Album Of 2005 (so far)

Well, as we are nearly half way through 2005 already my thoughts turn to what has been my album of the year so far.

I will go for 'Gods and Monsters' by I Am Kloot, closely followed by 'Songs for Silverman' by Ben Folds and 'Some Cities' by Doves. Honourable mention for debut of the year to Bloc Party's 'Silent Alarm'.

Box Set of the Year has only one serious contender - 'The Complete Peel Sessions' by the mighty Fall. 6 CDs worth of all the tracks ever recorded by this wonderful band for the John Peel show. As close to a complete document of their career as you can get.

Reissue of the year is a tie between Paul Weller's 'Stanley Road' and The Kinks' 'The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society'.

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves,
There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves,
With the possible exception of being Garth Crooks,
There is surely nothing worse than washing sieves"

'Lock Up your Mountain Bikes' from the CD Single Look Dad No Tunes

Pie Eaters in Free Fall

Well, we've covered the decline of Bradford further down - what about those strike-breaking Pie Eaters? This is from Manchesteronline:

Wigan Warriors in crisis

WIGAN Warriors are a club in crisis with the world's most famous rugby league team reeling on the ropes and fighting for Super League survival.

Once-mighty Wigan are in free-fall and facing relegation. The club's current plight is alarming and in stark contrast to the champagne glory days when they dominated the sport.

Dismayed fans are still coming to terms with a punchless performance in a record 70-0 defeat by arch-rivals Leeds.

It's left the team's confidence in tatters. Dressing-room morale has reached an all-time low and Wigan now face an acid test of character.

Their illustrious reputation as a top club is under serious threat following 11 defeats already this season.

Chairman Maurice Lindsay insists the players under new coach Ian Millward must work their way through a crisis that has plunged Wigan deeper into what has been unknown territory for the club.

Millward, the former St. Helens coach, faces a massive job trying to restore former glories to a team short of world-class stars and ravaged by injury.

Millward now faces his biggest-ever test as a coach and is back at Knowsley Road on Sunday to take on his former club in a massive Challenge Cup quarter-final clash.

More tough times lie ahead as Millward masterminds a three-year rebuilding programme he hopes will eventually see them restore former glories.

Here, M.E.N. Sport analyses the key areas where it is going wrong for the Warriors.

1: THE LOSS OF STAR PLAYERS

ANDY Farrell, Adrian Lam, Craig Smith and Terry O'Connor were the backbone of Wigan's last genuine quality team but they've now gone leaving a massive hole.

No wonder coach Ian Millward claims there is a definite lack of on-field leaders.

No team with aspirations of success can afford to lose so many players of such class in one-fell swoop. Wigan are not an exception.


2: INJURY TO SEVERAL KEY PLAYERS

WIGAN have never fielded their strongest line-up and injury has definitely contributed to the team's Super League slide.

They have badly missed both Sean O'Loughlin and Gareth Hock - two very talented young forwards who have been ruled out for the season. Other key players such as winger Brian Carney have been missed.


3: ARE EXPECTATIONS TOO HIGH?

MAYBE they are but rival teams no longer fear Wigan and club bosses must surely realise this by now.

Finishing second may still not be viewed by certain people as acceptable for Wigan but anyone thinking this needs a reality check.

The glory days are fast becoming a fading memory now that Super League is competed for an "even playing field."

No one club will ever dominate again.


4: IS IAN MILLWARD THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB?

DEFINITELY - he's arguably the best coach in the game and if anyone can transform Wigan's fortunes, Millward can.

Wigan had to go for him when he left Saints - it was some coup but the time to judge him is when he brings in the players he feels are worthy of pulling on a Wigan shirt.


5: KRIS RADLINSKI'S RL FUTURE IS IN DOUBT AND IS THIS UNSETTLING?

RADS' time at Wigan could soon be up with a cross code move to rugby union looking inevitable.

A move would not be a surprise but why did Wigan allow his understudy Shaun Briscoe join Hull?


6: DO FANS SEE WIGAN ATHLETIC AS A THREAT?

WARRIORS may have taken over the town's "poor relation" mantle with Latics in the Premiership but Warriors' fans remain incredibly loyal.


7: WAS THERE TOO MUCH RELIANCE ON ANDY FARRELL?

FAZ is a truly world-class player who was worth his weight in gold to Wigan but far too much was expected and taken on by himself.

Faz falls under the irreplaceable category and his legacy lives on despite his move to union, but Wigan now need to move on.


8: WHAT ABOUT THE RECRUITMENY POLICY?

WIGAN can no longer splash out on the very best players and questions can be asked of many sub-standard signings.

The buck stops somewhere and while Wigan deserve credit for developing home-grown stars, they have thrown too many juniors in at the deep end.


9: HAVE THERE BEEN TOO MANY COACHES?

WIGAN have fallen into the trap of chopping and changing but at least Millward has been given time to start from scratch.

He faces a tough task but if he puts the right kind of structures in place and triggers a response from players with a hunger for success, then things will work out for him.


10: CAN WIGAN WIN SUNDAY'S CUP CLASH WITH SAINTS?

IT would be a huge surprise to see the Warriors bounce back from their Headingley nightmare and win at Knowsley Road.

Wigan will make a fist of it and are under no pressure but this game has possibly come around too soon for Millward.

And more ...

I heard another example of poor grammar yesterday in a trailer for the new film Mr and Mrs Jones.

"The most deadliest ..."

No, no - it's 'the most deadly' or 'the deadliest'.

My Bete Noire

There aren’t many things that get me worked up (well, there are, but that’s another story …) biut one thing that gets my goat and which I get out of all proportion is poor grammar.

I was watching Law and Order on the Hallmark channel last week when they ran a trailer for some movie season showing “on Wednesday’s” (sic). Why the apostrophe – it’s just a plural for God’s sake! It annoys me when I see similar examples outside greengrocers’ shops (“Loose Potato’s 40p per kilo”) but when you see it on screen when it should have been checked by God knows how many people it makes it worse.

While I’m at it I also detest the use of ‘of’ instead of ‘have’, as in “I would of done it but I couldn’t be bothered.” That’s just unforgiveable. In speech it may be difficult to distinguish between the two words, especially with certain accents but when it’s written down it’s horribly ugly.

May I recommend to fellow pedants the Lynne Truss book ‘Eats Shoots and Leaves’ and the John Humphrys book ‘Lost for Words’. Both contain a large number of examples of manglings of the English language that will make your blood boil and have you despairing for the future of our language.

I think I have become a grumpy old man.

DannyMo - the next Keith Moon

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"Dear Mr McGee,

Please find enclosed the latest demo from Liquid Greek. Derided by the mainstream as shoegazing also-rans the band have nevertheless persevered with their 'off-kilter or nothing' policy in the hope that someone like your good self will eventually realise, and thus promote, this violent but ultimately beautiful genre which we have dubbed 'New Noise'.

The first track is based upon the high-pitched lamentations of an unbalanced Lincoln woman who nurses injured buzzards back to health inside her dead child's wardrobe.

We hope you like it.

Yours sincerely,

Liquid Greek"

'Get Kramer' from the Eno Collaboration EP

Technophobia

I'm just getting to grips with this techy computer stuff like blogs and podcasts and RSS. When I say 'getting to grips with' I really mean 'experimenting with and failing to understand'.

Don't get me wrong, I can find my way around a computer and even cope with most of the problems it throws at me (Control-Alt-Delete seems to work well for me) but some things I just can't grasp such as having RSS feeds. Maybe it's my lack of patience or maybe it's my age but I do get lost rather easily, hence the basic look of this page.

I'm impressed with the ability to listen to BBC radio shows from the past seven days via the internet and BBC Radio Player but I wish I could put them on my iRiver MP3 player. I know there are some programmes you can do that with but they are spoken word and there are not many of them.

Give me time and there may be some improvement.

Hardest Sport?

Rugby League is the Winner!
Energy supplier Powergen has joined forces with a renowned expert in the field of sports science, Professor Mike Gleeson of Loughborough University, to answer an age old sporting question – which sport uses the most energy?

By measuring the heart rates of football, Rugby Union and Rugby League players, referees and supporters over the course of a season, Powergen has finally answered that question: the most energy sapping sport around is Rugby League.

With its combination of powerful bursts of attacking play and the strenuous nature of defence, Rugby League offers a physical challenge above and beyond other British sports:

A typical Rugby League player uses up to 6,800 Kilojoules of energy per game – roughly 10% more than a football or Rugby Union player
Rugby League players need stamina to cover the estimated 5-10 km a typical player runs in a game
They must be strong to endure the continual pounding of up to 40 tackles per match
The Powergen Player Energy Report found that although the ball is only in play for around 50 minutes during an 80 minute Rugby League game, the intensity of the activity within each passage of play makes for a gruelling physical challenge for even the fittest of players.

And although 50 minutes seems like a short period of time, it should be remembered that players in the rival Rugby Union code only exert themselves for an average of 30 minutes – giving Rugby League players 20 minutes extra to tackle, scrummage, run and pass.


Powergen, which is part of E.ON UK, has also looked into the experience of a typical supporter during a game and found that with its numerous tries and the excitement of video referees, Rugby League also offers the most nerve wracking experience for fans.

Having played all three of the sports mentioned I must agree. It confirms what we Rugby League fans have known all along.

Mississippi Burning

The reputed Ku Klux Kansman, Edgar Ray Killen, is about to go on trial for the murder in 1964 of three voter-registration volunteers. The murders inspired the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning and the trial is an attempt to deal with some unfinished business from Mississippi's bloodstained racist past. The murders served to galvanise the civil rights movement and led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Opinions appear divided in Philadelphia where the trial is taking place - mainly along predictable racial lines. Some think there is no value in going after an 80 year old man for murders that took place over 40 years ago. I believe that justice must be seen to be done in this case. Killen's name has been involved with the case for most of those 40 years and if he is innocent then let him go free, but the relatives of the victims deserve the opportunity for closure, as the Americans are fond of saying. Apparently when the swamps around the area were dredged the bodies of many young blacks were discovered. It seems there will always be unsolved racist murders and if one of them reaches a conclusion, all the better.

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"Some say, some day, one of these fine nights, the Council's gonna ask Radiohead to switch off Blackpool lights."

'On Passing Lilac Urine' from the EP Editor's Recommendation

Failing to spin a plate at Hoghton Tower on Sunday

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"I'm off to see The Bootleg Beatles, as the bootleg Mark Chapman"

'When the Evening Sun Goes Down' from the CD Cammell Laird Social Club

Trouble at t' Mill

Written by John Ledger from YEP.

Caisley issues rallying call to disgruntled fans

Bradford chairman Chris Caisley tells John Ledger why the club's supporters should not lose faith in the Bulls' ability to reach the Super League grand final.
IT BEGAN as a steady trickle, quickly became a procession and soon degenerated into a stampede as hundreds of disgruntled fans headed for the exits at Odsal last Sunday.
There may have been a full 20 minutes remaining but many people steadfastly refused to stay and witness what was to become a record home defeat for Bradford. As sickening as the margin of their 66-4 defeat by St Helens was, it was the way in which the Bulls capitulated against the team that has so often proved their nemesis in the Super League era that caused most concern, anxiety and anger among the sport's most demanding supporters.
Although no team has an automatic right to glory, the followers of Bradford Bulls have come to expect, rather than hope for, success from their heroes. Having grown fat on the rich pickings at Odsal in recent years, they had neither the stomach nor the heart to see them through the lean times the Bulls find themselves in.
With the taunts of the St Helens fans ringing in their ears, they streamed out towards the car parks like an army of spoilt children, while the more resilient among their number remained to send the Bradford players from the field amid a chorus of boos.
For Chris Caisley, a man whose passion for the Bulls knows no equal, the day was a tortuous experience, not just for the result but because of the response to it by the people around him.
Just a week after fewer than 800 supporters had deigned to travel to the KC Stadium to see the Bulls complete an edifying win at Hull, Bradford's chairman was again reminded of the fickle nature of his fellow fans. "I wish people wouldn't be so negative all the time," said Caisley.
"I can understand why they are, not least because some of our worst performances have been at Odsal this season and Odsal was once a place where you would turn up expecting us to win.
"However, it's important to point out that we have had almost 10 years of almost uninterrupted success and even last year reached the grand final and won the world club title.
"We are due a little bit of patience and it's at times like this that everyone should pull together and support the club, the team and the coach.
"The players and the coaching staff have come in for a lot of unfair criticism and I'm determined that we support them. It's unfortunate that at the moment we go a score down and our crowd goes silent to the point when you can hear a pin drop.
"I hope they will reflect on all of this and give the lads their absolute top support because it's now more than any other time that they need it. All the shouting and the barracking in the world isn't going to do any good."
Bradford's troubles – they have lost seven of their 16 Super League fixtures this season and were dumped out of the Cup by Hull – have sorely tested Caisley's belief that success in sport is not necessarily cyclical but he remains convinced the Bulls' cause is not yet lost in 2005.
And with a rich crop of junior talent emerging at the club and plans to turn Odsal into a sporting village which will make it the pride of the city at an advanced stage, Caisley insists the future has rarely looked brighter.
Much of his hopes about the prospects of salvaging something from the wreckage of this season rest on the imminent return from lengthy injuries of the likes of Shontayne Hape, Paul Johnson and Lesley Vainikolo, all of whom have spent extended periods of inaction.
However, it is difficult to share his optimism in the light of the events of last weekend when the limitations of some of Bradford's key personnel was cruelly exposed. Leon Pryce's dismissal for a cynical high tackle on Jamie Lyon showed what a liability he can be, Karl Pratt appeared hopelessly out of his depth, Iestyn Harris was made to look slow and ponderous, Stuart Fielden was a shadow of his former self while Robbie Paul again showed why so many people feel he should retire now as one of the club's all-time greats rather than be remembered as someone who never knew when to go.
"We have set some pretty high standards and people expect more of us just as we expect so much more of ourselves," said Caisley.
"I don't like whingeing but we have had to deal with a lot of adversity that would have challenged any club.
"We did lose a lot of top-quality players at around the same time but as tough as it was without the likes of Jimmy Lowes, Danny Gartner and Mike Forshaw we still reached the grand final last year and won the World Club Challenge.
"This year we expected Ryan Hudson to solve our hooking problem but through no fault of our own that didn't happen and it has affected us deeply.
"We scoured the whole world to find a replacement but couldn't find anyone who was available. There are more opportunities now than there were then and by hook or by crook we will fill the No 9 position before the start of next season."
Whether the Bulls will kick off 2006 again captained by Great Britain second row Jamie Peacock remains the subject of conjecture and there is a sense Caisley's patience at the 27-year-old's delay in agreeing a new contract is wearing thin. Peacock continues to be linked with a move to arch-rivals Leeds, who this week leant weight to the view they are building up a war chest to take him to Headingley with the release of Liam Botham, and though the Bulls have not ruled out the possibility he could stay at Odsal, Caisley will not allow the player's prevarication to dictate club policy.
"These things are always a distraction and very soon we will have to get to a situation where the distraction is removed one way or another," he said. "There are other players around and rugby is the same as any other business: when you lose one employee you go out and replace them with another. Nobody is indispensable."

Thanks to The Chief from RLFans who originally posted the above.

Things are going sour at two of Rugby League's 'Big Four', Bradford and Leeds. Everyone knows that the Bulls have never adequately replaced Jimmy 'dummy spitter' Lowes and to see Robbie Paul described as an all time great is just laughable. You can't criticise Bradford for getting fans to come and watch in numbers as they have done since the start of Super League but a lot of those fans have been what are disparagingly termed teeny boppers. Girls who like Robbie's shorts. I'm not convinced that that is a long term fanbase and the fact that they were streaming out after 50 mins is not encouraging. They have been spoilt over the last few years and may not have to get used to the flip side of the coin for a while.

As for Wigan .... Agent Millward is steering them towards relegation! Well, maybe not, but it is fun to think it may be even a remote possibility!

My good mate Stu, who is always willing to share a beer and talk rugby. Cheers Stuart.

The waterfront at Bowness

Looking towards the Fairfield Horseshoe from Windermere

The Best Laid Plans ...

... of mice and men, gang aft a-gley.

I had a Sunday afternoon in Bradford planned yesterday. I was meeting up with Stuart, Sam and Colin, the usual suspects for Saints away games and also with Steve, a mate from Uni who was driving down from Northumbria' and his friend Ged. We would watch a closely fought game of Rugby League, have a swift beer and round off the day with an authentic Bradford curry. Perfect.

I had not, however, reckoned on the vagaries of the British driver and road network which scuppered my plans. As I was driving down the M6 a sign flashed that there were delays on the M61 due to an accident. Well, I thought, I'll risk a delay. What I found out once I was on the M61 (and just about to hit the back end of the tailback) was that the motorway was actually closed. After 20 mins or so I managed to exit at the next junction and attempted to get closer to the M60 on A roads. Unfortunately all the motorway traffic had been diverted off at the next junction and now was hitting the road I was on. It was totally gridlocked and with no chance of getting there for half time, never mind kick off and no chance of success on alternative routes in the time available I had to cut my losses.

Fortunately I got home in time to watch it on Sky and it wasn't the close fought game we all predicted. Saints were on fire and well in charge by the time Leon Pryce was red carded for a cowardly attack to the head of Jamie Lyon. Lyon did get up and have a stormer just to rub it in. What a game to miss.

Caroline did make a cracking chicken, spinach and cashew nut curry which was a great consolation. We shall just have to arrange to meet up some other time, although I am toying with the idea of sending Steve my season ticket and letting him go to the games whilst I stay at home if that's what happens when I don't make it.

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"They're still cremating Hattie Jacques"

'Carry On Cremating' from the CD ACD

Manchester Buccaneers

Some people are very clever at spoofing!

http://spaces.msn.com/members/ManchesterBuccaneers/Blog/cns!1pB3yrxNuhKwf4jmclqeshKg!354.entry#comment

Half Man Half Biscuit Lyric of the Day

"Well I heard a lovely rumour that Bette Midler had a tumour"

'The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman' from the CD ACD