Deflation, humiliation and elation: Everton’s 2021/22 Season

by Shaun Gray

Thursday night’s dramatic 3-2 comeback from Everton at Goodison Park against Crystal Palace stunted the universal rhetoric that Everton were destined for relegation this season. Admittedly, at times this was a very real possibility. The Toffees’ shortcomings have been pronounced all season long: a lack of defensive cohesion, plagued with individual errors leading to goals and abject when facing opposition set-pieces. Crystal Palace incessantly exposed that Bermuda Triangle of frailty in the first-half. A first-half that flirted with 10 minutes of fan-inspired optimism followed by being faced with a nigh on impossible prospect of cancelling out a 2-0 deficit at the interval. Heroics from Michael Keane, Richarlison and the rejuvenated Dominic Calvert-Lewin simultaneously quelled and reassured Everton supporters who had endured nothing short of a turbulent season.

One glaring point of contention is that viewpoint that Frank Lampard’s appointment has resulted in stalemate, he started his tenure in 16th and ended in 16th. Granted, if you are an outsider and look at this in isolation without any understanding of wider context, fair enough, it seems an uninspired appointment. However, coming into a football club that had won 3 of their last 18 games in all competitions was no simple task. Confidence was rock bottom, the ground atmosphere was abysmal and collective belief was that relegation was looming. Rafa Benitez ended his reign as manager of Everton Football Club at the foot of many statistical tables, serving to highlight the degenerative influence the controversial figurehead imposed over the club. Lets be frank, Lampard hasn’t miraculously cured years of financial mismanagement, poor recruitment and injury-prone personnel. Promisingly, what cannot be discounted is how much he has bought into the club ethos, he has instilled togetherness in the fan base and revitalised heavily maligned performers such as Alex Iwobi, who has arguably been our best player since Lampard took over. The notion that Everton’s manager ‘gets’ the club has been almost an unwritten requisite of the duty for decades. Ironically, this is something the board at Everton have got wrong consistently since Roberto Martinez was relieved of his duties in May 2016.

Roberto Martinez during Everton’s 5-2 defeat against Dinamo Kyiv in March 2015 in the last-16 of the Europa League.

When you’ve got such a close-knit, historic football rivalry, (more so in proximity than in current footballing terms) appointing a manager who had once taken perch at Liverpool and croaked disdain towards the blue-half of Merseyside previously was always going to be met with a frosty reception. Everton fans live and breath their club and the culture of it. The cultural identity of Rafa Benitez was more pantomime villain, an absolute dichotomy with the perceived ‘ideal’ Everton manager. Alas, I do believe some supporters will have warmed to the idea when he won 3 of his first 4 Premier League games. What followed was a myriad of woe; Benitez became the manifestation of years of erroneous leadership of the club. Players earning inflated wages weren’t earning their keep, some weren’t available for selection enough simply because their torrid injury history clearly wasn’t identified by club scouts before their signings and Rafa isolated fan favourites James Rodriguez and Luca Digne who were darlings of the Carlo Ancelotti regime. The latter factor was inexplicable and arguably was the main cause of the poor goalscoring output this season (43) as Everton have been a toothless force that have massively lacked creativity and end-product. For Everton supporters, it was catharsis when now 20th placed Norwich comfortably defeated the Blues, resulting in the removal of Benitez’s borrowed robes as the King of Everton’s dugout. To think, reputable journalist and close friend of Rafa Benitez, Guillem Balague’s very vocal scrutiny on Twitter of the board’s decision and the fan’s reaction to Rafa’s appointment is one of the most fruitless displays of nepotism witnessed in recent history.

Rafa Benitez: Arguably one of the worst managerial appointments in Everton history.

Spirits certainly began to raise after Alex Iwobi’s very, very late strike against Newcastle as the Toffees stuttered their resurgence under Eddie Howe. A series of chaotic and shambolic displays followed against Palace in the FA Cup and West Ham and fellow relegation fodder Burnley. At this stage, survival looked rather bleak with confidence levels again at rock-bottom. In many ways, it seemed befitting that Manchester United, who draw many disastrous defensive parallels in the upper-half of the table to Everton afforded victory thanks to a deflected Anthony Gordon effort. It was an almost uncharacteristically, resolute defensive display from the Toffees though. A late equaliser from Richarlison at the death against Leicester at home continued to repair damaged morale collectively. Predictably though, Liverpool took the spoils at Anfield despite every unsporting attempt to derail their superiority across the park. The pundit autopsy afterwards was cutting and critical of Everton, laughably so as the same spokespeople of the major broadcasters often herald Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid as ingenious despite evident similarity in styles. Double standards. Given the fixtures ahead of Everton and actually now sitting in a relegation spot in 18th, nervous energy was paramount among the loyal yet outwardly pessimistic following.

Dogged and resilient wins against Chelsea at home and Leicester away followed which appeared to ease some concerns in the most unlikeliest of circumstances. A win against Watford would have secured safety but rather inevitably, Everton limped to a 0-0 draw: Watford’s first point at home since battering Man United 4-1 in November. Dialogue certainly sparked after the controversial Brentford fixture, Richarlison and his blue cohort were outraged after a penalty appeal was turned down that almost certainly would have changed the tide of the game had that penalty been awarded and subsequently converted. In typical Everton fashion, Brentford were the beneficiaries of a decision to send the young, inexperienced Jarrad Branthwaite off who was the unfortunate Everton casualty of a cynical foul to combat a Brentford counter, directly after the shirt-pulling debacle in Brentford’s penalty area. Defeat came with anxiety levels raised as the Palace fixture loomed with memories of Patrick Vieira’s side giving Everton the runaround in the previous two encounters in the Premier League and FA Cup respectively. If the dismal first-half against Crystal Palace was anything to go off, pre-match nerves were wholly justified. What struck a chord the most was the nature of the final result – a group of players whose prior natural stasis was to be perilous to submission in high-stake, pressure situations – demonstrating an impertinent level of guile, vigor and substance that had been absent all season long. Any semblance of this was reverted to type once more against Arsenal at the Emirates on the final-day. A stark reminder that Lampard cannot rest on his laurels and that some serious work must be done in the summer.

Frank Lampard: Job done but a summer overhaul needed.

In the aftermath of Thursday’s win against Palace, a lot was said of the fans bursting onto the pitch. Most comments appeared to snarl in the face of the euphoria demonstrated by the Everton’s fans – mooting that many were behaving like ‘they had won the league’. If relief that Premier League status is secured after an emphatic comeback is akin to celebrating a Premier League title then I’m sure Manchester City supporters who’ve seen the best and worse days for their club will be able to relate to this release of emotion. Views of that ilk are peddled by the ignorant who are increasingly fixated on the elitism at the top of the league. Arguably, this is a much wider issue in which football itself serves as a microcosm of the economic dynamics of the world, the wealthiest, most successful clubs dominate the media spotlight whereas very little credence or interest is taken in the clubs who don’t repeatedly achieve European finishes in their respective leagues. The undertones of said notion have been bubbling for a long-time on social media platforms and it quite blatantly dominates the press in this country. Wealth and most importantly the implementation of said wealth under a carefully planned recruitment structure is what is creating such a division between ‘elite’ clubs and the rest, in many ways this is why so many soulless cronies banded together to form a ‘Super League’ last year. Manchester City and Liverpool will continue to pull away from the rest of the league in that regard. Success is subjective. Success for those two (Premier League and Champions League wins, domestic cup domination) will always greatly contrast with the perceived success of Leeds and Everton this season who escaped relegation by a whisker. Expectations vastly differ. Premier League prize money is success within itself considering how plentiful it is for those who compete in the division. If you’re criticising celebrating survival in a division, chances are you support a club that has never had the displeasure of being involved in a relegation battle. Not every club can win a league year-in, year-out. Holistically, Everton will understandably see this season as an underwhelming and hugely disappointing season but the overarching point that must be made is that it was imperative that they survived in the Premier League as any blip could have potentially derailed ambitious plans to relocate to Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium at the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

2021/21 Premier League Table: Bitter sweet for the Toffees.

Supporting Everton in the last 20 years yields a degree of acceptance that upheaval is part of the deal. Fighting for a European place has historically been met with some murmurs of discontent, even under the guidance of a pillar of consistency in David Moyes while narrowly avoiding relegation this campaign will understandably result in more prevalent criticism and condemnation of the club and the hierarchy above the manager’s remit. Everton fans are difficult to please as whole, as are many supporters of clubs with such gargantuan histories prior to the modern-Premier League era. Although Frank Lampard’s appointment was met with some apprehension, with many coining the decision ‘the best of a bad bunch’, Lampard has proven himself to be a real statesman and exemplar of ‘The People’s Club’. On merit for his role in uniting the evidently devoted romantics of the club, he should be given license, alongside newly appointed director of football, Kevin Thelwell to develop a strategic model for the club that embeds a longer-term vision in order to reinvigorate a squad of players that is ageing, overpaid and mentally fragile at times.

Following Aitor Karanka’s sacking would Nigel Pearson, Guus Hiddink or Steve Agnew be the best Middlesbrough manager?

News broke this morning that Aitor Karanka had been relieved of his position as Middlesbrough’s head coach. Without a league win since December, Boro find themselves languishing 19^th with 11 games left to play. Steve Agnew has temporarily been placed in charge, with himself, Nigel Pearson or Guus Hiddink being viewed as the bookies’ favourites (Paddy Power) to replace Karanka on a permanent basis.

In what was an extremely dignified farewell statement from Karanka to Middlesbrough supporters, the controversial figure of Nigel Pearson would be viewed as the wildcard to take the job. His great escape in 2014/15 with Leicester after being bottom at Christmas may be enough for Boro’s board to take the risk.

Guus Hiddink steadied the ship at Chelsea last season following Jose Mourinho’s capitulation at the helm. With 11 games left and 3 points from safety, Hiddink would have enough time to steer Middlesbrough to safety.

Seen as somewhat of an outsider beyond Pearson and Hiddink, Steve Agnew will be looking to replicate Craig Shakespeare’s exploits at Leicester. Getting a result at home to Manchester United on Sunday could see the Boro board opt to follow Leicester’s blueprint.

Where Karanka failed, either one of these candidates will be looking to take the initiative. Using Football Manager 2017, three different saves have been simulated to determine who would have been the best choice given a full season in charge at the Riverside Stadium.

With Nigel Pearson in charge, Middlesbrough finished 12^th. Despite losing 19 games, Boro chalked up enough victories to secure an impressive league position. Bernardo was the the standout performer, proving to be a pillar of consistency at the back with his 7.03 average rating. They exited early from the EFL Cup but Pearson guided them to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Despite Guus Hiddink’s two success stories as interim manager at Chelsea, his season at Middlesbrough was a disaster as they finished 19^th. He lost only one more league game compared to Pearson but the Dutchman couldn’t find a winning formula. A run of 12 games without a win at the end of the season sealed Middlesbrough’s relegation. Calum Chambers flourished in a faltering team that went out in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively in the EFL and FA cups. Hiddink did however surprisingly keep his job.

Middlesbrough’s faith in Steve Agnew was vindicated as he marginally avoided relegation by finishing 17^th. Agnew struggled for wins like Hiddink and lost the same amount of games as Pearson. His run of losing the final four games of the season gave Boro a scare but fortunately relegated Southampton couldn’t get a victory to save themselves. Calum Chambers once again sent a message to parent club Arsenal with a 7.46 average rating. The most remarkable factor in this save was Agnew going on to win the FA Cup and therefore securing a place in the Europa League.

The results showed that that Pearson’s know-how at clubs in similar circumstances to Middlesbrough was invaluable and Agnew delivered a trophy in his first senior managerial role. Hiddink on the other hand couldn’t repeat his fortunes from his stints at Chelsea.

Originally published at The Higher Tempo Press on March 16, 2017

What would happen if all the top six had N’Golo Kante?

What if N’Golo Kante played for all Premier League teams in the top six?

Heralded as the lynchpin in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield, N’Golo Kante has been at the forefront of the club’s resurgence. After a dismal campaign in 2015/16 that saw the Blues finish 10th in the Premier League, the Frenchman has proven to be perfect foil to allow Chelsea’s forwards to thrive. In the vein in which Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez excelled in front of the diminutive Kante during Leicester’s title-winning campaign, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard have rekindled the potency they showed when Chelsea had their last taste of silverware in 2014/15.

Frank Lampard even went as far as labelling Kante ‘the best central midfielder in the world’ following his winning goal against Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday. Given his meteoric rise in the last two seasons, how would he fair in the rest of the Premier League sides in the top six sides?

Eden Hazard said Kante covers that much ground that it appears he has a twin, well, for the sake of this experiment on Football Manager 2017, there are six of him! Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham were all given a Kante clone during a simulated 2016/17 season. Transfer budgets in the first transfer window were disabled so each team had to use their playing personnel from the 17.3.0 update.

As Arsenal attempted to sign the 25-year-old last season, it was fitting that they would end up eventual title winners. Although he was limited to 10 starts in the Premier League, he averaged 4.96 tackles per game which was significantly better than his 3.6 average for Chelsea so far this season. It is worth noting though that 16 other players far exceeded Idrissia Gueye’s real-life league best of 4.4 (according to WhoScored). Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla were often preferred in the central midfield positions. Arsenal finished the season as treble winners as they won the EFL Cup and the Champions League. Kante gave an impressive 8.0 performance in the EFL Cup final but remained on the bench for their Champions League final win.

Liverpool followed in second with Kante mostly rotated with Emre Can in partnering Jordan Henderson in midfield. He finished the season with 8 assists in 17 starts whereas his average rating was below-par due to numerous substitute appearances. His tackles averaged per game were again high at 5.05.

Where Kante struggled for game time at Arsenal and Liverpool, he continued the trend at Manchester City. The Citizens finished third in late drama that saw Liverpool leapfrog them on the closing day of the season. Playing a predominantly defensive midfield role, Kante again showed his effectiveness at breaking up play with 5.12 tackles averaged per game. His distance covered per 90 mins was also second in the overall leader board.

Fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur were also unwilling to give Kante a key role. Combined with two lengthy injuries that disrupted his season, he had to settle for 12 starts in the league, from an attacking standpoint he contributed well in the final third as he made 5 assists. His defensive qualities were again high with 4.92 tackles won per game.

In a disappointing season for Manchester United that saw them finish in fifth, Kante was a star performer with a 7.25 average rating. That score was at least 0.3 higher than any other Kante in the experiment. He started 36 games in the Premier League and had a league best of 6.56 tackles won per game. His attacking contributions were limited as he played in defensive midfield but his distance covered in total and per game were in the top five in the league.

What was an improvement from the previous season but far mirroring the form showed in real life, Chelsea found themselves finishing in sixth. In contrast, Kante provided 13 assists for his teammates with 4.97 tackles won per game. His distance covered per game was a league best and he finished second to only Gylfi Sigurdsson in total distance covered.

Lauded for his defensive capability, his highlighted attributes reflect his strengths that contributed to his consistency in scoring highly in average tackles made and distance covered per game.

The findings show that Kante managed to contribute in some way, shape or form to propelling Chelsea’s top six rivals ahead of them. With more manipulated variables, it would have been interesting to see the league finishes had he played a larger majority of each side’s league campaign.

Originally published at The Higher Tempo Press on March 17, 2017

 

Logan Review: Hugh Jackman’s last stab as Wolverine

Logan is an expletive f*ck-fest from the word go. Deadpool’s success at the box office opened the door for Fox to commission an R-rated Wolverine to finally hit the big screen. This is the resentful, foul-mouthed, beer drinking Logan that die-hard Marvel comic book fans were crying out for since the original X-Men film in 2000. The risque R-rating gave Hugh Jackman free-reign to really hone his claws for what was already a firmly established role in his career.

James Mangold orchestrates a Wolverine film that manages to capture the true spirit of the comic book character whilst still maintaining a world that is realistic. In the 2008 comic Old Man Logan, Logan is insistent that ‘Wolverine is dead’ as he refuses to use his claws – it is very prominent from the opening scene that the film did not take this direction. How could they? Wolverine losing his trademark ability to slice through flesh like a hot knife cutting through butter, it would be blasphemous. Relative to staying true to comic canon, due to Marvel Studios and Sony owning the licensing rights to the various characters involved in the original Old Man Logan plot, it would have been impossible to replicate it exactly without multi-million crossover agreements.

Hugh Jackman in Wolverine (2013) / Credit: Icaro Ferracini

Greying and withered in his advancing years, Logan is worse for wear from from the adamantium coating his skeleton (which previously made him indestructible) that is now poisoning him. He drives a limo to earn his keep and seeks a life at sea with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who now has dementia and consequently cannot control his powers. Not all is plain sailing as a young female mutant called Laura (Dafne Keen) arrives at their compound, tailed by the heinous research group that created her as part of a soldier program. They want to kill her and other test subjects that fled their facility.

The plot revolves around Laura needing Logan’s help to unite with the other test subjects and get across the Canadian border to safety. The plot does seem to unravel rapidly and particularly leaves you emotionally attached to their journey. Although context is given to the whereabouts of other X-Men characters, the film could have utilised some screen time better to fill some visual gaps between X-Men Days of Future Past and Logan. However, that gripe points more towards the jumping back and forth of the timeline in previous X-Men films.

Even though the film is rife with violence and expletives, it blends these moments seamlessly with poignant dialogue. Subtly, one of Logan’s finest segments is embedded in a monologue from Stewart to Jackman in a sudden lucid moment of realisation he has in spite of his dementia.

Stewart and Jackman synergise on-screen perfectly, years of reprising their roles have culminated into moments to cherish in Logan. The former delivers the most light-hearted moments in the film, contrasting with Jackman’s often serious tones. The Aussie will get all of the plaudits but Stewart’s performance was one of his finest as Professor Xavier.

Mangold and his team delivered brilliant CGI to age Jackman, not to mention snippets we see of a more youthful looking Logan. The latter techniques were used in X-Men Last Stand to similar effect with Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen.

One of the most compelling undertones of the plot is how Logan is handling age and not being as capable and ferocious as he once was years prior to the 2029 setting. A mutant who once could never die is now coming to terms of death being a possibility.

Logan is a gritty experience from start to finish, drawing more similarities to Marvel’s Daredevil Netflix series than any other cinematic superhero film to date. Fox’s decision to experiment with their formula, alongside a Western-esque structure, has been vindicated in what is a refreshing ‘superhero’ film. A far-cry from the feel-good superhero movies developed by Marvel Studios.

The main downside to the film is that by the time the credits are rolling, there is a sudden realisation that this is Hugh Jackman’s last stint as Wolverine. Jackman has rightly been heralded as Fox’s saving grace in what has been a whimpering X-Men franchise. Logan was a fitting send-off for an actor who has made the character his own.

How to Deal With Internet Trolls

Credit: Martin Alleus

Trolls used to lurk under bridges, supposedly. Nowadays they are too busy wreaking havoc across social media platforms. Of course, these are internet trolls and not the mythical creatures.

Whether they are antagonizing on a Facebook status, making derogatory comments on an Instagram post or abusing public figures on Twitter; their existence is a nuisance.

Usually they operate under pseudonyms to disguise their true identities, a cowardly approach given the essence of their behaviour.

Understanding why you might be a target

Many social media and forum users have succumb to acts of harassment, abuse and ridicule without provocation. Some are easy bait, at least that’s how trolls look at them. In 2015, former WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan retweeted and replied to Twitter users who falsely claimed to be black celebrities during his racism scandal. Naivety on Hogan’s part maybe but this instance reflects how easy it is to be targeted by trolls, brother.

https://twitter.com/Jackel_Ramzilla/status/625633688877989888

@Jackel_Ramzilla yo Jiggy thank u only love my brothers HH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) July 27, 2015

As social media and the internet as a whole are grounds for expression, it can be wise to re-evaluate posts that you put in the public eye. Before publishing, ask yourself, why am I posting this? Will I get offended if someone replies with an inflammatory comment?

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow for restrictive privacy settings but without those, your posts are open to the world. Being wary of how a stranger may construe your post is invaluable, especially if it is thought provoking.

Establishing an Anti-Troll Protocol

If you are putting yourself out there in the first place, it would be sensible to create a rational way of dealing with potential trolls. You can’t account for when they will turn up but you can impose guidelines for when they do.

As a journalism graduate, I learnt a lot about ethics and conducting your practice in the correct manner. Applying a code of practice to any platform allows for consistency whereas instinctive reactions can lead to discrepancy.

Most internet web spaces allow for an option to ban or block. If you end up dealing with harassment or torrents of abuse, swinging the ban hammer does the trick.

By the power of Thor’s ban hammer! | Credit: TNS Sofres

Starve the Troll

Public domains continually breed Internet Trolls and their vermin-like behavior, but how do you stop them from getting underneath your skin? By ignoring them. It might sound simple but they want your attention, they feed off of it. Starving the troll of what they desire allows you to save yourself a lot of stress.

Even if they make you question the purpose of your original post, it is YOUR post. You are under no obligation to act hastily and delete it, again, this would show that a troll has got into your head and influenced your decision.

Reasoning

Sometimes you’re dealing with colossally unreasonable beings. But you aren’t one of those, right? If you feel inclined to respond to a troll, getting into a slanging match with a troll is not the answer. Keeping a cool head shows that you aren’t an easy target and reflects a dignified way of conducting yourself to the wider majority. A lot of people stumble across your online personas/content, you don’t want to give the wrong impression.

You don’t have to be a bold Billy Goat to deal with an Internet Troll, you can flush them downstream and away from your social media profiles with these quick tips.

Bury 2-2 York City, 20th December 2014

By Shaun Gray at the JD Stadium

BURY looked to be in pole position to win their first game in seven after taking a 2-0 lead at home to York City but the Shakers were left shaking their heads as the visitors pegged two goals back for a share of the spoils.

The home-side were dominant for long-periods of the game until nerves got the better of them.

It was the first time this season that Bury had let a two goal lead slip as their poor run of form continued at the JD Stadium.

David Flitcroft said: “I’ve got to sit down and look at why we’ve not got three points for these fans today.”

The fans were left disgruntled as boos echoed around the ground following the final-whistle.

To add insult to injury, Flitcroft bemoaned how his match preparations earlier in the week were focused on maintaining winning scorelines.

“We’ve talked about seeing out games this week, we can’t give teams hope. At 2-1 it was uncomfortable. We have improved but our Achilles heel (defensive errors) has come back to haunt us today,” said Flitcroft.

Despite their lapses in defence, Bury were at full throttle in front of goal as midfielder Andrew Tutte opened the scoring with a long-range deflected effort.

The former Manchester City youth graduate demonstrated the desire and urgency going forward that had been missing from Bury in recent weeks.

Optimistic after the game, Tutte said: “The good thing about football is that there’s always another game coming up to put things right.”

Before the game, York City were seemingly in favoured territory as they have only won away from home this season.

The travelling supporters were in a buoyant mood at the start of the game as the Minstermen looked to get their fourth league victory of the season to get them clear of the relegation places.

York found the opposition playing right into their hands in the opening exchanges as Bury started hesitantly with York having the better of the play.

Right-winger Michael Coulson took advantage of some sloppiness in possession from Bury but the Shakers were let-off as Coulson over-hit his square ball to forward Wes Fletcher.

Bury created chances of their own as the first-half wore on, with right-winger Nicky Adams laying the ball off to Danny Nardiello, the former Manchester United striker cut inside from the left but his shot was straight at York goalkeeper Alex Cisak.

On the brink of half-time, York manager Russell Wilcox was left with his head in his hands as left-winger Diego De Girolamo spurned the best opportunity of the half, lashing over from point-blank range.

A shake-up in personnel at the half-time break for Bury saw Flitcroft replace injured centre-half Pablo Mills with full-back Chris Hussey as Bury went from playing 3-5-2 in the first-half to 4-4-2 in the second.

Defenders were having the better of proceedings at both ends of the field, particularly York’s loanee Stephane Zubar who was also once of Bury.

His untouchable performance was to be blemished on the hour mark as Tutte’s slaloming run forward followed by a strike at goal deflected off the Frenchmen and past Cisak to make it 1-0 to Bury.

Bury continued with the same poise that got them in front moments later as they doubled their lead.

Half-time substitute Hussey delivered a menacing ball from a free-kick that found the head of Nardiello to score.

Bury’s exuberant celebrations were short-lived however as York broke forward on the right through Coulson, who whipped a cross to the unmarked Jake Hyde who headed in his fifth league goal of the season.

The comeback was completed when midfielder Kelvin Etuhu gave away a cheap free-kick on the edge of Bury’s box, opposition midfielder Luke Summerfield showed no mercy by firing it past the wall and the dubious Shwan Jalal in goal.

Not short of endeavour in their push for victory, Bury could not break down York’s stronghold in defence as the pair ended the game with a point apiece.

With Bury’s next game being played on Boxing Day, the Bury faithful will be hoping for no Christmas hangover as the Shakers look to get back to winning ways.

Man of the Match: Andrew Tutte had the home fans in raptures with his opener and his overall contribution was invaluable on the day too.

Bury (3-5-2): Jalal, El-Abd, Cameron, Mills (Hussey 45), Jones, Mayor (Hope 71), Tutte, Etuhu, Adams, Lowe (Rose 84), Nardiello

Booked: Mills (26), Cameron (42)

York (4-4-2): Cisak, Halliday, Ilesanmi, Zubar, Lowe, Coulson, De Girolamo, Summerfield, Penn, Fletcher, Hyde

Booked: Ilesanmii (32), Summerfield (82)

Referee: Mark Haywood

Attendance: 3,313 (557 visitors)

Bury 0-2 Dagenham & Redbridge, 28th November 2014

By Shaun Gray at The JD Stadium

BURY huffed and puffed but could not blow the house down as Dagenham and Redbridge’s defence held firm to make it two straight wins for the Daggers and condemn Bury to four straight defeats.

The Shakers created chances but lacked the cutting edge in-front of goal as Dagenham sealed a 2-0 victory at the JD Stadium.

David Flitcroft said: “Our level of quality was poor and we made poor decisions. We are not finishing off teams when we are on top.”

Finishing prior to the game had not been an issue with forwards Danny Rose, Ryan Lowe and Daniel Nardiello having scoring 19 between them.

However, David Flitcroft’s match preparations were affected by Hallam Hope being unavailable for a third consecutive game, despite recovering from the injury that initially had sidelined him.

“Hallam had a horrendous bout of food poisoning at the end of the week, so we were robbed of him today,” said Flitcroft.

The Everton loanee may not have been available but there was more than enough firepower in attack at Flitcroft’s disposal.

Goalscoring is something that is not a concern to Dagenham striker Jamie Cureton however, the 39 year-old took his all-time tally to 260 in his 21st football league season.

That landmark was looking unlikely for long periods of the game but one moment of class sent a flurry of Bury supporters to leave the stadium at 2-0.

Prior to this, Bury started with urgency but lacked the final ball to cause Dagenham’s back three any real problems.

Debutant Adam El-Abd summed up Bury’s first-half performance with constant long-balls forward that repeatedly ended up in goalkeeper’s Mark Cousins grasp.

Cousins, despite being a bystander for long-periods of the game, would have been proud of his defence who were resilient in front of him.

On the other hand, Bury’s defence did not have a great deal to do in the first half as Dagenham failed to create many notable chances.

The home-side had most of the play and thought they had taken the lead when Danny Rose’s sliding effort hit the back of the net but the fan’s joy proved to be premature as the linesman raised his flag for offside.

The second-half seemed to be going in a similar direction when Bury hit the crossbar from Daniel Nardiello’s free header.

That status quo was turned on its head when an unmarked Oye Obileye’s headed across goal to half-time substitute Alex Jakubiak who poked home on his debut for the Daggers.

Bury then thought they had replied instantly to Dagenham’s opener when Nardiello had the ball in the back of the net, only for the linesman again to correctly rule the goal out for offside.

The offside flag is something that Cureton had been seeing just as much as Flitcroft had been seeing wayward passes from his side in the second-period.

Despite Cureton’s best efforts to replicate Filippo Inzaghi’s description as being “born offside”, the veteran striker revelled in his 260th career goal when he swivelled on the ball to angle a strike past the static Bury defence and helpless Robert Lainton.

Bury pushed forward to get back in the game and they almost did when Nathan Cameron’s header cannoned off the crossbar.

Their late surge proved too little too late as the promotion chasers were put out of their misery at the final-whistle.

The table-topping win at home to Burton Albion in September seems a long-time ago now with Bury slipping down to eighth in the league table.

That period was spearheaded by Danny Rose and given the top scorer’s bewildered expression at being hauled off on the hour mark, it seemed to epitomise what is going wrong at Bury at the moment – change and inconsistency.

Rose had been running himself into the ground quite literally up until that point as his jersey was covered in mud, the kind of work-rate that deserved a goal. Nonetheless, Rose was the first change of the afternoon.

Three changes in defence and Scott Loach going back to Rotherham meant Lainton had to deputise in goal, a drastic change from last weekend’s loss to Newport County and lack of cohesion was evident throughout on reflection of the goals conceded.

Man of the Match: Substitute Alex Jakubiak changed the game when he came on at half-time as he infused pace and desire in the Dagenham attacking play.

Bury (4-4-2): Lainton, Jones, Milsom, Cameron, El-Abd, Adams, Mayor, Soares, Etuhu (Tutte 61), Nardiello, Rose (Lowe 61)

Booked: Soares 53, Mayor 59

Dagenham and Redbridge (3-4-1-2): Cousins, Obileye, Doe, Saah, Batt, Hemmings, Labadie, Bingham, Chambers, Cureton (Agyemang 81), Yusuff (Jakubiak 45)

Ref: Andrew Madley

Attendance: 3,042 (88 visitors)

James Frith in bid to reclaim Labour seat in Bury North

Labour leader Ed Miliband was in Bury on April 2 spearheading a strong campaign to be the country’s Prime Minister. Meanwhile, the man chaperoning him, Bury North Labour candidate James Frith is giving his all to rectify the loss of their seat to the Conservative party in 2010.

Self-assured and smart in appearance, James’ focus is pinned on helping the youth of Bury. He owns his own business called All Together which works on tackling unemployment in young people and guiding schoolchildren on future plans.

He said: “We shouldn’t be overlooking our next generation of leaders, entrepreneurs, bosses of taxpayers, inventors, scientists, teachers and civic elected officials.”

James is adamant that Labour will do right by young people if they win the general election.

“We would bring something called labour’s job guarantee, youth’s jobs guarantee, which would be for young men and women who have been unemployed for 6 months or more and that we would be funded by the levian bank on the banker’s bonus.”

James is also of the impression that under the present coalition government, young people have been discarded.

“We think that is a better plan for young people who at the moment risk being overlooked as an economy begins to improve for some but of course those with experience are the first to be hired, those without are the first to be overlooked – you know, this kind of theme of being overlooked is something that speaks to me, I care about.”

He is married to wife Nikki and is a father of two, soon to be three. The 38-year-old has been a member of the labour party for 20 years.

Family ties in the area stem back as far as 100 years ago as his great grandfather was a vicar in Bury. James feels immensely proud of the place of birth of his wife and children.

“I think it is a brilliant place but I think we’ve been underfunded and overlooked and that is why I’m pulling myself up to say I think that we can do better, I think labour has got a better plan nationally and I think we can do better in Bury with a brighter, fairer future as somebody like me and I hope it is me championing our town for the issues that people care about here.”

Despite his assurance in his party and their policies, confidence is not a phrase James would use to describe his thoughts in regards to winning over the people of Bury North come May 7. Optimistic was the word he felt was more suitable in his endeavour to sway undecided voters.

“I have taken great time to speak to thousands and thousands of people since 2010 – 29,000 people since then and just last week, my campaign spoke to 2,500 people,” before adding, “We have a team of people that are working their socks off trying to make a difference through our democracy and our general election fight.”

University fees are also an issue that James feels strongly about. The decision to raise the annual amount from just over £3000 to £9000 was passed in December 2010.

James, without losing eye contact elaborated: “The reality is at the moment, we are saddling young people with £44k of debt unnecessarily and actually that money then isn’t being paid back because we don’t have an economy that is paying high enough wages for that to kick in – so it is a worst of both worlds scenario.”

University is a choice, not a necessity. Understandingly, James feels offering more level three apprenticeships to people who achieve the desired grade requirements is another efficient pathway that allows people to learn and earn money at the same time.

“Actually in some of the most exciting sectors of work, particularly the creative and tech sector, being an apprentice far outweighs as benefit going to university.”

Allowing 16 and 17 year olds the ability to vote over the coming years, if elected, is firmly placed in the Labour party’s manifesto.

“This government has been so diabolical for young people is in part because they don’t have an elected voice or an electoral voice.

“I think that is something we have to address.”

Away from life at his Labour office desk on Bolton Street in Bury, James spent time in Nelson Mandela’s South Africa and Romania after the collapse of communism. Those particular experiences left him inspired.

“I came back super-charged with a belief that politics can change lives.”

Changing lives is exactly what James will be hoping he will have the power to do in Bury after the results of the general election on May 7.

[This article was written in May 2015 for a University module]

‘DJ Love: Wiley’ for Skiddle.com

Published by Skiddle on 19th Feb 2016

With grime in the midst of a meteoric rise, Stormzy and Skepta are flying the flag as the genre inexplicably delves into the mainstream. The resurgence has seen a surge in support for the sound, the rebellious undertones captivating people across the globe, but grime is far from a new flavour, it stems way back to the early noughties when garage was lying on its metaphorical deathbed.

So Solid Crew were at the forefront of it, preparing themselves to pass the baton on as garage took the backseat while Wiley put the key in ignition to accelerate with grime. While other MCs may now be stealing the headlines, there is no denying the influence that Wiley had on them and the grime scene as a whole.

Wiley’s first foray into music came as a 14-year-old on Hackney radio station Chillin FM before branching off onto other pirate radio stations like Rinse in his later teens. His breakthrough came under the pseudonym of Phaze One as his track ‘Nicole’s Groove’ evidenced his flair as a producer, which led to him making waves with garage crews SS Crew, The Ladies Hit Squad and later Pay As U Go Cartel.

As Wiley transitioned from working the decks to spitting lyrics on the microphone, a Top 20 chart hit with ‘Champagne Dance’ was not enough to keep the Pay As U Go Cartel together and alas they separated. This encouraged Wiley to dabble with his own sound, he coined it ‘Eskibeat’, which would later evolve into the grime that we know today.

In the infancy of grime, Wiley formed Roll Deep alongside Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder. The pair are only two notable names that were associated with him, not to mention pop sensation Ed Sheeran and Grime veterans Skepta and Kano. It is testament to Wiley that he has always surrounded himself with artists that have gone on to forge successful careers in the industry. He has always had an eye for talent as he has continuously pushed the careers of others whilst shaping his own legacy.

Our fondest of Wiley moments is a video of a clash against Lethal Bizzle, it’s raw, aggressive, energetic and frenzied. The low quality video footage only further supplemented the nostalgia of the duals. Those type of moment were plentiful at Eskimo Dance and Lord of the Mics (Wiley has since resurrected the former), both of which are legendary in the timeline of grime. Credit must be given to Wiley and Jammer respectively for the creation of such iconic events.

Despite recently entering his late thirties, Wiley has been championing grime with the same youthful exuberance that he had from day one. A true master of his craft, his relentless appetite for producing and lacing lyrics on the microphone have been unparalleled over the years. Ten albums in ten years spanning 2004-2014 speaks volumes about the work ethic of a man at the forefront of the genre.

Although Wiley will go down in grime folklore as a major player in the sound’s inception, his pop cross-over has served to widen his spectrum of appeal. ‘Wearing My Rolex’ was a poignant track that demonstrated his ability to seamlessly transition toward commercial finesse. Where others would normally make their bed, Wiley has always had the nous to alternate between grime and pop bangers as he demonstrated with pop-hit ‘Heatwave’ in 2013 to shades of old school grime with ‘On a Level’ in 2014.

Wiley is to grime what Nas is to hip-hop, an innovator and an inspiration to those who are treading on the path that he created. With a book and a film in the pipeline and an abundance of Eskimo Dance dates coming up, Wiley shows no signs of putting on the breaks.

As Stormzy said, “You have to pay homage to the godfather,” and there is no doubt that his masses of lyrical content will lure in more people to start their grimey love affair with Wiley for years to come.

 

 

‘MUSCLE Dysmorphia has TAKEN OVER my entire life’

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