Take that to the bank

The global banking crisis is effecting everybody it appears and I have tried twice to write a blog that expresses my feelings..but nothing I can say seems to hit the nail on the head.

I just don't think that we should overlook the fact that however bad the current situation is (and it is bad), the cost to the US taxpayer of the conflicts in Iraq & Afghanistan is predicted to be c$752billion by the end of the year. No one seems to be mentioning that and the impact that the hole that has created is also having on the US spending plans.

Misfire

I have every Queen album in some shape or form and have usually bought them, from "Day at the Races" on,  within days of them being released.  

In the 70's they were "my band".  I cut out interviews from Sounds, Melody Maker & NME. I watched Top of the Pops when they had a new single out just in the hope they would be on and my mates Gray, Nigel, Ian, Kev & I went to each others houses to listen to the albums while we played board games (I  recall Colditz, Risk, Monopoly and Mousetrap featured regularly). In May 1976 I went to the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton to see them live for the first time and that concert is still one of the best five gigs of my life.

Over the years my love for the band has waned with other bands music meaning as much if not more to me. That's as a result of Queen albums changing direction and quality diminishing and my musical knowledge also expanding. I still went to three more Queen concerts, in 1978 at Earls Court, 1982 at Milton Keynes Bowl and 1986 at Wembley Stadium on what would be their last ever tour. 

Freddie's death obviously ended the band and while a couple of albums of material he recorded with the band, were released after his death and showed he worked almost up until the end, they effectively ceased to be after the Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium.

That is until a couple of years ago when Brian & Roger hooked up with Paul Rogers and toured as Queen + Paul Rogers, playing concerts full of Queen songs with the odd Free & Bad Company classic thrown in for good measure.

Now they have recorded a new "Queen" album and this week on the day of purchase I bought it! Now let's get this clear right now...It's not a Queen album! John Deacon plays no part on it and listening to it it doesn't have the "Queen" hallmarks (operatic vocals, banked guitar tracks and a sense of fun).

It is, however, quite good! Paul Rogers has one of the best "rock voices" ever and they have written songs which make excellent use of it. On all albums Brian May & Roger Taylor have written some of Queens best songs and they also produced some good solo albums as well. What they have done here is put those songs they had earmarked for future solo stuff and used some of Paul Rogers material to produce a good rock album. It has blues and country influences as well and lets all three of them demonstrate how good musicians they are. It does have odd bursts of the "Queen" sound and Brian May's guitar playing is always going sound like only he can sound.

The lyrics are also a big change from Queen albums. While Queen songs always had differing standard of lyrics (Another one bites the dust!") there are songs on this album that Freddie would have laughed at singing. When Paul Rogers sings them they work but because he sings them but they're not "Queen" songs for that very reason.   

So, its good but not a Queen album! Maybe they should call themselves QPR? 

Lucky

This is a slightly different blog. This is me watching Saints play QPR and my thoughts and feelings "as it happens"

5 minutes before kick off - Team changes mean average age even younger than previous game. Svensson out with knee injury, doesn't bode well and Perry dropped to the bench. Midfield stronger with Wotton in for White. Sky write us off so we'll see!

40 seconds in.....disaster! QPR score, long throw, defence all at sea and Dexter Blackstock (ex Saints player) scores with the crowd nearer to him than any Saints defender. It could be a long afternoon!

5 min:  better, passing it around but no real chances yet... Won a corner and QPR's keeper punched when could have caught it. Such small things are vital to cling on to..!!!!

10 minutes: we have more possession, a couple of half chances and I cheer up as I remember yesterday Liverpool let in an early goal yet went on to win. 

20 min: We look the better team, although the commentators get very excited whenever 

QPR attack. Lee Holmes gets a bad injury and leaves the pitch almost unable to walk. Nathan Dyer comes on in his place. QPR get another long, throw this time we keep it out...just! 

25 min: QPR's lead is flattering to deceive. They've really done nothing so far. And the fourth richest man in the world is in the crowd.

30 min: Olly Lancashire completely mistimes a tackle...red card...10 men.... back to depression again.

35 min: Good play by QPR, shot by Delaney, great save by Davis. Corner comes to nothing. Pajero the QPR player (on loan from Real Madrid!!!!)  does look a good player. 

40 min: Another good save from Davis. If we can get in at half time only one goal down that will be good. Ref may have QPR shirt on under his black one. Very few free kicks in our favour so far.

Half time: If it could go wrong it has....yet we are still in this game. One goal down but we created chances and Dyer has lots of space on the left. We need to come out believing and we could take a point out of this.

47 mins: Good start we have a free kick on the edge of the QPR box...it hits the wall and goes to safety, but the ref did give us a free kick.

53min: 1-1 We score a great counter attacking goal. When we play like that we are great! A big contribution from Davis with the initial distribution from the back. Commentator says if Arsenal had scored that goal we'd be talking about it for weeks. Lallana with the finish to a flowing move.

60min: QPR make a double substitution. Dowie clearly rocked by our equaliser! 

62min: QPR take the lead again and the scorer is clearly 2 yards offside from the free kick. It's not even close. Unbelievable!

65min: We are losing our discipline two quick bookings and QPR are on top again. But it may be the ref has to up his "bookings per game" ratio as he's just booked two QPR  players!

70mim: We're going for this. We bring on Thomas Peckhart a big six foot centre forward who starts off winning a good free-kick and causes chaos from the resulting cross. 

76min: Game over 3-1. Davis makes an amazing save but the rebound falls to Blackstock who makes no mistake.

80min: If we could pinch one now it could get interesting but it's a big if. Davis makes another amazing save, he has played really well.  

86min: Dyer has great chance, but puts his shot over the bar. It's not our day.

90min: 4 added minutes. QPR make it 4-1, football can be a harsh game at times.  Dowie's substitutions seem to have been the difference. Since the second goal their extra player has made a big difference and while we have tried to play football that has left gaps which QPR have exploited.

Full time: We scored the best goal, but going behind so early and losing a player after 30 mins were big hurdles. We did what we needed to and equalised, but the QPR second (offside) goal knocked the stuffing out of the team and in the end QPR had a comfortable victory.

We are now second bottom of the division.

 

Unbelievable

Lest it gets forgotten in all the hysteria, Theo was discovered and given his start in this great game at Southampton!!!!!!

The photo shows him predicting one day how many goals he will score in Croatia......

From a distance.....

Like most British people with an interest in politics, I watch the coverage of the US Presidential race with a mixture of bewilderment, amazement and a slight sense of panic. After all the winner effectively gets to run the world!

This race is, for all sorts of reasons, the most interesting for a long time. 

Firstly the Democrats. Obama seems the real deal and having seen off Hilary Clinton and thus confirmed that the next administration wouldn't have a Clinton or a Bush in the White House, appointed Joe Biden as his running mate. Biden, a well regarded mature politician with lots of foreign policy experience, appears just what the Democrats were looking for and they left Denver in good shape. True the stage that Obama made his speech on was still too grand (and that was after they allegedly toned it down), but his speech seemed genuine and most importantly "Presidential".

The Republicans arrived in St Pauls in the middle of Hurricane Gustav as it bore down on New Orleans. First day cancelled and George W cancels his visit and speech. Day 2 sees him send the speech by video, but the mere fact he's not there to me some how distanced McCain from his administration. Then the bombshell, McCain's running mate will be Sarah Palin, at which point all of America ( except Alaska) went "who?". Suddenly the phrase "hockey mom" become the most used phrase in the English language. 

While the discussion forums went crazy, it emerged that her 17 year old unmarried daughter was pregnant. Not good news for the Republicans or her boyfriend who, it was announced, would be marrying Bristol Palin (all her kids have "interesting" Christian names") faster than you can say "if you don't, something very unpleasant will happen to you and you family". Oh and his facebook homepage got a spring clean and refreshed some quotes as to his outlook on life. [As an aside, the Republican background checks on the Palin family didn't seem to go further than "ever been in trouble? No ...good you're in"]

McCain putting Palin's name on the ticket is a courageous decision. It also means that Obama's inexperience is out of play and that the Republicans go to bed every night praying that no further "revelations" about Palin or her family will emerge. (Not sure those prayers will be answered)

Palin's convention speech was a revelation though(three days solid preparation) and she "delivered" exactly as the spin doctors would have wanted and more. Sound bites all over the place, much to Republican central office's delight! Suddenly the Republicans have momentum and a candidate along side McCain who "touches" sectors he can't and the race is currently "too close to call". Hanging chads v2.0 anyone??

There is now, however, a latecomer to the race (ignore the fact that he's British) & a new campaign is underway for a far more rounded political opponent see it here.

And let's remember whichever candidate takes over, if they do a worse job than the current resident we're all in trouble!!!

Complete control

There is a scene in the first episode of the second series (series 2 if you're American!) of Fawlty Towers where Basil is trying to explain to Mrs Richards, a deaf resident, that he is the the owner of the hotel. It goes like this :-

Mrs Richards : "Who are you"

Basil : "I am the the owner madam"

Mrs Richards : "What?"

Basil : "I am the owner"

Mrs Richards : We ll I want to speak to the manager!"

Basil "I am the manager, I am the manager and the owner"

Well this week that dialogue has been at the centre of at least two Premier League managers resigning this week. Both Alan Curbishley (at West Ham) & Kevin Keegan (aka King Kev at Newcastle) quit their respective clubs because the owners were to all intents and purposes managing the clubs as well as owning them. This "managing" took the shape of the owners either directly or through "Directors of Football" deciding which players the club would sell or buy and leaving the "manager" to coach the team of players the owner thinks he should have!

This breaks the traditional model of the Manager having control of all footballing issues, including most importantly, transfer policy. In both instances Curbishley and Keegan had players sold they wanted to keep and  others bought in they knew little about! It is no surprise that both quit issuing statements heavily criticising their former employers.

The majority of British football. pundit and manager (either current or retired), has backed both managers decisions, saying how outrageous it is that both of them had their authority hugely reduced by the actions of the teams owners and that it only "works" if the Manager has complete control and that includes having a Director of Football who does the Managers bidding.

I agree with the first part, in reality Keegan was a resignation waiting to happen from the moment Mike Ashley appointed Dennis Wise (football's "Mr Popular" before all of this!!!) as Director of Football. If you employ a manager under one structure and then impose another, it's not a surprise that they pick up their ball and go home. 

I don't believe that it only "works" however, if the manager has complete control. That surely depends on the manager? Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp are good examples of that model having a happy ending. There are plenty of examples of the opposite being true!

All of the upheaval this week has taken place with the backdrop of the  preparation for the next round of International football, which got me thinking. International managers have to use the players that birthplaces dictate. Apart from the odd "my granny was born in your country  so I can play for you" opportunities, they have to make the best they can from a finite resource and truly coach those players into the best team they can. which is surely all that the new breed of owner is expecting their coach to do. So actually that model has a validation it's just based on a completely different viewpoint. 

That is,  that it's "my club (small country) and I'll tell you who you are going to have to work with". As long as the coach knows that at the outset then it can work, you just need to employ former international coaches, they'll "get it"  (West Ham are strongly rumoured to want Slaven Bilic, who just happens to coach Croatia at the moment!!!)

Finally, not all coaches object to having players foisted upon them! Mark Hughes didn't resign this week, when Robinho was parachuted into Man City this week!!!!!!