Football - Why England ARE good enough!

Current English Talent Pool
GK (All Premier League Regulars)
P.Robinson
R.Green
J.Hart
B.Foster
S.Carson


Full Backs (The only conceivable weakness)
A.Cole
G.Johnson
M.Richards
S.Warnock
L.Baines
W.Brown


Centre Backs (All Premier League Regulars)
J.Terry
R.Ferdinand
P.Jagielka
G.Cahill
J.Lescott
M.Dawson
L.King
M.Upson
R.Shawcross


Wingers (World Class)
T.Walcott
A.Johnson
A.Lennon
A.Young
S.Downing
J.Cole
D.Beckham


Centre Midfielders (All Premier League Regulars)
S.Gerrard
F.Lampard
G.Barry (although poor of late)
T.Huddlestone
J.Milner
M.Carrick
S.Parker


Strikers 
W.Rooney
P.Crouch
J.Defoe
D.Bent
K.Davies
B.Zamora
G.Agbonlahor


That's without mentioning the up and coming generation of K.Gibbs, C.Smalling, J.Wilshere, J.Henderson and A.Carroll who've shown promise but are not quite the finished article.
There's also the likes of S.Wright-Phillips, D.Bentley C.Cole, W.Bridge, O. Hargreaves, M.Owen (?) and P.Neville (should be higher up the pecking order!) who are in the international wasteland at the moment but  with a bit of club form could make their way back into the reckoning.
So there it is for any of the doubters out there, England possess strength in depth in every area apart from full-back and are definitely under-achieving with Capello at the helm. 
The solution must therefore lay in the tactics, management, lack of effort or maybe Crouchy should just start more often?



  

News - Is the Daily Mail Britain's worst Newspaper?

Yes. Why?


Reason #1
Facebook causes cancer - was an actual story.


Reason #2
         To response source,

I am urgently looking for anonymous horror stories of people who have employed Eastern European staff, only for them to steal from them, disappear, or have lied about their resident status. We can pay you £100 for taking part, and I promise it will be anonymous, just a quick phone call. Could you email me asap? 

Many thanks, Diana

- was an actual email  sent out by a Daily Mail journalist.


Reason #3

- was written by an actual Daily Mail journalist, who obviously did all their research. (just ignore the bit about it being a parody twitter account!).


Reason #4
The final straw, This horrendous article that put England's 2018 World Cup bid in jeopardy, sensationalist rumours seem to be higher on the agenda then the joy of millions of people. Gary Lineker quit over the article while outraged Mail readers vowed never to pick up the toe-rag ever again.


Reason#5
The headline for their world player of the year article (The best players of the world (and Xavi).could not have been more wrong, both grammatically and in content, after helping his country win Euro 2008 with some dazzling performances, Xavi was crowned by UEFA as the tournaments best player, but Ronaldo, who at the time was desperately trying to force his way to Madrid was lauded by the Mail for his previous season's efforts, was it a female writer by any chance?


Reason#6
Seconds after the judge had delivered the not guilty verdict in the Amanda Knox murder case, the Mail uploaded a (pre-written) online article, not only did they get the verdict wrong there were also completely made up quotes to back it up. (Article still available here but likely to be deleted)


And finally, a tongue in cheek headline generator to have a bit of fun with! Remarkably realistic...

Music Review - KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit

KT Tunstall returns with a new direction on her third studio album Tiger Suit. The blues and acoustic tones of previous records are pushed away, making space for a more electric and upbeat album.

The brilliant opener 'Uummannaq Song''s catchy vocal hook leads nicely into the dancier 'Glamour Puss'.

 'Push that knot away' has a Radiohead-esque feel, while 'Difficulty' which starts with a heavily distorted guitar riff , is one of the less memorable songs.

Next up is 'Fade Like a Shadow'. Strangely overlooked by the record company for the first UK single, it is a classic Tunstall track, a catchy chorus and a edgy rhythm make it the stand-out song. Likewise 'Come on, Get In' and 'Madame Trudeaux' echo the bouncy, strumming style that stop this album from being over adventurous.

She excels herself vocally on 'Golden Frames' and 'Lost' with low key humming and a guest appearance from blues master Seasick Steve on the former and a sweet dreamy chorus "What did I do that for, am I and idiot?" on 'Lost'.
'(Still) a Wierdo' and 'The Entertainer' complete an enjoyable eleven track album, that's definitely worth a listen. or two.
7/10

Music Review - Brandon Flowers - Flamingo

After the Killers announced they would be "taking a break for a while" after their tour ended in January, it seemed we would have to wait a while before we heard any new material from Brandon Flowers and co.

However the frontman barely waited a month before announcing he would embark on his first solo album 'Flamingo', named after a casino in his home-town Las Vegas. 

The material was written with the intention of appearing somewhere on a new killers record but the band weren't interested so Flowers decided to keep it for himself.

The album sounds very much like a Killers record albeit it with edges rounded off and a softer approach adopted. 'Welcome to Las Vegas' is a great opener with its long intro making way for a powerful chorus. 

Second single 'Only the Young' appears to be a watered down version of 'Read My Mind' while 'Playing with Fire' and 'Hard Enough' are both mellow and sluggish. 

Lead single 'Crossfire' is the album stand-out, seemingly ready to be belted out by a stadium crowd, while 'Magdelena' is another highlight, the story of a journey across New Mexico is tuneful and cheery.

Synth driven 'Jacksonville' bears a resemblance to 'Human, and 'I Came Here To Get Over You' is another upbeat record about gambling, a theme that reoccurs many times throughout the album.

'The Clock Was Tickin' is a country & western fairy tale story of life in the deep south, complete with instrumental break, the song kicks back in to finish it's jazzy course.

The album is good enough advert for his upcoming tour, yet it lacks the innovation and killer edge (no pun intended!) that the rest of the Killers provide. 6/10