Yahoo News The Apprentice 2012 Final predictions
Ricky Martin, Tom Gearing, Nick Holzherr and Jade Nash are the last remaining candidates in this year’s series of ‘The Apprentice’.
The final four will face the scolding interview process in Sunday night’s final and to be honest we don’t see any of them faring very well.
Tom and Nick have come across as a bit weak-minded so far and Tom’s also a bit naive. Neither are brimming with confidence - something the interviewers will smell on them a mile off. Ricky is more sure of himself but there’s a sense of insecurity about him that will be amplified for all to see in front of those searing eyes.
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Then there’s Jade, who may well fare quite well, but in the semi-final boardroom Adam and Nick did raise a point that brought with it some realisation. Jade hasn’t stood out much in the series at all.
She may well come out of nowhere to win the thing but does anyone know just how talented she is? She did well on the last task and has been vocal before but has never really stood out from the pack, only ever being just good enough to get by. Of course this didn’t mean she should be fired as the boys suggested in the semi-final, but there was a decent point in there.
In the interview stage it's fun to watch the remaining business monkeys squirm under pressure but as was proven with last year’s final, it all comes down to the pitches. Last year inventor Tom Pellereau was chosen despite an average performance and a bit of a rubbish proposal (they were all rubbish though really). So why did he win? Because he’s an inventor, and Sugar wanted to own his ideas.
Like the Stylfile... a curvy, err, nail file...
Good one Tom.
So when it comes to predicting a winner it’s all about how capable we believe the candidates are of producing something that Sugar would want to exploit for monetary gain.
Nick, being as tech-savvy as he is, could appeal to Sugar with something technically-minded. However Nick hasn’t spent much of the series under pressure, having done enough to save himself from the final three most weeks. He may crumble in the final.
The semi-final said a lot about Tom and Ricky. Their product range wasn’t inspired or particularly exciting, indicating a lack of ideas from both men. For Ricky (who doesn’t seem like much of an ideas man anyway) this could be a damning omen.
It’s been well established that Tom enjoys the finer things in life and doesn’t seem the type to get his hands dirty in a way that would appeal to Sugar. Also, his disastrous turn as project manager in the street art task may have left a lasting impression on the boss which, if true, may prove fatal if Tom falters. He does have the smarts to come up with something good, but it just comes down to whether or not he can convincingly sell the idea.
Finally there’s Jade, a Business Development Manager, a job which will work to her advantage. Sugar likes to be pitched ideas that are forward thinking and well thought-out. With this on her CV, Jade’s idea should at the very least have the latter going for it.
Lord Sugar wants his chosen pitch to last and last (totally unlike the Amstrad computer then) and Jade seems the most capable of providing the concept that appeals most to him.
The Prediction: It’ll be Jade or Tom. Jade with the better idea but Tom with the kind of smarts that Sugar may well want for his own. To choose one candidate outright, we’d go for Tom.
