Tuesday 20 April 2010

Last Friday saw a tight 2-1 game!!

The sides were not evenly matched for the first period with my side having seven against Gashead's six. During this passage of play we accumulated two straightforward goals through Alex and Alan Morg. The spine of the side was quite strong with Big Dave sweeping at the back. Gashead's team had players such as Spizz, Mick K. and Big Sam. Then there was a parity of team players when Adam came on. We then had to strongly defend our two goal advantage, which was reduced when Big Sam calmly slotted home.
To run down the clock Danny the Diplomat hit the ball over the fence while Big Dave marshalled our defence. We rode our luck when Gashead's team hit the post three times including a shot from Simon Gooner.

Wednesday 14 April 2010

This is Mick K., take on his hattrick last Friday!!

"The first supplied by Evginy - we counter-attacked leaving a two on one - generously squared to demand a composed slot home. The second an exquisite ball from Tone - who held the ball up until I began a ghosted run from the right behind Gashead and co - to recent a "hot knife thru butter" pass from slightly left to feet around the pen spot - when I reversed the ball direction the goal into the left hand corner of the net with a softly weighted instep. The third - on the counter again, the ball wasl played along right which I received around half way line - remaining defence slow to move over as I advanced - drilled a low ball past keeper's feet just as a late forlorn challenge came in to knock me over - but by then the ball was gone! Good gig, wasn't it?"

Mick K.'s team ran out 5-1 winners despite a team change. I saw him at the Spizz gig and he was cock-ha-hoop about the hattrick. However, he could not understand why he did not get to keep the
match ball.

My cousin Al and I really enjoyed the gig at the King's Cross Scala. There was an eclectic audience although quite a few people wore glasses. I thought the Tracy Hunter Band were quite tuneful. We only caught a few songs of the Glitter band but
sandwhiched in between was the great man himself. Seeing Spizz live I get the impression he would be in the entertainment business whatever the decade. He is a real music hall performer!! We got to hear the Spizz classics and he even waved to me and
Mick K. in the audience.

Sunday 4 April 2010

This might sound mad but I am going to compare Spizz with Robert Plant

Dear Reader, you might think it preposterous but I am going to try and compare the
punk legend Spizz with the rock legend Robert Plant. They are both iconic figures brought up in the West Midlands area (does Worecestershire count?) and they both support local football teams. However, Spizz has had the good fortune to start supporting Aston Villa, which is the premier side in Birmingham and surrounding areas, while Plant
backs Wolverhampton Wanderers. This club is famous for its old gold shirts and where Mick McCarthy is making a pretty determined effort to keep them in the
Premier League.

Although there are major differences such as Spizz is not as tall as Plant and their
remuneration from the rock'n'roll business have been different ends of the scale,
I bet you they could each belt out a great version of "Tutti Frutti" if you asked
them to.

Could you compare "Where's Captain Kirk" with "Rock n' Roll" or "Kashmir"? Perhaps not and especially not with Plant's later stuff such as on the "Mighty Rearranger", which is brilliant. However, having been lucky enough to see Spizzenergi and Led Zeppelin, their lead vocalists both have the amazing talent of somehow taking you back in time but still sounding relevant. Spizz can still convince you that he is a punk star despite being a bit podgy. I remember Plant singing a verse from
"Are you going to San Francisco" in the middle of "Dazed and Confused" and thinking golly he was there.
Well, Spizzenergi is going to play at the Scala in London's Kings Cross on April 9th
and tickets can be obtained from outlets such as www.ticketweb.com

Unfortunately, the next bit of the blog is crass commercialism and a crude attempt to
crank up the hits. This is my unofficial review of half of the unofficial recording of "Bonzo's Birthday Party". When I heard it I thought the Led Zep gig in question was the Alexandra Palace concerts in North London, which took place in December 1972.
Now, through the Internet, I know the gig was held on May 31st, 1973 at the Inglewood Forum in southern California, United States.

I just borrowed the half, which included C and D sides, from a mate, whose brother and a friend had bought the unofficial recording at university. They decided to split up the two vinyl records. I just had "Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love" followed by "No Quarter",
an advert for Californian Prunes, and an encore of "The Ocean", where Plant refers back to Jimmy playing with his hand in a bowl of water to keep the swelling down
in that part of Heartbreaker. This song misses out the Jethro Tull bit and segues
into "Whole Lotta Love" after some particular loud drumming by Bonham.
The unofficial recording is taken in the crowd and the US punters don't really get the Monty Python references of Plant in his stage patter. However, the music is amazing. Even the "Crunge" works during "Whole Lotta Love" and "Boogie Mama" is great.
Even the advert for Californian Prunes is great "Still there was something about which I liked and our hearts began to sing Prunes from California!!!"

Therefore, I had great expectations when I went to see Led Zep at London's Earls Court in May 1975. Somehow, I had seen Deep Purple in Paris just before the Led Zeppelin gig
with David Coverdale singing really well. Deep Purple were a band, who could really whip up a storm.

Led Zep played for three hours and twenty minutes and there were some pretty long solos (don't like to say this, but pretty boring) with "No Quarter" and John Paul Jones, with "Moby Dick" and John Henry Bonham and with "Dazed and Confused" and Jimmy Page. Yet, I can still vividly remember every minute of the concert while Bepop Deluxe, who I saw in the Wolverhampton Civic, were brilliant but I can hardly remember the concert in detail
at all.

Led Zep came on early so loads of fans missed "Rock'n'Roll" and then we heard more of
"Houses of Holy" rather than "Physical Grafitti" than I would have liked. The fans all knew that "Kashmir" was a really great song but to last so long and for it to be
used so often on the telly is quite ironic given that Led Zeppelin did not want to be
be a "pop band". We also did not realise that Earls Court would be the last London concerts until the O2 gig. That night nearly 35 years ago stays especially in the memory for me the incredible encores of "Whole Lotta Love" (shortened version) and "Black Dog".

Was Led Zeppelin, Earls Court, May 1975 the best concert I ever saw? Maybe that is a question for another post!!

Thursday 1 April 2010

Redacted letter to one of the "kick me upstairs" gang!!

What follows ia a redacted letter to one of the guys, who is part of the "kick me upstairs" gang.


Dear *******,
I remember watching games where my ******* when he was playing for QPR youth team
and I did not remember El Tel and George Graham wearing sheepskins. However, I am quite happy to borrow the sheepskin coat but will it fit? I refer to this in my two part blog for the latest match result and with details of the Spizzenergi concert
at the Scala in Kings Cross on April 9th. [There is a plot trying to push me upstairs into a managerial role). Youth team football was a quite heartbreaking environment. The coaches would not hesitate in yanking kids off before half-time in they were not playing well (probably destroying their careers and at least
denting their confidence).

As for Italian defending I once saw AC Milan play Chelsea at the Bridge and saw the great Maldini and Costacurta go through their repertoire of flicks, amazing passes as well as nudges and sly fouls. While at the same time they made sure that their hair was not a strand out of place because of they were concerned about their modelling
commitments. I saw the unbelievable thing of Maldini doing a brilliant curved pass down the touchline on his wrong foot despite the fact that he always passed the ball with his left foot. Or was it the other way round?

Big Dave can do the same repertoire of nudges and pushes. He can also simply
ploughs through you lie he did last night. You must put your hand up for a foul. We are not the Corinthians! I still can't understand how Big Dave claimed he was going for the ball when he took away my standing leg and landed in a heap on the
pitch. This was not very elegant.

As for me picking the teams players the guys would have to endure a rant about people not doing their shift in goal. Then, I would remind certain people that football can be a simple passing game. Deep down I am pretty unsympathetic about players, who are unable to make the straightforward pass to the nearest, unmarked guy. I know it is difficult for Gashead Simon not to pass to Tone, since they were at school together but when Tone is surrounded by two or three players. That is probably the real reason why Gashead Simon is a B lister rather than
an A.

Look at Man Utd, they are just getting the ball to the wing with Valencia and Nani, the cross comes over and there are Rooney, Berbatov, Fletcher and Park at the business end of it. You can fall asleep watching the intricate play of Arsenal, an Arsene Wenger strategy of "how not to win the Premier League and the European Champions League". This is despite always playing with eleven players, who are supremely confident on the
ball.

The only time I have been to the Emirates was when Arsenal outplayed West Ham but the Hammers went away with a one-nil victory. This was courtesy of Zamora getting onto the end of a long ball while Tevez played an amazing one man attacking show taking up four defenders in the second half.

Your affectionate *******

PS. This redacted letter was written after the Euro games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Man Utd still have a chance despite Rooney being injured but I fear Arsenal are going out. This is despite a massive comeback after being played off the
park for the first hour.