Taylor: another win on the cards?

I think that Taylor will not only win this tournament, but will also give us a nine-darter, even though you have to start on a double.

Sid Waddell
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WORLD GRAND PRIX DARTS
Mon 6 Oct to Sun 12 Oct
Live on Sky Sports
Click here for details

The idea of a British Olympic Darts team has raised its head a few times recently and people often ask me who should be in it.

If I was picking a 10-man team for a future Olympics then these would be my suggestions, let me know if you agree with them:

Phil Taylor (captain)
James Wade
Wayne Mardle
Colin Lloyd
Kevin Painter
Adrian Lewis
Alan Tabern
Colin Osborne
Andy Hamilton
Barrie Bates
Manager: Bob Anderson

I think that team would win the gold medals and the team that would come nearest would be a Dutch side led by Raymond van Barneveld. I've gone for a mixture of experience, youthful exuberance and guys that I like watching play.

Anderson would be a fine man to lead them as he distinguished himself in the League of Legends and has been an excellent ambassador for the sport.

That's my team, so as they say on exam papers... discuss!

Dublin-bound

The players have just got back from South Africa, many have just been to Australia and the with the Championship League going on as well, there is a lot of darts going on at the moment.

That means these players - apart from Barney (as I will discuss later) - will be coming into the World Grand Prix hotter than ever. The likes of King, Tabern, Osborne and Hamilton will be right up for this and as it's double-in and best-of-three a lot of players will get very nervy.

The fact that Taylor has lost three times in the opening round against inspired opponents in recent years also makes this fascinating.

But the one guy I would put my subprime mortgage on to dominate the circumstances is Phil Taylor.

I think that Taylor will not only win this tournament, but will also give us a nine-darter, even though you have to start on a double.

All eyes should be fixed on Taylor's first dart at the double top. That was a problem area for him a couple of months ago but I think he has added the final piece to the puzzle now.

I thoroughly believe that if he can find that double top then his shooting is so sophisticated that we could see a nine-darter from him as we nearly did at Rochester 10 years ago.

Of course on that occasion I shouted out before his final two darts and was given a glare from Taylor when he missed the bull because he'd clearly heard me. (He later rang me up to say he'd missed the bull on his own and it had nothing to do with me).

I know he's lost three times in the first round here but I think he's better than ever. His all-round preparation and concentration is unparalleled.

Jimmy White said to me recently that he's the most modest champion sportsman he's ever met. He just does not know how good he is.

Having said all of that, he's up against one of the world's fastest players Ronnie Baxter in round one and that will be a hell of a game.

Here are the other first round ties to keep an eye on:

Monday

James Wade v Tony Eccles (6.00pm): James has won three major tournaments, but I'm not sure he knows how to raise his game after all of his amazing success in the last 18 months. What has happened to him in the last two-and-a-half years is almost proving to be a problem for him. He's finding it very difficult to relax and to concentrate because the nerves and the pressure are coming through. Tony Eccles is one hell of an opponent and I think James will be tested in round one, even though he's the champion. The first round is the best of three sets and as we've seen with Taylor's exits in previous years, the pressure is on right from the start. James might be a bit too tense and under pressure to live up to his own success.

Colin Lloyd v Vincent van der Voort (8.00pm): These are two men very much in form so this should be a real belter of a match. Colin Lloyd won it in 2004 and Vincent van der Voort has been one of the stars of the Championship League in Essex. If you haven't seen that tournament on the web then you might not know how well he's been playing. These two should serve up some great darts in Ireland.

Raymond van Barneveld v Alan Tabern (8.40pm): I gather Barney hasn't played since Blackpool, certainly not in the big time. Meanwhile Alan Tabern has won two of the players' championships in the last two weeks and it wouldn't surprise me if Barney comes a cropper in round one. I've no idea why he hasn't played top-class darts for so long and I can really see him struggling against a player who is going from strength to strength.

Wayne Mardle v Felix McBrearty (9.20pm): In our last live event on Sky Sports in Blackpool, Wayne Mardle was magnificent. In his quarter-final against Barney he was 12-7 down and went on to win 18-16. But here he'll be up against a local guy in Felix McBrearty who in effect won the Ireland Open to win his place in Dublin. In that he beat Andy Hamilton, Michael van Gerwen, and Colin Lloyd and he's been taking a lot of notice of what Rod Harrington has been saying about darts. He's been getting some specific advice from Rod as well, so I expect this to be an amazing match.

Adrian Lewis v Roland Scholten (10.40pm): Despite having won £10,500 and doing a nine-darter in the prelims of the Championship League, Adrian Lewis failed to make the final cut. That just shows the standard is incredible at darts at the moment and he'll have another big test up against Roland Scholten on Monday evening.

Tuesday

John Part v Chris Mason (7.20pm): Like Lewis, Chris Mason has been very good in the Championship League but didn't make the cut. He also tends to play well in Ireland because he has a lot of fans there, so this will be a good match against the world champion. John Part beat Wade heavily in the semi-final South Africa last weekend and will be coming into this in high spirits. This will be a tight game.

Robert Thornton v Peter Manley (9.20pm): Robert Thornton won the Australian Open a few weeks ago and he'll definitely test Peter Manley, who is of course the pantomime villain of darts.

Jack MaGowan v Colin Osborne (10.40pm): Mr Magoo - or Jack MaGowan as he's otherwise known - is now 56. He got to the quarter-final in 2005 and that shows what a great sport this is when guys ready for their bus pass are challenging guys so much younger. MaGowan only lives about 30 miles away from Dublin and this will be an absolutely magnificent match against Colin Osborne who's on fire at the moment.

And finally...

There's no truth in the rumour that I'm applying to be manager of Newcastle United.

However it seems that, of all people, I've ended up being some sort of language advisor at St James' Park!

I released a book called Taak of the Toon early this year which provides instructions on how to speak Geordie.

It's been selling well, but imagine my surprise when I was contacted by one of the PR guys at Newcastle United to inform me that the club's Senegalese defender Habib Beye has been walking around the training ground with my book trying to speak Geordie.

"Ah fancy a stottie afore ah practice my shooty-in," he was overheard to be saying, which translates roughly as: "I must have a feed before I practice my marksmanship."

He might be from Senegal and he might speak French, but I'm sure I'll get him talking proper!