Early sporting highlights on the horizon as 2015 moves into sight

We are easing through the closing stages of the in-between days. That’s what I refer to as the period after Christmas and before New Year. It’s a time for reflection and looking ahead and often it’s over-hyped and puts too much pressure on many folk. As John Lennon sang all those years ago: “And so this is Christmas and what have you done…” I always concentrated on Festive frolics at this time of year so my own favourite Yuletide ditty was the raucous line-up between Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl. Or as the inside of the card which arrived last week from Trawden’s Andy Turner advised: “Go mental with the mistletoe and dance to Slade like mad.” You still can’t go past the classic from Noddy Holder and the lads for an Xmas romp. From the same year, 1973, came a more sombre, wry summing-up from Greg Lake which played down the lofty expectations of this time of year. “The Christmas we get we deserve,’ observed the ELP man. It was always fun and sport for me at the time of the Northern winter solstice rather than religion and schmalz. There were some memorable Boxing Day encounters involving Blackburn Rovers. I always preferred to hit the road for the holiday games as it made for a big day out. I remember heading out over the Pennines in 1971 back in the dark period of Division Three existence for a clash with Halifax Town at the Shay. Dave Ellison’s dad Jimmy was at the wheel with Greg Hayes and me making up the carload. To say the Halifax ground was a dump in those days would be paying it a compliment. The average home crowds mustered little over a thousand. Yet the Rovers’ travelling hordes took it past 7,000. After a few ales in a working men’s club it was onto the ground to be shoehorned into some rickety stand known as the Cowshed. It was probably highly unsafe but exhilarating. “Do you realise we are sixth from bottom of Division Three,” mused Ivan Hickmott as he surveyed the scene. It made me realise what a traditional football-supporting town Blackburn actually was. There was a floodlight failure and giant man-mountain defender John McNamee bundled home Rovers’ goal for a 1-0 win which made for a happy trip home. Other year-ending epics for me were the manic win at Burnley in 1977 and the 1-0 home success over Newcastle United in 1996. The result over the Geordies went some way to exorcising the heartbreak of the recently departed Alan Shearer to Tyneside. It reminded me – and Shearer too, I suppose ‑- that there was still life at Ewood. The end of the year is also a time for looking forward. In that respect, what a shame that the FA Cup third round has mutated from one of the biggest days on the English footballing calendar to a virtual afterthought. No doubt the Premier League hot shots will be sending out under-strength teams as the creed of greed means they must concentrate on League points to ensure further excursions into Europe next season to garner more bottomless bundles of TV revenue. Rovers have been drawn at Charlton Athletic, so fingers crossed. And also there is the Asian Cup to look forward to on Australian soil. The pressure will be on coach Ange Postecoglou and the Socceroos so let’s see what they come up with. Life down under also means cricketing spectacles at the turn of the year. I’ve had ups and downs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over time. I had to endure Shane Warne’s hat-trick on the 1994-95 Ashes Test but savoured sweet revenge on day one in 2010-11 when England openers Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss eased past Australia’s paltry 98. This year has not been good with England’s pitiful conclusion to the Oz tour being followed Lancashire plummeting to instant relegation from Division One. That the title went to White Rose foes over in Yorkshire only added to the pain. The New Year heralds a cricketing jamboree in the form of the World Cup. Can England put up a decent showing or will there be more let-downs on the horizon? My gut feeling is not to get too excited. The temptation is to head to the MCG for England taking on Australia on February 14 in the tournament opener. But maybe I should simply settle for a more modest viewing schedule of England v Bangladesh in Adelaide in early March. History suggests we are quite capable of messing that one up in our own unique style. Whatever happens, the New Year is highly near with much sport to keep the masses enthralled. Before that it will be Hotel Wright Street with Paul Gurry spinning as the DJ playmaker. Merry 2015…