39 Sports The RGS Gazette Issue 12 July 2024 Ask Max Curtis: What do you make of England’s performance in the Euros this year? Personally, I find that our performance has been an absolute horror show. This is due to the football being played by the current England squad not being enjoyable or interesting to watch, as well as just being poor. I find that this is mainly due to our manager, Gareth Southgate, as he lacks the ability to change and adapt the squad in a tactical format when needed. Nathan N: Cricket or baseball? I am fond of both sports I have watched the Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park, as well as watching England play cricket at Lord’s. I feel that baseball was more exciting to watch, however, this could have been due to it being a more exciting experience as a whole, due to me watching it in America. From a playing perspective, I would also say that baseball is more fun to play, but yet again this could be due to me playing less baseball that cricket. If we look at it from an economical perspective, Major League Baseball in America is the second richest sports board in the world, whereas corresponding cricket boards do not come close to the money generated by the MLB. Therefore, in my opinion, I would choose baseball in this scenario. However, I rate both sports very highly. Charlie: Why are all your questions seemingly about football? I was thinking the same thing Charlie, and I believe that it is due to football being a key part of British culture. Over 70% of people in the UK follow football in some regard, with around 12 million people actively playing the sport. Furthermore, just under 40% of British children play football, with this statistic being even higher amongst males, which probably leads to the high concentration of football questions in these submissions. Gregor: Should golf really be a sport? I myself play a lot of golf, but I do realise that it gets a lot of stick for not being the most physically active. Firstly, one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michal Jordan, has said himself that he finds golf the hardest sport to play, even though he has won 6 Championship Rings – this shows that although it lacks physical activity, it still requires immense amounts of skill for success. It is one of the most timeintensive sports, with golf requiring an average of 20,000 hours of practice before someone even has a chance of becoming a professional. This means that it is not something that can come naturally to someone, like running, for example. Competitions take place over 6 days, with the first 2 being practice days, showing the amount of time that you must commit in order to achieve a good outcome. Additionally, golfers put in lots of effort in the gym this can be shown by Tiger Woods being able to bench 130kg, and Bryson DeChambeau being able to lift 145kg on the benchpress also. Taking all this into account, I would say that golf surpasses the requirements to be recognised as a sport. Freddie: How likely is it that McIlroy will ever win another major? If we look at Rory’s most recent performance in The Majors, he finished 22nd in The Masters, 12th in the PGA championship and 2nd in the US open. If we zoom in on how he played in the most recent US Open, he missed 2 putts from 3ft, which cost him the championship. This has shown us that he cannot hold himself together in high pressure situations, suggesting to me that he will not will another major championship in his career. Furthermore, he hasn’t won a major championship in the last 10 years, unless he wins the Open Championship in the upcoming days. However, due to his headspace at the moment, going through a divorce, as well as what happened at the last major championship, I think his chances of lifting the Claret Jug are slim. Torr (Head Boy): Who will be the next England manager? Graham Potter could be a candidate to take over Southgate’s role in managing the England squad. Potter was a bizarre favourite in an open market, but he currently has availability on his side, bringing up his chances of getting the role. The job will most likely be available after our inevitable knockout in the Euros, and Potter will still likely be available. There is a paradox with this however, as the longer that Potter is available, the less likely he is to get the job. Yet, if he becomes unavailable, he is also unlikely to get the job. His reputation is undoubtedly tarnished by his poor performance with Chelsea, but we cannot forget what he did at Brighton. All in all, I do not believe that Potter will be suitable to fulfil the role at hand. Eddie Howe could be a good candidate to fulfil the role, as he is currently at Newcastle and is doing well there. It is hard to see him walking out of that job given what he is doing for the club, however, if Newcastle aren’t desperate to keep him and England come knocking, you could see that he would consider the move. This has led me to believe that Eddie Howe could be the person for the job. Max ModrayLane (Year 12) answers all of your sport related queries
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