Blake still draws on fear factor.Byline: Mark Douglas Mark William Douglas (b. 20 October, 1968 in Nelson, New Zealand) is an international cricketer. He played six one-day internationals and no Tests for New Zealand. He also played for Nelson in the Hawke Cup. PAUL Blake Paul Blake is the current Chairman of the British Basketball League, succeeding Vince Macaulay-Razaq in 2006, as well as working as the current Managing Director of the Newcastle Eagles basketball franchise. He attended Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne. believes that teams still fear Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles, or officially the Northern Rock Newcastle Eagles by sponsorship, is a British Basketball League team from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Since 1995 they have played all home games at the 6,500 capacity Metro Radio Arena in the city, currently the largest-capacity - despite their worrying slide in form. Third bottom Worcester Wolves visit the Arena tonight looking to hammer another dent in the title ambitions of Fab Flournoy's side by inflicting a fourth straight defeat. Blake believes the Wolves are in a false league position and will offer a stern examination of the Eagles' under-fire players, but he does not believe Worcester will be relishing the prospect of a Friday night in the North East. "Worcester are a better side than their league position suggests, no doubt about that. They are not a poor side," he said. "They lost by one point to Leicester and are no pushovers, so we know we'll be in for a tough game and the guys cannot afford to let the same mistakes creep into their game. "But I still think that teams will fear us at the Arena. Our defeat against Sheffield was something like the third home defeat in the last three seasons, so teams won't automatically start thinking we're there for the taking on our patch. "It's more comfortable territory for the guys as well. The supporters will get behind them and they know that this is a good chance to get ourselves back on track." With a move for GB star Flinder Boyd still in it's early stages and Flournoy on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. with a broken finger, it will be another chance for the team to prove their worth. With talk of possibly cutting one of the overseas stars to accommodate a replacement if things don't improve, they could also be playing for their jobs. "I do sense a determination from the guys. We had all of them in to see us this week to talk to them and make sure they want to be here and they made the right noises and training has been good," he said. "Now it is a matter of taking that into games now and making sure that they don't let the run go on any longer. We want to see the guys go out with a positive outlook and put pressure on Worcester from the start. I think that if they can do that then we will get the result." |
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