It's a funny old game...

There are a few topical football issues I wanted to share my opinion on, so decided to return to my blog after yet another long break. To say my blogging is sporadic would be something of an understatement, but anyway here goes...

Firstly, I wanted to touch on the complaint lodged by West Ham regarding Fulham fielding a weakened team. There are plenty of reasons why the complaint should be thrown out without even a second's consideration in my opinion. The obvious points to make are that Roy Hodgson was simply utilising his squad, that any team's 'best eleven' is subjective, changes game to game and is difficult to judge so ruling on such things is near impossible, and that the bigger clubs rest their key players and rotate their squads far more frequently than Fulham so it would be unjust to single them out for punishment just because Mr Sullivan is throwing the toys out of his newly purchased Upton Park pram.

The most significant factor however is that Fulham, enjoying another excellent season given their resources, have accumulated enough points to ensure they have staved off the threat of relegation - the primary objective of all but 7 or 8 Premier League teams at the start of any given season - with games to spare and have thereby earned the right to pick whichever team they see fit for their remaining fixtures. Whether this is a 'weakened' team, and if so if this is, as was the case in this particular scenario, to rest players for a cup tie, or simply to try out new systems and personnel with the following season in mind, is quite frankly irrelevant. If you have amassed so few points that you are embroiled in a relegation battle and relying on other teams to do you a favour you need to look closer to home in order to tackle the real problem.

Of course it should be pointed out that West Ham's manager, Gianfranco Zola, dismissed the complaint made by his seniors claiming that Hodgson had done what was best for his own club, which is what all good managers quite rightly do. The jury is still out on whether nice man Zola will himself cut it as a good manager, but he's certainly not been helped by some of David Sullivan's comments since his arrival. Perhaps Sullivan was simply trying to fire Zola and the players up to breathe some life into their season, maybe even knowingly casting himself as the pantomime villain of the piece in the hope it would galvanise Zola and his troops in their quest to prove him wrong. I'm not personally sure Sullivan deserves such credit, he comes across as an outspoken and rather unlikeable character, but whatever the motive behind some of his comments, it seems to have caused nothing but unrest and it now appears it is a matter of when rather than if Zola will go, be it jumped, pushed or a bit of both.

Personally, I hope the current bottom three - Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull - are the teams that go down this year. As amusing as it can be to see a 'bigger' club fall from grace, West Ham have been relegated already in recent years and Zola is a rare gent in today's game so however brief the remainder of his reign at Upton Park turns out to be, I'd like them to escape relegation so he can leave with his head held high.

There aren't many clubs that have endured a more torrid a time both on and off the pitch than West Ham, but Portsmouth certainly have. I don't want them to go bust, simply because I don't want that to happen to any football club, but one can only hope that a Premiership club going into administration, so soon after all looked rosy on the back of an FA Cup winning season, may act as something of a wake-up call. No football club should be living beyond their means. Notts County aside, lower league clubs seem to be slowly realising this, but Premiership teams cannot be immune from this. Yes they enjoy generous helpings of TV revenue, along with large investment from wealthy owners in some cases, but hopefully the demise of Pompey will make the rest of the Premier League's teams realise that no matter how much money comes in, if you squander it and indulge in a wage structure that is simply unsustainable over a period of time it can come back to bite you, and hard.

Personally, I'm very fortunate in that my team, Swindon Town, are now run by a very sensible and forward thinking chairman and board. A sensible wage structure is in place, combined with astute investment in players that can be sold on at a profit as and when the deal and time is right. Swindon were the first Football League team to enter and come out of two separate periods of administration so they have certainly learnt the hard way, but I now have a team to support that is no longer one unpaid bill away from a winding up order. And it is no coincidence I'm sure that the team is currently enjoying a very successful season now there is some genuine stability behind the scenes. Portsmouth, Notts County and the rest of the Premier League and Football League, take note.

New Year Hope?

As 2009 sweeps in, pushing 2008 aside before most of us have had a chance to work out where it all went in such a hurry, there is one thing I am already sick of...

If I hear one more person say (or, perhaps more likely in this virtual age, tell the world via their facebook status) that they 'hope' 2009 is a better year than the last one I may well explode. Scientifically unlikely I hear you cry - just try me!

I'm all for positivity in the New Year and, after an up and down 2008 on a personal level, I am looking forward to enjoying a really good and significant year. However, the use of the word 'hope' in people's descriptions of their aspirations really does bug me. You don't have a good or happy year just by hoping for it. Yes, life and his fickle friends fate, destiny and chance all play their part in dealing you your annual hand, but it's what you do with those cards that defines the direction you take.

I'm not denying that bad things occur and often cruelly and unjustifiably so, but that is all the more reason to try and make things happen rather than sitting back and hoping. We cannot control everything in life and we never know what is around the corner - and how dull and boring it would be if our entire future was mapped out in front of us complete with total control - but the way to give yourself the best possible chance of a good 2009 is to show a bit of determination and belief that you are capable of making it a good year instead of relying on chance.

I believe it could be a big year for me, but it will only happen if I am positive and pro-active in my approach to the next 360 odd days. My plan is to adopt such an approach and see where that gets me. I suggest you do the same.

Happy New Year!

The simple things in life...

What a great few days! Friends (new and old), lots of food and drink, banter a-plenty, and some good cheesy dance moves. Sometimes it really is the simple things in life that puts a smile on your face.

Times they are a-changing...

Well, what a pointless 'update blog' I made a few weeks ago...not very up-to-date already!

I am now once again single and provisional plans to save and go to Australia with the lady are, for obvious reasons, now somewhat less than provisional, and the holiday to Florida is now cancelled.

I have also moved in with three mates - a great positive change and I'm settling in nicely.

Enough of the personal stuff, more general thoughts on the world to follow...

Revisiting blogging....again

So, another 18 month break and I'm back again! I'm not sure why I stopped blogging as it was a very satisfying process, getting my thoughts 'out there', and not really sure what's made me start again, just felt the urge so to speak.

The first thing I did when signing back in was to read over my previous posts - and the sensible thing to do seems to be to give a quick update...

Firstly, I'm no longer a student, I passed my degree in Communication and Media and was pleased with my final result. I now work full time at the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre) as a Marketing and Promotions Officer for the BIC and Pavilion Theatre Entertainments department - it is a really good job and great experience; I was really pleased to get it straight after graduating.

I haven't been travelling as yet although I have been to Dublin and Geneva since I last posted and I'm off to Florida in November! I also have provisional plans in place to save up post-Florida for a 'working holiday' trip to Australia.

I now live with my parents again as they moved to Poole a year ago - which has helped to fund above holidays!

Finally, I'm no longer single - I've been with the lovely Claire for around 15 months now. Like any relationship we have had our ups and downs, but she's a great girl and I'm very happy with her.

So, that's the major changes out of the way, further posts to follow!

The Easy Life

I'm not sure exactly which way this post is going to go. It's sort of fuelled by two slightly contradictory points. So I'm just going to go with the flow and see where I end up.

The first thing on my mind is the importance of having a sense of perspective. It's not always as easy as it sounds, particularly in the heat of the moment. But I do think it's important to put things in perspective at some stage, even if it's often retrospectively.

I find it quite important for someone like myself. The reason I say this is that essentially my life is, for want of a more poetic and graceful analogy, a piece of piss. It's easy. I don't mean that in a flippant or arrogant way, and I don't just mean the here and now. In fact the here and now is always pretty difficult however easy you've got things because you don't know what's happening until it happens and it can all come thick and fast and catch you out from time to time. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but by definition it tends to come a little late. Sorry I digress. Back to my 'easy' life. What I mean is looking at the bigger picture, I've had it pretty easy. I had a very stable and happy upbringing and remain close to all of my immediate family. I'm academically quite bright and on a social level I tend to find it easy to get along with people. I would be as bold as to suggest that I'm generally a well-liked person (with some exceptions no doubt!). I'm also lucky in terms of the opportunities that have been presented to me. My family are by no means wealthy, but my parents have worked bloody hard and I have been very fortunate in that they have always been able to support me financially, as well as emotionally. Personal tragedy has, relatively speaking, been very rare. Deaths in the family have been limited to elderly relatives (I'm not dismissing the deaths of my grandparents as insignificant, I just mean that they're not as unexpected as others would be) and, touch wood, the friends and family that I would expect to still be with me are. I'm generally a very happy person and to be quite frank, I have nothing of great substance to complain about. I've had my moments, just like everyone. There have been times when I've felt unhappy. I've had health scares, both personally and to people extremely close to me. I've had times where luck just hasn't been on my side and everything has gone proverbially tits up. There's been other times when luck has had nothing to do with it, I've managed to make a rather large mess of things all by myself. But, looking back, with that rock of reason 'hindsight' stood by my side, whispering wisdom in my ear, none of these moments have rocked me to the core in the long run. I've given myself a slap and stopped being miserable. People have recovered from ill health. I've accepted my bad luck, brushed myself off and got on with things. I've even managed to unstick myself from the sticky situations I've landed myself in. And all these experiences have ultimately made me a little bit more something. In some cases stronger, sometimes wiser, maybe more appreciative of what I've got going for me, perhaps more careful, maybe just more aware of my faults or those of others...or maybe some experiences have simply made me a little bit more 'me'.

One thing that I must stress here, and this is my second major point, is that I'm not trying to belittle my problems, or anyone else's for that matter. The idea that people shouldn't be down or moan about things, that people aren't entitled to claim they're going through a hard time just because 'there's always someone else worse off' oozes stupidity. Of course there is always someone with a bigger problem, with a tougher life, but that doesn't make my littler problem disappear, it just means someone else is in the shit even worse than I am. When you've got a problem you've got a problem, it's as simple as that. And whether it's a relatively tiny problem or a relatively massive problem doesn't alter the fact that it's a problem that needs solving. Some people are tougher than others and some people get over things quicker than others. Life isn't and shouldn't be a checkilist whereby everyone compares notes to see who's got it the easiest/hardest.

All I'm suggesting is that sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a step back and ask yourself 'is it really that bad?' Because sometimes we do get wrapped up in our own lives. I've certainly been guilty of intensifying and magnifying my problems disproportionately, we probably all have. It's human nature.

But I do think I'm aware of the relatively stress free life I lead, particularly at my age and in my current circumstances, as a student with no real responsibilities. And I think it's important and healthy to appreciate that.

At the end of the day, when I'm skint it's usually because I went out too many times last month, or bought some new clothes the other week. It's not because I can't afford to pay the mortgage or feed my family. If I really did completely run out of money I'd have to swallow my pride and go home, home to a mum and dad who wouldn't let me go hungry.

When things don't work out with a girl it's a few months and a few memories that are tarnished. A few heavy nights out, a little moping, one or two stupid messages that I shouldn't have sent, and I'm over it. It's not the same as a marriage breaking up, years down the drain and the loss of something truely special. There's not the worry of how it's going to affect the kids, whether or not I'm going to get to see them very often.

When I go to work it's a part time job. It's fun and it's easy and to be honest it's a place to socialise. I don't have to work 40 hour weeks in a job I hate just so I can put some food on the table and a roof over my head.

University, people say how tough it is, especially now it's the final year. And yes they're right. But I'm sure if I'd worked 9-5 every weekday for the entire year I'd probably have finished all my work by now.

So when I say I've got it easy, I'm not gloating. When I described my life as a 'piece of piss' I didn't really mean that everything is a walk in the park. I just appreciate what I've got. And at the end of the day when things do get to me, when there is something I'm unhappy about, I'm fortunate enough, the majority of the time at least, to be in a position where rather than just moan about how shit something is, I can actually attempt to change things. Simply being in a position where I can, to a large extent, decide my own fate is something that I am grateful for in itself.

I'm going to leave you with one last point to illustrate what I'm saying in a slightly random way. Sometimes I sleep funny and have a bad neck for a day or two. Sometimes I pick up a knock when playing football and it'll hurt for a week or two. Sometimes, god forbid, my back starts aching at work because I've been stood around doing not a lot for a few hours. And like everyone I moan about these niggling aches and pains. Someone extremely close to me suffers from pain on a daily basis. They were born with spina bifida, they suffer from scoliosis (they have a double curvature of the spine) and have numerous other related problems. The pain ranges from severe discomfort to excrutiating and almost unbearable. The simplest things such as eating and sleeping can often prove very difficult. Yet this person moans very little and currently holds down a physically demanding full time job. Knowing this doesn't stop me from whinging when my back aches or I've slept funny, because after all it doesn't stop hurting just because I know someone else who is in far worse and more constant pain, but it does make me appreciate that in the grand scheme of things, I've got it pretty easy.

All work and no play

Step away from the booze, take off your dancing shoes, forget all aspirations of having fun, pick up some books, and get stuck in to your studies...it must be the final year of university right?

You see the thing is, I haven't really lived by those rules. I've definitely worked harder this year than any other year, I've certainly recognised that this year counts so much more and I can count on one hand the number of lectures/seminars I've missed this year (actually I missed a lecture and a seminar this morning, taking the grand total to 6, but 'I can count on one hand plus one finger off my other hand' doesn't quite have the same ring to it does it?). And, without meaning to blow my own trumpet, I'm really pleased with how I've done so far this year.

But have I stopped having fun and locked myself in the library? No. I should at this stage probably point out that my easter 'holiday' will pretty much be spent locked in the library as I attempt to finish off and refine my dissertation until I'm happy with it. This really is the business end of things now and I owe it to myself to make sure I give the dreaded dissertation the attention it deserves in its final few weeks (I'm talking as if it's a living being, perhaps it's finally getting to me!). But, up until now, I'd have to hold my hands up and say I've failed to retreat from alcohol a great deal, I've got plenty of wear out of my dancing shoes and I've ensured that I've had more than my fair share of fun.

For me it's all about balance. It is completely correct to say it's the final year so plenty of hard work is required and undoubtedly studies have to come first. I want to get the best degree I possibly can and I don't want to look back and feel I could or should have done more. However, it is also the last chance to fully appreciate the 'student life'. And I've tried to make the very most of it from a social perspective as well. 'Work hard, play hard' is probably the most concise and accurate way to describe my approach to my final year at uni, and as I've said, so far it has worked.

Perhaps if I had spent more time locked in the library throughout the year I would already have my dissertation completely finished and polished off and would be looking forward to a holiday in the sun somewhere over easter - so the last laugh may not be mine after all. But if the next four weeks are spent working hour after hour, day after day, and the end result is a dissertation that is vastly improved compared with its draft version, one that I am genuinely happy with and I know is my very best effort, then I'll know I got that balance just about right.