It’s rare that the sporting world coughs up a genuine child prodigy, but I think it’s safe to say that darts has given birth to one.
Last week Luke Littler became the youngest ever PDC World Champion when he won the title at the age of just 17. He beat three-time champion Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in the final despite the Dutchman being more than double his age.
Ironically it was van Gerwen himself who was the previous record holder for youngest champion. But when he claimed the first of his titles, he was the ripe old age of 24.
With Little having been the talk of the darts town since he made his debut at last year’s World Championships, you tend to forget he has only been playing the sport at the top level for 12 months.
But he followed up defeat in last year’s final with numerous tournament wins during 2024 before crowning it last week by walking away with the biggest title of them all. Oh, and a winner’s cheque for £500,000, which should keep him in pizza and PS5 games for a few weeks.
There’s a good chance Littler could be king of the baby arrows for three or even four decades
I think we are looking at an unprecedented period of dominance in darts. Given that it is hardly the most athletic of sports and that some participants play on till they are in their 50s, there’s a good chance Littler could be king of the baby arrows for three or even four decades.
That could get a little boring as the years roll by. But Littler won’t care one jot as he throws his way to ever increasing fame and fortune.
Boxing Day blitz
I find social media to be mostly little more than a necessary evil.
But occasionally it vomits out something truly interesting that makes wading through all the digital garbage worthwhile.
Over the festive period I saw a post somewhere talking about Boxing Day 1963. Now even I am not old enough to remember that but, according to this snippet, it was an incredible day of football.
So, I made a mental note to check it out, which I just did. And all I can say is: wow!
Describing that date as a veritable goal fest would be underplaying the extreme, jaw-dropping set of results that unfolded. There were, wait for it, an incredible 66 goals in 10 top-flight games.
There were some absolutely insane results like Fulham beating Ipswich 10-1, Burnley beating Manchester United 6-1, Chelsea beating Blackpool 5-1 and Blackburn beating West Ham United 8-2.
And even the draws weren’t boring, with a 3-3 between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, another 3-3 between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, and a sexy 4-4 between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.
A lot of younger people believe football only started when the Premier League began in 1992. But these results show you that it was just as exciting, if not more so, in the days before money became the sport’s primary focus.
If you had been sat down watching those 10 live matches on that day (impossible for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from broadcasters to technology to timing), you would have been treated to a goal every one minute 36 seconds. That’s quite something.
And just think, not one of them would have been chalked off by a pointless VAR review....
King of the excuse
Does anybody know where I can buy a copy of the Mikel Arteta Big Book of Excuses?
I am going to leave it up to Arsenal fans to decide whether or not the Spaniard has been a success during his time at the club. I guess there are reasonably valid arguments on both sides. But there is definitely one area where he has been a serial winner during his time in London – finding things to blame for his team’s failings.
Over the years we have seen Arteta point the finger at everything from VAR to the weather for poor results. And I have lost count of the number of times he has had a tantrum about match officials as a whole.
But last week he took things to a new level by blaming the ball for Newcastle United’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates in the League Cup.
“We also kicked a lot of balls over the bar, and it’s tricky that these balls fly a lot, so there’s details that we can do better. Very different to a Premier League ball, and you have to adapt to that because it flies different,” he said after the game.
Even by his standards that’s a new low when it comes to not taking responsibility for a defeat.
I mean, Newcastle played with the same ball, and they didn’t seem to have any problems. And it’s not as if this was a ball made specifically for the semi-finals. The Puma ball has been in use throughout the Carabao Cup, so his players not only played games with it but, I’m sure, have spent many hours using it in training.
Once, just once, it would be refreshing to hear Arteta sit down after a defeat and admit the opponents were better or that he got something wrong.
But I wouldn’t hold your breath on that.
Potter in, Dyche out
The wait for Graham Potter to return to the world of top-level football management is finally over – and I think he may have found himself the perfect job.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion boss has been out of work since being (unfairly in my opinion) sacked by Chelsea nearly two years ago.
But last week he was appointed by West Ham United to take over from the underperforming Julen Lopetegui. And this very much feels like Potter has bided his time well and made himself available for the right job at the right time.
West Ham won’t expect Potter to bring them instant titles or Champions League qualification. They aren’t that daft. But they are also ambitious and have shown they don’t mind giving their managers time. Well, apart from Lopetegui. Equally they are prone to backing their bosses with money to spend.
The Hammers want to grow as a team and Potter wants to prove himself again as a manager, so this could well be a match made in heaven.
And, as an added bonus, this appointment means we now have a whopping three English managers in the top-flight at the same time. Is this the beginning of the big home-grown fightback?
* Hours after I wrote this snippet, Everton fired Sean Dyche and the number was back down to two. Hey ho!
E-mail: james.calvert@timesofmalta.com
X: @maltablade