is a true number 1! at that superstar thing on t.v it showed robertson doesnt have very good hand eye co-ordination! she needs someone new to be a true number 1.

[Phil McBride]

i've already said what i think a good player is! so dont moan because you know i'm right ok. yeah ok they world number 1 but they need to prove it! true number 1's would have won that final and keep winning finals consistently. look at roger federer he is a true number 1! at that superstar thing on t.v it showed robertson doesnt have very good hand eye co-ordination! she needs someone new to be a true number 1.

No world number one in badminton wins everything over the course of a season, Nathan might in your opinion have poor hand eye co-ordination but he sure as hell can play badminton!!!!!

Sad to say this but I have always thought there was a time when Gail was the weaker of the two over the last few years and since the Olympic performance she has always seemed to be the more strong player in terms of on court persona and fighting ability where she was once quite despondant on court at times. Nathan in the AE was pumped up for the game and was screaming his head off trying to get the crowd on side more so you could hardly say he was in a shell, it was only in the last furlong he dwindled!

So what if Nathan is temperamental, he has always been that way as far as i can remember seeing him play, yes his body language was poor in the last end but he gave it everything he could and was spent after the first two games.

He has a great game and plays with flair and indeed as someone earlier pointed out plays shots that others wouldn't dare (Cheeky or Ballsy, you decide), after the untouchables retred he and gail becaem the world no 1's and have been there or there about only dropping after losing out on the world championship ranking points and have won some good titles and raised their game to compete over the last 2 or so years.

Why on earth would you want to split that up???

If the aimis to teach someone somehting why would you penalise a partnership for something that you assume to be the case without knowing what the reason was? I would assume it would be more to do with quantity and quality of training and lack of fitness in the wake of the WC injury that took it's toll.

Give them a bloody break!!!!

If they do good at the Commys will we praise them? I wonder..........................

[daveyk]

nothing that i have said is based on the finals of all england although yeah he can only play 2 sets. thats not good enough really is it? but i was at the simi finals and you could tell that gail wasnt happy with robertson at parts. he was wwinging at shots that weren't his! it looked scrappy and says that they are not communicating enough.

[daveyk]

no number 1 wins everything? well look at roger federer in tennis haven't seen him lose in ages and he does win everything. because he is number 1 in the world. number 1 in the world means you should be better than all the players that are 2nd 3rd and 4th the only players you are going to lose to are unexpected players that nearly no on ehas seen before.

[Phil McBride]

no number 1 wins everything? well look at roger federer in tennis haven't seen him lose in ages and he does win everything. because he is number 1 in the world. number 1 in the world means you should be better than all the players that are 2nd 3rd and 4th the only players you are going to lose to are unexpected players that nearly no on ehas seen before.

Well this is badminton and i can't remember even the great Ra and Kim winning every tournamet even though they were unbeaten in some 18 months and had only lost once in something like 3 years (please correct me if im wrong on that point), the point is that they won every tournament they played in but didnt play them all over the course of a year/season.

Again there is no gulf in badminton as the game is totally different to tennis and the top pairs are very evenly matched in some aspects of their game, swings and roundabouts im afraid. If you want a gulf like tennis try and compare ladies singles or gents singles certainly not mixed.

I suggest if you want to compare two racket sports find ones that are simillar not ones that are too far apart to draw comparisons with each other.

If you want to favour tennis then please feel free to bugger off and go to "ilovetennismorethanbadminton.com" and air your views there if not then please feel free to contact BadmintonEngland and offer to beat Nathan and Gail into submission with your supperior skills and imense coaching experience, if you can criticise then please feel free to try and fix the deficiancies in their game.

[David69]

Someone's on a wind up me thinks.

I wonder if he's Scottish?

[Phil McBride]

Someone's on a wind up me thinks.

I wonder if he's Scottish?

I didn't know you were Scottish..........................

[David69]

I agree with all you said Phil. Can't believe anyone seriously thinks splitting them up is an option.

Nathan just looked mentally dead after getting so close. Didn't seem to be a fitness or attitude thing.

[bingobango]

After having watched the performance at the finals it just looked like Nathan got into a sulk after having lost the second game and after some genuine mistakes at match point by Gail. He had a very childish attitude of going into a sulk and giving up and this was very obvious to the audience. It was very embarassing to watch and he really should be ashamed of himself!
As someone representing his country at an international level this is not the kind of behaviour or attitude expected of Nathan.
I agree with other comments on this thread that stern words should be said to him by the coaches.
If as some people say it was some part a matter of fitness...he needs to work on this..not just give up!
And after having seen his performance in that sports programme 'Superstars' i think it is...where he came last...you really do have to question his fitness!!
You have to applaud Gail who even thoough was ill and perhaps not as fit as she usually is put 100% effort into her game.

I don't agree that the pair should be split up as they obviously work fantastically well together....however Nathan needs to stop getting into his sulks and grow up a bit! I have seen the same thing happen with him in a game he played with Simon Archer in the All England a couple of years ago...he just gives up!

Nathan is a fantastically skilled and smart player - there is no doubt. but mentally he needs more work.
A real strong world class player would have dug in and fought for the last game in the final of the All England instead of sulking and letting their partner run around!

[daveyk]

oi whoever this phil mcbride is. dont tell me to bugger off yh.when did i say i could beat robertson n gail aye? your just mixing your words n trying to look like the cool guy. i have news for you yes tennis is different and i never said it was i just said roger federer is a true number 1! your just mixing your words totaqlly. can't you read? no point arguing with you if you cant even read what i right properly.

:confused:

[laura9876543]

i feel that if you are going to comment on someones reading you should concentrate a little on your typing. i believe the spelling of the word you were looking for it write not right. also im not sure totally has a q in it.....

[Luncheon]

oi whoever this phil mcbride is. dont tell me to bugger off yh.when did i say i could beat robertson n gail aye? your just mixing your words n trying to look like the cool guy. i have news for you yes tennis is different and i never said it was i just said roger federer is a true number 1! your just mixing your words totaqlly. can't you read? no point arguing with you if you cant even read what i right properly.

Maybe you'd have been better off writing the following post:
Excuse me Mr McBride, please don't tell me to leave the sport I love (badminton). I have never said that I would beat Mr Robertson and Miss Emms. I appreciate your passion for supporting them, my personal belief is that as Mr Federer beats everyone in the world all the time he is a true no.1. I understand that maybe a slight misunderstanding might have occured between us, maybe I didn't make my point in the clearest way. To be truly world class number 1...in my opinion...you need to beat everybody time and time again.
I hope this adds a little clarity to my point.
Daveyk

But then again you could always just go Oi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[baddyfreak]

[QUOTE=bingobango]After having watched the performance at the finals it just looked like Nathan got into a sulk after having lost the second game and after some genuine mistakes at match point by Gail. He had a very childish attitude of going into a sulk and giving up and this was very obvious to the audience. It was very embarassing to watch and he really should be ashamed of himself!
As someone representing his country at an international level this is not the kind of behaviour or attitude expected of Nathan.


I agree with u there in the last match he just seemed lifeless i dont however feel that it was a fitness issue i just felt that he jsut as u said went into a sulk. he was not moving his feet and he just stood there. i think they should have won. but it all depends on how they played and in the 3rd end that wasnt very good. i feel i have seen them play alot better in the past.

[daveyk]

lol thanks luncheon for the tip :) i heard people were asking my teacher who i was at nationals lol. woo noticed. lol was bit worried though considering i am young n adults were asking who i was n i was recognised from my screen name. :eek:

[Phil McBride]

lol thanks luncheon for the tip :) i heard people were asking my teacher who i was at nationals lol. woo noticed. lol was bit worried though considering i am young n adults were asking who i was n i was recognised from my screen name. :eek:

Well bugger off has a better ring to it than "shut the **** up" does it not?

I think what you missunderstood was criticise by all means but be constructive about it. Pelting people is all well and good but are you offering a way for them to improve or just flapping your gums? ;)

I get recognised from my screen name too, wonder how that happens? Always baffled me that one :eek:

[daveyk]

phil mcbride what are you on about? no offense if they were trying to critiscise but didnt really did it. more like suggestive help if you ask me. yh weird people recognise you by your name :confused:. not everyone knows my nickname is davey k you wouldnt necesarrily guess my real name you see. dont treat me like i don't know what im on about. i bet im younger but more "clever". saying more clever like that is a joke. you get it? because people that are confused say more clever rather than more intelligent. understand? thanks again luncheon :)

[tbc]

lol thanks luncheon for the tip :) i heard people were asking my teacher who i was at nationals lol. woo noticed. lol was bit worried though considering i am young n adults were asking who i was n i was recognised from my screen name. :eek:

You know what… if you make semi-inflammatory comments about other schools (say Thornden for example), or about people (say Nathan Robertson for example), then people are going to want to find out who you are…

[daveyk]

lol ok. honestly i didnt start the thing about gail getting a new partner. i just agreed with a number of other people. wow thornden were in my regionals :o had a good 'A' team and 'B' team wern't bad either! so i take it you know who i am if you said thornden.

[nasigoreng]

Please you lot, there is a junior forum where you can go.

[daveyk]

well said lol. i am a junior so im not complaining. or everyone could just give it a rest because they are just opinions from other people. no need to argue about them because everyone has different opinions that the whole point in forums!

[MarkAllen]

I didn't see the finals so I'll refrain from any comment on Nathan's performance. I will say though that criticism is cheap. The only person on this thread who, recognisably, has any qualification to speak of matters at Nathan's level is IANS, and he obviously has a more sanguine view of things.

But the questions raised about what makes a true champion are interesting, and have been aired a little before; I believe there was a thread last year started by Martin Dew-Hattens, but I couldn't readily find it.

So, what are the signs of a champion? What are the competencies?

1) Physical
. Strength
· Speed
· Mobility
· Stamina
· Reflexes

2) Mental
· Strategy
· Tactics
· Awareness
· Mental stamina
· Aggression

Most of these are simple (!) enough to obtain. All you need is time to train; even the mental aspects. But ….. On top of all these there is “something else”. Undefinable. Inaccessible to the majority. Cannot be trained or taught. That “something” that puts a player apart from the rest, no matter how good the rest are. Examples from common knowledge:-
Rod Laver, Pele, Eddy Merckx, Don Bradman, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens, to name the more obvious. There are others.

Is there anyone in badminton, past or present, who fits that bill? The bar has been raised so high by the Asian players just on the basic competencies, that even a player with the “extra” has a long way to go before it could be of any relevance.

[rhombus]

Mark,

Rudy Hartono fits in to that category, Winner of the AE Mens Singles 7 times on the trot (1968-74), then winner again in 1976.
Very few of us of course get to Nathan level, however I have seen top class players train in the past and also helped them out in practice. At one time Morten Frost was the world's number 1 player and regularly came down to Parklangley Club to train....... with Nick Yates, and Szu Yu. Frost had the X -factor, he could play for 2 hours staight, winner stay on against those other guys and not lose a set, bearing in mind that Nick won the Japan Open and Szu Yu a commonwealth bronze. He had that mental grinding attitude even in practice, as well as unhuman physical stamina. I don't think you can teach that or acquire it, it is god given.

[daveyk]

in a couple of years there will be a new player! could be anybody but i think we will have decent singles players by the london olympics! hopefully as well to show everyone that england have good players.