The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 20 May 2011 05:27 PM PDT MAY 21 — Throughout the season it's seemed likely that the race for English Premier League survival would be closely contested, and so it has proven with five teams entering the final weekend of the campaign anxious to avoid the remaining two places alongside already relegated West Ham. Out of that quintet — Wolves and Blackburn level on 40 points, Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan just below them on 39 — the prospects appear to be bleakest for Blackpool, who must obtain at least a point from their game against newly-crowned champions Manchester United at Old Trafford. The only silver lining for Ian Holloway's team is the fact that United have already sewn up the title and can therefore rest a number of key players in preparation for next weekend's Champions League Final against Barcelona. But that still probably won't be enough — the players picked by Sir Alex Ferguson should be desperate to improve their chances of appearing at Wembley by producing a strong performance tomorrow, and it would be a major surprise if Blackpool are able to pick up the point they need to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop. None of the other relegation candidates face particularly easy games, either: Wigan are away at Stoke, Birmingham travel to Tottenham, and Wolves and Blackburn face each other at Molineux. It's always notoriously difficult to predict how end-of-season fixtures will turn out — mid-table teams have nothing to play for and are therefore likely to be somewhat less committed than normal. However, that more relaxed approach can also allow players to express themselves and play without fear, so you can never be quite sure what kind of opponent you might face. Having said that, this would appear to be a good time for Wigan to take on Stoke. The Potters invested a great deal of emotional energy into their FA Cup Final appearance against Manchester City last weekend, which was effectively the climax of their successful season. Whether they'll have the stomach for another intense encounter against desperate opposition has to be questionable, and Wigan should be able to pick up at least a point if they can banish their own nerves. And a point could be all that Wigan need, because it's difficult to see how Birmingham can escape from their trip to White Hart Lane with anything to their name — if Tottenham are properly motivated. Spurs cast aside their poor recent form and returned to fifth place — the Europa League qualification benchmark — with an unexpected 2-0 win at Liverpool last weekend. Harry Redknapp's team would feel that fifth is the least they deserve for their efforts on two fronts this season, and the Londoners will therefore be keen to ensure that they finish above Liverpool — even if it means the mixed blessing of a place in next season's Europa League, a competition that Redknapp has publicly derided in recent weeks. Birmingham are in the worst form out of all teams in the relegation battle, having picked up just one point from their last five games, and the Blues succumbed with surprising ease to Fulham in their final home fixture last weekend. I feel they will be counting on other results to go in their favour this weekend. Wolves and Blackburn will go head to head at Molineux in the knowledge that a point would probably be enough to keep them afloat, so that could well be the outcome of their meeting. But Wolves have found winning ways at just the right time and possess the momentum to pick up another three points if required. So my prediction, for what it's worth, is as follows: Wolves and Blackburn draw; Wigan pick up a point at Stoke; Birmingham lose at Tottenham; Blackpool lose at Manchester United; Birmingham and Blackpool relegated. The other outstanding issue to be finalised is the identity of the team finishing third, with Manchester City currently in pole position, one point ahead of Arsenal following a disastrous slump in form for the Gunners. It's significant because the fourth-placed side will have to go through a preliminary round in next season's Champions League, rather than entering immediately into the lucrative group stage. And plenty of formidable opponents lie in wait for that qualifying round, including Bayern Munich, Udinese or Lazio, Lyon or Paris St Germain, Villareal and FC Twente. For Arsenal, in particular, a tough draw could easily end up with them being dumped out of the Champions' League before the competition has properly got underway — especially if they lose Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, as expected, during the summer. The Gunners' final game of an increasingly frustrating campaign sees them face a tough London derby away at in-form Fulham, while City make the equally short journey travel to Bolton. Arsene Wenger's side simply must win (and those are the games that they usually manage to lose), but if City can pick up three points at Bolton — who have nothing to play for in that unpredictable mid-table safety zone — it will all be irrelevant and Arsenal will be subjected to the luck of the draw. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Posted: 20 May 2011 05:22 PM PDT MAY 21 — Even though I'm fast approaching the status of an old geezer (turning 34 this July), I still find it a lot of fun going to gigs and checking out the bands and music there. In addition to the gigs that my band and I play at almost every week or so, I also make it a point to try and catch as many other interesting-sounding gigs as possible. Sometimes people are surprised when they see me turning up at gigs where the music played is miles away from my own band's happy clappy simple pop songs. But even as a teenager in high school, I would make the pilgrimage from the sleepy town of Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur and bunk at friends' houses just to catch a particular gig. I've always loved just sitting back and enjoying whatever aural pleasures (or torture) are on offer by the bands onstage, quietly trying to decipher and decide whether I like the bands or not and why. Even during my teenage years I've always been the wallflower type, so you won't really see me kicking around in the moshpit. But some of the scene's old timers will still remember me as that quiet geeky kid at the back of the room who wore all sorts of black t-shirts. Featuring mostly local underground bands. Sometimes the old timers would even say hi to me, precisely because of the t-shirts I wore (which are usually not so easy to find), and I'd be one very happy kid for having the chance to talk to one of my heroes. One of the reasons why I still remain optimistic about the health of the local independent music scene is that I always manage to find something to be excited about at one of these gigs. I find it quite remarkable that I'll almost always run into some new band I've barely heard of before, who will excite the hell out of me with their songs. Very often, they will be surprised when I come up to them like a giddy little fan after the show telling them how much I loved their stuff and how I think they definitely deserve to be a respected band. If not now, then at the very least in the very near future. Being the geek that I am, I guess I've always remained a fan at heart. Even if I play in a band myself. I've never had a problem with a band that I love "outshining" my band (as some people have kindly put it, hehe). In fact, being in an "older" band, I've always felt it a responsibility to help out or highlight whatever new bands I really like and that I feel deserve more exposure, usually by having them open for us at our album launch gigs, talking about them during interviews or maybe even organising a show just so that more people can have the chance to discover them. In fact, I feel kind of proud that huge mainstream stars like Bunkface and Yuna or a cult act like Tenderfist have opened for us in the past while we still remain the happy-go-lucky underdogs that we've always been after all these years. Like any true fan, I feel truly proud seeing them spread their wings like that. Just like how I got excited when I first met the nice kids of Bunkface or the currently inactive and criminally underrated emo geniuses The Dearly Missed at the proms we've played at in the last few years. The past few months have also seen me get all fanboy-ish at the prospect of some new (or new-ish) bands still either hovering under the radar or just in the infant stages of their band lives. How they'll all turn out later on this year or next year is anybody's guess, but just to experience that rush of magic seeing and hearing them for the first time, when I basically have almost zero knowledge about them or their music, is something that I'll always cherish. Once a fan, always a fan, as they say. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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