Old crow stood on the roof.
And looked.
Eyes as nightmares
Stared far away
Not bird
But creature, aligned with fear
and shadows
And not one could guess
What he sees.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Crow
Old crow stood on the roof.
And looked.
Eyes as nightmares
Stared far away
Not bird
But creature, aligned with fear
and shadows
And not one could guess
What he sees.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
All Time Low - Manchester Academy 1
All Time Low
Academy
February 27, 2011
Happy-go-lucky radio- friendly pop punk has seen us through summer days since Blink 182 brought three chords and toilet humour to the fore.
Who’d have thought a decade later the same formula still works, even if the pants are tighter and the hair longer. And even in the cold northern winter, All Time Low had Academy 1 glowing, not to mention pogo-ing and generally going nuts.
These boys from Baltimore have experienced a quite ridiculous rise to fame, going from high school garage band to MTV sensations in a drum beat.
And it wasn’t hard to see why. As they shifted through tracks off their first two full-lengths, So Wrong It’s Right and Nothing Personal, they made the stage their own, seeming like seasoned professionals despite their youth.
From the veritable coat of bras adorning guitarist Jack Barakat’s mike stand to the ‘me & your mum’ sticker on the back of Zack Merrick’s bass, the sense of humour was as simple as the genre has ever been.
But lead singer/guitarist Alex Gaskarth has star quality and is the engine that makes the foursome tick. His voice is impressive and his stage presence undeniable.
Fan favourites such as Timebomb and Lost in Stereo had the young crowd going silly with excitement and Alex’s frequent and colourful vocal interactions with his audience stirred them up all the more.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Against Me interview with Andrew, from March 2006
On a cold, cold Thursday 16th March, Gainesville’s Against Me rolled their punk/folk/rock wagon into Manchester and played Academy 3. I caught up with bassist Andrew Seward before the show and avoided too much politics, too much major label, and too much planning.
Alex: So, Against Me: clearly you've got influences beyond four chord punk rock. There's a definite folky element to your music. What are your influences beyond punk?
Andrew: Well, our influences are broad. We love great music, as a blanket term. I like listening to Otis Reading, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan...we listen to a lot of passionate bands and they've all been an influence.
A: Do you think you manage to include all your major influences in the different areas of your music?
And: Yeah I like to think we achieve that. Like I said, most of our influences are just passionate artists.
A: I know Tom was doing solo acoustic material before Against Me. Does he still get a chance to do any of that?
And: It's always been Against Me even when it was just Tom. Tom still plays some songs on-stage by himself. To be honest Against Me is more a kind of community of people than a band!
A: And you've been through a few line-up changes...
And: Yeah we've had a few but it's been the same members for like four years now. But we do acoustic songs together on some records. It does happen.
A: Any plans for another acoustic album?
And: Not an acoustic album per se, strictly just acoustic tracks. We don't plan anything. On the new record there are a few songs where I play an upright A (acoustic double bass). Sometimes it comes out like that, sometimes we just plug in!
A: You've just signed to Sire Records. From the late 70s and into the 90s they've hosted great bands such as The Ramones, The Smiths and Talking Heads to name a few. Was this a factor in your choice to move to the label?
And: Oh one hundred percent. The guy who runs the label, Seymour Stein: the guy has good taste in music! To be on the same label as Dinosaur Jr, The Cure, and The Ramones as you said is just a little bit unreal. It's not sunk in yet. It is a big thing, it's a big label, but fuck it...we'll just roll with it.
A: Do you see yourself on the same level as bands like those mentioned?
We never planned to get big; the minute you plan on something like that I think you just shoot yourself in the foot. We never really think about that stuff, all we do is tour all the time, and if it gets bigger it gets bigger. If it doesn't, so be it.
A: What is it you think that Sire Records can do for you that maybe Fat Records couldn't?
And: Well it's not really what they can..(pauses to think)..OK, so they can offer a larger audience, they offer the opportunity for that. But they also offer a change. Because we do not like staying stagnant; we like going different places all the time and keeping it interesting for us. If it stops being interesting for us then there's no point. That sounds kind of selfish, but that's how it is.
A: No it's not selfish at all. But on the other hand, you say you don't like getting stagnant and you like change, but couldn't you achieve change within the boundaries of Fat Wreck?
And: I think we did in some way. A lot of people would turn up to our shows and just assume that we were going to sound like that typical Southern Californian style like Lagwagon and No Use For A Name etc. Not that there's anything wrong with those bands, but we don't sound anything like them. Fat has been doing a good job at expanding its sound, and that's great. It wasn't a mean break.
A: Do you ever feel like things are spinning out of your control when you're picked up on and signed by a major label? Is it hard to juggle your band ethics with your position?
And: No I don't think so. The thing about control is, everything is under our control. We wouldn't do anything if it took us out of the picture.
A: I suppose that's the major difference between a good move to a major and a bad one.
And: Exactly. We didn't just jump into this decision. Basically this (the decision process) has been going on for a long time and the ball was in our court. So we...
A: Took it and ran?
And: Yeah pretty much!
A: Now, many people actually like to describe your band as the saviours of punk..(Andrew pulls a face at this). How aware are you of this, and do you make an active step to pull punk in a certain direction or do you just do what you do? Thinking about it, based on the answers you've already given me I think it's fairly obvious you just do your own thing.
And: We do what we do, and we've never thought of ourselves as saviours of anything. I think if we did we'd be the most vain assholes imaginable!
A: Haha no of course, but do you think people look at you in a different light from other bands because of what you do?
And: I don't know. I think some people have said it and other people have latched onto it like it's a bad thing. All we want to do is play music and do a good job of it, and bring some fucking cheer to people across the world! I know that sounds cheesy.
A: It's a good aspiration.
And: We want people to go away from our shows with smiles on their faces instead of frowns.
A: Talking politics for a moment, do you think Bush's sceptical abilities as President are good for punk rock? After all, you've got to have something to hate.
And: Whenever the government is at its worst is the best time for punk rock. You've got Nixon, Reagan... But I almost feel sorry for George Bush in a way, and this will explain itself in a second: he's so stupid that it's not his fault. It's Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Ashcroft. They're the ones pulling the puppet strings. And they're harder to focus on.
A: It was a work of genius putting Condoleezza Rice's name as the chorus of a song. How did it come about?
And: Yeah that one just came about really quickly. We were in practise and said "yeah let's play this one really fast and just rock out" and it just came out. We just actually made a video to that song which will be out in about two weeks. That could get us into some...it's not going to get us into problems but it just might get us some feedback! I hope not though.
A: I interviewed Chris Wollard from Hot Water Music last year, and he was talking about how Gainesville was something of a melting pot of artistic expression, not just with music but in general. Was that an atmosphere that helped push the band when you were within that scene?
And: Well one of the things I'm sure Chris touched on is that a lot of kids go to Gainesville. The average age of our city is like 23 years old. A lot of people start bands and there's a lot of youthful energy there, and of course that helps.
A: A few questions from our own scene's local message board, mancpunkscene. Is Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy, a song from the demo that didn't make the new album, going to be recorded and released at some point?
And: What's the song called again?
A: It's called Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy. I've never heard of it myself, I don't know if that’s just a demo name or working title or something?
And: The thing is with the demo: none of the songs have names! Whoever stole those songs has named them. What was that one? Chop Chop?
A: Chop Chop/Ed Is Sexy.
And: I haven't got a clue.
A: Ed must have been the guy who stole it.
And: Yes, haha. If I heard it I could tell you. Some songs didn't sound right, but I'm sure it might make a future appearance somewhere.
A: Any plans for more songs with horns, such as 'Disco Before The Breakdown'?
And: Well 'Miami', the first song on the new record has horns in it. We don't have any plans as such for a full horn section in any songs. Generally how it works is someone will hear something in their head like a keyboard part or a horn part, and we'll make it happen. It might sometimes be a little pre-meditated but it's never like "We got to have horns in this song".
A: Have you ever felt the lyrics to 'Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong' have been misinterpreted as a drinking anthem rather than it carrying the meaning it was originally intended to?
And: Oh definitely. Their Tom's lyrics so I can only give my interpretation of it, but it's the story of his Grandma, and about his Grandpa dying. It's not a happy song although it may sound like that. I think it gets misunderstood, but people who are interested in the songs, they know what it's about.
A: So last question: If it all ended tomorrow, as these things do, what would you move onto?
And: Well I would have a smile on my face because I've already done more than I ever thought I would. Then I'd probably go home and sleep for about a month!
A: Thanks very much Andrew.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Fire
There is a fire that burns inside
The darkest corners of my mind
A fire that I can never stop
That needs no fuel to keep it hot
A fire that burns without regard
For payrise or company car
A fire that won't be quenched with tears
That burns and burns through all my years
And it was lit when I was young
I listened as that young man sung
I watched his anger fill the air
And felt it burn inside my head
Then as the heat boiled through my blood
Suddenly I understood
That this was only just the start
And then the flames engulfed my heart
And like that flame I’ll never stop
Don’t believe in growing up
Pension plans and cosy jobs
I’ll hit repeat until I drop.
There is a fire that burns inside
The darkest corners of my mind
A fire that I can never stop
That needs no fuel to keep it hot
A fire that burns without regard
For payrise or company car
A fire that won't be quenched with tears
That burns and burns through all my years
And it was lit when I was young
I listened as that young man sung
I watched his anger fill the air
And felt it burn inside my head
Then as the heat boiled through my blood
Suddenly I understood
That this was only just the start
And then the flames engulfed my heart
And like that flame I’ll never stop
Don’t believe in growing up
Pension plans and cosy jobs
I’ll hit repeat until I drop.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wet Leaves
I’d never considered leaves dangerous before around two weeks ago when I went straight on my arse down Parsonage Road.
The street leads to my house from Withington and is by it's very nature leafy. This in itself is nothing strange.
In fact, many of our country’s streets are lined with silent deciduous sentinels, patiently enduring the temperamental seasons, accepting fair and foul without complaint.
Autumn arrives and most trees die. I mean, not die, but they look like death. Dark and skeletal they become; lifeless, featureless husks, old as the year itself.
At their feet they shed their summer coat, by which I mean of course, their leaves. (deadly leaves?)
Wet autumn leaves remind me of the cornflakes in the bottom of your bowl, all stuck together, soggy and deeply unappealing.
The pavement along Parsonage Road is poorly maintained and my footwear was in hindsight completely inappropriate.
The Fred Perry pumps had been purchased enthusiastically, but were not intended as a working man’s shoe, and the feeble grids on the sole had capitulated long ago.
Surprisingly, considering I’m very tall and have a centre of gravity where most people’s head belongs, I don’t fall over often, and so it came as a huge shock to me.
As my right foot planted on a sideways incline in the uneven pathway, it lost all friction thanks to the aqueous foliage, and sliced violently across my left foot, taking that with it as it flew skywards and thus sending the opposite end of my body hurtling towards earth.
I’d been carrying shopping…
I landed on my right flank, my left hand and my right elbow all at once. My immediate thought was, “My tomatoes are on the floor,” but then I realised I was bleeding profusely from a cut on my hand.
The bleeding hand grabbed the tomatoes, and with my good hand clutching both shopping bags I hauled myself to my feet.
I HAD been seen. “Are you alright?” said this guy, a young guy, probably a student. He’d tell his flatmates about it when he got home and they’d have a laugh at my expense. That’s okay.
“Fine, thanks,” I replied, raising the bleeding hand a little in acknowledgement.
I wasn’t fine, I was in a lot of pain. Not like a woman in labour, or a soldier, but in a normal, everyday kind of a way. On the everyday pain scale it was an eight out of ten.
There’s nothing he could do about that though. Maybe give me a friendly hug or something, but that would have been awkward.
I stumbled the short distance home. I’ve got some new work shoes now, and I treat wet leaves like ice, bending my knees and walking slowly across them or walking on the road in order to avoid them altogether.
If you see me acting strangely around wet leaves, or cornflakes, hopefully you’ll be sympathetic.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Calicade – Done With City Point (review)
Calicade – Done With City Point
Self Released
Thanks to its grey skies and violent nightlife, Manchester has mainly spent the noughties developing a habit of producing raucous metal bands…just as one might expect from a city with a reputation for drug fuelled indie rock, I suppose.
Calicade, with their debut full length Done With City Point continue the trend to an extent, but there’s a bit more to their sound than the usual shout n’ thrash fare.
They sound accomplished musically, to the extent one could fairly compare their riffs to the complex chopping of Parkway Drive. But while the beast has a metal hide, its heart is hardcore, with Comeback Kid’s gutsy gang vibe seeping through.
Frontman Daniel Tetlow’s voice is somewhat unconventional for this family of music in that he produces more of a yell than a roar, giving him a distinctive, if slightly unstable quality. Sometimes it works well and offers a raw, unleashed feel to the band, although on occasional it seems like he’s straining to make himself heard in the mix.
Atmospheric breakdowns and interludes are nothing new in metalcore but Calicade perform them well, with ex-Pendleton drummer Jason Gough’s accomplished skin-thumping carrying the songs majestically along.
Another nice touch are the poppier overtones of the music. Again the odd earnest clean vocal amid the metal is something we’ve come to expect, but Calicade throw interesting, well though out slices of melody over their sound, a step up from the usual bleating Americanised smush.
The occasionally stereotypical and slightly repetitive nature of some of the tracks betrays the fact that there is still work to be done on this band, but for a first (and self-produced) album this very much suggests there is more to come from these boys.
Leave out the vocoder bit in the next album though, please!
Done With City Point will be released on Spotify and iTunes this month.
By Alex Phelan
Self Released
Thanks to its grey skies and violent nightlife, Manchester has mainly spent the noughties developing a habit of producing raucous metal bands…just as one might expect from a city with a reputation for drug fuelled indie rock, I suppose.
Calicade, with their debut full length Done With City Point continue the trend to an extent, but there’s a bit more to their sound than the usual shout n’ thrash fare.
They sound accomplished musically, to the extent one could fairly compare their riffs to the complex chopping of Parkway Drive. But while the beast has a metal hide, its heart is hardcore, with Comeback Kid’s gutsy gang vibe seeping through.
Frontman Daniel Tetlow’s voice is somewhat unconventional for this family of music in that he produces more of a yell than a roar, giving him a distinctive, if slightly unstable quality. Sometimes it works well and offers a raw, unleashed feel to the band, although on occasional it seems like he’s straining to make himself heard in the mix.
Atmospheric breakdowns and interludes are nothing new in metalcore but Calicade perform them well, with ex-Pendleton drummer Jason Gough’s accomplished skin-thumping carrying the songs majestically along.
Another nice touch are the poppier overtones of the music. Again the odd earnest clean vocal amid the metal is something we’ve come to expect, but Calicade throw interesting, well though out slices of melody over their sound, a step up from the usual bleating Americanised smush.
The occasionally stereotypical and slightly repetitive nature of some of the tracks betrays the fact that there is still work to be done on this band, but for a first (and self-produced) album this very much suggests there is more to come from these boys.
Leave out the vocoder bit in the next album though, please!
Done With City Point will be released on Spotify and iTunes this month.
By Alex Phelan
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Is United's Empire Crumbling?
Manchester United was, up until recently, a bastion of power in the Premiership.
It was the prevailing superpower and Sir Alex Ferguson its unshakable Churchillian leader. Suddenly a shadow has been cast over Old Trafford and even the clubs own fans, famous for their (justified) cockiness, seem increasingly concerned.
Debt has hung over the Red Devils in recent years, and while this in itself is not so strange (few top flight clubs are not in the red to some extent) owners the Glazer family’s problems seem to have become increasingly grave.
Recent reports suggest interest rates on the Glazer’s PIK debts have risen from 14.25 to 16.25 percent, and whilst chief executive David Gill maintains these are saddled with the Glazers themselves, Manchester United Supporters Club (MUST) have noted that a clause in the club’s recent refinancing exercise allows £95 million to be drawn from the club.
Duncan Drasco, chairman of MUST, said: "We believe in the next 12 months accounts will start to show them taking even more money out of our club.
"They have already wasted more on interest and fees than the total sum of all season ticket money paid by every supporter in their entire five-year ownership.”
Speaking of which, season tickets are another matter for concern. Only 51,800 of the club’s 54,000 sales target has been achieved this season, this despite a price freeze. The fact the club chose not to increase prices, as in recent consecutive seasons, suggests Manchester United knew trouble was ahead. Gill has maintained that in the current financial climate they can expect to take a hit, but rivals Chelsea, Manchester City, Spurs and notably Arsenal, with their stadium of comparable size, have all sold out of season tickets. Plus, weren’t we in a recession last year?
Another issue putting Mancunian noses out of joint is the failure to significantly strengthen the team over the summer. Despite a commendable campaign last season the squad has never recovered from the loss of Ronaldo and Tevez.
Giggs and Scholes continue to perform but at their age won’t play every week, and the likes of Gibson and Obertan simply do not bare comparison. The fact that Ferguson seems to constantly rotate his midfield, with Fletcher being the only ever-present, may come across as a display of squad depth, but equally suggests a lack of confidence.
Mexican prodigy Hernandez has been touted as a coup, the unique discovery who will propel the club back to the top, but few can predict how he will fair in the demanding Premier League, himself being very young and inexperienced.
Meanwhile, at the back, Chris Smalling has been added but again he is a player for the future and his real potential still has a big question mark over it. Johnny Evans does not yet look like Ferdinand’s replacement, and Ferdinand himself has developed chronic injury problems. Van Der Sar is still a world class keeper but at 40 years old this could easily be his last season.
Elsewhere, Manchester United players are making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Portuguese acquisition Bebe was previously in the news as Sir Alex had supposedly never seen him play. Most managers will probably read that and tell you it happens more than you think, and that’s why they have highly paid scouts.
However the plot thickened when reports came through of the forward being pulled from training sessions due to lack of fitness (despite having played 6 pre-season matches in Portugal) and subsequently not making the cut for the Champions League squad.
For midfielder Owen Hargreaves, further treatment seems like a delaying of inevitable retirement. He suffered a relapse in his ongoing knee problem this summer, which renowned surgeon Dr Richard Steadman has described as the worst tendinitis he has seen in his 35 year career.
Sir Alex Ferguson has always been synonymous with everything about Manchester United; drive, devotion, and bullishness are all words that could describe both club and manager. But, as if unable to separate from the plight of his employers, the great Fergy has recently dampened his reputation.
A petty and costly quibble with the BBC is the last thing the club needs at the moment, but the Scotsman’s six year boycott of the channel now contravenes new Premier League rules, and will lead to fines and perhaps further punishment if it should continue.
Apart from success, Manchester United have consistently silenced their doubters over the years. If they do not on this occasion, we could be witnessing the beginning of the end of a footballing empire’s golden era.
It was the prevailing superpower and Sir Alex Ferguson its unshakable Churchillian leader. Suddenly a shadow has been cast over Old Trafford and even the clubs own fans, famous for their (justified) cockiness, seem increasingly concerned.
Debt has hung over the Red Devils in recent years, and while this in itself is not so strange (few top flight clubs are not in the red to some extent) owners the Glazer family’s problems seem to have become increasingly grave.
Recent reports suggest interest rates on the Glazer’s PIK debts have risen from 14.25 to 16.25 percent, and whilst chief executive David Gill maintains these are saddled with the Glazers themselves, Manchester United Supporters Club (MUST) have noted that a clause in the club’s recent refinancing exercise allows £95 million to be drawn from the club.
Duncan Drasco, chairman of MUST, said: "We believe in the next 12 months accounts will start to show them taking even more money out of our club.
"They have already wasted more on interest and fees than the total sum of all season ticket money paid by every supporter in their entire five-year ownership.”
Speaking of which, season tickets are another matter for concern. Only 51,800 of the club’s 54,000 sales target has been achieved this season, this despite a price freeze. The fact the club chose not to increase prices, as in recent consecutive seasons, suggests Manchester United knew trouble was ahead. Gill has maintained that in the current financial climate they can expect to take a hit, but rivals Chelsea, Manchester City, Spurs and notably Arsenal, with their stadium of comparable size, have all sold out of season tickets. Plus, weren’t we in a recession last year?
Another issue putting Mancunian noses out of joint is the failure to significantly strengthen the team over the summer. Despite a commendable campaign last season the squad has never recovered from the loss of Ronaldo and Tevez.
Giggs and Scholes continue to perform but at their age won’t play every week, and the likes of Gibson and Obertan simply do not bare comparison. The fact that Ferguson seems to constantly rotate his midfield, with Fletcher being the only ever-present, may come across as a display of squad depth, but equally suggests a lack of confidence.
Mexican prodigy Hernandez has been touted as a coup, the unique discovery who will propel the club back to the top, but few can predict how he will fair in the demanding Premier League, himself being very young and inexperienced.
Meanwhile, at the back, Chris Smalling has been added but again he is a player for the future and his real potential still has a big question mark over it. Johnny Evans does not yet look like Ferdinand’s replacement, and Ferdinand himself has developed chronic injury problems. Van Der Sar is still a world class keeper but at 40 years old this could easily be his last season.
Elsewhere, Manchester United players are making the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Portuguese acquisition Bebe was previously in the news as Sir Alex had supposedly never seen him play. Most managers will probably read that and tell you it happens more than you think, and that’s why they have highly paid scouts.
However the plot thickened when reports came through of the forward being pulled from training sessions due to lack of fitness (despite having played 6 pre-season matches in Portugal) and subsequently not making the cut for the Champions League squad.
For midfielder Owen Hargreaves, further treatment seems like a delaying of inevitable retirement. He suffered a relapse in his ongoing knee problem this summer, which renowned surgeon Dr Richard Steadman has described as the worst tendinitis he has seen in his 35 year career.
Sir Alex Ferguson has always been synonymous with everything about Manchester United; drive, devotion, and bullishness are all words that could describe both club and manager. But, as if unable to separate from the plight of his employers, the great Fergy has recently dampened his reputation.
A petty and costly quibble with the BBC is the last thing the club needs at the moment, but the Scotsman’s six year boycott of the channel now contravenes new Premier League rules, and will lead to fines and perhaps further punishment if it should continue.
Apart from success, Manchester United have consistently silenced their doubters over the years. If they do not on this occasion, we could be witnessing the beginning of the end of a footballing empire’s golden era.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Liverpool's Dying Core
Jose Mourinho commented this week that Liverpool FC have been in progressive state of decline since 2004.
This is a silly thing to say, because in 2009 their final position in the Premiership table was second, only four points shy of title winners Manchester United. That was their highest finish since 2002 when they were runners up to Arsenal.
In 2004, the year Mourinho cites as their recent zenith, they finished 4th and trophy-less, and despite winning the Champions League the following season they fell to 5th in the league. Since then: 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd….7th.
Hang on, apart from last year you could be forgiven for thinking they’ve made considerable progress here. Never in the nineties did they so consistently figure amongst the elite of the top four. Last season’s theatrical implosion went against the grain didn’t it?
Whilst it’s definitely fair to say that the overall quality and amount of stars in the squad has depleted under the tight pockets of Hicks and Gillett, Benitez was a good enough manager to make the most of his limited resources.
Comparisons to her peers show Liverpool’s squad to be desperately lacking in depth over recent years and it’s a wonder that the cracks didn’t start to show much sooner. The Kop owes a great debt to the Spaniard.
The real problem Liverpool faces today is that it has all of a sudden lost its core, and in a fast, physical league you need that or else you will struggle.
Lampard and Essien, Scholes and Fletcher, Fabregas and Song....a strong core means two world class players which the rest of the team can rotate around and depend upon. Neither player is a defender or an attacker but together they can perform both roles whilst always finding teammates with that all important pass.
In 2009 the superb Alonso left Liverpool for Madrid and was never replaced. Half the core was gone and the following season they became a mid-table team.
On Monday they faced Sheik Mansour’s mega-spenders Manchester City, themselves gifted a core so potent and capable it is quite terrifying. De Jong, Barry, Yaya Toure and Milner all feature.
Mascherano’s head had been turned by Barcelona…he didn’t play and Liverpool were left with Lucas and Gerrard in the engine room. The former is a hard worker but not skilled or imaginative enough to rely upon so heavily. The latter has become an attacking player in recent times, and was quickly found out by the opposition having been asked to switch duties.
With the current owners seemingly unwilling to sell the club and everyone else unwilling to bid, Liverpool’s cashflow problems don’t look set to improve, and new manager Roy Hodgson has his work cut out if he is to even match the consistency Benitez somehow achieved.
Meanwhile, key striker Torres has been seemingly operating at fifty percent capacity since mid way through last season. Joe Cole seems a decent signing and his attacking presence will allow Gerrard to become re-accustomed to a central role, but this transition will take time, and when the captain inevitably picks up an injury then the wheels will unfortunately and completely fall off for Liverpool.
This is a silly thing to say, because in 2009 their final position in the Premiership table was second, only four points shy of title winners Manchester United. That was their highest finish since 2002 when they were runners up to Arsenal.
In 2004, the year Mourinho cites as their recent zenith, they finished 4th and trophy-less, and despite winning the Champions League the following season they fell to 5th in the league. Since then: 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd….7th.
Hang on, apart from last year you could be forgiven for thinking they’ve made considerable progress here. Never in the nineties did they so consistently figure amongst the elite of the top four. Last season’s theatrical implosion went against the grain didn’t it?
Whilst it’s definitely fair to say that the overall quality and amount of stars in the squad has depleted under the tight pockets of Hicks and Gillett, Benitez was a good enough manager to make the most of his limited resources.
Comparisons to her peers show Liverpool’s squad to be desperately lacking in depth over recent years and it’s a wonder that the cracks didn’t start to show much sooner. The Kop owes a great debt to the Spaniard.
The real problem Liverpool faces today is that it has all of a sudden lost its core, and in a fast, physical league you need that or else you will struggle.
Lampard and Essien, Scholes and Fletcher, Fabregas and Song....a strong core means two world class players which the rest of the team can rotate around and depend upon. Neither player is a defender or an attacker but together they can perform both roles whilst always finding teammates with that all important pass.
In 2009 the superb Alonso left Liverpool for Madrid and was never replaced. Half the core was gone and the following season they became a mid-table team.
On Monday they faced Sheik Mansour’s mega-spenders Manchester City, themselves gifted a core so potent and capable it is quite terrifying. De Jong, Barry, Yaya Toure and Milner all feature.
Mascherano’s head had been turned by Barcelona…he didn’t play and Liverpool were left with Lucas and Gerrard in the engine room. The former is a hard worker but not skilled or imaginative enough to rely upon so heavily. The latter has become an attacking player in recent times, and was quickly found out by the opposition having been asked to switch duties.
With the current owners seemingly unwilling to sell the club and everyone else unwilling to bid, Liverpool’s cashflow problems don’t look set to improve, and new manager Roy Hodgson has his work cut out if he is to even match the consistency Benitez somehow achieved.
Meanwhile, key striker Torres has been seemingly operating at fifty percent capacity since mid way through last season. Joe Cole seems a decent signing and his attacking presence will allow Gerrard to become re-accustomed to a central role, but this transition will take time, and when the captain inevitably picks up an injury then the wheels will unfortunately and completely fall off for Liverpool.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
My letter of complaint to ITV.
Dear ITV,
I've restrained myself from writing to you for as long as possible, but I can no longer contain my frustrations at the appalling manner with which your chief World Cup commentary duo of Peter Drury and Jim Beglin have conducted themselves throughout this tournament.
The final straw came during today's match between Italy and Slovakia when, upon the referee whistling for the end of the game, Drury chose to announce that the careers of Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro and manager Marcello Lippi had just been "terminated".
Given that we are talking here about two of the most decorated and well respected figures in both Italian and World football, I don't think it is unfair to accuse Drury of being both embarrassingly theatrical and completely out of line.
But this was simply the latest in a series of symbolically unprofessional performances from your football mouths, and it is Drury himself who above all others who leaves me and all my friends and colleagues aghast - how such a hideous man be employed as someone the audience wants, NEEDS to actually relate to?
All he wants is a soundbite! He wants to be Kenneth Wolstenholme.........I am completely certain that if Rooney were to be storming goalwards when we were already 3-2 up against the Germans on Sunday he would actually started saying, "They think it's all over!!" His egomaniacal sensibilities are revolting. Never can he simply allow the match unfolding before him to flourish and paint its own picture, framed by informative and relevant comments (something which the BBC manage on at least a far more consistent basis than ITV can even dream of).
He INSISTS upon leaving his imprint by babbling hysterically some kind of interminable claptrap that he hopes will be played over and over on future re-runs, allowing him to cross his arms and crease his face with the smuggest of grins. How selfish, how hideous! This isn't about any one player, or any one team, or any one nation.......it's about the whole world coming together and celebrating the beautiful game. So it's definitely not about one commentator (and even more definitely not about an absolutely terrible one).
Beglin is shocking as well but to be quite frank you must have been told that so many times by so many people that it goes without saying.
I sincerely hope you've received many more complaints like this one, so that maybe, just maybe you'll consider ousting that ridiculous man from his position.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Phelan, Manchester.
I've restrained myself from writing to you for as long as possible, but I can no longer contain my frustrations at the appalling manner with which your chief World Cup commentary duo of Peter Drury and Jim Beglin have conducted themselves throughout this tournament.
The final straw came during today's match between Italy and Slovakia when, upon the referee whistling for the end of the game, Drury chose to announce that the careers of Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro and manager Marcello Lippi had just been "terminated".
Given that we are talking here about two of the most decorated and well respected figures in both Italian and World football, I don't think it is unfair to accuse Drury of being both embarrassingly theatrical and completely out of line.
But this was simply the latest in a series of symbolically unprofessional performances from your football mouths, and it is Drury himself who above all others who leaves me and all my friends and colleagues aghast - how such a hideous man be employed as someone the audience wants, NEEDS to actually relate to?
All he wants is a soundbite! He wants to be Kenneth Wolstenholme.........I am completely certain that if Rooney were to be storming goalwards when we were already 3-2 up against the Germans on Sunday he would actually started saying, "They think it's all over!!" His egomaniacal sensibilities are revolting. Never can he simply allow the match unfolding before him to flourish and paint its own picture, framed by informative and relevant comments (something which the BBC manage on at least a far more consistent basis than ITV can even dream of).
He INSISTS upon leaving his imprint by babbling hysterically some kind of interminable claptrap that he hopes will be played over and over on future re-runs, allowing him to cross his arms and crease his face with the smuggest of grins. How selfish, how hideous! This isn't about any one player, or any one team, or any one nation.......it's about the whole world coming together and celebrating the beautiful game. So it's definitely not about one commentator (and even more definitely not about an absolutely terrible one).
Beglin is shocking as well but to be quite frank you must have been told that so many times by so many people that it goes without saying.
I sincerely hope you've received many more complaints like this one, so that maybe, just maybe you'll consider ousting that ridiculous man from his position.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Phelan, Manchester.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wenger's Wrongs
Stubborn people are hugely frustrating. As a stubborn person myself, I have observed my friends’ faces drop with exasperation as I again dismiss their solid, well thought out argument rather than at least partly entertain it.
This trait, along with a love of late-renaissance Italian loft conversions, I share with Arsene Wenger.
He’d rather fail than change. After all, how could he be wrong? He’s studied at great length every league in Europe from the bottom to the top every day of his life since he was three and a half, has a PhD in footballology and listens to re-runs of radio commentary from Ligue 3 games through headphones whilst sleeping in an oxygen chamber.
He is the Einstein of football, a sporting scientist to the purist, most devoted degree. If football had a bible, he’d burn it.
So maybe it’s Faith he’s missing.
Some things cannot be explained, and are not always what they seem. Space, deep sea ocean life, the hidden functions of the brain, and female intuition: these are just a few examples.
Wenger has the following theory:
RVP x Cesc / 4-3-3 + Nasri squared = the square root of Arshavin
Now if we count ‘RVP’ as 1 and ‘Nasri’ as the provider of the assist, then Arsenal should, obviously, win every match they play. But they don’t.
This is because football is played by humans, creatures far too complicated to apply logic and scientific reasoning to.
Psychology, Wenger’s least favourite subject at school, also has its part to play, as well as certain other truths rooted in common law, dismissed from Wenger’s progressive school of thought for being ‘too boring’. Par example:
“If one man should jump at the same thyme a fellow man should jump, and the first man is taller, it is the first who’s forehead glances the leathersphere toward the onion bag…………so sayeth the Lord. Amen.”
Let’s apply some common truths and psychology to Arsenal.
Truths
1. If you don’t shoot, you won’t score.
2. If you don’t stay goal side, you can’t defend.
3. If you can’t beat your man in the air, he will get to the ball first.
4. If they always beat their man in the air, your team won’t score headers.
5. If you can’t beat the first man with a cross, don’t bother trying.
Psychology
1. If they score first, it makes the game twice as hard, never let that happen.
2. If your defenders have no faith in their keeper, they will lose confidence in themselves.
3. If your midfield has no confidence in your defence, they will lose confidence in themselves.
4. If your strikers have no confidence in the midfield, they will have no confidence in themselves.
5. If you’re 28 and five foot nothing, and have to constantly try and create space by running like a madman the entire game only to ultimately be barged off the ball by two great hulking defenders who are watching you like a hawk, it’s going to make your head drop.
More could be applied. The point is Wenger has to look beyond the factors that come up in sour-faced post match interviews.
It wasn’t so much the second goal that defeated us as the first. We weren’t concentrating on the first ball into the box but apart from that we played well. They played a physical game and marked our players well.
Do those phrases sound like something you need a PhD in footballology to work out?
No. Because they’re chop-smackingly OBVIOUS.
Remember that Chris Rock sketch about mothers who say, “I look afta ma kids!” and Chris’ response is, “YOU’RE SUPPOSE TA!”
Well Wenger, “YOU’RE SUPPOSE TA!”
Your team is supposed to always concentrate, always make life difficult for the players who are supposed to be marking them, suppose to take their chances, defend corners and complete crosses. These are the basics and Arsenal are in the top class doing advanced studies alongside clever kids like Barcelona, when they’re still struggling with their ten times table.
I love this team and their manager, and I know we can be successful again….but how I wish Wenger knew the solution to his problems is as plain as the nose on his face.
This trait, along with a love of late-renaissance Italian loft conversions, I share with Arsene Wenger.
He’d rather fail than change. After all, how could he be wrong? He’s studied at great length every league in Europe from the bottom to the top every day of his life since he was three and a half, has a PhD in footballology and listens to re-runs of radio commentary from Ligue 3 games through headphones whilst sleeping in an oxygen chamber.
He is the Einstein of football, a sporting scientist to the purist, most devoted degree. If football had a bible, he’d burn it.
So maybe it’s Faith he’s missing.
Some things cannot be explained, and are not always what they seem. Space, deep sea ocean life, the hidden functions of the brain, and female intuition: these are just a few examples.
Wenger has the following theory:
RVP x Cesc / 4-3-3 + Nasri squared = the square root of Arshavin
Now if we count ‘RVP’ as 1 and ‘Nasri’ as the provider of the assist, then Arsenal should, obviously, win every match they play. But they don’t.
This is because football is played by humans, creatures far too complicated to apply logic and scientific reasoning to.
Psychology, Wenger’s least favourite subject at school, also has its part to play, as well as certain other truths rooted in common law, dismissed from Wenger’s progressive school of thought for being ‘too boring’. Par example:
“If one man should jump at the same thyme a fellow man should jump, and the first man is taller, it is the first who’s forehead glances the leathersphere toward the onion bag…………so sayeth the Lord. Amen.”
Let’s apply some common truths and psychology to Arsenal.
Truths
1. If you don’t shoot, you won’t score.
2. If you don’t stay goal side, you can’t defend.
3. If you can’t beat your man in the air, he will get to the ball first.
4. If they always beat their man in the air, your team won’t score headers.
5. If you can’t beat the first man with a cross, don’t bother trying.
Psychology
1. If they score first, it makes the game twice as hard, never let that happen.
2. If your defenders have no faith in their keeper, they will lose confidence in themselves.
3. If your midfield has no confidence in your defence, they will lose confidence in themselves.
4. If your strikers have no confidence in the midfield, they will have no confidence in themselves.
5. If you’re 28 and five foot nothing, and have to constantly try and create space by running like a madman the entire game only to ultimately be barged off the ball by two great hulking defenders who are watching you like a hawk, it’s going to make your head drop.
More could be applied. The point is Wenger has to look beyond the factors that come up in sour-faced post match interviews.
It wasn’t so much the second goal that defeated us as the first. We weren’t concentrating on the first ball into the box but apart from that we played well. They played a physical game and marked our players well.
Do those phrases sound like something you need a PhD in footballology to work out?
No. Because they’re chop-smackingly OBVIOUS.
Remember that Chris Rock sketch about mothers who say, “I look afta ma kids!” and Chris’ response is, “YOU’RE SUPPOSE TA!”
Well Wenger, “YOU’RE SUPPOSE TA!”
Your team is supposed to always concentrate, always make life difficult for the players who are supposed to be marking them, suppose to take their chances, defend corners and complete crosses. These are the basics and Arsenal are in the top class doing advanced studies alongside clever kids like Barcelona, when they’re still struggling with their ten times table.
I love this team and their manager, and I know we can be successful again….but how I wish Wenger knew the solution to his problems is as plain as the nose on his face.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The January Transfer Window!
The January Transfer Window (JTW) has, like the last day of her big sister summer’s existence, promised much and delivered little. Hyped and anticipated as a period of transition and change it has delivered uncertainty, confusion and tedium.
Manchester City were hotly anticipated to spend as frivolously as ever, yet having at time of writing just about wrapped up the capture of Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan, they have announced no more players will come or go.
Whilst in one sense it is reassuring that despite their resources they are not throwing money around, Mancini’s choice seems bizarre. Vieira is 33, out of form and out of favour in Italy.
City already have De Jong, one of the success stories of the season, protecting their back four, a job which Kompany can also handle comfortably.
“B….but…”, City splutter, “He won titles with Arsenal, Juventus (kind of) and Inter, and he’s got loads of experience! And he worked under Mancini once already!”
All true. But what does it mean now? Arsenal are a whisper away from second place in the Premiership with a squad which, compared to City, are complete rookies.
Yes experience is important, but you can’t measure it out in the same way as talent. “Vieira may not have the speed and ability of Messi, but he’s got experience!” Wow, put me down for three please.
Talking of Arsenal, how I dread this times. Wenger won’t even allow us to dream, snaffling out any pesky rumours of us signing a star forward with a weary, “I like the player, but we could not sign him,” followed by a shrug.
Instead he drags long term targets around like a pretty drunk girl staggering across the dancefloor, dragging her expensive coat through beer and sick and trying to find the door.
She makes occasional smiles and signals which the rest of us lap up gleefully, convinced something incredible is going to happen, and then she just ends up stuffing a number just about containing six zeroes in your pocket and getting a taxi, and we have to wait three years before Nasri hits form.
Fergy behaves admirably at these times, signing the one or two players he wants quickly and smoothly and then shutting the fuck up about it. He allows the papers to speculate and gesticulate wildly and gets on with doing his job. United will sign no one during JTW’s visit.
Chelsea always seem to be the side that the great and good of European football want to go to. Other English teams are too English, like gravy and mining, apart from Arsenal who don’t have any money.
If they manage to get Sergio Aguero, they’ll have done well. He’s young, seems like a lovely lad by all accounts and he can’t half kick a football. But Chelsea have the resources to win the league this season and Ancelotti, a man who does not seem like he tolerates many fools let alone the JTW, knows this.
So what else? Benitez has shown yet again that he is a terrible businessman by selling another flop at a big loss, this time the blundering Andrea Dossena. These kind of actions leave the Spaniard with 10p and half a polo to spend, which they will use to purchase Maxi Rodriguez from Athletico Madrid.
Alex McLeish has been handed a king’s ransom with which to bolster Birmingham City’s title push, and the Scot has, in his wisdom, deemed Darren Bent’s understudy Kenwyn Jones worthy of 11 of these millions. Blimey.
Old man Redknapp has managed to keep his massive jowly mouth surprisingly shut so far but it can only be a matter of time before he starts grooming someone like Matthew Upson on the internet, asking if he’d like to take off his kit and put on Uncle Harry’s special white shirt.
Martin O’Neill is too worried about players leaving to sign anyone. He is an excitable, slightly edgy Irish man and it’s very important that he keeps his squad together. Aston Villa will do fine this season.
Roy Hodgson is a sensible man who manages a sensible football club, and he seems to have made the most sensible signing of anyone so far, bringing in 20 year old Roma striker Stefano Okaka which just seems like a good move, even though I have not a clue who the guy is. He won’t cost very much and he’ll do the business won’t he.
It’s very late, but there’s just enough time to point out that Goal 7, the seventh in the popular football film series, is out now on JTW pictures, starring Landon Donovan as the American footballer who signs on loan to Everton and finds love, goals, and a crippling grit and gas crisis.
Wrap up warm!
AP
Manchester City were hotly anticipated to spend as frivolously as ever, yet having at time of writing just about wrapped up the capture of Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan, they have announced no more players will come or go.
Whilst in one sense it is reassuring that despite their resources they are not throwing money around, Mancini’s choice seems bizarre. Vieira is 33, out of form and out of favour in Italy.
City already have De Jong, one of the success stories of the season, protecting their back four, a job which Kompany can also handle comfortably.
“B….but…”, City splutter, “He won titles with Arsenal, Juventus (kind of) and Inter, and he’s got loads of experience! And he worked under Mancini once already!”
All true. But what does it mean now? Arsenal are a whisper away from second place in the Premiership with a squad which, compared to City, are complete rookies.
Yes experience is important, but you can’t measure it out in the same way as talent. “Vieira may not have the speed and ability of Messi, but he’s got experience!” Wow, put me down for three please.
Talking of Arsenal, how I dread this times. Wenger won’t even allow us to dream, snaffling out any pesky rumours of us signing a star forward with a weary, “I like the player, but we could not sign him,” followed by a shrug.
Instead he drags long term targets around like a pretty drunk girl staggering across the dancefloor, dragging her expensive coat through beer and sick and trying to find the door.
She makes occasional smiles and signals which the rest of us lap up gleefully, convinced something incredible is going to happen, and then she just ends up stuffing a number just about containing six zeroes in your pocket and getting a taxi, and we have to wait three years before Nasri hits form.
Fergy behaves admirably at these times, signing the one or two players he wants quickly and smoothly and then shutting the fuck up about it. He allows the papers to speculate and gesticulate wildly and gets on with doing his job. United will sign no one during JTW’s visit.
Chelsea always seem to be the side that the great and good of European football want to go to. Other English teams are too English, like gravy and mining, apart from Arsenal who don’t have any money.
If they manage to get Sergio Aguero, they’ll have done well. He’s young, seems like a lovely lad by all accounts and he can’t half kick a football. But Chelsea have the resources to win the league this season and Ancelotti, a man who does not seem like he tolerates many fools let alone the JTW, knows this.
So what else? Benitez has shown yet again that he is a terrible businessman by selling another flop at a big loss, this time the blundering Andrea Dossena. These kind of actions leave the Spaniard with 10p and half a polo to spend, which they will use to purchase Maxi Rodriguez from Athletico Madrid.
Alex McLeish has been handed a king’s ransom with which to bolster Birmingham City’s title push, and the Scot has, in his wisdom, deemed Darren Bent’s understudy Kenwyn Jones worthy of 11 of these millions. Blimey.
Old man Redknapp has managed to keep his massive jowly mouth surprisingly shut so far but it can only be a matter of time before he starts grooming someone like Matthew Upson on the internet, asking if he’d like to take off his kit and put on Uncle Harry’s special white shirt.
Martin O’Neill is too worried about players leaving to sign anyone. He is an excitable, slightly edgy Irish man and it’s very important that he keeps his squad together. Aston Villa will do fine this season.
Roy Hodgson is a sensible man who manages a sensible football club, and he seems to have made the most sensible signing of anyone so far, bringing in 20 year old Roma striker Stefano Okaka which just seems like a good move, even though I have not a clue who the guy is. He won’t cost very much and he’ll do the business won’t he.
It’s very late, but there’s just enough time to point out that Goal 7, the seventh in the popular football film series, is out now on JTW pictures, starring Landon Donovan as the American footballer who signs on loan to Everton and finds love, goals, and a crippling grit and gas crisis.
Wrap up warm!
AP
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Title Race - Balancing Quality with Belief
What an odd weekend!
For as long as anyone can remember football’s talking heads have sat scratching their chins, philosophising about the psychological aspect of the game and how much confidence affects a result.
As an Arsenal fan I cringe when we lose and an ex-player or sympathetic pundit puts a clumsy defeat down to ‘a lack of confidence’.
I mean for chrissakes. These are athletes who are the best of the best of the best. Of the hundreds of millions of young men who play football week in week out, they are in the top 500 bracket.
Confidence shouldn’t even be a factor anymore; if you get that far and still don’t believe in yourself, there’s something very wrong with you.
Well at least, that’s what I thought until I witnessed Chelsea’s self belief crumble, as their previously watertight defence conceded nine goals in three games.
A side so bullishly self-assured choked in an unlikely sequence of fixtures: embarrassed by Blackburn, defeated by vulnerable Man City, frustrated by lowly Apoel Nicosia and stumped by struggling Everton.
It’s difficult to put such dips in form down to tactical error or lapses in concentration when your team is topping the league, undefeated in Europe. A poor result can be carried by the mightiest club like a wound, a chink in the armour exploited.
Or it can be shrugged off, as Manchester United have historically done so astutely, and accepted as a brief lapse before full focus it placed on victory in the next game, an immediate return to glory.
Perhaps it is testament to how long United’s players have spent together that they possess such resilience. Who would bet against them putting Wolves to the sword midweek, quenching the frustration of defeat by raining goals on the away end?
Chelsea’s squad is certainly very familiar with itself, but they have a new manager now and are still learning how to be Ancellotti’s Chelsea, diamonds and all.
Arsenal has suffered from continuous transition in recent years and seem to be settling into themselves finally.
Any step backwards has been followed by two steps forwards, and the team’s response to Wenger’s half time dressing-down at Anfield confirms the emergence of that elusive backbone so long sought after.
Meanwhile, despite having a huge squad and a midfield to die for, Spurs still don’t actually believe that they really could challenge for the title (they really could) and followed their astonishing obliteration of Wigan with two draws and a defeat.
On the basis of quality alone Chelsea will win the league, but on the balance of quality and self-belief then it will be United.
If the other contenders can tip the scales in their favour we could have a very interesting title run-in, in a league which is wide open like never before.
Enjoy the mid-week games.
AP
For as long as anyone can remember football’s talking heads have sat scratching their chins, philosophising about the psychological aspect of the game and how much confidence affects a result.
As an Arsenal fan I cringe when we lose and an ex-player or sympathetic pundit puts a clumsy defeat down to ‘a lack of confidence’.
I mean for chrissakes. These are athletes who are the best of the best of the best. Of the hundreds of millions of young men who play football week in week out, they are in the top 500 bracket.
Confidence shouldn’t even be a factor anymore; if you get that far and still don’t believe in yourself, there’s something very wrong with you.
Well at least, that’s what I thought until I witnessed Chelsea’s self belief crumble, as their previously watertight defence conceded nine goals in three games.
A side so bullishly self-assured choked in an unlikely sequence of fixtures: embarrassed by Blackburn, defeated by vulnerable Man City, frustrated by lowly Apoel Nicosia and stumped by struggling Everton.
It’s difficult to put such dips in form down to tactical error or lapses in concentration when your team is topping the league, undefeated in Europe. A poor result can be carried by the mightiest club like a wound, a chink in the armour exploited.
Or it can be shrugged off, as Manchester United have historically done so astutely, and accepted as a brief lapse before full focus it placed on victory in the next game, an immediate return to glory.
Perhaps it is testament to how long United’s players have spent together that they possess such resilience. Who would bet against them putting Wolves to the sword midweek, quenching the frustration of defeat by raining goals on the away end?
Chelsea’s squad is certainly very familiar with itself, but they have a new manager now and are still learning how to be Ancellotti’s Chelsea, diamonds and all.
Arsenal has suffered from continuous transition in recent years and seem to be settling into themselves finally.
Any step backwards has been followed by two steps forwards, and the team’s response to Wenger’s half time dressing-down at Anfield confirms the emergence of that elusive backbone so long sought after.
Meanwhile, despite having a huge squad and a midfield to die for, Spurs still don’t actually believe that they really could challenge for the title (they really could) and followed their astonishing obliteration of Wigan with two draws and a defeat.
On the basis of quality alone Chelsea will win the league, but on the balance of quality and self-belief then it will be United.
If the other contenders can tip the scales in their favour we could have a very interesting title run-in, in a league which is wide open like never before.
Enjoy the mid-week games.
AP
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Defeat - Introspection - Improvement - Success
ON SUNDAY afternoon, Didier Drogba dispatched a perfectly flighted free kick into the corner of Almunia’s net and sealed a victory which brought Arsenal’s latest weakness into cold focus.
Before the game, I’d been preparing a blog entry centred on the Gunner’s physical shortcomings. I was going to make a detailed comparison between the stature of the Invincibles squad 03/04 and the current team, and point out why this meant we lose matches like the game against Sunderland the previous weekend (which I didn’t even watch!) and why we’d struggle against Chelsea.
But having observed our defeat against the Blues I realised I’d got it wrong…or more accurately, only got it 15% right.
We did very little wrong in terms of our performance. We passed well, kept possession convincingly and physically held our own. Song looks increasingly like a Mascherano figure, an excellent ball-winner with superb distributional skills. Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson and Arshavin are all fighters and put paid to the flimsy argument that we are a soft team.
All three of the goals scored against us were undeniably unstoppable, and the Gallas/Vermaelen partnership continues to improve. This wasn’t a defensive issue either by the way.
No, our shortcomings came from the most unlikely source. Despite a large goal haul this season our multi-pronged attack was completely impotent. As a result of the loss of a single player, Robin Van Persie, the ability to convert the many openings we created into goals, or even shots, escaped us.
Van Persie is a menace. He thrives on tricking and tormenting defenders, getting in their face, twisting and turning and using his brain as well as his feet to combine telepathically with the equally cerebral Fabregas. This is why everyone apart from Arsenal fans cannot stand him.
Eduardo has brains and talent too, but is non-confrontational and bounced off the brick wall Chelsea presented us with like a tennis ball.
Bendtner, who has been looking more and more capable recently of providing a similar service to RVP, was injured and unavailable. Premier League winning teams don’t become useless because two of their strikers are crocked.
OK that’s a little harsh. We will come up against defences as well organised once in a blue moon. But those blue moons will rise again this season.
Wenger had his beady eye on Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh in the summer. Judging by his Champions League performances this season he would have proved useful during this difficult period.
At the same time, the gaffer refuses to bury his squad beneath new signings, giving everyone in the first team breathing space, and with six strikers on the books, he was justified in not bringing the Moroccan to the Emirates.
So in reality, no WRONG decisions have been made here, but Chelsea have brought to attention a chink in the armour which must be repaired.
Wenger says:
"I didn't feel we were in the need to buy anybody but we will be out on the market that is for sure now.”
After being accused of being too proud for his own good on various occasions it looks like this time he’s managed to swallow it, representing an ambition for success that matches the fan’s hunger for silverware.
So we keep the trust, and move onwards and upwards.
Happy advent.
AP
Before the game, I’d been preparing a blog entry centred on the Gunner’s physical shortcomings. I was going to make a detailed comparison between the stature of the Invincibles squad 03/04 and the current team, and point out why this meant we lose matches like the game against Sunderland the previous weekend (which I didn’t even watch!) and why we’d struggle against Chelsea.
But having observed our defeat against the Blues I realised I’d got it wrong…or more accurately, only got it 15% right.
We did very little wrong in terms of our performance. We passed well, kept possession convincingly and physically held our own. Song looks increasingly like a Mascherano figure, an excellent ball-winner with superb distributional skills. Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson and Arshavin are all fighters and put paid to the flimsy argument that we are a soft team.
All three of the goals scored against us were undeniably unstoppable, and the Gallas/Vermaelen partnership continues to improve. This wasn’t a defensive issue either by the way.
No, our shortcomings came from the most unlikely source. Despite a large goal haul this season our multi-pronged attack was completely impotent. As a result of the loss of a single player, Robin Van Persie, the ability to convert the many openings we created into goals, or even shots, escaped us.
Van Persie is a menace. He thrives on tricking and tormenting defenders, getting in their face, twisting and turning and using his brain as well as his feet to combine telepathically with the equally cerebral Fabregas. This is why everyone apart from Arsenal fans cannot stand him.
Eduardo has brains and talent too, but is non-confrontational and bounced off the brick wall Chelsea presented us with like a tennis ball.
Bendtner, who has been looking more and more capable recently of providing a similar service to RVP, was injured and unavailable. Premier League winning teams don’t become useless because two of their strikers are crocked.
OK that’s a little harsh. We will come up against defences as well organised once in a blue moon. But those blue moons will rise again this season.
Wenger had his beady eye on Bordeaux’s Marouane Chamakh in the summer. Judging by his Champions League performances this season he would have proved useful during this difficult period.
At the same time, the gaffer refuses to bury his squad beneath new signings, giving everyone in the first team breathing space, and with six strikers on the books, he was justified in not bringing the Moroccan to the Emirates.
So in reality, no WRONG decisions have been made here, but Chelsea have brought to attention a chink in the armour which must be repaired.
Wenger says:
"I didn't feel we were in the need to buy anybody but we will be out on the market that is for sure now.”
After being accused of being too proud for his own good on various occasions it looks like this time he’s managed to swallow it, representing an ambition for success that matches the fan’s hunger for silverware.
So we keep the trust, and move onwards and upwards.
Happy advent.
AP
Monday, November 30, 2009
The Enemy - Live at Manchester Apollo (for Manchester Evening News)
Here's my most recent review for the Manchester Evening News. This time The Enemy play Manchester Apollo.
http://www.citylife.co.uk/music/reviews/17435_swaggering_charm_from_the_enemy
Sure.
AP
http://www.citylife.co.uk/music/reviews/17435_swaggering_charm_from_the_enemy
Sure.
AP
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Alberta Cross - Taking Control (single, reviewed for Citylifers.co.uk)
Treacherous band Alberta Cross hails from London but jumped our sinking island to go to New York and get famous.
It seems to be working out for them as ‘Taking Control’, first single from debut album Broken Side of Time, is a bit of a treat.
It’s bluesy, gushing indie squirting from the vein of Kings of Leon, but their shimmering, crashing chord sound and pounding drums betray their Englishness.
There’s a lot of promise here and we’d do well to stake our claim to these guys before the yanks call dibs.
It seems to be working out for them as ‘Taking Control’, first single from debut album Broken Side of Time, is a bit of a treat.
It’s bluesy, gushing indie squirting from the vein of Kings of Leon, but their shimmering, crashing chord sound and pounding drums betray their Englishness.
There’s a lot of promise here and we’d do well to stake our claim to these guys before the yanks call dibs.
Eamon McGrath - 13 Songs of Whiskey and Light (review for Citylifers)
As Eamon slurs through smoke-shredded throat, “Well I got myself a drinking problem now, but I blame it on the town,” during the jagged and shadowy ‘Desperation, Alberta’, you’ll get butterflies and register that this album is superb.
This Canadian fella has only just hit his twenties, that’s the scary thing. He sounds like he has the burden of an entire lifetime on his shoulders, and damn he knows how to make you feel every tear of it.
After easing you in with the piano-lead ‘Welcome to the Heart’, he catches you off guard with ‘Machine Gun Cowboy’ and its sneering folk-punk sensibilities. He growls moodily, “I’m going up to heaven soon,” and Cobain is up there somewhere listening thinking that maybe things weren’t so bad.
The psychedelia of ‘Last Man Standing’ flows into drinking song ’Cadillac Rosetown’, past the majestic sway of ‘Holy Roller’ and into that first song I mentioned.
Bonus points are added for the song title ‘Darby Crash and Burn Guitars’ before the album draws to an increasingly sombre close.
It begins to feel momentarily like the whole thing is in danger of fizzling out, before the absolutely sublime ‘Ecstasy Railings’ drags you helplessly into a blissful coked up coma, a serene drug-ballad that book-ends the release perfectly.
13 Songs of Whiskey and Light is in fact merely a compilation of old material released in anticipation of Eamon’s first album proper, to be titled Peace Maker. You have every right to be excited.
This Canadian fella has only just hit his twenties, that’s the scary thing. He sounds like he has the burden of an entire lifetime on his shoulders, and damn he knows how to make you feel every tear of it.
After easing you in with the piano-lead ‘Welcome to the Heart’, he catches you off guard with ‘Machine Gun Cowboy’ and its sneering folk-punk sensibilities. He growls moodily, “I’m going up to heaven soon,” and Cobain is up there somewhere listening thinking that maybe things weren’t so bad.
The psychedelia of ‘Last Man Standing’ flows into drinking song ’Cadillac Rosetown’, past the majestic sway of ‘Holy Roller’ and into that first song I mentioned.
Bonus points are added for the song title ‘Darby Crash and Burn Guitars’ before the album draws to an increasingly sombre close.
It begins to feel momentarily like the whole thing is in danger of fizzling out, before the absolutely sublime ‘Ecstasy Railings’ drags you helplessly into a blissful coked up coma, a serene drug-ballad that book-ends the release perfectly.
13 Songs of Whiskey and Light is in fact merely a compilation of old material released in anticipation of Eamon’s first album proper, to be titled Peace Maker. You have every right to be excited.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Metronomy re-release debut album (written for Citylifers.co.uk)
Metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe)
Music that sounds like a computer going insane is a bit of a hard sell.
When my computer goes potty and starts emitting unearthly forlorn bleeps it makes me want to kick the ridiculous contraption to pieces, whilst laughing maniacally.
Kudos to Metronomy then for managing to change a very similar sound from an object of annoyance into a very cool object, an object that could turn up uninvited to an exclusive party in a city penthouse and be mysterious and make girls swoon.
This is in fact a re-release of the Devon duo’s first full length, this time including four bonus tracks lumped onto the end as an incentive for the dubious.
Each of Pip Paine’s eerie offerings of cascading electro has its own weird theme; Danger Song sounds like an 80s computer game trying to hypnotise you.
Black Eye/Burnt Thumb, meanwhile, sounds like a demented digital fairground ride, while The 3rd is R2-D2 having a mental breakdown.
Then again the funereal feel of final album track New Toy betrays the fact that Metronomy isn’t just a weird object, but a sensitive one, making it naturally even more appealing to women.
Top prize goes to bonus song Hear to Wear though, an anthem composed from what sounds like monophonic ringtones, and reminds me of some nightmarish, cheap advert on late night TV, but is in fact wonderful.
It’s a right old fish full of kettles this one, but fascinating and strangely stirring. On second thoughts don’t take it to a party, just sit in your room, listen, and be seduced
Music that sounds like a computer going insane is a bit of a hard sell.
When my computer goes potty and starts emitting unearthly forlorn bleeps it makes me want to kick the ridiculous contraption to pieces, whilst laughing maniacally.
Kudos to Metronomy then for managing to change a very similar sound from an object of annoyance into a very cool object, an object that could turn up uninvited to an exclusive party in a city penthouse and be mysterious and make girls swoon.
This is in fact a re-release of the Devon duo’s first full length, this time including four bonus tracks lumped onto the end as an incentive for the dubious.
Each of Pip Paine’s eerie offerings of cascading electro has its own weird theme; Danger Song sounds like an 80s computer game trying to hypnotise you.
Black Eye/Burnt Thumb, meanwhile, sounds like a demented digital fairground ride, while The 3rd is R2-D2 having a mental breakdown.
Then again the funereal feel of final album track New Toy betrays the fact that Metronomy isn’t just a weird object, but a sensitive one, making it naturally even more appealing to women.
Top prize goes to bonus song Hear to Wear though, an anthem composed from what sounds like monophonic ringtones, and reminds me of some nightmarish, cheap advert on late night TV, but is in fact wonderful.
It’s a right old fish full of kettles this one, but fascinating and strangely stirring. On second thoughts don’t take it to a party, just sit in your room, listen, and be seduced
Rise Against review for Manchester Evening News
I'm a music journalist as well would you believe!
Here's my review of hardcore punk act Rise Against's gig at Manchester's Apollo, written for the Manchester Evening News.
http://www.citylife.co.uk/music/reviews/17399_rise_against_present_a_political_struggle
AP
Here's my review of hardcore punk act Rise Against's gig at Manchester's Apollo, written for the Manchester Evening News.
http://www.citylife.co.uk/music/reviews/17399_rise_against_present_a_political_struggle
AP
Thursday, November 12, 2009
City, Hughes, and Consistency Blues
IT IS OFTEN said, generally in a slightly limp, apologetic manner, that the secret to winning the Premiership is consistency.
It’s a disappointing conclusion to reach but generally an accurate one. Gung ho attack minded theatrics are punished on the break and suffocated to death by focussed defending. The fierce underdog battles with every sinew in its body but falls foul of stringent officials and fleet footed foreigners.
This season Chelsea, scarily, has conceded a mere eight goals (one at Stamford Bridge) and rifled in 30, a statistic second only to Arsenal’s record breaking quota (plug).
The locks have been changed, and the new key to success isn’t turned by grinding out results, playing-badly-yet-winning-one-nil ala Manchester United, but instead sending more teams than not running from the turf squealing, with their tails between their legs and a significantly diminished goal difference.
We’ll come back to that.
To say the wheels have fallen off Manchester City’s campaign to sheepishly stick its tongue down the throat of the top four for the first time is premature. They’ll be fourth if they win their game in hand and only seven points shy of the leaders.
Momentum has been lost though. Five points out of fifteen have been won from their last five matches, with seven goals beating Given. Robinho, despite Sparky’s insistences to the contrary, is by most accounts unhappy and wanting out. The team’s notoriously impatient fans have tasted the golden nectar of…consistency!....and are getting itchy trigger fingers, with crosshairs settled shakily on Hughes’ head.
Of course, this is all nuts. To say City have advanced as a club this season is like saying the human race has come on a bit since the Stone Age. Their performances against Arsenal and United were superb and their squad has more depth than Liverpool’s (cough).
But the bar has been lifted. City is a team in transition that has the finances to morph into pretty much any form necessary, but with the two London teams at the top waking up to the fact that consistency can be achieved the beautiful way (there’s my original point, I knew I left it here somewhere) there may have to be many more millions spent before the title can be bought.
Is City a defensive side? No. Attacking? Yes, and an impressive one at that, but still a long way off their peers. And how many revolutions of the Eastlands doors, one wonders, can their dressing room tolerate before the legendary team spirit which it has purportedly developed begins to wilt.
The rhetoric coming out of the club suggests they will always twist rather than stick, and any players not pulling their weight will not be suffered.
Their bed has been made but The Citizens are tossing and turning, restless with the excitement of their new found wealth. Maybe suggestions that it would be their ultimate undoing weren’t completely born out of jealousy.
Have a good weekend,
AP
It’s a disappointing conclusion to reach but generally an accurate one. Gung ho attack minded theatrics are punished on the break and suffocated to death by focussed defending. The fierce underdog battles with every sinew in its body but falls foul of stringent officials and fleet footed foreigners.
This season Chelsea, scarily, has conceded a mere eight goals (one at Stamford Bridge) and rifled in 30, a statistic second only to Arsenal’s record breaking quota (plug).
The locks have been changed, and the new key to success isn’t turned by grinding out results, playing-badly-yet-winning-one-nil ala Manchester United, but instead sending more teams than not running from the turf squealing, with their tails between their legs and a significantly diminished goal difference.
We’ll come back to that.
To say the wheels have fallen off Manchester City’s campaign to sheepishly stick its tongue down the throat of the top four for the first time is premature. They’ll be fourth if they win their game in hand and only seven points shy of the leaders.
Momentum has been lost though. Five points out of fifteen have been won from their last five matches, with seven goals beating Given. Robinho, despite Sparky’s insistences to the contrary, is by most accounts unhappy and wanting out. The team’s notoriously impatient fans have tasted the golden nectar of…consistency!....and are getting itchy trigger fingers, with crosshairs settled shakily on Hughes’ head.
Of course, this is all nuts. To say City have advanced as a club this season is like saying the human race has come on a bit since the Stone Age. Their performances against Arsenal and United were superb and their squad has more depth than Liverpool’s (cough).
But the bar has been lifted. City is a team in transition that has the finances to morph into pretty much any form necessary, but with the two London teams at the top waking up to the fact that consistency can be achieved the beautiful way (there’s my original point, I knew I left it here somewhere) there may have to be many more millions spent before the title can be bought.
Is City a defensive side? No. Attacking? Yes, and an impressive one at that, but still a long way off their peers. And how many revolutions of the Eastlands doors, one wonders, can their dressing room tolerate before the legendary team spirit which it has purportedly developed begins to wilt.
The rhetoric coming out of the club suggests they will always twist rather than stick, and any players not pulling their weight will not be suffered.
Their bed has been made but The Citizens are tossing and turning, restless with the excitement of their new found wealth. Maybe suggestions that it would be their ultimate undoing weren’t completely born out of jealousy.
Have a good weekend,
AP
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