The Power
Quiet day today. I stumbled into work for three hours and caught the second week of Premier League Darts. It's the first time I've watched darts since the announcement that Phil "The Power" Taylor will be retiring at the end of the year, by which time he will be 57. It seems like a good time to call it a day although not to current World No 1 Michael Van Gerwen who rather uncharitably suggested he should have called time a couple of years ago. Taylor might reasonably point to his victory over Van Gerwen in the final of the inaugural Champions League of Darts last year as evidence to the contrary.
Van Gerwen has declared his intention to retire at the age of 40, which unless he wins every single World Championship between now and 2029 will leave Taylor's 14 titles out of reach. Some have argued that Van Gerwen is comfortably the best player in the world in an era when the standard of playing is so much higher. Although it was arguably Taylor's excellence that forced everyone else to raise their game to bring about this state of affairs.
Leaving all that aside, Taylor showed some if not necessarily all of his battling qualities in a 6-6 draw with James Wade whilst it was only a late lapse from the man they call MVG that prevented him from whitewashing Peter Wright who eventually restored 3 legs in a 7-3 defeat.
I root for Taylor quite a lot. I'm not entirely sure why. He's a man who seems to have done a number of objectionable things. But there's something about watching an all time great and wanting them to excel one last time. There'll still be a few more chances on this farewell tour, but I don't expect him to add much more to a bulging trophy cabinet.
Van Gerwen has declared his intention to retire at the age of 40, which unless he wins every single World Championship between now and 2029 will leave Taylor's 14 titles out of reach. Some have argued that Van Gerwen is comfortably the best player in the world in an era when the standard of playing is so much higher. Although it was arguably Taylor's excellence that forced everyone else to raise their game to bring about this state of affairs.
Leaving all that aside, Taylor showed some if not necessarily all of his battling qualities in a 6-6 draw with James Wade whilst it was only a late lapse from the man they call MVG that prevented him from whitewashing Peter Wright who eventually restored 3 legs in a 7-3 defeat.
I root for Taylor quite a lot. I'm not entirely sure why. He's a man who seems to have done a number of objectionable things. But there's something about watching an all time great and wanting them to excel one last time. There'll still be a few more chances on this farewell tour, but I don't expect him to add much more to a bulging trophy cabinet.
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