Agreed on Speed?

So Wales has a new manager after weeks of speculation. There's been twists and turns, not to mention the Swede throwing his hat into the ring (should we be thankful Sven was in Leicestershire?), but it's been announced that Gary Speed will be hoping to make Euro 2012 after a nightmare start to the qualifying campaign.

I am pleased? Not sure really. I think more than anything I'm shocked and a little bit underwhelmed. After interviewing a number of candidates, the FAW approached the former Wales captain and he was more than happy to leave his post at Bramall Lane 'when his county came calling'. It seems that the right man for the job was the one which didn't show initial interest, in fact I'm sure I read at some point he wasn't interested at all.

What bothers me is that Wales now have a manager who doesn't really ticks the boxes the other candidates did. If you wanted international experience, Lars Lagerback surely would have fitted the bill. To bring in the crowds and embody the Welsh passion, you look no further than Giggsy or Big John Hartson. If you wanted a mix of both nationality and managerial experience, you have ex Fulham and Real Sociedad boss Chris Coleman. Then to top it off, you have Brian Flynn working wonders with the Youth set up, so he has an eye for noticing and nurturing potential - albeit his stint as caretaker coach didn't go so well against Bulgaria and Switzerland. But alas none of them good enough for the job.

Instead the FAW have apparently 'broken the bank' to compensate Sheffield United for a manager with a win ratio of 33.33% from games played at Championship level. Speed was initially barred from talking to Swansea City when they enquired about him becoming their new manager, but it seems United weren't so protective of their manager at a time when the Blades hover nervously over the relegation trap door. It has to be said that Speed was a great player and his is undoubtedly a legend in his own right to Welsh football, but other than that I can't really think of an outstanding attribute which warrants his appointment, plus good players don't always make good managers (especially at international level).

I know what you're thinking: Sparky. Is your memory of Welsh football really that bad, Joe? Not at all. Mark Hughes was a rookie and fresh into management but he proved to be a good choice as Welsh boss. His attacking style of football was great to watch, the crowds were back as we beat the Azzurri and we were achingly close to qualifying. However times have changed; Hughes had a host of Premiership players at his disposal - Davies, Delaney, Savage - whilst Speed will have a largely young squad. The tabloid reports of Speed's 'open door' to invite the Toshack exiles and early retirements back into the fold shows he already aware of that fact.  

Before Toshack became Wales boss he was famous for his harsh words about the Hughes regime as a BBC pundit. Now we have yet another former pundit, but at least Speed wasn't as critical whilst working in the Sky studio. His comments on the whole showed he does have a very acute tactical understanding of the game  - but let's hope he leaves the long ball in Sheffield before his first game against the Irish in February.

In a Row

In a row
a single science whispers
but speaks stories screaming bold
breathless as sunlight gleams
on the stones leaving shadows
staring tales and traditions.

In a row
standing naked over teeming streets
proud looking at God's sanctuary
there, a presence, a footprint
on a scarred beautiful battleground
owing to no-one, but to all shared.

In a row
an inward growing tree struggles
sprouting sour nectar whilst small
single noises weigh heavy on terra starved
pointing strokes of stemmed mistakes
on a canvas of best laid intentions.

In a row
bitter cold these seeds we sow
future sons and saints will smile and stand
with gifts and germs in either hand
forgotten souls lie in tombs we know
Familar failures of loved land we plough.

Spotify song-hopping

OK new game. 

In an attempt to try out new songs and uncover tunes of old, I thought it would be an idea to play some Spotify song-hopping. This involves queuing a song from an artist of choice, then going to the related artists bit at the top right and picking one of them at random. Then pick any song there by that artist, then go to the related artists bit again, pick another at random, then repeat and repeat. 

I guess if you really want you could try to go full circle with one particular artist (i.e. five degrees of separation/Kevin Bacon), but try it by entering a number of genres first; for example start with Muse and go through indie, rap, hop hop, rock and some how come back to Muse.  

Anyway this was the result of my song-hopping tonight. I started with Van Halen's Panama, and after getting stuck in rap for a while plus getting one dance track in Aerodynamic, I soon found myself getting back to some Ain't Talking about Love.  Interesting route if you ask me.

Van Halen - Panama

Ozzy Ozbourne - Crazy Train

Tenacious D - Dio

System of A Down - Mr Jack

Limp Bizkit - Pollution

Eminem - Guilty Conscience

50 Cent - In da Club

Snopp Dogg (feat Johny Cash) - I Walk the Line (remix)

Cypress Hill - Trouble Seeker

Dr Dre - The Next Episode

The Notorious BIG - Hypnotise

Jay Z - 99 Problems

Kanye West - Gold Digger

Daft Punk - Aerodynamic

Muse - Citizen Erased

Foo Fighters - Everlong

Pearl Jam - Light Years

Nirvana - Lithium

Guns N Roses - November Rain

Kiss - Rock and Roll All Nite

Van Halen - Aint Talkin about Love

  

So what makes a good football manager these days?

As Roy Hodgson becomes the new manager of Liverpool Football Club, the fanfare hasn't really followed - which begs the question, does England really want a English manager after all?

I remember playing Championship Manager 1997-98 like it was yesterday. Back then Cardiff were languishing in the old Division Three, so it always a challenge to get them promoted to the Premier League; which I'm sure many of you reading this post may well have attempted. However putting my Welsh interests aside and when I didn't fancy playing at Gay Meadow or the Baseball Ground, I often played as Liverpool  - which put Roy Evans to pasture as I revelled in Kop glory.  It was then I came across Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson: manager mysterioso. I mean who was he? One day he was in the Premier League, then he got sacked and just kind of fell into football obscurity.

Truth was that Roy was plying his trade across Europe and beyond in a managerial blitzkrieg. His nomadic ways would make even Dean Saunders and Nicolas 'Le Sulk' Anelka blush, managing in Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Norway and even the Middle East.  Now he is in charge of one of the top four football teams in England; one which arguably boats the richest and most successful history of teams in England. Liverpool FC, stooped in a financial mire and made to accept second tier European football for the next season, have chosen Roy Hodgson to weather the storm.

I thought this was good news for Liverpool. Yet what was the response from the fans? Well. Erm. Good? The tone of slightly pleased, but cautious Scousers on radio phone-ins seem to paint the picture. "Could have been worse I guess". "But is he a glamour manager?" "Will he get Torres and Gerrard to stay?" "So what has he won?" "Is he a big manager?" "We need someone competent to see us through these bad times". The latter of these is paraphrased from what Jason McAteer said when asked on 5 Live, who seemed less than impressed with the appointment. Shame that the response was so muted - especially when Roy could be regarded as one of the possible replacements for the England job. And yes, he was born in Croydon.

So why the disappointment? Who did you want instead? Capello? Pellegrini? Mourinho? Scolari? I find it hard to swallow that whilst the England team apparently needs an Englishman to take it on is that fans in England can't embrace a manager of their own on their own doorstep. Is it a question of quality that Hodgson doesn't float your boat? Or is it because he has managed Fulham and has a name you can easily pronounce?

We have to go back to CM 97-98 to find out when Liverpool last had an English manager. In fact, you have to go back then to find when any of the Big Four had a full time English manager. Fergie's been there since the Eighties, whilst Wenger has been at the Arsenal helm since 1996. Except from caretaker stints from Ray Wilkins and Graham Rix, Chelsea too can't boast an English manager. Admittedly the Big Four became more relevant in the 21st century, but this highlights how the summit is devoid of English managers. To this day no English manager has ever won the Premier League - could this be a significant factor in why England seem to 'fail' at international tournaments?

Perhaps - but does the Premier League give enough chance for English managers to thrive? No. Do the fans give enough support for English managers to succeed? Evidently not either.

Worshipping the Sun

It is pure religion after the day is done
To travel 10,000 miles to worship the sun
Brazed glowing skin is proof of the creed
And bibles of Collins, Cornwell and King to read
Hands to the sky to salute the circular lord
Only after bitter-blood-red wine is poured
Sun kissed beaches amongst the world's most prized
And a tale of a local tradition's demise
If happiness is a state of mind -
Euphoria is a wet dream in winter from a God being most kind.

This is Legend

For anyone who has seen I am Legend and was raging fury because it was nothing like the book, feast your eyes. Don't worry I won't offer any spoilers, but you'll know what I mean have both read the book and seen the film - the book was WAY better. To this day anyone who brings up the fact makes me want to pull out my hair with sheer frustration as Hollywood continues to butcher pure narrative gold.

This video is an alternate ending to the film - apparently available on the DVD as an extra. It is a lot closer to the book's general concept (something completely lost in the film version) and in my honest opinion would have made it a lot better. 

Nev-ille is a moron

He really is.

You know what to do - just substitute Gordon for Gary. It's easy!

Elementary, really

I really thought it would bomb. I mean seriously, I thought it would be a right stinker.

I was convinced that Sherlock Holmes would be a terrible film, mainly because Guy Ritchie was at the helm. Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed Lock Stock and Snatch (the latter of which still has me in stitches) but he has really lost the plot in recent efforts such as RockNrolla and Revolver. To me, this looked like a disaster waiting to happen. In the trailers I would cringe when I saw Downey Jr. in those 'Jim West' style glasses, which I'm sure had the intention of looking risqué or cool, but failed miserably.

Much to my relief, it was a really good film. It actually gave me hope for big budget cinema this year and of course, gave me renewed faith in geeza fella Ritchie. It also filled me with glee to find that BBC film buff Mark Kermode felt the same way and now all is forgiven.

The black stuff is ruining my life

It is everywhere; like some kind of alien fungi emerging to litter my carpets, dirty my car seats and if world domination isn't enough, somehow it will get onto every piece of clothing I own. 

These small black pellets sent directly from hell are the unwanted passengers brought home with me after each trip to the Gol football centre. If you aren't familiar with Gol, you will definitely not know the pain of the crumbly, rubber pieces which make up the playing surface to give a "better feel to the game". It truly is state of the art stuff which offers a better experience than the conventional astroturf or concrete playing pitches than have been the norm for years. However as described in my opening sentence, their spread knows no bounds. I have always joked that I could start up my own football pitch with the amount of the stuff which accumulates on my bedroom floor.  

Sorry for those who instantly thought I was suffering from too much Guinness, but I was so incensed by my day overcoming the black menace (please, please, please don't take that out of context) I thought I would blog. There's no New Year's Resolution about blogging this year, as is often customary for me every January 1st, for obvious reasons (if you know how often I blog even after threatening to do so, you will know why these are idle threats).

As my Facebook status has recently proclaimed, my New Year's Resolution is simply the following: be a wedding-planning homeowner. That means 2010 is going to be a big year because it means I have to grow up, pretty fast! Not to steal the Torchwood tagline too much about the 21st Century, but I know full well that 2010 will be the year where everything changes. But luckily for me, it will be in a good way. Plus - don't tell this to Jen - I am very slowly coming round to the idea of having a dog once we get a place.  Before we met the idea of getting one was absolutely remote. Now it is just, well.... less remote.