I know what I want to feel. I know what I want to look like, and it isn't what anyone truly desires, but I don't believe I am worth of being desired. The happiness my beauty affords scares me in a way I don't understand and am still learning to give to others.
It is like a beautiful statue carved of marble, left out to be displayed for all to see and appreciate. As time goes on more and more people appreciate the work, the effort and the sacrifice which has made this piece of art what it is but this delay carries a weight the piece will never recover from. Cracks and stains are left on what was intended to be perfection incarnated but as the price of time is paid, the reward of work becomes richer and deeper.
The lost perfection creates character which identifies the appreciation fewer and fewer people feel but the true reward of the intention becomes an engulfing and life changing event that will be echoed through the years of all parties involved.
My degradation is something I enjoy but it's reward is unbearable. So I deny the cracks my feelings are expressing in a selfish act of maintenance. But perhaps these cracks lead to something that will heal my feelings and assure my fear. Perhaps this is my degradation in an unfamiliar format.
"And I can talk, I place pride on tick and tock"
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Back from the Future
So for those of you who don't know I have been in Joburg since June doing training to become an Air Traffic Controller. As a result of this I have had no life (literally) for the last six months and have spent all my time trying to get back to Cape Town for a weekend at a time. As a result I have neglected lots of things I wish I had not, including my blogging / writing and reading. So now that I have my life back I shall be starting once again.
So, this is my first blog and I am going to write about something you can all choose to disregard as you usually do, namely Chelsea.
This season they started off rather shakily with a new manager and a new system that didn't seem to be working to well. The 'Anchovy' started out with a classic 4-diamond-2 formation with a holding midfielder, two central midfielders and a playmaking midfielder behind two strikers. The fullbacks were encouraged to move into midfield and the midfielders were asked to attack and create attacks to feed the strikers.
There was one major problem with this: Chelsea's midfield has always been a solid, foundational one rather than a talismanic, creative and attacking one which is what the system called for.
This of course is exactly the system played at AC Milan and was never going to work. Then Ancelotti changed to the system to something closer to what I had originally intended, but not quite there. That was, fullbacks coming forward, three central midfielders and three central strikers. The defence would come from the central midfielders and center halves, the attacks would come from the fullbacks and the three central strikers would play a very fluid system with one striker trailing from midfield, moving to the flanks or dropping in late as required.
The system was working well until the Arsenal game a few weeks ago. After that everything went south, and I know exactly why. You see, Chelsea have three problems. First is the most evident at the moment, their midfield.
Just before the Arsenal game Chelsea picked up a few injuries in midfield and because they only have five players to fill three positions they are now playing with at least one, often two semi injured players in midfield. Because of this they are slow and loose, giving away possession easily and not winning it back. This has a knock on effect resulting in the fullbacks not being able to come forward, extra pressure on the central defenders which leads to fouls, the trailing striker having to drop back into midfield and subsequently the two strikers being isolated.
There is no problem with conceding a goal or two in a game, provided you are scoring three. But with the strikers being isolated they aren't scoring and it is proving costly. If they tighten up midfield the fullbacks with come forward, the trailing striker will be able to assist them and attack, and the strikers will be back in the game and the team will score 3 or more a game once again.
This midfield problem is as a result, however, of the second problem which is their current team. There are four players in the team that should not be there, one who is doubtful and quite a few who need to be brought in.
The first problematic player is Kalou. He is a thoroughly average striker in my opinion. I don't know if it is just his confidence or because he is poor or something but he needs to go. He has good off the ball movement but no ability to finish and is by no means any sort of substitute for Drogba or Anelka. The second troublesome player is Deco. He is being used behind the strikers as a trailing striker but he is the most erratic footballer in history. One day everything he does turns into a chance, he scores wonderful goals and does nothing wrong, and then the next three days are dogged with underwhelming performances where he gives possession away every time he touches the ball, can't get a shot on target and in all honest may as well be playing for the other team. I don't know if this is a confidence issue or not, but as he struggles more he drops further and further back into midfield until he may as well be in central midfield and not trying to attack at all. Personally I think this problem could be remedied by playing him in central midfield, possibly at the base of the diamond where he could spray passes around.
The third player who poses a problem is Belletti. A wonderful right back in his day, he is now over it in my opinion. The Anchovy is keeping him because he is a clever player and is versatile because he can play on the right of central midfield, but in my opinion he should go. End of discussion. Finally, the fourth player who is circumspect is Ferriera. He is a good right back, but with Bosingwa and seemingly Ivanovic ahead of him in the pecking order I don't know where he is going to fit in. He should go too.
Once these four players have been sorted out there are a few who need to come in, with a healthy balance of youth. With Chelsea's system changing to one without wing players a certain amount of change is expected. I think Chelsea are at least one striker 'light' (with Kalou being a fail Drogba and Anelka need cover), they are at least one central midfielder light too (five for three positions, and a defensive player required) and the problem at right back needs to be sorted out. They seem to have three right back players with two being sub par, one being injured and a center half doing a very good job there (Ivanovic), this position needs to be looked at. Either they need to buy a center half so Ivanovic can stay out wide, or they need to buy a right back to play with Bosingwa, sell the two fails and let Ivanovic move back into the center. They also need another attacking midfielder to play with the brilliant Joe Cole, especially because at the moment he is still regaining fitness and form after his long injury, and through all of this the team also need to bring in some youth players, if possible from the academy.
So, here's what I think Chelsea need to do:
Sell - Bellitti, Ferriera, Kalou
Buy - Sergio Aguero, Romleu Lukaku, Lucas Piazon, Jack Rodwell
They need to bring Daniel Sturridge (fast, powerful and strong) and Fabio Borini (clinical striker with wonderful off the ball movement) in as strikers as well as buying Romleu Lukaku (a 17 year old called the new Drogba), and with the three of these players coming in with Drogba, Anelka (both getting on a bit) and Aguero Chelsea will have the best strike force in Europe.
Behind the strikers they should play Joe Cole and Gael Kakuta. Kakuta is ready for the first team in my opinion, passes extremely well and like Joe Cole attacks from deeper back naturally. He is 18 years old and has a lot to learn but with the strike force in front of him, and Anelka or Sturridge able to drop back into this position they will have plenty of cover as well as youth.
In central midfield they need to bring Nemanja Matic and Jacopo Sala through. These are two left and right sided central midfielders respectively, with Sala often playing in the defensive / holding position. They are both technical and solid players able to tackle solidly, pass accurately and provide stability and regulate the tempo of the game which will give the strikers and fullbacks licence to tear around attacking at will.
They should also incorporate Jack Rodwell into this setup in the holding position. Currently at Everton, he could cover for Mikel and Essien during the African Cup of Nations, and would also be able to be dropped into the center half position he is aiming for afterwards. This would mean Chelsea have Lampard, Malouda and Matic on the left. Mikel, Rodwell and Deco in the center. Essien, Ballack and Sala on the right. Later on they can bring McEachran in as a more attacking and creative left footed central midfielder.
As for defense I think they should leave Ivanovic in at right back with Bosingwa and let Jeffrey Bruma come through in the central midfield position. They should have Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov at left back and Terry, Alex and Carvalho in at central midfield. The team should bring Michael Mancienne and Sam Hutchison through for the central defense too. They will need to look at attacking fullbacks though for the future. I think they should choose wing players from the academy and bring them in.
So, overall they need to sell three players, buy four and bring quite a few youth through. There is one problem though. The Anchovy doesn't want to buy, so he is trying to bring through the youth quickly. But with all the pressure on him with the side not performing at the moment I don't know how much longer he will be around. Guus may be closer than we all think...
So, this is my first blog and I am going to write about something you can all choose to disregard as you usually do, namely Chelsea.
This season they started off rather shakily with a new manager and a new system that didn't seem to be working to well. The 'Anchovy' started out with a classic 4-diamond-2 formation with a holding midfielder, two central midfielders and a playmaking midfielder behind two strikers. The fullbacks were encouraged to move into midfield and the midfielders were asked to attack and create attacks to feed the strikers.
There was one major problem with this: Chelsea's midfield has always been a solid, foundational one rather than a talismanic, creative and attacking one which is what the system called for.
This of course is exactly the system played at AC Milan and was never going to work. Then Ancelotti changed to the system to something closer to what I had originally intended, but not quite there. That was, fullbacks coming forward, three central midfielders and three central strikers. The defence would come from the central midfielders and center halves, the attacks would come from the fullbacks and the three central strikers would play a very fluid system with one striker trailing from midfield, moving to the flanks or dropping in late as required.
The system was working well until the Arsenal game a few weeks ago. After that everything went south, and I know exactly why. You see, Chelsea have three problems. First is the most evident at the moment, their midfield.
Just before the Arsenal game Chelsea picked up a few injuries in midfield and because they only have five players to fill three positions they are now playing with at least one, often two semi injured players in midfield. Because of this they are slow and loose, giving away possession easily and not winning it back. This has a knock on effect resulting in the fullbacks not being able to come forward, extra pressure on the central defenders which leads to fouls, the trailing striker having to drop back into midfield and subsequently the two strikers being isolated.
There is no problem with conceding a goal or two in a game, provided you are scoring three. But with the strikers being isolated they aren't scoring and it is proving costly. If they tighten up midfield the fullbacks with come forward, the trailing striker will be able to assist them and attack, and the strikers will be back in the game and the team will score 3 or more a game once again.
This midfield problem is as a result, however, of the second problem which is their current team. There are four players in the team that should not be there, one who is doubtful and quite a few who need to be brought in.
The first problematic player is Kalou. He is a thoroughly average striker in my opinion. I don't know if it is just his confidence or because he is poor or something but he needs to go. He has good off the ball movement but no ability to finish and is by no means any sort of substitute for Drogba or Anelka. The second troublesome player is Deco. He is being used behind the strikers as a trailing striker but he is the most erratic footballer in history. One day everything he does turns into a chance, he scores wonderful goals and does nothing wrong, and then the next three days are dogged with underwhelming performances where he gives possession away every time he touches the ball, can't get a shot on target and in all honest may as well be playing for the other team. I don't know if this is a confidence issue or not, but as he struggles more he drops further and further back into midfield until he may as well be in central midfield and not trying to attack at all. Personally I think this problem could be remedied by playing him in central midfield, possibly at the base of the diamond where he could spray passes around.
The third player who poses a problem is Belletti. A wonderful right back in his day, he is now over it in my opinion. The Anchovy is keeping him because he is a clever player and is versatile because he can play on the right of central midfield, but in my opinion he should go. End of discussion. Finally, the fourth player who is circumspect is Ferriera. He is a good right back, but with Bosingwa and seemingly Ivanovic ahead of him in the pecking order I don't know where he is going to fit in. He should go too.
Once these four players have been sorted out there are a few who need to come in, with a healthy balance of youth. With Chelsea's system changing to one without wing players a certain amount of change is expected. I think Chelsea are at least one striker 'light' (with Kalou being a fail Drogba and Anelka need cover), they are at least one central midfielder light too (five for three positions, and a defensive player required) and the problem at right back needs to be sorted out. They seem to have three right back players with two being sub par, one being injured and a center half doing a very good job there (Ivanovic), this position needs to be looked at. Either they need to buy a center half so Ivanovic can stay out wide, or they need to buy a right back to play with Bosingwa, sell the two fails and let Ivanovic move back into the center. They also need another attacking midfielder to play with the brilliant Joe Cole, especially because at the moment he is still regaining fitness and form after his long injury, and through all of this the team also need to bring in some youth players, if possible from the academy.
So, here's what I think Chelsea need to do:
Sell - Bellitti, Ferriera, Kalou
Buy - Sergio Aguero, Romleu Lukaku, Lucas Piazon, Jack Rodwell
They need to bring Daniel Sturridge (fast, powerful and strong) and Fabio Borini (clinical striker with wonderful off the ball movement) in as strikers as well as buying Romleu Lukaku (a 17 year old called the new Drogba), and with the three of these players coming in with Drogba, Anelka (both getting on a bit) and Aguero Chelsea will have the best strike force in Europe.
Behind the strikers they should play Joe Cole and Gael Kakuta. Kakuta is ready for the first team in my opinion, passes extremely well and like Joe Cole attacks from deeper back naturally. He is 18 years old and has a lot to learn but with the strike force in front of him, and Anelka or Sturridge able to drop back into this position they will have plenty of cover as well as youth.
In central midfield they need to bring Nemanja Matic and Jacopo Sala through. These are two left and right sided central midfielders respectively, with Sala often playing in the defensive / holding position. They are both technical and solid players able to tackle solidly, pass accurately and provide stability and regulate the tempo of the game which will give the strikers and fullbacks licence to tear around attacking at will.
They should also incorporate Jack Rodwell into this setup in the holding position. Currently at Everton, he could cover for Mikel and Essien during the African Cup of Nations, and would also be able to be dropped into the center half position he is aiming for afterwards. This would mean Chelsea have Lampard, Malouda and Matic on the left. Mikel, Rodwell and Deco in the center. Essien, Ballack and Sala on the right. Later on they can bring McEachran in as a more attacking and creative left footed central midfielder.
As for defense I think they should leave Ivanovic in at right back with Bosingwa and let Jeffrey Bruma come through in the central midfield position. They should have Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov at left back and Terry, Alex and Carvalho in at central midfield. The team should bring Michael Mancienne and Sam Hutchison through for the central defense too. They will need to look at attacking fullbacks though for the future. I think they should choose wing players from the academy and bring them in.
So, overall they need to sell three players, buy four and bring quite a few youth through. There is one problem though. The Anchovy doesn't want to buy, so he is trying to bring through the youth quickly. But with all the pressure on him with the side not performing at the moment I don't know how much longer he will be around. Guus may be closer than we all think...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Airplane Seats
so for those of you who do follow my blog you'd have noticed that I've been rather quiet of late. There's a simple explination for this, I've been thinking about something that I didn't want to put online. About two months ago I met a wonderful woman named Carianne and I started thinking about relationships and if I was ready for one, or if I would ever be ready for one. After much thought and quite a few mostly sleepless nights I decided to ask her if she would be interested in a romantic relationship, and she was in fact rather pleased by this news because she had been thinking the same thing for a while too apparently.
So on the first of June I got my first girlfriend and it has been, and continues to be the best experience of my life. There was of course a shit load to think about, not least because today I have embarked on yet another new journey in my life which has had a major effect on our relationship.
You see, today I left to go to Joburg for three months so that I can train to become an Air Traffic Controller. I'm currently sitting in an airplane feeling rather scared and sad, but with some sense of hope that things will actually work out in the end.
This hope is of course fuelled partially by the fact that Carianne, Pierre and possibly a few of my other friends are likely to road trip to visit me in a few weeks time, but mostly because I am confident in not only my ability but also the fact that I am doing the right thing.
I am starting a career and am actually doing something with my life, and that's a good feeling. Up until now I've not known what I was going to do, or indeed what I wanted to do, but now I know that this is something that I can do, and hopefully well. It is a strange feeling though because I haven't actually started training or anything like that, but I just have a feeling that I can do this.
Now, I'm sure that I shall be blogging a lot more over the next few months, and possibly longer so please do check back for updates. I will also be on various IMs so when I get a chance I will always be ready for a chat. Right now I just don't want to cry too much so I'm going to try and get some sleep.
So on the first of June I got my first girlfriend and it has been, and continues to be the best experience of my life. There was of course a shit load to think about, not least because today I have embarked on yet another new journey in my life which has had a major effect on our relationship.
You see, today I left to go to Joburg for three months so that I can train to become an Air Traffic Controller. I'm currently sitting in an airplane feeling rather scared and sad, but with some sense of hope that things will actually work out in the end.
This hope is of course fuelled partially by the fact that Carianne, Pierre and possibly a few of my other friends are likely to road trip to visit me in a few weeks time, but mostly because I am confident in not only my ability but also the fact that I am doing the right thing.
I am starting a career and am actually doing something with my life, and that's a good feeling. Up until now I've not known what I was going to do, or indeed what I wanted to do, but now I know that this is something that I can do, and hopefully well. It is a strange feeling though because I haven't actually started training or anything like that, but I just have a feeling that I can do this.
Now, I'm sure that I shall be blogging a lot more over the next few months, and possibly longer so please do check back for updates. I will also be on various IMs so when I get a chance I will always be ready for a chat. Right now I just don't want to cry too much so I'm going to try and get some sleep.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Shallowness
Salam malakim. As I'm sure you've all noticed I haven't blogged in a while, partially because I've been working quite a bit as a Butler, partially because my internet has been permafucked for a while and mostly because I've been thinking about quite a bit in a fair amount of depth.
I've been thinking about quite a few things, but for some reason the topic of love and romance has been rather high on my list of thoughts of late, probably due to the fact that quite a few of my friends have encountered love on some level recently.
Anyway, today isn't about that because I have quite a bit of thinking still to do before I can start formulating any sort of theorem on how all the different levels of love fit together, but today I've been thinking about how things in my life have changed of late.
I saw some pictures of myself on the good book today from about 2 months ago, and I looked like shit. Like, I really looked bad. And now I look pretty good I think. So, what's changed?
Well, I got a hair cut. It's not long anymore, and quite a few people think it's cool. I don't really know but I think it looks better. I've got some facial hair but I don't know how much of a difference that has made, but the really big difference is that I've lost a lot of weight. Like quite a few kgs. But the weird thing is that I haven't done anything different, I've just lost weight.
Because my diet hasn't really changed other than I eat more pizza at the moment, I can only conclude that the reason for my weight loss is the fact that I am no longer on my anti depressants.
If you didn't know this, I was on some fairly strong meds and as a result my body decided that it would be wise to pick up a fair amount of weight. It was rather irritating, particuarly because no matter what I did I couldn't lose much weight. Now that I'm off them I feel and look better.
I was talking to a wonderful man the other day, and he too has had some problems with depression. And this man said that he feels much better because he isn't on his meds anymore either. Not that the depressions is any better or worse, but he feels better because he now knows that when he feels shit it's because he feels shit. And if he feels good it's because he feels good. It's not because the meds are regulating his life, or doing anything weird to his body. It's because that's what he's feeling.
And I can identify with that feeling. Yesterday I woke up and felt awful. But I knew that while my feelings were unfounded they were my feelings. Not a chemical induced emotion, but my emotions. And that's surprisingly comforting irrespective of what you are feeling.
So yes, I've lost weight and I feel better about the fact that I look better. But I guess that's almost inconsequential next to the fact that the emotions I feel now are my own, and not because of all the chemicals I am / was pumping into my body to regulate something that no one could explain or fully understand.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank the aforementioned wonderful man for being such a great guy and I would like to thank my friends for being great people and encouraging me irrespective of what emotion I'm feeling.
I've been thinking about quite a few things, but for some reason the topic of love and romance has been rather high on my list of thoughts of late, probably due to the fact that quite a few of my friends have encountered love on some level recently.
Anyway, today isn't about that because I have quite a bit of thinking still to do before I can start formulating any sort of theorem on how all the different levels of love fit together, but today I've been thinking about how things in my life have changed of late.
I saw some pictures of myself on the good book today from about 2 months ago, and I looked like shit. Like, I really looked bad. And now I look pretty good I think. So, what's changed?
Well, I got a hair cut. It's not long anymore, and quite a few people think it's cool. I don't really know but I think it looks better. I've got some facial hair but I don't know how much of a difference that has made, but the really big difference is that I've lost a lot of weight. Like quite a few kgs. But the weird thing is that I haven't done anything different, I've just lost weight.
Because my diet hasn't really changed other than I eat more pizza at the moment, I can only conclude that the reason for my weight loss is the fact that I am no longer on my anti depressants.
If you didn't know this, I was on some fairly strong meds and as a result my body decided that it would be wise to pick up a fair amount of weight. It was rather irritating, particuarly because no matter what I did I couldn't lose much weight. Now that I'm off them I feel and look better.
I was talking to a wonderful man the other day, and he too has had some problems with depression. And this man said that he feels much better because he isn't on his meds anymore either. Not that the depressions is any better or worse, but he feels better because he now knows that when he feels shit it's because he feels shit. And if he feels good it's because he feels good. It's not because the meds are regulating his life, or doing anything weird to his body. It's because that's what he's feeling.
And I can identify with that feeling. Yesterday I woke up and felt awful. But I knew that while my feelings were unfounded they were my feelings. Not a chemical induced emotion, but my emotions. And that's surprisingly comforting irrespective of what you are feeling.
So yes, I've lost weight and I feel better about the fact that I look better. But I guess that's almost inconsequential next to the fact that the emotions I feel now are my own, and not because of all the chemicals I am / was pumping into my body to regulate something that no one could explain or fully understand.
I would like to use this opportunity to thank the aforementioned wonderful man for being such a great guy and I would like to thank my friends for being great people and encouraging me irrespective of what emotion I'm feeling.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Reasoning
It's not often that I feel this way, but at the moment I would love to say a few things that would not be in line with my principles. In fact I'd love to do a few things that are not in line with my principles too, but I'm more tempted to say than do things today.
Now, the question is then asked, is there something wrong with my principles or with my emotional state? I'm not sure there's a clear cut answer in this case. I have a belief system that dictates how I respond to various situations and for the most part I find that my emotions are in line with this system so when my emotions aren't in line is that a problem?
I don't think so. Just because you feel a specific way doesn't mean you should act on that feeling. So if you feel a specific way and you don't express that feeling are you failing to uphold your integrity? I'm not sure, but possibly.
For me, part of integrity is expressing my feelings and being real about the way I react to various situations. But I suppose expressing yourself correctly and accurately is extremely important, and it's the expression of an emotion that makes a difference.
So, at what stage is your integrity then compromised? I suppose when you start lying. Whether it be to yourself or others, honesty is key. But the truth is that for me I almost feel as if I'd rather compromise my integrity than hurt people. Is that really compromise anyway? If you know the truth and don't share it? I guess it depends on the circumstance and the individual, but I'm inclined to say yes.
That doesn't mean I should run around calling random people cunts, but it does mean that I should be honest with them where possible, and should do it with as much tact as possible. But I'm not entirely sure I should be volunteering this information. If I don't like someone I'd rather just avoid them / ignore them.
I don't really know. At the moment I'm a bit torn so I'll just bite my tongue for now. I'm not at the end of the road yet.
Now, the question is then asked, is there something wrong with my principles or with my emotional state? I'm not sure there's a clear cut answer in this case. I have a belief system that dictates how I respond to various situations and for the most part I find that my emotions are in line with this system so when my emotions aren't in line is that a problem?
I don't think so. Just because you feel a specific way doesn't mean you should act on that feeling. So if you feel a specific way and you don't express that feeling are you failing to uphold your integrity? I'm not sure, but possibly.
For me, part of integrity is expressing my feelings and being real about the way I react to various situations. But I suppose expressing yourself correctly and accurately is extremely important, and it's the expression of an emotion that makes a difference.
So, at what stage is your integrity then compromised? I suppose when you start lying. Whether it be to yourself or others, honesty is key. But the truth is that for me I almost feel as if I'd rather compromise my integrity than hurt people. Is that really compromise anyway? If you know the truth and don't share it? I guess it depends on the circumstance and the individual, but I'm inclined to say yes.
That doesn't mean I should run around calling random people cunts, but it does mean that I should be honest with them where possible, and should do it with as much tact as possible. But I'm not entirely sure I should be volunteering this information. If I don't like someone I'd rather just avoid them / ignore them.
I don't really know. At the moment I'm a bit torn so I'll just bite my tongue for now. I'm not at the end of the road yet.
A Quick Rant
So I've written two blogs today about cocks in the world, and I deleted both of them because they end up being rants that were not constructive in any way. I have decided that all I want to say is this: If you are one of the cunts in the world who has mastered the art of pretending to take responsibility for your actions while manipulating people into casting you as a victim, I hope you die in a fire. If you a person who lies about being a friend and then bails when life becomes real I hope you drown in the icy waters. That is all.
Anyway, no that I've had my say, we move onto a topic that I'm sure drives you all mad: Football. Chelsea are playing Barcelona for the second time in 8 days tonight and this time they are playing at Stamford Bridge. Last week, in Spain, Chelsea walked away with what I think was a reasonable result, namely a 0 - 0 draw. I would have preferred a 1 - 1 draw, but by not conceding things are looking good.
Guss Hiddink's squad choice last week did surprise me though. He played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Essien playing on the right wing and Mikel in the holding role. This clearly worked out, but there was very little happening when the team went forward.
I do, however, have an idea as to how they can win this game and it does involve sitting back quite a bit. You see, Barcelona are the best football team in the world at the moment and when they go forward and attack they truly are amazing. So, there is no point in fighting fire with fire. Chelsea need to do something similar to what they did last week, and stifle the opposition's movement. By cutting off the supply from Xabi the team are limited to passing sideways, which means the ball is only going to be fed to Iniesta, Messi or Alves.
So, if Chelsea can play with A Cole marking Messi, Bosingwa marking Henry, Terry marking Eto'o and Alex sweeping up, then the only worry will come from midfield. Now, if Essien can remove Iniesta from the game and Lampard can limit Xabi then Ballack can play in a holding role as well as release Anelka or Malouda for attacks.
You see, with Alves playing at right back, he tends to come extremely far forward. So if Malouda can time his runs well he can get behind Alves and play him out of position, thereby allowing Anelka and Drogba to move inside and create havock for their inexperienced center halves.
All the attacks are going to have to go down the wings for Chelsea simply because central midfield is just too congested, so it's lucky that Malouda and Anelka are both playing really well at the moment.
The only problem I can see is that when Chelsea go forward and attack they are going to open up quite a bit, so I suspect the full backs are going to have to come forward and protect midfield while Ballack will probably have to stay back and make sure that no long balls make it from the box to the forwards.
I suspect that this game will be either a 2 - 1 game or a 5 - 4 game. Personally I'd rather see a 2 - 1 game because it'd be tighter, but who knows. As long as Chelsea go through I'm happy...
Anyway, no that I've had my say, we move onto a topic that I'm sure drives you all mad: Football. Chelsea are playing Barcelona for the second time in 8 days tonight and this time they are playing at Stamford Bridge. Last week, in Spain, Chelsea walked away with what I think was a reasonable result, namely a 0 - 0 draw. I would have preferred a 1 - 1 draw, but by not conceding things are looking good.
Guss Hiddink's squad choice last week did surprise me though. He played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Essien playing on the right wing and Mikel in the holding role. This clearly worked out, but there was very little happening when the team went forward.
I do, however, have an idea as to how they can win this game and it does involve sitting back quite a bit. You see, Barcelona are the best football team in the world at the moment and when they go forward and attack they truly are amazing. So, there is no point in fighting fire with fire. Chelsea need to do something similar to what they did last week, and stifle the opposition's movement. By cutting off the supply from Xabi the team are limited to passing sideways, which means the ball is only going to be fed to Iniesta, Messi or Alves.
So, if Chelsea can play with A Cole marking Messi, Bosingwa marking Henry, Terry marking Eto'o and Alex sweeping up, then the only worry will come from midfield. Now, if Essien can remove Iniesta from the game and Lampard can limit Xabi then Ballack can play in a holding role as well as release Anelka or Malouda for attacks.
You see, with Alves playing at right back, he tends to come extremely far forward. So if Malouda can time his runs well he can get behind Alves and play him out of position, thereby allowing Anelka and Drogba to move inside and create havock for their inexperienced center halves.
All the attacks are going to have to go down the wings for Chelsea simply because central midfield is just too congested, so it's lucky that Malouda and Anelka are both playing really well at the moment.
The only problem I can see is that when Chelsea go forward and attack they are going to open up quite a bit, so I suspect the full backs are going to have to come forward and protect midfield while Ballack will probably have to stay back and make sure that no long balls make it from the box to the forwards.
I suspect that this game will be either a 2 - 1 game or a 5 - 4 game. Personally I'd rather see a 2 - 1 game because it'd be tighter, but who knows. As long as Chelsea go through I'm happy...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Christianity vs The Bible Part 4
This is the final part in my blogs on Christianity and the Bible. Enjoy.
So, of the arguments that I've ever heard I don't believe any of them are relevant. So if there is no valid argument, in my opinion, against swearing is there an argument for swearing? For me, yes. In fact it's quite simple: integrity.
I believe that because Christians believe that they should be "showing the world who Christ is through their lives" they try to project an image of themselves as being perfect people who never falter in any way. But because I don't believe that's the message I should be communicating I don't try to show that to people. I believe that my life is worth more to people when it is shown for what it really is than what I wish it was or what I think it could or should be.
For that reason, when I get frustrated I don't try and show people what I think they should see, I show them what's really going on in my mind. And often that is "Fuck!" I believe that by showing people what's really going on I am not only living a life of integrity, but I am showing more respect toward them. And in my mind that translates to open dialogue, which is the beginning of communication, and that is one of the greatest ways of demonstrating love. Again, this is all my opinion.
The other thing is that any word has an assigned meaning, so if you assign the word "shit" a negative connotation, you will view it accordingly. But if you assign it a neutral connotation, people won't care. Words like cunt and fuck are really just strong words, in the same way that anguish and agony are strong words. So what makes the former unacceptable? I honestly don't know. But I guess that's why we need to spend time talking to people and finding out what people find offensive and what they don't. If someone finds the word "cunt" offensive I won't use it in front of them, but again, this is only evident after a relationship has been established and communication has been started.
Why not just not swear at all? Because I have to have a benchmark, and that benchmark is determined by what I find comfortable. And the truth is that I honestly don't mind talking about anything [literally anything] with anyone. I don't mind swearing, or drinking, or smoking so that's my benchmark. Perhaps I'm too liberal, and perhaps that will change but for now I'm happy with that. If you aren't contact me and we'll chat.
At the end of the day if you are applying Christ's principles to your life with integrity, and to the best of your ability no one can really complain.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
