The Morning After The Night Before

Another Word Cup another failure shown what its all about by a country with a population 1/15th of ours and by a player only 75% fit but don't worry we have a new golden generation coming through and we all know how well the last one did.
I have already heard comments from journalists that its not as bad as we think, well sorry but yes it is, we are the fans who invest our emotions in the England team and yet again let down by a team who go down with little more than a whimper

So where do we go from here, well for a start let's get away from the fallacy that we are a power in world football, a big side because time and time again over the past 10 to 15 years it has been proven that we are not. There will no doubt be a clamour for Hodgson to go and to bring in a big manager, well what justifies the thought that we deserve a big manager, well nothing, Erikson and Cappello came here for one reason and that was the stupid amount of money the FA were prepared to pay, money that could have been spent on grass roots or making it cheaper for promising coaches to get qualified. 
So let's be revolutionary and go for a progressive manager who wants to play the game the right way, is it beyond the realms of possibility that we could dip into the Championship or league 1 for the right man, let’s face it there are sides looking way better than us with managers who have a CV that would be laughed out of court in England

And so to the players and the new Golden Generation, well for a start many of them play in similar positions and therefore unless we continue the failed policy of square pegs in round holes we can't play them all, on 5 Live last night I heard an apoplectic Chris Waddle berating the fact that once again we go down the 11 best players route rather than picking a team.

And the players themselves, well for a start due to the huge influx of foreign players and in many cases a players unfathomable desire to be on the books of a big team rather than play regularly are bench warmers, so let's be really radical and pick players who are regular starters, why not have taken Curtis Davies and Steven Caulker  rather than Jones and Smalling,let's face it the Cardiff player in the Chile side didn't look out of place. Could we even do the unthinkable and go down to the championship to get a regular performer in a specific position.

And finally the attitude, a lot has been said about passion and desire and I am firmly of the opinion that there are players in that and previous squads for whom an England cap means little more than a bargaining chip in their next contract negotiations, for most other nations there is a real desire to do well for their country, we could do worse than use a similar desire as a selection criteria

Sadly I could have written this 4 years ago and I have a horrible feeling that I will be writing it again 4 years from now

The Hype Of That Yellow Shirt

Now I may be premature here and be proven very wrong but I do think that the hype around this current Brazilian side has been proved to be just that,hype,and why do we we seem to think that every 4 years we are going to be royally entertained by the Boys From Brazil.

The most successful side in the history of the tournament yes but the legend was really built in 3 great sides, 1958/62,1970 (The greatest of all time) and 1982 but in between there have been some just OK sides with the odd uber talented player which is what we have this time,take away Neymar ,who is still a way off Messi and Ronaldo, and you have little to inspire .

We tend to forget sides like that of  1974 ,a truly dreadful collection of clogger's as Brazil tried to become more "European" and although reaching the final in 98 they were really a one man (Ronaldo) team.

So forget the hype and judge them as you would any other side

It Was Only a Matter Of Time

Well so far it had been a good world cup ,ignore Honduras they are just minnows in a big pond trying any way to stay afloat, but finally here it is,diving and cheating and players as thick as pigshit.

Yes I'm talking Germany v Portugal and the sniveling little shit that is Thomas Muller, now I watch the Bundesliga regularly and I love it but once the Germans pull on the national shirt its BAFTA time.
Now we know that Pepe is a complete tosser and he deserved to be sent off but the way Muller reacted to a slight touch on the upper body was a complete disgrace/

It may be football Jim but not as we know it

From The Ridiculous To The Sublime

World Cup 2014 didn't really start to well,more incompetent officiating,the entire Cameroon team putting in auditions for a BAFTA  and a feeling that hear we go again

So a repeat of 4 years ago and the nadir of Dutch football did not bode well for the evenings entertainment, well one of the joys of football is the surprises it throws up,
It was one of those games one of those nights that you don't forget,Total Football was back Van Persie supreme,Robben's searing pace destroying an aging Spain so completely it was almost like an old lady being mugged
Will it last will England tonight throw caution to the wind and embrace what the Dutch have,who knows but whatever the rest of the tournament brings last night was a shining light we should never forget

World Cup Up And Diving

In deference to Mrs Cliffs loathing of football I caught up with the opening match on Match Of The Day,as far as the match went not a bad game at all,attractive open football from both sides initially boded well.
However the game will be remembered for a totally incompetent and worrying performance by the ref, Neymars raised arm would normally have been a red,the penalty was a joke of the highest order,what did the ref see that the rest of the planet didn't other than the cheating Fred and how can you foul the keeper when you don't touch him.

Now we are used to poor refereeing performances but it was the inciteful comments of the excellent Tim Vickery that sent a chill down the spine, reporting on the protests he raised the governments nightmare scenario of Brazil going out of the tournament early,
To quote from his report "I don't know if that scenario was on the refs mind but Brazil got even more home decisions than usual,if that is the case we may as well give Brazil the cup now"
We can but hope that this is untrue but in the world of Blatters FIFA who knows.

World Cup 2014 Day 1

And so its here day 1 of the world cup,Brazil v Croatia kicks the whole thing off this evening and leads us into a month of,well a month of what?
A feast of the greatest football the planet has to offer ?
A month of cheating players destroying the beautiful game in its spiritual home ?
A tournament overshadowed by protests from a people disgusted by the financial obscenity of the World Cup in a country where the basics of life are denied to so many?

In reality it will probably be a mixture of all 3 and the proportion of each will determine how posterity views this tournament

My first World Cup memory was 1966 ,yes I am that old,my greatest memory 1970 when as a teenager with a love of the game I watched Brazil,the greatest team in the history of the game define the "Beautiful Game".

Over the years there have been many highs and lows of watching world cups,sadly many of the lows involving England but I have never not looked forward to a World Cup until now,
This is a tournament being played out against a backdrop of massive corruption by the governing body of the game a game run by an old man who cares for himself and hiss mates and how much money they can make rather than the good of the game.Its a tournament involving players so wealthy and pampered that you wonder how in touch with the fans who cheer them on they really are,players to whom the spirit of the sportsmanship appears a dim and distant memory.

This Work Cup is I believe a real crossroads in the history of the game, will the spirit of the beautiful game in its heartland inspire so that our memories will be of silky skills and great joy or of snarling faces and a bending of the rules to breaking point,only time will tell.
I don't expect a Mexico 1970 but hopefully at the end we will be able to say that whatever the problems of organisation and administration that the game itself is still beautiful

Music Is My First Love

So sang John Miles many years ago and if we discount the obvious  fact that the family really come first when we get down to hobby's its the ear candy that is my first love, what I hear you say what about Non League Footy,well a good point and I do love it but if push came to shove I'm afraid Music and Photography would push the Footy into 3rd place although it would be hard.

Anyhow music the soundtrack of my life its whats on in the car as I travel the length and breadth of the country, the joy as I sit tapping away at the computer  keyboard and as I have realised yet again over the past 2 weeks the very best way to spend a night out.

So what has brought this on,well 2 of the best gigs I have been to in my life


17th May 2014
Chantel Mcgregor
Artix Theatre Bromsgrove

I first saw Chantel in August 2007 at a tiny little club in Frodsham and was blown away from the start,over the years I have seen her 6 or 7 times and she has got better and better each time,in the past couple of years she has wont awards for singer and guitar at the British Blues award and been eulogized over by such illuminates as Joe Bonamasa.
In a perfect world she would now be a megastar but sadly nobody's with a tenth of her talent win television programmes and million pound contracts,but hopefully her talent will be recognized in the future.

Anyhow back to the 17th in Bromsgrove and as far as I am concerned the best ever,Chantel has a talented tight band with Keith Mcpartland on drums and Richard Ritchie on bass

From the opening number they were tighter than ever not a note out of place and Chantel's soaring riffs riding smoothly on one of the tightest rhythm sections you will find anywhere (And I saw Zeppelin and Purple Live) .This was one of those nights when you just sit back and let it wash all over you and take you to a higher plain,whilst remembering to take a few photo's


27th May 2014
Robin 2 Bilston
Crippled Black Phoenix

The complete opposite of Chantel a band until 3 days earlier I had never even heard of but when a mate suggested it I thought well why not,what a good decision that was,it was one of those nights that you always remember.
It probably helped that I was at a bit of a low because the support band Liquid Landscape were without doubt one the worst bands I have ever seen but from the first riff of Crippled Black Phoenix you knew you were in for something special.
this is a 7 piece band full of consummate musical talents perfectly honed and at the peak of their powers,as song followed song they got better and better as the power chords and delicate interludes washed around the room

On and on it went ,in the end 3 hours of quite stunning music and the only sadness that they weren't more there to see it

So will either of these superb bands ever make the bigtime,well who knows but even if they never play another gig in their lives and fade into total obscurity I will remember them for the joy they have given me

Music does have the ability to lift the soul like no other and it certainly happened on these  two nights