Best 11 Outside Top 6

Here's a fun game I just invented! Pick your starting 11 + 7 subs (if you like), without using players from Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham or Arsenal. Can you do it? Are you up to the test? Who knows!

Only 3 players from one team, sheeple!

I've done mine and I'm going to show it you. A few things to let you know, I'm going off the players form in the last 2 seasonsish... not how good they have been before that or how could they might become and I've also limited the number of players from the promoted teams unless they were already established Premier League players. Just to let you know, I've purposefully not including Gary Cahill or Adel Taarabt in my starting eleven as they will probably move clubs in the next transfer window. Let's go!

Goalkeeper


Name: Shay Given
Club: Aston Villa
Nationality Republic Of Ireland
Tom's accurate valuation £7,500,000

Shay Given is a great goalkeeper who I think could have played for a bigger team than Newcastle. Given signed for Villa from Man City for a reported £3.5 million after losing his place in the starting line up to Joe Hart. Had he been at a club where money is not an option, I feel his pricetag would have been much more inflated for a very established Premier League player.

Right Back


Name: Ryan Taylor
Club: Newcastle United
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £6,000,000

Ryan Taylor has been a solid right back for the last few seasons and has really helped Newcastle steady themselves since their return to the Premier League, especially given their recent defensive injuries. I found this position the hardest to cover, finding it hard to find a quality right back outside the top 6.

Left Back


Name: Leighton Baines
Club: Everton
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £25,000,000

No question about this choice, an absolute concrete decision. Baines has been nothing short of superb since his move to Goodison from Wigan and it has earned him several England caps as well as the attention of some of the top clubs. Whether Man City will test cash strapped Everton's resolve remains to be seen.

Centre Back


Name: Brede Hangeland
Club: Fulham
Nationality Norway
Tom's accurate valuation £10,000,000

Hangeland is a solid defender and has been linked to Arsenal for several of the last few seasons and his solid form is the reason for this. It looks now like Hangeland might see out his career with The Cottagers, where he was instrumental in the team that got to the Europa League final in 2010.

Centre Back


Name: Ryan Shawcross
Club: Stoke City
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £12,000,000

Many will dispute Shawcross's inclusion due to the incident with Aaron Ramsey but I don't feel it was anywhere near deliberate. Shawcross has been included in England squads but has never taken to the field but I believe he will be a regular face on the international scene. His form at Stoke has helped turn them into Premier League regulars, not the relegation candidates many tipped them to be.

Right Wing


Name: Matt Jarvis
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £7,000,000

Jarvis has not quite played with the same impressive form that earned him his first England cap last season but has still impressed this season. Wolves would definitely lacking creatively without him and hope that interest from several Premier League clubs will not try to sway him in January.

Left Wing


Name: Chris Brunt
Club: West Bromwich Albion
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £5,500,000

The Albion captain has been very impressive for The Baggies since their return to the Premier League and has thrown in some captain's performances, scoring vital goals. Since his move from Sheffield Wednesday in 2007, Brunt seems very much at home at The Hawthorns and may look to see out his career with the club.

Defensive Midfield


Name: Joey Barton
Club: Queens Park Rangers
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £7,000,000

Barton moved for to QPR for free in the summer but mainly due to being forced out from Newcastle after publicly criticizing owner Mike Ashley and not a slight on his ability. Barton was also rumoured to be joining Arsenal but his sending off against the Gunners scuppered any deal. His ability and creativity have helped QPR seemingly already achieve Premier League survival this season.

Attacking Midfield


Name: Clint Dempsey
Club: Fulham
Nationality USA
Tom's accurate valuation £12,000,000

I feel Dempsey is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. His attacking form and goalscoring speaks for itself. He was Fulham's top scorer last season and leads the Cottagers scoring charts again this year in a team that boasts attacking talents including Bobby Zamora, Andy Johnson and Moussa Dembele. I'm feel a team like Arsenal or Liverpool would be a great move for him.

Striker


Name: Demba Ba
Club: Newcastle United
Nationality Senegal
Tom's accurate valuation £15,000,000

Prolific. This is the only word I can use to describe Ba and his goal to game ratio in the Premier League speaks for itself. I was surprised when he left West Ham he didn't goal to a bigger team and he must have had a relegation release clause in his contract which allowed him to move for £0. He has more than replaced Andy Carroll in my opinion.

Striker


Name: Darren Bent
Club: Aston Villa
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £25,000,000

While his recent form has come under criticism, Bent's combined transfer fees have made him the most expensive British player and this is due to his goals. His reasons to leave Sunderland for Villa were to play in a team with players such as Ashley Young and Stuart Downing. Both have now left and it is rumoured Bent is considering his future.


Substitutes


Name: Ali Al-Habsi
Position Goalkeeper
Club: Wigan Athletic
Nationality Oman
Tom's accurate valuation £4,000,000

Name: Roger Johnson
Position Defender
Club: Wolves
Nationality England
Tom's accurate valuation £6,000,000

Name: Stephane Sessegnon
Position Midfielder
Club: Sunderland
Nationality Benin
Tom's accurate valuation £8,000,000

Name: Cheik Tiote
Position Midfielder
Club: Newcastle United
Nationality Côte d'Ivoire
Tom's accurate valuation £15,000,000

Name: Peter Odemwingie
Position Striker
Club: West Bromwich Albion
Nationality Nigeria
Tom's accurate valuation £12,000,000

Name: Junior Hoilett
Position Striker
Club: Blackburn Rovers
Nationality Canada
Tom's accurate valuation £6,000,000 (due to contract expiring in June)

Name: Steven Fletcher
Position Striker
Club: Wolves
Nationality Scotland
Tom's accurate valuation £12,000,000

Misfits Series 3 VIDEO REVIEW

I'm getting with times. Reading's for chumps so I've taken the liberty of forcing my opinion down your throats via Dailymotion (YouTube are fucking Nazi's and kept taking it down). Never fear, you cannot escape the opinions!


Misfits Series 3 Review by TomRowleyConwy
Getting interactive on yo' ass!

If it says Channel 4 have been nob's then get on THIS LINK

10 Albums That Are Well Good!

A few weeks ago The Academy Is... called it day. Thrice then said they were also taking an indefinite hiatus and then the following day, New Jersey emo quintet Thursday also announced it was the end of the road. With so many bands that got me into alternative music finishing, I wanted to put together a little tribute to some awesome bands, with the prestigious 10 Albums That Are Well Good Award!

These aren't neccesarily the bands like Green Day, Blink, Weezer, KoRn etc who got me into alternative music, just the albums that I was blown away by when I was growing up and probably define who I am (...so gay). Anyway, in no particular order, feast your ears on these!


Taking Back Sunday
Tell All Your Friends
2002
Victory Records


Just amazing. I don't think TBS have ever managed anything as good as this since. I remember hearing 'Cute Without The E' for the first time and being blown away! I love the Brand New digs in 'There's No I In Team' and it's overall just an amazing album!

My Favourite Track - Cute Without The E


Thursday
Full Collapse
2001
Victory Records

Say what you want about Thursday but without them we wouldn't have so of the awesome bands we have today. Geoff Rickley is amazing and a proper inspiration to other artists. It combines just enough high school angst with powerful messages so it's not too whiney or too preachy. Spot on!

My Favourite Track - Autobiography Of A Nation


Underoath
They're Only Chasing Safety
2004
Solid State Records

First proper screamy band I got into having tried to get away from the metal I liked as a kid. Both vocalists are amazing and got me into other wicked bands like From Autumn To Ashes. Aaron Gillespie has gone onto start The Almost who are also a band worth giving a listen to!

My Favourite Track - A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White


Emanuel
Soundtrack To A Headrush
2005
Vagrant Records

What a band! This album was so good and took my ages to find downloading track by track on KaZaa or whatever I was using back them! I still listen to the tracks on this album now and it's a shame their second album was so bad and they have since split up.

My Favourite Track - Hotline


Finch
What It Is To Burn
2002
Drive-Thru Records

When Finch disbanded in 2006 I was gutted. I guess I took them for granted and it was a shock when they broke up because I hadn't seen them live. Luckily for me, they reformed and I did see them at Give It A Name a few years later but it looked they had lost some of the momentum from their first stint. A new album has been in the pipelines for ages but nothing more than a quick EP has been released yet. Either way, I'm not expecting much.

My Favourite Track - Perfection Through Silence


Funeral For A Friend
Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation
2003
Atlantic/Mighty Atom Records

Gotta have some Welsh boys in here and with the exception of Hours, FFAF just aren't the same band anymore. It's a shame and I don't really know many people who like the new Funeral but they chose to evolve. At least they left some wicked early EP's and albums so people can here where they really came from.

My Favourite Track - She Drove Me To Daytime Television


Brand New
Your Favourite Weapon
2001
Triple Crown Records

Deja Entendu is a good album and I think was the perfect combination of the energetic and surreal side of Jesse Lacey and Brand New. Their new stuff says to me 'look how weird we are,' while their first two albums were honest accounts of themselves. I chose this over Deja Entendu because this was one the first albums I took to school to play on the stereo. Everyone hated it reaffirming my view that they were amazing.

My Favourite Track - Seventy Times Seven


AFI
The Art Of Drowning
2000
Nitro

Let's get some punk in here! Davey Havok is another weird musician who seems to take himself too seriously but this album is wicked! It's well energetic and they were still an underground band at this point before the release of Sing the Sorrow which brought them some mainstream success. Go listen!

My Favourite Track - Morning Star


Anti-Flag
Underground Network
2001
Fat Wreck Chords

Yeah! I'm 15, think the world's gone to shit and this record comes along a rips the roof off things. Looking back now a lot of it is a bit silly and I met drummer Pat at a gig in Liverpool once and he was a complete tosser so I don't like Anti-Flag any more.

My Favourite Track - Stars And Stripes


Millencolin
Pennybridge Pioneers
2000
Epitaph

Swedish punk? WHAAAT? It's true though and Millencolin aren't the only Swede punk band! Refused, anyone? I heard No Cigar on Tony Hawk 2, and immediately went and bought their album, that's advertising! Job done, list done.

My Favourite Track - No Cigar

Fresh Meat - Series Review

So last night I watched the last episode of the first season of Fresh Meat. If you read my review 'Two Episodes In' then you'll probably be wondering why I continued to watch a show that I had openly criticized and characters who I held in absolute contempt. Well, it's a fair point but have you seen what else is on TV at the moment? I'd rather scratch out my eyes than watch X-Factor of any other television mush that pollutes the cathode rays.

To clarify, I didn't hate the first few episodes, I laughed every now and then, I just didn't see any character development or reason to like the people I was watching. Jack Whitehall's character was the most likeable character and he's the one you're supposed to hate! I also thought they were using the same tired, old sitcom formulas.

Whatever, after my last blog I still wasn't convinced with the next few episodes. Episode 3 was about Simon, I mean Kingsley, changing courses to drama, Chinese buffets and Oregon predictably getting involved with her lecturer. Who didn't see that coming? Come on boys, mix it up a bit. I also previously said I liked the character of Howard but this marked a change in his character where instead of being a weird, mysterious guy who thinks he's hilarious, he turns into a bumbling nerd, scared to talk to girls. There's nothing wrong with being an oddball, in fact some of the most interesting people are like that. I just think his geeky desire to learn about 'the normals' and things like that were too nerdy and not the same as the character we first met, drying duck carcasses with a hairdryer. The same can be said for his stupid geek friend, his voice was too stereotypically nerdy. No other characters in the show were stereotypes, for example drama girl, who was a fun character. Howard was the only member of the main cast whose persona suffered and ended the series worse than when it began.

It was only from episode 4 that, for me, the show really got going. Kingsley and Josie's annoying will-they-won't-they relationship took a good turn after she didn't break up with Dave and I liked them so much better when they hated each other. Kingsley didn't really grow as a character and was the same bumbling, insecure, yet narrow-minded person as when he started. I kind of liked how Josie changed from being the bossy but meek character to a nasty girl, drinking and sleeping with random people. I don't condone it but found her more interesting. In fact I think she is a terrible person, she cheated on her boyfriend within the first moments of being away from him, more to spite Kingsley than anything, she is glad when it turns out her blind date is dead, rather than being stood up and tells everyone Kingsley's secrets. She's horrible to Kingsley and her final words of the series are, "well, I couldn't find you," when asked why she slept with JP. At the same time it's quite sad, I don't think much thought went into her emotional state, but maybe with a personality like that she never had a conscience to begin with.

Vod let a few things slip to suggest she wasn't just the gobby, female 'Super-Hans' of Fresh Meat. She genuinely felt betrayed by Oregon when she found out she was actually from a rich family and the phone call to her dad (who she often remarks about killing) seemed very sad. Also, her refusal to do the acid suggests she is maturing as a character. At the same time, it appeared she learned very little. Despite really getting into her course at one point she openly cheers the fact she's been kicked off, although this is most probably a front to maintain the hardcore personality she's put to the house. The fact that she does appeal it suggests she does want to stay. She has some good lines but didn't quite make the change into a good character.

JP. Amazing, he carried the student demo episode and is so good at his role. Probably because he's just playing himself. And eventually, he too grows as a character. The death of his father is the catalyst where he begins to show empathy and really appreciate his friends. I would have loved to see him twat that posh boy though.

Finally, Oregon, who I initially thought was the worst character. She really changed, probably the most out of all the characters. At first she was just shown as trying to tag along with Vod but her refusal to be bullied by a more alpha member of the house and continue her affair with the lecturer then refusing to give into him was good. She became the mother of house, complete with making a boiled egg and toast soldiers for Vod on the day of her appeal. I liked it how by the end, she was the one in control of the relationship and became not only a student who cares about her grades, but a confident character who I feel is the most dominant in the house.

The other characters were also good. Dave was a brilliant silent hardman, I felt sorry for him and would have liked to see him knock the shit out of Kingsley. Professor Shales was such a dick, brilliant though, he kind of reminded me of Colin Firth! Some weren't so good, Robert Webb's performance looked half-arsed and poorly used. When you have a comedian of his stature you should rely on his comedy and not his weaker areas, although the scene with him and JP over the tandoori was funny.

Overall, the show was ok and I'm glad they've got a second series, whether or not the same cast will be in it or not, I would like to see Howard more fully explored. I liked how Dave Lamb, The Invisible Man was given reference to and knew anonymous people like him from uni myself. I think these casual references are funnier than showing his face and think he should be kept this way.

If you haven't watched it, go check it out. It's funny at times, not so funny at others, laughs are usually found in awkwardness or people being nasty to each other but then I suppose that's what uni was like.

Slavery

Slavery

They call it a home, I call it a prison,
tripping over ourselves. There isn’t room
to move.

At least we’re given time to breath.
But this simple relief is to harvest
the crops of thieves.
We carry double our bodyweight,
working nonstop
in summer’s heat before dropping off
a back-breaking load, then
repeat.

Back to the black confines of our ‘home’
where we work in the dark, in numbers
but alone. Sometimes the blinding sunlight
shafts shine through and we’re made drowsy with fumes
so they can exhume the gold we produce.

I’ve heard the buzz of rebellion, a murmur
from the deep, orders that come direct from the queen.
In our millions we’d swarm everything
in our path, a stinging attack forcing
our captors to give back what they took.

But for now, we behave
like happy little slaves.