Swedes putt Danes to shame on the fairway!

Europe triumphed in golf’s Ryder Cup but Denmark again missed the cut. As the Swedes continue to take charge of the fairways, it seems the Danes are well and truly in the rough. This Scandinavian rivalry has always been competitive but in most mainstream sports, the two countries seem on a level playing field and are usually evenly matched. So why it is that Sweden is in total control on the golf course?

The Ryder Cup, one of the last great sporting events founded on prestige rather than prize money, was first contested in 1927. The origin of the idea was to stage international matches between the best American professionals and those of Great Britain. The cup changed its format in 1979 choosing to select from the whole of continental Europe rather than just Britain marking a new chapter in the history of the biennial competition.  Up until 2008, Thomas Bjorn had remained the only Dane to have represented Europe. He did so on two occasions at Valderrama in 1997 and the Belfry in 2002. He was on the winning side both times.

The 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla saw only the second ever Dane to compete. Even so, debutant Søren Hansen was still outnumbered by his Swedish counterparts in the 12 man team with Henrik Stensson and Robert Karlsson also present.

Bjorn was also one of four vice-captains to Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie in Europe’s 2010 triumph at Celtic Manor in October of this year. Europe regained the cup with one Scandinavian in Europe’s line-up this time; Sweden’s Peter Hanson, who has followed in the footsteps of many Swedes in the past who have either qualified automatically through order of merit or been selected by invitation to join the European team.

Demark is certainly not the first place you would think of when thinking ‘golf’ and the sport has failed to really take off on an elite level in the same way it has in Sweden despite the first course being built back in 1898.   

With so much land at their disposal, the popularity of golf in Sweden has risen dramatically in the last two decades with 450 of the 31,000 golf courses across the world located there. The fact that Denmark could fit into neighbouring Sweden ten times over is certainly one factor why emerging Danish talent is scarcer.

According to statistics, around six percent of Sweden’s nine million population takes to the fairway on a regular basis. Due to this remarkable figure, the country has enjoyed a 72 percent increase in the number of golf courses built during the 1990’s. In fact, demand for golf club places outstrips supply and therefore it is expected that a substantial number of new courses will be built over the next few years. The Swedish Golf Federation (Svenska Golfförbundet) also establishes a number of programs to recruit and assist young players which is something Denmark should try and consider.

In addition to Thomas Bjorn, both Andreas Hansen and Sore Held are making a mark in Denmark with high profile Championship wins to their names. The same can be said for Søren Hansen and Steen Tinning on the European Tour with Denmark showing signs of emerging talent in recent years raising the profile of golf in Denmark and helping Denmark become better recognized as a golfing destination. There is obviously still a long way to go to emulate their neighbours, but the foundations for future improvements is evident.

There is definite potential as Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen made a strong start in California as he moved to the top of the leaderboard on the first morning of the 110th US Open this year. Consistency is the defining factor in golf and the Danes have failed to show this in the past despite displaying some excellent promise. Kjeldsen is the highest ranked Dane in the world, currently at 85 (27 on the European tour).

With talent emerging and signs certainly improving that golf in Denmark could change from a popular activity to a major sport, the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland could well see the emergence of a third Danish representative following in the footsteps of Bjorn and Hansen. Watch this space.....

Potters aim to avoid Mersey Misery

Following two back-to-back defeats and an extra-time exit from the Carling Cup in midweek, the Potters faithful have reason to be fearful ahead of Saturday’s clash at Goodison Park.

The Toffees look to be over their customary slow start and will be buoyed by last weekends draw at White Hart Lane which followed an impressive 2-0 victory in the Merseyside derby, a week prior, ending a run of three consecutive defeats against their rivals.

Having been dumped out of the Carling Cup in extra-time at West Ham, the visitors may have few jaded legs in their ranks and Stoke boss, Tony Pulis will know his side cannot afford to be slow out of the blocks as Everton look to continue their recent run of results and climb the table to more familiar territory. The Potters have gone behind in too many games this season but have shown great character and have the best record in the league for points gained after conceding first but Stoke’s supremo will know only too well, that his side must be switched on from the first whistle and not be forced to claw back a deficit again. Interestingly, to only count the results from the second half of games this season would see the Potters top of the Premier League.

Toffees captain Phil Neville is aware of Stoke’s threat but is now ready to lead Everton up the table: “I think now we're getting rewarded for our effort and we're really looking forward to the next month, to really attack and climb up the league. Stoke are a difficult side to play against home or away. So we're going to have to be at our best defensively to keep them out.”

Pulis opted to make six changes to his line-up at Upton Park on Wednesday from the side beaten on home soil by a late Manchester United goal and the Welshman is likely to welcome back those that missed out as Stoke search for more goals. Despite almost salvaging a point against the Red Devils after Tuncay fired home a magnificent curling strike, the Turk is expected to return to the bench as well as Ricardo Fuller who has missed the last two games through injury. Eidur Gudjohnsen could be the man to miss out on a place in the squad as he looks a shadow of his former self and is still struggling to regain fitness and come to terms with the pace of the Premier League again.

Stoke have been creating chances in front of goal but failing to put them away and kill games off. The fans are well aware that they should be in the hat for the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup having gone ahead at Upton Park and continued to create openings to have the Hammers well out-of-sight before half-time but Stoke failed to capitalise on their chances.

One man that Pulis will be glad to see return is midfielder Dean Whitehead who missed the defeat to Sir Alex’s side after serving a one match suspension. Whitehead’s energy and non-stop pressing will be a key factor if Stoke are to get any change from a rejuvenated Everton side. The Stoke boss will be hoping Whitehead can minimise the threat of Tim Cahill supporting the Toffees front line.

Last season was a very close encounter, much to the surprise of some pundits as Stoke battled to a well deserved 1-1 draw. Things could have been even better for the visitors after Robert Huth had headed the Potters in the lead after the break. Unfortunately, Stoke failed to regroup from the restart and within seconds Leon Osman smashed a great strike past the helpless Sorensen in the Stoke goal. There is no chance of a repeat of this as Osman continues his layoff with an ankle injury suffered against Liverpool. Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini remain sidelined too adding to Moyes’ injury woes.

Although David Moyes will be pleased with his side’s point at Tottenham last weekend despite taking the lead, the Scot will be hopeful that his usually solid goalkeeper Tim Howard does not make the same mistake, flapping at a cross that gifted Spurs their equaliser.

Stoke’s height and power will certainly ensure a tough afternoon for Howard particularly from set-pieces as they try to expose the American once again. Pulis will have his players well drilled and organised to bombard Howard in the early stages and test his confidence.

The home side will be boosted with the news that Mikel Arteta seems to be winning his battle to be fit for the clash. The Spaniard is instrumental to their play and forges a great partnership with Cahill causing havoc in and around the opposition’s box. The performances of these two and the way Stoke deal with their threat could well be the determining factor in who takes the points on Merseyside with both sides only separated by goal difference at the moment with ten points each.

Pulis Calls for a United Effort

Stoke boss Tony Pulis has every right to be optimistic ahead of the visit of the three-time European champions. With Manchester United looking vulnerable of late and the Wayne Rooney saga overshadowing the club, the Welshman is right to sense that his side could break their United hoodoo this weekend.

As the Potters look to add fuel to the fires of disharmony at Old Trafford, Pulis is calling on his team to show their unity and togetherness that has seen them mix it with the best on home soil:  “We need a big performance from the players and supporters to get anything from the game. Our biggest strength in this league has been that this club is united and Sunday a big performance is needed from everybody.”

Whilst there is probably never a good time to play United, who are still unbeaten this season despite much hype concerning their most prized asset and the American owners of the club, Stoke should see this as their best chance to catch United cold who looked very subdued in their laboured 1-0 win over Champions League debutants, Bursaspor during the week.

Since returning to the top flight, in the four previous meetings Stoke have yet to score. Not only have they failed to score, United’s backline has found themselves almost redundant in the four clashes with City failing to create any clear chances. The omens don’t look good for the home side, having conceding twelve goals against the Red Devils in the four meetings and have not beaten United in a competitive game since City recorded a memorable 2-1 League Cup victory back in 1993 at their previous home, the Victoria Ground.

The Sky cameras return to the Britannia Stadium for the third time this season and Stoke chairman Peter Coates is keen to make amends for last years 2-0 defeat that saw the Potters completely outclassed: “I thought it was one of our poorest performances. I don't know what happened. But having said that, Manchester United played really well.

I remember Sir Alex being interviewed later in the season after winning another important game. The interviewer suggested he'd just seen United's best game of the season, but the manager corrected him and said the win at Stoke was the best they had played. We were outplayed and it was nothing like the previous season here. We lost 1-0, but I thought we were terrific,” he added.

Coates is no stranger to adversity and the hierarchy of his club being questioned so he will be aware of how Sir Alex and the rest of his squad will be feeling but his only concern is that of Stoke City: “It's not a case of having sympathy with them because of what's happened. This is a tough business. Sport is unpredictable; things don't always go to plan for one reason and another.”

Stoke will be hoping to put last week’s heartache behind them after succumbing to a last minute defeat at Bolton after dominating for large parts of the game. Pulis opted for an adventurous line-up at the Reebok Stadium and it almost paid dividends but he is likely to revert to a more cautious approach to stop the attacking threat of United. Although his approach of setting out to stifle and contain against the top teams has not reaped many rewards, his mindset is still unlikely to change.

With United having drawn their last four on the road, Ferguson will be keen to get back to winning ways especially after last weeks second half horror show at home to newly promoted West Brom. One man keen to impress will be the returning Edwin Van der Sar in between the posts whose howler gifted the Baggies their equaliser.

There is no doubting that despite being low on confidence, United have the fire power and ability to win comfortably, but with Rooney casting doubts over the ability of United to continue to win the game’s biggest prizes as they chase runaway leaders Chelsea, Stoke will see this as a real opportunity to add to the tale of discontent at Old Trafford.

Potters aim for three on the Trott

It seems many moons ago that Stoke were travelling to the Reebok Stadium in their Premier League baptism of fire. Just two seasons ago, the Potters were welcomed in no uncertain terms to the holy grail of English football with a crushing defeat that led to one bookmaker (Paddy Power) paying out on Stoke to be relegated, just one game into the season.

The unforgiving nature of the Premier League saw Stoke trailing 3-0 at half-time thanks to a combination of inexperience, an opening goal that bewildered not only the scorer Gretar Steinsson but the 22,000 in attendance and also the uncompromising aerial bombardment towards the ever reliable Kevin Davies, better known now as England’s new ‘plan B’.

However, the Potters have now come to terms with the vigour of England’s top-flight and are no longer heading into the unknown. Last season saw Stoke almost exact their revenge at the Reebok after the forgotten man, Dave Kitson expertly curled a second half strike past Jussi Jaaskelainen which looked to have earned the visitors all three points. It took until the final minute and a careless, unnecessary challenge from Danny Collins on Sam Ricketts to allow Matt Taylor to confidently salvage a share of the spoils from the penalty spot.

Both sides will be pleased with their point tallies so far and would definitely have been unhappy with the timing of the international break. The Potters had recorded two straight league victories and are unbeaten in five games having moved into the European places following a poor start to the campaign, while the home side have only lost once this season. Despite drawing the last three, Owen Coyle’s side can take many positives with two away draws in the Midlands at Aston Villa and West Brom with a thrilling 2-2 draw at home to Man United sandwiched in between. The Trotters were unlucky not to beat United after creating some excellent openings to win the match.

Stoke will be roared by their largest away following for almost two years with over 4000 tickets snapped up. As Tony Pulis’ side look to build on their recent results, the travelling fans will be hoping for a repeat of the second half of their last away fixture at Newcastle which saw Stoke throw caution to wind and adopt a more adventurous style in turning round a 1-0 deficit to win on Tyneside. The Potters will certainly fancy their chances in Lancashire, but Bolton will prove a tough test as they look to return to winning ways and leapfrog Stoke in the table.

The battle between both captains is sure to be a feisty affair on the field. Kevin Davies will be hungry to follow up his lively cameo role on his England debut during the week and inflict more painful memories on Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross who will remember only too well the torrid time the 33-year old gave him two seasons ago. Shawcross will be hoping to impress as he himself hopes for the call from Capello and a solid display against England’s oldest debutant for 60 years can only help his case. Equally as exciting will be the battle between Stoke’s in-form striker Kenywne Jones and Gary Cahill, who was an unused substitute at Wembley, missing out to Joleon Lescott at the heart of England’s defence.

Both sides have players returning from international duty and it was not such a good week for a lot of the players. Davies’ strike partner Johan Elmander was in Amsterdam for Sweden’s 4-1 defeat to Holland, while keeper Jaaskelainen was denied a point on his return to the Finnish national team following a last minute goal from Hungary in Helsinki and Tamir Cohen was twice on the losing side for Israel.

Stoke stopper Thomas Sorensen was substituted after just half an hour in Denmark’s defeat in Portugal but looks to be winning his battle to be fit for Saturday after suffering a muscle strain in his hip. There were both sets of players in Iceland as Stoke’s Eidur Gudjohnsen and Bolton’s Gretar Steinsson were part of the squad defeated by Portugal on Tuesday. Danny Collins and Sam Ricketts were also on the same side as Wales were beaten twice to Bulgaria and Switzerland. Collins will be up against Martin Petrov for twice in a week after the Bolton winger was part of the Bulgaria side that were victorious in Cardiff.

Owen Coyle will be wary of the fitness of midfielders Chung-Yong lee and Stuart Holden who were involved in internationals outside of Europe. American international, Holden was in the States for games against Poland and Colombia whilst Lee was in action for South Korea in a 0-0 draw with Japan.

Stoke have some positive team news as City defender Andy Wilkinson has reported fit for Saturday's trip after recovering from his latest injury setback. The right back had aggravated his knee ligament damage suffered at Chelsea in August but should start in defence after a fortnights respite and a run out for the reserves earlier in the week.