tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61157458041907755572023-11-16T14:15:01.836+00:00Underneath the StarsW Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-55407616443794999922010-04-12T15:24:00.002+01:002010-04-12T16:06:31.261+01:00Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Barcelona won in the Santiago Bernabeu for the second successive year to put themselves in pole position for the La Liga title. Goals from Lionel Messi & Pedro in either half secured a 2-0 victory and opened a 3 point lead at the top of the table. Real's best chance came when Rafael van der Vaart was denied by a smart save by Victor Valdes. With just seven games remaining this season Real coach Manuel Pellegrini conceded that the defeat was a 'big blow' but insisted it was too early to say the title was Barcelona's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It ended a splendid week for the Catalans coming hot on the heels of their 4-1 victory over Arsenal in Wednesday's Quarter-Final second leg tie. Messi was the executor on that </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">occasion </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">but in this match it was Xavi who was the central figure. In a performance of class & quality it was </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the diminutive Spaniard who proved to be the difference</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> between the sides as his two exquisite passes set up both of </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Barcelona </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">goals. For all of Real's riches they don't have a player who can control a game quite like Barcelona's midfield maestro.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With Zlatan Ibrahimovic injured, Barcelona lined up with a front three of Dani Alves & Pedro flanking Messi. Despite the irregular choice of personnel it was the Catalans who settled the better. Using their quick passing style to move the ball around Pep Guardiola's team had the better of the opening exchanges. And they may well have had more to show for their start had the Raul Albiol's tackle on Messi produced the penalty that the </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">challenge warranted. Real by comparison were subdued with only a few flashes from Cristiano Ronaldo to note of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In all honesty the first half </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">was a scrappy affair with the game punctuated with fouls every few minutes. The contest wasn't helped by the official, Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez, penchant for handing out yellow cards. In fact mid-way through the first half there was serious concern that we wouldn't have 22 players on the field of play by the end of the game. It was actually following one of the numerous infringements that Barcelona took the lead. Messi having been fouled on the left hand side of the pitch picked himself up & quickly restarted the game. After playing the ball to Xavi, the Argentine forward burst into the box to collect his teammates wonderful chipped pass before wrong footing Albiol & slotting the ball past a cruelly exposed Iker Casillas. It was a moment of magic to light up a very ordinary first half.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Real continued to be at the margins of the game but did have two opportunities to draw level before half time. Firstly Xabi Alonso had a great chance from a corner but headed over from just 5 yards out. While Gonzalo Higuain had a tougher chance, which he blazed over the bar. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The second period began in similar fashion to the first though at least Valdes was called into making a few saves as Marcelo & Ronaldo both tested the Barcelona keeper. However Barcelona reasserted their superiority by doubling their lead through Pedro. Collecting another superb defence splitting pass from Xavi, Pedro curled a smart shot past the outstretched hand of Casillas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Real had the opportunity to respond almost immediately when substitute Guti played in Van der Vaart. Unfortunately for the home fans the Dutchman's effort was too close to Valdes & the chance was gone. Thereafter Real created a few half chances but never seriously threatened the Barcelona goal. In contrast Casillas twice denied Messi from extending the lead. Real's evening was summed up when Benzema handled the ball just before his fellow substitute Raul had the ball in the back of net. It completed a miserable night for Madrid fans but the worrying thing for them is that it could be considerably worse with the Champions Legaue final due to be held at the same ground this year.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-66287942478259469072010-04-08T01:44:00.002+01:002010-04-08T02:23:48.066+01:00Chuck v the Other Guy<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chuck v the Other Guy wrapped up the original season order of Chuck season 3 before NBC ordered an additional 6 episodes. The 6 new episodes will air in 3 weeks time culminating in a two hour finally to end what the show-runners have described as "Season 3.5". As a finale Chuck v the Other Guy was short of the excellence that was Chuck v the Ring but in it's own right it was strong episode in what has been a patchy season. The episode focused on Shaw & finding the Ring operative behind his wife's death. </span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Despite the pre-show talk of a 'game changer' this episode didn't really deliver anything significantly different to a typical Chuck episode. There definitely wasn't the type of change we saw at the end of season 2. However it did tie up several storylines including Chuck & Sarah; Casey's situation; Shaw's arc & Morgan's promotion to Team Bartowski. All of which offer interesting directions for the show to take into the next 6 episodes as well as, hopefully, a season 4. It will be interesting to see if the show continues the move to more darker territory or whether it returns to the mix of comedy, drama, action & romance that has been its staple over the first 2 seasons. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On to the Chuck & Sarah issue that has become a millstone around the neck of season 3. The level of comments tied to this storyline has become so prominent to relegate pretty much all other aspects of the show. And while the Chuck/Sarah romance has always been at the heart of the show it has almost become the show this season. So I think its fair to say all fans will be happy that we got a resolution to that particular question. In terms of how it was done I am pretty happy. The scene between Chuck & Sarah at his apartment was classic Chuck, a heart-felt moment between our two protagonists (and we've had quite a few of those this year) inter-mixed with a bit of comedy. The other thing I loved about that the scene was the call back to perhaps my favourite <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=070LoP_uEZY">Chuck & Sarah</a> moment of all, when Chuck asks Sarah her middle name from Chuck v the Wookie. I think it's great when we see interlinks within a show & this one bookends their relationship. I also thought that writers were trying to get message across to the fans when Sarah said "You're still Chuck. You're still my Chuck." </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shaw's role in this episode was very predictable. It would have been more of a surprise if he had turned out to be a hero rather than a Ring agent. Having said that there was an intensity to Shaw's performance that demonstrated what </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brandon Routh was capable of given the right material to work with. He portrayed the depth of hurt that Shaw would be feeling while playing the whole situation at just the right tempo. We also got an obvious Die Hard reference in Shaw's death scene.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As always there was great enjoyment to be had from Morgan's antics. His confusion in knowing whether to address General Beckman as 'Sir' or 'Ma'am' was amusing. Also liked the reference to him being 'Alfred' to Chuck's 'Batman', which may well be the path the show take his character going forward. And he demonstrated his ability to help out the mission by picking up on the fake fight scene between Shaw & some Ring henchmen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bringing Casey back into the fold was perhaps inevitable, though I definitely felt there was more mileage in him playing a civilian. I loved how Shaw recognised Casey was in Paris after hearing machine gun fire, as well as the fact that Casey still has direct access to General Beckman. Which leads onto him asking for Morgan's promotion to Team Bartowski, & combined with him being complimentary to Chuck shows that our 'cold school' NSA Agent has definitely mellowed. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not a lot of involvement from the Buy More crew in this episode while Ellie & Awesome were entirely absent. As this was the season finale that is understandable but it will be interesting to see how the show balances the supporting cast during the upcoming 6 episodes. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will have some further thoughts on season 3.0 in general in another posting. In the meantime I look forward to any comments you have on this episode. </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-71564215842049086432010-03-27T00:34:00.004+00:002010-03-31T00:14:50.151+01:00Friday Five<div style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For this weeks Friday Five I've decided to pick my favourite sitcom characters. This list unsurprisingly includes some of my favourite sitcoms though obvious not all of them as I do like a heck of a lot of them. Compiling this list I was surprised to find that no female characters made the top five or any where near it. But as a lot of sitcoms are male dominated it is perhaps harder to standout. There are a lot of quality characters that have been left out & special mentions go out to Ross Geller, Kryton, Kramer & Frasier. As usual I've turned to YouTube to provide audio visual evidence of what makes a specific character so good. </div><div style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><ol style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4_JXJ33mLI">George Costanza</a> - This list had to include a character from one of the all time great sitcoms, Seinfeld. And they don't come much better or more demented than Costanza. Seinfeld worked so well because each character brought something unique to the show. George Costanza was neurotic, narcissistic & cheap. Yet all these characteristics worked so well to give us so many truly memorable moments in a sitcom full of great ones. He also scores higher for having the most remarkable parents in television history. The selected clip is of George going for a massage displaying his full range of neurosis.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xnNhzgcWTk">Basil Fawlty</a> - If George Costanza was the king of the demented than Basil Fawlty was as they say in some strange parts of England his granddaddy. Combining everything that Costanza brought with some old school English eccentricity made Basil Fawlty & Fawlty Towers one of the best loved sitcoms ever. That Fawlty Towers is so well remembered despite the fact that only twelve episodes were ever made is proof of the fact that quality always triumphs over quantity. This clip is from the infamous scene with some European visitors who have the misfortune of visiting Torquay's finest establishment.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7ZVEvxSR7g&feature=related">Barney Stinson</a> - How I Met Your Mothers womanising Barney Stinson played superbly by Neil Patrick Harris has quickly established himself as one of TVs best characters. There's not a lot to Barney's character, he's a womaniser, selfish & extremely shallow. So you'd assume he'd be completely unlikeable. However that's not the case & he often single handedly carries the entire show. Barney is also the source of an interminable number of rules including the Bro Code, the Lemon Law, & the Platinum Rule. And he has as many catchphrases with the likes of 'Suit up!', 'Legendary' & 'True story'. The clip is of Barney going through his legendary 'Playbook' in order to get women.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vafxnkWndI">General Melchett</a> - Blackadder Four was undoubtedly the best of a fantastic series. And one of the reasons it was so good was the superb cast. General Melchett is the eccentric commanding officer of Blackadder's company. Actually eccentric may be too kind a term - he was more stark raving mad, which meant plenty of hilarity whenever he was on screen. The chosen clip has used some strange video technique but it's the best collection of quotes I have been able to find on YouTube.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrmeYKPSlDQ&feature=related">Dr. Perry Cox</a> - The last ever episode of Scrubs aired this last week & so Dr. Cox is no more. Over the 9 seasons that Scrubs has been on TV it has re-imagined what constitutes a sitcom with drama, tragedy & comedy all equal parts of the show. And central to that altered tone was the role of Dr. Cox. As an angry yet brilliant attending who most definitely cared about his patients, Dr Cox was as much the heart of the show as the title character JD. He is particularly famous for ridiculously long monologues, crazy rants & sarcastic quick wit. This specific clip is a best of compiled mainly from the early seasons of Scrubs.</li>
</ol>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-6202408455274411562010-03-26T03:16:00.004+00:002010-03-31T00:21:31.231+01:00Chuck v the Final Exam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGW6A_DFzJ-vSmunObOA9DCm4X7h5zCVNpVfLJgWS0lsuGQCzSR_htw4no-b1i6xB5jsvELukK9Qavp1wzZQ5JthUY4k2EMYRPyNzMwHbFVCJUNXkl7TzIuMrlTb9QppdzQsAL6IDkVP9a/s1600/Chuck_311_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGW6A_DFzJ-vSmunObOA9DCm4X7h5zCVNpVfLJgWS0lsuGQCzSR_htw4no-b1i6xB5jsvELukK9Qavp1wzZQ5JthUY4k2EMYRPyNzMwHbFVCJUNXkl7TzIuMrlTb9QppdzQsAL6IDkVP9a/s400/Chuck_311_002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unfortunately there was no Chuck review for last weeks episode as I was struck down with the flu. I say unfortunately as Chuck v the Tic-Tac was one of the best episodes in the entire series & continued the strong showing from the previous installments. Chuck v the Final Exam focused on Chuck's graduation to fully fledged spy. This final mission would test his ability to function on his own & most of all test his ability to make the ultimate decision - take someone's life. As has been the trend throughout the season the episode was fairly dark, or at least dark for Chuck. The light relief was provided by second storyline featuring John Casey & the Buy More Crew. Overall it was a solid episode but definitely not as good as the last two that have aired, though as they were among the best of the series that's not too shabby. Some other reflections on the episode:</span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the whole Chuck becoming a spy story I thought there were quite a few oversights. Firstly the aspect of Chuck failing & thus being released by the CIA seemed a strange one. I understand the need to make Chuck stand on his own as he can't always rely on Sarah & Casey. But with the knowledge that Chuck has (I remember something about an interesect) plus the successful way the team has operated for the past few years surely there's a role for Chuck somewhere in the CIA. Team CIA's most successful operation so why break that up particularly in the face of the supposed increased danger posed by the Ring. There is a possibility that the whole threat was designed to test Chuck's ability to work in the most extreme circumstances but there was considerable stress in the situation without the need to add loss of career & possibly the girl he loves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Onto the killing itself if Casey knew Chuck wouldn't be able to kill his target than surely Sarah must have come to the same conclusion. And if that was the case she'd have to remain close to him otherwise there was a strong chance that Chuck would be the one who would be killed. She even articulated this herself during her conversation with Shaw. So letting Chuck out of her sight was a major mistake & if it wasn't for Casey we'd be dealing with a dead Agent Carmichael. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another thing I did not understand was Chuck thinking that the first part of the mission constituted the whole test. The mission while dangerous was nothing in comparison to other ones Chuck has dealt with. And with Casey questioning whether he had completed the test you'd have thought Chuck would re-evaluate whether it should be oh so simple.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other aspect of Chuck mission is something that is relevant to the whole season as well as this episode. Throughout this season we have seen the story revolve around Chuck's attempt to become a spy almost to the exclusion of anything else. We haven't learned about the Ring in any great deal. What about the Intersect? It's role hasn't been covered apart from it not always functioning correctly. Without building on these aspects the shows focus has become to narrow. Which I believe has had a detrimental effect on the show. Season 2's climax was so good because it was not only about Chuck but included a wider arc that tied so many different storylines together. Hopefully the next two episodes will bring together the unresolved parts of this season.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We got a far a bit of Chuck & Sarah time in this episode, all of which seems designed to set up the inevitable conclusion to </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the whole story arc. The Chuck/Sarah thing has been covered ad-nauseam else where so I don't think it's necessary to add any more to the debate. What I will say is that in this episode they as usual show cased how well they work together. Whether it's serious or light-hearted moments there is undeniable chemistry between the pair. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shaw's has been one of the strongest believers in Chuck's ability to be an effective spy. He's pushed him when Sarah & Casey have been sceptical as well as continually encouraging Chuck to develop into an elite spy. This all fits in with the Shaw as mentor storyline yet throughout his arc we haven't really had a Chuck & Shaw moment. The relationship hasn't developed beyond one of superior & subordinate. And I think this is important aspect in why the Shaw character has received a lot of criticism from a large section of fans. He's been made into a one note character who's sole presence on the show is as a competitor for Sarah's affection. Where is his relationship with the rest of Team Bartowski or even more imperatively his expertise on the Ring. We've yet to see what additional skills he's brought to the team. And this is even more of failure when you consider the reduction in the rest of supporting casts screen time should have allowed the writers to explore his character further.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Casey storyline didn't really work for me, which I'm surprised about because I love the goofy side of Chuck & they don't come more goofy then Jeff & Lester. Throw in Big Mike & you'd think it would be sure fire hit. Unfortunately that was not the case. I didn't buy Casey accepting the situation he's in & basically rolling over for Buy More's fearsome twosome. We did, though, get some great lines from this unlikely union as well as the most obvious Subway integration of the season. On the Subway front I think they managed to pull off the advertising without it seeming out of place but they have to be careful not to go overboard if it's not to damage the show & the brand.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once again not a full compliment of the cast. Of the missing members the presence I felt needed most was that of Morgan's. After the big reveal in Chuck v the Beard we have yet to see how Morgan can help or be involved in Chuck's life.<br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having read back this review it's noticeably negative, which is not the impression I intended to give. I enjoyed the episode & have definitely liked the whole season. There has been a change in emphasis during the season but I think that is a good thing. The story had to progress & while it has become a little darker it has retained its essential Chuckness (I've been watching You, Me & Dupree). Attempting to change a winning formula is always difficult as there are so much to lose. It's perhaps part of the reason why this season has drawn a mixed response from the fans. I've liked the fact that the show-runners have tried to progress the story on & overall I think the season has been at least as strong as Season 2. Several of the current seasons episodes have been among the shows best & I have no doubt that the last two of the initial arc will be excellent.</span> </li>
</ul>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-91590881679372731202010-03-19T18:07:00.001+00:002010-03-19T18:09:31.134+00:00Friday Five<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I have been laid low with the flu this week I haven't been able to keep up to my usual output of postings but I'd have to be extremely poorly not to complete the regular Friday Five feature.</span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8570244.stm">Silly Job Titles</a> - A story from the BBC website on the strange job titles that have become pretty common place these days.</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/mar/19/magazines-ipad"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">iPad Magazines</span></a> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- The iPad is coming soon & the hope from the newspaper/magazine industry is that it will revolutionise the industry in the same way the iPod has in the music sector. This feature shows some of the content writers have thought of some innovative ways to use the iPad, which is promising for the giant iPhone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://football365.com/story/0,17033,8746_6035405,00.html">Jose Fawning</a> - John Nicholson with his weekly rant, which this week is about Jose Mourinho & host of other stuff. He's slightly mad but always entertaining (I've just realised that could apply to either one of them).</span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/gabriele_marcotti/article6965648.ece"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">David Villa</span></a> - <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Its an old article but given that Andy Townsend stated last night that Villa 'couldn't guarantee' 25 goals a season for a top club I've included it so people can see what absolute tosh he spouts. What I find amazing is that pundits/experts in this country don't have the slightest knowledge of football outside of this country, though perhaps I'm over estimating their knowledge of football at home.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lowcostholidaysbigsearch.com/Home/TripAdvisorGame">Fun Travel Game</a> - I'll finish off with a travel game that is </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">fun as well as </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">informative. I got to level 10 with 388,918 points, which is not bad for hillbilly like myself.</span></li>
</ol>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-7742398426894503782010-03-18T04:55:00.006+00:002010-03-18T23:06:37.738+00:00Lionel Messi: The Roger Federer of football<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsHhNMupadYe5Senrsemxprc2x3BgIhWD8r8qozszQ6Xad8vqPVfsWpinK9pmpqr5WpxyBRo2rIW4AcoOBZdfbkEuk3U8XgfGGgwMcsbanCCCBafy6srvbvboCXYoXiE_stL0ZR5icFZV/s1600-h/messi-leo090405getty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidsHhNMupadYe5Senrsemxprc2x3BgIhWD8r8qozszQ6Xad8vqPVfsWpinK9pmpqr5WpxyBRo2rIW4AcoOBZdfbkEuk3U8XgfGGgwMcsbanCCCBafy6srvbvboCXYoXiE_stL0ZR5icFZV/s400/messi-leo090405getty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Lionel Messi scored another incredible <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn9qmnRt0fc&feature=related" target="_blank">hat-trick</a> over the weekend it was clear that we were witnessing greatness before our very eyes. In a game that had seen Barcelona struggle to break down a well organised Valencia team the Argentine star demonstrated once again that it is impossible to legislate for genius. The first goal in particular was sensational, amazing, stunning or any other superlative you can think of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Collecting the ball some 30 yards from goal, Messi left three defenders in his wake before cooly slotting past Cesar in goal. Words cannot do justice to the beauty of the goal but in the tightest of spaces Messi displayed superb close control with rapid changes of direction to completely carve open a Valencia defence that had been so resolute for the previous 56 minutes of the match. It was a joy to behold for anybody who loves sport other than that is, Valencia & Real Madrid fans. The look of bewilderment on Ángel Dealbert face perfectly encapsulated the magic of Messi & reinforced the idea that Messi is not some first among equals but a footballer without compare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While football does not currently have anyone who can match Messi's brilliance there is one comaprison that is valid & that is one with Roger Federer. The Swiss superstar has widely been acknowledge as the tennis world's greatest ever player. His record is phenominal with 16 grand slam titles, a record 237 weeks as world no.1 & a sensational 23 consecutive semi final appearances in grand slam tournaments. And as good as Messi has been he's some way short of achieving those sort of stats. However where the comparisons ring true is in the artistry & genius of their respective games. Watch any Federer match and there will be moments of brilliance that will take your breath away. Shots that other players wouldn't even think of are executed with consumate ease by Federer. From outrageous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCHR6__ZguE" target="_blank">half volleys</a> on the baseline to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hp-EArV6s8" target="_blank">smash hit</a> returns off smashes Federer has proved the master of the sublime. He's even invented a few shots of his own bringing to mind Bobby Jones quote about Jack Niclaus when he said "Nicklaus played a game with which I am not familiar". And that sensation is transmitted by the </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">watching public</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> as they emit strange noises not heard at other </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">tennis </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> matches. Instead of standard cheers & applause we get moments of audible gasps as the crowd try to comprehend the genius before them. And that is the ultimate genius of Federer. It is not measured in stats but the ability to astound regular tennis watcher.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Likewise Messi has the same ability to mesmerise all who are fortunate to witness his brilliance. He does things on the football pitch that others can only dream of. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t3KgXbxHnc" target="_blank">Great goals</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP_zlly5oXU" target="_blank">fantastic dribbling</a> & outstanding technique only tell part of the story. His short career is littered with moments that draw the viewer out of his seat before leaving him awash with a mixture of joy & astonishment. It's a brilliance that sets him apart from his peers. The stats may say Wayne Rooney has scored more goals this season or that Ronaldo is more deadly from set pieces yet no-one can doubt the Messi operates in a different sphere to those great players. Messi like Federer is a once in a generation performer. They have the honours & records to justify their greatness but in 50 years from now what will be remembered will not be the bare statistics but the beauty & splendour of their games. Perhaps what best sums up these two giants of their respective sports is a quote by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer who said "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-2398860127458215832010-03-13T19:24:00.004+00:002010-03-18T05:35:04.338+00:00Classic Music<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As the <a href="http://utstars.blogspot.com/2010/02/friday-five.html" target="_blank">Friday Five </a>feature from a few weeks ago was so well received (there were so many comments I couldn't keep up with them all) that I've decided to make it a regular posting. If for some unfathomable reason you didn't catch that blog - firstly why didn't you, you can't have anything better to do & secondly there's a link at the top of the page for goodness sake - it included links to some of my current favourite music videos. For this posting I'm going to link to some more music videos but with a little twist, rather than new music its going to be classic music, well at least classic music to me.</span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ5VlOl6tj4" target="_blank">Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl</a> - Live performance of Cornflake Girl in Chicago 2003. The track that brought her to my attention & still one of my favourite songs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_lsfo8L5UU" target="_blank">Babyface - How Come, How Long</a> - Off the multi award winning </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">album </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The Day this collaboration with Stevie Wonder is a fabulous song which also projects an important message. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VnmmN3KAyc" target="_blank">Oasis - Cast No Shadow</a> - Written by Noel Gallagher in honour of Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft. A really exceptional song from an outstanding album. If (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is not in your record collection then there's something seriously wrong with you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qujfdzLJPyU" target="_blank">The Verve - Lucky Man</a> - Talking of Richard Ashcroft this uplifting song is one of my favourites off the Verve's Urban Hymns album. The Verve have had turbulent career & are currently disbanded but even in their short recording history they have produced plenty of great music.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reqBnfK2_fw" target="_blank">R. Kelly - Religious Love</a> - This song brings back memories of many a morning spent at university. This sony was played incessantly by one of my roomates as we woke up in the morning, which as students was always very early! And though you'd think that it would get old pretty soon it's still one my favourite R. Kelly songs. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQSxwzOngMU" target="_blank">Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight </a>- This rather strange video doesn't detract from an excellent song. From the superbly named Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness album released in 1995.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka9mCmx9Jhs" target="_blank">Lisa Loeb - Stay (I Missed You)</a> - The immensely talented Lisa Loeb provides us with video number 7 with Stay (I Missed You), it's good to see I'm not the only one who has a bracket problem.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttuA1UEUAI0" target="_blank">Beautiful South - A Little Time</a> - This video is reminiscent of a typical day at the Gladstone household, though I can promise everyone no teddy bears are hurt in the process. From the 1990 album Choke.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN90xB7DswE" target="_blank">Various Artists - Perfect Day</a> - This cover of Lou Reed's Perfect Day was the music video for BBC Children in Need back in 1997. With a range of pop stars plus Bono.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCbO-3hjPok" target="_blank">Robert Miles - Children</a> - I'll finish with this track from musician Robert Miles. A smash hit in 1995 right across Europe (I've realised quite a few of this selection are from this year). </span></li>
</ol><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A fairly diverse group of songs that might well revive some old memories for you, though hopefully only good ones. </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-44184084810730890512010-03-12T07:17:00.001+00:002010-03-17T02:10:55.085+00:00Friday Five<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For this weeks Friday Five I have decided to look at sports commentary & in particular my five favourite pundits on TV. Now there is no significance to the ranking numbers as I would be hard pressed to pick my favourite from such an accomplished list of individuals. All of them appear on British television in some shape or form. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What makes a good pundit is probably different for every person. We are after all pundits ourselves with highly intelligent views on any variety of subjects. Perhaps we want experts to articulate similar views to our own. Thus while one person may regard Geoff Boycott as a genius for others he may be nothing more than self opinionated fool (I'd probably lean towards the genius verdict). So its rare to get consensus on who is or isn't a good pundit. I've personally liked my commentators to keep me informed with insights that I may not have noticed (I know talk about the impossible). I also want the commentator/pundit/summariser to offer his own opinions. They might be completely laughable but that still makes it a million times better than listening to cliches.</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<ol style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u7D3iQxlUo" target="_blank">Mark Petchey</a> - As a regular contributor on Sky Sports tennis coverage Mark Petchey gets through plenty of commentating hours per season. Equally adept as live commentator or studio pundit his insights are always worth listening to. Rather than the banal 'he'll be disappointed with that' nonsense that we so often get Petchey's more often than not picks up things that most viewers will not have noted. The other thing I like about Petchey is the ability to take a dispassionate view of proceedings, which given the desire for success for Andy Murray from Sky Sports is a commendable achievement. The clip selected is a highlights package of the US Open Quarter-Final 2007 between Roger Federer & Andy Roddick.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3XXQxhDm48" target="_blank">Martin Brundle</a> - With F1 returning to our screens today it feels appropriate to have Martin Brundle on the list. Pretty much a straight talker, Brundle is always to the point regardless of who he's talking to. He's also shown a willingness to give his opinions but at the same time he's not afraid to admit when he's called something wrong. A decent driver in his day he has without doubt proved to be an excellent addition to the commentary box. The video is from one of his famous grid walks, which in this instance is from the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ijCDgPBqo" target="_blank">Michael Atherton</a> - The former England Captain has made a swift transition to the world of journalism. As a graduate of Cambridge University he's obviously got the background to succeed in journalism as witnessed by his recent award for Columnist of the Year. What I like about Atherton's analysis is that he provides thoughtful approach that is grounded in fact rather than cliches. Softly spoken Atherton displays a train of thought that was rarely visible when he led the team as Captain. The clip selected is in relation to his book about the 2009 Ashes series.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTLTOR-ztns&feature=PlayList&p=B5DB5E7EBAE58B2D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=54" target="_blank">John McEnroe</a> - Just to prove that not all top commentators are mediocre former players (sorry Messers Petchey, Brundle & Atherton) here is a true great of his sport. McEnroe's transition from brat to sage has probably surprised even him. As someone who reached the very pinnacle of the game he can offer insights into the thought process of the very best players. This knowledge means he nearly always offers a very prescient analysis of the situation. The chosen clip is of the final of the 2009 French Open between Roger Federer & Robin Soderling. Now while I'm a big Federer fan there's no conspiracy to just use his clips but he generally has the most videos on YouTube & hence why I've ended up using two Federer videos.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5S3a6L69zY&feature=related" target="_blank">Andy Gray</a> - I did debate whether to include Sky's leading football commentator ahead of someone like Michael Johnson who also offers a lot of interesting opinions. Ultimately I decided that as football is the national sport I had to include somebody from it. Gray is opinionated & speaks with a lot of passion as we see from the clip. He's not always right but he more often than not provides an accurate analysis of the situation. He does have a tendency to go touch overboard about English players but as everyone else does to it hardly constitutes the worst crime.</li>
</ol><span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope everyone likes my list. And if my theory of wanting to listen to similar opinions as ones own is true than I must be highly intelligent & sophisticated individual. I would love to hear your favourite sports pundits so get involved by posting your comments below.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-72721202762711994922010-03-12T04:33:00.001+00:002010-03-12T04:35:04.411+00:00TV Review: Wonders of the Solar System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChbMoKpCgbCrTyqc-KsC6NRtSCn6WWBRqjStVg5EAp0OlK7jrHPRnGN4jz2PK0oq1ASA5yozjqCsGdnyk8h5IwO2luRjNPJYRbEJSmWXZcSIFCsvBn5LXuuELQC9VZtmhG5ddXtAWHlLY/s1600-h/wonders_solar_systems.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChbMoKpCgbCrTyqc-KsC6NRtSCn6WWBRqjStVg5EAp0OlK7jrHPRnGN4jz2PK0oq1ASA5yozjqCsGdnyk8h5IwO2luRjNPJYRbEJSmWXZcSIFCsvBn5LXuuELQC9VZtmhG5ddXtAWHlLY/s400/wonders_solar_systems.jpg" vt="true" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now while I write about TV shows I'm not a fanatical watcher of TV. In actual fact over the years I would characterise my TV watching as irregular more than anything. However one thing I have always been a fan of is BBC documentaries. Always informative, well made & great entertainment, BBC documentaries have developed a worldwide reputation for excellence. So it was with a lot of excitement that I looked forward to the corporations latest offering, Wonders of the Solar System. And I wasn't disappointed with the first episode of the series Empire of the Sun starting it all off on a very positive note.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The series is helmed by Professor Brian Cox a scientist who holds a chair in particle physics at the University of Manchester. Having appeared on numerous TV shows including Horizon, Professor Cox has become a familiar face on British television. As an enthusiastic presenter he has the ability to make science both relevant & engaging for a much wider audience than would be typical for a programme of this type. And it is this interesting & exciting approach that serves Empire of the Sun so well. Taking a subject matter that is familiar to millions Empire of the Sun provides a fascinating insight into the workings of our Sun. We learn about solar seasons, the gravitational power of the sun, the effect of solar winds as well as so much more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Conveying his love & passion for the subject at hand one cannot but be drawn in to the programme. And Cox is not your typical physicist mixing in phrases like "the solar system coming down and grabbing you by the throat" to refer to a solar eclipse. Alongside this enthusiasm it was the ability to balance the science so that it does not become too technical nor overly simplified that helps the programme prove relevant. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Like most modern documentaries there were plenty of computer generated graphics to keep us entertained/informed. Of these my favourite shot was the view of the Sun from Sedna, a distant dwarf planet. The graphics themselves were not especially impressive but it allowed you to visualise the enormous distance between it & the Sun (some 13 billion miles).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Other than this the display of the aurora borealis was also eye catching. Which leads me to my only gripe about the show. The use of background music was a tad over done but it is just a minor point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Overall the show was an excellent addition to BBC's stable of award winning documentaries. It was fascinating hour of television that highlighted everything that the BBC does so well & I can't wait for episode two Order out of Chaos, which airs on Sunday BBC2 at 9pm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For anybody who missed Empire of the Sun it is currently on BBC iPlayer & is available for viewing via the following link <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rf172">Wonders of the Solar System</a></span>.W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-75381822833117855702010-03-10T17:09:00.003+00:002010-04-21T23:12:05.691+01:00White Collar: Out of the Box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ylcgOhRlq1mM-WueAZ4pHAo97FHzlGTzHQaUQvVybLMTC3QTSm7zbtjKK5NYA9761RfJXObcxTo9YNRf67wpalNQyMK6pT-hoit2riJTEJW0RIrkhCLqly2icoFGeEPZDEg_kVWJ6edH/s1600-h/out_of_the_box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ylcgOhRlq1mM-WueAZ4pHAo97FHzlGTzHQaUQvVybLMTC3QTSm7zbtjKK5NYA9761RfJXObcxTo9YNRf67wpalNQyMK6pT-hoit2riJTEJW0RIrkhCLqly2icoFGeEPZDEg_kVWJ6edH/s400/out_of_the_box.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">White Collar completed its debut season with the airing of Out of the Box. And it was an explosive ending for what has been a terrific new show. The story centered on the music box & its links to Kate. Neal alongside Alex & Mozzie planned to steal the music box from the Italian Consulate. To </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">achieve this </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Neal gets a little help from Fowler, which triggers Peter's suspicion of the whole operation.</span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The explosion of the plane that was to be used by Neal & Kate to start their new life throws up many questions. The most obvious being about the whole Kate arc. We never got to spend any real length of time with her this season, so who she is & why she is so important to Neal remains a mystery. I understand that their had to be a reason for Neal to breakout of prison just four months shy of his release but to achieve that they had to humanise Kate & make her a three dimensional character. Instead we got an almost mythical character that it was hard to develop feelings for. I suppose with Kate gone now we don't have to worry about that aspect & just put it down a bad plot hole that all shows have in some shape or form.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I did expect an ending that would tie up the Kate storyline (though not in the way that it transpired) as well as for our resident bad guy, Agent Fowler. However this one doesn't get resolved so I'm sure will have more of OPR's lead agent in season two. Plus Fowler's indication that he was reporting to someone further up the food chain opens up a whole new set of possibilities. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the questions I was wondering as I watched the episode was actually asked by Neal - "What's so special about the box?" If Neal doesn't know then it must be something that is truly hidden. And it must be something that is very valuable if whoever sanctioned it's return was willing to get Neal out of prison just to steal it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Peter's suspension was a surprise & clever touch to ensure he did not get in the way of the operation. We know he & Neal are equals in terms of intelligence & so having Neal steal the box without Peter acting would have been problematic. The suspension did not stop Peter from getting fully involved & in particular going after Fowler. In this storyline we also see the return of Marsha Thomason who played Agent Diana Barrigan in the Pilot. I also loved Peter's reaction after shooting Fowler & being quizzed by Diana about knowing that Fowler was wearing a vest to which his response was that he didn't. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I touched on last week there is growing friendship between Peter & Neal </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">alongside there obvious respect for each other. We see Peter trying to convince Neal to stay not because he needs him but because he wants him around as a friend. At the same time Neal recognises this & thus does not tell Peter he's going fearing that he'd be talked out of leaving. There chemistry has been central to the success of the show so it will be interesting to see where the writers take that relationship. Will Neal graduate to a true consultant devoid of tracking anklet or will they try & keep the status quo.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The exit of Kate obviously leaves potential for Neal & Alex to rekindle an old romance that has been hinted at. They actually play off each other very well though the sensation remains that neither trusts the other completely. Which means there's plenty of mileage that can be achieved from this storyline.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was a pretty good episode of White Collar though not my favourite of the season. As a season finale I expected more tension & drama but it moves along pretty sedately until that is the final scene. Overall White Collar's first season has been a great success. I can't think of any bad episodes & it has delivered a very consistent level of entertainment. For season two there is an increased expectation after such a successful debut season. This obviously creates a great deal of pressure but I'm sure the show runners prefer that to the pressure of managing a show on the bubble. In terms of moving the story forward there is fine balancing act to achieve. On the one hand the established formula has been very successful & it would be risky to alter it. But at the same time there needs to be an evolution of characters & story otherwise it will be like watching repeats of the first season. White Collar's strength has been its characters & it should stick to utilising the great leads it has. I would as I've mentioned like to see Neal's character given more responsibility. His staying in New York & working with Peter's team should be based on wanting to make a difference. The tracking anklet I feel has served its purpose & should be removed at some stage in season two. One thing I'm sure about is that wherever the show takes us in season two White Collar will remain a fun hour of television.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-31377124651163265932010-03-09T18:14:00.004+00:002010-03-09T21:56:45.191+00:00Chuck v the Beard<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chuck v the Beard was perhaps the best episode of the current season. A throwback to previous seasons it was </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">fun </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">filled hour with humour, drama, Buy More shenanigans & Jeffster! I had a perma grin on my face throughout the episode & can't wait for what Schwartz, Fedak et all have in store for next week. Here are some more thoughts on the </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chuck v the Beard:</span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Having Morgan find out about Chuck's secret was brilliant. I was convinced he'd be the last to know & thought the potential for conflict as well as comedy in that storyline would mean that it was continually mined. However the way Morgan handled the situation had me in stitches. From his awesome reaction to finding out Chuck's secret to his prodding of the Ring agent Ewok style he simply was terrific. With Morgan on side Chuck knows he has someone to rely on. Alongside Ellie, Morgan has always been Chuck's closest confidant. Losing that has upset Chuck deeply as he has alluded to on several occasions. Now with Morgan to fall back on Chuck will be more grounded while also enabling him to be a better spy. The conflicts in Chuck's life whether that be the perennial question about Sarah or the hiding/lying to Ellie have been a great burden on Chuck. He now has a release valve through the person he can rely on the most. And in terms of comedic potential there's plenty of it where Morgan's concerned.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is it me or is Shaw turning into a liability for Team Bartowski. The Ring know he's alive & are coming after him even harder. At the same time he seems as determined to take them down. The fact that his wife was killed by them may be clouding his judgement something a spy should not allow as he told Sarah when he wanted to blow up Castle with Chuck inside. As yet he hasn't provided any clear intelligence that would help the Team take down or even harm the Ring. If he is to justify his position as Team leader he has to offer something other than love interest for Sarah.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Ring agents provided the typical Chuck plot holes for the episode. How comes there wasn't a team waiting at the hotel to take out Casey, Sarah & Shaw? Having found the information they were after surely they should have moved quickly to get it back to headquarters? And the delay in killing Casey & Chuck/Morgan was classic bad guy duh moment. Why don't we untie the secret agent so that he can take us all out?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zachary Levi's directorial debut was very good. It did not stand out as massively different from a typical Chuck episode but I did like the different touches he employed such as the flash grenade used by Casey as he enters the Ring agent's hotel room. Also surprisingly given that he was directing the show Zachary Levi had plenty of screen time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Buy More shenanigans were as usual hilarious. Some people don't like that element of the show but for me it is an integral part of the show as the intersect. The best bits were the apple swallowing by Jeff, the Buy More revolution with a recreation of the marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima only with the Buy Moria flag instead, Jeff Barnes complaining about stress at the Buy More! And of course all capped with the long awaited return of Jeffster! Also loved the reference to tragically departed Emmett Milbarge in the form of the Buy Moria flag & the mace.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Awesome was awesome for a bit until his kryptonite made a re-appearance. Devon's reaction to the whole Chuck spy world shows he is more than college frat boy. As opposed to Morgan he offers a serious perspective on the danger the spy world presents. None more so than the danger to Ellie. From the outside it might all appear to be sexy, glamorous & action packed but there is a huge price to pay for getting caught up in international espionage. And it's a price Devon is not willing to contend.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That said I would hate the thought of Devon & Ellie being off the show for an extended length of time. The Chuck/Ellie relationship is central to the show & their slightly weird little family when you add in Morgan & Awesome contrasts nicely with the spy world all that entails.</span></li>
</ul><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Best Quotes from </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chuck v the Beard</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<ol style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>"<b>Bag'em & tag'em Sarah</b>" Morgan Grimes coolly adapts to the spy world.</li>
<li>"<b>The only thing I hate more than hippy, neo-liberal fascist anarchists are the hypocrite fat cat suits they eventually grow up to become</b>." - John Casey sincerely wanting in on the Buy Moria revolution</li>
<li>"<b>I just reclaimed my awesomeness</b>" - An exasperated Devon 'Captain Awesome' Woodcomb as he realises he's in the middle of another spy operation.</li>
<li>"<b>Just a little something I use to take the edge off a stressful day</b>" - Jeff Barnes proves appearances can be deceiving as working at the Buy More is capable of inducing stress.</li>
<li>"<b>Do not wager against the brown beauty & the snake</b>" - Lester Patel as he Jeff strike again in winning money off their clueless colleagues.</li>
<li>"<b>You're the best Nerd Herder we have</b>" - Morgan. Even with Chuck hardly there he still proves to be the best of the Nerd Herders, which is not surprising when you consider his competition is Jeff & Lester.</li>
</ol><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-18406787215218674702010-03-08T19:00:00.005+00:002010-03-09T02:25:56.706+00:00Kicking out the Cheats<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over the weekend I caught a number of football games among which was the Real Zaragoza v Sevilla clash. It was a pretty poor game, which makes you wonder why I didn't turn it off, though it wasn't the standard of football that rally bothered me </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">but the constant cheating. Time and again there was cynical fouling, blatant diving, play acting & haranguing of officials. It made the game a very poor contest with little flow to proceedings & excruciating to watch. Again I don't know why I was watching it though it probably has something to do with being a glutton for punishment - I am married after all! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The problem with this game & the sport in general beyond the lack of value for the paying public is that these antics are nothing short of cheating. The epitome of this distasteful behaviour was the attention handed to Atletico player Jose Antonio Reyes. He was on the receiving end of several crude challenges as Zaragoza tried to stop the winger from impacting the game. Using a tactic developed by the Neville brothers, a succession of Zaragoza players fouled the former Arsenal player thus ensuring that no one player got into trouble for this constant fouling. And to cap off the evening for Reyes ironically he was the one who was sent off for violent conduct after swinging a stray arm in the direction of Zaragoza player Eliseu Pereira. Needless to say little if any contact was made but that didn't stop </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pereira going to ground clutching his face as if he had been mauled by a wild dog. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That the referee sided with the players/team that sort to participate in the darker arts & damage the game as spectacle says something about where football is going. Now I don't believe that football is all about attacking teams & creative players. And as much as it is a joy to watch the likes of Barcelona & Arsenal play an exciting brand of football there is just as much enjoyment to behold from the physical contest between two committed teams. So while the games governing bodies don't have a duty to protect attacking teams they do have a duty to uphold fairness. What took place at La Romareda was not just unfair it was the rewarding of underhand tactics & downright dishonesty. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The solution to these tactics is really quite simple. Anyone caught play acting should get an automatic 3 match ban. And diving would fall within the bounds of play acting. This can be implemented by the referee on the pitch (ideally) as well as retrospectively. The three match ban doesn't mean a sending off in that particular game but suspension from future matches. In terms of targeted fouling the referee needs to be firmer with the perpetrators by warning the team captain that he will start handing out yellow cards for fouls against the aggrieved player. To often referee's fall back on the option of counting the number of fouls by a player before issuing a card. Thus the likes of Mascharano, Diarra, Fletcher etc get away with several fouls before picking up a caution. Bookings should be viewed in context of the</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> attempt to win the ball. Thus a player who makes no attmept to play the ball or starts his attempt by shirt pulling or dragging back his opponent should be cautioned. Players who pursue such tactics are aiming to stop the player rather than making a genuine effort to get the ball. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm sure the majority of football fans want to see attacking & creative play by the team they support. To enable this we should not reward those that seek to destroy creativity with underhand tactics. In my mind football should be about attacking intent but more than this it should be about playing within the spirit of the game. And what took place between Zaragoza & Atletico was as far removed from the spirit of fair play as possible. So if we want football to remain the beautiful game we need to act to preserve that beauty. </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-27063708319928868732010-03-06T02:28:00.004+00:002010-03-12T04:36:39.129+00:00White Collar: Frontman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2yfnbprMsUNaR8SetTTqE-VS4qgc57MSMAGvU0YaH7U01SVe7mtL38IyKfGCV9t07lC5bcEA0575qJNCIsyhc4EqCqNbb-hMOFBF1lKCq9NCEXTwWdrClG96RU1kjNmy7u7IsRduWwlr/s1600-h/front_man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2yfnbprMsUNaR8SetTTqE-VS4qgc57MSMAGvU0YaH7U01SVe7mtL38IyKfGCV9t07lC5bcEA0575qJNCIsyhc4EqCqNbb-hMOFBF1lKCq9NCEXTwWdrClG96RU1kjNmy7u7IsRduWwlr/s400/front_man.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The penultimate episode of the current season of White Collar sees Peter & Neal involved in a kidnapping case were the prime suspect is an </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">old colleague of Neal's from the criminal fraternity. In the process</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Neal is placed in a great deal of danger as he becomes central to the survival of the kidnapped girl as well as his own personal well being. </span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The alteration from the usual white collar crimes was an interesting change up. One of the issues for the show has been that the crimes involved are not easy to care about. So in this episode where not only is one life at risk but at least two ratchets up the tension. However while it worked well in this episode I don't think it has to follow that path on a continued basis. Because the reason White Collar works so well is the dynamics of the characters & not necessarily the drama of the situations. After all there are plenty of crime procedurals out there. Thus what distinguishes White Collar is that it is fun, smart & well written show.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where the heightened tension worked was in displaying Neal's composure under pressure. In the past he's rarely had to deal with life or death situation but in the travel agency he has to work quickly & under a great deal of stress. And for someone who doesn't like guns he handled himself pretty well throughout the episode.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neal has managed to run into two old adversary's in consecutive episodes. Wilkes like Keller from last week is a pretty nasty piece of work. Wilkes demonstrates a darker side of the criminal world which differentiates Neal and his past criminal activity from Wilkes & the like. Something Stuart Glass commented on when he noted that "it would be so much easier if he (Neal) acted more like a criminal". And in his new role he is making amends for old sins.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neal stint as 'consultant' doesn't seem to have generated much good will from anyone in the Bureau other than Peter's team. He's placed in obvious danger by going to a club frequented by Wilkes. And the later revelation that he was the ransom just exemplifies the regard in which he's held. However given his success in solving crimes you would have thought the FBI would class him as something of a prized asset.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Agent Kimberly Rice's ice queen act was dropped too soon for my liking. Her antagonistic attitude to Neal & Peter could have been utilised in future episodes. Loved Peter's line about being "deep down inside petrified" of her.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter and Neal have developed a real affinity for each other. Peter couldn't sit around while Neal worked on the kidnapping case. While Neal clearly missed working with Peter after spending a little time in the company of Agent Rice. And Peter's anger was palpable after finding out that Neal had been set up by Rice.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So given the bond that's developed between the two the danger presented by the music box & by extension Neal's continued desire to search for Kate is real. Peter will not hesitate to bring down Neal if he strays from the track. The point Peter made at the end was not a threat but advice from someone who cares about Neal.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as Neal is the star of the show & gets to demonstrate his brilliant mind </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peter's quick analysis of what Neal was up to just reinforces that he's his equal. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week sees the series finale of what has been an excellent debut season. I'm sure were in for a dramatic climax.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-8241179212434863102010-03-05T12:32:00.000+00:002010-03-05T12:32:47.576+00:00Friday Five<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This weeks Friday Five is back to its traditional format of links to my favourite stories & articles of the week. </span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/04/google-ken-auletta" target="_blank">Inside Google's HQ</a> - As the world's most important company in the internet age Google's story is fascinating one. In this excerpt from a book by Ken Auletta "Googled. The End of the World As We Know it" we learn a little about the men behind the company & the philosophy that drives them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/932797.stm" target="_blank">The Michael Foot Story</a> - This week saw the passing of Michael Foot former Labour Leader & one of the great parliamentarians of the 20th Century. What Michael Foot symbolises for me is the adherence to principle & political thought. In today's age of PR he was a genuine politician who sought the best for his constituents & country. He would, however, remain unelectable even today because as much as we hate the spin merchants at the heart of all major political parties we have long since accepted the idea of style over substance.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/article7050336.ece" target="_blank">Planet Football's new orbit</a> - A Times article but for once not one from Simon Barnes, though he does have an excellent article himself in today's paper. This ones from Gabby Logan & she touches on the changing dynamic of sport & it's participants, which in this case are men.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/7369532/Manchester-United-not-for-sale-Chief-executive-David-Gill-could-not-be-more-wrong.html" target="_blank">Manchester United not for sale?</a> - Another of my favourite journalists Jim White delivers an excellent piece on the financial issues surrounding Manchester United and the rumoured take over attempt by Red Knights group.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/gallery/2010/mar/02/geneva-motor-show-in-pictures?picture=359973926" target="_blank">Geneva Motor Show</a> - Link to a gallery of cars from the Geneva Motor Show.</span></li>
</ol><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> As usual I welcome any suggestions you may have via the comments section. </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-79092193976618652342010-03-03T15:05:00.001+00:002010-03-03T15:06:15.615+00:00Chuck v the Fake Name<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a three week break Chuck returned with episode eight of the third season. Chuck v the Fake Name revolved around the story of Chuck having to assume the identity of a hit-man hired by the Ring to assassinate an unknown person. What followed was a thoroughly entertaining episode that was on the whole more fun than angst.<a name='more'></a></span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chuck's portrayal of hit-man Rafe Gruber was spot on. He managed to balance pretty well the sinister look of a professional hit-man with the typical Chuck goofiness - "Because I like cup-cakes that's why - who doesn't like a good cup-cake?". Zach Levi's acting skills are often over</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">looked but the breadth & depth of the character he has to produce is daunting. He's always managed to carry the comedy/lighter moments especially well but now he's equally adept at playing more dramatic scenes. And the two moments that showcased this best were the scene with Ellie (its a been a while since we've had one of these) & the breaking up with Hannah. Even without saying a great deal he conveyed the emotion of the situation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Talking of which, I'm sure a lot of people will say that Chuck has turned into bit of a jerk following his dumping of Hannah. But the way I viewed it was Chuck being honest to a girl he cares about. He knows that he still has deep feelings for Sarah & trying to move on with Hannah was a mistake. Rather than stringing Hannah on he did the honourable thing. In addition as he well knew before he got involved with Hannah, trying to have a relationship with a civilian is extremely difficult. But more than that it means not being totally honest with the person he's with, which though he has become proficient in, it's not something he's really comfortable with. Also you would expect Chuck's character to evolve as he becomes more immersed in the spy world. It turns out Sarah's warning in Chuck v the Pink Slip was pretty prescient.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While Chuck was ending his relationship Sarah & Shaw were moving ever closer. Sarah is a bit of an emotional mess at the moment. Letting her feelings for Chuck out into the open has been like releasing the genie from the bottle. She's vulnerable at the moment & that's why I can see how the relationship with Shaw could happen. At the same time I feel Shaw is playing the whole scenario perfectly. Recognising her vulnerability he seems to say the right things at just the right time. This </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">creates the impression that his intentions are not entirely honourable. Also his comment</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> to Chuck - "You had your chance & you blew it" - could well have been taken at face value. Either way something just seems a little wrong about Shaw.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The name reveal of Sarah Walker as Sam wasn't a big deal for me. It is strange trying to associate a new name to a face & person we've known for 3 years but I guess that's par for the course in the spy world. Ultimately as Chuck so eloquently said in Chuck v the Cougars & I'm paraphrasing "I don't need to know more about who you were because I know who you are".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had the usual Casey gems in this weeks episode. The look of pride on Casey's face after Chuck sold his alias so expertly was priceless. And </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">only Casey could be happy about getting a tooth pulled out.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Which led to the Casey emotional growth moment as witnessed by his "I'm proud of you" comment to Chuck, though he did say it a little bit begrudgingly. It's no surprise that he was a hot shot sniper & he clearly hasn't lost any skills as he took out Gruber twice & in the process saved Sarah's life. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not a huge Sopranos' fan but even I loved the reference to the show. The Matty & Scotty characters offered plenty of comedic moments. The best line of which was the joke about the shows ongoing will they won't they saga.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Pretty much a full compliment of the cast in the episode. For me the shows always worked best when it has used the full ensemble. From the Buy Morons we got the Chuck lady-killer angle. With the Lester delivering the super line "I'm so lonely" in response to Chuck's seemingly hypnotic powers over the opposite sex. As a big fan of Sarah Lancaster it's always good to see her given something to work with. I think it was one of the show-runners who said that the Ellie/ Chuck relationship was the heart of the show & I couldn't agree with that sentiment more. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For a moment when Shaw was fiddling with his towel I thought he was going to try the infamous 'naked man' tactic used on How I Met Your Mother. Now that would be some reference. We also got two shirtless scenes courtesy of Captain Awesome & Shaw providing plenty of eye candy for those into that type of thing. Personally I've always thought muscles were overrated.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lastly there was the usual mix of quality music in the episode with my favourite of an excellent the bunch "Faces in Dark" by The Generationals. Chuck has become one of my best resources for finding great new music. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I really loved this episode. There was lots of comedy, which in my mind is always a good thing. We got our usual dose of angst, which has become something of a series three trait, but overall I thought the episode balanced the different genres that Chuck straddles pretty well. The show has set up a lot of intriguing storylines heading into the climax of the season. So hopefully what's to come will be pretty spectacular.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-57657281220397381432010-03-01T17:17:00.002+00:002010-03-02T02:18:36.870+00:00Changes to the Football Calendar<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week sees the return of the beloved international friendly. Club managers use the opportunity to blame their own failings on the disruption caused by International matches, while national managers have to put up with a never ending list of withdrawals. As a result we usually get a disjointed kick about masquerading as a football match, though Liverpool fans may be hard pressed to spot the difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have yet to come across anyone who thinks international friendlies are beneficial. National managers know that little can be gleaned from single matches particularly if they are accompanied by wholesale withdrawals but they offer an opportunity to try tactics/players outside of serious competitive matches. Also without friendlies national managers could go five or six months without doing any actual work. And that would make it hard to justify the seven figure salary. The problem, though, is not the friendly matches but rather the structure of the whole football calendar itself.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What football needs is a radical solution, or for those followers of Rugby Union a pretty simple one – creating international blocks during the football season. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rugby Union has for several years created blocks whereby international fixtures can be held. Now the football calendar is rather more complex than Rugby Union & unlike its oval ball rival is dominated by clubs. However the principle is a good one & can be modified to work for football. And crucially the benefits will apply to both national associations & clubs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Format</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The set up is simple. All International fixtures must fit into three blocks throughout the year. One of these blocks is the traditional summer slot that is used for major international tournaments. The other two however will be a three week window during the season. A maximum of 6 games can be played during this period but there must be at least 4 days between the last fixture & the next scheduled club matches. Players will be released on the Monday following weekend fixtures & will return to their clubs on the Wednesday before club matches. The international window will be in November & February. In both cases the first fixture will fall on the first Saturday of the month. Players will be on international duty for 23 days during each window and in total 46 days during the season. At present international commitments mean players are called up for 43 days throughout the season so logistically we are not talking about a great deal of difference.<b> </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Benefits</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Creating the space in the football calendar would not seem therefore to be an issue and the benefits for all parties would be significant. Firstly it would increase the profile of the international game, with each window almost acting as a mini tournament. With the increased training & preparation time coaches will have greater opportunity to create more cohesive teams. Trying out new tactics & formations will be more effective knowing that players called up will be available for several fixtures. It is surely no coincidence that international matches during major tournaments are more flowing and entertaining affairs than standalone the qualifying matches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And the benefits are not just limited to the national teams. Club managers will have plenty to be pleased with in the new system. First & foremost there will less disruption to the season. Instead of losing players to international fixtures during six windows throughout the season they will only be two such occasions. In particular dates that were most problematic such as the mid-August or the early April fixtures will be gone. By grouping fixtures together player travel should decrease, which is an obvious problem for South American players who ply their trade in Europe. Another major gripe of club managers is that players come back injured as national managers do not take into account longer term implications of playing an injured player. Now this will not be eradicated under the new calendar but it will mean that national managers will have to weigh up injury doubts as the players will be with them for around three weeks. Therefore risking a player in the first or second international could mean he is unavailable for the remaining games in the international window. The key point is that the increased time spent with the national team places greater emphasis on ensuring the welfare of injured players. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Major international tournaments such as the African Nations, which does not currently fall into the summer gap, can now be held during one of these windows. And with the growing number of African players at Europe’s top clubs this is becoming more & more of an issue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With top flight teams not in action there will be a greater exposure for lower league teams. Attendances for such teams may well go up as fans chose to visit their local clubs in absence of their usual Saturday pilgrimage. In addition after each international break their will be an added anticipation for the return of the Premier League.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The benefits are plentiful but there will be downsides to these changes. The international breaks will disrupt the flow of the season. It will particularly impact the Champions League, which has become a central part of the season. And no doubt making these changes will take time to implement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However the trade off for any issues as a result of these changes is substantial. A streamlined & coherent calendar will benefit players, clubs, national teams & fans. A stronger international game can only be a good thing for world football, while club football will enjoy greater stability as a result of reduced disruption. There is much to approve in this plan but more than that it is sensible solution to a growing problem for world football. With the growing power of the major clubs sides the issue of international’s has become central to football’s future. Will national sides soon have to pay club sides for calling up players? Football needs to look into the issue in sensible & timely manner before it leads to a major schism.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-13314346571554482862010-03-01T13:47:00.003+00:002010-03-10T01:39:40.261+00:00Carling Cup Final<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yesterday's Carling Cup Final between Manchester United & Aston Villa was surprisingly a good game. The match had goals, plenty of incidents & drama right to the end. And ignoring the major talking point United were worthy winners. Here are some more thoughts on the match:</span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Its hard to work out how good this United team is. They can put in some devestating performances followed by an equally limp one. This match showed they are class above Villa & they did enough to win. The question remains whether they can raise their level against the very best opposition. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Though Villa were well beaten in the end they can justifiably point to Phil Dowd's decision no to send off Nemaja Vidic as they key incident in the game. According to the laws of the game it was clear Vidic had to go, he was the last man & had brought down Agbonlahor as he was through on goal. Only Phil Dowd will know why he didn't dismiss Vidic but it can't be a coincidence that like the incident in midweek the decision came early. A sending off would have changed the game completely. In contrast Mike Dean in a near identical situation to the one at the San Siro blew for the penalty as well as dismissing the offending player, which in this case was Belletti. Looking at this second incident their is no doubt in my mind that Barry went down on his own volition. There was minimal contact but he knew after the midweek decision the referee would more than likely produce a red card for Belletti & give a penalty that would seal the game for City. All three incidents I think clearly call for a re-evaluation of the last man rule, which I wrote about at length in this <a href="http://utstars.blogspot.com/2010/02/last-man-standing.html">post</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Antonio Valencia can be a bit hit & miss as his contribution yesterday showed. Poor for the first hour or so he then delivered a couple of super crosses one of which settled the game for United. He has contributed 11 assists & 7 goals in all competitions this season. That's nowhere near Ronaldo's regular tally but two thirds of the way through his debut season it's a pretty decent total and one I'm sure his manager is happy with.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Wayne Rooney will undoubtedly get all the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/2010/03/fer.html" target="_blank">headlines</a> once again. His performance was good but Rooney doesn't have to do much to generate the kind of fawning from the national press that is usually the reserve of schoolgirls in awe of the latest boy band. Having said that the winning goal was a superb header & not something you would usually associate with him. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">For all Rooney's headlines the best player on the pitch was James Milner. Composed on the ball, skillful, hard working & tactically aware, the boy really does have it all. Milner seems destined for the World Cup but the problem he'll have is that his flexibility means that it's hard to pinpoint his best position. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">While Milner looks a good bet for the England squad the same cannot be said for Michael Owen. If there were still people out there who thought that he could be going to the World Cup yesterday should have settled any doubts that barring an injury crisis of epic proportions Owen will have the summer off.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Talking of England hopefuls if Stephen Warnock is the best left back in the country then we're in trouble. Competent more than anything else, Warnock was exposed several times by Valencia when the United winger finally got into the game. Not blessed with great pace the worry & expectation is that at international level he will prove to be a liability.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Villa have improved enormously under Martin O'Neill but they still lack a creative spark to take on the best teams. Built on the blistering pace of Agbonlahor & Young they are devstating on the counter but don't have enough strings to their bow to be regularly successful on these types of occasions. A midfield playmaker is an obvious area for improvement but that will mean a significant change to their usual style of play.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Wembley pitch was once again pretty poor. With all the millions spent on the ground you would assume the playing surface would be excellent. I can't remember the last time I actually saw an excellent pitch there. As much as the old Wembley had a reputation for the best playing surface in the land the current one is up there with the worst. Though obviously not rock bottom thanks to Wigan's DW stadium or whatever else it's called these days.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The last year has not been kind to Ben Foster. Hailed a hero after last years penaty shoot out victory these days he's having to settle for being the clubs third choice. In normal circumstances he'd have no chance of making the World Cup squad but given the poor offerings in that department he still has a chance. Provided of course if he can play a few games for his club between now & the end of the season.</span></li>
</ul>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-17619825730236044352010-02-27T13:57:00.001+00:002010-02-27T14:00:05.843+00:00Blog Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA0Ne-3r4Z4M3OsK5yAgJu1Qp50PBEaTwwYQgQj3oh8ME3qiVJg1YtTqf8dJ_IP58HDc2V3usGa_R0OVWCILZMOhIrZWHZz8c1uinLz7JQ9G903e3S_jOaOZrVWIz8Php79SmJQoVpHaK/s1600-h/sarah_walker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA0Ne-3r4Z4M3OsK5yAgJu1Qp50PBEaTwwYQgQj3oh8ME3qiVJg1YtTqf8dJ_IP58HDc2V3usGa_R0OVWCILZMOhIrZWHZz8c1uinLz7JQ9G903e3S_jOaOZrVWIz8Php79SmJQoVpHaK/s320/sarah_walker.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There won't be any new posts over the weekend (I know it's the highlight of your day) as I'm going to be away for a few days. But I promise Underneath the Stars (I've realised I have fallen short of my plan to mention the blog title in every post so this is an attempt to get back on track) will be back with some interesting articles on Monday. One of which is a take on next weeks round of international friendlies & why the football calendar needs a serious overhaul. I won't give anymore away but I'm sure you'll all be eagerly awaiting the next entry on Underneath the Stars (I've just doubled my tally in one blog). And yes I do have serious (bracket) problem</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, though I'm seeking professional help.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have a great weekend</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">& in the meantime enjoy some eye candy with the delightful Yvonne Strahovski who plays the beautiful Sarah Walker on NBC's Chuck.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-73132158477900197442010-02-26T15:10:00.003+00:002010-03-02T01:20:25.085+00:00Friday Five<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A slight alteration on this weeks favourite links, which as you can see has been re-named Friday Five. As I've mentioned previously I'm a big music fan and as I haven't had the opportunity to do a music related entry so far, this weeks post will link to five favourite music videos.</span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j1PKJjBcKM&feature=related"target="_blank">Paper Thin</a> - I'll kick off with a link to my favourite band at the moment, In-Flight Safety. A Canadian indie rock band they have been around for several years but surprisingly have </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">had </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">only limited success. This track is called Paper Thin & is from their current album We Are An Empire, my dear.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfFDHNpqwhY&feature=related"target="_blank">Time of the Assassins</a> - A song from Charlotte Gainsbourg latest album IRM. A mellow almost haunting song that really plays to the singers strength. The album was the result of a collaboration with Beck, with the American singer-songwriter producing & writing the majority of the songs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35evv_-sZCM&feature=related"target="_blank">Gold Mine</a> - The new song from Belgian (yes that's right I said Belgian) indie band Showstar. The song is in English & from the album Think Ringo. I've listened to a couple of songs from the album & it does have a noticeable Beatles/Brit Pop feel to it. From what I've heard so far this is one album that wil be on my list of definite purchases. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCHzTTQ7_M&feature=related"target="_blank">Falling from the Sun</a> - A real soulful mellow song that just has oodles of atmosphere. You could listen to this song all day & not get tired of it. From the album 'A Chorus of Storytellers'. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Chelsealeemusic#p/a/u/2/8Bmu1XNnsQE"target="_blank">Too Late</a> - I'll finish off with the latest song from Chelsea Lee & collaborators Trustfall. Just 18, Lee's incredibly mature voice will surprise & delight you at the same time. She's only released a handful of tracks but I </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">could have</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> pretty much used anyone of them here. Lastly the video seems perfectly designed for the YouTube age.</span></li>
</ol><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope everyone enjoys the selection of songs in this post & I would love to hear your comments about them. This has been a real fun blog for me as I got to explore a lot of great music. The only difficulty was restricting it to five entries. </span><br />
<ol></ol>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-62483051421155340142010-02-26T04:35:00.004+00:002010-02-26T15:25:18.405+00:00White Collar: Bottlenecked<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQioGTQHV40Kb4h8C_jLbDbrEK5jauELW-bUY5-puqvSmCbbOlGrBeLN4ynUdNhrNH3eJdFX0oGONJuiWVfODIiV09Omhgl7gcWIqIm9nTwodEY9AUSDvpL6U1Nq-GrVnLoYVWcHlAQsA/s1600-h/white_collar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilQioGTQHV40Kb4h8C_jLbDbrEK5jauELW-bUY5-puqvSmCbbOlGrBeLN4ynUdNhrNH3eJdFX0oGONJuiWVfODIiV09Omhgl7gcWIqIm9nTwodEY9AUSDvpL6U1Nq-GrVnLoYVWcHlAQsA/s400/white_collar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Alongside a regular review of Chuck one of the other shows I will be following on this blog is White Collar. White Collar is a new show that first aired on 23rd October 09 on the USA network. Its debut season has gone very well with the show garnering a lot of positive reviews as well as receiving good viewing figures.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The show centres on the story of Neal Caffrey, a white collar criminal who ends up working for the FBI. The charasmatic Caffrey played by Matthew Bomer strikes up an unlikely partnership with FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) as they solve white collar crimes in New York city.<br />
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Bottlenecked sees Neal go up against an old adversary, Matthew Keller, who is a blue collar version of himself. The show featured its usual mix of style, charm & little mystery to create an entertaining episode. Here are some thoughts on Bottlenecked:</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><ul><li style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The supporting cast were a bit light in this episode with only Moz making any significant contribution. Elizabeth was entirely absent, which while I like the character is good thing every now and then. After all its hard to accept her appearance in every episode given that she is not directly linked to the investigations.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The show hardly suffers from focusing on its two leads as they play so well off each other.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Peter's beginning to pick up some of Neal habits after using a sly method to get hold of the sellers name from the auction house. Neal meanwhile seems to be just as concerned with catching Keller for the murder of a petty thief than he does for beating his old rival. Neal is becoming more FBI man than criminal.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Neal's & Keller's interplay was also well done. It helped that Keller brought an edge to his character. You could really understand the hatred that Neal had for Keller. Plus it was good to see a worthy adversary for Neal.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Loved the bizarro reference by Peter as DeKay played the bizarro Jerry in an episode of Seinfeld.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">Why are all museum curators/auctioneers or anyone else associated with fine arts in US TV shows always English? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Kate storyline still doesn't make a lot of sense but I suppose with only two shows left of the current series we will get a resolution pretty soon. Or at least I hope we will. The other aspect of the Kate storyline is that it doesn't allow Neal to play the romantic angle with the host of beautiful women that always seem to be on the show.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The twist with the bottle was good & not something I saw coming. You wouldn't expect Neal & Peter to be out smarted. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial;">The wine tasting reminded me of Frasier for some reason. Particularly when Peter commented 'It's a tasting Neal - nose to bottle take a sip & say something pretentious like rich with nice body".</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Arial;">Overall another good episode and I look forward to seeing what's in store for the end of the current season.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-49177768361820623602010-02-25T14:35:00.008+00:002010-04-21T15:27:10.922+01:00Last Man Standing - A Change to the Red Card rule<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yesterday's Champions League tie saw a pivotal moment in first half stoppage time when Salomon Kalou fell in the penalty area following pressure from Walter Samuel. If the referee viewed the incident as a penalty he would also have had to send </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">off </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Samuel as he was the last man. After looking to his linesman for assistance the referee decide there was sufficient doubt not to award the penalty. This decision drew a lot of criticism from ITV's commentators & studio guests, though the Chelsea coaching staff took the setback particularly well. One of the points made over & over again by the ITV team was that Kalou had nothing to gain by going to the ground</span>.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Well that's not true in the slightest. If the referee had deemed Samuel's challenge worthy of a penalty Chelsea would have obviously got another goal scoring opportunity as well as seeing their opponents reduced to ten man for the remainder of the match. That is more than sufficient cause for Kalou to consider going down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now I'm not saying that is the reason Kalou went down, simply that it is a possible explanation. The incident itself did in all probability warrant a penalty but with no obvious challenge from Samuel plus the slightly theatrical nature of Kalou's fall I can see why the both the referee & the linesman did not call the foul. But the biggest obstacle in neither official blowing for the penalty was/is the rules themselves. The referee wouldn't just be awarding a spot kick he would be changing the whole complexion of the tie. That raised the implications of the decision & therefore in conjunction the level of certainty that the referee needed. And with the pressure on referees today it wasn't surprising that the referee decided to err on the side of caution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is where I believe a change in the laws will not only help officials but also make the game fairer. In these circumstances many commentators have noted the unfairness of the double punishment of conceding a penalty plus the sending off a player. This is particularly relevant when a keeper in an attempt to win the ball from an attacker brings him down resulting in a spot kick & his dismissal. The problem is that two laws are being applied here. Firstly any infringement against the attacking team in 18 yard area constitutes a penalty. While the second rule is that any offence committed by the last outfield player that stops a goal scoring opportunity will result in that player given a red card.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The problem with this second law is that its application does not </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">always</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">benefit the attacking team while conversely at times it can punish unfairly the defending team. For example a player who is through on goal only to be tripped outside the box will get a free kick but his goal scoring opportunity has gone. And while the other team will be down to ten men they haven't conceded a goal & will have a chance of seeing out the game. Many will remember Ole Gunnar Solskaer cynically fouling Rob Lee late in a game to deny him a goal scoring opportunity. It meant Man Utd got a point when they should have lost. And given that they were towards the end of a title race with Arsenal that one point could have been crucial in them claiming top spot. Fortunately for football fans Arsenal won the title that year & so no great injustice was done other than Newcastle not gaining the win they deserved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While genuine attempts to win the ball inside the box will punish a team twice. And as a result they alter the nature of the game. Over the years there have been many occasions where a team is 1-0 down & reduced to ten men </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">effectively ending</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> the contest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now I have never understood the relevance of a red card to the offence of stopping a goal scoring opportunity. Surely if a goal scoring opportunity is denied then justice would deem that one is given in return. So what I would suggest is that any infringement that denies a goal scoring opportunity regardless of whether it is in the box or not should result in a penalty kick for the attacking team. This would ensure that the attacking team gains what its play deserved while the defending team would not profit from cynically stopping an attack outside the box. And before people start complaining that fouls committed in the attacking teams half would lead to penalties, under the current rule the referee has to be certain that no defender will intercept the attacker & therefore in reality it would only be applied within reasonable distance of the goal. Please note that this is not a change in the interpretation of law but altering the punishment for infringing the law. Also the penalty box will not be made redundant as it will still be relevant for all other types of offences. The other benefit of such a system would be that a last man foul in the box would not lead to a sending off for the defending team thus keeping the game a fair contest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This interpretation of the law will take away any major incentive to play the cynical card in such situations but even still one further deterrent would be a two match ban for any player committing such an act.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Football's inability to innovate means that any change is likely to be dismissed as unnecessary. After all it has been unable to introduce goal line technology when most other major sports have some sort of line calling technology active. Who would have thought that cricket would be more open in embracing new techniques & changes to its laws than football. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The principle in the re-evaluating this rule I believe is sound. Based on common sense & justice it will provide a positive change in football, which all but rules it out of consideration for the likes of Michel Platini & Sepp Blatter. </span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-91272167204317283992010-02-23T23:25:00.005+00:002010-03-01T14:30:06.455+00:00Rooney: The new Messiah<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I compiled this just after Manchester United v AC Milan Champions League tie last week but as I was unable to confirm some statistics I didn't publish it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wayne Rooney's two goals in Manchester United's 3-2 victory against AC Milan has once again produced the obligatory love in from the nation’s finest journalistic minds. But given that both opportunities were pretty straightforward is the analysis of Rooney's role last night or in fact in the wider context really accurate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wayne Rooney has been a saviour to football fans of one team or another for around 10 years. As a precocious schoolboy he was viewed by Everton fans as the reason for hope in the future. Since then he has graduated to carrying the hopes of one of the world's largest clubs, Manchester United, & a whole nation. In this World Cup year those aspirations will reach its zenith. Perceived as a one man titan for both club & country, Rooney is regarded as essential to the success of United & England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet beyond the hyperbole the statistics paint a different picture. Rooney has scored more than 15 league goals in a season only twice - one of which is the current campaign. His goal ratio throughout his career is a goal every 2.5 games, which is reasonable without being spectacular. While his best return in a Champions League season is 4 goals. These statistics are not particularly flattering for Rooney but where do they sit in comparison with his peers? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For an accurate comparison I have taken the six seasons that Rooney has been at United as the time frame & have looked at league performances.</span><br />
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<tr bgcolor="#cccccc" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17" width="116"><span class="style7">Player</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000" width="75"><span class="style7">App</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000" width="75"><span class="style7">Goals</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000" width="75"><span class="style7">Assists</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000" width="75"><span class="style7">Goal Ratio</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000" width="99"><span class="style7">Assist Ratio</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Samuel Eto'o</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">165</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">115</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">21</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.43</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">7.86</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">David Villa</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">188</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">119</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">26</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.58</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">7.23</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Thierry Henry</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">155</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">96</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">43</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.61</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">3.60</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Francesco Totti</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">150</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">90</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">22</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.67</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">6.82</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Diego Forlan</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">193</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">112</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">20</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.72</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">9.65</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Lionel Messi</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">129</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">70</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">34</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.84</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">3.79</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Zlatan Ibrahimovic</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">176</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">92</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">24</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.91</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">7.33</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Fernando Torres</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">181</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">93</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">15</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.95</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">12.07</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Cristiano Ronaldo</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">181</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">92</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">40</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">1.97</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">4.53</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Didier Drogba</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">156</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">74</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">36</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">2.11</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">4.33</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Wayne Rooney</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">183</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">86</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">48</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">2.13</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">3.81</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#000000" height="17"><span class="style5">Ronaldinho</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">165</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">72</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">38</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">2.29</span></td><td bordercolor="#000000"><span class="style5">4.34</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The data is sorted in ascending order of goal ratio. Based on this criterion Rooney only betters Ronaldinho. It’s not surprising to see the likes of Eto’o, Villa or Henry at the head of the list, but even much maligned figures like Ibrahimovic, Totti & Forlan offer better returns than Rooney. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Rooney’s favour are the assist statistics. He is among the top three in terms of assists ratio, & in total has the most credited assists. This would point to Rooney’s role as a creative player & perhaps explains his less than stellar goal scoring record. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Comparing Champions League football is a little harder as the number of games played does vary considerably between the players. However given the importance of the competition the figures are worth examining.</span><br />
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<table bgcolor="#f7f7f7" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><colgroup><col width="108"></col><col span="3" width="75"></col><col span="2" width="75"></col></colgroup><tbody>
<tr bgcolor="#999999" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17" width="108"><span class="style7">Player</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666" width="75"><span class="style7">App</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666" width="75"><span class="style7">Goals</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666" width="75"><span class="style7">Assists</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666" width="75"><span class="style7">Goal Ratio</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666" width="107"><span class="style7">Assist Ratio</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Lionel Messi</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">37</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">19</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">7</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">1.95</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">5.29</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Didier Drogba</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">52</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">26</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.00</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">13.00</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">David Villa</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">18</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">8</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">3</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.25</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">6.00</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Ronaldinho</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">40</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">17</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">8</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.35</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">5.00</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Cristiano Ronaldo</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">55</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">22</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">8</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.50</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">6.88</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Samuel Eto'o</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">43</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">17</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">9</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.53</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4.78</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Thierry Henry</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">49</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">19</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">7</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.58</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">7.00</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Fernando Torres</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">22</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">8</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">1</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.75</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">22.00</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Wayne Rooney</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">51</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">18</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">5</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">2.83</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">10.20</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Francesco Totti</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">26</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">8</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">3.25</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">6.50</span></td></tr>
<tr height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Zlatan Ibrahimovic</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">45</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">10</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4.50</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">11.25</span></td></tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" height="17"><td bordercolor="#666666" height="17"><span class="style5">Diego Forlan</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">26</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">4</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">1</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">6.50</span></td><td bordercolor="#666666"><span class="style5">26.00</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple of things are apparent straightaway from the data. The most obvious being the greater difficulty scoring goals in the Champions League as witnessed by the higher goal ratios. While the other noteworthy stat is that English based players are the most featured players in terms of appearances. From Rooney’s perspective the table does not make great reading. Both his goal scoring & assist ratio are at the lower end of table. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">performances in Champions League is a key criteria in judging a players exploits Rooney has some way to go to match the very best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously there are factors that the statistics do not consider. For example Diego Forlan’s appearances have been for the unfancied pair of Villarreal & Atletico Madrid, whereas Messi has played all his games for an extremely strong Barcelona side. And while mitigating factors need to be taken into account, Rooney’s statistics point to a good player not a great one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of all the players listed the most apt comparison is with Ronaldo given that they joined United at a similar time. Their subsequent career paths though have been divergent. Ronaldo improved year after year until he completely eclipsed the England striker. Proof of this was apparent in Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to use Rooney on the left wing to accommodate Ronaldo in the most important fixtures. And in response Ronaldo delivered some stunning performances. Over the last three seasons the Portuguese forward scored 66 goals & created a further 27. Rooney’s contribution was 38 goals & 31 assists, though he also appeared in nine less games. In their time together at United Rooney only outscored Ronaldo in the first two seasons & this is despite playing the majority of matches as the centre forward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overshadowed in their time together at United, Ronaldo’s departure in the summer signalled a crucial period in Rooney's career. He knew he had to deliver results for himself & his team. And granted the central role both on the pitch & in general, Rooney has produced his best season to date. His Premier League goal scoring record this season is a goal every 1.2 games. And the change of emphasis in Rooney’s positioning has resulted in all his goals being scored inside the box. However at the same time Rooney’s creative input has declined with only 3 assists compared with an average of 9 per season. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This performance highlights a couple of things. Firstly it has seen the reinvention of Rooney as a goal scorer rather than an attacking player in the manner of a Ronaldinho or Messi. And more importantly it is the first season that Rooney can justifiably claim his form is that of the world’s elite. So far throughout his career we've seen flashes of brilliance but no sustained performance over a whole season. And that is the crux of the debate. Great players perform at the very highest standards continually. For confirmation of this Rooney simply had to look across the pitch on Wednesday night to see a former great in action in the form of Ronaldinho. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One further lesson that Rooney would do well to heed is that epitomised by David Beckham. In the run up to major championships Beckham has often been built up to exorbitant heights by pundits & fans alike. The reality is that he (Beckham) is & always has been a very good player, rather than a great one. Thus while the hype can become all consuming it is performances on the pitch that matter. In this regard Rooney has elevated his play this season beginning the transition to great player - he’s just not there yet.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-39642386893793728452010-02-19T18:32:00.002+00:002010-02-19T19:33:53.073+00:00Feature Reading<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Apologies for the late posting of this weeks Friday five though I promise it will be earlier next week. As always I welcome any link suggestions in the comments below. </span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49305085,00.htm">Windows Phone 7</a> - The new phone software from Microsoft has generated plenty of comment & surprisingly most of it has been very positive. This link is to a Cnet video review, which is breif but covers the basics of the new features. For anyone looking to purchase a new phone its worth a viewing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1251563/MARTIN-SAMUEL-Here-s-pick-Champions-League-slots---send-Vic-Reeves.html">Champions League Positions</a> - A good article from Martin Samuel covering the idea for a </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">play off to decide the last </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Champions League position. Also talks about an interesting rule change that could be used for governing quick free kicks in football.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article7032782.ece">Tiger Woods & the relaunching of a brand</a> - The world finally caught glimpse of the world's most famous sport star today. As ever Simon Barnes has an eloquent take on the whole situation.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_5956707,00.html">Purist Wenger Shows His True Colours</a> - A good article from Football365's Philip Cornwall on the Arsenal v Porto tie.</span></li>
</ol>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-15772448281154841492010-02-16T15:51:00.007+00:002010-03-10T01:40:29.459+00:00Champions League Preview<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a two month hiatus the Champions League is back. For this year the format has changed slightly with the first leg ties spread out over two weeks rather than being held on the same week. Tuesday's fixtures sees AC Milan v Man Utd & Lyon v Real Madrid. For this round of fixtures I will stick to previewing ties involving English clubs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>AC Milan v Man Utd</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This first tie is one of the glamour fixtures of the Champions League. Both clubs have a great tradition in the competition as well as some personal history having faced off twice in recent years. On both occasions AC Milan were victorious but going into this fixture Man Utd would be regarded as favourites.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Tactics</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In terms of tactics United will go with a 4-3-3 formation that has become Sir Alex Ferguson's preferred choice for all big games. With injuries & suspensions the personnel is also fairly predictable & so you would expect a </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">line up of</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Van der Sar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rafeal - Ferdinand - Evans - Evra</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Fletcher - Carrick - Scholes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Valencia - Rooney - Park </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">AC Milan</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> also favour a 4-3-3 formation, which has been designed to get the maximum from Ronaldinho. Their are several interesting choices facing Leonardo the most fascinating will be the decsion on whether to use Alexandre Pato from the start. And despite the hype surrounding David Beckham its likely that Leonardo will want the defensive skills of Gennaro Gattuso meaning the England international will have to settle for a place on the bench. The expected line up would be</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Dida</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Abate - Thiago Silva - Nesta - Luca Antonio</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Gattuso - Pirlo - Ambrosini </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Mancini - Pato - Ronaldinho</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Threats</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">AC Milan's main threat comes from their front three plus the craft of Andrea Pirlo. Pato is a real livewire & will test United's centre back pairing. But where I expect Milan to really try to attack is down United's right side. Ronaldinho will try to exploit the inexperience of Rafeal and this could be particularly fruitful given the young full backs penchant for diving in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Man Utd's principle attacking outlet is obviously Wayne Rooney. Currently in great form, the England striker has the potential to cause devistation among the Milan back line. It will be important for Milan not to leave any defender isolated against Rooney. The other aspect of United's attack is ball retention. As was apparent in last season's Round of 16 tie with Inter Milan, United have the ability to keep possesion for long periods of play. How Milan cope without the ball will be an important factor in the match.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Predictions</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As this is the first leg the expectation would be on cagey match. Man Utd have been circumspect in away legs with the emphasis on catching teams on the counter. AC Milan will be wary of this threat & so will be careful not to over commit. The experience & the ability of Man Utd definitely favours them going into this tie. Having gone 15 games undefeated in European Cup away matches I don't expect that run to end tonight. But given Milan's pedigree & what is perhaps an extra cautiousness from United I think the scoreline will be 1-1.</span>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6115745804190775557.post-63375779864655594532010-02-12T18:13:00.002+00:002010-02-12T18:26:22.741+00:00Feature Reading<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something that will become a regular feature on Friday's is a link to the top stories, articles or video clips of the week. After a week of painstaking research I'll compile a list of my 5 favourite links. Now I know that this sounds like an arduous task but fortunately for all readers of this blog that's the level of dedication you can expect from me.<a name='more'></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And while I love providing my expertise I'm hoping that people will get involved & post interesting/relevant links in the comments section.</span><br />
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<ol style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><li>The first one is very apt as it pertains to the Winter Olympics, which starts today in Vancouver. It's an article by Simon Barnes of the The Times (UK). He's one of my favourite journalists & he can usually be relied to offer a distinctive take on any given subject.<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/simon_barnes/article7023850.ece"><br />
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Brace yourself for fun & games, the Winter Olympics are here</a> </li><br>
<li>The unveiling of the England away kit took place this week in Paris by Kasabian. It's as bizarre as it sounds & was the subject of an excellent blog by Marina Hyde. There's one line in particular which is absolutely brilliant.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/feb/11/england-football-away-kit-umbro">Away the lads: put your shirt on another England own goal</a> </li><br>
<li>As a big tennis fan I'm a regular visitor to Peter Bodo's Tennisworld. He's recent blog covers the Rafa v Roger rivalry. There's a lot of points I agree with & some I don't, but it's definitely worth a read if you follow tennis at all.<a href="http://tennisworld.typepad.com/tennisworld/2010/02/tk-4.html"><br />
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Homeless Rafa</a> </li><br>
<li>Now just to prove I don't only read sports articles here's something completely different. With Valentines day around the corner this link may prove useful for the socially inept, which pretty much covers all men.<br />
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<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/the-little-things-are-the-keys-to-romance-20100211-nuzx.html">Valentine's Day & Romance</a> </li><br>
<li>Lastly I'll finish on a lighter note. It's a link to an article on the Hitler spoof videos from the film Downfall. They're pretty silly & have been done on so many subjects that they shouldn't be funny. But for some reason they just work.<br />
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<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/feb/01/digital-media-youtube-hitler-parody">Just how many Hitler videos does the world need?</a></li><br>
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<ol style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></ol>W Gladstonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624663285582832367noreply@blogger.com0