Tue 14 Dec, 2004
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England: Clewlow tempted by offer to return for England  x25
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December 2, 2004
The Times, UK
> Page Views 1033
By Cathy Harris
AFTER a spate of retirements, Danny Kerry, the England head coach, could expect some good news after Mel Clewlow confirmed that she was seriously considering returning to the international fray. The Canterbury captain stepped down in March after Great Britain failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Athens.
Clewlow, 28, said: Im definitely tempted. Kerry has spoken to me and I know hed like me back, which is flattering, but at this stage I genuinely dont know what Ill do. But I always said that it would have to be the right decision for me and England. I retired because I simply wasnt enjoying it but I always felt that if I could work with the new coach I would re consider. I just want to enjoy the experience.
A key defender and penalty corner striker, Clewlow earned 167 combined England and Great Britain caps playing in two World Cups and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Disillusioned with Englands performances over the past year and often struggling to maintain her best form, Clewlow decided that enough was enough.
However, Kerry, her club coach, knows her better than most and has made no secret of his desire to lure Clewlow, along with several other players, back into the England fold. Clewlow added: I definitely wont be available for the training camp in South Africa next month and I will be thinking very seriously as to whether I really want to get back in shape and put all the work in.
Her immediate priority is Sundays top-of-the-table contest against Chelmsford, when the womens premier division match features as a curtain-raiser to the mens clash in a double bill between the clubs.
Anna Bennett, Canterburys former international striker, has recovered from a hamstring injury and is fit to play after being sidelined for a fortnight. Clewlow admits it will be a tight game with the teams level on 22 points, one ahead of Ipswich. Weve never won the league and they edged us out of a place in Europe in a crunch match last season, so we have a score to settle, she said.
In another important premier division fixture, Bowdon Hightown, the champions, play away to Slough, former winners of the title, with Tina Cullen, the Hightown player-coach, in sparkling form in front of goal. Both clubs are in contention for league honours, lying three points adrift of the leaders.
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Comments on this article
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player
12-05-2004 3:33 pm
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Oh look. There's a surprise. All the old school players choosing to rock back into the lime-light after having a few months of just because your coach has taken over. If you're not sure whether you can commit to getting back into shape then may i suggest you don't. You have obviously shown a real lack of commitment over the past 6 months, while your former team mates have been busting a gutt. If England Hockey meant that much to you, you would have continued your involvement until you found out who the new coach was. This is not the attitude a rebuilding team needs. Lets start from a clean sheet.
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other player
12-05-2004 8:35 pm
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to: SO CALLED "player"
IF as you say you are an"old teammate" what kind of clean slate do you offer. Sounds like you are a bit jealous and not confident if Clewlow does return - how about the best people play, and maybe just put your money where your mouth is and if you are that good - then it should show - stop bashing - and just curious how many olympics and internationals have you played in? Get over yourself...I am quite sure England Hockey won't have a problem with some experience and competitiveness in the squad. OR did I miss the flyer on whiners wanted!
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Lean Cuisine
12-06-2004 4:42 am
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I think it would be perfectly reasonable to expect Clewlow to get into shape and illustrate her commitment BEFORE she is given another opportunity and the same should apply to all those others who have been half-hearted about their international futures.
Unfortunately, Clewlow is not as good as she thinks she is .... if she spent more time fixing her own faults (inconsistency, lack of fitness, lack of mental toughness, lack of concentration, poor corner hitting) and less time criticising her team-mates when on the pitch (poor Frances, why do you put up with it?) she could finally fulfil her potential.
The previous regimes - Souyave, Royce, Heberle - all tried their hardest to get the best out of her and she failed to produce the goods when it counted, and I am not sure her attitude at Canterbury suggests Danny will do any better.
As for "other player", sadly Mel is one of the whiners!
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The Desolate One
12-06-2004 8:29 am
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The Clewlow Debate
I have been watching this player for years and must agree with the comments previous that 'Clueless' is not as good as she thinks. Just because she hit a ball hard [rather too manlike for mine!!] does not mean she warrants a place in the international squad. As for the coach Danny Kerry, very substandard!!! Expect to see senior players being instructed to orchestrate training sessions.
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Hockey person
12-06-2004 8:58 am
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Hey Lean Cuisine, I hear Mel speaks very highly of you too!!
Mel is a highly talented player who like most who play at the highest level put themselves out there to be critisised. Why don't we leave Danny to do his job, selecting the best England team, and let Mel decide in her own time and for the right reasons if she will play for England again. England will be a better team if she is playing, but not if people continue to pull her apart, and critisise her every move.
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opposition
12-06-2004 4:55 pm
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to player and others..
If you had sat to read the article properly you would have seen that no decisions had been made or players picked for any teams. Clewlow was approached and merely said it was a possibility! Half hearted attempts are mentioned by others but that seems fit for the half hearted structure that Eng hockey put into place after the OQ failure. Seems it has taken a very long time to get some form of coach and plans in place and slack efforts like this is what seems to force the players to make decisions and where uncertainty seems to creep in. PLAYER if you are a team mate like you say you should be welcoming the opportunity to have a player of Clewlow's calibre back in the squad and she has every right to be given the chance to fight for a place in the team. Many feel she has not reached her potential and who knows maybe that could be on the cards.Surely 3 different coaches over the last decade couldnt be wrong and if so why was she picked for 167int (which is almost every tournament)Are many of the other int coaches also wrong as she is always ear marked as a key player by opposition!! If i was a potential prospect for the eng squad and wanted the best for my team, i would be all to happy to give her and others the opportunity. Seems that 'support' from scepticle team mates seems to shoot players in the foot before teams are even announced. Negativety like that is what has a domino effect to failure and seems to be were Eng is headed with attitudes like this.
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Lean Cuisine
12-07-2004 6:51 am
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Unfortunately, I have no time for players who are not sure whether or not to play for their country. This is nothing to do with the structure that is/isn't in place, it has to do with the personal commitment and standards held by individuals.
There may not have been a coach in place, but that does not stop players staying fit, improving their skills and working as hard as they can for their club team.
After x-hundred internationals Mel knows as well as anyone what commitment is needed to play for England so to bleat about it half-heartedly suggests that she'd like to turn up, but not put in the effort.
Playing for England is not a cheap way of travelling the world in order to meet up with your South African buddies.
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Sniper
12-07-2004 8:25 am
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Lean Cuisine
If you're a so called team mate at least have the decentcy to put your name to your comments rather than hide behind an internet site. I can't see how it's remotely healthy to slag off team mate rather than even give structured criticism. No wonder our women our failing with that sort of team ethos.
Fact is the coach will pick is best eleven and by the sounds of things even an unfit Mel Clewlow would make that team. I hope for your sake she doesn't get herself fit otherwise you haven't got a hope in hell of getting picked. I wouldn't pick you for the simple lack of respect you show. You've acheived nothing and at this rate you never will.
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player
12-07-2004 9:21 am
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At no point has anyone stated that the adverse comments made towards Mel have come from and England team mate. I agree, it certainly is not appropriate to conduct yourself in this way. I do however belive that her england team mates who have been training hard these past few months may well question her comittment to the cause. If you are not sure if you want to play , don't play. If you can put everything into it again then by all means, England should welcome he back with open arms.
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opposition
12-08-2004 2:40 am
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to all:
How can you make comment on Clewlows personal commitment and standards when i bet you havn't thought to ask her in person before you slag her off. As she said she was no longer enjoying it and in my mind it is impossible to give 100% if you are in that state of mind. She did the right thing by retiring. But a new coach with new ideas and a fresh start could be what is needed to revive players and sub standard performances by Eng/GB. After almost 10 years of commitment to Eng surely this sort of decision can't be frowned upon. Maybe she has set standards to totally commit to the team but wont make a decision untill she is in the right shape. I dont think that is bleating but merely a professinal attitude. The thing is we cant actually pretend to be inside Clewlows head and know what she is thinking and its pretty difficult to sum things up off one small article with a few quotes. Its impossible to know her thoughts and reasons. As for playing because of buddies well that it clearly stated also that she was not available for South Africa so that scraps that idea of incorrect priorities!! As for her efforts over the past few months...well unless you have been on the sideline for all her club training sessions and matches you AGAIN cant actually make comment. Your constant sumising shows that you have made up your mind about Clewlow with all the wrong facts before giving her the rightful chance that she deserves.
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Lean Cuisine
12-08-2004 7:09 am
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If you want a half-fit Mel Clewlow back in the England team, then I hope you're not Danny Kerry!
It would be nice if Mel were honest with herself - she is a talented player, but she does not have the commitment on or off the pitch of someone like Kate Walsh.
Walsh wants to be the best player in the world, and wants England to be the best team in the world. Mel wants to be a big cheese at Canterbury and if that's good enough to get into the England team, that's fine.
This is not about being good enough to get into a team, it's about being as good as you, personally, individually, can be.
If you don't believe me, read The Coach, by Ric Charlesworth and how he worked with Alyson Annan (not that I am saying Annan and Clewlow are comparable except in the way both naturally seek the easy route). Annan was the best in the world but he gave her a hard time because in his view she was not as good as she could have been. In her own sweet way, Mel should take note of that.
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Psycho Sheriff
12-08-2004 8:03 am
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England, Clewlow & Kerry.
Many of the comments on this site make me sad. Coach Kerry has yet to take charge for a single game, yet some people are writing him off already. Miss Clewlow has been asked about her future England plans and has yet to make any kind of decision, yet people are already criticising that decision. As someone who has not represented his country but does have some experience with the younger players, I believe three things are needed here:
1. Let Danny take charge and coach and pick (as coach) those players he sees fit. Then judge him; but even then, is 1 game sufficient to judge a coach? Only the totally arrogant or closed-minded & opinionated can pretend that they know for sure how this will work out before a ball has been struck.
2. At this time of transition for England & GB, following OG qualification failure & a spate of retirements, surely the younger players could benefit from the knowledge & experience of someone like Miss Clewlow, in either a playing or advisory role; either way, England players will benefit.
3. Constructive criticism is helpful. Criticism & vitriol is not. So unless you have something construtive to say, why say anything at all?
Bottom line? For Danny, England & Mel, it seems that to the sceptics, no explanation will suffice; to the believers, no explanation is necessary. For me, I'll reserve all judgement until the players have had a real test - on the hockey pitch, not on this website.
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Lean Cuisine
12-09-2004 5:29 am
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Psycho Sheriff
I agree with much that you say, but the problem in England is that you dispatch coaches every couple of years and the new appointment always believes that they can make the difference with difficult players.
Mel has had three clean slates so far, with Souyave, Royce and Heberle and has performed to a pattern each time: initial enthusiasm, initial improvement and then major lapses. When her place is secure she eases off the workrate and when her place isn't secure she whinges. Danny is not going to sort that out - let's face it, he hasn't at Canterbury - only Mel is.
I am sorry to pick on her because she is not the only one, just the one who has been honest enough to state her intentions (or lack of them).
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Psycho Sheriff
12-09-2004 9:41 am
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Lean Cuisine on the Scene
I'm not sure how you can define 'sort it out' - in the last few seasons, Canterbury have won the Cup, achieved the semi final of the playoff tournament, and achieved a silver medal in Europe - where they lost to the side playing at home. This represents a significant enough achievement for the Coach to be 'promoted' as it were. Whilst the team is, no doubt, striving for perfection (i.e. winning everything) I imagine that they look back on those achievements with pride & look forward to bettering them in the future, whoever is in charge. One of the constants in this success has been the Captian, Mel. Form is temporary, Class is permanent. All players' form dips & peaks - team tactics have a big influence too - different coach, different style? Mel brings more than just big hits at penalty corners. No one works harder in training (except maybe Hayley Brown, an England star of the future - no prizes for guessing where she picked up her work ethic?), no one is as determined to go one better in Europe; Mel organises (on & off the pitch), Mel represents her club (& country) with dignity & pride; Mel is brave enough to throw herself directly in harms way at penalty corner defence & has the strength of character to say what she is thinking when she did not have too - agree or disagree, these thoughts of hers have certainly started a lengthy debate, which in the long run is healthy & good for the teams of both Canterbury & England; long may it continue!
Clearly, Mr, Mrs, or Miss Cuisine, we have a difference of opinion & I don't think either of us is going to change the others' mind. I do believe that Danny can make a difference, as can Mel. What Mel does now is down to Mel, but I'm sure of two things; if Mel agrees with your view of her game & attitude, your comments will no doubt help her make up her mind. If Mel disagrees with you, then Fyffes better watch out because your comments will only serve as an additional motivator to rock up north this weekend & take three points on the pitch, which is where the real talking is done - I think we both agree on that!
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D
12-09-2004 10:24 am
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Hayley Brown. Are you kidding me. The only thing she is prepared to do is swan around in her England kit as if she owns the place. Canterbury this, Canterbury that....we did this at Canterbury. She needs to learn that you can't just take everything as standard from one person. Maybe this is where she went wrong with Eng u21's.
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hockeyhead
12-09-2004 10:24 am
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CLEWLOW! CLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWLLOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW! CLEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! CLEW-LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!
Haters. Go make a name for yourself instead of berating others. If you were more focused on what you need to do in your lives, wouldn't evryone be a little happier? I'm sure Clewlow will take time to really reflect on what has been, weigh up the relationship that she has with Coach Kerry and take the next step from there. I'm with the Psycho Sheriff, let them decide on what is best for them and maybe offer a little support?? If you can't find it in yourselves to do so, keep up the abuse, because both Kerry and Clewlow will surprise you.
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Lean Cuisine
12-09-2004 11:12 am
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If Mel reads these comments and hits five penalty corners, makes six goalline saves and runs around like a ballerina because of them on Saturday, then I would be happy to repeat them to her before every game! Perhaps I should be coaching England if I can trigger off such a response!
Just one last dig, however, before I hit the microwave: if you think Canterbury lost the European final in Holland because the Dutch were playing at home you are deluding yourself!
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Player
12-09-2004 11:48 am
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It is fairly clear that Lean Cuisine has a personal agenda with regards to his/her comments about Clewlow, and therefore those comments are both vituperative and of little significance.
I am constantly amazed by the level to which people will sink on this website. The coaching staff will pick the best players in the country. Why would they do otherwise - after all, it is their job and reputation that is on the line. If Clewlow is judged to be one of the best players in the country, she will be selected. If not, she won't. Simple, really.
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Psycho Sheriff
12-09-2004 5:54 pm
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Microwaving it up!
Hey Leano, hope your micro-meal was tasty. Whilst the Dutch side that beat Canterbury in Holland may have been better (they won, so that's what the results would suggest, though results do not always tell the whole story!), there is an overwhelming body of evidence in the psychology literature that suggests that playing at home is a massive advantage in sport; the simple fact is that, in a balanced home / away schedule, the home team wins more than 50% of the time (the other 50% being made up of draws / away wins). Check out Courneya & carron (1992) The Home field Advantage in Sport Competitions: A Literature Review in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology - it makes for very interesting reading indeed (and has been very useful for lecture planning!). I'm not trying to say that you are right or wrong, just that it's an interesting topic. I also hope that this weekend is the exception to the norm, especially in the Leicester / Sunbury areas! I too, hope Mel does all the things you said in your last post, but without the goal line clearances - they would mean the keeper has been beaten and then we'd have an upset Amy Tran, and nobody wants that! Chamone!
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.....
12-10-2004 5:28 am
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people
Canterbury for world domination! With the bags of skill and pace, they are a class act!
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observer
12-10-2004 9:31 am
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player
I am assuming that we have 2 people here commenting under the name "player"? If not player you have certainly changed your tune since your opening comment on the 5th Dec!
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Psycho Sheriff
12-10-2004 9:38 am
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Canterbury Appreciation Society
It seems there are many Canterbury fans who are prepared to air their thoughts and give voice to their views on the planetfieldhockey.com/england website! I have no doubt there are many 'haters' as 'HockeyHead' described them earlier too. Having not been involved with the sport for very long, I have been enormously impressed with, on the whole, the decorum & standards of behaviour from the players, fans, club officials, coaches, supporters, family members, web site contributors etc. A total breath of fresh air from the farce that is football in the UK. It seems the things that upset people the most are a) the inconsistency in the umpiring, and b) the nature of international selection (which, oddly enough is the same in football). I don't think there is any way the second of these two issues can be resolved but what about the umpiring? All the 'umps' I have met have seemed genuine enough, but is there anything that can be done to improve the consistency? Is it the rules? Is it the training?
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curious
12-10-2004 11:15 pm
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clewlow's potential return
Last I knew there were more players than clewlow to sum up the reasons GB wasnt in an olympics, so i beg to ask why do so many of you fear her possible return...one would assume if she is not worthy she would not sustain.....correct? Seems there is far more to be worried of otherwise no one would be commenting.
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Alison
12-13-2004 7:18 am
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re: Curious and others
It never ceases to amaze me how much double talk and insinuations there are in the comments on this site. I struggle to comprehend why, given that the vast majority of contributors to this site are too cowardly to actually put their real name to their comment, they cannot be more open and actually write what they mean.
Several of the comments above would suggest that the contributor believes they know Mel. If this is true, I can only hope that you have had the common decency to share your views with her rather than just leaving anonymous messages on this site. If you do not know her, then I respectfully suggest that you are not qualified to comment in the way that you have.
As for Clewlow's possible return to international hockey, if she decides to give it a go, I wish her and the rest of the team every success.
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Psycho Sheriff aka Martin J.
12-13-2004 10:42 am
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Way to Go, Alison.
I wholeheartedly agree. I normally write under my 'assumed name' because it was a name given me by some quality hockey players - thus they know who it is (and that includes the erstwhile Miss Clewlow too!) So, in this time of Christmas cheer & festive fun, lets hear it for Alison! You are right about the double talk and so on - I guess people are just venting their frustration etc. From a personal perspective, I'm trying to learn as much about this game and those that play it as possible - I figured this was as good a place as any.
Did anyone see the draw for the cup? Canterbury away to Chelmsford! It's got excitement written all over it!
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