It is 15:21 CET and I am four hours into a flight from London to Halifax. It is usually this stage of a flight where I have eaten, watched a movie, and I become seriously bored. That’s when random thoughts tend to enter my head and today is no different. I’ve made several things to do lists, and I’ve had my two beers – I’m driving at the other end. So, I am going to scribble some random thoughts about overrated and underrated cities and countries that I have been to….and the next few on my hit list.
Top 3 Most Overrated Places
Lisbon – I generally make the best of most cities and countries that I visit, but Lisbon was highly unattractive to me. Down the coast, there were some cool places, but the city itself left me distinctly unimpressed and I thought it was a little scruffy if I am honest. This was back in 2004, and judging by the road works and construction going on, there was a fairly major overhaul of the city going on. The truth is, it desperately needed it. I am prepared to give it a second chance, but I hope it has raised its game since the last time I visited.
Dominican Republic – I cannot be too scathing about this place despite having to spend a larger than usual percentage of my time in the washroom in Dom Rep – I was not the only one neither. It was a fantastic holiday, and so so relaxing. That all said, the advice generally given was not to leave the resort where you were staying which is fairly understandable if safety is a concern and I was not prepared to test my skinny 18-year-old physique against some of the big Dominican boys. The experience in the resort was pretty good, and we had a great time – but for me, rather than fly for ten hours and for a fair amount of cash, I would sooner stay in Europe, find somewhere warm and stay in that resort for half the money, a fraction of the travel time, and spend more time by the pool than in the loo.
Milan – From the outside, you hear plenty about Milan and it being so central to the fashion world. That is not a key factor for me sadly, but I did expect a fair bit more glamour than I was presented with when I spent three months there studying. I accept the history in the centre of the city, but at the same time it is pretty darn scruffy. It probably did not help that the time I spent there and the other visits I have made were in the winter – not many cities look great when it is cold and miserable, but Milan certainly did not. There are many positives to Milan, and it was above average in my ratings largely due to the fantastic eating options, but I consider it to be fairly overrated in the grand scheme of things.
Top 3 Underrated Places
Barcelona – This may not be the case for many people, but I actually think Barcelona is underrated by a lot of people. I only really got to know it intimately when I lived there for a year. It has everything and I defy anybody to come up with a better, more complete city than Barcelona. When I was there, they had major petty crime issues, and that has improved in the last few years at least. Likewise, their football team was garbage when I was there, and they have turned pretty good. Those issues aside, I genuinely believe it has everything – weather, history, culture, beach, nightlife, shopping….the list goes on. Most people think highly of Barcelona, but it beats NYC and London for me, and it is the World City Champion in the Esteva Book.
Germany – This is a fraction bit ambiguous, but I am sticking the country as a whole as I have been to loads of cities in Germany and the truth is I have not found a bad one yet. Is it a huge tourist destination compared to neighbours? Not in the slightest. Would I whisk my lady for a romantic weekend to Germany? Probably not. But it is a fantastic country with plenty of great cities. Plenty of good beers, plenty of history, plenty of greenery to bbq or play football, and a great vibe to cap it off. Did I mention the beers? The people in particular are probably the best thing about Germany. Not many English admit to that but the truth is, the English and the Germans are incredibly similar, it is just that nobody wants to accept it.
Halifax – I’m not talking about the cosy Yorkshire town nearby Leeds, more so the one in Nova Scotia, Canada. This was the first Canadian city that I landed in and spent a short amount of time there, and I love the atmosphere in this city. There is a big student population there which almost certainly contributes to it, but it has a more intimate feeling to it than some of the other vast Canadian cities. It helps that there is a sensational pizza place called Salvatore’s and it helps that I am landing there in ninety minutes and I am famished. But that aside, it is not one of those cities which grabs the headlines, but it is a cool place to visit and to live and for that reason, it strikes me as being underrated.
The Top 5 Unvisited by Rob City/Country Hit List
Montreal – Unquestionably one of the places I have to visit in the next 12-18 months. I will admit that it is partially because I want to see a big boxing of UFC night there and sample some of this amazing atmosphere and spirit. Heck, I would even go watch the Habs for a bit of that. Nobody I have met has had a bad word to say about the city, and I have a feeling that it is a city that I could fall for.
Denmark & Norway – I like cold weather. I like beer. I like hard working football players who are not particularly talented but try their best. Denmark and Norway are on the list.
Boston – Isn’t Boston just a cool city? That is what everybody keeps telling me. HJ and I have talked about a classic American road trip at some point and this would be one of my key cities to spend some time in. I think it is fairly safe to stop at traffic lights in Boston too, which is why it ranks ahead of Baltimore on my list – I’ve watched too many episodes of The Wire. A big sporting city and a bit of Irishness never hurt anybody.
Australia – Another generic one like Germany – maybe there is a theme here. Countries and people who traditionally have big banter and rivalries with England, are ones I enjoy most. I would argue the same here also, I suspect part of the thing with the Aussies is that they are more like the English than they would like to admit and vice versa. This is one honeymoon possibility for me. I could never live there – it is too far from my football team, and errrr….the family. But it is one place I would love to visit and experience despite the massive spiders.
Chicago – Same as Boston – see above bar the Irish influence I guess.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
A Hard Day's Night
I am an absolute sucker for stories like these. So much so that I am going to share them. I absolutely love my Boxing and MMA, and when I am caught up in watching these guys put their health and bodies on the line, it is easy to forget that they are normal people. Normal people who have the same hardships as so many others. One is a story about a fighter struggling to make ends meet. Another is about a boxer whose wife has been fighting for her life. I have such admiration for these guys.
http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AnxErNSF5THKW6aJQnLf1oiUxLYF?slug=ki-guerrero072210
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AiIkODNrsWBHdW.EVnw_6jU9Eo14?slug=ki-volkmann072210
I'll also praise Kevin Iole. Easily my favourite journalist who covers Boxing and UFC. Superb pieces and I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of them.
These are the kind of stories that keep everything in perspective.
http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=AnxErNSF5THKW6aJQnLf1oiUxLYF?slug=ki-guerrero072210
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AiIkODNrsWBHdW.EVnw_6jU9Eo14?slug=ki-volkmann072210
I'll also praise Kevin Iole. Easily my favourite journalist who covers Boxing and UFC. Superb pieces and I thoroughly enjoyed reading both of them.
These are the kind of stories that keep everything in perspective.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
What we do for love
Anybody heard of a boxer called Steve Molitor? I am guessing most non-boxing fans have not thus I will introduce him. Molitor is Canadian and a Junior Featherweight world champion with a record of 32 wins and just the one defeat. He is not a particularly powerful puncher as his 12 knockouts suggest, but he is technically very good and one of these gritty kind of guys, which I appreciate and enjoy watching. He came to my attention as he has fought in England a handful of times and beaten three English guys. He is due to fight another in September - Jason Booth - and I expect him to outclass him also. He seems like a really good bloke whenever I have heard him speak or read stories about him.
There is a twist in the tale however. His older brother Jeremy is currently in prison serving a term for murdering his partner. It is a pretty gruesome story which you can google if you wish. Anyhow, the way in which Steve deals with it is quite noble in my view. He completely accepts what his brother did was disgusting and appalling, but he visits him frequently and voices his love and support for him despite his actions. He has never sought to accept, justify or explain his brother's action, but has stuck by him.
It's an interesting story and one which has made me think a fair bit. I guess that is a form of unconditional love. Virtually everybody else would disown the guy other than family and in many instances, I suspect the family would also. It reminds me a little bit of when I was younger, how my mum used to tell me that if I did anything illegal, she would be the first person to go to the police. I know she would have still loved me, but she would have thrown me to the wolves, and I have no doubt about that. It was a fair incentive not to do anything bad and thankfully I never did get in any serious trouble.
It is a pretty sad and grim story really, but I genuinely admire Steve's stance. It cannot be easy for anybody in that position, and I am not sure how I would feel in the same situation. One thing is for sure, putting it aside and becoming a top class boxer is pretty impressive and he is one who I have a lot of respect for.
There is a twist in the tale however. His older brother Jeremy is currently in prison serving a term for murdering his partner. It is a pretty gruesome story which you can google if you wish. Anyhow, the way in which Steve deals with it is quite noble in my view. He completely accepts what his brother did was disgusting and appalling, but he visits him frequently and voices his love and support for him despite his actions. He has never sought to accept, justify or explain his brother's action, but has stuck by him.
It's an interesting story and one which has made me think a fair bit. I guess that is a form of unconditional love. Virtually everybody else would disown the guy other than family and in many instances, I suspect the family would also. It reminds me a little bit of when I was younger, how my mum used to tell me that if I did anything illegal, she would be the first person to go to the police. I know she would have still loved me, but she would have thrown me to the wolves, and I have no doubt about that. It was a fair incentive not to do anything bad and thankfully I never did get in any serious trouble.
It is a pretty sad and grim story really, but I genuinely admire Steve's stance. It cannot be easy for anybody in that position, and I am not sure how I would feel in the same situation. One thing is for sure, putting it aside and becoming a top class boxer is pretty impressive and he is one who I have a lot of respect for.
Friday, July 9, 2010
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Well the World Cup is almost over. 64 games, one month, comes to a close on Sunday with a pretty decent final awaiting us. As anybody having read my pre-tournament analysis will know, I rate Spain as the best team around right now. They started slow with a poor loss to the Swiss, and had some average performances along the way, but they seem to have peaked at just the right time with a truly world class performance against Germany in the semis.
I heard early in the tournament some interesting information about Spain’s preparations at altitude training and how it had all been timed so that they would peak in the knockout phase of the competition. All of which sounds pretty sensible, plausible and logical. I also heard that England had done the same, following a similar regime. Unfortunately, they were unable to get through to the stage when that work would pay off!
I fully expect Spain to win the final. The Dutch have done well and surprised me somewhat, particularly the game against Brazil. They have won all their games in the tournament and are unbeaten in something like 25 games which is pretty impressive. That all said, I do not think they have faced a team like Spain.
There are a number of key elements which strongly favour Spain and how I expect the game to play out. Spain’s midfield is the best in the world bar none. I would go as far to say that there is no other national team that comes close to rivalling them in that area. Having seen Van Bommel exposed frequently against Brazil and Uruguay – I have no idea how he did not receive at least three bookings in those two games combined – they will really struggle to keep hold of the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and co. Even more so than the Germans did. Schweinsteiger has been fantastic the whole tournament, one of the best central midfielders. He was completely nullified in that game, and I expect Wesley Sneijder to face the same difficulties.
The other area is defensively. Holland have been somewhat flattered I think in this area, and I think it is a weakness – particularly against teams and players with excellent movement. I like Heitinga and he is probably the best of the bunch, but he will find it hard to deal with David Villa. Likewise down the flanks, especially Gio’s side, Spain will profit here.
The main factor in Holland’s favour is Arjen Robben. I’ve rambled about this before but I think he would be considered as one of the top five players in the world had he not suffered injuries and changed clubs so often. He could cause Capdevila and Ramos all kinds of problems and he will have to be at his very best if the Dutch are to have a chance of winning this game.
Otherwise it is Spain all the way for me, and rest assured I will have a pound or two on them for this game.
As much as the final entices me, I have been severely disappointed with this World Cup. I have enjoyed many of the games, but the actually quality of the competition has been incredibly low. In fact, I would go as far in saying that it was only the game between Spain and Germany where we saw some of the highest quality football. Otherwise, the competition has been littered with average games, and even the entertaining ones were largely down to refereeing mistakes, or poor defending/goalkeeping. How many absolute moments of brilliance can you remember from this one? There are not many at all. So many of the best players in the world also massively underperformed. Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, Kaka....I could go on. Once again, just strengthens my belief that the Champions League is the best football competition in the world. I take Spain out of the equation as I rate them as comfortably the best team in the world, but every other team has significant weaknesses in their team. While it has been a success for the first WC held in Africa, I think international football is at a pretty low point right now.
I heard early in the tournament some interesting information about Spain’s preparations at altitude training and how it had all been timed so that they would peak in the knockout phase of the competition. All of which sounds pretty sensible, plausible and logical. I also heard that England had done the same, following a similar regime. Unfortunately, they were unable to get through to the stage when that work would pay off!
I fully expect Spain to win the final. The Dutch have done well and surprised me somewhat, particularly the game against Brazil. They have won all their games in the tournament and are unbeaten in something like 25 games which is pretty impressive. That all said, I do not think they have faced a team like Spain.
There are a number of key elements which strongly favour Spain and how I expect the game to play out. Spain’s midfield is the best in the world bar none. I would go as far to say that there is no other national team that comes close to rivalling them in that area. Having seen Van Bommel exposed frequently against Brazil and Uruguay – I have no idea how he did not receive at least three bookings in those two games combined – they will really struggle to keep hold of the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and co. Even more so than the Germans did. Schweinsteiger has been fantastic the whole tournament, one of the best central midfielders. He was completely nullified in that game, and I expect Wesley Sneijder to face the same difficulties.
The other area is defensively. Holland have been somewhat flattered I think in this area, and I think it is a weakness – particularly against teams and players with excellent movement. I like Heitinga and he is probably the best of the bunch, but he will find it hard to deal with David Villa. Likewise down the flanks, especially Gio’s side, Spain will profit here.
The main factor in Holland’s favour is Arjen Robben. I’ve rambled about this before but I think he would be considered as one of the top five players in the world had he not suffered injuries and changed clubs so often. He could cause Capdevila and Ramos all kinds of problems and he will have to be at his very best if the Dutch are to have a chance of winning this game.
Otherwise it is Spain all the way for me, and rest assured I will have a pound or two on them for this game.
As much as the final entices me, I have been severely disappointed with this World Cup. I have enjoyed many of the games, but the actually quality of the competition has been incredibly low. In fact, I would go as far in saying that it was only the game between Spain and Germany where we saw some of the highest quality football. Otherwise, the competition has been littered with average games, and even the entertaining ones were largely down to refereeing mistakes, or poor defending/goalkeeping. How many absolute moments of brilliance can you remember from this one? There are not many at all. So many of the best players in the world also massively underperformed. Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney, Kaka....I could go on. Once again, just strengthens my belief that the Champions League is the best football competition in the world. I take Spain out of the equation as I rate them as comfortably the best team in the world, but every other team has significant weaknesses in their team. While it has been a success for the first WC held in Africa, I think international football is at a pretty low point right now.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Paying the price
As an Everton fan, I think I am quite mellow on the whole. I am as passionate as anybody, I just don’t swear as much as I used to when I was a kid or like some of my fellow Evertonians in Lower Gwladys.
I guess more than anything I am realistic. I appreciate the situation surrounding the ownership and Bill Kenwright. He has his critics, he has many of them. I have a soft spot for him however. I wrote to him a few years ago while I was a Director at Brentford about a number of points, and he called me up only a few days later to discuss the letter. I found him extremely personable and an absolute pleasure to talk to. Does that make him a great chairman? Not at all. But I defy anybody working in English football to say a bad word about him, and he is respected throughout. Challenging and questioning key emotive issues such as the stadium move was always likely to upset some folks, but he is following principles which he strongly believes will take the club forward and I admire that. Would I like to see David Moyes with an unlimited transfer budget? Hell yeah! Would I like to see some random American, Russian or Sheikh come in and take the club over? Not at all. I only have to look at Man Utd and Liverpool to dissuade me from that.
Moyes is much the same. Even more so, I have the utmost respect for him and I rate him extremely highly. I haven’t met anybody who is not impressed by him in fact. I understand that they have not always been able to play the most attractive football, but he has done an amazing job with the funds and players at his disposal, and I would not swap him for anybody. Things are moving in the right direction on and off the pitch, and I have high hopes for next season if we can keep some key players fit, and hopefully not lose any of the star players.
All that said, I’ve been hit by some news in the last few days, and it is fair to say that I am absolutely fuming about it. Dan Gosling has reportedly left the club as a free agent after an administrative error saw a verbal offer of a contract not put into writing. How can this possibly happen at a professional football club? At the same time, the fact is, the player clearly has been tempted to leave and take advantage of the loophole. In that sense, there is nothing too much one can do. It should never be allowed to happen however. Given that the club have made a slight change to their transfer strategy in aiming to invest in younger players from across Europe, and taking advantage of the Bosman ruling, it amazes me that they can allow this to happen. Gosling signed for the club in 2008 for around £1.2m rising to £2m on appearances and milestones. To allow him to slip through the net and take advantage of this loophole is appalling. People in many industries lose their jobs for far less than this, and I would love to know who is to blame for this one. I suspect we will learn a lot once the club make it official and report on the official website. These kind of mistakes and comical financial losses happen at other clubs frequently. It should not happen at ours. I can forgive them for losing a match, not being the best team in the world, not having the most money, but this is different. Bad bad form.
I guess more than anything I am realistic. I appreciate the situation surrounding the ownership and Bill Kenwright. He has his critics, he has many of them. I have a soft spot for him however. I wrote to him a few years ago while I was a Director at Brentford about a number of points, and he called me up only a few days later to discuss the letter. I found him extremely personable and an absolute pleasure to talk to. Does that make him a great chairman? Not at all. But I defy anybody working in English football to say a bad word about him, and he is respected throughout. Challenging and questioning key emotive issues such as the stadium move was always likely to upset some folks, but he is following principles which he strongly believes will take the club forward and I admire that. Would I like to see David Moyes with an unlimited transfer budget? Hell yeah! Would I like to see some random American, Russian or Sheikh come in and take the club over? Not at all. I only have to look at Man Utd and Liverpool to dissuade me from that.
Moyes is much the same. Even more so, I have the utmost respect for him and I rate him extremely highly. I haven’t met anybody who is not impressed by him in fact. I understand that they have not always been able to play the most attractive football, but he has done an amazing job with the funds and players at his disposal, and I would not swap him for anybody. Things are moving in the right direction on and off the pitch, and I have high hopes for next season if we can keep some key players fit, and hopefully not lose any of the star players.
All that said, I’ve been hit by some news in the last few days, and it is fair to say that I am absolutely fuming about it. Dan Gosling has reportedly left the club as a free agent after an administrative error saw a verbal offer of a contract not put into writing. How can this possibly happen at a professional football club? At the same time, the fact is, the player clearly has been tempted to leave and take advantage of the loophole. In that sense, there is nothing too much one can do. It should never be allowed to happen however. Given that the club have made a slight change to their transfer strategy in aiming to invest in younger players from across Europe, and taking advantage of the Bosman ruling, it amazes me that they can allow this to happen. Gosling signed for the club in 2008 for around £1.2m rising to £2m on appearances and milestones. To allow him to slip through the net and take advantage of this loophole is appalling. People in many industries lose their jobs for far less than this, and I would love to know who is to blame for this one. I suspect we will learn a lot once the club make it official and report on the official website. These kind of mistakes and comical financial losses happen at other clubs frequently. It should not happen at ours. I can forgive them for losing a match, not being the best team in the world, not having the most money, but this is different. Bad bad form.
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