When football doesn't matter

Obviously I love football, but some times in life things are more important than who got what points at the weekend. So on that note I thought I'd add my condolences to family of Gary Speed and in these times you realise how tragic it is that someone of 42 years and always seemingly happy and a gentleman should lose his life. If the reports are true that he hanged himself as a result of depression, then it highlights how depression as an illness can affect anyone and also its severity in affecting people.

I don't want to talk for too long but i'm sure everyone will agree that Gary Speed had a lot to give in football yet not least to the Wales national team who were making great strides under his management.

RIP Gary Speed

Goal Line technology

The FA today announced that from next season 2012-2013 that goal line technology could be used in the premier league. This for me is a major stepping stone in the direction of fairness and consistency in a major refereeing decision that can cost teams a game, or a place in the league.

Although many argue that goal line technology could slow the game up and cause pauses whilst it interacts for the system to be used it must fulfill 4 criteria set by FIFA.

1) The technology can only be used for goal line decisions as to whether the ball has or hasn't crossed the line.
2) The system in operation must be accurate.
3) The decision must be made within 1 second.
4) The communication of the decision is between referee and refereeing assistants only.

I personally think these 4 rules could provide a system that is extremely useful in premier league matches. Often after a debated goal has been adjudged to not have passed the line, the result is a goal kick or corner, in which a player has to collect the ball place it and then take a kick. If the system is efficient enough, then the referee will have enough time to find out whether the ball had passed the line or not. The fact that the communication is between the referee and officials only also benefits as the crowd can not get annoyed at a video replay. The accuracy is the most important part, as no one would like a system that is not 100% accurate allowing for sloppy decisions to be made as there would be no point.

If the FA can implement a fair system such as this into the premier league I see no reason why it should not be used. Sports such as cricket and rugby have been using this system for a while and the decisions that have been made as a result have been greatly improved, if the premier league is to remain the best league in the world for club football then it needs to be at the fore of making decisions correct by using all tools available whilst not detracting from the fast flowing style of play that many have come to know and love.

Hopefully it can stop decisions like this:

Leave a comment on what you think towards goal line technology and whether it should be used in the premier league.

What is up with Chelsea?

If you haven't heard Chelsea lost 2-1 to Liverpool at home today. This defeat means they have lost 3 out of their last 4 premier league games. Included in this undesirable run is consecutive defeats at home, without doubt a very poor run of form. In addition their single victory in the league came at Blackburn and was only 1-0. So what is up?

I personally think AVB is going too attacking with his selections. They play with 3 forward players who never get back or help out defensively leaving their midfield stretched and vulnerable. In addition John Obi Mikel is the only true defensive midfielder in their standard line up and having players like Lampard and Ramires as his only midfield company he is left exposed too often. A quick one two and teams can get around him and end up running at the back four that is regularly weakened with attacking full backs such as Bosingwa. David Luiz is also a concern as he seems to see his defensive duties as secondary to his desire to take crazy runs forward and get into advanced positions. 

The lack of a form striker also leaves AVB with the decision to play more strikers hoping that one will kick into gear. This being said his formation ends up playing players out of position such as Sturridge playing wide right. The changing of strikers also doesn't allow them to settle into a role or regular football. 

That being said they cam up against a decent Liverpool team today but I think Chelsea need a bit of a back forward approach to bring a bit of stability. Or they need a slight change in system so more of the forward players track back and make things more difficult rather than hanging forward and leaving things open.

This weekends games

Well the international break is (finally) over and football fans around the country can be happy, 1 because England won both games and 2 the premier league is back!

There are some really interesting games this weekend so i thought i'd do a run down of the games a brief thought about each.

Saturday's games

Norwich v Arsenal, 12:45 - My team (Norwich) up against one of the in form premier league big boys. Not a brilliant proposition. If this had been 5 weeks ago I would be relishing the opportunity to play an out of form and leaking defence of Arsenal. As it is now, I am worried. They've hit form and are no longer a one man team. I expect a lot of goals as both teams are better attacking than defending so have to go for it. Prediction: 2-4

Everton v Wolverhampton, 15:00 - Hmmm not a mouth watering tie to say the least. Everton are a good side but their strikers are extremely inconsistent. With Wolves you don't know it always seems a battle to win and a victory would be most appreciated. Can see Everton winning this though. Prediction: 2-1

Man City v Newcastle, 15:00 - The two unbeaten sides left in the premier league so far this year, that being said Man City have won a lot more than drawn so far. I would be very surprised if even a well organised Newcastle team on the rise would be able to stop the Man City wagon rolling on and expect them to win. Prediction: 3-1

Stoke v QPR, 15:00 - This is a game that could be a boring one. Stoke have developed the habit of becoming a bit of a 1-0 team, especially at home. Their attacking flair has disappeared and QPR will have to play well to break them down defensively. Prediction: 1-1

Sunderland v Fulham, 15:00 - Very difficult game to call this one. I just think that Fulham are the better team and although Sunderland defended well against Man Utd the desire to attack at home could leave them exposed. Prediction: 1-2

West Brom v Bolton, 15:00 - Although Bolton have been on a poor run of form recently, both teams have been made into 'solid' premiership teams by Owen Coyle and Roy Hodgson. If the recovery for Bolton is not a short lived one then a good contest could ensue. Prediction: 2-2

Wigan v Blackburn, 15:00 - A massive 6 pointer already? Both teams know how to drop points like they're going out of fashion. Blackburn seem to be the better side performance wise but can they seal the deal or can Wigan sneak a result? This could be a good game with both sides attacking and creating chances. Prediction: 2-3

Swansea v Man Utd, 17:30 - Swansea have been resolute at the back this year and have kept numerous home clean sheets. They also possess the threat on the break through 3 pacey wingers, but the strength of last years champions is undeniable and even on an off day Man Utd can win matches comfortably. Prediction: 0-2

Sunday's game

Chelsea v Liverpool, 16:00 - The game of the weekend without doubt. In my opinion AVB has been too attacking with his formation and playing a 3 man midfield with 3 attackers that don't track back has proved costly especially against Arsenal. Indiscipline cost them the game against QPR but this has started a negative run for Chelsea. Liverpool on the other hand seem to be brilliant one moment then poor the next. The return of Steven Gerrard was a huge boost for Liverpool and seemed to generate excitement, but his new injury has taken the wind from their sails. They also have the Luis Suarez racism row hanging over them. I think if Downing can take his international form into the game and Luis Suarez can replicate his 4 goals for Uruguay the other day, then the match could be brilliant. The longer the game stays at a stalemate the more energy that will be lost, a quick start and it could be a classic. Prediction: 3-2

Monday's game

Tottenham v Aston Villa, 20:00 - A good Monday night clash and hopefully I'll have my essay finished and wont be stuck in front of the computer writing it. Tottenham on form are a brilliant team to watch and the number of appearances from Ledley King this year has given them a solid defensive platform to build upon. In recent weeks that has worked wonders and their midfield is arguably the best in the league. Aston Villa have also benefited from wide performances by Gabby Agbonlahor and the adoption of a 3 man attack. If Villa go for it then the game could open up. Prediction: 3-1 

Leave a comment on your thoughts for the games this weekend!

England Vs Sweden

Another 1-0 victory for England but this time against a much weaker team, nevertheless a clean sheet and Fabio Capello's new defensive machine begins to look solid even if there was 8 changes from the team that beat Spain. The performance overall was not amazing but England did create especially in the first half a number of clear cut chances. These are the chances that you want to create as I think that some of the more senior players would put away, so the result could have easily been more clear cut.

As there was no major talking points or drama in the game I am going to again talk about some of the players that stood out to me in either a good or bad way.

1) Phil Jones- Phil Jones was one of the 3 players retained from the XI that played against Spain on Saturday and was again playing in an unusual midfield position. This time he was the sole shield to the back four. Today I thought he was much more comfortable in the position, although when there was a break down in the play he often drifted closer and closer to the back four, rather than holding the shape for the midfield. He also had a good chance that his pace and power created for him but an unfamiliar attacking position in the centre of the goal resulted in him missing the target. Overall it was clear to see that he is a class player and a definite for England in the future available in a variety of positions, although I can't see past Scott Parker for holding midfield in the near future.

2) Bobby Zamora- Another Heskey? I think Bobby Zamora had a good supportive game to the attacking wingers and midfield today, but if England are going to continue with a one striker system I can't see him playing as he wont get enough goals. That being said he linked play well and drew defenders out which allowed the wingers and full backs to get behind the defence and create some good opportunities.

3) Kyle Walker- Was given man of the match by the ITV commentary team and I think that was deserved for the work ethic. He offered an option on the right the whole game and his pace defending was extremely useful. His discipline was also greater than Glen Johnson's against Sweden and I believe if Capello wont choose Micah Richards then Walker should be Englands first choice right back.

4) Daniel Sturridge- Daniel sturridge finally got his England debut today, but as a winger. I am a bit disappointed to see him in this position as he is a definite goal scorer and striker. I think it was a waste by Fabio Capello to bring on Bent for Zamora as the lone striker as it seems he has secured his place in the squad so why not allow a striker who has been getting goals in the premier league for almost a year a chance to play up front as he offers nothing defensively and seemed out of sorts.

Overall if the 3 golden opportunities that England created that weren't taken were, then we could be looking at people describing this as a wonderful performance, as it is, it wasn't amazing but there are a few positives to take and our defensive strength is pleasing.

Yesterdays matches

Unfortunately in English culture, one result means everything and although the match against Spain was a terrific performance from England the masses now believe that we are unbeatable and better than Spain, resulting in the next world cup having our name on it already. Not to dull down the performance, I just don't think English fans should get carried away, it was one result on one day, that doesn't make or break a team it merely shows Spain are not invincible like many had thought.

That being said I do believe there were some outstanding performances from certain players which held together the team.

1) Scott Parker- deserved man of the match, put an absolute shift in, won tackles intercepted the ball well and I can only not once where he gave the ball away. Looked England's best player and one of the only ones who was at the pace with the Spanish. He must be drinking the Lucozade's because he worked tirelessly and without him I don't think we would have won.

2) Joleon Lescott- I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Joleon Lescott but he looked assured at centre back. He also pressured the spanish taking calculated risks to come forward when David Villa dropped off the advanced striking role, stopping him from being able to turn and shoot. He also read the game brilliantly and made some crucial interceptions throughout which broke the play up well and kept England from being swamped in the first half especially.

3) Ashley Cole- Another one who must have eaten his carbs and drank his lucozade because he really did work hard. He noticed the importance of getting forward when we had the chance and always seemed to be the quickest player on the pitch off the ball. In addition he didn't get carried away and had some pretty tough players to mark which he did excellently. Should we be surprised? No he is without doubt one of the best left backs in the world and he showed that yesterday.

I think England can take heart from this performance and the defensive side of the game looks solid currently so that is good. I just don't think the nation should get carried away in thinking we are better than Spain as we are a long way off that yet.

Wales Vs Norway


I only watched the first half and the end of the second half, but the improvement is Wales as a team is astonishing. Gary Speed has turned their negative mentality upside down and developed a formula that suits them excellently. Giving license to their star players Gareth Bale and Craig Bellamy, Wales now come across as a confident attacking national team. A lot of credit should be given to the hard work from Steve Morison who seemed to win nearly every ball yesterday and then hold it up to bring in their 3 star attacking players (Bellamy, Bale and Ramsey). A good performance especially as the only Norwegian goal was a howler from the keeper.

Ireland Vs Estonia


Well done to Ireland on a brilliant result, it looks like only a terrible performance can stop them making the Euro's now. I was surprised not to see Wes Hoolahan in the squad for the game after a brilliant year with Norwich, especially as it isn't just me who believes he is good enough. Wes has been shortlisted to the final 3 for the PFAI player of the year award. This being said you can't argue with results like that a 4-0 victory and a brilliant position to be in going into the 2nd leg.

Everyones favourite player strikes again

Mario Balotelli just doesn't know how to stay out the news does he?

This is mainly for people in the UK who may not get to see his goal from this evening so I thought i'd make a short post to show you it. It's a gooden.

Link to the goal

Spain Vs England

So the first of England's friendlies is tomorrow and against probably the best team in the world, Spain. Although limited team news has arrived from Spain there are rumours circulating that both Xavi and Iniesta will start the game at Wembley.

From England's point of view there has been only 2 pieces of confirmed team news.

1) Frank Lampard will captain the team in the absence of John terry. Personally I don't see this as a good move, as I do believe Frank Lampard has influenced international games in a less and less sense over recent years and I don't think he is a stone wall starter in England's first XI. As a result I think the captaincy could be better given to someone who Capello thinks is in his first choice team as well as someone that could benefit from the experience if he is experimenting. I also think that in a game where you are playing the best team in the world why not put your best team out? That would mean playing John Terry and making the captaincy debate an easy one.

2) Phil Jones will play in the holding role in midfield. This is a real shock to me, this is because from my knowledge he has only played there once this season for Manchester United. In addition to this it is a bit cruel to keep switching a young players position like he has had all year, from CB to RB and now to CDM. The final point is why would he be chosen to play in this role which he is not familiar with when we have both Scott Parker and Gareth Barry in the squad who have been brilliant this year for their respective teams.

Overall though I am looking forward to the game to see how england cope with a style of play like no other team in the world.

England squad

Well now qualification is sorted out for the Euro's England can look to mould what they consider to be the best squad for the assault on the championship. Well, that's what they should be doing. Alot of discussion and controversy surrounds whoever the England manager on whatever choices and selections they make. Every journalist and their pet dog thinks they could do the job better than the current boss who is always horribly useless. So in trying not to be a moaning England fan defiant that I am better than Mr Capello I wanted to address a few issues that I am a bit baffled about particularly.

1) Micah Richards- Probably the most talked about decision from the current England squad. Micah Richards who has been an extremely important player for Manchester City this year and one of the outstanding performers in a number of games. Very surprised he is not in the starting line up let alone not in the squad. Feel sorry for him.

2) Jack Rodwell- I was slightly surprised to see him in the squad, I do not particularly follow Everton closely but hadn't heard of any majorly influential performances from him this year. This being said I am happy to see some younger players being picked.

3) David Stockdale- Playing in the championship, do you really want a goalkeeper coming on as a replacement who has been playing in a 2nd tier league? I am surprised John Ruddy wasn't picked and given a chance after a few good performances and the week in week out premier league experience making the jump to international less steep/ might be able to cope with the pressure better.

4) Anthony Pilkington- Before everyone says you're only picking him as he is a Norwich player, that may be the case but he has been outstanding this year. He has picked up 4 goals already (from midfield) that is as many as Luis Suarez. He also can use both feet and goes past players with ease. If ever Fabio should have picked a form player and not a name I believe this is an example. Many teams with worse names than Englands team do better in internationals or over perform and this is because they don't have as many 'names' and I think England could learn from that.

5) John Terry- In my opinion you have to stick by your captain until proven guilty, so the decision to pick John Terry was correct in this case.

Zinedine Zidane

Sorry not had time to do a proper post for a while but instead i give you a video of the best player i've ever seen. There's no point me writing anything just watch

11 games in blog

Well we've now played 11 games in the premier league and it's time to stop thinking about being the new boys and start only thinking about the next game in the calendar. After today it has become clear that our defence is not good enough without the 2 sitting midfielders in Fox and Johnson. Even with the 2 of them playing in the previous 7 games we've still conceded every game this season and relied upon out scoring our opponents. As seen last year playing attacking football will only get you so far (blackpool) and I am starting to worry about our defence. If Leon Barnett does not have a good game, neither does our defence. I can not fault Russell Martins commitment and he really had a good year last year but as a premier league centre back I don't think he is good enough.

Having a clean sheet ensures that you get at least 1 point and of all the weaker teams it seems Norwich are the weakest defensively and come the end of the season this could cost us. It is disappointing as a fan of a team who need to be getting points at any opportunity to miss out on a point from a poor back pass by our centre back. Although individual errors shouldn't be scrutinized it is frustrating to see defensive errors cost us points especially when we managed to score 2 goals away from home against a strong premier league team in Aston Villa.

I am not going to do a full match review as I didn't get to watch the full match but I can credit the team for what seems like a good effort attacking. I also want to note that I don't think Wes is best utilised as a central midfielder as I think the freedom of being pushed forward helps us more as he puts pressure on defences when off the ball further up the field.

Overall though to be on 13 point after 11 games is a good start but we need to find some more form coming into the christmas and early 2012 when we have  a lot of crucial and winnable games. This could define our season as our run in is particularly difficult.

Andy Johnson

Just wanted to make a quick post to direct you to a video of a quality goal scored by Andy Johnson tonight, europa league games don't seem to get much coverage and this goal could go missing but it is a belter.


Andy Johnson goal

Festivals next year

With Glastonbury taking a year off next year, the door is open for some of the other festivals to secure a few major bands. The question is will they?

There is no question that Glastonbury can secure the best headline acts of all the festivals in the country, but do bands play Glastonbury for the fact that it is a headline show and a lot of money or the appeal of having played a headline slot at Glastonbury?

A major act such as Bruce Springsteen who does not play many UK festivals was lured into playing Glastonbury just because of what Glastonbury is. However other acts such as Coldplay and Muse who have headlined in recent years are well known for being 'on the circuit' (regularly playing festivals around europe).  So does this mean that some bands that could have been lined up to play Glastonbury may take a step down and headline other major festivals in the UK such as Reading/Leeds or V festival?

My opinion is the pool of available potential headline acts could be increased due to the lack of Glastonbury as record labels get more and more pushy towards their bands being seen at festivals and the subsequent t.v. and news attention it attracts.

Although early days the best place to check for reliable information on festivals I have found is Efestivals.

Blog promotion

My friend has recently started blogging so i thought why not leave a link on my page to his in case anyone is interested.
Alex Streeter

Newcastle keep rolling on

When Chris Hughton was sacked last year I really felt sorry for him, he seemed like a nice guy in footballing terms and seemed to have the backing of his players 100%. Therefore the decision to bring in Alan Pardew on a long term contract to replace a manager who got the team back into the premier league seemed an odd one as Pardew's previous work had been a slight disaster at Southampton. That's what makes football though! Newcastle are now 3rd in the league 3 points ahead of Chelsea in 4th and more commendably 1 point behind Manchester United last years champions who are 2nd.

What makes this transformation even more remarkable ? Alan Pardew has been running the team on negative investment. In the summer he lost a key play in Jose Enrique to Liverpool as well as the big money loss of Andy Carroll last January. These 2 big money signings you would have thought could be some major spending money for Pardew but he has not had the opportunity to use it at all. In addition to that he has also lost 2 key midfielders in Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan. These key 4 losses to a team recently promoted would usually be catalyst to a massive collapse in a teams performance and morale. Therefore i believe Alan Pardew deserves a lot of credit for the signings he has made and the way in which he has galvanized the team together.

Norwich Vs Blackburn response

Well now the dust has settled slightly to what was a frenetic ending. If you didn't see, Blackburn were leading 3-1 with 8 minutes to go before a major deflection on a 25 yard shot caused norwich to pull a goal back but the real controversy was to come in stoppage time. A free kick was taken by Bradley Johnson to the customary huge numbers of players in the box all pushing and shoving, when Nzonzi was sandwiched between Steve Morison and Grant Holt. The force on him caused him to appeal by raising his arms and look at the ref, at which point the ball hit him on his outstretched arms and a penalty awarded. In my opinion this was an extremely lucky penalty and I feel a bit sorry for Nzonzi, regardless Grant Holt stepped up and put away the penalty extremely well and under huge pressure.

So Norwich got a point where we possibly didn't deserve one, but come the end of the season points like this and taking 2 points away from Blackburn could be extremely important. I personally am extremely pleased with a point in the circumstances although many fans will have seen this as a game we could win. In the end Blackburn played very well and brought the game to Norwich and although they have not been getting the results their improved performance levels were seen in the game and they dominated us in the second half especially before an extremely defensive couple of substitutions changed the impetus in Norwich's favour. This negative thinking from Steve Kean was odd but understandable as he is under immense pressure every game from the fans and to get 3 points away from home would have been brilliant for him as well as the team.

Overall I am not too concerned for Norwich as I think our performance levels have been extremely high and I am pleased as to how we have started the season. Before the season if you had offered me the chance for Norwich to be 8th in the league and 7 points above relegation I would have bitten your hand off for it.

Moving forward we have a tough game next week against an inconsistent Aston Villa away which could be tricky as well as Grant Holt pushing for a starting place with 2 goals in 2 with great composure shown after a few off the pace performances in the beginning of the season. I'm not sure how he would fit into a team who are playing well with a good system at the minute, but only time will tell and fortunately its not up to me. Final point what a goal Steve Morison lovely strike that will do his confidence wonders.

Robin Van Persie

Today Robin Van Persie became the leading goal scorer in the premiership for the season so far; following a hat-trick in Arsenals 5-3 victory over Chelsea. In addition to this he is also the leading goal scorer for the calendar year, highlighting how good a player he is. A lot of teams absolutely dominate others and get massive victories that can boost to players goal totals, but in the case of Van Persie he has become almost a one man team. There is no doubt that Arsenal are not the team they were, with the loss of two players of the importance of Nasri and Fabregas alot of inexperience/ lack of real quality has been exposed. This however has been the spur on Van Persie has needed to keep Arsenal in with a decent shot at a high placed finish this year after a very poor start.

The question that needs to be asked is, with the players that Arsenal currently have is Robin Van Persie going to be able to do it all for them?

On current form it looks like he will have to whilst the gunners wait for Jack Wilshere to return and Chamakh to find his goal scoring boots. Without Robin Van Persie I believe Arsenal could be in a serious predicament moving forward with no one to build around, which Arsene Wenger will have to in January and or the summer. At the end of the day though he is keeping them going forward single handed and for the foreseeable future it looks like he will have to continue doing so.

Norwich Vs Blackburn

On the look of it this should be an easy game for Norwich, Blackburn are bottom of the table on only 5 points so far this year and Norwich are on an incredible high having just snatched a point off Liverpool at Anfield. But on the flipside, Blackburn have just won an incredible 4-3 game against Newcastle in the carling cup when they easily could have folded having conceded 2 late goals in normal time. This just shows how Blackburn really have been improving and Steve Kean hasn't 'lost the team'. Their performances in the league have also been steadily improving and were unlucky not to get at least a point against Tottenham last weekend.

What do i think about the game? I think although it may come across negative as Norwich have been playing well recently, the most important thing is to not lose and get at least a point out of the game. I think we're playing Blackburn at a very vulnerable time and the way they've been playing they can either turn their season around here or it could be the end of Steve Kean. It is a very difficult game to predict in this circumstance and I think Norwich will have to be at their best to win the game as Steve Kean will know the importance of this game for the safety of his job and will think it is a game they can win.

After Grant Holt's impressive substitute performance against Liverpool last week alot of fans seem to favour him starting again, but i think that 'if it aint broke don't fix it' is a good moto to live by. Therefore I would be surprised if there were any changes to the starting line up that has seen us only lose one of our last 5 games (away at man united) which is no small feat. I'm sure he will continue to press for a place but the current team has been playing so well why change a winning formula?

Prediction : 2-2

Scorers :  Morison, Johnson (Norwich)
               Yakubu, Pedersen (Blackburn)

Key Man : Steve Morison; if he can stop Chris Samba controlling the defence then Norwich will have a good chance of exploiting gaps that may appear. If he has a poor game then Blackburn could have a lot of possession and cause problems for our defence which is still our weak point.

Michael Owen

As a football fan who grew up admiring Michael Owen, I just felt it was time to write a blog about him after reports today of his pleasure of scoring against Aldershot in the Carling cup. What has happened to him? He was the one of the best strikers i had ever seen, very quick, very agile, extremely calm when finishing, a world beater. So what is he doing at Manchester United as the 5th choice striker? Limited to occasional substitute appearances as well as weaker cup team matches. The only reason i can see him wanting to be a bench warmer is the fact that he can still get his premier league medal at the end of the year (something he missed out at both Liverpool and Newcastle). At almost 32 years old he has surely only got a few years left playing at premier league level, so what i wonder is why does he not join a team where he would get regular football?

I am sure there are plenty of teams out there that would like to have him in their squad and many in the premier league that he could make into their starting line up. In my opinion he could still play for 2 more seasons in the premiership and be a useful player (hat-trick newcastle Vs West ham). This would be if he can get and stay fit as i am sure his ability is in no doubt as many people say class is permanent, form is temporary he has class in abundance.

It is such a shame as a fan of his to watch his career drag on in a depressing manner warming the bench for a good team when he could be playing and recapturing some of his former glory. I really do hope Michael Owen moves on and shows the world he still has it in him before his legacy is tarnished further.

It is here!

Football manager 2012 was released the other day, leaving fans all around the world desperate to play what is essentially the same game as ever but with updated teams leagues and transfer values. Why are football games so addictive that people feel the urge to spend another £40 the next year just to buy an up to date version of what they already have? In the case of games where you can control the players such as Pro Evolution Soccer and FIFA, i can see why people continue to buy them year after year. The enhanced physics of the game and better graphics always make the game seem new whilst only being about scoring more goals than your opponent, but when it comes to football manager i am stumped. I just haven't quite found what it is about football manager that makes it one of the most popular computer games year after year.

If you are interested here is the link to the free demo : http://www.footballmanager.com/demo

Crazy day of football

Where do I start? Man united lose 6-1 at home to bitter rivals Man City, QPR beat chelsea 1-0 who have 2 men sent off and almost the whole team yellow carded. WOW.

With all this happening you'd be forgiven to forget Spurs beat Blackburn away 2-1 putting more pressure on Steve Kean and that Arsenal beat Stoke as well as Everton beating Fulham.

Where to start with the Manchester derby? What a player David Silva is he can be absolutely unplayable and is by far one of the best players i've seen play football. This year he has been the best player in the premiership (in my opinion) and he only strengthened his claims to the lead today. On the big occasion and in such an important game he did not disappoint. In addition City played with a changed formation with only 4 in midfield limiting his license to ghost around the pitch and come into life when going forward. This did not seem to stop him though his quick feet and brilliant football brain just keep city going and everything good they do seems to go through him. To orchestrate manchester united losing 6-1 at home is some achievement.

I think Sir Alex Ferguson needs to realise his midfield is not good enough, Darren Fletcher and Anderson are good players but not world beaters and they were shown up today by a world class City who are in top form. Wayne Rooney also didn't come to the party and when that happens United seem to stop playing so well.

Another question i must ask is why did Johnny Evans play? He seems to be the weakest United defender i've seen in a while and had a poor game capped off by his red card which really left a mountain to climb for United.

On to the Chelsea game where I have to admit QPR played the game tactically well. Although negative they stopped Drogba playing well and before substituted Mata hardly seemed in the game. They used SWP's pace to great advantage and broke quickly, I still think it's a shame he is played on the left wing my Neil Warnock as he seems a much more natural right winger but he looked much more like the man that used to menace all premier league defences and that's nice to see.

Although debatable if the Bosingwa red card was so, what Chelsea did was criminal. If you get a man sent off the worst thing to do is to get another. So in this case i think although they carved out some good chances Chelsea and especially Drogba were their own worst enemies and deserved to lose just for that.

Final note: RIP Marco Simoncelli

What a result!!

So, i've just finished watching the Liverpool Vs Norwich game. What can I say? An absolutely amazing second half performance from Norwich. Much credit has to go to Paul Lambert for risking 2 up front and not just swapping Holt for Morison (who had another good game). Overall extremely happy with the result although we were a tad lucky, but i'm sure the season will even out and at the moment we need to just keep going and get as many points on the board as possible; because a run of bad form and we will be back down at the bottom again.

Final point : WHAT A SAVE JOHN RUDDY (if you haven't seen it watch match of the day tonight or youtube it)

Local band promotion/ good blog to follow

http://the-seagulls.blogspot.com/2011/10/nest-hunt-continues.html

A band from Newcaste upon tyne just moved to London to pursue the dream of living the rock n roll lifestyle.

Ticket touts

A bit of a rant here.... Something has to be done about ticket touts, to some people the chance to see a band or artist may be one of the greatest moments in their life. To steal someone's chance at this concert just to sell on for extortionate fees i see as terrible. Ticket prices are already quite steep and to add on the charges that touts can and do charge is obscene and unfair to those that can't afford to pay the amounts they want. For example stone roses tickets are already online at 3X the price charged by official ticket merchants. In some extreme cases i have just seen some at over 20X the standard price because they have a conformation email to go with them. This is ridiculous and to put the tickets up straight away proves that people were prepared to ruin someones chance to see a reformed band who havent played live in 15 years for some money. Please sort this out promoters and artists!

Stone roses update

Just a quick update... got tickets to see the stone roses at Heaton Park on the 30th of June! To say i am excited would be the understatement of the year. Long live the roses

Norwich V Liverpool

As mentioned in an earlier post, I am indeed a fan of the mighty canaries (Norwich City FC). This weekend we face another tough away fixture in the form of Liverpool at anfield. Having already played Manchester united and Chelsea away this is the 3rd of the top teams we will have faced away from home this year. Although daunting i am feeling reasonably optimistic that we can cause a few problems for them and put in a good performance. Why? you might ask.... well although millions of pounds have been spent on the liverpool squad in the last year i still believe that their defence is a weak point bar their top notch keeper. In my opinion with Skrtel and Carragher in the middle the on form steve morison could cause them a few problems. So far this season he has proved a nuisance to even the best defenders and carragher seems to have lost a bit of pace as well as skrtel being a liability getting carried away occasionally. Furthermore at left back jose enrique seems more comfortable going forward and that could leave Elliot Bennett a chance to get a break away down the right. This being said i really can't see us stopping them for 90 minutes and definitely expect them to score a couple at least, and with the strike force that liverpool have with carroll and bellamy on the bench in recent weeks however we approach this our best bet is to try and score some goals and not hold out for a draw as it wont happen.

Therefore i believe the key man for the game will be Wes Hoolahan, he keeps things ticking for norwich and often is involved in attacks as he pops up all over the pitch and seems to know when to up the tempo and force the issue. As was seen with his sprinting to take a quick throw against Swansea which resulted in Pilkingtons first goal. I think Wes can cause a few problems and wouldn't be surprised if Lucas was assigned the task of marking him closely throughout the game as his passing could be a problem for Liverpool. Another way in which Norwich could cause a few problems will be dead ball situations. So far this year his crossing has brought about the majority of norwich's goals and with the physical presence alot of our players pose it could be a real opportunity to get a goal. Maybe just maybe we could nick a point off them which would be a massive result.

Prediction : unfortunately 3-1 Liverpool

Norwich scorer : Steve Morison

Liverpool scorers: Downing, Suarez, Bellamy

Star wars blu-ray reissue

On the topic of reissues and reunions i wrote a blog earlier about how happy i was to see the stone roses re unite. This was down to never seeing them live in my life as well as the possibility that they could make a new album. One thing i also love is star wars. Although this is the case i am not so pleased to hear about the blu-ray re release of all 6 star wars films. This includes sharpening of the original trilogy to make them 'HD'. In addition to this george lucas has seen fit to add sound effects and change some scenes. See video for details. I am not a fan.

Stone roses

As i'm sure everyone has heard the manchester band the stone roses officially reunited today announcing at 3pm in the UK that they will be performing at 2 homecoming shows in June. Personally I am over the moon an the news and will be trying anything to get myself a ticket. http://www.thestoneroses.org/

First blog

Hello internet,
                       Might as well do a pretty standard introduction blog at first to see how it goes, so here we go. My name is Billy i'm an 18 year old student at university in the U.K. studying human geography and economics. My passions include following norwich city F.c. as well as a borderline obsession with Wes Hoolahan hence the aptly named blog title and URL for the website. In addition to football i also follow international cricket reasonably closely and find myself lose hours watching cricket on T.V. when i'm at home and have a t.v. license of course! Music wise i enjoy alot of music most of which involves guitars and i haven't quite got the current phenomenon of dance music and dubstep. In the future i'd like to use this blog as an outlet to express my opinions on music as well as regular tabs kept on Norwich city and their quest to stay in the premier league this year.


billy