Browsing: harsh

Bellamy was on something of a charm offensive when he faced the media before this fixture. There was to be a new and bigger English audience to see what the Welsh public had already witnessed: his evolution from a combustible, confrontational player to a controlled, deep-thinking coach.

This was the sternest examination so far of that new image.

He simmered on the Wembley touchline as he watched his team fold obligingly in the face of torrential English pressure.

Bellamy kept his cool on the surface but did he manage such calm in the changing room too?

“I quite enjoyed half-time,” he said.

“I was like, ‘now we see’. What are we going to do?

“When those moments happen, it shows who you are as a coach. You can come in balling and throwing stuff, but to who? It makes no sense. Me, I’m calm.

“This is a moment we need to relish. It’s not gone well for us, [so] how are we going to do something about it? Now we see who we are. I like those moments.”

Bellamy is clear about how he wants his team to play – pressing high, attacking whenever possible – but acknowledged that, on occasions like this against superior opposition, that will not always be possible.

“I look at England, their physical profile, the speed, the duels. Of course, it helps when you’ve got a lot of players playing in the Champions League, but that’s where you want our players to be,” he said.

“[For] the players, it’s ‘this is where we want to be’. But we also know, we have to be at the top of our game to be able to play against these types of nations.

“On Monday we have to be at the top of our game.”

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One year removed from a World Series appearance, the New York Yankees were eliminated in the American League Divisional Series in four games by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, and fingers are already being pointed following the early postseason exit.

During the post-game show on FS1 following the Blue Jays†5-2 series-clinching win over the Yankees, former Yankees stars Alex Rodriguez and Hall of Famer Derek Jeter went in on whoâ€s to blame most for New Yorkâ€s downfall. Yankees manager Aaron Boone was the person the former players put this collapse on.

“[Aaron Boone] is the one guy I would circle that has least to blame…one of the worst constructions of a roster Iâ€ve ever seen.” – Alex Rodriguez

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“Iâ€m pretty sure Aaronâ€s not the one thatâ€s calling every move that they make throughout the game.” – Derek Jeter

The two baseball legends stopped short of saying any names, but these comments appeared to be aimed at the Yankees front office, and as the baseball world knows, the buck stops with general manager Brian Cashman in that regard.

Rodriguez called out the construction of the team, and that clearly has to do with the front office. Jeter said Boone did a good job with the team, but that heâ€s probably not the one calling every move in games. Without saying any names, A-Rod and Jeter seem to have called out Cashmanâ€s leadership of the team and placed much of the blame squarely on his shoulders.

New York finished with the same record as last season (94-68) but with much different results. They didn’t win the World Series last year either, but they did make a run all the way there. As defending American League champions, getting knocked out in four games in the ALDS by a division rival, no less, is disappointing.

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Even more disappointing is the fact the Yankees failed to capitalize further on the outstanding postseason right fielder Aaron Judge was having. In seven postseason games Judge was hitting .500 with a .692 slugging percentage and a 1.273 OPS. Those are MVP caliber numbers the Yankees failed capitalize on.

This elimination stretches the Yankees streak of not winning the World Series to 16 years. The last time this franchise won it all in 2010, Rodriguez and Jeter were still playing in pinstripes.

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