you get me?

Can Murray deliver this year?

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:09:49 -0400

Another year of Wimbledon is off and running, yet again all the hopes of a British winner is on World Number 4 Andy Murray. Andy won the Aegon Championships a couple of weeks ago (the warm-up competition to Wimbledon) to raise the hopes of the British support.

Murray is yet to win a major although he has reached the final of a few only to lose in straight sets on all occasions. Although plenty are claiming that Murray is going into this years championship with the best preperation posssible, I still can’t see Murray defeating the likes of Nadal and Federer.

If Murray was to go all the way, he would probably have to defeat Nadal in the semi-final and Federer/Djokovic in the final, a daunting prospect! All four have safely made it through the first round although Murray needed four sets. Can he do it then? No, i dont think so anyway, he needs alot of luck along the way!

Joe Litchfield :) x

Marlon King saga

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:17:00 -0400

Following an impressive season for the Sky Blues for striker Marlon King, Coventry were quick to offer him a new contract to keep him at the Ricoh Arena. Despite his past, fans took to Marlon quicky and the goals started flying in! King ended the season with 13 goals in less than 30 appearances.

Coventry City manager Andy Thorn apparenly received a phone call from Marlon telling him that he will be signing the 2 year contract that was offered, something that delighted the boss. The news come out in the local paper and radio stations, but a matter of hours later the strory took a surprising twist!

Marlon’s friend and advisor Tony Finnigan got in contact with Sky Sports News and put out an official statement that King hadn’t yet decided and was still in talks over his future. News that shocked Coventry City football club. Ken Delieu, Coventry City chairman and Leonard Brody, also on the board, then stated that they had a double verbal agreement from Marlon that he would be singing the new contract.

Birmingham City then shown an interest for Marlon King. There are reports that they were ready to offer King £15,000 a week to secure his services, compared to the £10,000 he is likely to be on at Coventry. Sky Sports News have reported that Birmingham City and Marlon’s agent are in talks.

Those reports were true, and Marlon passed a medical and agreed personal terms with Birmingham City, to the fury of Sky Blues fans! The deal was signed and was unveiled as a Birmingham City player soon after. Marlon and Coventry City have a different version of events, Marlon believes he was suposed to recieve the contract whilst on holiday but Coventry said it was supposed to be signed when he returned. There is also confusion over the length of contract offered, King says it was supposed to be a three year deal but was shortened to two, which is supposedly the main reason why he signed Birmingham’s three year deal.

This whole saga has left Coventry fans fuming with Marlon King, they feel as if he has shown no loyalty to the club that gave him his big chance back in to football. Manager Andy Thorn commented saying the whole situation has given Marlon King and advisor Tony Finnegan a poor reputation.

Joe Litchfield :) x

The new xfactor

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 17:22:46 -0400

The X Factor auditions were in Birmingham today at the LG Arena. New judges Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa (from N Dubz) took their places replacing Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Danii Minogue. They were also joined by regular Louie Walsh.

Gary Barlow is a favourite with the fans, and is an ideal replacement for Simon Cowell. Barlow speaks his mind, doesn’t hold back and even got stuck into a few of the famous X Factor cliche’s (“We have found a pop star!”)

Kelly Rowland offers a lot of advise to the contestants and also isn’t afraid of speaking the truth. She also had a few arguments today with the contestants and new judge Tulisa, but towards the end of the show she seemed to get a bit fed up.

A major dissapointment though was Tulisa, who did’nt really know how to explain herself properly and tended to just agree with the other judges instead of making a different point.

We all know what Louie is like, however I found him entertaining and very witty! He also was the only person who seemed to recognise the talent of Bambi.

She was a contestant on the show who went down a hit with the audience. But Gary, Kelly and Tunisa thought she wasn’t ready and told her to come back next year, followed by a chorus of boos by the Midlands audience. From then on, the audience was on the judges back’s and continuously chanted to get Bambi back on!

But you heard it here first, the winner of X Factor 2011 is in Birmingham, a man from the army got a standing ovation from both judges and audience. That is as much as im revealing!

To end though, i definately would have preferred the old X Factor panel. Simon and Cheryl are especially missed!

Joe Litchfield :) x

Barcelona are something special!

Sat, 28 May 2011 17:09:00 -0400

So Barcelona have won the 2011 Champions League Final after beating Manchester United 3-1. After this performance from Barcelona, it is difficult to see how they could be human. They have no weaknesses, everything about them they do with such class and skill, even the defending was top class. They play one way, and one way only. Yet no-one can come up with a way to beat them in European football. The scary thing is, this team will be around for atleast another five years. They are all so young but play with so much experience. I’m only seventeen but I havent seen a better team in my lifetime.

It was actually a promising start from United, the first ten minutes they were at Barcelona, pressing them and forcing the best players in the world into sloppy mistakes. But they were risilient, something not alot of people give Barcelona enough credit for. They weathered the storm and created a storm of their own from there on after. Even when United equalised, you never really doubted the fact that Barcelona were going to win the game.

You would be a fool to bet against this Barcelona side, whoever they are playing, wherever they are playing, or whatever they are playing for. They always come up with the goods in the end. Manchester United may be good, but they are nothing compared to this side. Sometimes finals can dissapoint and end in stalemates, but you knew with Barcelona involved, that wouldn’t be the case.

One final thing, I thought the touch at the end with Eric Abidal lifting the trophy ahead of club captain Carles Puyol was a great tribute to a man who has went through a rollercoaster of a year.

Joe Litchfield :) x

Andy Thorn's way

Fri, 27 May 2011 17:03:00 -0400

In recent times, Coventry City have been known to be a long ball team, very direct and not very attrative on the eye. But towards the end of last season when Andy Thorn come in for the departing Aidy Boothroyd, that changed and City played more passing, fluent and entertaining football.

Fans feared after Boothroyds sacking, we would go for another big name manager promising the goods and delivering nothing. A bit like when Eric Black was doing a great job until he was replaced by Peter Reid, which got us nowhere!

But credit to Sisu, they recognised that Thorn was the fans favourite after he dragged us away from the relegation zone with impressive performances over Watford, Portsmouth, Norwich and Reading to name a few. Depsite big names being available, they listened to the fans and appointed Thorn.

Being a mad Coventry City fan myself (as im sure you have noticed by now), i was at every game at the Ricoh last season, including Thorn’s games against Watford, Millwall, Scunthorpe and Reading. Its mad how a change in emphasis and style can change the atmsophere around the whole club so much.

Matchdays become exciting again at the Ricoh, you knew you were going to get your moneys worth. That the players would play to their true potential, like David Bell who looks like a completely different player in the new formation. Thorn has the fans backing for now, and we all hope that this type of sexier football will continue into the following season!

To sum it up, Coventry fans even started chanting “It’s just like watching Brazil!”

Joe Litchfield :) x

LA Noire on Xbox

Fri, 27 May 2011 07:53:00 -0400

I suppose i shouldn’t be doing a review on a game i havent even played yet, but that’s only because my 20 year old brother Tom hasn’t given me the chance! He never usually plays the Xbox, but for whatever reason he went out and bought this game, and has spent the whole week playing it.

It is a crime thriller, which involves solving clues, car chases and shoot outs, set in Los Angeles. The graphics are as good as I have seen, and the game is so big that it comes with three discs on Xbox.

My Brother usually goes out drinking every other night, but ever since he bought this game, he’s been staying in and getting more and more addicted to it. That tells you all you need to know!

Based on what I have seen, i would give this game a 8/10. However, that could change once my brother gives me the chance to do a few missions myself. Incase your wondering, yes he is playing the game whilst im writing this!

Joe Litchfield :) x

Champions League Final Man Utd vs Barca

Thu, 26 May 2011 20:02:00 -0400

The Champions League final is nearly here, and what a final it is going to be!

Arguably the best two teams in the world at the moment go head to head at Wembley on Saturday the 28th May 2011 to decide the winner of the Champions League.

Barcelona are the favourites out of the two teams, which is not a surprise when you have Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Villa and Co. in your side. However, if anyone can give them a run for there money, then surely it’s Manchester United.

Manchester United and Barcelona have both won the European Cup three times each, which is surprising considering both teams proud history. Liverpool and Real Madrid, United’s and Barca’s rivals respectively, have been the ones to dominate the European Cup over the years, something both clubs will surely want to change.

So how is this final going to be won?

Barcelona’s forwards are ruthless, not many sets of defenders would be able to cope with the threat Barcelona carry everytime they attack. Manchester United though in my opinion have a much stronger defence out of the two, with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of it, with Patrice Evra and the ever improving Rafael.

The Midfield is important however, and United will find it hard to compete with Xavi, Iniesta, Macherano etc… If Barcelona find themselves in need of a goal, those three can make things happen in a blink of an eye. On the other hand, if Barcelona find themselves a goal or two ahead, then those three are able to keep the ball all day long and frustrate the United midfield.

If you put United’s back five and Barcelona’s front six together, than you would have to go back along way in footballing history to find a team that would match that.

Either way it is going to be a mouth-watering tie, anything can happen, this is what the Champions League is all about! I just hope that the game is played in the right way, and is won fairly and not through a bad referee-ing decision.

Joe Litchfield :) x

Coventry City 2010-2011

Thu, 26 May 2011 15:39:32 -0400

Another promising start to the season, and another slip down the table, another manager change and also another threat of administration! Coventry City’s seasons are getting more and more predictable, will the Sky Blues ever get back to the Premier League?

The first half of the season up until Christmas was exciting! Aidy Boothroyd was enjoying his first season in charge, with Coventry sitting pretty in the playoff places. We may not have been playing the best football in the division, but we were getting results.

On boxing day, the table saw City in 6th position on 34 points winning 10 games from the first 23.

But come 8th May 2011, City finished in 18th position on 55 points, winning just four league games from the other 23 after Boxing Day! But what went wrong?

Well, it was all about momentum! It seems that if City go five or six without a win, they forget how to win! For example, Saturday 4th December, Coventry beat Middlesborough 1-0 at the Ricoh Arena to put City in 5th place in the league, but they had to wait 10 more games till February 12th to record another win at home to Crystal Palace. That awful run saw City slip 9 places to 14th in the league. These sort of runs have let Coventry down too many times in previous seasons.

Another reason is the stadium. This year City just managed to wave off a threat of administration for the second time in four years. The club doesn’t seem to be stable, losing money week in week out, and the main reason for this is the fact we dont own the stadium. There is alot of money to be made from the Ricoh, Sisu (the owners) have made it a priority to buy the stadium after the administration threat this year, but with what money?

Aidy Boothroyd lost his job after Coventry’s home defeat to Hull City on the 12th March 2011 after a run of 1 win in 17 games, ending his 9 month stay. City however, seemed to react to that decision very well. The club originally appointed Andy Thorn as Caretaker Manager whilst being assisted by Steve Harrison, and in eight games, they recorded three wins and three draws, losing two.

Sisu made the decision to appoint Andy Thorn as manager two games before the end of the season, which pleased the fans! Coventry drew the final two games of the season to Playoff finalists Reading and promotion winners Norwich City 0-0 and 2-2 respectively.

So what does next season bring? I hope it brings a more realistic and serious promotion challenge, but i fear it will bring more of the same.

Joe Litchfield :) x

The Script

Thu, 26 May 2011 12:56:00 -0400

The script are a three man pop-rock band from Ireland currently on a world wide tour. Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power have released two albums, The Script in 2008, and Science and Faith in 2010. “The Man Who Cant Be Moved, Breakeven, Talk You Down, Before The Worst and We Cry” were the main hits from the first album. The second album’s main hits include ” For The First Time, Nothing, and If You Ever Come Back”.

The Script were at Birmingham’s LG Arena on March 17th 2011. I was impressed on how much the band appreciate their following. That night was a record turn out at the LG Arena which looked to have genuinly shocked front man Danny O’Donoghue. With so many bands and artists nowadays, fame can get to their heads but with these lads, you get the impression that they take one day at a time and appreciate what they have now, as it could all end in an instant!

At the gig, there were all sorts of different people. Young or old, Male or Female, it really did look like a good mix of people. The bands music appeals to so many people, which can only help their ever growing fan base.

Please check them out on youtube, they are one of the most under-rated bands out there at the moment. Danny, Mark and Glen seem like really nice guys and deserve all the success they get, i wish them the best of luck!

Joe Litchfield :) x