Patience and Perseverance:

From Hillsborough to Flushing Meadows the sporting lesson of the week is that patience and perseverance can eventually pay dividends. 

Andy Murray’s career has long been successful, but after a series of Grand Slam near misses he remained associated with plucky failure. 

Yet after a Wimbledon final defeat which seemingly underlined his shortcomings, he realised that he was slowly edging closer and refused to be disheartened.

His run since has been remarkable: Olympic gold and revenge on Roger Federer before a thrilling US Open victory over another of his great rivals.

Murray’s success is testament to never giving up, of dedicating everything to a cause, and of always believing in yourself and your game.

Cyclist Jonathan Tiernan-Locke took a similarly long road to success but unlike Murray he was confined to the back roads in a journey marked by obscurity and misfortune. 

After turning professional in 2003, he contended with Epstein-Barr virus, injury after a collision with a horse, and the financial bankruptcy and breakup of his team. But his patience paid off when he won the Tour of Britain and he will most likely gain a 2013 contract with Team Sky.

The Olympics and Paralympics – where success can come only every four years – provided many more examples.  After missing Beijing through injury, Jessica Ennis had a long wait for redemption, while rower Katherine Grainger won gold at the fourth attempt after silver at three consecutive Games.

Blind perseverance does not determine success. Changes often have to be made: take Mo Farah’s move to America, or Murray’s appointment of Ivan Lendl.

More wholesale changes can also be necessary: the ECB’s preference for the freshness of Root and Compton over serial offender Kevin Pietersen is one possible, yet unproven example.

But in the modern world change can be too common and the case of Arsenal and Man United, where faith in personnel has caused success over the last decade and the last week, is a poignant reminder to Tottenham and Liverpool fans intolerant of any setback.

For the latter the result of the Hillsborough Inquiry is a final testament to the importance of patience after a 23-year wait for vindication.

The verdict by no means makes up for the tragedy but it shows that for Liverpool - as for Tiernan-Locke, Murray and many others – a lifetime of struggle can end in success. 

A wake up call for England...and for London football

After the Dubai debacle it has been an eye-opening week for English cricket.

Time will tell if it was a one-off setback or a more serious reality check, and while the former category seems more likely, the tourists were resoundingly outplayed by a resurgent Pakistan.

Despite the poor crowds it was another good advert for test cricket. The top sides are continuing to knock each other over for fun, and the game needs a strong Pakistani side.

The success of Saeed Akmal begs the question of Monty Panesar’s inclusion but it was England’s batting display which caused their defeat. Kevin Pietersen has received most of this criticism but all the top six were guilty.

 A reaction similar to those great recent Ashes recoveries at the Oval and the MCG is now required.

But in football the title recovery of London’s finest now seems beyond hope after a super-Sunday of Mancunian majesty.

Sky’s ‘day of payback’ came to nothing, and while Spurs and Arsenal can each count themselves unlucky they ultimately fell shot against sides with superior ability to win a big match.

As ever it was Ballotelli who made the headlines and, accidental or not, his stamp on Scott Parker fully deserved a ban.

And In a week where Marcos Baghdatis broke 6 racquets in 25 seconds and Thomas Berdych refused to shake hands with a beaten opponent, Ballotelli-itis appears to have engulfed tennis as well.

In beating another entertainer in Frenchman Michael Llodra, Murray underlined the futility of serve-volleying in the modern game, but his rivals woes have been exaggerated after Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all romped through the early rounds.

How much must English club Rugby envy such serene progress? Saracens join Cardiff and Edinburgh  in the Heineken Cup quarters, but Harlequins missed out after an awful 9-8 reverse to Connacht.

And it seemed worrying that while Chris Robshaw has been all but confirmed as England captain, he should be guilty of picking a scrum over a penalty in the game’s final moments.

British struggles have continued in other traditional sports, as after a Dutchman won the BDO World darts, Aussie Neil Robertson won the Masters Snooker.

Muhammad Ali has turned 70, but he has not been the only newsworthy sporting legend after a clash between past and present icons of the oval-balled game.

Pele’s dismissal of the credentials of the young whippersnapper Messi seem harsh, but he does have a point about the Argentinean’s international record, with the Olympics remaining Messi’s only accolade. Like with the state of England’s cricketers, time will provide the best answer.

Considering Olympic football, it is great to see that out of 191 players asked, only seven have turned down the chance to don the GB kit, and Beckham, Giggs, Bale and Ramsey are all likely inclusions.

Olympic action continues to hot up as heartbreak for Britons Rhythmic Gymnasts has been balanced by success elsewhere.

The athletics season has really got going this week as first Holly Bleasdale went second in the all-time indoor Pole Vault rankings with a stunning 4.87 clearance, 16cm above her old British Record.

Robbie Grabarz also got in on the jump success, clearing a world leading 2.34m. After five high jumpers lost their funding last year 2012 success always appeared inevitable.

And there has been more drama for distance legend Kenenisa Bekele after he was one of 35 Ethiopians banned from the national team after failing to attend a training camp.

His threats to change nationality are unlikely as athlete power, along with common sense, will surely prevail, but 2012 has been a frustrating year so far for Bekele, and for his nation who are struggling to keep up with imperious Kenyans.

LOCOG will not want Bekele to miss their London shindig. But a bomb scare would be an even more nightmarish occurrence. And while danger was thankfully avoided, a bomb scare was exactly what happened at the Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, where an unexploded World War Two mine was discovered close to the action.

Just another bizarre occurrence in the world of sport...