2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Views and Analysis
By Glenn Kirkham of East Grinstead Hockey Club
Glenn Kirkham made 223 appearances for England and Great Britain and retired from international hockey at the age of 31 in 2013. Glenn competed in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in Beijing and London respectively as well as Commonwealth Games, World Cups, European Nations and Champions Trophy competitions. Glenn won the European Nations in 2009 with England, defeating Germany 5:3 in the final and is considered to have been one of the most consistent performers to have graced the England and Great Britain sides.
How do you think England will fare this tournament ?
Who will be the main contenders ?
What about England's first match against Trinidad & Tobago ?
How do you think England will fare this tournament ?
I think they will come in to the CWG's with a real confidence on the back of what was a very good World Cup performance for this group of players. I know that going in to that tournament they would have certainly taken a top 4 finish and despite the disappointment at not achieving a medal in the end I'm sure they will have picked themselves up quickly knowing that the Commonwealth's gives the team a real chance of silverware again.
It's easy to talk about the fact that the two previous CWG's have seen England come 4th in what were, personally, incredibly frustrating bronze medal matches and should have both been won based on world rankings. This squad though is significantly different and there are a number of fresh faces for which this is their first encounter of a major 'multi sport' games. This is a really different experience to regular international hockey events. Living in an athletes village and being surrounded by a number of the worlds best athletes and sporting stars, I know that there will be a real buzz in anticipation of what I'm sure will be a fantastic event.
I feel confident that England can make the semi finals and I truly hope they can go at least one better this time and win a medal.
Who will be the main contenders ?
It's difficult to look too much further than Australia after their outstanding performance in the World Cup although I'm really interested to see how they play with out Ric Charlesworth as coach. They have also picked a number of less experienced players and have left behind some top players such as Jamie Dwyer, Rob Hammond and Glenn Turner not in the squad.
There is no getting away from the fact that this should be a straight forward first match for England. I believe a lot could depend on how Kwan Browne plays and sets up the Trinidad and Tobago team. The fact that he has an in depth knowledge of the systems of play for the English (with his role as England U21 assistant coach) and has played in the English league for number of years may enable his team to frustrate England but if they can get an early break through it should lead to a comfortable victory.
What will be really nice to see is Kwan playing against Ashley as he had a huge affect on the development of Ashley's game and they are still very good friends off the pitch. I'm sure both players will relish playing against each other and the crowd should be entertained by two of the most skilful players in world hockey.
Glenn can be seen in action during the coming season playing for East Grinstead Hockey Club.
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