And the 7-1 victory of Man Utd over Blackburn, taking the other reds to the top of the Premier League table, with an incredible 5 goals by Dimitar Berbatov, certainly made my day!
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Great day for FC United and Man U
I've just been watching FC United's epic performance at Brighton via myp2p.eu - and listening for the last 10 minutes at fcumradio.co.uk when the video failed. The penalty save at the end, to secure a 1-1 draw, sounded great - a shame I couldn't see it.
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
So how did the Glazers raise the money to pay off a £220 million loan?
In today's Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/nov/17/the-glazer-family-loan-piks - it is reported that Manchester United's Florida-based owners have paid off a loan which was accruing 16.25% interest.
That article speculates as to how this could have happened. United fans, including the Manchester United Supporters Trust (www.joinmust.org), are demanding answers.
The MUST website says the following:
"Now is the time for the Glazers to finally come clean and tell the truth about what is going on at Manchester United and what their plans are. What have they got to hide? No more secrecy. No more spin. Just tell the fans the truth."
The website also says that MUST has prepared a series of questions that will be released following a presentation of financial results later today.
Woking nearly knock Brighton (League One leaders) out of FA Cup! FC United to play at Brighton in FA Cup second round
[Sorry for not contributing to this blog for a while; I feel guilty for neglecting to talk about FC United's tremendous FA Cup run!]
After the score was 1-1 at full-time, Woking scored first in extra time and for a couple of minutes a huge upset was on the cards until Brighton equalised. Brighton in the end got through on penalties.
FC United of Manchester, after knocking out fellow League One team Rochdale away in the first round, now face a long trip to the south coast to do what Woking came to close to achieving.
It would be an even bigger shock if FC United knock them out, since we are four divisions lower, but you never know! And the prize would be a place in the third round, potentially playing a Premier League team (perhaps even Man United or Man Shitty).
Sunday, 27 June 2010
My new Facebook group: "Sack FIFA President Sepp Blatter! Goal line technology for football now!"
After the farce of Frank Lampard's disallowed goal for England, that so obviously crossed the line as everybody watching on TV and most people in the stadium realised, with the match finely balanced at 2-1 to Germany, and England's consequent defeat 4-1 (with England committing more players forward preceeding Germany's last two goals in search of an equaliser), I set up a group at Facebook to exert pressure for technology to be brought in that determines if a ball has crossed the line.
One of the pundits at half time on the BBC1 coverage of the match said everybody (probably not literally) agreed on bringing in such technology, except for FIFA president Sepp Blatter. He is responsible for this farce and should be sacked, particularly if he remains so obstinate afterwards.
Somebody on the group has suggested a video referee, which is also a good solution (that could have made a difference with Tevez's offside goal in the Argentina-Mexico match too). Come to the group and join the debate!
You can find the group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=133017933385075.
I decided to boycott the rest of the World Cup finals after this farce (although missing Ghana matches will be hard since I wanted an African team to do well from the start).
One of the pundits at half time on the BBC1 coverage of the match said everybody (probably not literally) agreed on bringing in such technology, except for FIFA president Sepp Blatter. He is responsible for this farce and should be sacked, particularly if he remains so obstinate afterwards.
Somebody on the group has suggested a video referee, which is also a good solution (that could have made a difference with Tevez's offside goal in the Argentina-Mexico match too). Come to the group and join the debate!
You can find the group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=133017933385075.
I decided to boycott the rest of the World Cup finals after this farce (although missing Ghana matches will be hard since I wanted an African team to do well from the start).
Friday, 11 June 2010
Bet on Diane Abbott to become Labour leader
My bets on the general election weren't terribly successful, but I didn't lose much compared to the couple of thousand pounds I could have made if they came off!
Rather more modestly, I put a bet yesterday with Ladbrokes on Diane Abbott becoming the next Labour leader (I think they said "permanent" Labour leader to distinguish the winner of the leadership election from an interim leader such as Harriet Harman) at 25/1. I bet a tenner so stand to make £250 if it comes off.
The odds in the Guardian and Mirror yesterday morning were 33/1, so presumably I wasn't the only person who thought that generous. Who knows what will happen between now and when the voting takes place (it's complicated since a third of votes come from trade unions, and it probably depends on individual TUs when/if they hold votes of their members, but Labour Party members are balloted in September according to http://www2.labour.org.uk/leadership-timetable) - a Greece-style revolt to the Tory/LibDem coalition's proposed cuts, the complete collapse of the Euro, or other events to radicalise the population, could happen in the meantime.
The voting takes place using Alternative Vote (practice for the next general election if the coalition gets this proposal passed), so you can specify transfers if your first choice drops out. On the one hand, this means that tactical voting is unnecessary - you can vote for Diane knowing that it won't cost a soft left candidate (if you believe any of the other four fills the criterion) anything; however, it tends to result in victories for politicians with lowest common denominator compromise politics which may favour the "grey men in grey suits".
I checked with Ladbrokes again today and the odds on Diane winning are still 25/1.
[For the benefit of those who think I shouldn't make money out of my political analysis, I have spent tens of thousands of pounds over the years on socialist causes (with my own initiatives and contributing to organisations such as the Militant Tendency/Socialist Party). I'm not selling out; I will continue to help the left.]
Rather more modestly, I put a bet yesterday with Ladbrokes on Diane Abbott becoming the next Labour leader (I think they said "permanent" Labour leader to distinguish the winner of the leadership election from an interim leader such as Harriet Harman) at 25/1. I bet a tenner so stand to make £250 if it comes off.
The odds in the Guardian and Mirror yesterday morning were 33/1, so presumably I wasn't the only person who thought that generous. Who knows what will happen between now and when the voting takes place (it's complicated since a third of votes come from trade unions, and it probably depends on individual TUs when/if they hold votes of their members, but Labour Party members are balloted in September according to http://www2.labour.org.uk/leadership-timetable) - a Greece-style revolt to the Tory/LibDem coalition's proposed cuts, the complete collapse of the Euro, or other events to radicalise the population, could happen in the meantime.
The voting takes place using Alternative Vote (practice for the next general election if the coalition gets this proposal passed), so you can specify transfers if your first choice drops out. On the one hand, this means that tactical voting is unnecessary - you can vote for Diane knowing that it won't cost a soft left candidate (if you believe any of the other four fills the criterion) anything; however, it tends to result in victories for politicians with lowest common denominator compromise politics which may favour the "grey men in grey suits".
I checked with Ladbrokes again today and the odds on Diane winning are still 25/1.
[For the benefit of those who think I shouldn't make money out of my political analysis, I have spent tens of thousands of pounds over the years on socialist causes (with my own initiatives and contributing to organisations such as the Militant Tendency/Socialist Party). I'm not selling out; I will continue to help the left.]
Arrested for disrupting an Orange Order parade in Glasgow, singing "Manchester Shitty FC" and "9/11 Inside Job" songs
On Sunday, I came across an Orange Order (based on ultra-right "loyalists" in Northern Ireland) parade from Glasgow's West End (which I knew was a Protestant stronghold) to the City Centre. I was wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt (from the previous day's demo in Edinburgh against the brutal Israeli attack on the "Freedom Flotilla" of aid activists bringing supplies to Gaza) and decided to disrupt it.
I started by chanting "Viva Palestina" and "Freedom to Palestine". The agenda of divide-and-rule whipped up by the Orange Order is similar to the strategy of the Israeli regime so it seemed appropriate to switch to chanting "Catholics and Protestants unite" and "Celtic and Rangers fans unite". [Celtic players used to have to be Catholics and Rangers players used to have to be Protestants, and there is still a strong correlation among the fans by followers of the two religions although the clubs have acted against such sectarianism somewhat.] I moved on to my "Manchester Shitty FC" song (which you can hear on my MySpace page http://myspace.com/stephenkimwallis, guessing that they were the sort of people who like the domination of football by big business. Rangers have had a very good season compared to Celtic (largely due to hard man and former home secretary John Reid taking over as Celtic chairman and the end of Gordon Strachan's reign as manager - in my Galaxia song "Things Can Only Get Bitter", see http://myspace.com/galaxiamusic, I commented about his "1984-style dirty tricks" and "retiring from politics" but it is clear that he is continuing to play an odious role), so the Orange Order were probably in a good mood, but Man City missed out again on a Champions League spot (narrowly defeated by Tottenham Hotspur).
So I sang about Man City being "by far the richest team the world has ever seen" and being "shit". I varied the lyrics when it got to "if you'r shit and you know it clap your hands", to say "bang your drums". Far more serious, and much more of a threat to the powers that be was the "9/11 Inside Job" song by my band "Red Day", again about divide-and-rule (this time the strategy of George W Bush and the Project for a New American Century of dividing Muslims from Christians and Jews) and police officers moved to arrest me when I approached the end of that song. [Listen to it at http://myspace.com/reddayband or download it for free from http://www.red-day.org.]
A police officer accused me of "frightening children", but there was a girl (aged about 12) with some cymbols on the parade who held them completely motionless once I'd sung about "banging your drums" if you're shit and you know it". Instead of "frightening" her, I'd won her over from the odious clutches of the Orange Order. Once it was obvious that I was going to be arrested, I wanted to be recognised as a political prisoner and compounded the catch-all charge of "breach of the police" by assaulting an (ugly) police officer, resisting arrest and failing to provide details of my address (although I said where I worked and wanted to test out the extent of the surveillance state and let them work it out themselves). The police lied by saying I'd be in Barlinnie Prison permanently until I gave my address. In the police station cell, I commented that if that was the case I'd ask Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie to get a bill passed in the Scottish Parliament to change such an appalling law!!!
What happened next will form part of my on-going on-line autobiography, published for free at http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net.
I started by chanting "Viva Palestina" and "Freedom to Palestine". The agenda of divide-and-rule whipped up by the Orange Order is similar to the strategy of the Israeli regime so it seemed appropriate to switch to chanting "Catholics and Protestants unite" and "Celtic and Rangers fans unite". [Celtic players used to have to be Catholics and Rangers players used to have to be Protestants, and there is still a strong correlation among the fans by followers of the two religions although the clubs have acted against such sectarianism somewhat.] I moved on to my "Manchester Shitty FC" song (which you can hear on my MySpace page http://myspace.com/stephenkimwallis, guessing that they were the sort of people who like the domination of football by big business. Rangers have had a very good season compared to Celtic (largely due to hard man and former home secretary John Reid taking over as Celtic chairman and the end of Gordon Strachan's reign as manager - in my Galaxia song "Things Can Only Get Bitter", see http://myspace.com/galaxiamusic, I commented about his "1984-style dirty tricks" and "retiring from politics" but it is clear that he is continuing to play an odious role), so the Orange Order were probably in a good mood, but Man City missed out again on a Champions League spot (narrowly defeated by Tottenham Hotspur).
So I sang about Man City being "by far the richest team the world has ever seen" and being "shit". I varied the lyrics when it got to "if you'r shit and you know it clap your hands", to say "bang your drums". Far more serious, and much more of a threat to the powers that be was the "9/11 Inside Job" song by my band "Red Day", again about divide-and-rule (this time the strategy of George W Bush and the Project for a New American Century of dividing Muslims from Christians and Jews) and police officers moved to arrest me when I approached the end of that song. [Listen to it at http://myspace.com/reddayband or download it for free from http://www.red-day.org.]
A police officer accused me of "frightening children", but there was a girl (aged about 12) with some cymbols on the parade who held them completely motionless once I'd sung about "banging your drums" if you're shit and you know it". Instead of "frightening" her, I'd won her over from the odious clutches of the Orange Order. Once it was obvious that I was going to be arrested, I wanted to be recognised as a political prisoner and compounded the catch-all charge of "breach of the police" by assaulting an (ugly) police officer, resisting arrest and failing to provide details of my address (although I said where I worked and wanted to test out the extent of the surveillance state and let them work it out themselves). The police lied by saying I'd be in Barlinnie Prison permanently until I gave my address. In the police station cell, I commented that if that was the case I'd ask Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie to get a bill passed in the Scottish Parliament to change such an appalling law!!!
What happened next will form part of my on-going on-line autobiography, published for free at http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
The importance of Man Utd beating Sunderland for the general election campaign
Predictably Liverpool lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea earlier this afternoon. Although they started quite well, deep down they didn't want to win, and Chelsea were all over them once the first goal went in, courtesy of a Steven Gerrard backpass (that cynics may think was a deliberate mistake).
The vagaries of scheduling matches make a big difference - Liverpool had a minute chance of getting the fourth Champions League spot, but if they could have played before, or at the same time as, yesterday's Tottenham and Man City-Aston Villa matches, they may have been more committed. Presumably Liverpool playing in the Europa League semi-final on Thursday evening had put paid to that possibility. [Of course Liverpool would have been even more tired if they had been forced to play yesterday.]
The Chelsea victory meant that Manchester United needed to beat Sunderland to stand any realistic chance of winning the Premier League. And it happened, with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Nani goal.
As I have previously pointed out (search groups.google.com for "Football, fate, Gaia theory and socialism" in which I analysed the importance of John Terry missing what would have been the winning penalty against Man United in the 2008 Champions League final) football results can have a big effect on the morale of millions of football fans around the world - and Chelsea being the richest club in the world (or is that second richest now behind Man City) and playing in Tory blue tend to have right-wing fans, whereas United play in socialist red and anti-racist black and white and tend to have left-wing fans. It isn't fate that United won today or that Paul Scholes scored in the last 20 seconds to beat City, but it is the modelling in the players' minds that out-thought Chelsea in that final and Sunderland this afternoon.
This is a particularly important time politically with the UK general election taking place on Thursday. The Tories would have gained a big boost if Chelsea had won (or virtually won) the title today, at the expense of more left wing parties (and I am supporting socialists, greens and the Liberal Democrats in a newsletter I wrote for the Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism - see http://PRsocialism.org/newsletter8.pdf).
A poor result for the Tories - a hung parliament if a Lib Dem victory is too optimistic - could feed back on the football results next Sunday, increasing the chances of Chelsea slipping up against Wigan, remote as that possibility may seem. But, much as I am a United fan, that election really is far more important...
The vagaries of scheduling matches make a big difference - Liverpool had a minute chance of getting the fourth Champions League spot, but if they could have played before, or at the same time as, yesterday's Tottenham and Man City-Aston Villa matches, they may have been more committed. Presumably Liverpool playing in the Europa League semi-final on Thursday evening had put paid to that possibility. [Of course Liverpool would have been even more tired if they had been forced to play yesterday.]
The Chelsea victory meant that Manchester United needed to beat Sunderland to stand any realistic chance of winning the Premier League. And it happened, with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Nani goal.
As I have previously pointed out (search groups.google.com for "Football, fate, Gaia theory and socialism" in which I analysed the importance of John Terry missing what would have been the winning penalty against Man United in the 2008 Champions League final) football results can have a big effect on the morale of millions of football fans around the world - and Chelsea being the richest club in the world (or is that second richest now behind Man City) and playing in Tory blue tend to have right-wing fans, whereas United play in socialist red and anti-racist black and white and tend to have left-wing fans. It isn't fate that United won today or that Paul Scholes scored in the last 20 seconds to beat City, but it is the modelling in the players' minds that out-thought Chelsea in that final and Sunderland this afternoon.
This is a particularly important time politically with the UK general election taking place on Thursday. The Tories would have gained a big boost if Chelsea had won (or virtually won) the title today, at the expense of more left wing parties (and I am supporting socialists, greens and the Liberal Democrats in a newsletter I wrote for the Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism - see http://PRsocialism.org/newsletter8.pdf).
A poor result for the Tories - a hung parliament if a Lib Dem victory is too optimistic - could feed back on the football results next Sunday, increasing the chances of Chelsea slipping up against Wigan, remote as that possibility may seem. But, much as I am a United fan, that election really is far more important...
Sunday, 25 April 2010
More bets on the general election (Liberal Democrats, Respect and Green Party)
I've just made some more bets with Ladbrokes. When I put £10 at 66/1 for the Liberal Democrats to get the most seats and £10 at 150/1 for them to get an overall majority, the day after the first live TV debate, I was not offered odds on them getting the highest number of votes. If they do get the most votes but only about 150 seats, as some polls have suggested, there will be a massive constitutional crisis, probably leading to the introduction of proportional representation and a new general election. I found that I could get 3/1 (yesterday I think) on them getting most votes and decided to cover my losses, so that I don't lose out financially from such a great situation. Some new opinion polls today are showing the Tories regaining the lead (doubtless largely due to an onslaught from the big business press), so I managed to get odds of 4/1 this morning (I put another £10 on this).
I also put some bets on individual constituencies (which were not available last time I enquired). I put a token bet of £1 at 3/1 on Respect holding Bethnal Green and Bow, currently George Galloway's seat (Abjol Miah is the new candidate, I don't know much about him). I also put a bet on Galloway himself winning Poplar and Limehouse - I think I got 14/1 for that (it was certainly better odds than the 7/1 that somebody said was available previously on my Facebook wall - he complained he was not allowed to make the bet in a Ladbrokes shop and didn't want to open an internet account, which I have done (but make my bets on the phone)). I put £10 on Galloway but put £1 on the Lib Dems at about 20/1 to cover my losses.
I couldn't remember the constituencies of some other candidates I'm supporting, apart from my own - Manchester Central. I'm voting for the Green Party candidate, Gayle O'Donovan, who called herself an "anarcho-socialist", so I thought I'd put a bet on her. It's a long shot, but I got odds of 100/1 and put £10 on her. I again covered my losses with a £1 bet on the Lib Dems (at something like 20/1) - Labour are 500/1 on (i.e. you bet £5 and win 1p plus your stake back) here, so it'd be monumental if longstanding MP Tony Lloyd loses his seat; he's actually quite a nice guy (I've met him when we were campaigning against sanctions on Iraq which pushed the masses into the arms of Saddam Hussein) so it's a bit of a shame but still...
I also put some bets on individual constituencies (which were not available last time I enquired). I put a token bet of £1 at 3/1 on Respect holding Bethnal Green and Bow, currently George Galloway's seat (Abjol Miah is the new candidate, I don't know much about him). I also put a bet on Galloway himself winning Poplar and Limehouse - I think I got 14/1 for that (it was certainly better odds than the 7/1 that somebody said was available previously on my Facebook wall - he complained he was not allowed to make the bet in a Ladbrokes shop and didn't want to open an internet account, which I have done (but make my bets on the phone)). I put £10 on Galloway but put £1 on the Lib Dems at about 20/1 to cover my losses.
I couldn't remember the constituencies of some other candidates I'm supporting, apart from my own - Manchester Central. I'm voting for the Green Party candidate, Gayle O'Donovan, who called herself an "anarcho-socialist", so I thought I'd put a bet on her. It's a long shot, but I got odds of 100/1 and put £10 on her. I again covered my losses with a £1 bet on the Lib Dems (at something like 20/1) - Labour are 500/1 on (i.e. you bet £5 and win 1p plus your stake back) here, so it'd be monumental if longstanding MP Tony Lloyd loses his seat; he's actually quite a nice guy (I've met him when we were campaigning against sanctions on Iraq which pushed the masses into the arms of Saddam Hussein) so it's a bit of a shame but still...
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Bets on Liberal Democrats and Manchester United!
I have produced a newsletter with heading "Vote Socialist, Green or Liberal Democrat and prepare for Greece-style revolt!", downloadable in Word or PDF format from http://PRsocialism.org.
After the live TV debate between Cameron, Brown and Clegg (leaders of Tories, Labour and Lib Dems respectively), I came to the conclusion that the Lib Dems would almost certainly win the general election, probably getting an overall majority. I decided to make a couple of bets, #10 each, which I did at Ladbrokes (66/1 for most seats, 150/1 for more than rest put together) via an internet account (but I had to phone up to make them and it took a while for the options to appear on the employee's computer, presumably to discourage some potential punters with Ladbrokes worried about losing a lot of money!) Despite the latest poll showing the Lib Dems at 30%, ahead of Labour, the odds are still 33/1 and 66/1 respectively!!! That's what comes of having few rich backers, unlike Labour and the Tories...
I have noticed, though, that the results of football matches mirror political developments to quite a large extent. Man Utd (and FC United) tend to do well when their fans are in a good mood, which tends to happen when society moves to the left. I therefore thought it very likely that United will beat City in the derby this afternoon, and put a token bet of #1 at 6/4.
This morning I made a couple more bets, #10 on United winning the Premier League at 7/1 and another #10 at 5/1 on Dimitar Berbatov scoring the first goal in the derby! The latter is a bit of a punt, but it would annoy City fans so much if this happens with them so adamant that Tevez is a better player (if United win of course!) Tevez commented that he "didn't feel part of the United family" (or something like that) - he wasn't committed to United. Berbatov gets criticised for being "lazy" but it's good to have a striker who doesn't track back all the time but conserves his energy! Not everyone has to defend!!!
Come on you reds!
After the live TV debate between Cameron, Brown and Clegg (leaders of Tories, Labour and Lib Dems respectively), I came to the conclusion that the Lib Dems would almost certainly win the general election, probably getting an overall majority. I decided to make a couple of bets, #10 each, which I did at Ladbrokes (66/1 for most seats, 150/1 for more than rest put together) via an internet account (but I had to phone up to make them and it took a while for the options to appear on the employee's computer, presumably to discourage some potential punters with Ladbrokes worried about losing a lot of money!) Despite the latest poll showing the Lib Dems at 30%, ahead of Labour, the odds are still 33/1 and 66/1 respectively!!! That's what comes of having few rich backers, unlike Labour and the Tories...
I have noticed, though, that the results of football matches mirror political developments to quite a large extent. Man Utd (and FC United) tend to do well when their fans are in a good mood, which tends to happen when society moves to the left. I therefore thought it very likely that United will beat City in the derby this afternoon, and put a token bet of #1 at 6/4.
This morning I made a couple more bets, #10 on United winning the Premier League at 7/1 and another #10 at 5/1 on Dimitar Berbatov scoring the first goal in the derby! The latter is a bit of a punt, but it would annoy City fans so much if this happens with them so adamant that Tevez is a better player (if United win of course!) Tevez commented that he "didn't feel part of the United family" (or something like that) - he wasn't committed to United. Berbatov gets criticised for being "lazy" but it's good to have a striker who doesn't track back all the time but conserves his energy! Not everyone has to defend!!!
Come on you reds!
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Don't boo Terry - his private life has nothing to do with football!
Somebody has urged me to call on England supporters not to boo John Terry, as many of them did last night. It is not nice! His private life has nothing to do with football, and it undermines his performance and that of the team.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Confessions of a part-time Aston Villa supporter!
It's about time I commented on the League Cup final, that United won 2-1 against Aston Villa. Writing about Wayne Rooney in the England match tonight has acted as a spur to doing more with this blog...
In the run-up to United reaching the final in style against Man City ("Manchester Shitty FC" as I call them), I'd been planning to support my long-time second favourite Premier League team Aston Villa in the final - in the event that United reached the final. I reckoned that we stand a good chance of winning the Premier and Champions leagues this season and wasn't keen on us getting another treble - this time in the Glazer era. It's also good to share the trophies around, and I quite like an underdog.
I had a plan of watching the match at Wembley with Salma Yaqoob, leader of Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and the Respect Party, and one of my friends on Facebook, if she could get us tickets. I hardly know Salma and she is married, so it was a long shot and she unsurprisingly didn't get back to me. Black or Asian women are a particular rarity at football matches, and going with a woman wearing a hijab seemed a brilliant idea!
Anyway, when I sat down to watch the match on the BBC, I was supporting Villa. It was great seeing them awarded an early penalty and scoring. However, I couldn't keep it up! I found myself empathising with the United players who I have got to know over my years following United, and I just had to want them to do well. I hardly know the Villa team, and some of them (including goalkeeper Brad Friedel) are skinheads, which tends to mean right-wing politics. Also, Villa manager Martin O'Neill is not the most smiley person in the world, which also suggests bad intentions. [I recently wrote a new version of my New Good Intentions Manifesto, uploading it to http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/good-intentions-manifesto.html, which explains the world in terms of people with good and bad intentions; it is an alternative form of scientific socialism to Marxism.]
When United's first goal went in, I was so pleased for Michael Owen (especially considering the pre-match taunts from the commentators expecting United to struggle without Rooney). As we later found out, Rooney had been dropped due to having a bout of flu, but that goal vindicated Alex Ferguson's selection. [In any case, with the possibility of extra time, Rooney could have been a great substitute late in the game, although unfortunately for Owen he became injured after 40 minutes and Rooney replaced him then.]
Anyway, for the rest of the match, from the point of United's equaliser, I was supporting United. I changed my shirt at half-time from a socialist top to a United t-shirt (which a friend gave me as a souvenier from the Champions League final against Barcelona last season). It was great Rooney scoring the winner with yet another header, and United lifting the Cup. I guess there are a lot of United supporters who hate the Glazers, many of whom show their displeasure with the green and gold scarves. Maybe if we got a quadruple or quintuple (as we were in line for last season), it would be a political problem, but (despite being first and foremost an FC United of Manchester fan) I do want Manchester United to do well - and the team is primarily composed of players with good intentions and supported by such people too, unlike Manchester Shitty FC...
In the run-up to United reaching the final in style against Man City ("Manchester Shitty FC" as I call them), I'd been planning to support my long-time second favourite Premier League team Aston Villa in the final - in the event that United reached the final. I reckoned that we stand a good chance of winning the Premier and Champions leagues this season and wasn't keen on us getting another treble - this time in the Glazer era. It's also good to share the trophies around, and I quite like an underdog.
I had a plan of watching the match at Wembley with Salma Yaqoob, leader of Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and the Respect Party, and one of my friends on Facebook, if she could get us tickets. I hardly know Salma and she is married, so it was a long shot and she unsurprisingly didn't get back to me. Black or Asian women are a particular rarity at football matches, and going with a woman wearing a hijab seemed a brilliant idea!
Anyway, when I sat down to watch the match on the BBC, I was supporting Villa. It was great seeing them awarded an early penalty and scoring. However, I couldn't keep it up! I found myself empathising with the United players who I have got to know over my years following United, and I just had to want them to do well. I hardly know the Villa team, and some of them (including goalkeeper Brad Friedel) are skinheads, which tends to mean right-wing politics. Also, Villa manager Martin O'Neill is not the most smiley person in the world, which also suggests bad intentions. [I recently wrote a new version of my New Good Intentions Manifesto, uploading it to http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/good-intentions-manifesto.html, which explains the world in terms of people with good and bad intentions; it is an alternative form of scientific socialism to Marxism.]
When United's first goal went in, I was so pleased for Michael Owen (especially considering the pre-match taunts from the commentators expecting United to struggle without Rooney). As we later found out, Rooney had been dropped due to having a bout of flu, but that goal vindicated Alex Ferguson's selection. [In any case, with the possibility of extra time, Rooney could have been a great substitute late in the game, although unfortunately for Owen he became injured after 40 minutes and Rooney replaced him then.]
Anyway, for the rest of the match, from the point of United's equaliser, I was supporting United. I changed my shirt at half-time from a socialist top to a United t-shirt (which a friend gave me as a souvenier from the Champions League final against Barcelona last season). It was great Rooney scoring the winner with yet another header, and United lifting the Cup. I guess there are a lot of United supporters who hate the Glazers, many of whom show their displeasure with the green and gold scarves. Maybe if we got a quadruple or quintuple (as we were in line for last season), it would be a political problem, but (despite being first and foremost an FC United of Manchester fan) I do want Manchester United to do well - and the team is primarily composed of players with good intentions and supported by such people too, unlike Manchester Shitty FC...
2 goals in 10 minutes when Rooney England captain - make him permanent captain!
England were playing terribly against Egypt this evening and drawing 1-1, until Wayne Rooney was made captain after about 75 minutes due to Steven Gerard being substituted. In the next ten minutes, England scored two goals, until Rooney himself was substituted. The game finished 3-1 to England.
Admittedly Rooney had a bad game, but psychologically him becoming captain could have made the difference. I called for Rooney to become England captain in my song "Three Lies On His Shirt"; maybe it can still happen permanently, in place of Rio Ferdinand (who seemingly deliberately passed the ball to a City player in the Manchester derby in the league that United won 4-3 in "Fergie time").
Admittedly Rooney had a bad game, but psychologically him becoming captain could have made the difference. I called for Rooney to become England captain in my song "Three Lies On His Shirt"; maybe it can still happen permanently, in place of Rio Ferdinand (who seemingly deliberately passed the ball to a City player in the Manchester derby in the league that United won 4-3 in "Fergie time").
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Lyrics of "Terry"
[This love song is largely based on the Tracey Ullman song "Terry", written by Kirsty MacColl and Gavin Povey.]
Why do you never listen to me?
I could be invincible to you
Anyway it doesn't matter
Now 'cos I have found somebody new
Sorry that your heart is broken
Why is your mouth hanging open?
Don't look so surprised
I've found another guy
Terry is my perfect match
He says our love will last forever
And he should know
'Cos Terry's not the kind
To mess around and change his mind
Terry is as tough as Marlon Brando
Now he's waiting for me
I just had to break the news to you
You'll have to hide your face away
If he gets mad, there's no telling what he'd do
I've noticed that your door is open
So if you don't want your nose broken
You'd better go away
'Cos Terry's coming round today
Terry is my perfect match
Terry says our love will last forever
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
We could soon live forever
Then even Terry won't stay true
And I'd move on to someone new
He's been making eyes at me
It started long ago
So when he said he loved me
I just had to say "I know"
You thought you were such a smartie
Terry knows about karate
There's no telling what he'll do
Terry's not a bit like you
Terry's also having an affair
'Cos I've lured him to my lair
If this gets out, there's no telling what he'd do
If it gets in the papers, he could even sue
[I've uploaded the song to http://bit.ly/cl3JzM and my MySpace page www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.]
Why do you never listen to me?
I could be invincible to you
Anyway it doesn't matter
Now 'cos I have found somebody new
Sorry that your heart is broken
Why is your mouth hanging open?
Don't look so surprised
I've found another guy
Terry is my perfect match
He says our love will last forever
And he should know
'Cos Terry's not the kind
To mess around and change his mind
Terry is as tough as Marlon Brando
Now he's waiting for me
I just had to break the news to you
You'll have to hide your face away
If he gets mad, there's no telling what he'd do
I've noticed that your door is open
So if you don't want your nose broken
You'd better go away
'Cos Terry's coming round today
Terry is my perfect match
Terry says our love will last forever
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
We could soon live forever
Then even Terry won't stay true
And I'd move on to someone new
He's been making eyes at me
It started long ago
So when he said he loved me
I just had to say "I know"
You thought you were such a smartie
Terry knows about karate
There's no telling what he'll do
Terry's not a bit like you
Terry's also having an affair
'Cos I've lured him to my lair
If this gets out, there's no telling what he'd do
If it gets in the papers, he could even sue
[I've uploaded the song to http://bit.ly/cl3JzM and my MySpace page www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.]
Friday, 5 February 2010
Lyrics of "Three Lies On His Shirt"
[Largely to the tune of the Lightning Seeds' song, featuring David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, "Three Lions".]
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Terry's not at home
(x2)
In the Champions League final
John Terry didn't score
He slipped taking a penalty
England have shown him the door
Three lies on his shirt
John Terry has been caught out cheating
Many hours of hurt
Wayne Bridge is not smiling
Terry knows he can score
He's cheated before
It's not against the law
But England have shown him the door
Three lies on his shirt
Wayne Rooney for England captain
After 40 years of hurt
John Terry's been caught out cheating
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Terry's not at home
(x2)
Avram Grant is not smiling
He is such a bore
Portsmouth are not winning
He's been to a brothel before
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Avram's not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
Avram and Terry are not at home
[Listen to/downloaad this song at www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.]
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Terry's not at home
(x2)
In the Champions League final
John Terry didn't score
He slipped taking a penalty
England have shown him the door
Three lies on his shirt
John Terry has been caught out cheating
Many hours of hurt
Wayne Bridge is not smiling
Terry knows he can score
He's cheated before
It's not against the law
But England have shown him the door
Three lies on his shirt
Wayne Rooney for England captain
After 40 years of hurt
John Terry's been caught out cheating
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Terry's not at home
(x2)
Avram Grant is not smiling
He is such a bore
Portsmouth are not winning
He's been to a brothel before
He's not at home
He's not at home
He's not at home
Avram's not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
Avram and Terry are not at home
[Listen to/downloaad this song at www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.]
"Three Lies On His Shirt" - new song about John Terry and Avram Grant
I've just uploaded a new song, composed and recorded this afternoon, about Chelsea's John Terry's alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's ex. Terry has been removed as England manager and this song calls for Wayne Rooney to be England manager.
The song title, "Three Lies On His Shirt", was inspired by the front page headline of today's Daily Mirror.
The song is also about Avram Grant, the Portsmouth manager, who has allegedly visited a brothel.
They're not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
Avram and Terry are not at home!
You can listen to/download the song from my MySpace page www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.
The song title, "Three Lies On His Shirt", was inspired by the front page headline of today's Daily Mirror.
The song is also about Avram Grant, the Portsmouth manager, who has allegedly visited a brothel.
They're not at home
They're not at home
They're not at home
Avram and Terry are not at home!
You can listen to/download the song from my MySpace page www.myspace.com/stephenkimwallis.
Lyrics of "Manchester Shitty FC"
Manchester Shitty, Manchester Shitty FC
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
And you're shit, shit, shit
Shitty shitty Manchester Shitty FC
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it and you really wanna show it, clap your hands
And it's Manchester Shitty, Manchester Shitty FC
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
And it's Manchester Shitty, Manchester Shitty FC
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it and you really wanna show it, clap your hands
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
And you're shit, shit, shit
Shitty shitty Manchester Shitty FC
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it and you really wanna show it, clap your hands
And it's Manchester Shitty, Manchester Shitty FC
You're by far the richest team
The world has ever seen
And it's Manchester Shitty, Manchester Shitty FC
If you're shit and you know it, clap your hands
If you're shit and you know it and you really wanna show it, clap your hands
Song "Manchester Shitty FC" uploaded to MySpace
Hi all,
I've just started out on the internet, and created pages at MySpace and Facebook.
I recorded a new song, dedicated to all you Manchester City fans out there, called "Manchester Shitty FC"! It's not brilliantly sung, but it was the first take, improvised, on my Samsung D600 mobile phone. Hopefully, it will be sung at football matches by opponents of Man City. I hope to do a video soon and put it on YouTube.
I've uploaded it to my MySpace page at http://myspace.com/stephenkimwallis for your listening pleasure!
Best wishes, Stephen.
I've just started out on the internet, and created pages at MySpace and Facebook.
I recorded a new song, dedicated to all you Manchester City fans out there, called "Manchester Shitty FC"! It's not brilliantly sung, but it was the first take, improvised, on my Samsung D600 mobile phone. Hopefully, it will be sung at football matches by opponents of Man City. I hope to do a video soon and put it on YouTube.
I've uploaded it to my MySpace page at http://myspace.com/stephenkimwallis for your listening pleasure!
Best wishes, Stephen.
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