Champions League Final

For the neutral the Champions League final had just about everything; not just blood, sweat and tears but penalties, drama, a red card and much more. However for a non-neutral the game was horrific to watch although if you are a Manchester United fan the result was obviously pleasing. Thankfully I support the boys in Red and could not wait for this match but when it finally arrived I was shaking nervously.

When we last won the European Cup I was only 11 therefore did not realise the seriousness of the trophy and I also did not partake in much football banter. When Ole scored that goal I cried with tears of joy and phoned my Nan who said she jumped out of her wheelchair for the first time in years. She is sadly not with us anymore but she would’ve been over the moon with the result on Wednesday night.

First half we played some of our best football with Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez all combining to great aplomb. Really United should’ve easily had the ball in Petr Cech’s net 3 times but alas we didn’t and Frank Lampard scored a lucky goal just before the stroke of half time. Which changed the course of the game and second half Chelsea were on top and we defended for our lives like we have done many times this season (Barcelona home and way both come to mind). Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have become heroes like the days of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister and Patrice Evra is certainly on his way to becoming a United legend much like previous left-back Dennis Irwin.

Penalties are cruel. However it is the only fair way to decide the game (easy for me to say with the European Cup sitting comfortably at Old Trafford). When our player of the season missed I thought it was all over but you know with United that we never give up. Nani scored a vital spot kick which put all the pressure on John Terry to score; but he couldn’t do it. “Mr. Chelsea” failed to put the ball in the net and Ryan Giggs scored United’s winning spot kick with ex Liverpool and Man City forward Nicolas Anelka missing the all important penalty. Thank you John Terry, thank you Nicolas Anelka and most of all thank you Edwin Van Der Sar.

Cue mad celebrations, singing on the streets, running up and down the street waving my George Best no. 7 retro United shirt in the air. I cannot believe how a game of football can take you through so many emotions, but for United fans the feeling at the end beats any feeling in the world. Wednesday May 21st is a day I will never forget till’ the day I die.

Album: Elle Milano – Acres of Dead Space Cadets

For most Elle Milano fans the journey has been a long way and for the band the experience has been the same. There have been ups and downs along the way and losing a vital member of the band certainly had a major impact on the band. Over two years ago Elle Milano blew my brains out watching them in the tiniest pub in Camden and since then it has been a constant wonder whether they would produce an album. Thankfully they did and this Brighton three-piece battled through the problems of being a band and completed a great debut album.

‘Swearing’s For Art Students’ showed so much promise and it provided many music enthusiasts with their favourite new band. Them same fans have stuck with the band and now can listen to ‘Acres of Dead Space Cadets’ and feel extremely happy with Elle Milano’s debut album. First single from the album ‘My Brother, The Astronaut’ at three minutes nineteen seconds is everything we love about Elle Milano. Angry sharp lyrics and some fine guitar action epitomises the album in this one song. You get the idea Elle Milano have a sarcastic side to them with the lyric “You’re English, you’ll be fine” in ‘My Brother, The Astronaut’.

Second single starts off a lot more melodic and slower but as expected eighteen seconds into the song the angst we expect from Elle Milano kicks in. A dig at commercialism and boring towns Elle Milano are really trying to say something about the world we live in today. “Meanwhile in Hollywood, oh this worlds over you know. And in suburbia, oh this worlds over you know. But then I guess what would I know?” Elle Milano are not happy by Hollywood, suburbia and even the Middle East from the sound of this song.

If you want to be cheered up then the rest of the album is not for you as ‘Stepkids in Love’, ‘Carousels’, ‘Wonderfully Wonderful’ and ‘The Nightclub Is Over’ carry on in similar vein. Then again if you want cheering up along with empty lyrics and pop tripe then perhaps a band like Scouting for Girls/The Hoosiers/The Feeling is more for you.

Standout tracks ‘Curiosity Killed The Popstar’ and ‘Laughing All The Way To The Plank’ provide some much needed social commentary. Elle Milano sum up their difficulties with record labels with the lyric, “Why You Shouldn’t Sign To A Major Label – Available in hardback!” The first track of the album ‘Laughing All The Way To Plank’ is the epitome of Elle Milano and their ability to write three minute songs about everyday issues in this case boring dead end jobs: “Job satisfaction, I can’t get no. My head’s about to blow”. Elle Milano has created one of the best debut albums of the year; let’s just hope they get the credit they rightfully deserve over the coming months.

9.5/10

Yearly Awards

Team of the year: David James (Portsmouth), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Portsmouth), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)

Best Newcomer: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Best Signing: Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)

Young Player of the Year: Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Manager of the Year: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

Premier League: Season Review

Kevin Keegan claims the Premiership is boring but this season has probably been the best season since the beginning. The title went down to the wire and could’ve been won on goal difference but also this season saw a three way title race. As a Manchester United supporter the start of the season was bleak we didn’t win our first three games taking only two points from a possible nine not too mention a defeat to City. Ronaldo was sent off in the third game of that run and was suspended for three games; Wayne Rooney picked up yet another foot injury.

However in the end thanks to some great experience from players like Scholes, Giggs and Van Der Sar. Along with some of the best defending ever witnessed from a back four of Brown, Evra, Vidic and hopefully future captain Rio Ferdinand. Then there was that man from Portugal who was sensational scoring 41 goals in total with one huge game to go. Manchester United deserves to be Champions for the way they play football in comparison to Chelsea’s successful but boring style of football.

Down the bottom it looked for a long time Bolton and Fulham would join Derby County however thanks to some great form at the right time the two sides managed to escape relegation. Reading and Birmingham being the teams, who suffered, Birmingham I expect to be back pretty soon but Reading it could take a bit longer.

Martin O’Neill has done a fantastic job at Aston Villa with a very small squad and without spending too much money. What is great about Aston Villa is the English spine running through the squad with the likes of Young, Barry, Carson, Davies, Gardner, Reo-Coker and Agbonlahor. Next season with a few additions expect Aston Villa to challenge Everton and Liverpool for the 4th and 5th spots.

Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham all under performed considering the money the three spent last summer however I expect Tottenham out of the three to mount a serious challenge on the top 5 next season. Newcastle with the right signings may get close to a UEFA spot but West Ham could see another mid-table finish next season.

Pushing Daisies

Admittedly upon hearing the concept of this show I was not very keen on paying it much attention, everything about it screamed rubbish to me. However you should never judge a book by a cover or in this case the trailer. Constant nagging by my girlfriend to watch it with her I sat down to watch it.

Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised with the show which is not really like anything around at the moment. How ITV have managed to secure the rights to show the first series is beyond me, it definitely feels like a Channel 4 programme. The narrator is in similar vein to that of Channel 4 hit show Desperate Housewives.

The story follows Ned who runs ‘The Pie Hole’, Ned is not like any other Pie Maker he has the ability to bring the dead back to life however there is a twist. They can only live for a minute otherwise they will live and someone else will die, and Ned cannot touch them after the minute is up or they will die. Now, this all seems quite irrelevant however Ned works for Emerson who finds cases where a reward is offered for answers on murders. The relationship between Emerson and Ned gives us some great comedy moments, but the relationship between Emerson, Ned and Ned’s child hood sweet heart Chuck is what makes the programme so good.

Chuck ends up being killed however Emerson gets the case and Ned brings her back to life but he ends up keeping her alive however he cannot touch her which provides great difficulty throughout the programme. The first series is only a mere 9 episodes long and after seeing them all it makes you want the second season so very desperately!

Final Day Drama

Sir Alex Ferguson said at the beginning of the season that the title would go down to the wire and the Scot was right. Throughout the season the battle seemed to between Manchester United and Arsenal, however Chelsea have been battling away each game securing victories and they are still in for a shout of winning the title.

My opinion is that they don’t deserve the title over United, however if they do win the League title it will be down to United giving it to them. If we cannot beat Wigan then quite frankly we do not deserve the Premiership crown. It does appear (fingers AND toes crossed) that we will win the Championship on goal difference, which says everything about how we play football and how Chelsea play football. We try to score goals where as Chelsea get a goal and defend the lead much like the Italians are famous for.

Down the bottom it is very interesting three weeks ago I said to a friend the bottom three would definitely be Derby, Bolton and Fulham and now it appears only one of them will go down. Derby were doomed from the off really, and have been playing for next season for a very long time. The other two places could be filled by Birmingham, Reading, Fulham or Bolton (though that would be requiring some miracle). So it appears that Birmingham, Fulham or Reading will occupy the last two relegation places. Birmingham and Reading have the two easier fixtures with the Blues at home to Blackburn and the Royals away to already relegated and hopeless Derby County. Where as Fulham face a tricky match at Fratton Park against Pompey. Saying that many of the Portsmouth player’s minds could be on the FA Cup the week later so it could give Fulham the perfect opportunity to seal a rare away victory down on the South Coast.

What will happen? My heart says United will win the title but for some strange reason my head says there will be a horrible huge twist that will haunt me forever. Down the bottom I think Fulham have the momentum and they also have it in their own hands unlike Reading and Birmingham therefore my money is on the Cottagers to survive.

Flight of the Conchords

I’ll be extremely surprised if you’ve not heard the album or watched Series 1 yet, however if for some strange reason you haven’t then go do it now. Admittedly I was a late comer to the programme, but once I watched the first episode I could not stop watching more and the very next day I went out and purchased the DVD. If you’ve not heard of Flight of the Conchords (unlikely) here is a quick run down of what it’s all about. Jemaine and Bret are a folk/pop band from New Zealand called Flight of the Conchords. They live in New York and have a David Brent style manager in Murray along with an obsessive fan called Mel (their only fan).

Every episode Jemaine and Bret perform several of their songs such as Inner City Pressure, Foux Du Fafa, If You’re Into It, A Kiss Is Not A Contract, It’s Business Time and more. The songs are a mix of pop, electro, acoustic and plenty of comedy involved with the lyrics. A perfect example of the comedy lyrics includes “The manager, Bevin, starts to abuse me. Hey man, I just want some muesli.” My favourite lyric from one of the songs however is “How about you and two dudes, him you and Stu in the nude, being lude with two dudes with food. Well that’s if Stu’s into it.”

The first series contains 12 episodes of pure comedy gold, and the album has 15 of the songs from Series 1. Flight of the Conchords is like a perfect blend of surreal (Mighty Boosh) and reality (The Office). You cannot help but love Murray who is their manager, who calls band meetings every day during his normal job hours. He tries desperately to help the band and get them gigs but more often than not fails miserably.

The new season is expected at some point this year and I am waiting with much anticipation and excitement!

Flight of the Conchords – Ladies of the World
Flight of the Conchords – Foux Du Fafa
Flight of the Conchords – A Kiss Is Not A Contract

Single: Plugs - That Number

At four minutes seven seconds “That Number” is one of the standout singles of 2008. Plugs seem to have appeared from nowhere to produce one of the best songs of this year so far. Lead singer Morgan is more commonly known as the lead singer of Does It Offend You, Yeah? However Morgan takes a more melodic vocal lead in “That Number” for Plugs, a piece who take influences from Talking Heads, Magazine, Kraftwerk amongst others. Obviously this band will get talked about in the same breath as Does It Offend You, Yeah? But if you’re expecting or hoping a similar sound to Morgan’s other band you won’t find it here.

Don’t be disheartened by that though, because you certainly won’t be disappointed by “That Number”. Plugs are extremely hard to pigeon hole into a genre, which is what makes them and this song so great. Immediately after listening you find yourself tapping your foot, one listen later you are repeating lyrics like “That number looks familiar, it’s mine”. A few more listens on you can’t help but humming/whistling (select appropriate one for you) the tune. Well done Plugs.

9/10

The Championship

This weekend is a big for the Championship with almost every match meaning something, with only thing decided is that Scunthorpe and Colchester will definitely go down it is a big day on Sunday for all those involved. Probably the biggest game is at the Britannia Stadium between Stoke City and Leicester City. If Leicester City win the game it will guarantee them survival however anything else will have them very nervy about the game between Southampton and Sheffield United. Stoke City need a point to clinch their promotion to the Premiership, so the game at the Britannia has a lot on it.

That’s not it though, two play-off places are up for grabs and five sides (Watford, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton, Ipswich and Sheffield United) are chasing the final two places. Ipswich and Sheffield United must be considered outsiders because they both require wins to get into the play-offs and have to hope the teams above them drop points. Sheffield United face a Southampton side requiring a win to have any chance of survival and Ipswich face third place Hull who have secured their play-off place and only a miracle would see them catch Stoke City in second.

Down the bottom five teams could still be relegated into the last place but Southampton and Leicester look the most likely however Sheffield Wednesday, Coventry and Blackpool all require points in their games to secure Championship status. A lot has been said about the Premiership this season; however the Championship has had its best season in terms of entertainment. Potentially a team who gets 53 points could be relegated and West Brom could win the division with 78 points. Only a 25 point gap between relegation to League 1 and promotion to the Premiership, this says a lot about how competitive the division really is.

Introduction

The first day of the month of May and my goodness how quick this year is going. It felt like only yesterday that I was moving into my new room at University, and in just over a week I will be moving out for the summer. The expression time flies is definitely in poignant usage here.

A new month, a new blog and a fresh new start as well; over the summer (although I’ve just heard an echo of thunder from out of my window) I am going be as productive as ever. Heard it before you say? I know. Well we’ll see how it goes but for now this is just an introduction to my new blog.

This blog is going to produce many wonderful things over the summer, including LOTS on music, LOTS on football (yes there is football over the summer, Euro 2008, duh) and much more “stuff”. I hope you’ll enjoy what I post over the next coming months.

Shaun.