What is radio imaging and why should it be used?

People might not have a clue about radio imaging yet it might be something that they are exposed to on a daily basis. This helps to define the identity of the station and give it a unique personality by using a specific kind of actor to help set the stage.

As a manager moves through their career, it is inevitable there will be highs and lows. For the highs, they will always get praise, no doubt about it. Even the likes of Alan Ball and Ian Branfoot, often considered amongst the worst ever Premier League managers, garnered credit for managing to stave off relegation while manager of Southampton.

However, it is the public reaction to managers’ lows which is interesting. Some gaffers will get crucified in the media and by fans for certain failures, while others will be able to get away with more blatant blemishes with little comeback. Fans’ perception is, I fear, too easily swung by personality.

The best example I can give you of this is the case of Roberto Martinez against others like Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis. I think a lot of fans would prefer the former to manage their team over either of the two latters. Why? Well, the answer would inevitably be that his teams play ‘good’ football, as opposed to the other two, whose teams play ‘bad’ football, I suppose?

What on earth is good football? I suppose it comes down to whether you are happy to have your team play silky football whatever the results, which I highly doubt many fans would. If you offered Wigan another chance to play in the Premier League but told them they had to concede less than 45 goals to stay there, I’m sure you would see a more conservative team being put out.

I heard an argument the other day where someone said he disliked Pulis and Allardyce because they chose to play ‘ugly’ football. They had players who were capable of ‘better’. Well, surely Martinez chose to play ‘pretty’ football with the formations he picked and the players he signed, and in that case he must take responsibility for Wigan’s relegation, given that, had they been less open and conceded fewer goals, they may well have stayed up.

People like to think that playing attractive, rather than effective, football is fighting the good fight. The aim is of course to do both and some teams manage it, but they usually finish in the top seven places in the Premier League. It’s all very well saying these things, but when your team is in trouble and they can’t defend corners, or they can’t keep clean sheets, or they can’t score the kind of scuffed, melee-style goals which keep you up, most fans will change their opinions. In my opinion style can never be considered more important than substance.

Stoke’s lowest finishing Premier League position under Pulis was 14th. Martinez’s highest with Wigan is 15th. Sam Allardyce has never been relegated from the Premier League, and has only really come close when he kept Bolton up in 2001/02 and 2002/03, Martinez has just been relegated and now moved on to Everton.

It is clear that Pulis and Allardyce were given a lot more resources than Martinez and that Bolton, West Ham and Stoke are bigger clubs than Wigan with bigger fan bases, but Wigan had some very good players last season. Not players that could get into top half sides, with the possible exception of Shaun Maloney, but certainly good enough to stay in the division. When a team has natural goal scorers, it can get itself out of careless performances by scoring, but when you are so open at the back all of the time, you really are hurting your own cause.

It puzzles me that fans harbour so much bad feeling towards Pulis and Allardyce in particular. They were simply trying to bring relative success to their clubs, as Martinez has been trying to. They are after the same things and, while Martinez won the FA Cup this year, Tony Pulis was just 90 minutes away from the same prize, playing a hugely different brand of football. Not better, or worse, just different. True, Wigan were better equipped to take on Man City on the big pitch with their style, but that surely goes to show what they can do when they defend fairly stoically as they did that day. That was not the performance of a relegation team, yet they did indeed go down.

Entertainment in football is not about passing or possession statistics. It is about what you do with the ball. Maybe I am on my own in this opinion, but the only time I get excited at a football match is when your team have the ball near or in the opposition penalty area. Goals and chances generate excitement, not one-twos or passing out from the back. These things are nicer to watch perhaps than a pitch-length cross from a defender to a striker, but in the end the aims are the same. Both penalty areas are where games are won and lost, not in the middle of the pitch, and everything else really is theory.

We all like attractive football, but there is a need for a ‘horses for courses’ approach, particularly in modern English football, where slipping out of the top division can have serious repercussion’s – just ask Bradford, Portsmouth and now Wolves.

If your team is achieving what it should be, people will be happy regardless of your team’s stats. Wigan’s fans were treated to more attractive football than West Ham fans last season, but I know which set will be happier at the moment.

The same goes to Bolton, who changed their style dramatically, only to find that actually, perhaps they should have stuck with what they had and what they were good at. After all, isn’t that what the game’s about? Not all players can be short and silky, after all.

Please give our Facebook page a like and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the Entertainment you need. 

People often have different reasons for wanting to find current entertainment news. Some people will want information about new movies that are coming out while others may follow a celebrity. Others may be interested in the so-called “celebrity gossip” angle of many of the stories.

Who do you love?

Not all websites or magazines are objective in the information that they provide. There are two aspects to this. One is that some sites and mags seem to post information about the same people all the time. These news providers seem to have a list of favorites that are steady fodder and tend to ignore other people, especially newcomers to the movie or music industry.

The second issue is that some magazines and sites seem to regurgitate information that is found elsewhere. Not everyone wants to read the same things about their favorite celebrities all the time. Sites that are more interesting often write from a different point of view and have better articles.

How often is this updated?

Magazines are somewhat stuck from publication date to publication date. One thing that people dislike about a lot of these is that some of them “guess” at news. An example of this might be an article on someone famous having a baby. The article might state that the baby was born on a specific day or that the mother had an easy delivery when in fact, neither is true.

Websites can be a better choice for getting current information. Some sites are only updated weekly or every few days while others are updated daily. This can result in a better quality of information in general simply because it is more current.

Are there are range of features?

The best sites will have many different types of features. This can be regular articles and images but also film or video clips and previews, interviews, contest and other features. Some sites announce new DVDs and others have information about TV shows. The best sites will have a mix of different features.

People can also enjoy features about upcoming remakes of older movies or new additions to a series of movies that are coming up.

 

Some sites are geared to a specific demographic. A few are designed for pre-teens and teens and may have a lot of news about popular singers and celebrities. Others are more for younger adults and feature a lot of information from the music scene. Others may have an appeal for a bilingual audience.

To find out more of current entertainment news, visit http://showbizcafe.com/.

Please give our Facebook page a like and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the Entertainment you need. 

Editing and Graphics By Conor Rees 

So it all came down to the last day of the transfer window. Arsenal had just come off a satisfying 1-0 win over a high spending Tottenham team and were keen to add to the squad, something the media, the fans and even the players have been begging Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis to do all summer. With unflattering purchases of 2 free players in Sanogo and Flamini and Gazidis’ comments that the club were willing to spend, the club became a laughing stock with no big names arriving at Arsenal.  Then suddenly the club were in talks with Özil. I felt like I was dreaming and wanted someone to slap me to see if I was awake or not. After many hours of constantly refreshing Twitter, the Arsenal website and watching Sky Sports News, it was confirmed in the final minutes of the transfer window; he was an Arsenal player.  

        

At the time of writing, it still hasn’t sunk in that the club not only has signed what Jose Mourinho calls one of the best Number 10s in the world, but the club spending so much money on a single player. I’ve seen him modelling the kit but the amazement that he’s coming to play for my club fills me with excitement like a fat kid being offered a massive chocolate cake covered in Smarties and Mars bars. I’m now even feeling negative towards the upcoming internationals because I just want to see him play in an Arsenal shirt and watch him ping balls across the pitch like an explosion at a ping pong ball factory.

The stats are there to prove how fantastic and significant of a signing he is. Over his last 3 years for Real Madrid and Germany, he has managed to set up 94 goals and score 41 in 209 games which works out to being involved in a goal every 0.65 games or 1 in 2 games if you want to keep it simple. Compare Özil to former Arsenal player Cesc Fabregas and he assisted 49 goals over the same time period and that outlines how much of a great signing Özil is for Arsenal and stats like that just make me wonder how stupid you would have to be to let someone as pivotal and intelligent as Özil leave Real Madrid. Sure Gareth Bale came to the club and someone had to be sold to lighten the blow of spending £86 million, but it feels like such a bad mistake on Madrid’s part and is Arsenal’s gain. So cheers for that Perez, I’m toasting my can of cider to you.

With Özil as a Number 10, you can expect goals and lots of them. On Sunday against Tottenham, the front three of Giroud, Walcott and Cazorla were all making intelligent runs that needed an equally intelligent pass to complete the move. The thought of Özil being able to pass the ball with ease excites me so much and to think I was excited about Santi Cazorla’s arrival. His general presence will increase the team’s value and will surely increase our goal tally over the season as the fight for the Champions League places becomes increasingly harder and harder with Tottenham and Liverpool bringing in decent players over the transfer window.

Bringing Özil to the club sets a benchmark of what players Arsenal can attract over the coming years. If players like Özil are happy to come to the club, then fellow world class players are surely going to be interested in joining Arsenal. Along with that, spending £42.5 million shows the financial muscle that the club can flex and shows the club are now able to spend at will on world class players and now grow stronger and stronger and end that frequently mentioned trophy drought. The time of paying the Emirates stadium debt is nearing at its end and now Arsenal can push on and challenge for titles and cups and it’s something Özil can help the club towards.

During Mike Trevelyan's post looking at the transfer window, he wrote about the purchase of Mesut Özil in which he said “the signing of Ozil might drive the Gunners into securing that 4th place finish and keep other teams such as North London rivals Spurs, and Liverpool at bay.” Maybe it’s the Arsenal bias and the buzz of signing him but finishing fourth is the bare minimum now. A signing of his weight not only makes finishing in the Top 4 a certain possibility, but could cause Arsenal to have an outside chance of the title. I could eat on those words, but who knows. If Arsenal have a strong start to the season, the injury Gods are kind on the team and Arsenal are within 8 points of top spot, Arsene may spend on one or two players in the January transfer window, there’s a chance we could be in the running this year. Or at least get a trophy.

Finally!!!

Please give our Facebook page a like and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the Entertainment you need. 

Please give our Facebook page a like and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the Entertainment you need. 

England v Brazil Preview/ Prediction

This match is a perfect way for England to celebrate 150 years of the Football Association. This match will prove an extremely big test for England with a very strong opposition with the quality of players in the Brazil squad.

England still hasn't managed to be entirely successful on the international front for a long while now especially with the quality and talent on paper in the England squad. When England put their head to it though they have the potential to put up some real fights against some top opposing nations out there. England managed to beat Italy in an International friendly on August 15th last year 2-1 but since then they have got some poor results against teams which really England should be beating. Out of England's last four games England have only won once with draws coming against Poland away and Ukraine at home and of course the Zlatan annihilation when England lost 4-2 at home to Sweden last year.

Brazil’s current form could possibly be in England’s favour as they haven’t been consistent either.  They have beaten and lost to Argentina 2-1 in their last six games as well as beating fairly rubbish sides in their last 6 games they have drew to Columbia and many stars included in the squad played a part in Brazil’s Olympic defeat to Mexico. So Brazil can also be questioned for form. But on paper the Brazil squad to play England is very impressive and talent can been easily witnessed from every corner of this squad.

Brazil Squad to play England:

GK

·         Julio Cesar (QPR), Diego Alves (Valencia)

DEF

·         Daniel Alves, Adriano (both Barcelona), David Luiz (Chelsea, ? questionable calf injury), Dante (Bayern Munich), Leandro Castan (Roma), Miranda, Filipe Luis (both Atletico Madrid)

MID

·         Ramires (Chelsea), Arouca (Santos), Paulinho (Corinthians), Hernanes (Lazio), Oscar (Chelsea), Ronaldinho (Atletico Mineiro), Lucas Moura (Paris St Germain)

ATT

·         Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg), Neymar (Santos), Fred (Fluminense), Luis Fabiano (Sao Paulo).

England Squad to play Brazil:               

GK

·         Joe Hart (Man City), Jack Butland (Birmingham City)

DEF

·         Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka (Both Everton), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Glen  Johnson (Liverpool), Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole (Both Chelsea), Kyle Walker (Spus), Chris Smalling(Man UTD)

MID

·         Lennon (Spurs), Osman (Everton),  Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Man City) Carrick (Man UTD, PULLED OUT),  Cleverley(Man UTD),  Walcott, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain(Arsenal, Walcott MID or possibly ATT), Gerrard (Liverpool)

ATT

·         Defoe (Spurs, PULLED OUT), Sturridge (Liverpool, PULLED OUT), Welbeck, Rooney (Man UTD)

First of all I can’t see Walcott starting in an attacking role despite the injuries of Defoe and Sturridge. Though this is a position I could see Walcott drifting out to a bit later into the game. I think the most likely option upfront is Rooney and Welbeck, though Welbeck hasn’t played many games for United I do think his talent is a big help to the national side and I think he is an option that should be started.

Ashley Cole has been confirmed to start the game but I’m sure we will see Baines at some point during the game given his current form. I’m not an overall fan of Johnson defensively, yes he is good at coming forward but I would prefer to see Walker to start alongside Lescott and Cahill at centre back. Midfield will be tricky especially if Walcott starts in midfield as well. Gerrard and Lampards current form is excellent alongside Jack Wilshire’s. Cleverley, Osman and Chamberlain I believe will start on the bench but I’ve got a feeling Milner may start put possibly in Right Midfield as he played over the last year. I’m not sure he will take the place of Lennon though as if he does the squad will be quite slow and lack the pace it will probably need against this Brazil side. The squad I’d like to see is a partially different to what I think it will be. I would like the defence to be the same but in midfield Lampard, Gerrard in middle and Chamberlain and Milner either side with Rooney and Walcott up front.

With Brazil Cesar should start given his form at QPR alongside a defence of Alves, Adriano and Dante. Luiz has been given the captains arm band but will only start if fit. The Midfield I think will consist of Ramires, Lucas and Ronaldinho, Oscar is also highly likely to participate at some point. I think the skilful star Neymar will play out on the left but is bound to drift in and play more as a second striker. I’m a fan of Hulk and think he is an exciting player to look out for tonight, I think he will stick to his right forward role with Fabiano in the middle.

Overall this game I think will be mostly a defensive one for England will Brazil likely to hold the majority of possession. England needs to be careful not to commit to many players forward especially with Cole, Johnson, Walker and Cahill liking to push forward on occasions. Brazil though can also be caught out with this point though as Alves and David Luiz two examples of defensive player that also like to venter forward.

Brazil isn’t as solid as they would probably like to be at the back with the absence of Thiago Silva. They can be beaten and scored against and I think if England took the chances tonight then then could get a good result. But when it comes to attacking I think Brazil could just edge the game with their attacking superstar Neymar. People have questioned the player’s talent not being as good as everyone is making it out as he plays for Santos and not a very good league. I believe Neymar is a great player and the Brazilian league is a very close fought battle every year, it will be interesting to see what he can do against some of the Premier Leagues best but I’m sure his magic will sparkle at some stage tonight.

Overall I think the game will be very close and England does have a chance of getting a result if they take their chances. I think though that Brazil will just edge the game and win but in a close game. A key player, for Brazil, to watch out for is probably Neymar, Hulk and Alves but I can also see a very impressive performance tonight from want away Chelsea player Frank Lampard for England.  

Overall prediction England 1-2 Brazil.

In recent news Michel Platini has told a French newspaper that the European governing body UEFA is considering the possibility of scrapping the Europa League in favour of doubling the teams in the Champions League. The current number of teams in the Champions League is 32 with the new proposed figure being 64.

Overall this could be an interesting proposition and could help numerous clubs in the current Europa League system financially as well.  In the football year 2011-2012 the UEFA’s Champions league took in £1bn with the Europa League taking in less than a quarter of that figure at £225m. Therefore UEFA could be looking into this proposition in order to gain more financial benefit by making the competition bigger as the Europa league is taking a substantial amount less.

Teams can also benefit financially as well as UEFA. For instance teams in the champion’s league normally earn a lot more compared to teams competing in the Europa League. Winners Chelsea last year earned £49m whereas Europa League winners Atletico Madrid who hammered Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this season only earned £8.5. That figure is even more staggering compared to the £28m that Man UTD earned despite being eliminated in the group stages, Fulham only earned £2.2m for exiting from the same stage of the Europa League. But by getting rid of the Europa league UEFA then will get rid of the Super Cup competition where the two winners of the competition play against each other, though some may see this as an unfair encounter anyway, Europa league winners Atletico Madrid proved the underdogs could conjure up an exciting performance and come out on top to produce an excellent display of 90 minutes of football.

Though with the extension of teams in the Champions League it probably still wouldn't solve the problem of games taking place on a Thursday night leaving teams tired come their weekend fixtures. Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has stated before how he feels that the Champions League is a lot easier due to the heavier kick off's on a Thursday. UEFA could decide for all game to still be played on a Tuesday and Wednesday but that is more likely not going to be as financially rewarding as to have games still taking place on a Thursday, so the likelihood of this decision getting rid of Thursday European fixtures appears to be very slim. 

One option that I do think could solve this is for games taking place on the Thursday to be played on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays during weeks where there are no European football being played (though this may result in some re-jigging of league fixtures as they could clash with mid-week league games).

With this proposal a lot of the lower rated teams may be eliminated more quickly, though they could still get more money they may not get far in the competition with the top leagues dominating these extra spots. As it currently stand four premier league teams and two Scottish teams qualify for the Champions league every season (though some may go to the qualifying round they still do qualify). 

The new figure will mean that seven Premier League teams and five Scottish teams qualify for the Champions League. There is a possibility that this could ultimately decrease certain aspects on competitiveness in Europe’s leagues such as the premier league. With more teams qualifying it means fewer teams will be fighting for those places as ultimately there would be enough room for most of the teams competing for Europe. Take last season for example in the Premier League; both Manchester clubs had already secured their place near the end of the season with the remaining two places being fought for by Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs and surprise package Newcastle. But if the proposal goes ahead then all of those teams would have qualified along with Everton (leaving currently competing in the Europa League Liverpool not qualifying). 

Below: Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers gives his views on UEFA's proposal. 

This decision wont be popular with everyone but will with others. The Europa League being scrapped does enable new teams to compete in the competition though and teams such as Everton in the Premier League would have qualified for this seasons champions league if the proposal was in place this season.   

This means that despite one less English club qualifying as a whole into Europa it could take less steamy encounters out of the English league. As you move down the table you tend to find bigger gaps between the top clubs compared to the middle-ish section of the table meaning there is a slight possibility that there could be less competitive matches begin played with teams already securing their places weeks before the end of the season if they are unable to compete for the title. 

This proposal is not expected to take place until the 2015 competition with a final decision expected to be made by 2014. UEFA has got a lot of different things to take into consideration and no matter what decision they take some will and won’t favour it.

Overall I think this statement seems like a step to get more money or to keep the current finances flowing in rather than help the littler clubs in the competition. But as well as this I think that Michel Platini's statement seems like a response to the threat Barcelona chief Rosell made against UEFA in November where he insisted that Europe’s richest clubs would break away form the Champions League if the competition isn’t expanded.  

It is also stated by Rosell that Europe’s biggest leagues should change the number of teams competing in them from 20 to 16 so they can handle the match’s so they don’t affect league performances. UEFA can’t lose those clubs as it has been proven that they earn UEFA the majority of their money than the clubs competing in the Europa. I think this statement has been made by UEFA to try and tell the bigger clubs to stay competing at least for another year so they are able to get another year of similar finances whilst they propose a solution to the potential problem they have. I think that if this proposal isn’t met then another one will have to be made; it’s a risk I can’t see UEFA taking financially. With this UEFA could lead to gaining more finance than they are currently earning in more TV funding given to clubs who would normally compete in the Europa League. Whether Europe’s top league will change the amount of teams in them is a whole different topic and story.