Yes, this blog is a bit all over the place.
It started off as a football blog, but seeing as that's about all I'm known for enjoying, I thought it would be a nice idea to allow people to imagine me without football on my mind.
So, music.
Yes music can be played during football matches, and there are football chants ("TWO HATS, TWO HATS!"), but that isn't the point.
So, I thought I'd post a song I just heard which I thought was quite good at making me a bit more relaxed. Why was I not relaxed? News day is tomorrow for me in my journalism course at university. Fun!
So, this is Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Box of Stones. This single will be released on June 20.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Monday, 16 May 2011
Oh Gunners.
In a number of weeks many Gunners fans have been gutted by the incredible fall from grace that Arsenal have taken.
Fans were hoping to see Arsenal contend for the EPL title right to the end, as the squad had given us all hope that they could pull it off. Now we're struggling to believe the team can even finish fourth.
While second place was still a slight possibility after Chelsea got a 2-2 draw with the Toon, Arsenal were once again incapable of providing anything worthy of praise, and stumbled away from their last home game of the season with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.
I'm sure there are fans that were amazed that Arsenal could lose this match given the possibility of coming second, but to me and many others, this kind of performance has become predictable of the Gunners squad.
Losing the Carling Cup Final certainly tore many players and fans up inside, and things became no better when Arsenal eliminated the possibility of (while unlikely even for an amazing team) winning four competitions.
Winning one of these four competitions would have been an achievement given the teams circumstances, but instead we saw a team with no confidence fall and fall again at the vital moments.
It's difficult to sit and watch Arsenal. Years ago the club had the incredible attacking power that other clubs envied, and while the Arsenal style of play is labeled as "beautiful", it's come to a point where this apparent "beautiful" football has become incredibly predictable and useless.
The same tactics have been employed by Arsenal for a few seasons now, and while the slick passing can be incredible to watch, and victories can certainly come from them, this style isn't getting the club anywhere.
As always, there are rumours of some players leaving, and I'm hoping that this seasons results finally do result in some players leaving the club. I wouldn't be sorry to see the end of Denilson, Rosicky, Squillaci, Diaby and possibly Arshavin.
And while these players are at the moment more qualified for the bench of this seasons Arsenal squad, it suggests that players in the first team would instead make better substitutes than first team players for this squad.
I've heard a lot of talk about Bendtner possibly going to Wolfsburg or somewhere over in Germany, but to be honest I'd be fine with him staying at the club. On the odd occasion when he does play, he's played out of position on the left wing or in the stands. When you look at his performances when he's actually used up front, he's got a decent scoring record.
And onto Wenger. He's certainly played his part in Arsenals poor form this season, and I see it as mostly being to do with the tactics. Nice looking passes which lead to crosses into the box for nobody do not win trophies. I miss the days when the Invincibles would push down the field together and, while also presenting very nice looking football, would dominate a game and fire the goals in all too easily.
So lets hope that Arsenal sought out what needs to go, and what needs to stay. What needs to change? A lot of things, that's for sure.
I have faith in Wenger as a manager, and for those who say he isn't a good manager, I would agree with you on the point of his current "success model". For the most part he's done brilliantly with it, and he's shown that he's incredibly gifted at getting the best out of players he's found in places which nobody knew existed.
It's his faith in the minority that has failed him, and I think he can be forgiven for that if he accepts that he didn't get everything right.
Fans were hoping to see Arsenal contend for the EPL title right to the end, as the squad had given us all hope that they could pull it off. Now we're struggling to believe the team can even finish fourth.
While second place was still a slight possibility after Chelsea got a 2-2 draw with the Toon, Arsenal were once again incapable of providing anything worthy of praise, and stumbled away from their last home game of the season with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.
I'm sure there are fans that were amazed that Arsenal could lose this match given the possibility of coming second, but to me and many others, this kind of performance has become predictable of the Gunners squad.
Losing the Carling Cup Final certainly tore many players and fans up inside, and things became no better when Arsenal eliminated the possibility of (while unlikely even for an amazing team) winning four competitions.
Winning one of these four competitions would have been an achievement given the teams circumstances, but instead we saw a team with no confidence fall and fall again at the vital moments.
It's difficult to sit and watch Arsenal. Years ago the club had the incredible attacking power that other clubs envied, and while the Arsenal style of play is labeled as "beautiful", it's come to a point where this apparent "beautiful" football has become incredibly predictable and useless.
The same tactics have been employed by Arsenal for a few seasons now, and while the slick passing can be incredible to watch, and victories can certainly come from them, this style isn't getting the club anywhere.
As always, there are rumours of some players leaving, and I'm hoping that this seasons results finally do result in some players leaving the club. I wouldn't be sorry to see the end of Denilson, Rosicky, Squillaci, Diaby and possibly Arshavin.
And while these players are at the moment more qualified for the bench of this seasons Arsenal squad, it suggests that players in the first team would instead make better substitutes than first team players for this squad.
 |
| Diaby: Will he be saying goodbye to The Emirates? |
I've heard a lot of talk about Bendtner possibly going to Wolfsburg or somewhere over in Germany, but to be honest I'd be fine with him staying at the club. On the odd occasion when he does play, he's played out of position on the left wing or in the stands. When you look at his performances when he's actually used up front, he's got a decent scoring record.
And onto Wenger. He's certainly played his part in Arsenals poor form this season, and I see it as mostly being to do with the tactics. Nice looking passes which lead to crosses into the box for nobody do not win trophies. I miss the days when the Invincibles would push down the field together and, while also presenting very nice looking football, would dominate a game and fire the goals in all too easily.
So lets hope that Arsenal sought out what needs to go, and what needs to stay. What needs to change? A lot of things, that's for sure.
I have faith in Wenger as a manager, and for those who say he isn't a good manager, I would agree with you on the point of his current "success model". For the most part he's done brilliantly with it, and he's shown that he's incredibly gifted at getting the best out of players he's found in places which nobody knew existed.
It's his faith in the minority that has failed him, and I think he can be forgiven for that if he accepts that he didn't get everything right.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
This isn't a football post.
From the title of this particular blog post, you can probably expect to hear nothing about football.
We'll see in due time if that is correct.
It's very difficult to write down what I actually think about, because recently I've just had so much on my mind, that even I cannot figure out what my brain is actually doing.
Still, from what I can attempt to gather, it goes something like this:
ARGH.
While I am finding my existence to be quite enjoyable right now, it still feels like I am a world away from being comfortable and accepting of what is going on.
Studying at UTS has (so far) been incredible when compared to some previous study at Macquarie, and I find the people in the course I'm doing (Journalism) to be very friendly and cool...Yes cool. It's the only word I could think of. Shut up.
While that's all great fun, I've found it quite different to be so involved in the uni life, as I haven't really been used to that until now. I feel like I'm more capable of hurting people and getting people angry, and for me that's incredibly difficult to deal with and it's quite stressful. It isn't as if I need to be stepping around peoples feelings, it's just that I know that while I try to be the "nice guy", I'm also capable of being the mistakingly hurtful "bad guy."
The studies though are great, and I consider myself very lucky to have met the people I've met so far at uni.
Being busy with things like university studies, drama performances/rehearsals, interning at Goal.com, football on weekends and whatever else I've forgotten, it feels like I'm not exactly in control of where I'm going or what I'm doing.
It's obvious that I picked to do these things, and I enjoy them all, but part of me is just thinking "why won't things happen how I want them to?"
That's kind of an odd thing to think, because when I look at what I'm doing, it is what I want to be doing, but I just feel like there's some kind of...emotional emptiness.
I've got football, great friends, and studies, and while they all evoke some emotional responses (uh oh, it's understanding communications class!), I don't think they draw out the extremes.
Not sure where that's going, but I'll probably end it there to give myself a speck of privacy, so the majority can think "what the hell is he on about?", while a select few can think "ahh yep" or something like that.
Anyway! FOOTBALL (see, it's here)
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa tonight....not really wanting to watch the Gooners tonight after their joke of a performance against Stoke last round.
Wigan vs. West Ham on the other hand looks interesting, as it's a relegation battle which will hopefully keep the Latics in the league!
We'll see in due time if that is correct.
It's very difficult to write down what I actually think about, because recently I've just had so much on my mind, that even I cannot figure out what my brain is actually doing.
Still, from what I can attempt to gather, it goes something like this:
ARGH.
While I am finding my existence to be quite enjoyable right now, it still feels like I am a world away from being comfortable and accepting of what is going on.
Studying at UTS has (so far) been incredible when compared to some previous study at Macquarie, and I find the people in the course I'm doing (Journalism) to be very friendly and cool...Yes cool. It's the only word I could think of. Shut up.
While that's all great fun, I've found it quite different to be so involved in the uni life, as I haven't really been used to that until now. I feel like I'm more capable of hurting people and getting people angry, and for me that's incredibly difficult to deal with and it's quite stressful. It isn't as if I need to be stepping around peoples feelings, it's just that I know that while I try to be the "nice guy", I'm also capable of being the mistakingly hurtful "bad guy."
The studies though are great, and I consider myself very lucky to have met the people I've met so far at uni.
Being busy with things like university studies, drama performances/rehearsals, interning at Goal.com, football on weekends and whatever else I've forgotten, it feels like I'm not exactly in control of where I'm going or what I'm doing.
It's obvious that I picked to do these things, and I enjoy them all, but part of me is just thinking "why won't things happen how I want them to?"
That's kind of an odd thing to think, because when I look at what I'm doing, it is what I want to be doing, but I just feel like there's some kind of...emotional emptiness.
I've got football, great friends, and studies, and while they all evoke some emotional responses (uh oh, it's understanding communications class!), I don't think they draw out the extremes.
Not sure where that's going, but I'll probably end it there to give myself a speck of privacy, so the majority can think "what the hell is he on about?", while a select few can think "ahh yep" or something like that.
Anyway! FOOTBALL (see, it's here)
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa tonight....not really wanting to watch the Gooners tonight after their joke of a performance against Stoke last round.
Wigan vs. West Ham on the other hand looks interesting, as it's a relegation battle which will hopefully keep the Latics in the league!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Young Guns Delight
As a Gunners fan, I'm all too familiar with the worried cries of fans who believe that losing Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona would dent all hopes of Arsenal succeeding.
While still playing an important role in Arsenals 2010/11 campaign, it's clear that Fabregas is not performing as well as he did last season. Now comparing a players performances in one season and another is not necessarily grounds for saying that the player has "lost their touch". Instead, this comparison suggests that Fabregas value should have perhaps dropped this season.
In the eyes of Barcelona, this isn't the case.
Still offering the same amount of money they offered at this point last season (£35-45m), Barcelona are still suggested to be interested in signing Fabregas.
And at this point in time, I'm not as worried at the idea of him leaving as I was last season.
Since last season, Young Lion Jack Wilshere has stepped up brilliantly for not only Arsenal, but also for England. His performances in the Champions League, and more recently, in the 1-0 victory over Manchester United, have shown him to have incredible skill and intelligence on the pitch. He's a joy to watch.
And if Wilshere wasn't enough, enter Aaron Ramsey.
The former Cardiff boy has suffered setbacks to his Arsenal career due to injury, but now that he has mended his bones, Ramsey has made an instant impact for Arsenal since his return.
He worked wonders in the midfield with Wilshere against Manchester United, and I actually wondered if the total control of the midfield would have happened if Fabregas had been playing instead of Ramsey.
Credit must also go to Alex Song, who played his part very well as a holding midfielder.
So really, if we did happen to lose Fabregas next season, I'd love for Wenger to spend some of his warchest on another prolific midfielder. However, I'd like to see Ramsey be given the chance to stay in the first team.
Wilshere and Ramsey in the midfield for the Gunners. Both young, both determined, and both will cement themselves as key members of the Arsenal squad for years and years to come.
While still playing an important role in Arsenals 2010/11 campaign, it's clear that Fabregas is not performing as well as he did last season. Now comparing a players performances in one season and another is not necessarily grounds for saying that the player has "lost their touch". Instead, this comparison suggests that Fabregas value should have perhaps dropped this season.
In the eyes of Barcelona, this isn't the case.
Still offering the same amount of money they offered at this point last season (£35-45m), Barcelona are still suggested to be interested in signing Fabregas.
And at this point in time, I'm not as worried at the idea of him leaving as I was last season.
Since last season, Young Lion Jack Wilshere has stepped up brilliantly for not only Arsenal, but also for England. His performances in the Champions League, and more recently, in the 1-0 victory over Manchester United, have shown him to have incredible skill and intelligence on the pitch. He's a joy to watch.
And if Wilshere wasn't enough, enter Aaron Ramsey.
The former Cardiff boy has suffered setbacks to his Arsenal career due to injury, but now that he has mended his bones, Ramsey has made an instant impact for Arsenal since his return.
 |
| Ramsey scored the winning goal in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Man Utd. |
He worked wonders in the midfield with Wilshere against Manchester United, and I actually wondered if the total control of the midfield would have happened if Fabregas had been playing instead of Ramsey.
Credit must also go to Alex Song, who played his part very well as a holding midfielder.
So really, if we did happen to lose Fabregas next season, I'd love for Wenger to spend some of his warchest on another prolific midfielder. However, I'd like to see Ramsey be given the chance to stay in the first team.
Wilshere and Ramsey in the midfield for the Gunners. Both young, both determined, and both will cement themselves as key members of the Arsenal squad for years and years to come.
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