The Irish take on holders Spain in Gdansk on Thursday desperate to take something from the game following their 3-1 defeat to Croatia in their Group C opener.
There have been calls for change in the starting XI following the Republic's limp display against Croatia, but Trapattoni is ready to keep faith with the majority of his players.
"Our team usually play better against famous teams, famous players. We must believe in our quality, the reasons that got us here," noted Trapattoni.
"Usually Spain dominate the midfield. I think we can adapt ourselves with the players we have. We have other players that can do double jobs. For example, Cox and Walters. They can help."
"Our team usually play better against famous teams, famous players. We must believe in our quality, the reasons that got us here."
Giovanni Trapattoni Quotes of the week
When asked whether it would be skipper Robbie Keane who made way, Trapattoni added: "Keane is very important. He has personality, experience."
Trapattoni also suggested he is unlikely to throw in Sunderland's James McClean against Spain, preferring to stick with his experienced players.
"It is important to [introduce young players] at a quiet opportunity, not when we need a performance under pressure. It's a heavy weight on his shoulders," added Trapattoni.
No second guessing
Meanwhile, Trapattoni admits he does not know what to expect from Spain counterpart Vicente del Bosque as the pair prepare for Euro 2012 battle.
Del Bosque caused raised eyebrows when he named his team for Sunday night's Group C opener against Italy and did not include a single specialist striker.
That left £50million Fernando Torres and Athletic Bilbao star Fernando Llorente, among others, kicking their heels on the bench.
However, Republic of Ireland manager Trapattoni is not about to try to second-guess an old foe ahead of Thursday night's must-win encounter between the two nations in Gdansk.
"I think after I saw the game, maybe, maybe, he will play with Torres. Maybe. But Vicente decides his own tactics," said Trapattoni.
"Maybe he thought the Italians have a good defence and he would play with these small, fast and tactical players.
"He changed when he understood. At this moment, he had the necessity to put up front a big striker and he [Torres] had a good opportunity.
"I don't know how he will play against us. Sure, we know which team we have in front of us, what quality they have. I have an idea, but at this moment, I couldn't say 'this' or 'this' or 'this'.
"But I can't think about if they will play with Torres or without Torres, also Llorente or the other strikers. That's not my job, it's Vicente's job."
Wholesale prices fell 0.5% in May - Japan Times
Wholesale prices fell 0.5 percent in May from a year earlier for the second straight monthly decline, partly reflecting weaker nonferrous metal prices amid growing concerns over the eurozone debt problem, which has made global investors risk-averse, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
On a month-on-month basis, the index of corporate goods prices was down 0.4 percent from April as crude oil and other commodity prices fell, a BOJ official said.
"The corporate goods prices will continue to be in a situation likely to face downward pressure if there is no major change in such trends," the official said.
The year-on-year rate of decline was the largest since March 2010, when prices fell 1.3 percent. The index of corporate goods prices stood at 105.0 against the 2005 base of 100, the BOJ said in a preliminary report.
Prices of iron and steel lost 6 percent from a year earlier and prices of nonferrous metals dropped 8.2 percent. Information and communications equipment, which are facing tough price competition in the domestic market, dropped 5.8 percent.
Petroleum and coal products gained 1.3 percent but trimmed their price growth rate from 4.9 percent in April.
Export prices dropped 3.4 percent in yen terms and fell 1 percent on a contract currency basis.
Import prices decreased 2.5 percent in yen terms and 1 percent on a contract currency basis.
Margao's wholesale fish market to get facelift - Times of India
MARGAO: The wholesale fish market opposite KTC bus stand in Margao will soon get a facelift even as South Goa planning and development authority (SGPDA) chairman Rajan Naik will inspect the market next Tuesday to take stock of the situation.
"On the fish market issue, discussions are underway and we are seized of the matter. We will request the government for special grants for restructuring of the market," said Naik, while addressing mediapersons after the conclusion of a SGPDA board meeting that was held on Tuesday.
Last week, petitioner Savio Dias threatened to file a contempt petition within 15 days if the cleanliness and hygienic conditions at SGPDA's wholesale and retail market complexes were not improved. In the first week of February, the high court of Bombay at Goa disposed of the petition filed against the SGPDA following its affidavit listing the measures taken to ensure cleanliness and maintenance of the two market complexes.
Tuesday's board meeting was attended by Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Margao municipal chairperson Arthur D'Silva, BJP leader Rupesh Mahatme and SGPDA member secretary Rajesh Naik.
Chairman Naik stated that all revocation or stop work orders that were issued against private projects would be withdrawn only after the party concerned sorted out grievances against them. Fatorda MLA Sardesai revealed that acting on complaints from NGOs, the files of a few 'big' projects had been sent to the town and country planning board for review.
Wholesale spending on sporting goods up 4.2%, says Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association - Oregonian
That's a 4.2 percent increase over 2010's wholesale sales of $74.2 billion, the association said in its "State of the Industry Report" for 2012.
After downward trends in 2008 and 2009, last years results showed the industry is "on the comeback trail," association spokesman Mike May said.
Last year marked the first time since 2007 that the industry's wholesale sales reached $77 billion.
The wholesale uptick showed that, at the retail level, consumers were willing to make more purchases that they may have put off for a year or two, May said.
Also, as the nation as a whole continues to struggle with a sluggish economy, the increased spending may have reflected the essential importance of sport.
"A lot of people work out on a regular basis," May said. "And they realize if they don't have their health, they have nothing. They don't want to cut back on their health. In times of stress it's a great way to deal with stress."
From the SGMS news release about last year's results:
The 'hot' categories in the industry which drove this growth were branded activewear (up 9.6%), golf clubs (up 8.9%), running footwear (up 7.6%), elliptical machines (up 7.1%), outdoor/adventure footwear (up 6.1%), classics/originals footwear (up 5.6%), and performance apparel – tops (up 5.4%).
One of the leading industry business topics is mass customization where manufacturers are producing customized, quick-turnaround gear for the consumer. And, there are two types of mass customization: for performance (fitness) and for style (personalization).
Consumer Spending Trends
In this report, SGMA surveyed 13 categories of consumer spending. Of those 13 categories, six of them revealed higher consumer spending in 2011 than in 2010. The top two categories that exhibited the highest percentage of 'more consumer spending' were Lessons, Instructions, & Camps and Team Sports at School. Of those consumers who spent money on the former, nearly 25% of those consumers said they spent more in 2011 than in 2010. As for the latter, just more than 22% of those consumers said they spent more in 2011 than in 2010. The category which had the least amount of change, where consumers kept their spending steady, was Tennis Membership Fees, where 71% of those who spent money on tennis memberships in 2010 actually spent the same amount of money in 2011.
"It's not surprising that team sports had a big jump in spending because it means that parents are making the athletic needs of their children a high priority," said SGMA President Tom Cove. "Team sports are the heart and soul of athletic competition in the U.S."
It's worth noting that in seven of the 13 categories, more than 20% of the consumers from those various categories expect to spend more this year than in 2011.
"The growth and/or emergence of sports such as gymnastics, rugby, lacrosse, and field hockey are helping to fuel this spending," noted Cove.
Sports & Fitness Participation
The state of fitness and activity in the U.S. is an ever-changing situation. The good news is that 217 million Americans are considered 'active,' yet more than 68 million Americans are totally 'inactive' – for any number of reasons such as age, illness, little interest, lack of access to facilities, or minimal ability. Listed below are some of the other noteworthy facts and figures on sports participation in the U.S.
Group Fitness. Yoga, boot-camp style training, and class-based fitness classes are the main growth categories in the fitness industry.
Amazing But True. In 2011, 18-24 year-olds were more inactive than 25-34 year-olds and 35-44 year-olds.
Best in the West. Utah and Idaho are the two states with the highest rates of physical activity per capita.
Older and More Active. 'Baby Boomers' (those born between 1945 and 1964) are more interested in fitness activities and outdoor sports than Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1979).
Voters Are Active. Those who are physically active are more likely to vote in the Presidential elections this coming November than those who are not physically active.
E-Commerce Continues To Expand
According to WebScore Analytics, e-commerce sales in the U.S. for all industries in 2011 reached $185 billion, which was a 14% increase over sales in 2010. E-commerce sales are expected to reach $270 billion by 2015. In the U.S. sporting goods industry, e-commerce sales in 2011 were $2.1 billion and they are expected to reach $4.9 billion by 2015.
As a percentage of overall sporting goods industry sales in the U.S., e-commerce sales continue to play a bigger role. The percentages have continued to increase every year since 2006 – rising from 3.6% in 2006 to 6.2% in 2011.
"The increasing availability of mobile and tablet-type devices makes e-commerce purchases more possible and accessible," commented Cove.
Of the 91 industry leaders surveyed by SGMA, nearly 60% of the companies represented in the survey said they sell directly to the consumer. And, of those companies that do not sell direct to consumers, nearly 70% of them plan to start selling directly to consumers this year.
'Short Takes' & 'Snapshots'
The future of the entire sports, fitness, and recreation industry in the U.S. is filled with optimism based on the input from industry leaders:
- 84% of those surveyed by SGMA (manufacturers and retailers) are expecting domestic sales to increase in 2012 vs. 2011.
- 61% of those surveyed by SGMA (manufacturers and retailers) are expecting international sales to increase in 2012 vs. 2011.
- 40% of the manufacturers surveyed indicate they will need 'more manufacturing capacity' this year.
- 16% of the manufacturers surveyed said they planned to manufacture more products in the U.S. this year and 18% stated they planned to manufacture more products overseas.
Sports/Fitness Industry's Biggest Concerns
The five leading business concerns for the sporting goods and fitness industry in the U.S. are (1) increasing market share, (2) material cost/availability, (3) slower consumer spending, (4) product sourcing, and (5) lack of consumer confidence.
Olympic hours for Sunday shoppers - Westmidlands.com
Shopping centres will open for longer on Sundays throughout the summer to cash in on the Olympics as a boom in visitors is expected in the country, bosses revealed today.
The Bullring in Birmingham will open for an extra three hours during the Games. While the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Stafford and Merry Hill in Dudley will be open for two hours longer on Sundays.
Meanwhile, bosses at both the Mander Centre and the Wulfrun Centre in Wolverhampton today said they were also considering extending their opening hours.
The Government has relaxed the Sunday trading laws to help boost trade during the Olympics, when it is estimated more than one million people will visit the UK. Chancellor George Osborne first proposed emergency legislation so large shops in England and Wales can trade for more than six hours in his budget.
The laws have been suspended for eight weekends from July 22 during the Olympics and Paralympics.
At the Bullring, the weekday opening hours will remain the same but the centre will be opening longer on Sundays between July 29 and September 9, from 10am until 7pm, instead of 11am until 5pm.
While Merry Hill will be open between 10am and 6pm from July 22 and September 9, instead of 11am until 5pm.
Westfield, which owns the centre, says it will be running special events and hosting entertainment during the summer.
Centre manager Lucas Ross said: “Department stores and speciality stores will be open and we anticipate shoppers will love the extra flexibility to shop later on Sundays during this time.”
Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre director Nicholas Pitt said the venue was in discussions with tenants about extended opening hours.
He said: “We are looking at what can be done so our tenants can capitalise on trade. For some it might not make sense, depending on costs involved with remaining open. We hope to make an announcement in the next few days.”
The Guildhall Shopping Centre will be open between 9.30am and 5.30pm on Sundays from July 22, instead of 10.30am – 4.30pm.
Meanwhile, Wulfrun Centre bosses are expected to speak to traders about the possibility of extending opening hours today.
Queens Square Shopping Centre in West Bromwich will not be extending its opening hours.
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