The Sporting Hack

#TSHontheattack Zesty footwear, sour performance Falling foul of the strict All England Club dress code was the least of Roger Federer’s worries this week as the reigning Wimbledon champion headed a list of shock exits. The suave Swiss was pulled up about his orange soled Nike trainers but that was nowhere near as red-facing as crashing out to 116 th seed Sergiy Stakhovsky. Federer followed close rival and recent French Open champion Rafa Nadal out of SW19. And while Nadal’s loss to world 135 Steve Darcis was understandable (the Spaniard is short of fitness), Federer’s was unfathomable, for he is the king of grass with seven Wimbledon wins. Inevitably the talk of Andy Murray’s chances of winning the competition have multiplied, however many are overlooking the fact that his most potent threat, Novak Djokovic, remains very much at large. A Horwill hug The International Rugby Board (IRB) have dramatically appealed against the decision made by a judiciary panel w...

Following Gustavo Poyet’s odd departure from Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion recently, The Sporting Hack has decided to delve in to the archives of strange managerial dismissals. The Uruguayan was informed of the Seagulls’ decision while he was working as a pundit for the BBC and had to endure an open and honest exchange from the show’s presenter Mark Chapman at half-time of a Confederations Cup game here. Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), 2009-2011: – The Italian brought the first ever League and Cup double to Stamford Bridge, yet even that was not enough to save him from the axe-wielding Russian Oligarch in charge of the club. Despite losing in the Champions League to eventual winners Inter Milan, Ancelotti did manage to wrestle back the Premier League trophy from the mini-dominance that Manchester United enjoyed and secure just the third title in the Blues history. The FA Cup inevitably followed, with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth, consisting of a fluid 4-3-3 system with Did...

The Sporting Summer is hotting up in both action and talking points. The Lions got off to a great start with a series opening win against the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday night while England will aim to overcome India in the ICC Champions trophy final in Birmingham on Sunday. Get in touch on Twitter @thesportinghack and use #TSHontheattack to have your say on the outlined topics. Pardew: keeping his (limited) tactics close to his chest While TSH predicted departures at St James’ Park following the arrival of Newcastle United’s newly appointed director of football, Joe Kinnear, we didn’t expect it to be the man who allegedly helped bring him back to the north-east, Derek Llambias. Managing Director Llambias, whose name Kinnear embarrassingly mispronounced as “Lambayzee” during an interview with Talksport, issued a statement saying that he wished the club well; just a day after welcoming the Irishman in to what will be a hotseat. As reported by TSH ( http://thesp...

New South Wales Winger Blake Ferguson’s suspension from all forms of Australian rugby league, after he was alleged to have indecently assaulted a female, heads the ill-discipline that mounts around the Blues camp and thus the odds of wrestling back the State of Origin crown from Queensland for the first time in eight years lengthen with every passing day as the state lurches from one problem to another. Despite a united front at the team’s base on Sydney’s east coast, where TSH was lucky enough to gain access to a public appearance at a junior rugby event at the nearby Coogee Oval, the Blues are rapidly self-destructing. Ferguson and stand-in full-back Josh Dugan, an infamous drinking partner, were caught on CCTV of a Cronulla nightclub on the eve of a training camp, although the latter has no charge to answer. After an impressive 14-6 series opening win at ANZ Stadium, the Blues head to Brisbane on Wednesday week with the chance to take an unassailable two-nil lead ...

Newly appointed Newcastle United Director of Football Joe Kinnear has given a telephone interview with Sky Sports News which can only be described as amateurish and will come as a great to surprise to Magpies boss Alan Pardew. In the nine minute long interview, which contained the odd misplaced expletive, the former Wimbledon manager outlined his intentions to completely overhaul United’s transfer policy. “I’m in charge of transfers and looking at strengths and weaknesses of the side that we’ve got,” he declared. “I intend to make Newcastle far better than they are now, that’s for sure.  “If I see players at the club right now and I believe they’re not good enough to be at Newcastle then I’ll move them on,” the 66 year old said in no nonsense fashion. The Toon Army did come perilously close to losing their Premier League status last season for what would have been the second time in five years; since the season in which Kinnear’s ill-health...