When i was younger I used to love reading Julie Burchill's stuff.
Nowadays there is no one in her league..apart from Caitlin Moran of the Times.
Her piece on Bowie's return in today's paper was brilliant, it brought tears to my eyes and summed up everything I would like to have said but struggled to do because I am simply not as talented as her.
She deserves a much bigger platform for her skills - maybe the Mail or the Sun will come calling.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
GUARDIOLA PLANNING TO GO TO MILAN OR BAYERN BEFORE MAN UNITED
I have heard today that Pep Guardiola may take a job in Italy (Milan) or Germany (Bayern) before he moves to the big one at Man United.
He is reluctant to go to Chelsea or Man City in the summer as he really only wants to manage United in England, but must wait for Fergie to call it a day.
I hear Chelsea are still more likely to end up with Mourinho back in charge, or Jurgen Klopp from Dortmund.
He is reluctant to go to Chelsea or Man City in the summer as he really only wants to manage United in England, but must wait for Fergie to call it a day.
I hear Chelsea are still more likely to end up with Mourinho back in charge, or Jurgen Klopp from Dortmund.
By the way, it's Bo-wie, not Bow-ie!!
Just to set the record straight - David pronounces his surname Bo-wie (as in Zoe) not Bow-ie as in cow.
Thought you should know!!
Thought you should know!!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
MICHAEL LAUDRUP FOR ARSENAL
I HAVE hears some interesting talk from my contacts at the Emirates.
Namely that Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is being talked about within the corridors of power as the man who just might take over at Arsenal when Wenger finally calls it a day.
I have also heard that his name has been mentioned at Man United - although Pep Guardiola remains the man they want to take over from Fergie, and who will do so barring a late change of mind on his part.
But I can see the logic of Laudrup at Arsenal and I can see it coming off.
He is a highly intelligent man and an advocate of fine football - in other words he is a young Wenger.
Certainly I would rate him ahead of Brendan Rodgers, his Swansea predecessor who was lucky to get the Liverpool job.
Laudrup for Arsenal - you heard it here first.
FRANK WORRALL
Namely that Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is being talked about within the corridors of power as the man who just might take over at Arsenal when Wenger finally calls it a day.
I have also heard that his name has been mentioned at Man United - although Pep Guardiola remains the man they want to take over from Fergie, and who will do so barring a late change of mind on his part.
But I can see the logic of Laudrup at Arsenal and I can see it coming off.
He is a highly intelligent man and an advocate of fine football - in other words he is a young Wenger.
Certainly I would rate him ahead of Brendan Rodgers, his Swansea predecessor who was lucky to get the Liverpool job.
Laudrup for Arsenal - you heard it here first.
FRANK WORRALL
BOWIE, THE KING IS BACK - AND ON FORM AFTER 30 YEARS OF MEDICORITY
HE is, without doubt, the greatest 'pop star' of all time - and my musical hero.
So it was wonderful to watch as David Bowie stunned us all by releasing a new single today, the day of his 66th birthday.
Ziggy/the Thin White Duke has always had that ability to take us by surprise. The biggest shock of all, of course, is how - in this world of constant communication and news feed - he managed to keep it quiet for two years that he was even back in the studio working on new material.
Indeed, only a year ago a friend of mine claimed he had seen Bowie 'at a cancer clinic' in Manhattan - and that he might not be long for this world.
Yet here he is on my TV screen this morning, singing his new number in a video that left me smiling and shaking my head in wonder.
The video - of Bowie's head on top of a small puppet - was amusing but also telling: it flicked through images of David's time in Berlin, when he produced the mind-blowing change of direction that was Low and Heroes, plus the rather less distinctive Lodger.
This is Bowie at his best: Bowie's Johnny Cash moment, whereby the Man in Black glanced back over his life with a mesmerising commentary on just what he had been through, what it all amounted to and the frailty of humanity as
(im)mortality beckons.
Bowie's new single, Where Are We Now, brought me close to tears. It is a great artist's valedictory statement and one of his best songs since Five Years, from Ziggy. You could probably say it is Five Years now - Bowie's final lament in 2013 as he faces up to the final curtain.
I can tell you for certain now that he will never tour again. But if this and the imminent album are his final statements, and the album is half as good as the single, we Bowie fanatics can at least be grateful for that. This latest recording was something we did not expect - it is a bonus from a genius.
The single is also undoubtedly is best piece of work in 30 years - yes, since Let's Dance. I often think it is a tragedy that he never called it a day then, certainly the catalogue of rubbish that followed was never worthy of the man.
For me, Bowie ruled from 72 to 83 and all after was instantly forgettable.
But, maybe at the final bend, he has come up with something that is up to the standard of that period.
Bowie is back, it may not be for long, and it may be his final hurrah, but I for one am just grateful he is back with something worthy of his name.
The king isn't dead....long may he reign....
FRANK WORRALL
So it was wonderful to watch as David Bowie stunned us all by releasing a new single today, the day of his 66th birthday.
Ziggy/the Thin White Duke has always had that ability to take us by surprise. The biggest shock of all, of course, is how - in this world of constant communication and news feed - he managed to keep it quiet for two years that he was even back in the studio working on new material.
Indeed, only a year ago a friend of mine claimed he had seen Bowie 'at a cancer clinic' in Manhattan - and that he might not be long for this world.
Yet here he is on my TV screen this morning, singing his new number in a video that left me smiling and shaking my head in wonder.
The video - of Bowie's head on top of a small puppet - was amusing but also telling: it flicked through images of David's time in Berlin, when he produced the mind-blowing change of direction that was Low and Heroes, plus the rather less distinctive Lodger.
This is Bowie at his best: Bowie's Johnny Cash moment, whereby the Man in Black glanced back over his life with a mesmerising commentary on just what he had been through, what it all amounted to and the frailty of humanity as
(im)mortality beckons.
Bowie's new single, Where Are We Now, brought me close to tears. It is a great artist's valedictory statement and one of his best songs since Five Years, from Ziggy. You could probably say it is Five Years now - Bowie's final lament in 2013 as he faces up to the final curtain.
I can tell you for certain now that he will never tour again. But if this and the imminent album are his final statements, and the album is half as good as the single, we Bowie fanatics can at least be grateful for that. This latest recording was something we did not expect - it is a bonus from a genius.
The single is also undoubtedly is best piece of work in 30 years - yes, since Let's Dance. I often think it is a tragedy that he never called it a day then, certainly the catalogue of rubbish that followed was never worthy of the man.
For me, Bowie ruled from 72 to 83 and all after was instantly forgettable.
But, maybe at the final bend, he has come up with something that is up to the standard of that period.
Bowie is back, it may not be for long, and it may be his final hurrah, but I for one am just grateful he is back with something worthy of his name.
The king isn't dead....long may he reign....
FRANK WORRALL
Saturday, December 29, 2012
RAFAEL BENITEZ DESERVES CREDIT FOR DAVID LUIZ CONVERSION
'TIS still the season of goodwill - although you would hardly guess if you went down to Stamford Bridge right now.
Yes, many Chelsea fans continue to be peeved that Rafael Benitez is still in charge of their football club.
They despise him from his time as manager of Liverpool FC and for his critical comments about the Blues in that role.
I, too, had my reservations - I did not think Roberto Di Matteo deserved the sack and I certainly did not envisage Benitez as the man to take Chelsea forwards.
But let's be fair...he has done a good job so far.
I am not saying he is the man for the job or that he should keep the role if someone of the ilk of Mourinho or Klopp comes available in summer (before you mention Pep, I reiterate once again that Guardiola is set for Man United).
But I can't deny that the Spaniard has strengthened the defence and got the team playing well.
And for one thing alone he deserves immense praise - for being the man who had the vision and the courage to turn David Luiz into a maurauding midfielder.
Luiz is surely the next club captain and I am convinced he will be a great leader in what is arguably his best position, certainly one he can grow into.
Even if you don't like the bloke, it is both wrong and xenophobic to call Benitez 'a fat Spanish waiter'.
Credit where credit's due...even if he does leave in the summer, he has solved two urgent problems for Chelsea FC.
With Luiz's conversion, Benitez has provided hope that Frank Lampard CAN be replaced (although Luiz will certainly have to up his goalscoring abilities) - and he has also provided the Blues with the man who can take over from John Terry as the team's inspirational leader for the next decade.
FRANK WORRALL
Yes, many Chelsea fans continue to be peeved that Rafael Benitez is still in charge of their football club.
They despise him from his time as manager of Liverpool FC and for his critical comments about the Blues in that role.
I, too, had my reservations - I did not think Roberto Di Matteo deserved the sack and I certainly did not envisage Benitez as the man to take Chelsea forwards.
But let's be fair...he has done a good job so far.
I am not saying he is the man for the job or that he should keep the role if someone of the ilk of Mourinho or Klopp comes available in summer (before you mention Pep, I reiterate once again that Guardiola is set for Man United).
But I can't deny that the Spaniard has strengthened the defence and got the team playing well.
And for one thing alone he deserves immense praise - for being the man who had the vision and the courage to turn David Luiz into a maurauding midfielder.
Luiz is surely the next club captain and I am convinced he will be a great leader in what is arguably his best position, certainly one he can grow into.
Even if you don't like the bloke, it is both wrong and xenophobic to call Benitez 'a fat Spanish waiter'.
Credit where credit's due...even if he does leave in the summer, he has solved two urgent problems for Chelsea FC.
With Luiz's conversion, Benitez has provided hope that Frank Lampard CAN be replaced (although Luiz will certainly have to up his goalscoring abilities) - and he has also provided the Blues with the man who can take over from John Terry as the team's inspirational leader for the next decade.
FRANK WORRALL
TOM CRUISE BACKS A WINNER WITH JACK REACHER
UNLIKE many journalists, I have a soft spot for Tom Cruise. I don't judge him on his religious beliefs or his relationship with Katie Holmes - I just see a bloke whose kids from his marriage to Nicole Kidman adore him, who lives his own life and who brings joy to millions as one of the world's best actors.
But, of course, I have noted the bad publicity Cruise has amassed of late and I was interested to see if he would cop another load of flak after taking on the role of Jack Reacher in his latest movie outing.
I myself love Lee Child's books about the Yankee loner who drifts from town to town and invariably ends up sorting out the bad guys.
But there was a real unease about the casting of Cruise, who is 5 and a half feet, in the role of Reacher, who is 6 and a half feet - and twice the physical build.
Cruise and his studio had invested $10million buying into the Reacher franchise - a gamble...but one that I have to say has paid off.
Cruise is brilliant as Reacher. Forget the size difference - you don't notice thanks to clever camera angles and the lean shape Cruise is in for a bloke of 50.
He conveys the essence of the character and I reckon Cruise has made probably the cleverest move of his career - and the best film too.
From being a bloke on the verge of becoming yesterday's man, Cruise's investment has now opened up a future that he could surely only have dreamed of.
The future is his as he now has the whole back catalogue of Reacher books to bring to the big screen - in one clever swoop he has established a future for himself that you wouldn't have thought possible at the height of his break-up from Holmes earlier this year.
Cruise is Reacher - he has pulled it off against the odds - and for that brave plunge into the unknown, which could have ended his career, he deserves a bit of credit.
But don't just believe me - go and see the film for yourselves...
FRANK WORRALL
But, of course, I have noted the bad publicity Cruise has amassed of late and I was interested to see if he would cop another load of flak after taking on the role of Jack Reacher in his latest movie outing.
I myself love Lee Child's books about the Yankee loner who drifts from town to town and invariably ends up sorting out the bad guys.
But there was a real unease about the casting of Cruise, who is 5 and a half feet, in the role of Reacher, who is 6 and a half feet - and twice the physical build.
Cruise and his studio had invested $10million buying into the Reacher franchise - a gamble...but one that I have to say has paid off.
Cruise is brilliant as Reacher. Forget the size difference - you don't notice thanks to clever camera angles and the lean shape Cruise is in for a bloke of 50.
He conveys the essence of the character and I reckon Cruise has made probably the cleverest move of his career - and the best film too.
From being a bloke on the verge of becoming yesterday's man, Cruise's investment has now opened up a future that he could surely only have dreamed of.
The future is his as he now has the whole back catalogue of Reacher books to bring to the big screen - in one clever swoop he has established a future for himself that you wouldn't have thought possible at the height of his break-up from Holmes earlier this year.
Cruise is Reacher - he has pulled it off against the odds - and for that brave plunge into the unknown, which could have ended his career, he deserves a bit of credit.
But don't just believe me - go and see the film for yourselves...
FRANK WORRALL
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