Archive for April, 2012
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
And so it seems Barcelona can be beaten. Once again, it’s a good job I didn’t put any money on my predictions – I’d be a very poor man by now. All credit to Chelsea though; they deserved the victory having held off Barcelona with ten men for most of the match. Some people say there is no luck in football but you can’t help feeling they were a little lucky that Barcelona didn’t get another goal or two – Messi missed a penalty and hit the post but I suppose the aim of the game isn’t to nearly score goals, you have to actually do it.
I also watched Bayern Munich v Real Madrid last night, which was another great game. It never feels quite right when someone has to win on penalties but they can’t play on forever. Jose Mourinho blamed the defeat on tired players, as his side had played Barcelona at the weekend in a crucial game near the end of the La Liga season. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, were able to rest their key players. I’m not a fan of managers making excuses like that – they got beaten, sometimes you just have to accept that, even if it was on penalties.
This week in the studio has been really good. Lots of people in and out and a real variety of work as well, which has made it interesting and been great experience for the student I’ve had helping me out. One more day then I’m gearing up to the Manchester derby weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, a few mates are coming back for the game and to have a bit of a party on Saturday and Sunday. We’ll all be heading to our Manchester serviced apartments on Saturday afternoon then hitting the town, going to a few bars and restaurants and maybe even a club afterwards, if we can handle it – we are all getting on a bit now. And Monday, of course, is the day of the big game – Manchester United v Manchester City, potentially crucial in deciding the Premier League 2012. Next time you hear from me, it’ll all be over and I will either be the happiest man in Manchester or… well, not.
Tags: Champions League, Football, Man City, Man United, Manchester Derby, Manchester football, Manchester serviced apartments, Music recording
Posted in Football, Manchester, My Life | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
What did I say about it looking like the Manchester derby would be a crucial game in deciding the winners of the Premier League in 2012? We really did throw away our game against Everton at the weekend, with them coming back from 3-1 down to draw 4-4. I bet it was a great game to watch from a neutral point of view but it was heartbreaking as a Man United fan. Man City, meanwhile, look to be growing in confidence as the season comes to an end. Their problems of a few weeks ago are apparently long gone – is it a coincidence that they’ve picked up since Balotelli has stopped playing? Maybe not.
We’ve got a week until derby day, next Monday, and I’ve got a lot on in that time, which is good to take my mind off it. The studio is full this week, for all five days, which is a bit unusual – not that I’m complaining. I’ve had to take on some help for a couple of days, when we’ve got a band in – a sound engineering student from the university is coming in to give me a hand. A bit like a placement, I suppose, but I’ll give him some cash for it – £20 a day maybe. It gives him some experience and takes a bit of work off me so I guess it’s a win-win situation. I just need to make sure I don’t have to go and see what employment law Manchester solicitors need to advise me on – I’d rather keep it casual.
I’ll watch the Champions League semi-final tonight, Chelsea v Barcelona, which should be a cracking game. Can Chelsea beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp? I doubt it and I predict a 3-1 win for Barcelona, but we’ll see. In some ways I would like to see Chelsea win it, just to show the rest of us that Barcelona can be beaten.
Tags: Champions League, Employment law, Man City, Man United, Manchester Derby, Music recording, Premier League
Posted in Football, Manchester, Music, The Studio | No Comments »
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
It’s a good job I’m not a betting man because I would have lost some money on last night’s Champions League semi-finals. My prediction for the Real Madrid v Bayern Munich result wasn’t too far out but it was a bit of a shock to watch Chelsea sneak a 1-0 win over Barcelona. It was a fascinating game of football to watch and I am, surprisingly for a Man United fan, pleased for Chelsea – I think they deserved it. They really stuck to their game plan and didn’t let Barcelona rattle them, which I think was key for the win. We all know how good Barcelona are at keeping the ball and relentlessly plugging away to create chances but Chelsea showed last night that if you stay solid, keep your structure and block them out as much as possible, it makes it difficult even for Messi to score. OK, so they had a bit of luck too and Barcelona could have scored three or four but they didn’t and that is, at the end of the day, what football is all about – scoring more goals than the other team.
It’s going to be a big couple of weeks for football from now – Man United have got a home game against Everton on Sunday and I’ll be watching the second legs of the Champions League semi-finals next week, of course. Then it’s all about us against City on Monday, 30 April – the big Manchester derby. It’s possible that game will have a big influence on who is going to win the Premier League in 2012, so it’s about as important as it gets for us. Me and a couple of the lads have managed to get tickets as well; we don’t normally go to derby games but this one is just too important to miss and there are even a few lads who have moved away coming back for it. There are five of them, making it twelve of us in total, meaning our big group of mates will be hitting the town together again for the first time in years. We’ve got a couple of Manchester serviced apartments booked, so watch out if you’re in town that weekend – it could get messy!
Tags: Barcelona, Champions League, Chelsea, Man City, Man United, Manchester, Manchester Derby, Manchester serviced apartments
Posted in Football, Manchester, My Life | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
In a strange way I’m happy Man United aren’t playing in the Champions League semi-finals this week. As much as I obviously like it when we win big competitions, it does get quite stressful at this stage of the tournament and it’s very difficult to actual enjoy watching the games – I’m normally too nervous. So it’ll be nice to sit back and watch the Champions League semi-finals this week and next without having to stress about how we’re playing. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid play their first leg tonight with Chelsea against Barcelona tomorrow. The Chelsea players have said in interviews that they believe they can beat Barcelona and of course they have to be positive about it but they are definitely the underdogs. Barcelona are undoubtedly the best team in the world at the moment and if the likes of Messi and Iniesta are on form – which they always seem to be – it’ll be a very tough game for Chelsea. Good to watch though.
I’m not the sort of fan to wish ill on our rival clubs – I know a lot of people will want to see Chelsea get properly beaten but I really don’t mind who wins, I’m just looking forward to a couple of good games of football and hopefully lots of goals. For what it’s worth, here are my predictions for the Champions League semi-finals:
- Chelsea v Barcelona first leg: 2-1 to Barcelona.
- Bayern Munich v Real Madrid first leg: 2-2.
- Chelsea v Barcelona second leg: 4-1 to Barcelona, making it 6-2 on aggregate.
- Bayern Munich v Real Madrid second leg: 3-2 to Real Madrid, making it 5-4 on aggregate.
So if I was a betting man I would put a bit of money on a Real Madrid v Barcelona final. I won’t give a prediction for the final result until the semi-finals have been played because you never know, Chelsea might just pull off something unexpected.
Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Champions League, Champions League predictions, Champions League Semi-finals, Chelsea, Football, Man United, Real Madrid
Posted in Football | No Comments »
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
What did I say about jinxing the football? I knew I should have kept quiet! Within one day we’ve gone from being eight points clear and looking dominant over a lacklustre Man City to losing dismally and seeing City win 4-0, bringing them right back into the title race. Mancini had a wry grin on his face when he said after their game that it was, nevertheless, ‘finished’ – mind games of the highest order and he knows it. With five games left each it’s going to be a nerve-wracking end to the season; interesting, from a football perspective, but not necessarily as a fan. I’d rather we just won it easily.
The most interesting game will obviously be when we play City away on Monday 30 April but there are loads of different scenarios that could play out with the remaining fixtures. I’m no statistician but I do like to think about what needs to happen for us to win the Premier League title and make us champions for a record twentieth time. Here are a few thoughts:
- City need to win at least two of their remaining games, and for us to not win any, to take the title.
- Assuming we draw with City, for arguments sake, we need to win two other games and at least draw another to be sure of taking the title, regardless of what they do.
- Goal difference could play a part if we draw level on points, so we need to get some good winning margins over the next few games.
The most important thing for us is not to panic and just play our football – the results will come naturally then… hopefully.
Tags: 2012 Premier League title, Football, Football stats, Man City, Man United, Premier League, Roberto Mancini
Posted in Football, Manchester | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
A great weekend for Man United and (without wishing to jinx anything) it looks like we’re starting to run away with the title this year. A decent 2-0 win over QPR along with Man City’s current poor form means that we’re stretching away at the top of the Premier League, now eight points clear. They really are having a bad time of it at the moment, City, but they’ve only got themselves to blame. A bit like Liverpool really, who have surprised me with their performances recently – it’ll be really interesting to see how Dalglish tries to turn their current run around.
I’ve got some work on this week and also some car shopping planned as well. The studio is being used by a death metal group for four days, Tuesday to Friday, but they’re bringing their own sound guy in for the first two days, which means I don’t really have to be there. I’ll be around on Thursday and Friday to help them with the mixing and mastering. Me and a mate are going to look at cars again this week. His daughter decided she didn’t like the used Vauxhall Corsa we looked at the other week so we’re going to check out a new Peugeot 207 this time, to see what sort of deal we can get. Sometimes it’s worth looking at a new car for the insurance, MOT and servicing savings you can make but we’ll have to see.
I have to say I have been enjoying looking at new and used cars recently and I think I’m going to miss it a bit when we all finally get them sorted. I can’t see that happening for a little while though because none of us can make our minds up at the moment, so there’s a bit of time left for looking at cars.
Tags: Buying a used car, cars, Man City, Man United, Music recording, Premier League, Recording studio
Posted in Football, My Life, The Studio | No Comments »
Thursday, April 5th, 2012
He didn’t buy the Honda Civic in the end, but not because I found a fault with it – like me, he’s decided he wants something bigger. There must be something about getting older that makes you want a bigger car! So the search goes on for both of us – I’ve still not found the right used car for my needs but I’m in no great rush so I don’t mind taking my time. We had an interesting chat about Manchester property on the drive down. He’s got a flat in the centre of town and a small house in the student area that he rents out. He bought them with some money he inherited a few years ago, thinking that property was the best way to invest it. He makes a reasonable amount from them but they are really more like a pension for him.
Anyway, I’m winding down to the long weekend now. Although I work for myself with the studio, I still make sure I take Bank Holidays off and will be taking advantage of the full four day weekend this Easter, just like everybody else. It can be easy to slip into work on supposed days off, when it’s as close to home as mine is, but after I lock the door this afternoon I’m not going to open it again until next Tuesday. I’ve got a busy weekend anyway, away from work, with Man United playing on Sunday and the 2012 Masters golf to watch from today. As you will know if you read about my appalling day on the course with my mate the other week, I’m not much of a golf player but I do like to watch a bit, especially the big tournaments. It’s an interesting field this year too, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the favourites. I’ll be cheering on Rory, hoping he doesn’t make a mess of it like he did last year.
Tags: Buying a used car, Football, Golf, Man United, Masters 2012, Premier League, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods
Posted in Football, Manchester, The Studio | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012
A great start to the week with Man United taking a late 2-0 victory over Blackburn on Monday night. That moves us five points clear at the top of the Premier League, over Man City, and our goal difference is only one behind them now too. I know I’ve said it before but it is at times like this that we really show why we’ve been champions over and over again – not just keeping going but actually improving all the way to the end of the season. I’m not one to gloat too much but it is in quite a contrast to Man City, who seem to be falling apart a bit now. They were arguing amongst themselves at the weekend, playing Sunderland, and there really doesn’t look like there’s much harmony in the team. Balotelli always seems to be at the heart of it too but I think that gives a bit of a false impression – he seems a genuine person to me and not a liability at all, but that’s just from the outside looking in.
We play next on Sunday against QPR but I might have a look at the Champions League and Europa League games in the week, just to see how Chelsea and Athletic Bilbao get on. Otherwise I’ve got a quiet week ahead. The studio is booked out on Wednesday and Thursday for a local band doing a demo and other than that I’m just going to be doing some chores and running a few errands. A friend of mine wants me to go and look at a used Honda Civic with him this afternoon so maybe we’ll stay out for a game of snooker or something after that. The last time we looked at a car together he was about to buy it when I noticed a serious fault in the bodywork, which showed that it had been in an accident previously. Maybe that’s why he’s taking me this time too – he thinks I’m his lucky charm.
Tags: Balotelli, Buying a used car, Champions League, Chelsea, Europa League, Man City, Man United, Premier League
Posted in Football, Music, My Life, The Studio | No Comments »
