PFA Player of The Year nominations

You know that the football season is nigh, when word comes through of who has been shortlisted for this season PFA Player of the Year award in the Barclay's Premier League. This season has felt like it has flown by, but here we are again - facing another two or three months without Football; I don't know how we're all going to cope!

The six players nominated for the prestigious award are:

• Gareth Bale
• Luis Suarez 
• Michael Carrick
• Robin van Persie
• Eden Hazard
• Juan Mata

It's an interesting bunch, but one with not too many surprises - all have been stellar for their clubs this season. But who will win it?

In my view, I think this man without a shadow of a doubt will swoop the prize - and that man is Gareth Bale. Bale this season has been outstanding for Spurs, jinxing his way through opposition teams and scoring 17 goals, with half of them probably being goal of the season contenders. There's no doubt that this season has been one of Bale's best; Spurs will need to keep him if they want to aim for Champions League football next season, or if in fact they do qualify this year. Bale is like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in ways - he makes dribbling and everything he does easy, with a venomous left foot and such grace and balance when he plays. It's hard to believe that Spurs were set to loan him out to Birmingham at one point earlier in his career - now the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid are after his services. He surely will sweep the board and win this award and quite frankly, I can't think of a more deserving winner.

A note on the other contenders - it is nice to see Carrick nominated, a pleasant surprise. He has been outstanding this season, and having ousted his way back into contention for the England squads, it is very much deserved. He has been the unsung hero of United's campaign, with all of the limelight mainly on their star signing Robin van Persie - who's nomination is nothing than you expected but is equally deserved. Suarez has been stellar all season and profilic, whilst Mata and Hazard have been at the heart of Chelsea's campaign, the clogs in the machine of their midfield. One player that should have been nominated I felt is Swansea's Michu - he is one, if not, of the signings of the summer, and has been prolific since his arrival in Wales. Outstanding striker, and does deserve a mention.

Who do you think will swoop the prestigious Player of the Year? Let me know!

Odd Football ramblings

Football. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty sure I live and breathe it. I'd be so lost if I didn't play Football. It's odd how one sport can make someone have so much emotion towards just 22 players kicking a ball around, but we do. I do. And a lot has happened in the football world, which this blog is about - football ramblings!

First of, I want to extend my congratulations to everyone connected to Cardiff City FC - their players, staff, fans etc. I for one is pleased to see them in the top flight; they've deserved it for so long and they've got a good manager and squad. For a team that has been always challenging the top of the Championship, it's no more than they deserve than to finally end 51 years of hurt and go up to play with the big guns. 

I'm also sad to see Portsmouth relegated, a football club which has so much history. It's hard to believe that it was only in 2009 that they had top class players such as Niko Kranjcar and Kevin-Prince Boateng in their starting line-ups - now they have had big financial trouble, in administration and will be playing their football in League Two next season. I know it must be fantastic for Southampton fans that their arch rivals are down, but I'm sad for them and their fans. At least now, with Pompey's Supporters Trust in charge of the club, they can rebuild from stratch. I have no doubt that they will be back challenging in the Championship in no time, so keep the faith Pompey fans!

I come onto now the amount of violence and hooglanism football has seem to have over the last few days - quite frankly, I am appalled. For starters, I really don't see why some Millwall supporters (a minority may I add) found the need to scrap amongst themselves and the Police? It's done nothing but let their club down, who already have a bad enough reputation as it is. It was utterly stupid for them to behave like that, and I feel for their 'proper' fans - fans who were there just to watch their team. To then have the following day Newcastle fans riot in their OWN CITY was just disgraceful - again, was there really any point? Once again I say, all they have done is brought shame on their club - and once again I shall say this was a minority. I hope the authorites and the Football Association take swift action with both incidents.

And my final rambling focuses on the FA, and their lack of punishment for both Callum McManaman's horrendous challenge on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara, as well as Sergio Aguero's two-footed stamp on Chelsea's David Luiz at the weekend. Both men should have received red cards for their appalling challenges at the time, and should have also received bans. However, thanks to the FA's rule, both escaped bans. Why? The FA say they don't 'have enough authority' to punish both, thanks to their ruling which states if a match official saw the challenge in question, yet didn't act on it, nothing can be done. Basically. Which is a load of tripe. The FA need to change their rulings or risk continuing to make themselves look like a laughing stock organisation, by letting horrific challenges such as McManaman's go unpunished.

And here, I shall conclude on my ramblings. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts - do you think the FA should change their rules? How do you think Cardiff will fare in the Championship next season? Let me know below!

P.s. I'm incredibly sorry for neglecting this blog for such a long time - I could give a long list of excuses but none would be acceptable... The obscene amount of second year uni work though may  be a factor.

My top five deals in the January transfer window!

In the life of any football fan, transfer deadline day is the day when all work is put on hold, sick days are pulled and the home television set is purely reserved for Sky Sports News and the likes of Jim White. This one day every year in January and August excites football fans across the land, as tension builds up towards the dreaded deadline with questions being thrown about everywhere - will my club sign anyone? How many will 'Arry Redknapp sign today? Will Ronaldinho move to Blackburn!? Oh what a wonderous day.

But alas, it has been and gone. Until August we must wait... But last month's transfer window brought the excitement we all needed, with big deals being concluded throughout the land. One of my teams' did sign a big player - Matthew Upson went to Brighton AH - and the other signed a player to start in the Summer - Wilfred Zaha to Manchester United, even more AH -  but it was other clubs were my eye was caught for the majority of the window. So low behold, here are my top five transfer window deals!

1. Lewis Holtby 
Signed to Tottenham Hotspur from Schalke. £1.75m

This, for me, was one of the best deals I had seen in the January transfer window for a while - Lewis Holtby. As an attacking midfielder, Holtby had been catching Premier League clubs (and my) eye for a number of seasons and finally, it was announced he'd sign for Spurs in the Summer. However, Spurs' injury woes forced the club to sign the highly-rated German international sooner - and to be honest, I couldn't wait until the summer to see him in the Premier League! Outstanding player who is bound to settle in well and make a big impact; he's the midfielder England have missed out on terribly. His vision and his passing will work well with Tottenham's play - absolute bargain too at £1.75 million.

2. Moussa Sissoko
Signed to Newcastle United from Toulouse. £2.5m

 Another fantastic signing who is already showing his worth in the Premier League. A bargain at £2.5 million, a part of Newcastle's new French legion is strong, pacy and attacking; just the player Newcastle needs after letting star player Demba Ba leave. We all saw how easily he got past Ashley Cole - yes ASHLEY COLE - the other day against Chelsea, and then scoring the equalising and winning goals; making him an instant Toon favourite. Only 23, this player is a star for the future.

3. Daniel Sturridge
Signed to Liverpool from Chelsea. £12m

A good move by Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool has seen English international Daniel Sturridge make to Merseyside, and switched for blue for the red of Liverpool. Quite frankly, a very decent signing - Sturridge is a good quality, young striker but he needed (and deserved) to be at a club where he is going to get playing time. Liverpool on the other hand, only had Luis Suarez as their recongized striker, so this move works out well for all parties. Maybe 12 million is a bit excessive, but a very good player with lots of potential - could force his way back into Roy Hodgson's England plans with more playing time.

4. Mathieu Debuchy
Signed to Newcastle United from Lille. £5m

This saga threatened to rival the Cesc Fabregas 'will he-won't he' tale between his move from Arsenal to Barcelona but finally, Newcastle landed their man - left back Mathieu Debuchy. Debuchy impressed with his performances for both former club Lille and for the French international team during Euro 2012, and I really rate this player. He's solid at the back, but he's also great at attacking and getting forward with his team - your perfect left-back so to speak. I'll tip him to impress in the Premiership - really is a top player.

5. Demba Ba
Signed to Chelsea from Newcastle United. £7m

I do feel sorry for Newcastle fans by the way Ba acted but hey, at least it wasn't as bad as Peter Odemwingie! Demba Ba has proved himself as a profilic goal-scorer in the Premier League, and he's your typical centre forward - powerful, good in the air and he has that goal scoring instinct. He'll do well at Chelsea - how long he'll stay there is anyone's guess - and he'll provide good competition for Fernando Torres. He's the striker Chelsea needs up front to replace the big hole Didier Drogba left. 
   

 Who is your top five transfer deals? Were you happy with who your club signed? Drop a comment below!

Les Miserables review

Review time! 

So in between my rather busy schedule recently, I (of course) just had to make time to see Les Miserables hit the big screen and I'll tell you simply now - I was blown away. 

Here's the trailer before, and caution - there are spoilers beyond it...

So I'll make a little confession before I start... Before I went and watched this film, I actually hadn't seen Les Mis before. I KNOW, I'M SORRY! But like most people, I had of course heard the majority of the songs and I had watched a little bit of my Mum's tenth anniversary DVD with her. But that was all my knowledge of Les Miserables expanded to.

So for my first time ever seeing Les Mis all the way through, I can tell you now I loved every second of it. I found the story was relatively easy to follow - probably a little easier than I may have done on the stage. Although the ending is sad (incredibly sad may I add), I left the cinema so happy because I was just blown away by what I had just watched; no wonder it has been nominated for so many awards, and any award it does win, will be fully deserved.

The cast was a stellar, blockbuster cast that you'd expect with a big film such as this, easily one of the many anticipated films to come out recently. Hugh Jackman was wonderful as the lead of Jean Valjean, displaying his versatility and talent within not just his singing voice, but also his acting. It was a wonderful performance; however, I feel that Jackman didn't have the best voice of the cast. I'd give this award to Eddie Redmayne, though I suppose it's hardly surprising with Redmayne having ample experience on the Broadway and West End. But his voice was to perfection, and I felt Redmaybe played Marius wonderfully - this performance has definitely proved he is one to look out for in the future. The women of the cast were equally as fantastic - Anne Hathway's rendition of 'I Dreamed A Dream' was beautiful enough to give anyone goosebumps, and Amanda Seyfried displayed her singing talent very well, despite having a lesser role. Even Helen Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen were hiliarious as the Thenardiers, a wonderfully cast pairing.

I mean, even Russell Crowe wasn't bad! I thought his singing voice was not too shabby at all - his performance of Javert was actually one of my favourite performances in the film, displaying the ruthless and cold persona you'd expect from his character. He and Jackman worked together very well, the relationship between their characters was very well exploited. So before you slate him, please take a look at the video underneath and remind yourselves of Pierce Bronson 'singing' in Mamma Mia.

Just so I thought.

Full credit must go to the producers and the director, Brit Tom Hooper, for the wonderful cinematography provided throughout the entire film. The beginning scene with the prisoners pulling the ship, to the ending scene with the entire cast who had deceased in the film singing "Do You Hear The People Sing?". Just stunning.

Rating out of 10 - I'd give it 9/10. I really couldn't find any flaws to this masterpiece and I for one, will be hoping it sweeps the board at the BAFTA's on Sunday. Bravo! 

Look out soon for more trailer reviews and for you Football fans, my top five transfer window deals - coming soon to a computer screen near you!

New year, new challenges

Helloooo everyone!

Many apologises for the lack of posts on this blog, but as you're about to find out, I've been hugely busy the last few weeks... oh the life of a Journo student!

As you may be aware, I'm currently studying Multimedia Journalism for my degree and as part of our course, we are encouraged to take up work experience. Anyone who knows the world of Journalism, gaining experience is hugely important. It's a great way of gaining contacts, becoming familiar of that environment of working and it looks great on your CV to future employers. It's so important - my Uni tutor hasn't got off my back nagging to complete some!

A couple of weeks back, I completed two weeks work experience at football magazine FourFourTwo. For my first proper placement, it was perfect - I love football, so to spend two weeks writing about a sport I play and love was great. And to make things better, some of my work got recently published in the latest issue of the magazine, as well as a news story also published online. I loved every minute of it, and left after the two weeks supremely happy.

But my work experience was not to end there! I emailed the editor I kept in contact with at FourFourTwo once I got back to University, thanking him for the opportunity and asking if I could come back in the Summer months to complete some more experience. What I didn't expect was an reply back asking if I was interested in completeing another two weeks work experience the following week, at another magazine run by the same publication - Haymarket. This magazine was What Hi Fi - at first I was a little unsure admittedly; I'd only just gone back to University and wanted to spend time back there with friends and carry on with my studies yet, this was another fantastic opportunity. So I said yes, and low and behold, I'm currently sitting in the What Hi Fi office, writing this blog whilst doing work with FourFourTwo just down the corridor. Again, I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience (despite being ill with the Flu the last few days, and trains being delayed every day) and I'm so glad I decided to do this. Furthermore, I am receiving pay for this so I guess this kind of makes me a freelance Journalist. Awesome.

It's also been so nice to spend more time at home; before the Christmas holidays, I didn't go home as much as I did last year, preferring to work more at my job down there but also it's always nice to spend time with my friends at University. However, I found myself pining for home - particularly after New York - so it's nice being home and being to catch up with friends who are also away studying in different parts of the country at Christmas, and see my family. I've also been able to play football more back home over the last few weeks - albeit only training, having only played one whole game of football due to the snow arriving and the adverse rain! But it has been nice - it'll be weird going back to University again and getting back into the swing of things, and dealing with new assignments. Oh joy...

So that's just about my round up of the last few weeks for me - I did go and see Les Miserables in the cinema in between all that, so I shall write a review for that soon - I SHALL!

I'd also like to thank everyone - because you guys - yes YOU - this blog has received over 1,000 views! Yippee! Thank you all so much, it is such a comfort to know that people are actually reading my ramblings.

Take care, and watch out for my review of Les Miserables heading to a computer screen near you!

The crazy world of Football

Ah Football. What a crazy world it has become; we've seen chickens and cats invade pitches before, we've seen fans run onto the pitch to attack players... but never have we seen a player sent off for kicking a ball-boy.

Yep, you red that right - last night during Chelsea's League Cup semi-final away against Swansea, midfielder Eden Hazard was sent off. Why? Because he kicked a ball-boy. Never has this happened in the beautiful game. This could quite possibly be the most bizarre sending off ever to occur on the pitch, but I feel Chris Foy had no option but to send Hazard to an early bath. I mean, the ball-boy didn't help matters; he decided to lay on the ball, prompting Hazard to try poke at it with his foot. A swift little kick and the boy was sent sprawling, chaos erupting. Both were in the wrong - the ball-boy should have just returned the ball, Hazard should have kept a clear head.

But it is downright bizarre, and it's not the only bizarre sending off the game has seen.

Eric Cantona - Eric 'the King' Cantona was not so high and mighty during a game between Crystal Palace and Manchester United. Cantona was already being sent off for kicking out at Palace defender Richard Shaw, and decide to launch 'kung-fu' style at Palace fan Matthew Simmons. This resulted in a 8 month ban for Cantona, and him almost quitting United.

Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer - A very bizarre incident between the then team-mates; Newcastle were nearing the end of a 3-0 thrashing at home by Aston Villa, when a brawl broke out between the pair, causing stunned team-mates and opposition players to seperate them. Dyer was banned for three matches, whilst Bowyer was banned for four - it was judged he had been the aggressor. Not sure how they figured that one out.

Arsene Wenger - during Arsenal's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United back in 2008, Arsene Wenger was seen gleefully celebrating what he thought was an equalising goal by Robin Van Persie - which was then disallowed. Of course outraged, Arsene decides to vent his anger by kicking a water bottle, who is promptly sent to the stands by ref Mike Dean. For kicking a water bottle. Oh deary me.

Esteban Alvarado - AZ Alkmaar goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado was sent off for kicking a fan that tried to attack him. An Ajax fan ran onto the pitch whilst the two sides were contesting a last-16 tie in the Dutch Cup and attempted to kick the keeper - only for Esteban to trip the offender up and land a few kicks himself. Despite protesting his innocence, the ref showed the goalkeeper the red card and in pure anger, AZ Alkmaar's manager ordered his players off the field, resulting in the game being abandoned.

Oh the wonderful and crazy world of Football.

Your thoughts? Remember any other bizarre sending offs? Drop a comment below if you may!

Films to watch out for in 2013!

First of all - happy new year one and all! Hope 2013 is a great year for you all.

And with a new year comes a new lot of films being released of course! I cannot wait, and 2013 is shaping up to be a good year for the film industry once more. So here is my quick guide for the films to look out nex- I mean this year!

• Iron Man 3 - the return of Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man is hugely anticipated, and the trailers so far promise to be an excellent journey with the self-confessed billionaire, genius and playboy all rolled into one. In Iron Man 3, we see Tony Stark's (RDJ) whole world as he knows it threatened by new villain the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), as he battles also his own personal demons. The trailer seems to show a certainly different and more subdued side of Tony Stark, and I for one cannot wait to see this film. Out in UK cinemas on the 26th of April and USA cinemas on the 3rd of May.

•  Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters - this story is said to be promising gore and comedy, and previously I did not quite what to think due to the trailers. But if your into fantasy and a certainly different twist on a old fairy-tale, then this is the film for you. Starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton, the cast is certainly hopeful of becoming a potentially good film if that is what you are interested in. It may be hit and miss, but hopefully the talents of both leads will carry this film through if needed be. Out in UK cinemas on the 22nd of February and USA cinemas on the 25th of January.

• The Impossible - This film tells the despairing true story of a family separated during the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand, who all survive and so begin a desperate search to be reunited with one another. Starring the marvellous Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, this tale promises to be emotional which will tug at the heart-strings of many but which will hopefully be heart-warming too. Definitely one to watch. Out now in both UK and USA cinemas.

• Oblivion - This upcoming science fiction film stars Tom Cruise as drone repairman Jack Harper, after Earth was evacuated following a war with an alien kind. However after rescuing a female who seems to know him, he faces a whole host of questions and the very survival of humanity is then laid in his hands. It certainly looks very interesting, and the fact that the director also happens to be the same man who wrote the book (Joesph Kosinski) will bode well for the film. Well worth a watch if you like sci-fi. Out in UK and USA cinemas on the 12th of April.

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - next installment in the Hunger Games trilogy is set to be released this year and it promises just to be as great and as jam-packed with action as the first film was. Based on the second book by Suzanne Collins, Katniss and Peeta are determined to prove that their actions in the arena was not to spark a rebellion, but with the 75th Hunger Games coming up, will the President of Panem punish them even more? Starring the fantastic Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, if the film is anything to go as a great as the book then we'll be in for a treat. Out in UK and USA cinemas on the 22nd of November.

Also watch out for films such as Man of Steel, Anchorman: The Legend Continues, Monsters University and many more!

Let me know what you think, and hope you all have a great 2013 once more!