Footballs long and winding road

Well, it is the end of the football season, and whilst I would love to comment on my Phoenix, and how they did, I just plain did not get to see them enough, however, I will be offering some thoughts on the season ahead.

However, with the Champions League final hoving into view, I though I would offer a few thoughts.

Well, put it simply, in spite of Rafa and his somewhat odd belief that Liverpool is better, the table does not lie. United won the league. They are currently the best in England.

It was a long and winding season with Liverpool jumping off to a fantastic start, whilst United's machine groaned into action. By Christmas, Liverpool where 14 points clear.

By the end of the season, United had not only hauled that difference back, but overtaken Liverpool, and put 4 points over them. By any yardstick, that is the mark of a champion-quality team!

Chelsea's season was full of "what ifs." A club stocked with excellent players, and at the start of the season, they had Scolari who was touted as a fantastic international manager. However, for whatever reason, he was deemed to be unable to cut it at club level, and was axed. Chelsea struggled to relly gel and get going. Though they did keep close to Liverpool and United. What would their season have been like had they had Hiddink from the start? However, since he is going after the FA Cup final, it is purely a rhetorical question.

Arsenal was another season of total underperformance. Wenger has built a squad of talented young players. However, they are sorely lacking an experienced older player who coul control the younger players. Something United have with Giggs, Scholes, and Van Der Sar. Arsenal has Silvestre. Who lets face it, was a good squad player with United, but not THE heart of the defence. It is something Wenger has lacked all year, leaving them to duke it out with Aston Villa for large parts of the season, and where in real risk of finishing out of the top 4. Having said all that, they will have to qualify for the Champions League, and there are going to be some pretty tough teams that they could draw. Celtic, amongst them.

United themselves are in the process of pulling out a pretty amazing season. League Cup, World Club Cup, Premier league, and through to the finals of the Champions League.

United have played a huge amount of games, and 2/3rds the way through, the squad looked jaded and tired. Only to roar back, and stamp an end on the slump with a demolition of Arsenal.

Ronaldo has not had the same sort of year that he had last year. However, that was allways going to be unlikely. He has still delivered, and plenty of other players have stepped up and played their part. Rooney has a few, along with Berbatov, and Tevez. Who may yet end up as a United player come the end of June. We wait and see on that score.

The foot of the table has proven even more interesting. But to be frank, the teams that dropped are the ones to deserve it.

West Brom: By far an away the worst in the league. Played good football, but left huge gaps all over the place which Premier League teams have the capability to exploit, whilst last year, other clubs failed to do so.

Middlesborough: They stink.Naff manager, and stupid decisions. Enough said.

Newcastle: Been a big club on a slide ever since Keegans tirade about Ferguson on TV. A slide that has only been accelarating ever since then, to take on a fateful dive when Ashley took over the club. Poor players, too many managers, a total lack of self-belief. The club has been totally poisoned inside and out. The relegation will give them a chance to clear out the locker room, and purge the system. Hopefully they can re-build, and get back into the top flight. However, be warned! Leeds United are a big club, and look where they are...

Of the clubs who have replaced them coming up...

Wolves: Champions of the Championship, and rightly so. Played good football, scored lots of goals. Have a pretty good defence, and in Mick McCarthy, a manager with a pretty good history. A loyal fanbase will expect them to make more of a fist of it than the last time they where up. Hopefully they will have learnt from past mistakes.

Birmingham: Another club with plenty of of good football in it. Well organised, and hopefully willing to learn from the past so as to avoid the drop next time round.

Burnley: Whilst I was rooting for Sheffield United (sorry Dad!) I was happy to see them come up.  A plucky team that likes to play football the right way. A solid team that just got on with the job last year, and surprised everyone. Sorry Burnley, but it is likely you will take West Broms place as the whipping boys!

OK, prediction time. The season is just over, so lets get on with the pointlessly optimistic predictions game!

Champions: Manchester United. Everyone says next year is Liverpools year as they keep on improving. However, Sir Alex Ferguson will look at his team, and see where it needs help, and will strengthen likewise!

Runners-up: Liverpool. Relying on Gerrard and Torres is too much pressure! They need more players like them, and I dont see them bringing in enough over the summer. If one gets injured, Liverpool hurt, and they start dropping silly points.

3rd: Arsenal. I suspect they will improve, maybe taking the FA Cup along the way, or the League Cup, but the club is a long way back from United and Liverpool at the moment.

4th: Chelsea. Lets face it, these are the top 4 in England. I predict 4th for Chelsea. Why? No idea. They need to bring in a top manager, and THEN he needs to get a handle on the squad. Didnt work out so well for Big Phil did it...

OK, that is the top, and for the bottom...

20th and first to be relegated: Sorry. Burnley. Well organised a club it may be, but it is a mote compared to United. Coming up from 6th means there is a massive gap in the playing levels for the team, and financially, they will struggle to compete with those round them (after all, EVERYONE has access to the Premier Leagues wealth!)

19th: I am going to go with Hull. They have had a good ride, and if they get some good players in over the summer, they may survive. However, I dont see them repeating last year and grabbing their survival points in the first half of the season. Its going to be a long slog for them.

18th: Birmingham/Stoke. Simply, there is going to be a whole bunch of teams duking it out at the bottom end, with no-one able to build any kind of safety net for themselves, and I am goingto cop out and say that for both of these teams, if they dont make some smart moves, they will find themselves down in the mud. It does not take much to drop down there!

Anyhoo. That is it for now.

I may do a write up after the Champions League Final. Depending on how I feel...

Those Damn Foriegners!

Well, the government want to introduce a new form of ID card for foriegners, detailing biometric information, personal history, visa information, home details, etc. This ID card will be open to the Police and to many governmental departments. It will prove to be quite expensive, and the government has not totally worked out how to protect the individuals who will be targetted by this new card scheme.

They seem hell-bent on introducing it, riding in on a vague feeling of unease to an influx of immigrants into the country.

Sound familiar?

It should.

It is something the Japanese government wants to do.

You thought I was talking about the ID scheme of the UK government? 

Well, both have pretty close similarities, whilst the Japanese scheme will go further than Labours scheme. And unfortunately, the Japanese people do not have a strong history of human rights protests, so are not getting up in arms over it. Especially since it does not affect them, just the "gaijin." However, there is rumblings that whilst us gaijing are a suspicious bunch, that this is getting too far and treating us as criminals, rather than jsut 2nd class citizens, which we are.

As it stands, I have to carry my Aliens Residence Registration Card ("Gaijing Card") at ALL times. If I dont, and the Police want to check, I am hit with up to 1 year in jail, and a 200,000 yen fine. The card allows me to access local services should I need them, and I have to re-register every year at the local city hall. It is a pain in the arse, but the local city office does not really worry too much about me. In fact, the national government recently gave everyone 12,000 yen as a present, and the Kashiwazaki city office actually went to the trouble of translating the application form into English to help us dumb gaijin. OK, the translation was pretty mangled, but we managed to get through it all OK!

However, these registries are only held locally. Meaning that the national government has no idea what is going on, and the local governments are getting up the national governments collective nose by being NICE to us foriegners and helping us out!

So, the new plan is to scrap the current system, and replace it with a "better" system.

First off, I will no longer have to register at some small web covered, hardly used desk in the city hall, but will be properly registered on the main database, and enjoy my own residency certificate (juminhyo). Visa limits will be lifted to a maximum of 5 years from the current 3, and access to local services will be even easier than now.

However, on the other hand, they plan to tighten the noose around my neck with the devil hidden in the detail!

The new card will be the same as before with the same details as before. Home address, visa status, workplace, pghoto, etc. However, all this will be encoded on to a chip. Similar to the new chipped passports.

What is more insidious is the punishments.

This new system will be operated centrally, rather than from the local city office. This is where it starts getting iffy. At the moment, you have 2 weeks to report to the local city hall and report your arrival and they issue you a shiny card within a few days. Here in Kashiwazaki, its a 10 minute walk away. Under the new system, we will still have 2 calendar weeks, but we will have to report to an immigration office. Mine is on the wrong side of Niigata, an 90 minute drive away, and seriously understaffed. This gives me pretty much zero flexibility with regards sorting out any changes to my visa. 

To make it worse, if you dont report any changes to your visa status, which can be something major like changing a job, all the way down to change of school, change of address, birth/death/or marriage. If you enjoy any of these, you have 2 weeks to report it. If not, 200,000yen fine. Fail to report it within 3 months? Lose the visa, no right of appeal.

The IC chip can be swiped to access its information. There has been talk of making foriegners submit to a scan every time they want to enter a public building (the initial list included places of public gathering, such as soccer stadiums! Needless to say, the Japanese government has, at least, recognised the stupidity of THAT one!)

Not only that, but it looks increasingly likely that the Police will be given remote scanners to scan IC cards remotely. Meaning that I can be scanned and tagged by the Police at any time, without my knowledge. They can keep track of me 24 hours a day, just by driving a car past my apartment! Also, this means it is likely that foriegners are going to be targetted by criminals who will "rip" the identity information off my card, and use it when committing crimes.

Not only that, but it will take racial profiling to whole new levels, as the Police scan a crowd, find a foriegner who does not have a card, only to find they are naturalised Japanese. And there are plenty of those!

Needless to say, protests are beginning to spread, and I will DEFINATELY be buying myself a scan blocker!

Orwells "1984" is getting ever closer...

PANIC!!!

OK, I have had a blast living here in Japan. I have made many friends here, met a beautiful woman, had a great time. I have no regrets about moving here.

Ok, maybe one...

However, this sojourn could be coming to an end.

My visa is up for renewal, and duly, off I trotted to the immigration office to enter my paperwork to renew my visa for another year at Niigata airport. It was actually really busy when I got in, got my grubby mitts on the application form and duly filled it out, and handed it all over for processing.

Had a "moment" in there, bumped in to Marcio Richardes. OK, I know, does not sound dramatic, but he is one of the Brazilian players who ply their trade with Albirex Niigata. He is a very good player in the J-League, but very much a one-footed blayer. On his right, he is fantastic. It is good enough to get into any of the top European leagues, but his left is utterly rubbish, so on balance, he gets to be a star in Japan.

However, like allways when one bumps into a soccer player, one is struck with a realisation.

They are ALL tiny. And he had bad skin.

Anyhoo. Back to my problems.

Once the paperwork was in, all I had to do was wait for a letter telling me when to return to get a stamp in my passport. What I got instead was a letter demanding to see copies of my Kashiwazaki City tax. OK... Not such a problem, but the letter arrived the day before the Golden Week vacation, which meant I had no time to get that information and send it. So, I had to wait before I could get in to the city office to get the information, which I duly did.

So, now, my visa expires tomorrow (Friday) and I have no idea what is going to happen!

OK, it should be fine. Since in my passport it does say I have applied, I think that will cover me for now, but I would not put it past the Japanese government to send the heavies round!

Whilst I would be sad to go, and would be heartbroken to leave Yuko, the silver lining here is that I would be able to get to see more Phoenix games! 

But I dont think it will come to that...

North Korea: At It Again!

Well, North Korea is at it again! Recently announced that they will resume nuclear bomb tests, and ballistic missile tests. All because the recent UN declaration (Note: not a resolution) decried the Norths recent missile launch. Sorry! Of course, "satellite" launch. The only way it will stop these acts will be if the UN issues an apology for the recent declaration, and withdraws ALL sanctions.

Are the North really THAT dumb!

Up until now, they have had a fairly liberal government in South Korea which persued a "sunshine" policy of engagement. In other words, they just gave the North stuff, without getting a great deal back. 

And for the North it worked well. Rattle the saber, and extract more concessions such as oil, food, trade, building a nuclear power plant, etc. 

Problem is, now, just to the south, the government has changed to a more conservative government which has scrapped the Sunshine policy, by declaring that it is effectively going to be give and take. If the North wants stuff, they have to give something back. Not surprisingly, the North is not happy over that, and began rattling the saber harder.

Unfortunately, this did not get the desired reaction, it drove the South to actively seek to join the US led anti-weapons-of-mass-destruction initiative. This initiative is between nations who will actively seek to shut down the trade in materials linked to WMD, by boarding vessels anywhere near their territory to search it.

North Korea reacted by announcing that such a move would be tantamount to an act of war.

Until now, North Koreas policy has been saber rattling. Rattle the saber, extract some concessions, make some vague promises, and wait until the next opportunity rolls around where you can declare something as an act of war, and begin the cycle again.

Problem is, the US, Japan and South Korea have become more and more reluctant to give in to Pyongyangs posturing. Every time the North does, it gives more fuel to the pessimists, and conservatives. Now, there is enough strength behind these groups (South Koreas conservative government, for one) to begin to ask for something back from North Korea. The North said it would decomission its reactor. Not surprisingly, the US asked that there be independant verification. Given the North's track record for lying, its not really an unreasonable request, and one any normal nation would accede to. Unfortunately, the North believes that since they are the centre of the universe, everyone should believe them, and took umbrage at the American stance.

This is where everything began.

Today, the North has tried to rattle the saber as hard as it can to try to get everyone back to the table, but on THEIR terms. I dont think they realise how far off they are. The UN is supposed to be the supreme worldwide club. The chances of them withdrawing the statement is vanishingly small. And it is deeply unlikely that the Security Council will vote for a withdrawal of sanctions. The US, UK, and France will veto such a move. Whilst China may vote for it, there is no given, and Russias position would be described as ambivalent at best.

If the North were to carry on down this path, I really hope that if they where to carry out such acts, that the rest of the world grows a set, and really tightens up on the North. I am not advocating war, but the North has to realise that they need the world, more than the world needs the DPRK.

Proud patriotic songs of Kim Jong Who?

Well. North Korea did it! They have joined the exclusive club of space-faring nations! Or, did they?

The United Nations have put in place a whole bunch of santions (fat lot of good they have done!) designed to halt North Koreas nuclear ambitions. Both in terms of developing a bomb (that worked well!) and the means to deliver it. So far, they can reach the South, large parts of China, and worringly for me, all of Japan.

As it stands, the new Taepodong 2 has a calculated range of 6,000km. Even though the recent test was about half of that. Since they have doubled its range in a few years, 6,000km is not far off. Putting Alaska and Singapore within Range, Australia and Moscow are uncomfortably close to its limits, and Europe will be in range with the Taepodong 3.

Should we be getting all stressed out over a "satellite launch?" Quite frankly, yes. It does not take much imagination to switch a satellite launcher into a cruise missile. They are, in effect, one and the same. The Japanese are trying to sweep the ocean to pull out any scraps they can, to ty to find out what the North actually launched. The North said that if the Japanese pull any parts of its missile out of the ocean, it would be a declaration of war. Having said that, the North has hardly any navy so is not a massive threat to the Japanese islands. The Japanese have moved sea and land based anti-missile batteries to cover Japan (though it is unlikely they will tackle 100% of everything launched). Also, the North calls everything a declaration of war. Its getting old.

Should North Korea be punished? I dont know. What we need is for China to stop mucking around and get serious. With China in its corner, Kim is happy to act like a schoolyard bully that thinks hes "all that." I can see why China wants North Korea to remain. They dont care about the suffering of the people. China only pays lip service to human rights. However, should North Korea fall (and its more likely to collapse under the financial weight of its army, than the South) and re-join South Korea, China will have an uncomfortable situation with a proudly democratic nation, fiercely independant, and enjoying one helluva lifestyle! Hong Kong was not such an issue for China. It was, after all, a colony. Not a separate nation. So, all that happened to Hong Kong was that it switched from one owner to another. With a united Korea just next door, one that is less likely to be bullied by China, and not in their pocket, it gets harder for China. The Chinese like to tell its people that China's government offers the best life for its people. With Korea just over a bridge, and so visible, it spells trouble!

Is Japan right to be so worried? Well, yes. Unlike the UK, all the Japanese home islands are in range of the missiles that the Korean DPR possesses. Whilst most of them are pointed at the South, a good chunk of them will be aimed at Tokyo. A missile launched from the North will take less than 10 minutes to strike the north of Japan. Leaving the southern cities much closer.

Another major problem is WHICH North Korea do you deal with? With Hitlers Germany it was "easier." After all, Hitler was a raging megalomaniac, with psycotic tendencies all the time. With North Korea, sometimes you get the crazies, other times, they can be quite helpful. Almost as if the entire nation is bipolar.

I am sure that it will work itself out. Maybe sometime this century. I know the North is not so stupid to launch something at Japan, as the North would be on the recieving end of a helluva kicking. Unfortunately, it is not something I can be 100% about.

Living next to the worlds biggest nuclear power plant has never felt so uncomfortable.

Its all going squirrelly!

Well, it has proven to be an interesting week to be a fan of Hockey in the UK!

First, there was the rumour, backed by the Phoenix office, of a meeting held between 6 of the surviving 9 EIHL clubs, to which Manchester, Edinburgh, and Newcastle where not invited.

Apparently, at the meeting, the discussion revolved around concerns raised by the other 3. Running from wage cap and import issues. However, rather than trying to cut the wage cap to help the smaller clubs remain competitive, and cutting imports to help promote the development of GB players, the other clubs decided that the sensible option was to RAISE the cap, and RAISE the number of imports! This flies in the face of a previous meeting held in November where the clubs agreed to cut the number of imports to 8. With 1 club dissenting. Wonder who...

We now have a situation with a "new" league structure being advocated by the "Big 6" where the wage cap is increased, the number of imports is increased, and to take part, it will cost you £10,000 bond to get in.

All this really smacks of the "Big 6" trying to force the smaller clubs out. Raise entry to the point where they know the smaller clubs cannot commit, and they are gone. Why they want to do this? I really dont know. Maybe to keep more of the pot for themselves. I know Edinburgh dont take too many fans on away trips, whilst for Nottingham games against Sheffield are a cash cow, but if Nottingham fans are guaranteed to see Sheffield a couple of times a month, then its going to get very boring, very quickly!

This got very interesting very quickly, until Friday...
http://edinburgh-capitals.com/news/detail.php?id=978
http://www.manchesterphoenix.co.uk/news/s/1487_phoenix_prepared_to_fight_for_0910_league_entry

Neil came out and painted a dark picture of the inner workings of the EIHL. Wage cap breaches going unpunished, and other dodgy goings-on. Scott Neil of Edinburgh didnt just paint an ungly picture, he ripped the curtain away and let the world take a damn good look!

Some of the Big 6 openly admitting to breaching the wage cap (no surprises who), and a lack of punishment. Clubs dipping into league funding without any consultation whatsoever. Generally, a high degree of corruptness all round.

Why would Neil and Scott do this? Going in to a meeting on Monday fighting for league survival?

For my money, its simple. Manchester, Newcastle, and Edinburgh do not have the power to make the others chnge their mind. After all, its 3 to 6 votes. However, with the threat of a VERY public airing of dirty linen from a couple of guys who have built their reputations on honesty and integrity, it may help persuade Hull and Cardiff to wobble. Bringing the voting round to 5-4. Another hope is that such a public shaming will concentrate minds a little and focus on the fact that a 6 team league really is unworkable in the long term.

Will all this work? Unlikely. This is a high risk strategy, and given those that run the league, they are just as capable of feeling pushed into a corner, and lashing back. Forcing Manchester and the others out much faster.

Will I be sad? Given the way the EIHL has worked, and the huge amount of corruption within. No. If the Phoenix are there next year, I can only hope Neil has managed to swing all sorts of concessions out of them to make it a viable league for the likes of the Phoenix. Such as a CHANCE of winning. I dont mind the Phoenix not winning the league. But it is nice to dream. The Big 4 just walk off every year!

As is more likely, the Phoenix will have to drop down to either the EPL, or a revamped Northern League. For one, I wont be too sad. At least the hockey will be a lot more honest!

And as I suspect, we will be in a position of strength when The Big 6 come calling to be let in when their dreams of European glory end in abject failure and the EIHL2/ISL3 collapses as it surely will.

Obama guilty of plagarising!

Yes! It is true! Obama has plagiarised! Many of his works he has taken from other sources, and not given them their due credit!


OK, its not as serious as all that, however, I just wanted to use this blog to give due praise for this years biggest slogan.


Obama has made the line "Yes we can!" a worldwide phenomina. You even have Japanese kids running around yelling "Obama! Yes we can!"

Of course, the first person to make the line "Yes we can!" is of somewhat shorter stature, a paler complexion, a shorter name, and an idyllic life. I am, or course, referring to that paeon of modern society, the great author...

Now, I for one really have no problem with Obama using the line. It is catchy (I STILL remember the bloody pop song!) and easy to chant. I remember the days back with the Manchester Storm, where the Bob song would have all the little kids squeaking "yes we can!" along with the song.

Obama has managed to give new hope to the world and the slogan catches all of Obama`s optimism in one convenient bundle. Unfortunately, there are those who chose to use this link to attack Obama.

http://theconservativepost.com/WordPress/?p=342

OK, a right wing group attack Obama. Its politics, this happens. There where plenty of left wing groups having a pop at McCain. Its part of the territory. However, its a shame that they drag poor Bob in. Giving him words when he is an innocent kids cartoon character, with no ability to practise the right of reply!

So, there you have it. The most popular phrase in the world has allready done the rounds as a catchy pop song from a British cartoon character. I suppose its a bit of an honour that Obama "chose" to use Bobs line, rather than come up with his own.

Still, If it aint broke...