El que se ríe...se lleva...

* Los Guerreros vencen a domicilio a los...¿guerreros?
* Hay que trabajar la contundencia
* Oswaldo Sánchez, otra vez, el heroe.
* Se ligan victorias, se escalan posiciones y se meten de lleno a la pelea.
* Por eso, es mejor quedarse callados, PIPOPES.

Haciéndole a la mala copia de los spots sin imaginación del américa, los Pipopes creyeron que sería una muy buena idea seguirle con el jueguito y mandaron hacer un spot donde menospreciaban a los verdaderos Guerreros y se adjudicaron el mote, "nomás por sus pistolas" ( tal y como Adidas lo hizo con la Decepción Mexicana, ¿por qué ahora todos quieren parecerse a nosotros? La Decepción con su campaña "Somos Guerreros", Chivas con franjas verdes en su uniforme, Monterrey, franjas verdes y negras, Jaguares, franjas verdes y negras, --colores que no tienen absolutamente nada que ver con su equipo--  Puebla diciendo que ellos son "verdaderos guerreros"y para variar, América reforzándose siempre con jugadores de nosotros...falta de imaginación o desesperado intento por emularnos? )
Mención aparte, la voz en off del spot, parecía que ese poblano tenía metido un camote bien adentro porque ¡Ah que varonil se oye cuando dice "hay de guerreros...a verdadeeros guerreros peeerra" ( el perra se lo incluí yo, por mamón pero me cae que lo editaron porque así parece que seguía la frase.

A los jugadores de Santos, obviamente no les cayó nada en gracia, tan es así que Guty Estrada entre semana y cuestionado respecto al spot, fué claro y tajante, "Guerreros, solo nosotros". PUNTO.
Y lo mejor de todo esto, se encargaron de demostrarlo dónde mejor podían hacerlo...EN LA CANCHA.

MAS INFORMACIÓN:

Santos saltaba a la cancha del Cuauhtémoc con la firme intención de demostrarles a los Poblanos que un mote así se gana en mucho tiempo y a base de sacrificio, trabajo y humildad ( algo que desgraciadamente ya se perdió en este equipo sobre todo la humildad, lo queramos o no, pero el mote ya se quedó les guste o no a los demás equipos ) y no nomás con una pinche campaña de mercadotecnia barata.
El primer tiempo fue de ir y venir, Puebla empezó por presionar al rival tenía llegada pero Oswaldo Sánchez resolvió los embates de buena manera, Santos por su parte tuvo que primero bajarle los humos al rival, teniendo y controlando el balón, manejándolo y moviendolo de tal manera que el Puebla corriera detrás de él,
Santos emparejó acciones, y la fricción se hizo presente en el terreno de juego en una pequeña cámara hungara que se formó por el minuto 30 donde salieron amonestados un jugador por cada bando.

Luego en una entrada mala leche, Damascus le da un dormilón a Estrada que lo obliga a salir por asistencia, a su regreso intenta cobrársela, y lo único que consigue es ganarse la amarilla y el cambio por parte de Galindo que mete al jóven Ibañez a partírsela en el lugar del pequeño guerrero que se fué echando chispas por la forma tan artera que el poblano entró.
Para este punto, Santos ya había tenido llegadas al arco, sin embargo, Alvarez tuvo un destacado encuentro al igual que Oswaldo que fué parte clave para que se trajeran los 3 puntos, incluyendo un poste que se atravesó a un disparo que ya se cantaba como el 1-0 a favor de los locales.

Las llegadas, se multiplicaron, era un agradable 0-0 sin duda, sin embargo, Darwin Quintero iba a cambiar el rumbo del encuentro...

Quintero siendo felicitado por sus compañeros

Al minuto 46" Puebla pierde el balón en media cancha, balón que recoge Quintero, quien conduce en contragolpe, recorta hacia al centro y saca un tiro de zurda hermoso que va a inculcarse al angulo para dejar sin opcion a Alvarez que sólo le faltó aplaudir pues fué el mejor espectador de un golazo.

No habría tiempo para más, así Santos se iba al descanso, dándole un golpe duro y certero a un Puebla que sentía que para el segundo tiempo podría abrir el marcador debido a sus llegadas, y no tenía en sus planes el recibir un gol ya casi terminando el 1er. tiempo.

Peralta festejando su gol emblemático e histórico, sin embargo
dejó ir varias que ojalá pudiera concretar.

Para el segundo tiempo, Puebla aún estaba tocado por el golazo de Quintero y en otra perdida de balón, Christian Suárez conduce y se lleva por toda su pradera a su marcador que hacía hasta lo imposible para pararlo, Suárez se mete a la cocina y saca diagonal de la muerte para la llegada de Peralta que ya había tenido sendas fallas frente al arco, pero ahora no fallaría para el 0-2 que pondría al Cuauhtémoc en silencio mientras que los pocos Guerreros que viajaron festejaban en las tribunas.
Con el 0-2 Santos se echó un poco para atrás, esperando paciente el contragolpe y las equivocaciones que se estaban dando, se tuvieron muchas más oportunidades para ampliar el marcador, sin embargo, ya sea Darwin, el portero o el mismo Peralta se encargaron de desperdiciar en algo que debe poner atención el cuerpo técnico.

La contundencia es algo que por lo que se ve está adoleciendo el equipo, llegada están teniendo pero están fallando mucho, y creo que si se metieran al menos el 40% de las llegadas tendríamos la mejor ofensiva del torneo, ahora con el abanico que ofrece la llegada de Suárez, Ludueña, Quintero la cancha se abre y es tiempo que Oribe asimile que él es el punta TITULAR por lo que las opciones que tenga tiene la responsabilidad de meter todas las que se pueda y sea posible sin desperdiciar tantas como lo han estado haciendo.

Pipope lamentándose, ¿pues no que muy guerreros?

Puebla comenzó atacar sin mucho peligro, Oswaldo se engrandecía en la meta sin emplearse a fondo, sin embargo en un tiro de esquina, Peralta comete un penal absurdo e inobjetable que marca correctamente el arbitro, y que los poblanos se encargaron de meter...1-2 y un Cuauhtémoc que revivía...

Pero Santos tiene a bien algo que me ha gustado en los ultimos juegos y es que están tocando de primera, están manteniendo el balón y están haciendo que el rival corra detrás de él, los mete a su ritmo y aprovecha que tienen necesidad para armar buenos contragolpes, sin embargo, vuelvo a la contundencia, no se concretan las llegadas por los delanteros y luego vienen los juegos apretados.

Siempre siendo figura, Oswaldo salvó a Santos del empate poblano.

En Puebla si no es por Oswaldo, se podrían haber perdido 2 puntos, debido a una gran atajada en el ultimo minuto del tiempo de reposición, así mismo, Santos se salvó de un penal (cuestionable) de Baloy sobre Pereyra que el arbitro no marcó por lo dudosa de la jugada.
Así Santos hace lo que hace unas semanas parecía imposible, ganar 2 juegos de visita de forma consecutiva, y con ésto subir varios escalones para meterse de lleno en la pelea por la liguilla teniendo aún pendientes 45 minutos del juego vs Morelia que se tuvo que suspender por el hecho que todos conocemos.

Santos recibe ahora a la Máquina del Cruz Azul un juego que los mamones ( me incluyo) ya conocen como el "Clásico del Subcampeonísimo" jajajaja ni modo, a agüantar vara total, es verdad, ahí andamos de segundones siguiéndoles los pasos gracias a un wey del que no me quiero ni acordar pero que ahora viste de amarillo.
En esta misma semana, el equipo viaja para otro partido dentro de la Concachampions, ahora vs el Real España y regresa para el sabado hacerle los honores al Subcampeonísimo 1.

Sale!!

PD. para quien no lo haya visto, los goles del encuentro.

My Matchday - 296 Kassam Stadium

Oxford United 1v1 Accrington Stanley
League Two
Saturday 24th September 2011


My main objective for this season is to finish off the current 92 before the arrival of our brutal winter which looks set to force an unwanted mid-season break. So for my latest solo train journey, I boarded the 0622 Cross Country train service to Reading, alighting in the picturesque city of Oxford.
The city is renowned for its famous university, the oldest in the English speaking world. There are two rivers flowing through the city, the Cherwell and the Thames which meets at the south, this stretch of the Thames is known as the Isis. The Oxford skyline demonstrates every English architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, with its churches and university buildings as well as the mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera.
Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires", which is credited to poet Matthew Arnold, however the term I would use is “city of bloody good bands” with three of my favourite groups over the last 20 years, namely Radiohead, Ride and Supergrass, formed out of Oxford

A vicar and a doctor met in a pub (no this isn’t the beginning of a joke) in 1893 and formed Headington FC, using players from the Headington Cricket Club. The club added the United bit to their name the following year and later joined the Spartan League.
In 1960 they were renamed Oxford United and within two years were in the Football League after winning the Southern League title for a third time.
The golden era for the U’s was during the 1980’s, winning consecutive league titles and promotion to win a place in the top tier of English football in 1985, then lifting the ’86 League Cup with a 3-0 win over QPR in the final at Wembley.
The club were relegated to Division Two in 1988, which started an 18 year downward spiral that ended with relegation from the Football League in 2006. This was the first time in the history of English football that a team which had won a major trophy were relegated to the Conference.
After a four years gap the club regained their League spot through the play-offs, overcoming York City 3-1 in the final at New Wembley.

Headington United started life at the Quarry Recreation Ground, before moving to Wootten’s Field in 1898. During the early part of the 20th century the club led a nomadic existence, playing on various pitches in and around Manor Park including a return to the Quarry, before securing land on Matlock's Field in 1925 which became known as the Manor Ground.

The Club announce in 1995 that by the end of the decade they were moving to a purpose built stadium at Minchery Farm in the Blackbird Leys area of the city, leaving behind Manor Ground their home for the previous 76 years.
I visited the Manor Ground twice during the 1980’s with Newcastle United. Both matches played midweek under lights in the same competition; the League (Milk)Cup, both resulted in disappointing and inept displays from the Magpies, by and large two unforgettable nights of misery.
The first tie took place in 1983, goals from Neal Whatmore and Andy Thomas gave Oxford a two goal lead at half-time with a late consolation goal from Keegan not enough to give the U’s a 3-2 aggregate win.
I was back again two years later and yet another pretty shitty night. The only highlight being we had time for a couple of pints before kick-off, which lightened our moody slightly before a 3-1 hammering as Oxford were on route to Wembley. Trevor Hebberd scored and another two from Thomas, which must have prompted Newcastle to fork out £100,000 for his services the following summer.

The new stadium meant the club left behind their spiritual home in Headington for the first time. Building work began in the summer of 1996 by Taylor Woodrow, but due to financial constraints construction ceased in December 1997.
Following the arrival of Firoz Kassam as chairman in 1999 work on the stadium recommenced in February 2000 by Birse Construction. The new owner ironed out the on-going legal problems, cleared a large percentage of the debt and squared up financially with Taylor Woodrow.
The ground is owned by the Firoka Group Company and was designed by ACP Architects with the overall construction costing £15m. The first game took place on the 4th August 2001 with a friendly against Crystal Palace, with the first competitive match the following week against Rochdale in the Third Division. United lost the game 2-1 in front of a crowd of 7,842 with Jamie Brooks scoring the Oxford goal.

The stadium has three separate all-seated cantilever stands filled with blue seats with an open end on the west side onto the car park and Vue complex.

The main stand is the South Stand, which has a capacity of 4495 over the two tiers, which are split with 28 executive boxes in between. The central façade wall is decorated with significant dates in the clubs history, similar to what they’ve done at the Emirates, but done in a more discreet way and not an arrogant in your face way like the Gunners.

Opposite is the North Stand which is similar in size and design, with just a single tier of 5026 seats, which are shared with away supporters. The stand also has floodlights mounted on the roof.
Behind the east goal is the Oxford Mail Stand which is also has a parallel appearance, but with less capacity with room for 2879. There’s also a basic electric scoreboard behind the west goal.
I do have one gripe about the stadium, which is the appearance of the walls around the turnstile areas which looks an eyesore, covered with graffiti and desperately in need of a tidy up and a good lick of paint.

The current capacity is 12,500 with the biggest attendance being just short of a full house when 12,177 witnessed the 3-2 defeat against Leyton Orient in May 2006, which sealed the clubs fate and sent them crashing into the Conference.


The spoils were shared between Oxford United and Accrington Stanley in this League Two clash, a fair result with maybe the visitors just shading it. The despondent chorus of boos from the U’s supporters on full time tells the story of a frustrating 90 minutes.
Accrington could have been three goals up before McClaren gave Oxford the lead on 35 minutes; a free kick from 20 yards took a wicked deflection to totally wrong foot the ‘keeper to give the hosts a fluke lead.
Before then, Murphy had a goal chalked off for offside after netting the rebound from a Winnard header, which came back off the post. United keeper Ryan Clarke pulled off two great saves, tipping over an effort from Fletcher, and then denying Murphy with a point blank save.
The equaliser came just after the hour mark when the ball fell into the path of Peter Murphy on the edge of the box, hitting a first time shot which nestled in the bottom left corner of the goal.
Both sides huffed and puffed for a winner but it didn’t look likely as the match fizzled out into a draw, which pushes Oxford out of the play-off positions.

Needless to say my brief previous visits to Oxford weren’t enjoyable, so I made sure I made up for it this time, by arriving early so I could have a good toby around and a good pub crawl.
I arrived just after 1030 and headed straight to Wetherspoons for breakfast. This JDW pub is inspired by the famous Two Ronnies sketch, hence the name - Four Candles. I also frequented the Swan & Castle, Royal Blenheim, Bear Inn and Far From the Madding Crowd before catching the bus to the ground at around 2pm.
The bus fare was £2.90 return and the regular service meant I was back in the town centre in good time to catch the 1807 back to Newcastle.
As soccer Saturday’s go this one was just about perfect, not only did I have an enjoyable day in Oxford, but good news from elsewhere as both my teams in black and white had good wins courtesy of hat-trick heroes.
My target to finally finish off the 92 is getting closer with just three more to go, hopefully if my plans come together then the set can be achieved before winter calls, when my footy travels grind to a temporary and impetuous halt.

Matchday stats

OUFC 1(McClaren 35) ASFC 1(Murphy 62) att.6472

Admission £20.50 Programme £3


Ground no.296 Kassam Stadium - Matchday Web album (19 pictures)

My Matchday - 295 Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground

Sunderland Reserves 1v0 Gateshead Reserves

Tote Cup (Group C)

Wednesday 21st September 2011

Eppleton Colliery Welfare is the only major north-east football venue still in existence that I was still to visit. The ground hosts the annual Durham Challenge Cup final and as the game usually takes place on Good Friday, I always miss it because I’m usually away during the Easter holidays.
Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground is in the former mining village of Hetton-le-Hole, situated between Durham and Sunderland. The ground also hosts chief residents Sunderland Reserves, Sunderland Ladies and local Sunday league side Hetton Lyons, FA Sunday Cup winners three times in the last five years.

The ground was of course home to former Northern League club Eppleton CW, who formed back in 1929. The club entered the North Eastern League in 1947 before joining the Wearside League in 1951. After a spell in the Houghton & District League they returned to the WL after a ten year absence in 1974. Successive league titles at the turn of the ‘90’s saw a step up to the Northern League Second Division in 1992-93, winning promotion in their debut season.

The club lasted three seasons in the top flight but after relegation they became annual strugglers, eventually dropping into the Northern Alliance in 2003 and unfortunately within two years the club were no more.

The Welfare Ground was originally shared with cricket, having a pavilion and a stand behind the goal. The pitch lay east of its current position until the 1970’s, when the cricket field moved northwards, with the cricket outfield adjoining the top end of the football pitch.
Ground improvements were made to coincide with the club’s promotion to the Northern League. Cover was added to the central section of the banked terrace, including a section of wooden benches and a new four pylons floodlight system.

In 1993 Sunderland Council embarked on a £3m revamp of the ground, which saw the old stand replaced with a smart looking two tier cantilever stand, the bottom tier has 250 blue seats split into four sections, with standing room at the top for a further 350 spectators.
The other three sides is open with hard standing and grass banking with large Perspex dugouts opposite the stand.

The ground is overshadowed by the Hetton Centre building which houses the community organisation ‘The Hetton Town Trust’ which rose from the former Eppleton Colliery Welfare. The centre includes the Bob Paisley Bar, named after the legendary former Liverpool manager who was born in Hetton-le-Hole.

Missing out on the Durham Cup final every year, the only way I could visit Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground was by having to suffer watching the mackem reserves on the odd occasion they use the ground instead of either the Stadium or Academy of Light. But thankfully this ground was picked as the location for the Tote Cup fixture against my beloved Gateshead, the Heed reserves returning to the venue of their triumphant DCC victory last season.

The first round of the Tote Cup is regionalised into a group stage. Gateshead and Sunderland grouped together with Hartlepool United, Hull City and Scunthorpe United.
Current Tote Cup holders Sunderland got off to a winning start in defence of their trophy as Roarie Deacon’s second half strike settled the tie. The mackems had good chances in the opening half, all falling to Oumare Tounkara who hit the post, headed over from close range and blasted two efforts into the Hetton Centre car park.

Gateshead battled well but never seriously tested the home ‘keeper, while between the other posts, Heed’s Jack Alnwick, on-loan from Newcastle United looked unbeatable. That was until the 74th minute, the Tynesiders defence finally breached as Deacon latching on to a right wing cross, having time and space to pick his spot to give the Wearsiders a rare win over a Tyneside club.

Eppleton Colliery Welfare is a tidy little ground and despite the slight slope, the pitch it’s probably one of the best playing surfaces in the region. It’s a shame that Eppleton CWFC went to the wall just as the ground was developed as it would be a welcome addition amongst north-east Non-League football grounds in either the Northern or Wearside League.

Matchday stats

SAFCres 1(Deacon 74)GFCres 0 att.330

Admission with team sheet £3

Ground no.295 Eppleton CW - Matchday Web album (15 pictures)

Con uno tuvieron...

* De Ludueña al Maestro con cariño...
* Se rompe la mala racha
* Cambios en la alineacion.
* Viene el despunte de Santos?

Poco esperaba yo del encuentro, pero al iniciar, me tope con la agradable sorpresa de tener dentro del campo al mismo tiempo a jugadores como Peralta, Ludueña, Quintero y Suárez tal y como Cocca había empezado a usar al inicio del torneo y que tan buenos resultados le dieron y con jugadores así dentro de la cancha, habría de tener oportunidades al frente y no decepcionaron.
Santos Laguna por fin cortó su racha sin victorias ante un San Luis que en los ultimos momentos se volcó al frente buscando la igualada la cual no llegó aún y que los Guerreros casi desde el minuto 30 del segundo tiempo dieron por finalizadas sus acciones al frente cosa que personalmente se me hizo demasiado pronto, pero pues que a final de cuentas resultó para traerse un valioso marcador de visitante y una victoria que todos añorábamos.

MAS INFORMACIÓN.

Peralta, Suárez , Quintero y Ludueña, así queremos ver de inicio
al equipo con todo lo que tiene al frente, ¿para qué guardarlo?.

Se tenía el balón y las ganas por ofender, el abanico de posibilidades se abria con la llegada de estos 4 al frente, y pronto encontrarían al gol, producto de una pincelada de gol que salio de los botines de Daniel Ludueña que toma el balón robándolo desde medio campo, conduciéndolo unos metros para luego y desde muy afuera del área grande, soltar esa derecha de oro e incrustar el balón en el angulo, lejos de las manos del Conejo Pérez que nada pudo hacer para detener un disparo que desde que salió del pie del Argentino naturalizado mexicano llevaba etiqueta de gol.

Sacó todo lo que traía acumulado el Hacha, esperemos sea este
el renacimiento del 10 que tanta falta nos hace.

Con el gol, la confianza creció aún más, en la cancha, Santos era dueño y señor de las acciones, y durante toda la mitad, el peligro estuvo latente sin embargo o Conejo o la suerte no quiso que el marcador se ampliara pues oportunidades como un cabezaso de Hoyos de Figueroa y un remate de Hoyos que se fueron ambos por encima del travesaño de manera milagrosa, así como un pase filtrado a Suárez que tapó Conejo para mandarlo a tiro de esquina.

Así se irian al descanso se sentía una confianza diferente, y se tenía la esperanza de que salieran con las mismas ganas, sin embargo, para la segunda mitad, el maestro empezó a mover a sus alumnos, tal vez por cansancio o por cuestiones tácticas, pero empezó con Suárez, sacándolo apenas al 63 para la entrada del Panameño Baloy, intentando reforzar la zaga de los embates que San Luis empezaba a generar.
Sin embargo, se debilitó al frente y Santos empezó poco a poco a perder el control del balón, empezando ahora a correr detrás de él.

Al 67, el maestro saca a la punta Peralta para la inclusión de Ochoa en un movimiento que se supondría que sería de "refresco" pero seamos sinceros, si queremos que realmente sea un refresco, mete a un jóven con ganas y hambre de comerse al mundo y no a un sr. que ya sólo tiene el nombre en la espalda porque ni hambre ni ganas, por lo que Santos quedó con 10 luego de la inclusión de Ochoa. Triste pero cierto.

Se le sigue viendo luchón a Ludueña, corriendo más para
recuperar las pelotas, tan es así que de ahí nació su gol.

San Luis por su parte tomo el balón, lo prestaba poco y empezó a generar llegada sin embargo pocas fueron las veces que Oswaldo realmente se vió apresurado en su meta, mientras que en la banca guerrera, el maestro preparaba lo que sería el ultimo cambio, y con esto, le dio a Santos la orden final, defiende con todo lo que tengas, ese gol y la victoria que la necesitamos más que nunca, sale Ludueña y entra Chema Cárdenas, más movilidad pero menos control.
Las piezas habían sido ya movidas, Santos necesitaba contener al San Luis por más de 30 minutos, criticable pero a final de cuentas, se salió con la suya y lo importante ante todo, fue el resultado.

Y es que en el partido vs Chivas ( del cual no puse resumen por razones laborales, hay uds disculpen, pero ante todo la papa y la paga , ya que Santos no me manda cheque por andarle haciendo al crítico y mucho menos al porrista ). VS Chivas se "jugo bien" a secas, muchos vieron un cambio, pero al final, lo frío que queda es que se empató y la gente volvió a abuchear de manera justa y lógica al no ver a su equipo ganar de una vez por todas.

El "Maestro" Benjamín Galindo, en su segunda etapa al frente.

La llegada de Galindo, a muchos no gustó, tomando en cuenta que se pudo haber traído algo diferente y no viciado del mercado mexicano, alguien que viniera a poner orden, y sobre todo a darse cuenta de los HOMBRES QUE SE TIENEN sin tomar en cuenta los nombres ( o tal vez, ni conocer los nombres) sin embargo, el presidente local del equipo, Alejandro Irraragorri aplicó la de "Mas vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer" y le abrió las puertas a Galindo que trae en su grupo de trabajo a gente como Adomaitis y el Toto López para "devolverle el espiritu guerrero" al equipo.
No digo que sea malo, pero recuerden que ni siquiera aquel que realmente ha gritado que ama a un equipo es sinónimo de buenos resultados ( ahí tenemos el caso del Maestro Reynoso que por mucho amor que profesa por esa institución, nomas no logró nada como técnico) En fin, el caso es que Galindo regresa y por lo pronto, ya hizo MAS de lo que había hecho anteriormente cuando ni siquiera ganó un solo juego ( de ahí tal vez a meter el camión atrás, que dijo, este triunfo nadie me lo quita) bien por el Santos y Galindo en su segunda etapa, espero que realmente "El Ruso" Adomaitis logre inyectarles ese sentimiento que cuando estuvo aquí dejaba en aquellas descolgadas desde medio campo cuando realmente conocíamos el potencial del Ruso.

Que les haga entender, que a éste equipo hay que brindarle más que el 100% porque ésta camisa y sobre todo ésta afición debe ser siempre correspondida con ENTREGA, HUMILDAD Y HAMBRE DE TRIUNFO, la diferencia en aquellos entonces, es que al equipo llegaban jugadores teniendo ganas de sobresalir, aquí se hacían figuras e ídolos, hoy se contratan nombres, llegan sin hambre y con una soberbia exagerada diciendo que "se tienen que adaptar".
No señores, aquí no queremos eso, queremos ENTREGA desde el minuto 1, y la afición ( aunque ahora muy cambiada debido a los tiempos) aún recordamos lo que se solía ser. Esperemos realmente que vengan a inyectar EL CARACTER DEL GUERRERO, ése que mostraron en sus epocas de jugador y que tan buenos resultados dejó para la institución.

Sale!!

What to do with $40 PSN credit?

Courtesy of the lovely editor-and-chief at Video Game Writers, I have recently come into possession of $40 worth of Playstation Network credit! Now the big question is: what am I going to spend it on? Right now, my head seems to be full of Playstation classics...

These are just a few of the titles I thought of first, none of which I have ever played. There are still others, such as Bomberman Fantasy Race, that I used to own and wouldn't mind getting a chance to play again.

Since I can't decide, I open the floor to you, lovely readers, for suggestions! I'm sure most of you reading this already know my gaming tastes, so hit me with your best shot! I wouldn't mind some PSP games, either. If I end up picking one of your suggestions I'll dedicate a post to it, with a special shout-out to you, as well.

My Matchday - 294 Highbury Stadium

Fleetwood Town 3v1 Gateshead
Blue Sq.Bet Premier
Saturday 10th September 2011

Fleetwood Town’s Highbury is a ground I’ve put off visiting until now. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I’m anaphylactic to fish or anything, it’s just I’ve waited until the redevelopment of the stadium was completed, so I can capture the ground in all its glory.

The 5,663 capacity stadium has been totally revamped since 2007, with the finishing touch being the smart looking £4.5m Parkside Stand which was opened to spectators in April. The stand has a 2,000 all- seated single tier with a shelf-like executive area at the back, having two rows of seats in front of seven hospitality boxes. The stand is completed by a semi-circular wrap around roof with large glassed walls at each side.

Opposite is The Highbury Stand which opened in 2008, with 550 red seats divided into six rows and runs half the length of the pitch, the other half has the building that was used as dressing rooms with a video screen scoreboard and there’s also a TV gantry box on top of the roof.

There is covered terracing behind each goal, the Percy Ronson Stand was the first stand built in the revamped ground in 2007 and is usually set aside for away supporters with room for over 600 fans.

The Memorial Stand replaced the old Scratching Shed at the Park end, named in honour to those who lost their lives in service and in memory of the trawlermen lost at sea from the port of Fleetwood. The stand holds 1473 and opened in August 2008 and unlike the Percy Ronson stand the roof covers the whole end.

A rare treat of a bit of a lie in for this trip, as it’s usually an early start and a canny hike when travelling away with the Heed. Our coach left Gateshead at 10.15pm and after being millimetres away from dunshing a car on the A685, we arrived safely at 1.30pm

Fleetwood is a town on the Lancashire coast in the Wyre district in North West Fylde, an eight mile tram ride north of the bright lights of Blackpool.

The town is built on a Peninsula and was once a productive deep sea fishing port until fishing restrictions were made after the Icelandic Cod wars in the 1970's. The port is now a tourist attraction with a retail shopping park and the picturesque seaside resort is a quieter alternative to the noisy neighbourhood down the road.

We drove past the old fishing docks and the local McDonalds, with Squad #26 Alan Price suggesting we should stop off for a Fleetwood Big Mac! Thankfully we didn’t, the coach driver dropped us off at the JDW pub - The Thomas Drummond instead.

Drinking in Fleetwood is a very cheap day out. I had 2 pints in the ‘Spoons; Northern ‘Casino’(3.8%) cost £1 and Franklin EXP(4.2%)£1.99. On route to the ground I went to seek out the Strawberry Garden which is owned by the local Fuzzy Duck Brewery, where I had a pint of ‘Feathers’(4.0%) priced at £2.30 with 50p off a pint for CAMRA members. So overall I had three pre-match pints for under a fiver.(That’s 1994 prices…Eddy)

Similar to the visitors for today’s Blue Sq.Bet Premier game - Gateshead F.C., Fleetwood too has a history of disbanded and reincarnated clubs.

The first of many were Fleetwood Rangers back in 1887 playing at the Corpse Ground for 10 years before Fleetwood Amateurs formed. The club dropped their surname in 1908 joining the professional ranks, playing at Warrenhurst Park before a moving to a pitch on land at the rear of the North Euston hotel in September 1909, joining the Lancashire Combination League.

The North Euston ground was limited with little room for expansion so after one year the club relocated one mile out of town to a piece of land opposite the Queens Hotel. After the club folded in 1927 Fleetwood later returned to North Euston until the local Council purchased four acres of land on Highbury Avenue adjacent to the Memorial Park in 1936.

The first match at Highbury Stadium took place on 26th August 1938, but due to the outbreak of World War 2 another ball wasn’t kicked until 31st August 1946, equipped with a freshly built covered terrace opposite the Main Stand.

The majority of the club’s history was spent in the Lancashire Combination, winning the title once in 1923-24, until becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. In 1971 they lifted the League Cup but struggled in the division and after consecutive years at the foot of the table they folded in 1976.

The club reformed the following year in the Cheshire League and progressed to the North West Counties League in 1982. There was also a trip to Wembley in the FA Vase in 1985(lost 3-1 to Halesowen Town) but again the club folded in 1996.

The present and most successful rebirth formed in 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers in the North West Counties 2nd Division. Due to a sponsorship deal the club were immediately renamed Fleetwood Freeport until the current and traditional Town suffix came in 2002.

Town rapid progress has seen promotion through both North West Counties and Northern Premier leagues, reaching the Conference North in 2008. In the 2009-10 after finishing runners-up to Southport, the Cod Army celebrated reaching the Conference beating Alfreton Town 2-1 in the play-off final at Highbury Stadium.

A Record Attendance of 4,112 was set last season against AFC Wimbledon as The Fishermen reached the play-offs, finishing the regular season in 5th spot but lost the two-legged semi-finals to the eventual promotion winners.

The Tynesiders unbeaten since the start to the season faced the biggest test so far, with Fleetwood producing their best display with a 3-2 win at Kettering last Saturday

The first half was a tight affair, the best opportunity falling to Jamie Vardy just after the half hour mark, his close ranger effort produced a great save from Farman.

The second half was more entertaining. The deadlock broken on 51 minutes with a magnificent strike from Andrew Mangan, who unleashed an unstoppable drive from over 30 yards which crashed in off the underside of the bar.

Viera went close to doubling the lead with a close range header before man of the match Robert Atkinson saw his headed effort cleared off the line.

James Curtis had a shot blocked as Gateshead put on the pressure in search of an equaliser, but were undone on the break. Substitute Brodie played a good ball into the path of Vardy, who ran on to round the defender and finish well.

In the final minute Gateshead halved the deficit with a 25 yard Beckham-eque free-kick from Odubade, but again the home side caught the visitors on the breakaway, Brodie again combined with Vardy, the striker grabbing a brace with another neat finish which had the Captain Pugwash tune blasting over the PA for a third time.

So Gateshead’s unbeaten start comes to an end, while Fleetwood will be buoyant after back-to-back wins and six goals after a stuttering start to the season in front of goal.

The Blue Sq.Bet Premier league looks pretty open this season which should see plenty of highs and a only a few lows for the Heed this campaign.

There doesn’t seem to be a stand out team that’s going to run away with the title this season, which makes for a competitive league and a thrilling eight months ahead.

Matchday stats
FTFC 3(Mangan 51 Vardy 80 90+4)GFC 1(Odubade 90)

att.1388
Admission: Press (£18)
Programme £2.50



Ground no.294 Highbury Stadium - Matchday Web album(23 pictures)

Literalmente los hicieron...

* La gota que derramo al vaso de Cocca
* Una derrota más, ¿qué mas da verdad?
*  ¿Y la culpa de los jugadores?
* De mas a menos.

Hablar de lo mál que se vió Santos Laguna en Chiapas sería redundar en un tema que al menos a muchos de los aficionados, nos tiene ya hartos.
Nuevamente fuimos parte y víctimas de la estadística, los rompe-mala rachas, y es que a Santos se le ha hecho costumbre cortarles la racha negativa a los equipos y servirle de escalón para que salgan victoriosos brincando lugares en la tabla,  y como no habría de pasar eso! , con actitudes sobradas, mal acondicionamiento físico ( PRODUCTO DE LA SOBRE-EXPLOTACIÓN FÍSICA QUE EL CUERPO TÉCNICO HIZO SOBRE LOS JUGADORES, pero que NADIE, NADIE DIJO...¡ah sí! HASTA AHORA que se dan cuenta de cómo los jugadores literalmente están fundidos para el minuto 60 o 70., Aquí lo dije desde hace rato y no ví que ningun comunicador lo dijera, ¿miedo a represalias por parte del soberano presidente del equipo?) total, que los guerreros luego de ir ganando 0-1 parece ser que se les acabó el aire y en menos de 10 minutos los jaguares les dieron de zarpazos hasta dejarlos hechos garra en el campo de juego.
MAS INFORMACIÓN



La culpa, no era completamente del técnico, sin embargo, como bien saben todos, la cuerda se rompe por lo más débil y en esa parte, adivinen quién es el que se fué....

"me voy por la inseguridad..." ajá...cómo no.

Diego Cocca se va, dejando al equipo hundido, tronado y con jugadores dentro de sus filas que nada tienen que hacer aquí pero que por la gran labia de algún promotor, siguen cobrando como si fueran pilares necesarios.
Lugar 14, a 3 puntos del sótano general, producto de sólo 2 victorias, 1 empate y 3 derrotas, no es un lugar digno para el que hasta no hace mucho lo llamábamos "El orgullo del Norte".
Con jugadores que nada tienen que hacer en la alineación ( y mucho menos en el plantel) hoy se extrañan a jugadores que se comprometían como en antaño, lo raro de todo esto, es que aún y teniéndo sus cartas los pasan a otros equipos para que se pierdan en el olvido y nadie se acuerde de ellos.

Digo, si tienes a un Lorito Jiménez y a un Quiñonez como propios, ¿porque no usarlos en este torneo? , y así mismo, si un delantero histórico te pedía a gritos una oportunidad para retirarse, y no se la quisiste dar, pero sin embargo si regresas a un señor como Ochoa que nadie sabe que hace en el campo cuando entra, pues nos damos más de golpes en la cabeza de cómo las decisiones que se toman en la parte de arriba, sin igual de incoherentes que el accionar del equipo.
Si ves que en el campo Morales no hace otra cosa más que perder la marca y crear un Boulevard más grande que el Revolución y aún así lo sigues manteniendo teniendo en la banca a un Olvera de extracción local, entonces nada podemos hacer para que éste equipo levante.
Si traes a un defensor caro, lento y sin haber jugado UN AÑO no esperes que te rinda, sin embargo, ahí en la banca tienes a un perro que se va a morir en la raya con tal de que no pase el balón llamado Figueroa, bueno, si el aficionado común y corriente lo vé, ¿porque demonios tú no?, es cierto, no tiene la estatura, pero al menos tiene la velocidad y los huevos para complementar su accionar, no que otros, ni eso.

Hay Moralitos...

El equipo no sabemos hasta que punto está reventado físicamente, se colgaban en la esperanza de los "2 juegos pendientes" ya perdieron el primero y vs Morelia, para como están las cosas, sinceramente no esperamos mucho, ¿luego, que?
Cocca se ha ido aludiendo ahora que se fué por la inseguridad prevaleciente, ( sí, cómo no) pero no aceptando su culpa por los malos resultados, la directiva por su parte si admitió "su error" de haber puesto a una persona que no tenía la experiencia necesaria para dirigir a un equipo que se supone ya es palabras mayores. Lo aceptó a regañadientes, ( entre lo que se puede entender de tanto bla bla bla que siempre manejan) y total que al final, no pasó nada y sólo se perdieron 6 meses, torneos internacionales y liguillas gracias al capricho de haber traído a un técnico que nadie sabía de él, pero que "le cuadró el ojo" pensando en un plan a futuro; un plan que después de 7 meses, es tirado a la basura y ahora, borrón y cuenta nueva con lo que se tiene.

Al frente, queda Rergis, poco podrá hacer si los jugadores están reventados física y psicológicamente o si sigue la misma línea que el joven de apellido refresquero.

¿Quién viene?

What´s your name son?...."Murphy"

Hasta el momento, se tuvo la visita de Bob "Robocop" Bradley, el cual estuvo más de 24 hrs, viendo las instalaciones y poniéndose al tanto de lo que quiere Irarragorri para con el equipo, no lo han confirmado y solo han dicho que "es una opción más" aún y que en los medios como Futbol Picante y Diario Fox Sports lo dan  como un casi-hecho.
Personalmente, me gusta la propuesta, más que nada, la forma de trabajar de los gringos me parece que puede ser un buen aliciente para este equipo. Con un técnico que aún y no conoce "el futbol mexicano" es mejor, porque no está ni viciado y sabe que debe salir a ganar cualquier cosa.
Más aún que muchos colegas de la MLS lo están animando a dirigir fuera del territorio gringo, para demostrar su calidad como DT abrir un camino para que más técnicos americanos, lleguen al mercado mexicano.
Me gusta la mentalidad del estadounidense, "siempre ganar" y si bien su paso en la Selección no fué lo mejor de su cosecha, también es cierto que por algo él  fué el elegido para dirigir a los gringos. Si se contrata, ojalá que no sea abordado inmediatamente por los promotores ( incluso por la misma directiva) diciéndole qué jugadores meter, ojalá le dieran carta abierta para hacer y deshacer, así mismo confío que al no estar viciado del futbol mexicano, se dará cuenta del nivel que traen varios jugadores como Ochoa, Morales, Cárdenas, Quintero, Hoyos entre otros y que con la mano en la cintura los siente aún y que ellos presuman tener "un cartel".

Pero, esos son aún castillos en el aire, pues sin tener una noticia oficial aún, el puesto de director técnico queda en manos de Rergis que sinceramente yo creo que nomás va a parar al equipo vs una chivas que vienen de líderes generales, y que yo creo que no querrán soltarlo ante unos Guerreros que de Guerreros ya sólo les quedó el mote.
Esperemos que ante todo, NO HAYAN HECHOS QUE LAMENTAR, pues el Corona nuevamente tendrá los reflectores, sólo que ahora a su alrededor estarán más de 1000 elementos para resguardar la "seguridá" (y la ciudad apa?) de la gente que vaya, prefieren y como bien dijo el Batman cantidad y pensarle un poco.
Si van a ir, váyanse con tiempo, porque imagino que habrá retenes, si no van, es entendible, mucha gente dice que en las buenas y en las malas, pues sí, pero aquí estamos hablando de cosas mayores, y si se dá ausencia será algo al menos yo, comprenderé.
Esperemos pues, próximas noticias del nuevo técnico, nomás no nos vayan a salir con su chambonada y que la decisión que se tome sea pensando por el bien del equipo...y no por el bien de un pinche promotor.

Sale!!

Zoroark Pokémon event starts in AU first

Well, now that my pageviews have settled down, back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Do you wish you lived in Australia? No? Well, did you know that the super special Zoroark Pokémon event, where you will be able to download a level 50 Zoroark that knows the move snarl, which is unobtainable in the game, will be starting in Australia a whole 2 days before the rest of the world (the rest of the world being the US, of course). So you want move to Australia now, right?

Ok, sure, it's not that big a deal that we're the first country outside of Japan to get this super-special Zoroark, but AU hardly ever comes first for anything, Aussies tend to like to shove it in everyone's face when they actually do get something ahead of everyone else for once. I know, let's celebrate with a a chain-smoking humaniod Zoroark in a vest! That sounds like a fabulous idea.

source

Here are the details to get your very own Zoroark: Aussies can head to Toys R Us, EB Games, or Game from September 16th to October 16th, and Americans will be able to download their own dark fox from Toys R Us on September 18th to the 25th. Unfortunately, those of you in the US have a much smaller window of opportunity, so you'll have to be sure to get yours quick!

I know I for one am happy for an excuse to dust off my copy of Pokémon White. Perhaps I'll finally get around to beating the Elite 4? Are you planning on getting a Zoroark of your own?

Some ClaDun x2 Impressions

As some of you may already know, I'm reviewing the latest NIS America import for the PSP, ClaDun x2. Though my review won't be live for another day or two while I finish up my playthrough, I thought I'd take the opportunity to post some nifty screens I took of my characters in action and tell you all what I think of it so far! 

One of my characters getting pummeled while I try to figure out how to take a proper screenshot

First, a confession: I have not played ClaDun: This is an RPG!. I do, however, consider myself rather well-versed on the title, and have made sure I've caught myself up to speed before playing ClaDun x2, largely due to the help of one of the most fabulous gamers on the net, Bryan Ochalla of The Gay Gamer. From what I understand, there are two trains of thought when it comes to ClaDun: people either love the customization and the endless dungeon crawling, or they hate it and its steep learning curve and graphical style. ClaDun x2 is more of the same but offers expanded options for virtually everything: there is more customization, more random dungeons, more character classes, weapons, you name it. 

I don't want to spoil my upcoming review, but I will say this: if any game needed an instruction manual, this one would be it. Unfortunately, ClaDun x2 is only available as a PSN download, and the very short tutorials and in-game dictionary just don't cut it. In all honesty, I still don't know some of what I'm looking at on that HUD (namely the negative number next to SP in the bottom left corner. Someone please tell me what it is and why it is negative!). People who don't want to spend the first couple of hours in over their head will probably not be willing to stick things through long enough to get the hang of the game's magic circle systems and numerous customization options, which is a shame, because I found that once I stopped worrying about whether or not I was playing the game "right," I found myself quite enjoying the experience overall.

For those of you who are not familiar with the game, ClaDun x2 is an action RPG focused on lots and lots of dungeon crawling. You control one character at a time, who is your "main character," and all other characters can be equipped to your main character in order to enhance his or her stats via a system called "magic circles."  You'll pick up various items in the dungeons to boost your character's stats in the magic circles, and in order to maintain a well-rounded party it is important to switch main characters every couple of levels and update your magic circles as you unlock new ones and obtain better items. While this may seem daunting at first, especially without much guidance, I found that after experimenting a bit it really wasn't as intimidating as I previously thought. 

My 1st character, Apricot, is an ass-kicking guardian.  You can see my sub characters acting as human shields in the top right corner. This is one of the randomly generated dungeons, or Ran-geons. 

With all the character customization and equipping/magic circle swapping, you may quickly find that you're starting to spend a lot of time in menus and not so much time fighting beasties and nabbing sweet loot. This is one area where I really felt the game could have benefitted from better instruction, so that rather than staring at the screen and wondering what the hell you're looking at, you could actually be playing the game. But really, your ClaDun x2 experience is what you choose to make it, and once the Ran-geons opened up to me, I quickly lost myself in the superior loot and difficulty they offered. 

It is worth noting, I think, that if you're looking for the 3 new classes (ninja, dragoon, and monk) you'll have to replay the pre-made dungeons and beat them within the time allotted in order to gain fame, which will net you various items and unlock a number of important things in-game. 50 fame is what it takes to get the new classes, and even then you'll need to pay a significant sum for them, so it's worth doing this early on if you wanted to try the new classes in particular. There is no penalty for creating characters, so it's up to you to experiment! As of now, I have 6. 

My newest character, a dragoon, getting bashed as I try to take an epic "in action" screenshot for you all

ClaDun x2 is shaping up to be a great retro-style dungeon crawler for the PSP, and bite-sized dungeons make it perfect for a handheld. The lack of story may deter some, but I think it fits well with the style of gameplay, making this a good candidate for short commutes or an hour-long plane ride. Virtually limitless customization options allow you to create music, characters, and weapons if you so choose, and the whole experience can really be catered in such a variety of ways that I think a lot of people who might not even consider picking up this title in the first place could find a lot to like here. That said, many will probably be deterred by the lack of explanation of the game's systems, and might not be able to stick with it long enough to really begin to enjoy the experience. 

Please look forward to my full Video Game Writers review! 

Japan Envy: Pokémon Center Limited Edition Merchandise

EDIT: Well, thanks everyone for all the page views! People seem to be taking my offhand Ruby/Sapphire remake comment and running with it. Honestly, I'm just saying that others have been speculating of a remake being in the works due to the new Pokémon time Hoenn series. You can read the post I referenced here at Pokémon Aus. If you're interested in learning more about Pokémon time, please check out this fabulous Pokémon time fansite.

For a little background for those of you too lazy to go digging around over there, Pokémon time is a series of merchandise offered only at Pokémon Centers, and has been around since 2008. It originally started with only the first generation of Pokémon and coincided with Pokémon's 10 year anniversary and has gradually grown to include more Pokémon from generation 1 and 2, so it's very possible that the generation 3 Pokémon making an appearance in the 2011 collection are just part of the series' natural progression and not a sign of a remake. Feel free to speculate as you will! If we were going to get any announcements, they would probably come from the Japanese magazine CoroCoro, where most Pokémon game reveals have been made in the past.

The Pokémon Center. A rare treat for any fan of the internationally adored Pocket Monsters, they are a rarity even in Japan, with only 6 locations in the whole nation. They have proved so popular, in fact, that according to a recent survey they are the 3rd most popular tourist attraction in Japan! Indeed, yours truly has even made her own pilgrimage to the Osaka Pokémon Center:

The Pokémon Center in Osaka, Japan

Pokémon Centers are famous for their exclusive merchandise as well as frequent Pokémon downloads, available only at centers for a limited time. It may be a bit early, but the Pokémon Center newsletter has already rolled out its line of holiday goods, which will include some adorable clear file folders and collectable plush toys featuring Pikachu, Oshawott, Audino, and Cubchoo in Santa hats, riding on a Pokémon-themed train. 

Detail of the illustration to be featured on the exclusive file folders. This Pikachu looks quite like the Pokemon Rumble Blast style Pikachu, if I may say.

Each plush will be sold separately for approximately $15, but will combine to form a complete train. 

And at the bottom of the announcement flyer, there is an interesting little reveal for a series called "Pokémon time." Pokémon time will only contain Pokémon from the Ruby and Sapphire generation of games, but what kind of merchandise will be in the series isn't detailed in the flyer. Of course, this has sparked whole new rumors that Nintendo will be revealing a remake of Ruby and Sapphire for the 3DS on September 13th, which is when when Nintendo will be holding their next press conference. 

The Pokémon time series

I actually like these Pokémon Time illustrations quite a bit! I love the pop art style and the color combos. How about that Torchic? (second from the right)

It's really too bad Nintendo doesn't distribute these goods outside of Japan. Those of us who don't have access to a Pokémon Center will have to rely on proxies and eBay for now, unfortunately. 

Thanks go to Pokémon Aus for the info!