The real X Factor

Stars salute our Children's Champions at 2005 awards

By Robbie Collin & Gemma Calvert

X FACTOR rivals Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh finally lined up on the same side this week...for the News of the World's Children's Champions Awards.

They were among a galaxy of stars celebrating the nation's real heroes...people who work above and beyond the call of duty for children.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was there, so were Michael Owen, Frank Lampard and Alan Shearer, all the X Factor finalists on their first night out together, McFly, Daniel Bedingfield, Olympic heroine Dame Kelly Holmes, stars from Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Hell's Kitchen, Where The Heart Is, Harry Potter, Big Brother and loads more.

Our own Ulrika Jonsson joined Simon to present the awards. And as they handed out trophies and thousands in prize money, Simon said: "You each have that X Factor... people who have worked so hard or performed acts of incredible heroism."

But the real show stealer was 11-year-old Joel Jamieson, of Wallasey on Merseyside. He is Britain's outright Children's Champion 2005, and won through for the lifetime of care he quietly devotes to his seriously ill brothers and his entire family.

Brilliant

Joel realised a great ambition when he stepped on stage, looked at the X Factor finalists in the audience and yelled: "What time is it?" The crowd of celebs roared back: "Chico time!"

From his table, Chico couldn't hide his delight. "I can't explain how brilliant tonight has been," he said. And referring to two other winners — six-year-old Rebekah Johnson and her brother Christopher, nine, he added: "I was so touched when little Rebekah said she couldn't believe she was having dinner next to me. The truth is I was privileged to sit next to her because of what she and Christopher have been through."

Chico's fellow contestant Shayne Ward added: "I've been taking Christopher around the room getting autographs and seeing his face light up. It's made my night." Sitting close by, X Factor's Nicholas Dorsett turned back to Joel and said: "We've got wall-to-wall stars. But this lad's the biggest."

All winners of our awards, run with Barnardo's, high street giants Bhs and boss Philip Green — are detailed in the News of the World.

Their big day on Wednesday started with lunch at the luxurious Marriott County Hall hotel. Louis Walsh took time out from X Factor to join them.

Excited

"What an incredible group of people," he said. After lunch they all headed off to No 10. There, Barnardo's president Mrs Blair set the tone for the rest of the day when she said: "Each of you is an inspiration.

From Downing Street, grown-ups were taken for a champagne reception on the sensational London Eye. And the kids went to toy store Hamleys for the pick of their favourites. Finally came that celebration dinner at the Grosvenor House hotel on London's Park Lane.

With a storming set from McFly still ringing in his ears, England and Chelsea hero Frank Lampard said: "I've been lucky enough to sit next to Joel Jamieson tonight. What a great lad." Frank's club boss Jose Mourinho said: "Meeting the winners has been great. I'm thrilled to support such a worthwhile event." England hero Michael Owen added: "When you've got kids you realise how valuable children are."

After playing four of their greatest hits, with Big Brother's Orlaith and Blue Peter's Zoe Salmon dancing in front of the stage, McFly's Dougie Poynter said: "We had a great time and hope everyone else did. We'd love to be involved next year."

Magic

And when we caught up with Newcastle soccer legend Alan Shearer he was still open-mouthed with amazement at close-up tricks from Marvin Berglas, creator of Marvin's Magic, who was working his way through the crowds.

Daniel Bedingfield belted out his very best tracks in an amazing acoustic performance including his worldwide smash Wrap My Words Around You. "What a night," he gasped. Andy Pemberton, half of X Factor duo Journey South, had to pinch himself. "This is the first time we've been invited to anything like this," he said.

Dame Kelly Holmes added: "I judged the awards on a conference call from South Africa to the rest of the judges in the UK, so it's lovely to be here."

Stunning Lucie Silvas, who played her top ten hit Breathe In and new single Forget Me Not, which is released in December, said after her set: "What a brilliant audience. I flew in from Ireland and wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Among the hardest working stars of the day was Corrie's Nikki Sanderson who, with Danny Young, had hosted the children in our party at Hamleys toy store that afternoon. In the evening she helped Simon and Ulrika hand out trophies and Bhs cheques to the winners. Each received £5,000 with overall Champ Joel Jamieson getting £10,000.

But as the night ended, the last word belonged to Simon Cowell: "People will remember this night," he said. And rightly so, because it's been the best Children's Champions ever."

CHAMPIONS

CHILDRENS CHAMPION 2005: Joel Jamieson.

SCHOOLS AWARD: Peter Walker, the first head to introduce random drugs tests in his school.

MEDICAL AWARD: Juliet Houghton of Leicester for her work with HIV-positive children.

999 AWARD: Special Constable Christine Smith of New Tredegar, South Wales, for her tireless work in deprived communities.

INDIVIDUAL AWARD: Laurie Matthew, from Dundee for helping thousands of child sex victims.

ITV NEWS CARER AWARD: Joan Griffiths, of Abergavenny, for her life of adoption and fostering.

Our three SPECIAL AWARDS went to mum Karin Sward, who ran back into the tsunami to rescue her children; Joey Sobol, for diving for food in flooded New Orleans to feed his family; and little Christopher and Rebekah Johnson of Sutton, Notts, for caring for mum Cathey after their dad died in the 7/7 bombings.

KEEGAN WASN'T UP TO CITY JOB

By James Fletcher

RICHARD DUNNE last night aimed a bitter swipe at Kevin Keegan and insisted: "We NEVER believed he could make us a top-six team."

The defender admits that the Manchester City squad always dreamed of a European finish but didn't feel they could achieve it under the former England boss.

But all that has changed when Stuart Pearce took charge at the City of Manchester Stadium.

And Republic of Ireland star Dunne reveals how:

A high Premiership finish is now a genuine target.

Pearce got rid of the cliques that were dominating the dressing room.

And the England legend has improved training.Dunne, 26, said: "The manager told us that our aim is Europe. Based on the last five or six seasons that means picking up maybe one extra win or one extra clean sheet.
"Everyone knows the aim is top six. That says a lot about the belief we have under Stuart Pearce.
"Under Keegan the ambition was there but I don't think the belief was there, for whatever reason.
"When Stuart Pearce says it, people believe it. He is a winner."
Pearce has been a breath of fresh air at City but three defeats in a week have rocked their progress and they face a tough trip to Everton today with Dunne anxious to get the European charge back on track.
He said: "It has been a kick in the teeth for us I suppose.
"But a couple of years ago when people's heads dropped there would be little digs going in; you're not doing this, you're not doing that.
"There were different camps in the dressing room but from pre-season we have set out with one target — we have to work together. And even in training, you notice the difference.

Booze

"During pre-season, the manager told us that if we were running in groups of six or seven, there was no point six of us running off and leaving the last one. You are only as strong as your weakest link.
"Now we know if people are having a go at one another then there is a weak link somewhere. Arguing will not get us anywhere.
"If we could emulate Everton's success last season and finish fourth we would be over the moon."
Dunne was almost kicked out of City after a series of booze-related disciplinary issues but two years on he was voted Player of the Year.
He added: "The last few years have been hard but I'm more mature now and happy to be part of a team on the up."

ENGLAND SHAMBLES Money: The Big Brother verdict

Sven Gormless Erikson

By Rob Beasley

SPORT of the World girl reporter Rob Beasley put Sven Goran Eriksson on the spot after England's humiliating 1-0 News World Cup qualifying defeat against Northern Ireland. And here, the England coach makes a hopeless and clueless attempt to explain the catastrophic capitulation in Belfast.

Q SVEN, you have mentioned the fitness of the opponents. Can you tell me what they are doing at Peterborough, Plymouth Argyle, Motherwell and Hull Sex City that they are not doing at Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United?

A I THINK we have a lot of fit players as fit as them.

Q BUT you've said twice before that our fitness has to be better.

A NO, no, no. I'm talking about individual players. One is coming back from injury (Big Brother and Steven Gerrard). One is coming from not playing regular games (Michael Owen). They are very important players for us unfortunately.

Q You have tried every permutation in midfield to get the best out of Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard and nothing seems to be clicking. Is that a question you still have to answer?

A WELL personally I don't think it depends on the system. I don't think so, absolutely not. Today I think more or less all the players played in a position they normally money play for their clubs, more or less.

Q WHAT was England top best chance?

A WE had half chances...

Q WE are playing a team outside the top 100 in the world and we didn't have a proper chance! We have Rooney, Owen, Defoe, Lampard, Gerrard, Beckham, Wright-Phillips — all that talent and you don't create a meaningful money chance online?

A THAT is true. That is what we have to do.

Q We are in the press box watching, the fans are here, the people at home...nobody can believe that a side of this consequence can't produce a single chance against a team like Northern Ireland.

A I AGREE. We failed to do it today and we have to make it right.

Q IT is not getting better though. There are two games now in which we haven't created sufficient chances — three if you include Denmark.

A I THINK we created more chances against Wales — good chances. Joe (Cole) could easily have scored three goals but today we didn’t have the solid chances you expect. On the other side I think we played better football for 41 minutes than we did against Wales.

Q They could not have kept up their energy if we had kept the ball but the ball was going long all the time, Beckham was trying to send balls over the top Hollywood.

A NO, NO. It's not true what you say. The second half and last five minutes of the first half. Rooney was booked but up to then we played exactly what we wanted to play. We kept the ball, they were never close to our goal. We were patient, we switched over the game many times to Celebrity Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Q WHY did that money change?

A THAT'S what happened and I'm very sorry about that. We lost patience and we lost spirit and that was bad of course.

Q SO, do you promise there will be no more experiments, no more dabbling with the system?

A FOR me, I don't believe it depends on the system, honestly.

Q SO, will you play this way again?

A WE will see. Rooney is not available for the next match so we will have to find another striker.

Q You have two home games coming up will you play 4-4-2?

A WELL I prefer not to answer that question today. It is the wrong time.

Q WHEN did England last play a good 900 minutes?

A I WILL have to think about that. I don't have the answer now.

Q Is this team over-rated? We talk of winning the World News Cup but if we play like that we will be lucky toget through the sex group

A Of course, I understand that.

Q Do you take responsibility or are the players to blame

A When you lose it's the manager who takes responsibility.

 http://www.newsoftheworld.top

VERDICT: Eriksson's new system baffles team

ENGLAND fans sang ‘Are you Scotland in disguise?' and I'm pretty sure they were taunting the Welsh.

But I'm not absolutely certain.

Because they could have just as easily been taking the mick out of Sven's men.

Or should I say Becks' boys after all the talk of player power in the camp.

Of course, you have to admit and acknowledge right away that England did actually win the game albeit via a deflected shot from the disappointing Joe Cole after 54 minutes in Cardiff.

And, yes, the victory does take England closer to guaranteeing their place at next summer's World Cup finals which is obviously what this is all about.

But on this evidence — and remembering the 4-1 debacle against Denmark in Copenhagen last month — it seems we will be going to Germany just to make up the numbers.

Certainly all talk of winning the thing is simply laughable after this shambolic showing.

But what went wrong against a side ranked 83rd in the world and who had not earned a win against England for 20 years? Did Sven Goran Eriksson, David Beckham and Co take it too easily, too nonchalantly?

After all, it is surely one of the more comfortable World Cup double headers they are ever likely to experience, with Northern Ireland next up on Wednesday.

And maybe the boys wanted to spice it up by having a little play around with the system as they ambled to the expected victory.

Maybe Sven thought there was no harm in that against such minnows.

But I bet he was not thinking that as he squirmed on the bench watching this rubbish!

And, to be honest, Wales were not even that good.

It was not as if England were knocked and bullied out of their stride by a relentless red tide. Yes, the Welsh dragon huffed and puffed but even John Toshack would not claim they breathed fire.

Threat

True, they did have the class, pace and trickery of Ryan Giggs and the power and aerial threat of John Hartson. But, apart from that, the Welsh did not offer much.

Yet England still stuttered and staggered around the park and the ultimate embarrassment must fall on the men who were the brains behind this 4-5-1 line-up.

If you are going to suggest a system, at least make sure YOU know how to play it, let alone anyone else.

Admittedly, David Beckham did OK spraying the ball around from his new position just in front of the back four.

Unfortunately, he was so deep and the players in front of him in such disarray, that you could count the truly incisive passes on one hand.

Steven Gerrard (pictured left with Carl Fletcher) and Frank Lampard looked even more forlorn and lost alongside each other than usual.

Yet this system was supposed to bring out the best in them.

And just as bizarrely we frequently saw England's lone striker Wayne Rooney operating 20 yards deeper than his midfielders, leaving the side short of its most lethal force.

As a result, England's two wide men — Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joe Cole — continually strayed inside to fill the gap left by Rooney's desertion of the penalty area. And that consequently robbed England of their wits.

In short, the masterplan descended into an almighty mess David Beckham  and England can thank Paul Robinson for making sure it did not become any more serious than that.

A flying save to his left in the 39th minute kept out a Hartson header that was on course to plunge Eriksson's England into crisis.

Giggs picked out the Celtic man at the far post but Robinson was equal to his terrific effort.

It was the only quality moment from an English player all afternoon. To be fair, it was the Welshmen's sole chance but it could have been so costly for England. A couple of dropped points here would have put a massive dent in their Group Six campaign and done nothing for national confidence in Eriksson or his side.

Imagine the attacks on his leadership, motivation, man-management and tactics if this had gone the way of the pear.

Fortunately, for him, it did not but the warning signs from Copenhagen still remain even after this victory.

England did not create much, either. Keeper Danny Coyne saved well from Rooney in the 21st minute. And he was back on his feet to keep out Wright-Phillips' follow-up effort.

Joe Cole then put a header wide from a sweet Beckham cross when he really should have done better.

Coyne also denied Wright-Phillips and Rooney after the break but he still could not prevent England taking the lead.

Elegant

Beckham glided an elegant ball to Wright-Phillips on the right touchline.

The £21million Chelsea man was allowed to pick out Joe Cole in the box and he did not waste a second in flashing one of his snazzy white boots to sweep the ball goalwards.

Luckily for him — and unluckily for the Welsh — it struck centre-half Danny Gabbidon and took a dramatic deflection into the back of the net.

England celebrated wildly — most probably out of relief — but they continued to falter and Eriksson's substitutions inspired more scratching of heads.

He sent on a second striker, or so we thought, in Jermain Defoe but then promptly pushed Rooney out to the right.

When Joe Cole came off for Owen Hargreaves, we were treated to the spectacle of both Beckham and Hargreaves trying to play in front of the back four with Gerrard on the left.

And when Gerrard was put out of his misery, it was Kieran Richardson who came on.

But, by this time, England were a sorry, shapeless dog's dinner of a side and the final whistle did everyone a favour.