After a career spanning two decades Gary O’Neil is not ready to hang up his boots just yet, even at the ripe age of 36. “I still want to play,” he tells us. “I haven’t given up on that dream.”

It’s a dream that began as a 16-year-old at Portsmouth and took in a further eight clubs, experiencing a rollercoaster of promotions and relegations along the way.

Combative on the pitch but likeable and modest to a fault off it O’Neil was a firm fan-favourite wherever he went, an archetypal model pro who always gave everything to the cause. He did so on 490 occasions.

Here the box-to-box midfielder with the happy habit of popping up with a goal or two looks back on his life in the game and the clubs that formed him, starting with a city well and truly on the up but peering down.

Callow Canaries

After proving once again to be a lucky Play-Off Final omen, winning his third consecutive route to the top flight via Wembley, it was Norwich who gave O’Neil a last Premier League fling in 2015.

It is with a heavy reluctance then that he airs serious concerns about the adventurous football on display at Carrow Road at present, an attacking philosophy espoused by Daniel Farke that seems to be getting ruthlessly picked apart each and every week.

Ten matches in Norwich have shipped an average of 2.4 goals. Surely this can’t continue?

“If you are honestly not at the same level as the majority of other teams – which on paper applies to Norwich in the Premier League - then can you be open and expansive? Last year they could do that because they had some of the best players.

"But there comes a point where you have to think twice and accept that an opponent is better and if Norwich play open and expansive more times than not they will come out on the worst end of it.”

“Do they need to throw it all in the bin and be tight and direct and defensive? No, but it’s the manager’s responsibility to the club and to the fans to make sure they’re competitive while still sticking to their beliefs.

"It’s somewhere between commendable and naïve and I just fear if it carries on it will get closer to naive.”

If the team’s free-flowing approach to last term is increasingly coming unstuck in the big league the same can be said of its chief architect Emi Buendia.

Those who expected the twinkle-toed Argentine to light up the division with the same clever creativity that bamboozled the Championship have so far been left disappointed and O’Neil has a theory to explain the player’s underwhelming displays.

“I just wonder if Buendia has got the physicality – not size and strength but that extra bit of pace to get away from defenders. Because that’s what it takes now to cause a team problems in the Premier League.”

Hammers No Longer Nailing It

The Beckenham-born midfielder’s two years in East London saw promotion – again through the Play-Offs – before the Hammers re-established their Premier League credentials with a solid mid-table finish.

This year however, with a wealth of brilliant talent at Manuel Pellegrini’s disposal and with Manchester United and Tottenham struggling they were widely tipped as outside contenders to go one better and break into the coveted top six.

It was all going so well too, until a recent run of poor results has sent the Irons sliding down to tenth. For O’Neil this prompts a mild case of deju vu.

“When they have Anderson and Yarmalenko, Lanzini and Haller all on it they look really good going forward. They look so fluid, as if they’ve going to cause teams problems.

"But when they have a spell like this it feels like they’re going back to where they used to be, the team that finishes just behind where you want them to finish.”

“I really hope they do well because they’re a big club and they’re supported through thick and thin.

"The support we got in the Championship was huge and the fans dragged us over the line when we didn’t get to that automatic promotion spot. It was the fans who dragged us through the Play-Offs.”

If Buendia’s drop-off in form mirrors that of his team’s travails the same can be said in the case of Declan Rice’s decidedly ordinary performances of late.

Having been hyped as the ‘next big thing’ and capped by his country Rice has noticeably struggled to match his tremendous performances from last season but if this worries many a Hammer for O’Neil there is a silver lining.

“I just hope he stays at West Ham and it’s probably a blessing for them that he’s hitting a dip in form because when he was on cloud nine people were talking about Man United or as a replacement for Fernandinho at Man City.

On a positive note it means West Ham get to keep him for longer alongside Mark Noble who is an absolute legend. West Ham aren’t going to get relegated and they’re only going to push forward. He is in the England squad. So what a fantastic place to be.”

Patience Needed At Boro

In 2007 a £5m switch to Teeside led to O’Neil becoming one of the first names on the team-sheet for present England boss Gareth Southgate.

But it’s a team-mate of his that is of particular interest with Jonathan Woodgate now residing in the Riverside du-out as Middlesbrough slip perilously down the Championship table.

“I think they need to give him more time. They’ve obviously decided that he is the man for them and even though he’s very young managerial-wise he did have the experience of working under Tony Pulis last year.

"I hope that Middlesbrough give Woodgate longer.”

Inexperienced Woodgate may be but according to O’Neil the signs were always there that management beckoned.

“He was a leader in the dressing room and hugely respected. He was a fantastic player who’d had a fantastic career so you were drawn to him and respected that he’d played for Real Madrid.

"You could tell he was going to go on and manage: he was always studying things and talk intelligently about the games coming up. He always had a tactical view on them.”

Pompey And Their Premier Pomp

It was on the south coast where O’Neil first made his reputation as an all-action star, equally adept on the right as he was prowling the centre-circle.

So impressive were his breakthrough years there that he soon found himself captaining the England under 21s but staying with Pompey his seven seasons brought all manner of highs and low, most memorable of which was a combination of the two.

A disastrous campaign in 2005/06 saw Portsmouth written off in early March as relegation certainties.

That was until a miraculous recovery, largely due to a sprinkling of Harry Redknapp magic brought a series of unlikely wins meaning a result at Wigan on the penultimate game of the season would leave them safe.

Two-one up with most of the second half successfully navigated O’Neil takes up the story from here…

 “It was an intense final ten minutes but we managed to hold on then we had that spell with Harry and the staff in front of the Pompey away end waiting for the final whistle to go at St Andrews.

"We had a big celebration in the changing room then headed back to Portsmouth and everybody came back to my house.

"It was amazing and when you get to the stage I’m at now, wondering what comes next, those days are just priceless. You’d give anything to have more of those days.”

As unforgettable as that day was for the Fratton Park faithful they were rather hoping for an altogether more straightforward kind of celebration this time out: that of climbing out of League One.

After reaching the Play-Offs last May optimism was high for another run at promotion but instead fluctuating results have left them languishing in the lower half. Is a return to the Championship now out of the question?

“I’m sure Kenny will turn it around because he’s a good manager and he has a good squad.

"I don’t think the position they’re in now in the league is where they will finish but obviously time is of the essence and when the gap between them and the play-offs is getting as big as it is now they need to start clawing back the point difference.”

Bolton On The Brink

It says a lot about Gary O’Neil’s professionalism that at the age of 35 and in his final fling as a top level footballer he won his club’s Player of the Year last season. It says an awful lot more that this was achieved amidst a backdrop of a club in financial meltdown.

As Bolton Wanderers seemed destined to go to the wall their midfielder’s recollections of what it was like at the centre of it all is striking and shocking.

“It was just relentless. You got sick of it in the end. You’d arrive at training and get told there was going to be a meeting and this was three times a week, trying to discover what was going on and whether we would get paid.”

"Obviously some of the players still wanted to show what they could do but others were just so sick of it. The fans did well to stick with us and they went through it too.

"They weren’t sure if their club was going to make it and you look at Bury up the road and you’re grateful that it turned out like it did.”

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Sang Tan / AP Photo*

The £100,000 Charlie Hall Steeplechase at Wetherby is widely acknowledged as one of the most important and influential early season trials for top-quality chasers as they set out on the season long road to the Cheltenham Festival with the very live possibility of running in the Gold Cup itself.

Charlie Hall Chase 2019: Contenders

The 12 entries this year include the 2018 scorer Definitly Red (Brian Ellison), who would become the first dual winner since Ollie Magern (2005 & 2007).

Malton handler Ellison is enjoying a purple patch of form at the moment with his latest big race success coming just last Sunday when Forest Bihan took the Old Roan Chase at Aintree.

Ellison’s stable star got the better of the Paul Nicholls-trained Black Corton in this race last year and the stage is all set for another showdown between the pair of them at the Yorkshire track.

Last year’s Welsh Grand National victor Elegant Escape (Colin Tizzard) has been vying for favouritism all week and understandably so.

Elegant Escape is aiming to give trainer Colin Tizzard a second Charlie Hall Chase, following Cue Card’s success in 2015.

Having filled the runner-up spot in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury earlier in the campaign, Elegant Escape followed up his Welsh National triumph by finishing second to Frodon in the Cotswold Chase and ran a reasonable sixth behind Al Boum Photo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Tizzard is of the view that if he can improve six or eight pounds he could be their Gold Cup contender this season so all eyes will be on his performance on Saturday.

Black Corton (Paul Nicholls) finished second to Definitly Red in last season’s Charlie Hall after surviving a horrendous third fence blunder, and will be bidding to go one better this time.

However, Nicholls is due to make a late call upon his participation and he may head to Ascot instead for the Sodexo Gold Cup.

Should the eight-year-old take up his West Yorkshire date he should not be inconvenienced by carrying joint-top weight after proving in can do so in the Galway Plate at the end of July.

He will once again be partnered by Bryony Frost and the pair get along like a house on fire.

Aso (Venetia Williams) has yet to win beyond two miles and five furlongs but has looked like a stayer all along. The nine-year-old posted a career-best when he went down on his sword behind Frodon in a ding-dong climax to the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham.

The popular mare La Bague Au Roi (Warren Greatrex) is sure to have her supporters after a stunning 2018/19 season and she can most certainly mix it with the boys in this.

Victorious in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton last Boxing Day when beating the useful Topofthegame, she was just denied completing a season five-timer by Kalashnikov at the Grand National meeting.

Wetherby is a fair test for young horses and if she gets into a good early rhythm she may prove difficult to peg back.

The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Ballyoptic will certainly have fitness on his side after he stoically carried top-weight to victory at Chepstow on October 12. Twiston-Davies is the most successful trainer in the history of the Charlie Hall Chase, winning it five times.

Stamina will not be an issue for the nine-year-old as his second place in the 2018 Scottish Grand National so proved.

Should the Jessica Harrington-trained Jett be successful, he would become the first Irish-trained winner since Sackville in 2001.

The eight-year-old relished the step up in trip on his latest start when upsetting the odds (and a posse of Gigginstown runners) by beating Alpha Des Obeaux by a short-head in the Irish Daily Star Chase at Punchestown.

North Yorkshire-trainer Philip Kirby will be represented in the race by Top Ville Ben who is a young horse going places.

The seven-year-old enjoyed plenty of success last season, winning three times in novice company with two of those wins coming over three miles at Wetherby.

His best performance of the season came in the Mildmay Novices' Chase at Aintree in April when he finished a fine third to Lostintranslation, after making most of the running.

Double Shuffle (Tom George) will be hoping for a change of fortune in the Charlie Hall after missing the race in 2017 due to traffic problems, then suffering an uncharacteristic first fence fall last year.

Chase wins have been hard to come by for the nine-year-old, scoring just twice from 22 attempts, but he is clearly talented on his day as his runner-up spot to Might Bite in the 2017 King George VI Chase showed us.

The Kim Bailey-trained Vinndication has three entries this weekend so it remains to be seen just where he turns up.

After winning his first two starts over fences Vinndication came up just short in two Grade One races, most recently finishing fifth in the JLT Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old has however had a wind operation since the end of last season and Bailey is confident he will get a three mile trip this year.

Molly The Dolly (Dan Skelton) along with La Bague Au Roi and Atlanta Ablaze all receive a mare’s allowance and Skelton believes his eight-year-old is at her best when fresh.

She was an impressive winner in handicap company at the Scottish Grand National meeting and her upward curve could well continue at Wetherby.

Atlanta Ablaze (Henry Daly) will have to brush up her jumping considerably if she is to figure in this but she can be quite useful on her day.

She was in the process of running a big race in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Riders' Novices' Chase at The Festival when falling two out so she cannot be completely written off here.

Charlie Hall Chase 2019: Conclusion

This is one of the most open Charlie Hall Chase’s in recent years and a case can be made for all twelve runners.

The most recent authoritative form line for me however is the proximity of Top Ville Ben to Lostintranslation and Topofthegame at Aintree and I shall be siding with the Harbour Rose Partnership-owned runner.

888sport suggests: Top Ville Ben (e/w).

Boxing has been one of the United Kingdom’s most popular sports for well over a century so picking just 10 fighting superstars is very difficult indeed.

There are a few high-profile figures to miss out on this list, including the likes of Chris Eubank, Amir Khan and Anthony Joshua.

Best British Boxers:

• Joe Calzaghe

• Ken Buchanan

• Lennox Lewis

• Ricky Hatton

• Barry McGuigan

• Tyson Fury

• John Conteh

• Lloyd Honeyghan

• Jimmy Wilde

• Carl Froch

The answer is subjective of course but there is no standout fighter who ranks as Britain’s top boxing superstar.

Without further ado, it is time to take a look at some of the boxers who always seem to come up in the ‘greatest’ conversation.

Selecting a combined XI is never easy. There are always too many players to consider, all-time greats that end up being left out as you try to balance a realistic version of a team with getting all the best players into the side.

Ahead of England’s tour of New Zealand, we’ve decided to compile a combined Test XI for the two nations.

To make the task a little easier, this combined Test XI is made up for the best England and New Zealand cricketers from this century, meaning there’s no impossible comparison between Len Hutton and Alastair Cook required.

Speaking of the Essex left-hander, he gets the team underway…

Sir Alastair Cook

England’s record run scorer was a lock for this team. Cook averaged over 45 opening the batting, excelling around the world. His 2010/11 Ashes tour was one of the great series by a batsman, rivalling the exploits of Donald Bradman.

Cook isn’t the most elegant or entertaining in this line-up, but he’d get them off to a solid start more often than not.

Marcus Trescothick

Alastair Cook’s career could have been very different if Marcus Trescothick wasn’t forced into premature international retirement. Trescothick himself would have been considered one of England’s greatest openers.

The recently retired Somerset icon is one of the most likeable people in cricket. His average of 43.79 in Tests reflects the class act he was at the top of the order, too.

A destructive force at his best, a Cook and Tresco opening partnership would have been the best in the world.

Kane Williamson

Kane Williamson is a class act on and off the field. Williamson’s compact technique and ice-cool manner at the crease makes him one of the best batsmen in the world – he averages over 52 in the longest format of the game.

An ability to adapt to the game situation and score at different tempos has seen Williamson develop into an all-format force.

He’s got the technique to cope with the moving ball, and can play spin well, making him the ideal number three ahead of a fiery middle order.

Check out the latest cricket betting to find odds on Williamson to be the top run scorer in the upcoming series.

Joe Root

Joe Root wins the number four spot in this side ahead of Ross Taylor and Ian Bell. There were some positives for England at the back end of the Ashes, and the return to form of their skipper was one of them.

As elegant as any batsman for either side since the turn of the century, Root accumulates runs smoothly when on top of his game.

It’s almost become a cliché for commentators to be surprised when he’s scored 30 off 50 balls.

Kevin Pietersen

Although he batted at four for much of his Test career, Kevin Pietersen slots in at five here, which happens to be the position he batted in that sensational 158 at the Oval in 2005.

There was no question about Pietersen’s place in this side. He turned Test matches in a way that few batsmen are capable of, his shot-making often leaving bowlers clueless.

In this team, though, Pietersen is just the start of a trio of destructive middle order batsmen.

Ben Stokes

England’s hero in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Final, Ben Stokes is a complete cricketer. His batting is a long way ahead of Andrew Flintoff’s, which earned him the number six spot in this line-up.

Stokes’ ability to reverse swing the ball would be handy in this team, but he won’t need to bowl too many overs with the three frontline bowlers taking plenty of wickets.

The prospect of Stokes batting with Kevin Pietersen will see bowlers fainting at their mark.

Brendon McCullum

For all the admiration of Brendon McCullum as a white-ball player, his Test record wasn’t half bad either.

The wicketkeeper-batsman average 38.64 in the longest format, often turning innings on their head with aggressive counter-attacks.

McCullum is the only player in this team with a triple-hundred to his name.

Daniel Vettori

The lone spinner spot was a close-run thing between Daniel Vettori and Graeme Swann, but the longevity of Vettori – who played 113 Tests – just pips the outspoken English off-spinner.

His control and variation of flight made him a tricky bowler to face despite not being a massive turner of the ball.

Vettori was a more than handy batsman too – he could be a nuisance hanging around with Pietersen, Stokes or McCullum in this team.

Stuart Broad

He might have to settle for first-change in this team, but Stuart Broad was a sure thing alongside James Anderson and Trent Boult.

Broad’s match-winning spells have provided some thrilling Test cricket throughout his career.

Sometimes underappreciated, and often criticised, Broad’s record speaks for itself. He’s one of England’s greatest bowlers.  

James Anderson

The Burnley Lara might just be the greatest new ball bowler ever.

Anderson has faced criticism for his performances outside of England, but his numbers overseas have improved as he’s aged and developed a box of tricks to keep control and pick up wickets.

Anderson has more wickets than any fast bowler in history and will have his sights set on third place in the all-time list once he returns from injury.

Trent Boult

Giving a left-arm angle to complement Broad, Anderson and Stokes, Trent Boult is currently the sixth-best bowler in the world in the ICC rankings and could climb further once this series is finished.

Boult’s natural inswing to right-handers has troubled many an opening batsman, his wrist position gives him great control and movement even in unfavourable conditions.

Boult’s new-ball partnership with Tim Southee is heading into Broad and Anderson territory.

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Ricardo Mazalan / AP Photo*