Findcate

John Terry’s bravery has brought him concussion, broken bones and painful wounds, but nothing as painful as the emotional trauma he suffered last night when, having stepped up to take the penalty that would have won the Champions League final, the Chelsea captain slipped and shot wide, off a post. As the tears flowed stronger than the Russian downpour, he looked inconsolable. He was a man in grief.

Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, has a perspective on life because of the traumas his family suffered in the Holocaust, but even he was struggling to find the words to ease the pain of Terry, who was white with shock.

It is hard enough for any player to miss a penalty, but the pain can only have been heightened for Terry, brought through at Chelsea, their captain, their leader and a man who had been deeply hurt by three semi-final failures in the Champions League.

The sympathy will only heighten at the revelation that Terry was not meant to be among Chelsea’s first five takers and would not have been had Didier Drogba not been sent off for his gentle but idiotic slap of Nemanja Vidic, the Manchester United defender, in the second half of extra time.

“He was not supposed to be in the first five,” Henk ten Cate, the Chelsea assistant manager, said. “John stepped up when he wasn’t supposed to. It’s unbelievable it happens to him. He slipped. We practised penalties so much all last week and he was very confident. We were all very confident. Penalties is a lottery and we got the short straw.”

We associate the English with a woeful lack of nerve when it comes to penalty shoot-outs, but it appears that it is only in the national colours. Liverpool won the Champions League in Istanbul in 2005 from the spot and there was a high quality last night, including from those Englishmen such as Michael Carrick, Lampard, Owen Hargreaves and Ashley Cole.

Indeed, the only miss before Terry’s left ankle turned over, Beckham-style, and he slipped as he took the kick had been, remarkably, from Cristiano Ronaldo with United’s third effort. It was an awful penalty, his stuttering run confusing himself rather than Petr Cech. The Chelsea goalkeeper held his nerve and Ronaldo’s shot was saved by the Czech Republic player, diving to his right.

Edwin van der Sar knew that he had to pull off something special and he thought he had done so with Chelsea’s fourth, from Ashley Cole. “I had been close to one or two, especially that one,” he said. But it was not skill that thwarted Terry. “It is our luck that he slipped,” Van der Sar said. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, felt a rush of good vibes at that moment. “The slip from Terry gave us an opening and I felt from there we were going to win it,” he said.

Anderson scored United’s first in sudden death, Salomon Kalou struck back for Chelsea. Then Ryan Giggs, on the night he broke Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of appearances, stroked his home to leave Nicolas Anelka needing to score to keep his team in it.

Tags: ashley cole, avram grant, broken bones, cate, champion, champions league, champions league final, chelsea, downpour, emotional trauma, englishmen, extra time, henk, john terry, lampard, left ankle, manchester united, michael carrick, national colours, nemanja vidic, owen hargreaves, painful wounds, penalty shoot outs, short straw, sir alex ferguson, team coach, ten cate, traumas

Related posts

• Troubled times at Stamford Bridge
• Klinsmann ‘ready for talks’ over Spurs job
• Grant curses his luck at being unable to match Mourinho’s bright start
• Give Avram Grant credit: He is the real deal
• Rijkaard throws hat into ring for Chelsea job
• Henk ten Cate exits Chelsea as search continues to find Avram Grant successor
• Grant wins quietly where Mourinho failed loudly
• Grant struggling to cope with Chelsea’s surplus of riches
• Grant admits interest in Ten Cate
• Drogba wary of Schalke threat

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s 2008/09 Budget received mostly plaudits on Wednesday, but also raised ire in certain quarters.

In his speech to the National Assembly, Manuel announced tax relief, reduced corporate taxes, financial support for Eskom’s power station building programme, a new electricity levy, more social spending, and a boost for job creation.

The tax proposals provided for net relief of R10.5-billion, including R7.7-billion for individuals and a reduction in the corporate tax rate.

Among other things, taxes on petrol and diesel would rise by 11 cents a litre from 2 April, and a new levy of two cents a kWh (kilowatt hour) on electricity generated from non-renewable sources would be introduced this year.

Households and businesses who reduced their consumption by ten percent or more would not be affected by the levy.

Manuel proposed that up to R60-billion be provided to support Eskom’s investment programme, on terms structured to help meet cashflow needs.

Social grant increases this year would match or exceed inflation, with old age pensions rising R70 a month to R940 in April.

The child support grant would be extended to include children up to their 15th birthday, effective from January 2009.

It would also increase by R10 in April and again in October for a total of R220, he announced.

Democratic Alliance spokesperson Kobus Marais welcomed a number of aspects in the Budget, but added that not enough had been done to stimulate growth and job-creation in the face of the draining effects of the electricity crisis.

The DA was pleased about the personal income tax relief, which would help protect the poor from inflation, the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, and steps taken to reduce the tax compliance burden on small businesses.

The conversion of the secondary tax on companies (STC) to a tax on shareholders was also welcomed, but the rate should have been reduced to levels below ten percent.

On the spending side, the DA lauded the R60-billion to help Eskom finance its investment programme over the next five years, and the additional R2-billion over the next three years for promoting more efficient electricity usage, generation from renewable resources and installation of energy-saving devices.

Additional spending of over R10-billion over three years to increase police numbers, increase the number of prosecutors, judges and magistrates, and police and prisons infrastructure was also welcomed.

However, the DA was concerned that the increase in tax on petrol and diesel would further burden businesses struggling in the wake of the energy crisis, Marais said.

Narend Singh of the Inkatha Freedom Party welcomed it as a balanced budget maintaining the balance between pro-poor interventions and continued stimulation of the economy.

Sustainable jobs need to be created to face the challenges of unemployment, especially among the youth.

In particular, the IFP supports the additional R2.3-billion to the department of trade and industry for supporting small businesses over the next three years and tax incentives of R5-billion in support of industrial development and job creation, Singh said.

The ANC praised Manuel’s Budget for its spending on social welfare and public works programmes.

Particularly welcome are the commitments to equalise the pensionable age for men and women at 60 years and to extend the child support grant to children up to the age of 15, the party said in a statement.

We are… pleased to note that significant allocations have been made in favour of industrial policy. Also critical are the further allocations made in favour of skills development and education.

The party said the budget was in line with resolutions on economic growth and job creation taken at its national conference in Polokwane in December last year.

Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder said Manuel had succeeded in using the Budget, in these times of crises and despondency, to send a positive message of confidence in South Africa’s future.

United Democratic Movement spokesperson Jackson Bici said Manuel had unfortunately delivered the same old same.

Although it seemed positive on the surface, there was no indication of how actual delivery would occur.

Nor does the minister address the fundamental question of why we do not get value for the billions of taxpayer money that is allocated to such important issues as employment, education and the fight against crime, Bici said.

Also among those criticising the Budget, was the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), which said Manuel’s stormy budget speech represented continued downpour on the poor and balmy weather for the rich.

The Young Communist League (YCL), on the other hand, welcomed the Budget, saying it was a pro-poor Budget that did not attempt to appease big business.

The YCL view this as a pro杙oor Budget which is underpinned by the needs and aspirations of our people, especially the working class and the poor youth, YCL spokesperson Castro Ngobese said.

Sapa

Tags: cate, downpour, job, spira, spokesperson

Related posts

• The Sandon; and Faces
• Venezuela: The IAPA lords
• The week’s best films
• The Absurdity of ”Independent” Kosovo
• SA: French experts give Eskom a hand
• Life in Occupied Gaza
• John McCain runs for George Bush’s third term
• How Wall Street Blew Itself Up
• Health - a daughter’s casebook
• Globalization: From Economic Crash to Climate Crash!

Secretary of the General People’s Committee, inspected, Friday morning, Sidi Al-Saih, Souk Al-Khamis, Al-Awata village, Wadi Al-Mjenin, Wadi Al-Kherwa and Souk Al-Ahad regions over Thursday night heavy rainfall that resulted in water flows that headed for the regions in its course and caused damages to houses and properties of the people in these areas.

Secretary was accompanied in this on site inspection by Secretaries of General People’s Committee’s for: Agriculture, Animal %26amp; Marine Wealth, Health %26amp; Environment; Electricity, Water %26amp; Gas; and the Secretary Assistant of General People’s Committee for Public Security, Secretary of Administration Committee of the General Housing %26amp; Public Utilities Institution and others.

They inspected on site the old residential district located close to vallies’ watercourse in the region of Sidi Al-Saih in Al-Jfara Shabia, after having informed about damages of houses and properties of a number of residents, where they got acquainted with their conditions and casualties; and granted immediate financial assistance to the affected families to move to another houses until suitable, safe houses are secured.

General Services Company in Al-Jfara Shabia was charged with intensifying efforts to drain water submerging the district and to clean up the site.

The Secretary General People’s Committee and his companions inspected Souq Al-Khamis and Emsaihill regions and inspected damages caused by the downpour to public utilities in the region.

He also inspected water levels in Al-Mjanin valley dam, they reassured the state of the dam and water level in the dam, which the General Board for Waters said it has reached 20 mil. cu. meters. that have a capacity of 60 mil. cu. meters.

The Board also clarified that the quantity of water restrained in dams of (Wadi Ghan, Wadi Ka’am and Wadi Zarat) valleys have reached 51 mil. cu. meters.

The field inspection also included the stream of Al-Kharou’a valley, which is one of branches of Wadi Al-Mjanin.

The field inspection also included Al-Awatah village and the establishment of the 500 unit housing units, where concerned parties were cautioned to speed up the completion of its infrastructure.

The secretary and his companions concluded the inspection tour by inspecting Souq Al-Ahhad area and its farms, and water streams.

The road and bridges department was asked to speed up the maintenance of roads and bridges, open larger channels over the path of valleys, to avoid clogging of rain water.

Tags: cate, downpour

Related posts

• SA: Much praise for Manuel’s Budget
• John Terry’s miss brings pain that his battered body has yet to endure
• Zola turns down chance to join Grant’s regime
• Zeus worship site millennium older than thought
• Yum! Brands reports 30 Percent profit jump in China last year
• Your wine problems solved
• Your say: The luxury of 1kg of Tasty cheese
• Young stars take big step towards Beijing glory
• Young stars take big step towards Beijing glory
• Young stars take big step towards Beijing glory