Di Matteo For Chelsea?

Last night Chelsea buried some demons as they defeated Barcelona at Stamford Bridge. The statistis were brutal in their assertion of Barca’s dominance and the theatrics of the likes of Drogba rolling on the floor, wasting time, often bordered on the farcical.

Nevertheless Chelsea earned a victory that resulted in my local pub awarding free pints to all its patrons in a marketing scheme gone wrong – so confident were they that Chelsea couldn’t win.

So how has this happened? How have a team that under Andre Villas-Boas could not guarantee a result in any competition forced such a turn around. Chelsea against all probability, given some of there performances, are still in the running for the FA Cup, the Champions League and a place in England’s elite top four.

Was the spark the loss of AVB, the rise of Di Matteo or the reclaiming of player power?

Under AVB Chelsea looked half the team they used to be, players like Lampard and Drogba were subdued and there seemed no desire to play. Questions were immediately leveled at AVB’s inexperience and his obvious comparison to Mourinho did him no favours either.

In my opinion AVB never had the dressing room. Although players like Mata and Ramires openly praised the effect AVB had on their career the old Chelsea backbone were never so glowing in their assertions. At one point it was suggested that AVB forced the team to celebrate with him on the sidelines and in watching this it was clear that there were those who were more and those who were less keen to show the solidarity between team and staff.

Despite constant claims that there is no system of player power at Chelsea it seems to be mentioned far too often for it not to be true in some way. There is no smoke without fire. The hardcore of Mourinho’s title winning teams run that football club, in my opinion, even down to the training regime.

How then has Di Matteo been able to wrestle this untamable beast into a prime team again? My thoughts behind it are, quite simply, that he hasn’t done anything.

AVB came in and was seemingly given the promise of a long-term plan or some kind of job security that made him believe, in the long term, that he didn’t have to rely on the old campaigners. It was this misplaced confidence in his position as the spearhead of a new dynasty that seemed to inspire the example he made of dropping Lampard. By all accounts his decisions went so spectacularly wrong that these assurances of time were reversed and he was sacked.

In came Di Matteo, the assistant, the second man. From this position of subservience does he really have the power or personality to complete what AVB attempted and create his own regime? Alternatively, does he learn from what he saw as the reason behind AVB’s downfall?

In my opinion it has been the latter, this is not disrespectful to Di Matteo, if anything it is the highest praise for his man management skills. Although nominally in charge it seems he has simply handed the reigns to those players who restricted AVB’s success. Under Di Matteo the likes of Drogba and Lampard seem to be flourishing, once more playing with a real desire that could drive them on to a brilliant season.

The Champions League from the beginning of Abramovich’s reign has been the ultimate goal and if Di Matteo some how manages to bring the trophy to Stamford Bridge it would seem there is no option but to offer him the job. In fact, given the change in form, even without silverware Di Matteo makes an excellent case for himself.

But, and there always is a but, if I am correct and rather than creating his own regime he is simply giving the power to the players ,then it is a system with a limited life span. These players can not go on forever and Chelsea, probably more than any other big team, needs an over haul of its squad if it is to ensure longevity in its successes; so with Abramovich poised to open up the cheque book, is Di Matteo the man to be put in charge of the next Chelsea dynasty?

He has seemingly wrestled the old guard from its apathy with unexpected success but does that make him the man for the job. Just because he has been able to massage the egos of an ageing Chelsea dressing room does that mean he is the man to establish a new Chelsea order that will ensure there presence around the top of world football in years to come?

To me he isn’t but with Abramovich at the helm anything can happen, whether it makes sense or not.

King Kanu

King Kan-u Kan-u 

he's older than me and you

His real age is sixty-two

It’s King Kan-u Kan-u

Kanu has been an excellent servant to the sport worldwide with a career spanning over 500 first class games and 87 International caps. His demi-god status in his native Nigeria is almost matched by the warmth and respect he is revered with throughout Britain having earned it throughout his long career.

Kanu arrived at Portsmouth already in the twilight of his career, as part of a ploy in keeping with the philosophy of the then manager Harry Redknapp. Until he was blessed with the funds of a big club like Spurs, Harry was known as a wily wheeler-dealer, though calling him that to his face was always risky. The purchase of Kanu was exactly what Harry was about, taking an ageing yet brilliantly talented footballer and eeking every last ounce of class from him.

Kanu has been with Portsmouth through the highs and the lows and it was his scrambled goal that secured Portsmouth’s FA cup victory, taking them into their first European campaign. Since then Kanu has been awarded contract extension after contract extension, but many have viewed this more as a thank you for previous services than an acknowledgement that he still has a major role to play.

Today under Michael Appleton there is no footballing role for Kanu at the club. His constant back trouble and lack of match fitness mean he has not even played as part of the new regime. I watched him in his last appearance for Portsmouth and I can see why Appleton has his doubts. On the ball Kanu still had the class, vision and control that earned his reputation, but his legs and possibly even desire, were shot to pieces. It led me to wish we were playing the opposition on a half size pitch, at 5-a-side, or even 15 minute halves, that way King would have won the game single handedly I am sure.

No one really knows Kanu’s age, on paper he is 35 but even after the FA cup victory in 2008 Redknapp joked he was more like 50 than 30.  The fact it is common practice for African to label themselves as younger than they really are means that Kanu really could be that old. In any way the fast and brutal pace of the English league has finally got too much for the old campaigner and I really hope the financial plight of the club doesn’t overshadow the end of a shining light for Portsmouth FC.

The current financial position of Portsmouth FC means that relics of the club’s recent golden era have long since moved and with bids to further slash the wage bill,  targetting the likes of Tal Ben Haim, it is most likely that Kanu’s remaining year on his contract will either be cut short or, if rumours are to be believed, a lucrative deal to the Middle East may be brokered as a final payday for a great career.

The risk is that if his contract is terminated or he is shipped off for a quick paycheck this will never allow the fans to show their appreciation. One only has to look at the reception Benjani received on his return to Fratton Park to see the warmth Portsmouth supporters have for their players.

True, there will be opportunities for testimonials and ‘Legends’ matches to celebrate his career and, given that these provide prime opportunities to raise funds, I am sure they will be thought about long and hard but, quite simply, they do not provide the same atmosphere.

With 2 matches left of the season and relegation almost a certainty there is an opportunity to give his one last run out, one last opportunity for the fans to show their appreciation and I hope it is something Appleton is sensitive to. The King deserves to be remembered at this club as a footballer and not a financial burden that had to be cut for the good of the club. 

Fratton Park and the funds of Portsmouth FC probably aren’t the best settings for the unveiling of statues at this moment in time but in memory of the FA cup victory and in memory of a fantastic footballer that clearly loves the club would it be obscene to suggest this as an idea for the future? No matter what the decision I want to use this as an opportunity to say thank you for all you have done. Long live the King.

Rusko

Rusko was one of the major forces bringing Dubstep to public knowledge when I first started really getting into the genre around 2008-9. His classic tunes Cockney Thug and in particular Africa featured heavily in my playlists of the time.

Obviously as a newcomer to the genre the heavy basslines were entirely new to me, and something that really blew my mind. The simplistic nature of the bass alone was not the thing that made me into a fan instantly but the quality of the productions as well. Over the past few years and as I have listened to more and more of his material you can clearly tell he is a very talented producer and someone at the heart of the Dubstep movement.

His ability to create UK Garage like his single Love is Real illustrates his connection to the roots of Dubstep, whilst his song You’re On My Mind Baby, containing the same funky 80s vibe similar to the likes of 2000f & JKamata, means his versatility must also be acknowledged and respected.

In recent times I have grown more and more skeptical about Rusko’s motivations. His move to America has obviously been highly successful and lucrative, coinciding with the meteoric rise of Skrillex. In American commercial circles I would suggest he is viewed as the premier UK Dubstep DJ, compared to in Britain where I would suggest this mantle is given to Skream and Benga.

Obviously massive congratulations should go to Rusko for making himself such a huge success across the Atlantic but with the American interpretation of Dubstep being in many ways different to the British version I was fearful his drive for stardom would bastardize his music. I feared that he would lose his style to the mish-mash of robotic noises in a bid to fill the vast American arenas.

Rusko has vocalized his reservations about the sub genre Brostep and criticized those who feel Dubstep is simply a one-dimensional entity surrounding extreme bass and messy productions; this alone should possibly have prepared me for his latest release. Despite this when Rusko announced the release of his album Songs my heart bled for fear of an album that might see him become no more than Skrillex 2.0.

Thankfully I was proved entirely wrong.

I saw Rusko perform at the Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh at the beginning of his UK tour and he did drop some songs with simple screeching bass and no tune but through out I was glued to the from of the stage, arms in the air, enjoying every minute of it.

Mixed in with the Brostep, which undeniably lifts the crowd to an exciting frenzy, there were tunes that held the more familiar Reggae infused Dubstep, the Garage influence and even hints of House music. The show Rusko put on was full throttle enjoyment from start to finish and his over enthusiasm even led him to burst his own lip. I left the venue, ears ringing and euphoric, completely sold on Rusko as the DJ but I still remained skeptical about Rusko the producer.

A couple of weeks ago I downloaded the album and once again all my doubts were proved wrong.

The album is fantastic. Of course there are simple commercial Dubstep songs on there but he would be a fool not to, Rusko is not a hipster, he wants to sell records, fill out arenas and headline festivals and to do that he has to create popular songs. His song Skanker is seemingly the headliner, the infectious beat is married with an unexpected reggae feel to it and is already becoming a Youtube sensation as the theme tune to which Rusko’s fans show their appreciation.

Other songs, however, once again show the versatility and skill I felt he may have lost or sacrificed in the USA. Love No More and Mek More Green have an undeniable Reggae influence that I think has been lost a lot in recent Dubstep as the Dub is replaced with more electronic and even Metal influences.

The loss of influence for Dub in this genre has also been mirrored in the loss in influence of UK Garage and his tracks Pressure and Whistle Crew do so much to promote these sounds that, to my mind, should be far more popular.

 Finally his track Thunder is, in my opinion, a masterstroke and although in some ways in touch with the Dubstep genre it acts more as a symbol of Rusko’s talent. It is bang on trend with the rise of House and Electronic in popular music and its vocals along with the anthemic nature of its bassline create a truly great song.

Just as his Edinburgh performance completely sold me on Rusko the DJ this album in its entirety - and in individual pieces of brilliance - has sold me equally on Rusko the producer.

Rusko, I apologise for ever doubting you.  

A Response To Bad Journalism

A while ago now I read an article in the education section of The Times in the run up to release of the Good University Guide and was shocked to read an incredibly biased critique of the Boarding School system. This may seem sad and ridiculous but I was so incensed I chose to write a response to the letters section of The Times, even though it was always going to be too long to be published. Unfortunately the article was in print and I cant provide a copy of it to go with my response. So underneath I am simply posting the letter I sent; I have been contemplating a proper piece on my experiences at Boarding School so this will provide a useful warm-up, as well as an illustration of the kind of Journalism I abhor. 

"I am writing in response to Stephanie Marsh’s article concerning the ‘emotional fallout’ of boarding school.  I am 21, a current University student, and I was a member of the boarding system from the age of 10. Marsh’s article was, in my opinion, propagandist and misleading.

The content of the articles focuses on the experiences of those who are now aged up to 67 and whilst I take nothing away from the fact that the old boarding system – then unregulated – was a brutal, sexually inappropriate and damaging experience for many of today’s adults I feel there was no effort made to distinguish between the experiences of Anthony, aged 67, and myself. If this was an article that made it explicitly clear it was a critique of a previous boarding system, then of course I would be in support of it but the problem comes in that Marsh made no attempt to make that distinction with any conviction. Her token attempts to make a distinction were spineless and, whilst allowing her the illusion of impartiality, instead allowed the reader to be swept along in a rush of anti-boarding propaganda that is no longer relevant to modern day children.

The article focuses on the distressing tales of those haunted by their experiences but offers no counter story from a former pupil whom has led a perfectly happy and balanced existence.

The section I have the most issue with, however, is the closing section, the section that will most likely stick in the reader’s mind the longest. In it was a detailed testament by John, John voices his opinion, stating, ‘that today’s 8 year olds can bring their teddies doesn’t matter a jot’, as if to assert that this is the only apparent difference. This type of hyperbole is acceptable from a man who is clearly affected by his previous experiences and thereby maintains such a prejudiced view but it is not acceptable from Marsh, who leaves this statement unchallenged without any validation and instead simply allows it to be the lasting image of a modern day boarding experience. Marsh offers little or no evidence of the measures put in place to ensure that what these ‘boarding school survivors’ suffered no longer continues. The token mention of such regulatory bodies as the ICS and Ofsted is again just that, token, and in doing so removes any level of impartiality from the article. For an article with such an anti-boarding agenda to be placed in a newspaper of The Times’ calibre – especially in an issue so closely linked to education, as it was, and therefore at a time in which parents will genuinely be reading with impressionable minds concerning their child’s future- I think it is wrong to publish something so one-sided.

As is probably more than obvious this article has angered me and although some may argue I am too young to possibly understand the effect my experiences may have on me in later life that does not excuse the fact that I now regard my school days as what my dad always assured me they would be – ‘the happiest days of my life’. I entered boarding at 10 and yes the article surrounds those as young as 7 but the point I have to make is that I was not entered into the boarding system as a result of my parents abandoning me, but instead I entered it through envy, envy of the excellent time all my friends who had been boarding since the age of seven had been having without me. Far from a sexually corrupt military camp, as Marsh portrays it, my boarding experience was almost as if I had entered into the world’s longest sleepover with my friends. The staff were not perverted ogres but kind people who took a genuine interest in both my development in education and as a person. Maybe I am an exception? But I think not because all the friends I have gained along the way, and who now stand with me as friends for life, have much the same outlook as I and I am sure would be as equally incensed by Marsh’s article.

As a boarding school graduate I myself can happily be labelled as biased and given the opportunity I will want my children to have the chance to go to boarding school as I did but that for me is the sticking point. My bias is a personal opinion, I am fully aware that boarding is not for everyone but I am also aware that for some it is a great experience that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. As with everything there are two sides to every story and it is in portraying this that I feel Marsh has failed. One should reserve your biases for personal opinion but in writing an article that may have a genuine affect on people’s opinions I think it is unacceptable to provide anything other than information that is impartial and genuinely useful rather than that which is unfounded and scaremongering."

I was lucky enough to go to a great school named Canford and the online prospectus of this, I think, is proof enough that times have well and truly changed.

Easter Electronic

I'm just getting into this deep house genre and liking it a lot, but also mixing it in with a few different sounds too...

Julio Bashmore - Ask Yourself
Julio Bashmore - Everyone Needs A Theme Tune
Julio Bashmore - The Horn That Time Forgot
Mosca - Tilt Shift
Jai Paul - Jasmine
Jay Z - Niggas In Paris (Mimosa Remix)
SBTRKT - Hold On ft Sampha (Them Jeans Remix)
Jessie Ware - Running (Disclosure Remix)
Disclosure - Blue You
Jakwob - Electrify ft Jetta
Bingo Players - Cry (Just A Little)
Nicky Romero - Toulouse
Skream And Redlight - Suffocating Me ft Takura
Skream - Vacillate

Find it hard sticking to genre tags, normally just stick it under a general electronic umbrella but this is fast becoming my new fave type of music - the bashmore-esque, mayajanecoles-y type stuff.....

Jai Paul, most famous for BTSTU, brings out a tune once every blue moon....heard him on Zane a couple of days ago and he tagged the genre as 'Future Soul'. Immediately fell in love with that description, see if you agree with it...

Easter Hip-Hop

Getting into an old school vibe at the moment but thats not to say this list doesn't include some new ones i've just heard...

Jay Z - In My Lifetime
Jay Z - Feelin It
Jay Z - Dead Presidents
Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day
Kendrick Lamar - The Recipe ft Dr Dre
J Cole - Work Out
Kixxie Siete - The 7th Sense
Craig David - 7 Days (DJ Premier Remix) ft Mos Def
Swizz Beatz - Its Me Bitches
Jay Z And Kanye West - Niggas In Paris

Some classic Jay Z, a lot of his old stuff circa 1996 is way way better than the stuff he is churning out today, so check it out...

Cant beat a bit of Craig...

Pompey: The Rise and Fall

Telling someone you support Portsmouth F.C is always guaranteed to grant you some kind of smile or comment, and this has been the case ever since I started. I got into football late, spending my younger years more interested in rugby, but as my school friends and I grew up and football became an ever-increasing topic of conversation, I felt ever more pressured to take an interest.  Now, however, this early submission to peer pressure has blossomed into an unhealthy addiction (illustrated below).

I came to support Portsmouth – conveniently – the season in which they were promoted to the Premier League and as they gradually progressed and improved, what started as a token appreciation for my local team, flourished into a genuine support. The correlation between success and interest may be interpreted as an element of glory supporting but the fact I am still writing about them now I hope dispels that notion! Even in those days there was a touch of the magical and the farcical surrounding the club. The man at the helm, Harry Redknapp, the loveable cockney with a penchant for getting the best out of the washed up stars of yesteryear, was our talisman and always meant there were few who had a bad word to say about the club.

Portsmouth, having established itself, then began to punch above its weight and, although it was never the prettiest football to be watched, the names it boasted on its team sheet surprise a lot of people in retrospect today. In the 2007-8 season the First XI team sheet read as such: D. James, G. Johnson, S. Campbell, S. Distin, Y, Kaboul, P. Mendes, L. Diarra, S. Muntari, N. Kranjcar, P. Crouch, J. Deofoe. It would be fair to say that the majority of the players saw Portsmouth only as a stepping stone (Diarra to Real Madrid and Muntari to Inter Milan) or simply an opportunity to reassert oneself in the footballing community (Defoe to Tottenham) but either way, there were few teams who saw a match against Portsmouth as an easy fixture. Harry even scraped us an FA cup and a place in Europe, even leading to a visit from Italian giants AC Milan. Little did we know, however, that this was simply the Boom before the Bust, and what a Bust it came to be.

Portsmouth FC was broke, the finances had been so mismanaged that Portsmouth, a small club, was in an uncontrollable amount of debt and unsurprisingly so – it emerged that this success had come at an incredible price, with the team I mentioned previously amounting wages that equaled 90% of the clubs income per week. No wonder Fratton Park has remained a rickety old shed unbefitting of its ‘Fortress Fratton’ name tag. It was a shambles. Sacha Gaydamak our Russian ‘billionaire’ owner, to use the term in the loosest possible way, had simply run out of money, so much so that even today he still holds Portsmouth’s finances to ransom with his ownership of the land surrounding the club ground. A club that mismanages its finances on such epic proportions, with only a meagre Fratton Park income to support it, essentially deserves the fate it sealed but it was heartbreaking nevertheless. Having tried our hand at the Russian Billionaire, Portsmouth quickly jumped on the most recent bandwagon and found itself a Sheikh; and true to form the one found by Portsmouth was, in fact, a fake. The News of the World would have been proud. From here things went from bad to worse, stars either jumped ship or aged dis-gracefully and after a gaggle of new owners and managers Portsmouth were eventually dumped out of the Premiership following its embarrassing dalliance with administration.

Portsmouth were able to stabalise in the Championship last season and even find a new owner in Russian Consortium CSI a company behind several other sports franchises including the World Rally Championship. Its owners Antonov and Dubov set about with a quiet efficiency that outlined what many felt was a sensible and well measured 5 year plan to return to the top flight. Some, although sadly not all, of the squads elderly deadwood was cut and some attempts were made at improvements to the clubs infrastructure with repairs to the ground and training facilities. Following Cotterill’s defection to Nottingham Forrest great time and deliberation was taken over the appointment of what I see to be a very exciting managerial signing, in the form of Roy Hodgson’s former Number 2, Michael Appleton. Although young and untested his grounding at a club like West Brom showed a realisation that Portsmouth FC was no longer viable for a quick fix, a realisation that gave me confidence. There was talk of improving the infrastructure and overall management of the club, the club had once again started to become exactly that – a club – and not just a first XI.

Portsmouth FC, however, seemed unsatisfied with the scale of its collapse and we now find ourselves in the midst of a double dip into administration. Who knew that the conscientious Antonov was instead a corrupt embezzler of Lithuanian finances, whose exploits would lead Portsmouth’s parent company CSI into administration? Consequently Portsmouth re-entered into administration and for a long time it looked as if liquidation, and not just relegation, was becoming a truly viable option. Now though, with the help of newly appointed administrator Trevor Birch, Portsmouth’s immediate future has been secured but the turmoil of emergency loans and a 10 point deduction has see relegation to League 1 become almost a certainty. 

And so there it is, in the space of a few hundred words, the sharp decline from FA cup winners to potential League 1 competitors, but in my mind all hope is not lost. Michael Appleton, under extreme circumstances, has shown a desire to play good football with an exciting bunch of youthful players that has not been seen at Portsmouth for a long time. Appleton is well respected in the world of football and has already spent his time calling in favours from many of his peers and it excites me to think of what he can achieve on a level playing field. The issue of ownership of the land surrounding Fratton Park is a massive thorn in the side of any new potential owner but there are many positives on display as well. The loyalty of the fan base, the quality and vision of the manager and the presence of exciting young talent are all cause for optimism. As yet Trevor Birch remains tight lipped about any potential buyers and whilst there is talk of a supporter led buyout I personally hope that once the league position of the club for next year is decided, that a true investor then feels they can step forward. 

Portsmouth is a fantastic club and, like a phoenix from the ashes, I sincerely hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. All that remains to be done now is to buy myself a Euromillions ticket, cross my fingers, and hope.