David Leggat: Resolution time for coaches on a downer

New Year's resolutions. Many of us make them, not everyone sticks to them.

Give up smoking, eat less, eat more, lose weight, drink less, start saving, buy a house, change jobs.

There are a few coaches around the place who should be making some vows about 2006 around now.

Take John Bracewell. The New Zealand cricket coach's big wish for next year must be to find bowlers who can serve up consistently good-quality, tight-fisted, line-and-length bowling in the closing overs of one-day internationals.

If he wants to go to the 2007 World Cup with any sort of chance of doing better than New Zealand's perennial semifinal finish, he's got to sort out a couple of blokes to do better than the rubbish served up against Australia before Christmas.

What about John Adshead and Andrej Lemanis, coaches of those teams bearing the strain of holding their leagues up, the Knights and the Breakers?

Neither have a show of making their respective playoffs, but earning a bit of respect before their seasons run out wouldn't hurt.

Warriors' fans have fingers crossed that new coach Ivan Cleary can pull them up after a dismal year, and then there's John Mitchell.

The former All Black coach steps out with the new Super 14 franchise, Perth's Western Force, Mitch having gone searching for fresh pastures.

Fair enough, too. Mitchell will be desperate to rub a few New Zealand noses in it next year. But will the Aussies understand his sometimes-confusing rhetoric?

A smart bet might be that the Force will surprise more than the odd opponent in their first term.

And what chance of Mitchell turning up somewhere in the backroom of the new Wallaby coach, whoever he may be?

Take Sven-Goran Eriksson. England's soccer coach will never win over the fans who can't wear a Johnny Foreigner in charge of their national team.

But he can give the xenophobes something to chew on if he can steer England to World Cup glory in Germany. And strangely, for a team beaten by the might of Northern Ireland just a couple of months ago, they've got a chance after a tame draw left them well positioned.

However, Eriksson's big wish for the year, apart from on-the-field activities, must be keeping himself off the tabloid front pages in Britain. And to do that, the old rascal needs to keep his mind on the job - and his fly zipped up.

There's a good chance one of five Russians will get her New Year off to a flying start in tennis' ASB Classic, which starts in Auckland on Monday. All are ranked in the world top 45, and are among the leading chances for the tournament.

Since the line between east and west disappeared several years ago, Russia has developed into the most powerful force in women's tennis.

Time was when the game was a preserve of Americans, Australians, a few Europeans and South Americans and a bunch of Swedes inspired by Bjorn Borg from the mid- 1970s.

Times have changed.

Top seed for the Classic, Nadia Petrova, is No 9 in the world; Elena Likhovtseva is No 17; Maria Kirilenko, Vera Dushevina and Vera Zvonareva are 25th, 40th and 42nd respectively.

So best nip down to the TAB and stick a tenner on a Russian win.

This year's winner, Katarina Srebotnik, did the double on an exhausting finals day, beating Japan's Shinobu Asagoe, then teaming with her to take the doubles, having had to win her semifinal in the morning.

Slovenian Srebotnik was a popular champion. She's back in what is the Classic's strongest field. It should be a tasty start to a busy sports year.