Judd
Trump is an unlikely person to be at the centre of a Twitter storm.
A
polite young man, he is not one for courting controversy.
He
didn’t enter the Australian Goldfields Open but must have been watching on
Eurosport earlier today when Peter Ebdon took nearly five hours to beat Ding
Junhui 5-4.
“How
Peter Ebdon is allowed to play that slow is a joke,” was Judd’s observation on
Twitter.
Within
seconds he was being roundly insulted for stating his opinion.
It
seems odd that members of the public can spend all day, every day on Twitter or
internet forums criticising and commenting on every aspect of a player – their playing
style, their appearance, even their personal lives – but when a player himself
ventures an opinion he is treated to vitriol.
Trump
remained silent when other players used Twitter to openly state he was lucky
and therefore not as good as people have said.
Last
time I looked he was second in the world rankings and UK champion. Not bad for
a 22 year-old.
It’s
natural he will attract jealousy: he’s young, talented and popular. Not
everyone likes the ‘playboy’ image he has cultivated but this is mainly ironic.
And,
anyway, he can live his life however he chooses.
Of
course, even moderately paced potters will seem slow to Trump because he plays
the game so quickly.
Ebdon
is archly methodical. His average shot time today was 38 seconds, compared with
Ding’s 26.
There
is no slow play rule in snooker. There is a rule which covers time wasting, in
the discretion of the referee who can warn a player to hurry up.
I
can understand how a player such as Trump would be frustrated watching a much
slower player but I also feel Ebdon deserves immense credit for the effort he
makes.
It’s
not always pretty but his record speaks for itself: world and UK champion, nine
ranking titles, more than 300 century breaks.
If
everyone played the game the way he did then snooker would not be the
commercial prospect it is but there is surely room for different playing
styles, different approaches and, yes, different speeds.
There
should also be room for different opinions, and Judd Trump is as entitled to
his as anybody. As a player, he has an insight worth listening to.
As
long as opinions are expressed without undue personal malice or in a defamatory
way then players have as much right as anyone else to tell us what they think.
27 comments:
"I also feel Ebdon deserves immense credit for the effort he makes."
That comment there Dave says everthing that needs to be said about Peter Ebdon's game.
As for the people having a pop at young Judd. What is it that is said to begrudgers?
The first person who commented did so in the blogpost below, but to answer the point: Trump wasn't criticising the tournament, only a particular style of play.
The players have a right to give their opinions, but the public also the right to give their opinions on the opinions.
I'd argue with anyone who said the same, nothing against Trump personally.
Ebdon is terrebly boring. He is a true born killer of snooker. Hard to watch.
Judd Trump today on Twitter to someone today: 'would you go to work to lose money..no didn't think so' . I think this is a criticism of the tournament. A
Misguided one at that
"As a player, he has an insight worth listening to."
Describing Ebdon's style of play as "a joke" isn't exactly what I'd call insightful. Provocative maybe, and maybe that's why he got the reaction he did.
Also, no mention of Judd's follow up comment insinuating that those who disagreed with him might be a bit ugly (that seemed to cause a lot of mirth amoungst his followers
) or the frankly bizarre stuff about Ebdon not winning the World Championship by the time he was 22.
I wonder if Judd would have the guts to say all of this to Ebdon's face?
Trump was castigated for not being a world champion and so pointed out that Ebdon was also not world champion at his age and became one later.
If Peter has a problem with anything he wrote he can confront him. Harder to do that with people who use pseudonyms or are just anonymous.
In my experience, when they come to tournaments they aren't quite so outspoken.
Thanks for the clarification on the 22yo comment - that at least makes sense now.
Still don't see how you can support Trump for publicly criticising a fellow pro over slow play in an event he isn't even participating in, and yet lay into those who gave him some grief back. You're right in saying Ebdon can confront him, but Trump shouldn't have had a dig in public when he wasn't even personally involved. He's basically insinuating that Ebdon gains an unfair advantage by playing that way, which is out of order in my book.
It was the nature of the responses to Trump - and what they represent in a wider sense - which annoyed me for the reasons I have already stated.
its the jealous ronnie fans who abuse judd.
the guts to say it to his face?
do you think judd would be scared peter would hurt him with words?
peter would never hit him, so why would judd need guts?
grow up, immature one!
judd trump is big headed at the moment and to speak negatively about Ebdon is wrong..Ebdon is every bit as talented as trump he just plays differently..Ebdon is a multi millionaire from the game, a world champion and uk championion and has beaten the very best in the sport..
Hi David. Ebdon started well, to lead 2-0. Did responded well to go 3-2 ahead, To level at 4-4, Ding potting a superb long, re-spotted blak. Ebson won 5-4.
The match was protracted, but ingrossing, in my view, as a snooker lover.
As for Judd Trump's Twitter comments, I think all are entitled to their views, but you should try and ensure thatnobody is affected..
I do not mean this as a criticism, to Trump or Ebdon. I'm not saying Ebdon would be affected. It is just my view.
Robertson started well, to lead davis, 1-0, with an 88 break, From 43-0 up, in frame 2, when he had that kick, as you referred to, in commentary, That seemed to cause him to lose his way.
Davis was the better player after that, and did great, to win 5-1.
I can't wait for tomorrow.
I am just not being seeing this judd is a nice lad stuff. He has disrespected Robertson for slow and now Ebdon on Twitter. Whilst some abusers get carried away, I think Judd is entitled to get stick. I am not saying Judd should not have a view, it is just that his view is ludicrous.
Attacking players have always moaned about slow play as a tactic to get crowd on their side and psyche opponents. Someone should tell Juddward that it has never worked.
Peter Ebdon has definitely done a disservice to Snooker in Australia unfortunately. There would have been quite a few first time watchers in the crowd and they may now be thinking that Ebdon's game is the norm. Not to mention holding up the Robertson game which was what everyone had come to see and by the time it started many would have been tired and sore from the poor seats. I agree with Trump. I don't know how you can speed him up without the dreaded shot clock though.
I think Trump is right. I watched the match and couldnt believe how many times Ebbo walked around and up and down the table, for what was, most of the time, a straightforward shot.
Ebbos not that slow. It depends on who hes playing. He couldnt beat Ding. Now hes found a way. Crawl.
Trump is right. It shouldnt be allowed.
@2.01
I don't know about harming the game in Australia. There was the match between Martin Gould and Cao Yupeng on at the same time, so I'm guessing first time watchers won't be thinking that Ebdon is the norm.
Plus after his match with Murphy today he literally had to be torn away from a crowd of autograph-seekers so he could do his post-match interview.
"Judd's a polite young man". Really? He's made ill directed comments towards Robbo, Ali, Ronnie and now Ebo in the last 12 months. He's probably been waiting to have a pop at The Force since he masterminded his defeat at Sheffield with protege Ali Carter.
Dave - I wonder if your comments would have been quite so neutral had it been Mark Allen who said this?
Mark's a polite young man as well most of the time.
I was talking about Judd as a person, not through things I've read in the papers.
All his comments towards the players mentioned have been made on camera, and not just reported in print. There was nothing polite about any of these comments.
I've got no problem with him making these comments, but he if he is dis-respectful to his fellow professionals, then it's not fair to say they are jealous when they choose to respond.
Personally I find it interesting to see how players rate other players, and I don't think Judd's stance is entirely unjustified here. As for Ebdon doing the game a disservice, well since players like Ronnie and Judd stayed away then unfortunately if the Australians come away with the impression that is the normal style of play it's not completely down to him. As for this issue over prize money, can a top 16 player really lose money by going? The last 32 prize money is $7500 (£5000), so even if you factor in this ridiculous 46% local tax that still leaves the player with £2500; what's a return flight to Aus these days, a grand, £1500? Allow £100 a day accommodation for 3/4 days, that brings you to about 2k. Fair enough, if you go out in the first round you're not bringing much back, but you're not losing money unless I'm missing something. There must be a way to beat this 46% tax though? Can't some tweet Jimmy Carr?
Anonymous @ 7.12pm - What on earth are you talking about?
Dave - the point I was making (and which you've so far ignored) is that you think it's fine for Trump to basically insinuate that Ebdon is cheating, yet you choose to blow out of all proportion the responses he got for doing that.
Yes, a few people were insulting. The vast majority (from what I read) weren't.
I don't recall Judd calling anyone a cheat
Judd has done nothing wrong and he certainly isn't answerable to anonymous pseudonyms taking the moral high ground!
The only thing I would say is that possibly it wasn't the wisest thing ever to let his peers know he doesn't enjoy the slow game. I get the feeling he's going to come up against a few grinders this season now.
I love watching snooker, usually about everything I can receive.
But today and tomorrow, the TV will stay off but for the second semi. I just cannot watch Ebdon. It hurts to see him take two turns around the table, when the shot is straightforward.
He doesn't win games, he has his opponents lose them by losing their patience. Obviously, snooker players should never lose their patience. But given that I even lose mine just watching, I can fully understand that it happens again and again against Ebdon.
Given that Ebdon's average shot time stands out way above the rest of the players, he should be gently pushed to speed up. He can argue that it's his style of play, but the response has to be that there IS a rule on delaying the game, and obviously he does so. Virtually all other players prove that Ebdon's slowness is not required to play good snooker, so he is taking too much time. Snooker players need a lot of skills to be successfull. Sticking to the rule of not delaying the game is one of them. If he cannot follow that rule and play well, it's bad luck for him. It's not different to breaking any other rule.
Having mentioned above that I will not tune in to his games, I can only feel sorry for the Australian organizers that now have the problem of an Ebdon final as their advertising for next year...
I hope the commentator often mention that his style is not the norm every five minutes, before people fall asleep and never watch Snooker again.
As an aussie an cue sport lover i was tempted to donate my finals tickets to the first bum i passed down the street. Unfortunately bendigo is considered to be in the sticks for melburnians and in no mans land. Would get huge following if in melbourne itself. Was so dissapointed ebdon made it through the finals so bad to watch and i loce the tactical side. But his timewasting wasnt on tactical shots as mention previously they were basic pots and whats with feathering the cue ten times every shot? Alot of disillusioned aussies afterwards
Ebdon recognises when there's a gulf in talent and ability between himself and an opponent. His method of dealing with it is to slow his game to such an extent that it totally frustrates his opponent. That takes NO skill whatsoever.
Referees need to recognise this and take action. I have never seen Ebdon warned for slow play despite an average shot time of over 40 seconds in some matches.
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