Endless Harmony

ITN Source: 5 Everton-related clips

2011-12-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

The constantly expanding and growing ITN Source website has thrown up a number of Everton-related clips not generally seen since the news bulletins of the day – behold 5 randomly great or interesting ones discovered by dedicated Blues across message boards.

1. Paul Wilkinson’s derby winner – May 23rd, 1985. Even on the recently released 84-85 official season review, no footage appeared to exist of the moment that sealed the last occasion on which we achieved a derby double in a single season. Played on the Thursday night following the cup final, Howard Kendall took the opportunity to 'rotate' his squad, making four changes and fielding the likes of Richardson, Bailey, Harper and Atkins. Although the £816 price for the clip might delay the search for a new striker, it would be nice to think updates of that season review or the Official History DVD might include this goal.

2. Alex Young header v Spurs – April 20th, 1963. A tremendous soaring header in front of over 67,000 at Goodison as the team, unbeaten at home all season, closed in on the league title.

3. A 2-2 draw at Fulham – December 14th, 1963. Proof if any were needed that, this year aside, winning at Craven Cottage is not a struggle particular only to this generation of Everton team. Having raced into a two goal lead, one from Brian Harris and another from the Golden Vision, the clear as a bell action records an all too familiar looking collapse…

4. Bob Latchford’s press conference - February 14th, 1974. Silent footage but worth it to remember a time when a) big money signings came into Goodison and b) such signings were seemingly dressed by Bob Ferris, or possibly more accurately Thelma. Nice to see the East German-looking exterior of Goodison at the time.

5. 2-0 Defeat to Dukla Prague - August 8th, 1961. The culmination of a lengthy American tour as the Blues took part in the 1961 International Soccer League, a competition held through the summer. Starting in late May, the Blues had to play seven games in a group featuring among others Kilmarnock, Dinamo Bucharest, Besiktas and Canadian giants Montreal Concordia . Despite sending home Roy Vernon in June for breaching a curfew, Harry Catterick's men won the group and proceeded to the two legged August final against Dukla Prague (referred to as Czech army squad in the ITN notes, reflecting the team's 1948 origin). They had progressed from the other group, led by 1962's European Footballer of the Year, Josef Masopust, using New York's Central Park as their training base. The action comes from the second leg, almost a dead rubber given the 7-2 battering Dukla handed out in the first game.

Delifonseca - a quick review

2011-12-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

website

The combination of a text message from a mate on holiday in New York reporting he was off to the majestic Katz’s Deli and a Friday off work was all the impetus needed to abandon plans for Christmas shopping and head to Delifonseca at Brunswick Dock, in search of great sandwich action. Already busy when we arrived, we were shown to a booth more than big enough to house the space that even the shortest trip out with a sixteen-week old baby demands. There was no massive inspection of the menu required, my jealousy at the aforementioned trip to Katz’s meant I was always going to be choosing pastrami, while Catherine had enjoyed the muffulleta on a previous visit and ordered that.

Both were excellent. The pastrami was of a high quality and was accompanied by a lovely deep mustard dip and monster gherkin. If anything, the muffulleta was unexpectedly slightly better, a generously stacked focaccia combination of Comte cheese, salami and prosciutto. Both were served with a portion of fresh and tasty chips – not enough if I was to criticise, but then I am a greedy get. I should also mention the well-dressed greenery that was a welcome addition to the plate rather than just taking up space on it.

As it was a flying lunchtime visit we did not take up one of the very decent dessert options or sample one of the many available bottled beers, which pleasingly included representatives from the Cains, Wapping and Liverpool Organic Breweries. We did though have a quick look round the deli, always a battle between heart and wallet, and ended up with some pasta and some pudding for the evening.

Well worth getting involved.

Random great Everton goals #12

2011-09-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

James Vaughan - Chelsea v Everton
Stamford Bridge, May 13, 2007

As funny as the sight of Carlos Tevez encamped on the bench with all the determination of a Dale Farm occupant was on Tuesday (and incidentally why the surprise/shock? The man is a gobshite whose understanding of English extends as far as “Ladies and Gentleman, flight BA425 to Buenos Aires is now boarding”), it provided a grimly jarring contrast to the sight of James Vaughan being helped from the pitch in distress the previous evening. If there is any justice, the next time a serious injury is being handed out, it won’t be to a player whose career to now has been marred by a frustrating catalogue of injuries and who must be desperate for as much match time as he can get his hands on. As easy as it to dismiss many of the current crop of footballers as self-obsessed irritants, Vaughan’s almost anachronistic all action style and enthusiasm generated a lot of warmth for him amongst the Everton crowd. One of the best aspects of the FA Cup semi final win in 2009 was his return from long-term absence to coolly slot away his penalty, coupled with his post-match celebratory dash across the pitch, mirroring much of what was going on in the stands.

This flowing breakaway goal came on the final day of the season during arguably Vaughan’s best run of form in a blue shirt after he had finally displaced James Beattie in the first team, during a match in which he ragged John Terry, E ngland’s permanently sobbing Lionheart, all over Stamford Bridge. Fingers crossed he starts to get the career he wants.

September Playlist - A Rose for Emily

2011-09-14T05:40:00.000-07:00

I'd intended to do a follow up to May's mix sooner, but for a few reasons including the arrival of my daughter (hence the title) I haven't. Prompted and inspired by a walk round Sefton Park yesterday with the iPod on shuffle though, I have created the following. Bit of a mix of stuff, so as with the average buffet, pick and choose as you see fit... (tracklisting is revealed when play is pressed)

Download

A Rose for Emily by Davespowart on Mixcloud

Random great Everton goals #11

2011-07-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Tony Cottee - Sheffield Wednesday v Everton
Hillsborough, February 6, 1993

While Everton’s summer paralysis in the transfer market has been depressingly familiar, the last few weeks have been livened up no end by the efforts of newly formed organisations such as The People’s Group to have the media throw some attention on the running of the club, resulting in debates on both Radio 5 and TalkSport, as well as articles – albeit by Liverpool fans – in the now defunct News of the World and Daily Mirror. The result of this pressure has been, if the message boards are any barometer, to produce the most vociferous split within supporters since the failed Kirkby move.

While much of the debate has been depressing abusive and missed the key issues, excellent blogs on both sides (and in the middle) of the divide have appeared from the likes of Mark O’Brien, Biff Bifferson, Juice Terry Journo and Colin Fitzpatrick. The section of the media to really let itself down has been the local media, which has largely ignored the issue, claiming implausibly that the club are ‘continuing to monitor’ or ‘keep tabs’ on £12 million-rated players and giving fascinating nuggets about the players’ Twitter activity. When it has looked at the issue, it has largely dismissed concerns and followed the club’s official line, with only the chastised Dave Prentice recently offering any semblance of criticism. If the campaign achieves nothing else, it will hopefully force more meaningful and clear dialogue from the club to those it expects to consistently hand money over in increasingly hard financial times. Having petulantly cancelled AGMs after some legitimately tough questioning, the current system of a fans parliament with no minutes produced would only seem inclusive and open by 1970’s East German standards.

It seemed ironically appropriate then, to feature a player who represents a time when Everton’s financial muscle was as strong as anyone’s. On his arrival at Goodison in 1988 for a British record £2.2m (a fee probably beyond the club in 2011), Tony Cottee represented Colin Harvey’s key effort to wrestle the championship from back across the park. Despite a hat trick on his debut, ultimately his career at L4 was a succession of fits and starts and he eventually suffered the ignominy of leaving the club as part of the deal to bring in David ‘f*cking’ Burrows, although his 70 odd goals in 180 odd games is respectable given the mediocre sides he played in. This effort came in a 3-1 defeat toward the end of a season in which the team finished an underwhelming 13th.

Death or Glory: The Dark History of the World Cup – Jon Spurling

2011-06-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like a topical review. And this is nothing… etc etc. A Christmas present I’ve only just got round to reading, Jon Spurling’s work should be required reading for those – generally motivated by finance – who justify competing against questionable regimes, or in questionable locations, with the trite “we shouldn’t mix sport and politics line”. The central theme running through the book is the extent to which governments and leaders (predominately autocratic) have used the World Cup to attempt to rally support behind their regime, often having identified its potential usefulness early on. Spurling uses this idea to cleverly provide a different perspective on some of the more almost clichéd, iconic images of the tournament; the 1970 triumph of Brazil and Argentina’s tickertape triumph of 1978 are set in the context of the Medici and Videla dictatorships taking hold and seeking legitimacy in those countries, while the cartoon footage of Zaire’s Mwepu Ilunga clearing the ball uninvited against Brazil in 1974 is partially explained by the extreme pressure the players had been put under by President Mobutu.

With a cast list including the aforementioned Mobutu, Mussolini, Erich Honecker, North Korea’s Kim Il-Sung, Haiti’s ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier, the Medillin drug cartels and Idi Amin, there is no shortage of interesting insight into the various methods, often brutal, used by these individuals to internally punish or repress and externally influence events to their own ends (although if I were to offer one criticism the closing chapter of the book, devoted to Uganda and Amin, is a bit thin and weak, and seems to have been included more due to the dictator’s notoriety).

Overall this is an excellent research piece that provides a bit of welcome shade to the blinding light of good that the World Cup has historically been assumed to provide. And just as an aside, given how frothy mouthed and pious some of the coverage of the selection of the host country was for the 2018 and 2022 tournament, it would be interesting to see how the press would have reacted if England had been in the same situation as Honduras in 1969. As recounted in the book, with relations between Honduras and El Salvador on the brink of breakdown into war, the former arrived in San Salvador for a World Cup play off, defending a 1-0 first leg lead. With the pitch surrounded by an armed National Guard, the playing of the national anthems and raising of the home team’s flag was followed by not the raising of the Honduran flag, as was customary, but “a dishrag covered in shit”. That right there is your dictionary definition of intimidation.

Paul Trevor’s “Like You’ve Never Been Away”

2011-06-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Probably the most discussed exhibition of the current Liverpool International Photography Festival is Paul Trevor’s “Like You’ve Never Been Away”. Trevor spent five months in a flat in Everton in 1975 taking photos for a project studying inner city deprivation, and the full result of his efforts are now on display at the Walker Art Gallery. Trevor’s black and white photos, largely based in Everton and Toxteth, tend to fall into two categories; a selection of staged individual and family portraits and, more interestingly for me, unguarded shots of predominately children going about their business. These latter shots emote in the same way as the work of the likes of Robert Doisneau or Willy Ronis, albeit in a markedly different setting.

Some have tried to draw far reaching conclusions about the photos providing us with evidence of some Life on Mars panacea where kids made their own entertainment, everyone knew everyone else and ‘health and safety’ wasn’t ruining our lives, ignoring the associated but unseen risk and danger that was potentially around the corner for the subjects (a taste of which is covered in the brief documentary about Trevor’s recent return to the area that forms part of the exhibition). For me it is what it is: a beautifully shot reflection of a period in time, especially as a non-native of the city who has seen much change in the past 14-15 years, but has little conception of the look of Liverpool in that earlier decade. Carrying on at The Walker after the end of the Festival and running until the end of September, there is no excuse not to get along and have a look.

Random great Everton goals #10

2011-05-23T04:18:00.000-07:00

Anders Limpar - Leicester v Everton
Filbert Street, March 4, 1995

At the conclusion of a wildly schizophrenic season that saw about as many points picked up against the top six as bottom six, and which culminated in a well earned win against the always repellent Chelsea, there are a few things I’d rather not see at Goodison next season. John Heitinga and Phil Neville together in midfield. Kevin Nolan being made to look like Socrates. ‘Rossy la’ on the mic. Lee Mason refereeing. Or Peter Walton for that matter.

There are certain things it would however be nice to see. With the inevitable departure of messrs Yakubu and Vaughan, a centre forward ready for first team action with a decent record of scoring goals and avoiding the treatment table. Cover at left back that isn’t Phil Neville or Tony Hibbert. And most importantly for me, a winger with pace. Central to our problems over the first half of the season was an inability to use width to break down sides coming to L4 seeking only a point. And with alluring continental free agents with dubious appearance records (Vicente) joining their mundane British equivalents (the all too plausible, given our spending power, Kieron Dyer) on David Moyes’ supposed watch list to solve this problem, it all begs the question: what would we now give for Andrei Kanchelskis in his prime?

With a deftness of touch that even the Fernando Torres of Sunday afternoon would regard as heavy and unsubtle, I hamfistedly venture we would also benefit from the presence of the scorer of today’s random goal: Anders Limpar. Limpar’s relatively brief Everton career was bookended with disappointment; indifferent early displays headlined by THAT handball against Wimbledon and disappearing almost unnoticed out of the door after a period in the cold to Birmingham in 1997. For the majority of his time in a blue shirt however he was a personal favourite of mine, particularly as the artisan in the otherwise wonderfully industrial 1994-5 side.

His treatment at the hands of Joe Royle was curious. Having been part of that cup winning side and lauded by his manager for resembling Platini at times, he seemed to link up well with Kanchelskis after the Ukranian’s arrival in the summer of 1995, the glorious highlight of which was the pair’s combination for the second goal at the Tin Mine as Uncle Roy’s side exposed its oft-present glass jaw in big games. As things started to go wrong the following season and Kanchelskis departed amid myriad rumour, the increasing criticism appeared to entrench Royle into a more negative and paranoid attitude and Limpar seemed to become a luxury he felt the side (now featuring Claus Thomsen) could no longer afford, leading to his departure. Or maybe the Swede had only himself to blame; his career post 1997 certainly suggested someone with a waning interest in competing at the highest level. Whatever the truth, his Everton career ultimately flickered rather than shone, but when it was good it was ace.

This goal came toward the end of the 1995 season when Royle felt secure enough in the club’s continued status in the league to give future hatchet man of Spanish football Vinny Samways a run out at Filbert Street. Charity Shield hero Samways duly notched, but the highlight of the 2-2 draw was Anders’ effort from distance.

A May Playlist - The Rise and Fall of Alain Perrin

2011-05-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

No overarching theme to the title, the picture or running through the selection, just a collection of records that seem to sound great in the sunshine. Enjoy. Or don't. It's up to you...

Tracklisting:
Beach Boys - Our Prayer
Strawberry Alarm Clock - They Saw The Fat Man Coming
Allen Clapp - Whenever We're Together
Shaun Harris - Colour of Your Eyes
Aluminum Group - Chocolates
Stephen Fretwell - Bumper Cars
Nicole Crosille - We Got a Thing
La's - Was it Something I Said
Tyrone Davis - Can I Change My Mind
Alzo Fronte - That's Alright (I Don't Mind It)
Del Shannon - Runaway (1967 version)
Cosmic Rough Riders - Move Along
Cranebuilders - Just Idleness
Great Northwestern Hoboes - Upon my Shelf
American Spring - Fallin' in Love
Faces - You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything (Even Take the Dog for a Walk, Mend a Fuse, Fold Away the Ironing Board, or Any Other Domestic Shortcomings)
Emitt Rhodes - Really Wanted You
Isley Brothers - My Love is Your Love
Jimmie Spheeris - I am the Mercury
John Grant - Fireflies
Mark Eric - Build Your Own Dream
Martha Wainwright - When The Day is Short
Air - Californie

Download

The Rise and Fall of Alain Perrin by Davespowart on Mixcloud

NYPD Confidential – Leonard Levitt

2011-04-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone who’s watched the strangely enjoyable, clichéd bollocks Donny Wahlberg vehicle ‘Bluebloods’ on Sky Atlantic will be aware of the uneasy relationship between Tom Selleck’s implausibly morally inscrutable Police commissioner and a slightly cartoony mayor always eager to drive police matters toward the most PR friendly outcome. Journalist Levitt’s modern-day history of the upper echelons of the NYPD during the mayoral terms of Edward Koch, David Dinkins, Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg, is a frankly depressing look at way commissioners and their underlings have dealt with issues surrounding police corruption (sometimes their own), mayoral influence – as it is the mayor who selects the commissioner - and the emerging threat of global terrorism.

What emerges is a culture of deliberate misinformation, vanity, patronage, power struggles and empire building that does few of the major figures in the book any credit whatsoever, despite serious crime figures generally coming down from the alarming highs of the early 1990’s. Even this progress, credited in the book to measures such as the Compstat meetings (familiar to anyone who has seen The Wire) and the Broken Windows theory (dealing with the smallest crimes to provide suspects and intelligence for the bigger ones), was the subject of squabbles and petty jealousy when credit was attributed. In many ways the book is an excellent companion piece to Edward Conlon’s ‘Blue Blood’, which was a personal officer’s history of the NYPD from ground level, and which echoes some of the themes seen here, most chillingly the almost omerta-like protection of other officers, by both rank and file and at higher levels, to the detriment of the greater outside good, despite some horrendous and tragic acts being carried out while in uniform. Although there are an extensive and dizzying number of different internal bodies and committees mentioned, which could occasionally prove confusing for a non-native, this is broadly a very interesting character study of a hugely important but flawed organisation.

Great Liverpool Songs #3

2011-04-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Stands - You Said

Despite the vocal support and financial backing of Noel Gallagher, The Stands’ two albums, All Years Leaving (2004) and Horse Fabulous (2005) made minimal impact on the charts. This is a shame, as both are more than decent and highlight the obvious talent of leader, and oft seen figure of the local music scene, Howie Payne. Possibly they lacked the initial excitement and freshness of contemporaries such as The Coral, but that shouldn’t detract from the quality, and at times blissful, 60’s feel of records such as “All Years Leaving” and “When This River Rolls Over You”. My standout track from the two albums is “You Said” a satisfyingly sweeping harmonious effort that deserved releasing as a single in its own right.

Lunya

2011-04-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

18–20 College Lane,
Liverpool One,
Liverpool,
L1 3DS
website

Never one to turn down the opportunity for a free or reduced meal, I was more than happy to assist Catherine in utilising the Lunya vouchers she’d received for her birthday to road test their new Spring/Summer menu. Arriving for the early evening sitting, the restaurant was nicely busy, with a couple of the parties clearly having enjoyed Ladies Day at Aintree. After the obligatory pint of Estrella to accompany a brief perusal of the menu, I decided to deviate from my normal selection of three or four different tapas dishes in order to try a larger dish that I had recommended on Facebook and Twitter when an appeal was made for ideas for dishes for the new season.

To start with though, I went for the one stone cold certainty on the menu: Monte Enebro goat’s cheese deep-fried and ordered with a side of sourdough bread. The soft bread was an ideal accompaniment to the stunning cheese, apparently a multi award winner over the years.

Catherine opted to have one tapa followed by two more when I got my ‘main’. She began with Mediterranean vegetable tempura, which, as with the Monte Enebro, benefited from a light, unobtrusive batter and which worked well its dipping sauce.

For main I went for an option from the list of paella dishes. Arroz negro is a dish I have loved when I’ve tried it in Valencia and more recently in Seville and which I’d not seen on a menu in Liverpool, hence my one-man electronic campaign to get Lunya to serve it. It was a mixture of joy and relief then that the end result was the brilliant equal of the versions I’d had before, the whole generously-portioned dish receiving, as it has always done, a mysterious lift from a generous allocation of a lovely garlicky aioli.

Catherine's first selection were the salt cod buñuelos; round, deep fried balls of salt cod, mashed potato and garlic, which were soft and moreish. Her second choice turned out ironically to be the only minor disappointment, the Catalan scouse. Having loved the dish at last year’s food festival and then at the restaurant's gourmet evening, I was pleased to see it on the menu but for whatever reason - there was a slight difference in look and possibly a slight change in recipe - while perfectly tasty, for both Catherine and I it failed to hit those same heights and left us underwhelmed.

Whilst approaching full, both of us felt there was sufficient room in the separate stomach compartment reserved for pudding to share the chocolate fondant. I was particularly interested in the specified use of paprika, as having had, and enjoyed to varying levels, chilli chocolate, it seems to be a difficult balance to stop the heat overpowering the chocolate. Any fear was unfounded though as, without wishing to sound like Gregg Wallace, it proved a gooey delight with a barely detectable understated warmth running through it.

Topped off by an excellent Navajas Tinto rioja, I would say without hyperbole that it was as good a three-course meal as I personally have had in the city in my years living here. And I can assure you that is a lot of food….

Great Liverpool Songs #2

2011-04-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Nick Saunders - 'Resonance'

I first came across Nick Saunders on the 'Great Liverpool Acoustic Experiment' compilation album, from which this track is taken. Information is scarce on him; he now lives in Devon having moved down from Liverpool, and in 2006 released the album 'Resonance', which featured an updated and, dare I say it, slightly more clinical, over-produced version of the song. Overall though, the album is enjoyable, especially the track 'Descending' and well worth a purchase.

The influence of Nick Drake, notably in the guitar work, runs through much of Saunders' work and this particular choice is no exception. The beautiful understated orchestration and warm vocals are the perfect antidote to the stress of watching Everton's walking wounded briefly contemplate beating the never less than irritating Aston Villa...

Beach Boyes-esque: 5 great records with a Beach Boys influence

2011-03-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Explorers Club - If You Go
Although veering a touch too close to direct pastiche on some tracks, The Explorers Club’s debut album was a broadly successful effort in recreating the feel of early Beach Boys recordings, particularly when broaching the innocence of teenage love in tracks such as ‘Hold Me Tight’, ‘I Lost my Head’ and ‘Forever’. The standout track however is the gorgeous ‘If You Go’, the hushed harmonies and lovely “I thought I heard you call my name’’ ending evoking the spirit of a ‘Please Let Me Wonder’ or ‘She Knows Me Too Well’.

The Pearlfishers - David vs Godzilla
Scottish acts such as Teenage Fanclub and BMX Bandits have never hidden their admiration for Brian Wilson’s work. Although maybe not as well known, Glasgow's The Pearlf'ishers also wear his influence like a badge throughout albums such as 'The Young Picnickers' and 'Across the Milkyway'. ‘David vs Godzilla’ (an outtake from the British release of the former) is an outstanding example of their art, a dreamy backing track and tender lyrics floating across four and half minutes of your life.

Tony Rivers & The Castaways - Summer Dreaming
The Beach Boys’ influence on others was, in some cases, almost instantaneous. British-based Tony Rivers and The Castaways - for whom the influence extended to covering a number of early Beach Boys efforts - never achieved success despite releasing a handful of singles for EMI in the mid 1960's. One of their unreleased tracks was ‘Summer Dreaming’, a tremendous piece of pop worthy of the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean or any of the other acts trying to encapsulate the sound of the time . Rivers went on to sing the theme to 'Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads' for all you mundane fact fans out there.

Hal - Worry About The Wind
Emerging around the same time as fellow Irish, West Coast Americana obsessives The Thrills, HAL’s eponymous well-received 2004 debut was partly a large nod to the 1970’s and albums such as ‘Sunflower’ and ‘Wild Honey’. The gentle, falsetto-led ‘Worry about the Wind’ was the record’s superb lead single. Despite occasional mentions and promises in interviews since 2004, a second album has never emerged and, as with The Thrills, the band appears to have shuffled into obscurity.

Band of Horses - On My Way Back Home
And finally an effort from Band of Horses that keeps attempting to break into ‘Sloop John B’ but never quite manages it. Nice instrumentation mind.

Random great Everton goals #9

2011-03-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

Kevin Sheedy - Everton v Manchester City
Goodison Park, January 13, 1991

The subject of left sided midfielders seemed grimly appropriate, given that an injury to Mikel Arteta on Wednesday night effectively signalled the end of the season, bar the opportunity to possibly bloody the noses of Chelsea and Manchester City in the remaining games. Therefore, here is a goal against the latter, long before they adopted their tramp with a scratchcard persona. Sheedy was by this time coming to the end of a Goodison career that boasted an absurd number of quality strikes and this one - at around 1m55 - coming in an early game of the reign of HKII (note his use of 4-5-1 you two striker nazis..), is right out of the cliched top drawer.

Any More Pi?

2011-03-06T05:40:00.001-08:00

Pi
24 Rose Lane, L18 5ED
website

If you ignore the axis of twattery - Yates's, New York etc - at one end, Allerton Road is not a bad place at all for a night out. Schmooze, Penny Lane Wine Bar and The Tavern are all decent places for a beer and mercifully light on the type of arsehole that can make town such a minefield at times. What it has lacked however is a Ship and Mitre-type establishment for those of us for whom the aim is not just intoxication but intoxication via a dizzying array of quality options. Welcome Pi on Rose Lane then, which boasts anywhere between eight and ten draught beers and apparently around sixty global bottled beers.

The other main lovely feature of Pi is that while busy on a weekend evening, it is still relatively undiscovered by the local idiot, thus this Sunday lunchtime the wife and I were able to peruse their free Sunday papers for accounts of Everton's latest vaguely surprising result in the most schizophrenic of seasons pretty much undisturbed. In preparation for two TV matches in the afternoon, I opted for a Blanche de Bruxelles white beer followed by a pint of excellent Brooklyn lager.

Pi offers a range of four different pies to accompany the beer. Being the girly liberal bedwetter I am, I went for a goat's cheese, spinach and sweet potato pie, while Catherine opted the beef and ale pie with carrots and thyme. Both came with mash and we had a jug of slightly watery gravy on the side. Both were more than decent, particularly Catherine's, and were reasonably priced at just over a fiver each.

Nicely full, I got back to lie on the couch to gently doze, while watching Manchester United turn in the kind of gutless, bottle job performance at Anfield that even Everton have barely touched the depths of in recent years.

5 non-Everton footballing heroes

2011-02-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have previously professed my admiration for the greatest goalkeeper ever seen, and would always consider him my overall footballing idol. Growing up though I was overwhelmingly obsessive about the game in general until far too late – for normal social interaction - into my teens and would embrace the (relatively rare compared to now) opportunity to watch any game deemed worthy of televising. I therefore developed affection for a number of individuals never lucky enough to wear the Royal Blue, foremost among them being the following five:

Roberto Baggio
Channel Four’s foresight in buying the rights to Italian football in 1992 was, for young nerds like me, a wonderful innovation. Saturation coverage of many European leagues now have encouraged a sense of complacency and near boredom about the opportunity to see the world’s best players week in, week out, but at the time it was superbly exciting given that an air of mystery still hung around players you would only ever see in international tournaments. As a result of this revolution though, a generation of kids grew up extolling the virtues of Ruben Sosa, Beppe Signori, Giuseppe Giannini and countless other glamorous players who appeared miles removed from the crash, bang, wallop nature of grey English football (the only Italian imported around this time was Andrea Silenzi, their equivalent of Kevin Kyle). Better kits, sunshine, ace hair and James Richardson with pink newspapers and ice creams – it had it all. Everyone had a favourite player. For me, it was Baggio all the way.

Having come to attention with a big money move from Fiorentina and a memorable goal in the 1990 World Cup, he was clearly gifted and, as with other number 10s of this Serie A era, strolled around with a style and finesse that screamed confidence. But there was also an appealing fragility that suggested disappointment was around the corner, sadly borne out by the 1994 World Cup. Half fit and labouring, he almost single-handedly dragged an average Italy side through to the final before enduring a spectacular Al-Pacino-in-Scarface-type climax by spectacularly blazing over the deciding spot kick in the shoot out. Even Diana Ross thought it was a shit pen. When the tournament is recalled it is Roberto, hands on hips and utterly alone, staring fixedly at the spot, who provides the enduring image, rather than the celebrating Brazilians. Unlike his successor at Juventus, Alessandro Del Piero, who atoned for misses in the 2000 European Championship final by helping to win the World Cup in 2006, Baggio never achieved redemption. But he was still ace and my eventual realisation that we would never sign him, despite a cruel, vague tabloid link around the time he played for Brescia, was a disappointment.

Istvan Kozma
A real nostalgia selection. Half of my family being Scottish, trips were frequently made to Fife in the late eighties and early nineties to see my grandparents. My grandfather was a keen Dunfermline fan and while my dad often took my brother to Edinburgh to watch Hearts, I would walk the short distance through the park with my granddad to East End Park and watch a side shuttling between the top two divisions that for a while featured agricultural centre back David Moyes. The standout attraction for me at that time was Kozma, a lovely, graceful footballer at times seeming out of place when compared with the style of many of the teams he came up against. My one vivid recollection of him was being sat with my granddad, with my dad and brother suffering in the away end, watching him torture Hearts in a comfortable Premier League victory. His performances against Rangers convinced Graeme Souness to make him part of his glorious Anfield revolution, but he made no impact, often featuring in Liverpool worst buy lists. Which makes me like him more.

Josimar
In all honesty, his selection is probably as much a reflection of the tournament in which he came to prominence as for the man himself. I think it’s a truism that your favourite World Cup is your first. That is certainly the case for me, nearly seven and half years old in 1986. Looking back, my memories are fragmented – the time difference to Mexico meant that on many occasions my mum would come up the stairs and find that my efforts to defy orders and watch the 9pm matches on the little TV in my room had ended with me fast asleep with my head on my desk. But I was essentially a blank canvas, my love for Everton and football in general only properly having come to fruition through my desperation at Everton’s Cup Final defeat a month earlier. Such was the fickleness of being that age that domestic football concerns were almost instantly buried by wallcharts and the most important playground currency of them all: stickers. Once the tournament began it became a blur of goals, colour, exotic names and countries; Vasily Rats, Morocco, Preben Elkjær, Iraq, Joel Bats, Bulgaria, Steve Hodge, the list just went on. Until Diego grabbed my attention later on in the month, it was Josimar I became fixated with. A rampaging right back in a Brazilian side characteristically unconcerned by the boring art of defending, his standout moment was beating Pat Jennings from about 70 yards, the ball dropping beautifully into the great, yawning net. As if that wasn’t good enough, he scored another stunning goal a few days later against Poland, both goals being greeted with Tardelli-esque celebrations. He only made 16 appearances for Brazil but for me epitomises the glory of discovering the World Cup.

Matt Le Tissier
Workshy? Not ambitious enough? Maybe. But in an era where every player stringing together a few reasonable performances suddenly feels they ‘need’ Champions League football to achieve their ‘aims’ and ‘progress’ as players, there is something to admire in the attitude shown by Le Tissier. Undeniably capable of playing for better teams than Southampton but loved his environment and the club and felt no need to risk that for the sake of a bit more money. He had faults; he probably needed to have a team built round him, didn’t like tackling back and was not quick. But with the ball at his feet in the opposition’s half? Superb. I can’t help but enjoy the languid, lazy majesty of his goals, even if half the time his caressing of the ball into the net is probably because he couldn’t be arsed putting his foot through it.

Xavi
The only contemporary player on the list, and a player now considered among the most important midfielders in Europe. The man who completed more passes in the home game against Arsenal last season than Arsenal’s whole team managed. The man that even the Daily Mail, who initially inexplicably rubbished him, has come round to admire. But I first noticed him when he was by no means the first name on the team sheet, back in 2003. Over in Barcelona for a midweek trip, we had tickets for their dead rubber Champions League group game against Bayer Leverkusen. Settling in a bar near the ground before the game, over exposure to the six or seven draught beers on offer resulted in my remembering only two things about the match. The first was how bright the floodlights were for some reason. The second was how artfully the little midfielder, who barely seemed to move out of the centre circle, effortlessly controlled and moved the ball without anyone getting within twenty yards of him, in a manner I’ve only seen done live since by Juan Roman Riquelme at Goodison.

Salt Yard Charcuterie Bar and Restaurant

2011-02-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

54 Goodge Street
London
W1T 4NA
website

A trip down to the big smoke for a couple of days to revel in Everton’s entirely predictable, never-ending ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at the Emirates afforded the opportunity for a meal at Salt Yard Tapas, located on Goodge Street. The small bar area was busy for a Monday night and the four of us were taken downstairs to the cosy restaurant area. We decided on a sharing platter of meats and some rillettes with crostini to start, both of which were excellent, to be followed by a very decent selection of many of the various options on the pleasingly compact menu.

The main dishes, for the most part, maintained a very high standard. The jamon croquetas were superb, in no small part due to the manchego contained within, while the 'Gloucester Old Spot' pork belly with cannellini beans was moist and had gratifyingly tasty crackling.

The chargrilled chorizo with marinated peppers was smoky with a lovely substantial kick to it and benefited from the presence of the peppers, while another tapas staple, crispy squid, was lifted above the norm by a powerful and garlic-fuelled shellfish Aioli. One slightly unexpected hit was the light and moreish butternut squash gnocchi with a sage and butter sauce, which had a lovely soft texture.

The dishes were not faultless though. Despite a lovely goat’s cheese stuffing, the courgette flowers tasted slightly underseasoned and were marginally on the bland side of tasty. Similarly two meat dishes almost but didn’t fully hit the mark; an excellent salsa verde didn’t quite rescue the Fillet of Lamb, which didn’t seem well matched with crushed Jerusalem artichokes, and the bavette arrived at the table somewhat late and somewhat tough, although by no means inedible.

Pudding ensured the evening ended well, my excellent cold chocolate and honeycomb fondant was more than rich enough for someone without much of a sweet tooth, and an equally positive report was received on the milk pudding with rhubarb. A varied and well-judged cheese board rounded off an overwhelmingly positive night’s feeding, washed down very nicely by a couple of bottles –between the table - of a decently priced Honoro Vera. Competitively priced and very enjoyable.

Great Liverpool Songs #1

2011-01-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

Michael Head & The Strands - ‘Something Like You’

I have seen Michael and John Head live in their various band incarnations and as solo artists more than anybody else over the years. First alerted to the work of the brothers by positive press in When Skies are Grey, whose online presence is now sadly limited to Twitter, I invested in HMS Fable, which I loved, and worked my way backwards from there to the Pale Fountains. To be frank, aside from one or two notable exceptions such as the sparkling ‘Thank You’ and the cover of Deniece Williams’ ‘Free’, I’ve never really taken to the Pale Fountains for some reason, but the subsequent one-off Michael Head and The Strands album and the Shack recordings, including ‘HMS Fable’ and the brilliant ‘Here’s Tom with the Weather’, are superb. There is some similarity in investing money watching Everton and Mick Head – it would be unfair to bring John into the analogy, as he is rarely less than spot on – live. Very occasionally the whole occasion will be a massive unexpected letdown due to Mick’s well-known love of a drink and stronger, whereas on other instances what you are expecting to be a run of the mill night is lifted into something far more majestic and uplifting. Their lack of fame in the face of many inferior alternatives is maybe just further proof that much of the most worthy art lies on the periphery of popular culture.

From all their recordings, this is my favourite individual track; a lyrically stunning string-led emotive affair, encompassing all that it is great about their work over the years. Although they’ve taken criticism for their continued slavish devotion to the brothers, who both are apparently due to release solo offerings this year, I’m probably one of the few who feels there isn’t enough about them in the average edition of WSAG.

Random great Everton goals #8

2011-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

Leon Osman - Everton v AE Larissa
Goodison Park, October 25, 2007

At the time of writing there are under two weeks of the two weeks remaining and our financial predicament appears so delicate that any players not nailed down are disappearing to enable the club to try and bring in new faces. While the departures of Yakubu and Vaughan (not confirmed but looking increasingly likely) are lamented; in the case of the former for talent lost through injury, for the latter talent never quite fulfilled due to injury, it is the loss of Steven Pienaar that appears the most wounding for the team. A lovely footballer, whose partnership with Leighton Baines has often, particularly this season, represented the team’s most potent threat, the South African is now subject to the classic jilted-lover supporter revisionism – “he wasn’t that great anyway”. While this is 95% horseshit and doesn’t reflect his tireless contribution over the last three seasons, the only small kernel of a point might be the suggestion that his final ball or shot was too often wasteful, which would appear to be backed up by a mediocre goal return and lack of recorded assists, to use a depressing modern method of player assessment.

Whatever the truth, if Pienaar’s replacement is to come from within the squad then one of the most likely candidates is Leon Osman. In many ways, his performance the 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday could be seen as an excellent summary of his curate’s egg Everton career to date. Large stretches of the match were marked by an inability to impose himself on the game, giving the impression that things were just too quick and powerful for him. However, when in possession around the box his quick feet and brain allowed him to cause Liverpool problems, most notably in his perfect hold up and layoff for Jermaine Beckford’s second half goal, a passage of play that caused tight-trousered irritant Jamie Redknapp to correctly (for once) point out that had that been Iniesta or Xavi we would be talking about it for months. In many ways he would be far better suited to a slower, more technical league, and his better performances have often come when he has had more time on the ball as part of a central three man midfield in a 4-5-1, as opposed to stuck out wide on the right where his lack of pace has told. While not ideal, being used as a ‘false’ winger on the left and cutting inside, allowing Baines to bomb past down the wing, would seem an obvious short-term measure for David Moyes, and has already been used to decent effect in a number of the team’s better results this season. This goal from the 2007-8 European campaign is one of the best team goals of recent years and highlights the clear footballing ability the 29 year old possesses.

Across 110th Street (1972)

2011-01-17T07:53:00.001-08:00

Recommended on Amazon as a blaxploitation classic, I added Across 110th Street to my Christmas list, despite knowing little more than it had a soundtrack penned by Bobby Womack and featured the ageless and superb Yaphet Kotto as the young, liberal Lieutenant Pope. Pope is forced to team up with the older, tired Captain Mattelli (Anthony Quinn) when a $300,000 money exchange between two Mafioso and three Harlem blacks is hijacked by three robbers - one of whom, Antonio Fargas, is so annoying he might as well be holding an badly written banner and singing 'Poor Scouser Tommy' - who kill the five, and two police officers during their getaway. Pope and Mattelli attempt to reach these three before the unholy alliance of local Harlem crime boss Doc Johnson (the excellent Richard Ward) and wannabe Mafia don Nick D'Salvio (Anthony Franciosa) catch them first.

Almost unremittingly dark in tone, the film is a real period piece; both in terms of its portrayal of the sometimes brutal life on the Harlem streets, and the changing face of the NYPD. The film came hard on the heels of the Knapp Commission and reflects the internal divisions experienced as the force began to attempt to clean itself up, no more so than in the scene where Doc Johnson reveals to the newcomer Pope that Mattelli has been in his pay for a number of years, but fails to reach the same arrangement with Pope. The relationship between Pope and Mattelli also characterises the growing changes, the modern-thinking Pope (a relative rookie promoted, in Mattelli's eyes, through positive discrimination) horrified by a battle-hardened Mattelli's efforts to coerce information from suspects through overt violence, a juxtaposition revisited recently in 'Life on Mars'. The theme of racism also runs strongly through the whole film, whether underlying, as with Pope and Martelli, or in the disparaging and uneasy relationship between the Harlem blacks and the Mafia, which simmers with distrust.

Despite one or two flaws - the ending is a bit contrived and some of the acting a bit hammy, particularly in the slightly cartoony Mafia gang, this is a broadly superb piece with well-rounded characters - even the cold-eyed and ruthless John Harris (Paul Benjamin), the most vicious member of the three man robbery team is given a shred of humanity. At the price of a pint of Peroni from Amazon and others, it's well worth a look, standing up well against 'Dirty Harry' and other cop movies of the time.

5 Talk Sport irritants

2011-01-06T09:27:00.000-08:00

Like the Daily Mail online edition, Talk Sport has become an unavoidable part of my daily routine that I can’t quite shake off. And, whisper it quietly, some of it is good. Paul Hawksbee and Andy Jacobs’ show on a weekday afternoon is, by virtue of not taking it too seriously, funny and genuinely interesting at times. Similarly, the brilliant Danny Kelly appears to be unable to find a permanent slot in the schedule but regularly pops up like a chubby supply teacher and is often an eloquent, lone voice against the ‘Premiership is biggest and best’ bandwagon. And, although an utter tool, I have a certain grim admiration for Adrian Durham’s seemingly unending ability to adopt a hardline view that he appears to seriously believe for whatever issue he needs to get people to call in on (at premium rate), especially having held the exact opposite position two days earlier. But to get to the better stuff, there is much shite to endure:

MICKY QUINN
‘Everyone’s favourite Scouser’ is how one of the station’s trails describes him, although this is no truer than Ian Huntley being ‘everyone’s favourite caretaker’. A clear advocate of the concept that bluster and volume is preferable to intelligence and analysis, he wears his Liver bird close to his chest and is a persistent exponent of the tiresome ‘we won it five times, the Kop speaks as one, we don’t sack managers, unique atmosphere, best supporters in the weeerld’ horseshit heard from pub bores in ecru away kits the length and breadth of the world. And Alvin Martin is no better.

DARREN GOUGH
Living proof of the ever-increasing depressing trend toward employing former sportsmen before first checking they can speak coherently (on which note Sky must surely be receiving a grant or fulfilling a quota by giving Dean Windass air time) Gough appears barely capable of sustaining a consistent point of view through a three hour show, during which he is careful not to insult anyone he may bump into on the ‘celebrity’ circuit. Makes Ian Wright seem like John Arlott.

MARK SAGGERS
Co-host of the weekend breakfast show with Micky Quinn and anchor of much of the weeknight output. Came across quite well while performing a similar role at Radio 5, elevating himself in the minds of most right-thinking people by his clear dislike of Alan ‘this is woeful’ Green. However, on arrival at TS was clearly told he needed to be more opinionated, which he is not remotely suited to. His ‘oh get on with it’ outburst at the staggered announcement of the 2022 World Cup hosts, in reaction to England not getting 2018 a few minutes earlier (despite England being in his opinion the only show in town because, well, ‘we’re England’), was pure, unfiltered, glorious Partridge.

MIKE PARRY
Almost single handedly ruining the name of Everton fans every time he opens his mouth, his mid morning show is a great clunking mess of a current issues discussion show, seemingly sponsored by The Sun, in which little Englander Parry attempts to win arguments by making words up and taking up entrenched positions too odd to make for a proper debate. Still miles better than predecessor Jon ‘Political Correctness gone mad’ Gaunt, the obnoxious love child of Richard Littlejohn and Margaret Thatcher.

RONNIE IRANI
See Darren Gough

Gerry Rafferty (1947-2011)

2011-01-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

"Whatever’s written in your heart, that’s all that matters
You’ll find a way to say it all someday"

Having written of my admiration for Gerry Rafferty before, I was sad to hear of his death yesterday. The many obituaries that have appeared in the last few hours will no doubt do him better justice than I can, but I would say only that hopefully the coverage following his passing will inspire a few people not overly familiar with him to download or pick up a copy of ‘City to City’ and ‘Night Owl’ (surely due a proper release on CD) and enjoy the man at his peak.

Random great Everton goals #7

2010-12-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Marcus Bent - Southampton v Everton
St Mary's, February 6, 2005

Since David Moyes’ arrival as manager, it could be argued that only two centre forwards have really settled successfully for any period of time as the lone spearhead in his 4-5-1 formation, an issue that still blights the team to this day. The first is Yakubu, who for a period was as single-mindedly prolific a front man as the club has had since Gary Lineker. Sadly the evidence of the last year and a half suggests that, occasional flashes of brilliance aside, the physical and mental toil taken by his injury have reduced him to at best a shadow of his former self. The second is the nomadic Marcus Bent. Arriving late and unnoticed for £450,000 in the traumatic summer of 2004 that saw Wayne Rooney’s defection along the M62, Bent, who continues to collect clubs at an impressive rate, appeared to find a home at Goodison. Technically underrated, his selfless running was vital in creating space for the likes of Tim Cahill and Leon Osman, and although his goal return was modest, his contribution to the fourth placed finish the club achieved that year was significant. Sadly that was as good as it got for Bent. With James Beattie having arrived for good money that January and the club enjoying an indifferent, to put it kindly, start to the following campaign, Bent found himself increasingly underemployed and unable to contain his frustration. It was no massive surprise therefore that he left for Charlton in January 2006 for over £2million. Although his stay at Everton was relatively brief – although by his standards possibly worthy of a testimonial – he clearly appreciated his time on Merseyside, recently commenting…

“I can’t find the words to describe how special that club is.....I’d kiss the Everton badge now if I had the shirt – that’s how passionate I am about them. I’ve become a fan having played there.”

This effort was from the 2004-5 season away trip to St Mary’s with the aforementioned Beattie struggling to settle in and the Blues wobbling slightly after the departure of Thomas Gravesen to Real Madrid. The late late goal, in a game that featured Mikel Arteta’s first ever appearance in a blue shirt as a sub, rescued a point in a 2-2 draw and is noteworthy for Harry Redknapp’s priceless reaction, as legs go everywhere in the away end, en route to eventual relegation.

Random great Everton goals #6

2010-11-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

Steve Watson - Bolton v Everton
Reebok Stadium, January 28, 2003

The current dip in temperature always excites certain sections of the press. I always get the impression that they can’t wait to fill their pages with pictures of traffic accidents, snowmen and the weather doing what it does in November and December i.e. get cold. What the populations of Russia and Canada, where large sections would regard our winter as a mild spring, must think is anyone’s guess. In the past few years more and more games seem to be being called off for conditions around the ground rather than the state of pitch, probably either to due to the home side having a particularly troublesome injury situation or to stop the inevitable scruffy meff taking a dive outside and trying to sue the club. When they do go ahead, winter games are often an excellent diversion from either shopping for the family, or just being with them (especially Boxing Day), but it doesn’t change the fact that they can be ball-achingly cold at times. This January encounter has largely been erased from my mind by the passage of time save for two memories. The first is the fact that for the ninety minutes sat in the upper tier of the away end, there can have been nowhere colder on earth. Second was this out of character acrobatic effort from perennially sweaty, very occasional centre forward Steve Watson early on, that propelled/shuffled the Blues to an almost instantly forgettable away win. Forgettable bar the cold that is. It actually hurt…

Genius - No5

2010-11-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Of all France’s many great artists of the twentieth century, few people’s work appear to be as frequently visible through postcards and posters as that of the photographer Robert Doisneau. The evident commercial appeal of his work does not detract from its quality though. Along with the likes of Willy Ronis and Edouard Boubat, his perfect captured representations of the varied minutiae of life in Paris in the 1940’s and 1950’s evoke a sense of warmth at an apparent simplicity of life – especially amongst generations of children making their own entertainment - as well as displaying the broad, varied character and elegance of the city’s streets and buildings. Particularly depressing are suggestions that this style of photography is being made increasingly more difficult by the larg ely hysterical and unfounded concerns surrounding the principle of taking photos of th e young. From a personal point of view, Doisneau’s success however lies in the fact that it is his work that is brought instantly to my mind whenever there is a mention of mid twentieth century life in Paris.

Le Manege de Monsieur Barre (1955)

La Baguette Parisienne (1953)

L'Enfer (1952)

Rue Marcellin Berthelot, Choisy le Roi (1945)

Bolides (1956)

Viva Brazil

2010-11-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

36 Castle Street
L2 0NR
website

Set in a beautiful building on Castle Street and with the capacity for 160 covers, Viva Brazil was somewhere I'd wanted to go since its recent opening, having greatly enjoyed the concept of rodizio - Brazilian barbeque with table service - at Rodizio Rico in London. After a quick Sagres in the small but perfectly formed bar area, we shown to our table and ordered what transpired to be a superb bottle of Tarquino 2009 Malbec from Mendoza.

The principal of rodizio is simple. Meat carvers or passadors patrol round the restauarnt with any one of fifteen different meats on skewers, cooked on a charcoal barbeque. Provided with a coaster on arrival, one side green with "yes please" written on it and other red with "no thanks", you simply display the green side and summon a passador when you see something you like. He expertly carves pieces until you tell him to stop.

A self service salad bar with a variety of side dishes is available, and among these was a smooth garlic mash and a superb celeriac salad with capers. The undeniable star of the show though is the meat. In the interests of research I managed to sample thirteen of the fifteen meats. Particular highlights were the Picanha com alho (garlic cap of rump), Cordeiro (leg of lamb), Frango com bacon (chicken wrapped in smoked bacon) and Contra filet (sirloin), but there was nothing that disappointed. Given the array and variety of meats available, the idea of pudding was never seriously on the cards and at £22.95 per person (£12.50 at lunch), the rodizio provides excellent value. All in all this is another excellent addition to the increasing number of top quality city centre eateries

Gourmet evening at Lunya

2010-10-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

On an interminable day of what seemed like perpetual dark and rain, the prospect of Lunya’s Gourmet evening was a pleasing diversion. Having eaten at the restaurant twice before I was confident that the six course ‘posh peasant food’ Catalan menu, with a paired wine for each dish, would not disappoint and I’m sure the fourteen or so of us attending would confirm it did not.

The meal started with a Lunya Bikini, a traditional toasted sandwich using Joselito ham and Torta de Baros cheese. While the bread was possibly a bit hard for my liking, both the ham and cheese, which was definitely worthy of further investigation, were of superb quality.

The second course was the dish that beforehand I had been most ambivalent about. I had tasted and enjoyed the restaurant’s salt cod cigars on a previous visit, but was not sure if the strong flavour of the fish would work in the Esqueixada (salt cod salad) we were presented with. My fears proved unfounded, as the cod was a pleasant, unobtrusive background flavour in what was a very elegant and fresh salad, the real standout element of which were the superb empeltre olives scattered through it.

Following the salad was what was described as the ‘definitive Spanish fry up’, a migas. This Catalan take contained chorizo, morcilla and a fried quail’s egg. With those constituent parts there was never much chance of me not enjoying it, and sure enough it ticked all my boxes, particularly the morcilla which had the texture and consistency of haggis and a lovely understated smoky flavour that combined well with the mild kick provided by the chorizo.

This combination was also used to good effect in what was my highlight of the meal, the Catalan scouse. Having sampled a teaspoon of this at the Sefton Park Food Festival and waited patiently(ish) for it to appear on the daily menu – I’m assured this will happen soon – I was delighted to see this on the running order and would quite happily have had second and third portions. The addition of a fig, which I had initially been sceptical about, introduced a lovely sweetness that gave the whole course a lift.

The penultimate dish was the only minor disappointment. The combination of lentils and bacon is one I generally enjoy and while there was nothing wildly wrong with what was served, it was slightly underseasoned and watery for me. That said, the treacle cured bacon was very tasty and further evidence of a commitment to excellent ingredients.

Dessert was a pleasingly light ‘Catalan Mess’, as with the scouse enhanced by the presence of fig and with a lovely almond flavour running through it.

For a wine novice it was nice to have the choices explained in an unfussy, concise and clear way by Ian Clarke, and his selections were excellent, particularly the Segrel Ambar Albarino that accompanied the Esqueixada and the utterly lovely Vallemayor Gran Reserva, paired with the lentils, which was comfortably my favourite glass of the evening. It also would be remiss not to mention our food guide, whose name I’m sure was Enrique (damn my feeble memory), who was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and friendly.

Overall it was a very informal, relaxed and enjoyable evening that hopefully, going by what was said on the evening, will become a regular fixture with the emphasis on a different area in Spain on each occasion.

5 great Rolling Stones cover versions

2010-09-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Although often derided, I personally enjoy a good cover version. Unless it's Louise Nurding's 'Stuck in the Middle With You. Or Scouting for Girls' 'Common People'. Or Scouting for Girls' 'Don't Stop Believing'. Or Scou... Well, you get the picture. With a back catalogue as massive as Vernon Kaye's lack of self awareness, the Stones have always been ripe for a cover version. These five are particularly good; two underground soul icons, one overground soul icon (accompanied by abusive husband), one man everyone thinks they can impersonate and a forgotten-but-still-going-and-actually-they-were-quite-good British act of the early 2000's.

Merry Clayton - Gimme Shelter

Thelma Houston - Jumpin' Jack Flash

David Bowie - Let's Spend the Night Together

Ike & Tina Turner - Honky Tonk Woman

Turin Brakes - Moonlight Mile

Random great Everton goals #5

2010-09-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Manuel Fernandes – Everton v Manchester United
Goodison, April 28th, 2007

Of all David Moyes’ acquisitions since his appointment as manager, only the talents of maybe Marouane Fellaini (initially) and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov have divided Evertonians to the extent that Manuel Fernandes did during his two loan spells at the club. To his advocates he was a skilful, creative force who, having arrived at a young age, would only improve. To his detractors he was a luxury item who too often refused to marry his talent with the industry of a Pienaar or Arteta. Whatever the truth, his slightly nomadic career to date tends to suggest that he is a player needing to settle down somewhere and play regularly in order to fulfil his potential. One glimpse of his undeniable ability came in this emotional game, the first to follow the untimely death of Alan Ball. Unfortunately for the Blues, although it was a strike deserving to win any game it merely paved the way for Everton to turn a 2-0 lead into a 2-4 defeat and for Iain Turner (horribly culpable for United’s first goal) to do irreparable damage to his Goodison career.

Random great Everton goals #4

2010-09-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

Graeme Sharp - Sheffield Wednesday v Everton
Hillsborough, January 27th 1988

In a week when current striking options seem to diminish by the day; Saha and Anichebe lost to injury, Vaughan out on loan and Yakubu missing believed hungry, it seems appropriate to use another Graeme Sharp effort as reminder of what a consistent Everton goalscorer looks like. This gloriously subtle effort came in the third replay (that’s right kids, in the days before figure congestion was invented) of an FA Cup tie, all three previous ties having finished 1-1, the first two replays also going to extra time. The Blues clearly had got bored of the sight of the Owls and were 5-0 up at half time, winning by the same scoreline. This was goal number three.

L’Ambassade d’Auvergne

2010-09-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

22 rue de Grenier St-Lazare, 3rd Arrondissement, Paris
website

Arriving after a day’s cultural nourishment at the beautifully tranquil Musee Rodin, I had been looking forward, having read reviews, to a hearty meal at this celebration of central French Auvergne cooking in the Le Marais district. First impressions were positive, the interior was cosy with exposed wooden beams and a warm welcome from the maitre d’.

On studying the menu I quickly decided, as did Catherine, to start with the generally recommended warm puy lentils, cooked in goose fat and served with bacon. These came in a large bowl with the emphasis that we should help ourselves.

Although not the most appealing-looking of dishes, it was beautifully executed and very comforting. This comforting, homely theme continued with the main course. Again there was harmony in our selection, both of us choosing the magret de canard served with aligot, cheesy whipped mashed potatoes, which our waiter was able to stretch on a spoon from the pan like mozzarella.

The duck was nicely pink and the creaminess of the potato compensated for the lack of a sauce. Although filling nicely, the reputation of the restaurant’s chocolate mousse encouraged Catherine to order it for dessert, while in the interests of diversity I elected to try the blueberry tart with ice cream.

The tart was delicate, full of flavour and a nice light way to finish a meal. ‘Light’ would be the last word used to describe the mousse which, as with the starter, was left on the table in a huge serving dish, with instruction to Catherine to take as much as she wanted. Rich and moreish, it was the sort of dish that Masterchef’s Greg Wallace would no doubt declare his interest in burying his jowly face into. Overall what the food lacked in elegance it more than made up for in rustic charm. A bit of stodge is sometimes no bad thing…

Random great Everton goals #3

2010-08-28T01:39:00.000-07:00

Andy Johnson - Everton v Arsenal
Goodison, March 18th 2007

There is something intrinsically beautiful about a last minute winner, of snatching two points when you have probably mentally settled for just one. A few spring to mind from Goodison matches of recent years; Tomasz Radzinski's screamer in a 2-1 win against Southampton and a midweek Leon Osman effort against Portsmouth among them. This Andy Johnson goal came on a Sunday afternoon in the midst of a horrendous hailstorm that had started some fifteen minutes earlier, much to the dismay of various gloved Arsenal players who could not wait for the game to end. Leaving the ground the hail stopped and the sun shone. As it always does on the righteous denizens of the Old Lady....

Blue Blood - Edward Conlon

2010-08-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

A review written for the excellent Everton fansite When Skies are Grey, comfortably the best written and most entertaining site for those of a Goodison-based persuasion.

Random great Everton goals #2

2010-08-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

James McFadden - Everton v Charlton Athletic
Goodison, April 15th 2007

Signed from Motherwell as part of a hectic transfer deadline day that also saw Nigel Martyn, Kevin Kilbane and Francis ‘Franny’ Jeffers arrive at the club, James McFadden made an immediate impact with eye catching displays in the League Cup against Stockport and a 4-0 hammering of an awful Leeds sides. However his early promise never materialised into much more than occasional flashes of brilliance, more often than not mixed in with large helpings of frustrating mediocrity. Possibly lacking just the added yard or so of pace that would have given him the burst he needed to get away from defenders, it was no surprise that David Moyes accepted the generous £5m offer made by Birmingham in January 2009. Coming across in media articles as a thoroughly decent individual, the Scot will probably be most fondly remembered for this stunning winning goal, straight after Darren Bent’s equaliser and deep into injury time, which provided a wounding blow to Charlton’s survival hopes and helped Everton toward their final 6th place position.

Random great Everton goals #1

2010-08-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

Graeme Sharp – Everton v Tottenham Hotspur
Goodison, January 30th 1982

Although naturally pessimistic and cynical, even I am optimistic looking ahead to the forthcoming season. With a squad containing as many talented individuals as we’ve had for a good few years and boosted by Mikel Arteta’s contract extension, I can’t wait for Saturday’s opener at Ewood Park. When we will no doubt not show up and dip 2-0. In my current good humour then, it’s time for a (probably short) series of great Everton goals from across the ages, that maybe meant little in the grand scheme of the club’s history, but are in their own right little gems

In its own way as good as his far more famous strike at Anfield a couple of years later, this particular effort came in a 1-1 draw. One of the first real indications of Sharp’s talent and promise.

Genius - No4

2010-07-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Growing up in the mid 80’s there were a rich variety of personalities with differing attributes for the aspiring young goalkeeper to study; Peter Shilton, Jean Marie Pfaff, Bruce Grobbelaar, Harold Schumacher, Pat Jennings and the USSR’s unflappably cool Rinat Dasaev among them. For me, as much as my style actually resembled Liverpool’s aforementioned Zimbabwean on a bad day, there was only one true shining light to follow: Neville Southall. Among the many bargains picked up by Howard Kendall while assembling his great squad of 1984-87, the £150,000 paid to Bury for the Welshman’s services in 1981 must rank as one of the great pieces of business in Everton’s history.

Often dishevelled in appearance and (going by the accounts of those who played in front of him) a constant, moaning presence, he was the one player of their own that Evertonians could claim to be, without accusation of bias, a leading contender for the best in his position in the world. Not overwhelmingly physically imposing in the manner of a David James, his reflexes, athleticism and sheer presence more than compensated to drain centre forwards of belief and made the goal seem five-a-side size.

Just as Kevin Brock’s woefully short backpass is seen as the turning point for Kendall’s struggling young side in the 1983-4 season – culminating in FA Cup success – so Southall’s save from a point blank Mark Falco header at White Hart Lane (at around 3m20 on the video), toward the end of a top of the table clash with Spurs which sealed a 2-1 victory, gave the team the final decisive kick for home and a first title in fifteen years. Football Writers Player of the Year at the conclusion of that season, it is a measure of the confidence he instilled amongst Evertonians that an injury sustained on international duty at Landsdowne Road is often seen as the crucial factor in the team ultimately ending the 1985-6 season potless, despite the perfectly adequate job done by replacement Bobby Mimms.

Eventually appearing 751 times for the club, he is rightly held up as a true Everton ‘legend’ at a time when the term is used far too loosely. Indeed it is probably only his notoriously abrasive, perfectionist personality that has stopped him being employed at a high level as a manager or coach. Although it was probably the characteristic that drove him to the top in the first place. Loved by anyone of a Blue persuasion and, due perhaps to Wales’ failure to qualify for a World Cup and the club’s lower media profile, underappreciated in wider circles, he remains my first and dominant footballing idol.

Great Summer Records #4

2010-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Coral - 1000 Years
I've seen The Coral live a few times, most memorably headlining a gig involving The Libertines, The Thrills and The Zutons amongst others in a massive tent in New Brighton back in 2003. The sonic vibrancy of their shows has never for me transferred itself to record, bar a handful of exceptions, 'Dreaming of You' and 'Goodbye' among them. Nevertheless, it's always worth hearing what they're up to as there is always something different and interesting. Their new single, '1000 Years' is an instantaneous cracker; maybe more mellow than much of what has gone before, with a dreamy West Coast style to the lyrics and harmonies combined with a fuzzy, distorted feel. The best thing I've heard this year.

"A new day has begun
Now that you're standing in the warmth of the sun"

Vineria San Telmo

2010-07-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Paseo de Catalina de Ribera 4, 41004 Sevilla
www.vineriasantelmo.com

Having sought guidance from Trip Advisor and the excellent Sevilla Tapas blog about the best places to go for tapas, the name of Vineria San Telmo loomed large. With a table booked (unnecessarily as it turned out) we turned up full of expectation. We were not to be disappointed.

It was decided that 5 tapas per couple and a large plate to be shared between everyone was reasonable and it turned out to be just about right. To start with, Catherine and I enjoyed Argentinian chorizo full of flavour and a sublime beef carpaccio.

This was followed by an aubergine, goat cheese, tomato and salmon tower and a crab pastel, which provided some level of disagreement.

The general consensus around the table was that the crab pastel was a bit disappointing taste-wise, although as a lone voice I found it soft, creamy and very moreish, altogether subtle rather than bland. The tower was ordered by both parties and while it was considered a success, it was suggested the goat cheese slightly overpowered everything else. There may have been an element of truth to this, but as someone addicted to the stuff my natural bias would not allow me to agree! The other small dish we got was the Argentinian beef with mustard sauce, which my normal excitement when confronted with such a dish meant I started eating instantaneously and forgot to take a picture. Delicate, beautifully cooked and enhanced by the mustard. A triumph. For my money, the only slightly disappointing element of the whole meal was the large dish of fried chicken with potatoes and mustard.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the chicken at all and it was more than edible, but unfortunately it just didn't hit the heights of the other offerings and for me only just rose above the level of KFC. Nonetheless, the positive reviews I had read for Vineria San Telmo were more than merited and, as with the majority of the places we ate at during our stay, it provided superb value.

La Raza

2010-07-07T02:27:00.001-07:00

Avenida Isabel la Católica 2, 41013 Sevilla
www.grupolaraza.com

Following a two and half hour drive from a villa near Periana, which had been the first leg of the holiday, the happy group of four; myself, Catherine, brother Rob and his girlfriend Jenny, arrived at the excellent Hotel Becquer in Seville on a Saturday lunchtime with the temperature high and all eager to sample the cuisine of Europe's hottest city. I had booked us a table at La Raza, set by the greenery of the Maria Luisa Park, a few minutes walk from the Old Town. Although the main focus of our stay was to be tapas (more of which to come in a future blog), we elected to eat from the à la carte menu in the attractive and airy conservatory area, the only minor quibble being that respite from the heat did not come as quickly as it might have done due to an only partly-functioning spray fan.

Nonetheless, once a beer arrived we were cooler and happier and were soon given a lovely caramelised goat cheese on toast to accompany a perusal of the menu.

While Catherine and Jenny elected to share a plate of king prawns in a peanut batter with houmous for their starter, Rob and I both chose the gazpacho, done to a recipe that had been served at the restaurant since 1960 and featuring basil oil and shellfish. It would be fair to say that neither of us were 100% certain of the choice but as one of the signature dishes we felt it was appropriate.

Our decision was proved correct as it was the dictionary definition of fresh, full of flavour and actually felt like we were putting something healthy inside us, a sensation that, despite the excellence of nearly everything else we ate in the city, it would be difficult to say we encountered much. The king prawns were also fresh and tasty, the only complaint from the girls was that, having been advised by our very friendly waitress to share due to the size of the portion, they felt they could have managed one each.

For main course Catherine and I shared squid cooked in its own ink with rice and served with aioli, a dish we had previously enjoyed in Valencia, while Rob and Jenny both went for sirloin steak.

It's difficult to make our dish look overly appealing, but the taste more than compensated. There was a richness enhanced by the creamy garlic quality of the mayonnaise and with plenty of squid ensured that - to no great surprise - I was able to manage second helpings. I was also able to sample the steak which was soft, flavourful and a hit with the other two. With the starters averaging out at around €9-10 and mains averaging at €20, prices were more than reasonable, especially when washed down with a couple of bottles of competitively priced Barbadillo wine.

Unable to manage pudding, we staggered back to the hotel with the sane pair - Catherine and Jenny - electing to siesta before the evening. Those with less sense trawled the streets looking to watch the Argentina v Germany quarter final, eventually ending up in of all things a German bar with no air conditioning and packed with sweaty Germans loudly extolling the virtues of Lukas Podolski. Bizarre (and hot) does not do it justice.

Great Summer Records #3

2010-06-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Beach Boys - Breakaway
Yes 'Wouldn't It be Nice'. Yes 'California Girls'. But this typically optimistic and gorgeous effort is often overlooked when the band are discussed. To be listened to whilst sat on the edge of a pool with feet in the water and a bottle of something cold in the hand.

"And I can breakaway to the better life
Where the shackles never hold me down
I'm gonna make a way for each happy day
As my life turns around"

And, as a bonus, the band live on The David Frost Show:

Great Summer Records #2

2010-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

The Divine Comedy - Love What You Do
Neil Hannon has adopted a Jarvis Cocker-esque position on the fringes of popular culture, occasionally dipping his toes in, but generally happy out of the direct glare and making his own kind of music. Although the output has not always been to my taste, this offering, although perhaps not classically a ''summer record'' in terms of subject manner, shimmers gloriously around the chorus, releasing sunshine as it goes.

Great Summer Records #1

2010-06-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

The Thrills - Big Sur
Gravel-voiced Irish LA-wanabees The Thrills' appeal seemed to wane very quickly but the first album was at the time a very refreshing, retro throwback to, dare I say it, a (probably mythologised) 'more innocent age'. I could have picked four or five records from 'So Much For The City', but purely for the lovely haze present through the video, it's this one.

Genius - No3

2009-10-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

I appear to be out of step with the majority of my fellow humans on a number of issues. I’m not remotely a fan of Bruce Forsythe. I think Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s best film. For me, Alex Turner’s finest work to date has been with the Last Shadow Puppets. And, in my opinion, Elvis Presley’s career hit its heights in the early “Vegas years” in the late 1960’s and start of the 1970’s. Whilst I appreciate the importance of his formative musical years in terms of rock and roll history, from a personal point of view they don’t hold the same appeal or fascination as, for example, the footage of his residencies at The International Hotel, best seen on the ‘That’s The Way It Is’ documentary, freely available on DVD.

They seem to show a man totally in command of performance and audience, who is relaxed and happy to be performing live having arguably wasted a number of years making bubblegum films for Hollywood. Effortlessly combining hits from his back catalogue and covers of contemporary records, and backed by a superb band, it is the clearest representation of what a stunning talent he was. The footage below comes from his Hawaii concert of January 1973, the first live concert satellite broadcast, viewed by over a billion people. As the 1970’s went on and dependency on various prescribed substances increased, the jumpsuits got tighter and Elvis’ physique and appearance mirrored that of the numerous impersonators traditionally wheeled out to symbolise the second half of his professional life. Nonetheless, for a period of a few years, he was an iconic presence and tops the list of people I wish I could have seen live.

Danny Baker - an appreciation

2009-09-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

The football phone in has long been dominated by incoherent cretins murdering the English language while repeating verbatim, as if they are original thoughts, what they heard on the previous night’s Match of the Day. A situation that generally gets worse once they start taking calls. Regardless of whether you try Radio 5 or TalkSport, there is almost no respite from the almost constant ‘JT’, ‘Stevie G’ or ‘Wazza’ Big Four-inspired chat employed by the likes of the execrable DJ Spoony, Alan Green or Tim Lovejoy*, who can never hide their disappointment - or end a conversation quickly enough - when having to discuss ownership issues at Lincoln. And let us not even rake over the memory of David Mellor’s 606, with records chosen by his teenage son for added credibility.

It should be said that the standard is not uniformally bad. Gabriele Marcotti is well informed and more than prepared to challenge some of the arse gravy eminating from callers' mouths, while even Stan Collymore's reluctance to accept the clichés so easily spouted by his peers mark him out as occasionally worth a listen. Nevertheless, there is only man who is required listening: Danny Baker. The original host of 606 was also by far its best, someone who shied away from the mundanity of people phoning in to complain about today's referee in favour of asking for stories about any number of oddball topics such as the most dangerous surface played on, ways of getting into the game or (as in the example below) odd items of football clothing. Through his time with Radio 5, Radio 2, Virgin, BBC London, his various podcasts and Talk Radio he has produced hugely entertaining shows in a natural and eloquent style unmatched across the airwaves. I look back with particular fondness at his time at Talk Radio in the late 90's when, together with the superb Danny Kelly, he made often long journeys home from the match fly by.

He is now doing the Saturday morning show on Radio 5 and I'd catch him while you can, as the only other constant through his radio career has been his ability to drop himself in trouble and get fired.

*of whom no mention should be made without referencing one of the most glorious character assassinations in living history - When Saturday Comes' review of his musings on football:
Lovejoy

Mark Eric - A Midsummer's Day Dream

2009-09-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

As the title of the blog might suggest, the Beach Boys have long played a big role in my musical upbringing, and it goes without saying that I would be unable to provide a unbiased review of the Brian Wilson gig at the Philharmonic Hall three weeks or so ago. But it genuinely was ace. Aided by the acoustics of the venue and the superb backing band, Wilson's now cracked and scarred voice barely seemed to matter as almost all of the essential back catalogue was beautifully reproduced. My highlight - as I knew it would be before I walked in - was the almost stripped down version of 'God Only Knows', originally sung by his late brother Carl, that you would have to have been a harder man than I was to avoid shedding a tear at. As always with this kind of greatest hits tour, the selection of records is never 100% to every individual's taste and I would have been even happier with one or two fewer selections from the earliest part of the band's back catalogue and the inclusion of 'Breakaway', 'Surf's Up' or 'Heroes and Villains'. But then I'm a moaning sod at the best of times. As an emotional appeal direct to the soul, it was up there with the best gigs I've been to.

The work of many artists in the last half century has shown either direct or indirect influence by the Beach Boys, and many have attempted to emulate both the subject matter and sonic majesty of the records. Originally many, such as the likes of Tony Rivers and the Castaways, were British acts seemingly trying to cash in on the new found popularity among the public for early Beach Boys records. This has continued to the present day, with some acts - as with the recent Explorers Club album - at times almost displaying their love of the music to almost cloying, pastiche levels. The album closest to evoking the spirit of the Beach Boys stuff I hold dearest is Mark Eric's 'A Midsummer's Day Dream'. Mark Eric Malmborg was an occasional model and actor who in 1968 wrote a number of songs, intending to have them covered by others. At some point he changed his mind, recorded them himself and produced an LP that to this ear holds its roots in the Beach Boys' 1965 'The Beach Boys Today!' and 1966 'Pet Sounds' albums. Not only is this evident in the warm harmonies and beautiful orchestration, but in the subject matter which - through such tracks as 'Build Your Own Dream', 'Where Do the Girls of the Summer Go' and 'Don't Cry Over Me' carry a consistent themes of longing, thwarted love, frustration and of teenage change so frequently found in Wilson's early efforts. The album died at the time of its June 1969 release as the world's attention turned to Woodstock and the more aggressive anti-Vietnam recordings of the time, but in recent years has been reissued and developed a cult following.

http://www.myspace.com/markericmusic

5 Great Everton Night Games

2009-09-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

As a book ‘Fever Pitch’ is much maligned, although I would argue it is a very good piece of literature held responsible for the reams of inferior versions it inspired. Nonetheless, one of the most evocative pieces that was carried forward into the film version was the moment that Nick Hornby arrived at the top of the stand stairs and saw the incredible green turf for the first time. For me it was whilst on a family holiday to Scotland that I was treated to a trip to Tynecastle with my dad to watch Hearts entertain Rangers. The programme I still have from the game and my childish scrawl informs me that Hearts won on their way to eventual final day heartache in the league as Celtic stole the title on goal difference, but all I remember from my first professional match was the wall of noise and colour.

In the years following this first taste of live football, I have developed a particular keenness for the night game. I have no idea why, save for the possible explanation that often they seem particularly appear to retain some of the magic I first experienced at Tynecastle – floodlights make the pitch more colourful (especially against the backdrop of a black night sky), and the crowd regularly appear to be noisier and more prepared to try and influence the result, possibly to work out the stresses of a day’s work.

Although Everton’s most famous night match is probably the Cup Winners’ Cup Semi Final second leg against Bayern Munich, I have limited my list to the games attended in person. I have no doubt that many other games from this period would be equally as deserving, but these five immediately spring to mind:

EVERTON 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED (20.4.05)
With the side wobbling badly in their attempts to stay in the final Champions League place following the departure of Thomas Gravesen in January, the last team that David Moyes’ men needed to be playing was a Manchester United side that had already comfortably progressed through an FA Cup game between the clubs two months previously that had marked Wayne Rooney’s first return to his boyhood club. However, a rare start for an ageing Duncan Ferguson was the catalyst for an Everton display that made up in intensity what it lacked in finesse. In front of a bear pit Goodison atmosphere, a nervy, scrappy game turned on a second half Mikel Arteta free kick. Ferguson, recreating the iconic goal scored in a game against the same opponents a decade earlier, belied his advancing years to beat a dazed and bullied Rio Ferdinand to the ball and bury it past Tim Howard. As Ferguson celebrated, the only thing creaking more than his body were the stands, which shook with an explosion of joy and relief. From there on, cherries were piled on the cake as first Gary Neville, inexplicably and petulantly kicking the ball at the crowd, and then Paul Scholes, for an ugly hack at Kevin Kilbane, were sent off. As evenings go, it could barely have gone better.

EVERTON 2-0 FIORENTINA (12.3.08)
After the frustrating 2-0 reverse in Florence a week earlier, a quick start was needed from a side missing the threat of Tim Cahill and Andy Johnson's bundled effort after a quarter of an hour provided just the boost required by both team and fans. What had not been banked on however was that goalkeeper Sebastian Frey would provide a one-man blockade to goal. Aided by a healthy dose of good fortune and the assistance of post and bar, Frey repelled eveything bar the Mikel Arteta cracker that took the roof off the ground and the game into extra time. Two tired sides could not muster a goal during that period and Yakubu and Jagielka's misses during the shoot out sent the Italians through to somehow get beaten by a deeply average Rangers side in the next round. Despite the eventual outcome it is a game that will live in the memory for the sheer ferocity of the backing given to the side, which was somehow not rewarded on the pitch.

EVERTON 1-0 LIVERPOOL (4.2.09)
As early birthday presents go it was a bit special. An Everton side looking out on its feet after a series of games in quick succession against the Premier League's Monsters of Rock was buoyed by first injury to Steven Gerrard and then the dismissal of Lucas and pushed, prompted by Mikel Arteta and Jack Rodwell, through extra time against a Liverpool side time wasting as if their lives depended on it. With the match slowly petering out to the grim inevitability of a Liverpool penalty shoot-out victory, the lesser-spotted Andy van der Meyde's cross fell to the feet of Dan Gosling who seemed to take an age to work the ball out of his feet before clipping it with the aid of a delicious, slight deflection past Reina and into the Park End net. Bedlam. Whilst on my back, three rows ahead of where I had been thirty seconds earlier, I missed a comedy dust up between van der Meyde and the prematurely-balding Liverpool keeper. It mattered not. Despite their new-found speed at getting the ball back into play, Liverpool could not muster an equaliser and Everton progressed to the future rounds where equally dramatic victories awaited.

EVERTON 3-1 SPURS (9.4.04)
An evening Good Friday fixture in front of a Goodison crowd in such good voice that there was suspicion that cold drinks may have been taken by a significant number of the 38,000-odd present. With Everton's season having been wildly inconsistent and disppointing following the previous season's 7th placed finish, this match represented one of the few highs. With James McFadden enjoying a rare start up front, the Blues came out quickly and put the game to bed by half time. A David Unsworth header, a free kick from the Scottish Roberto Carlos, Gary Naysmith, and Joseph Yobo's short range rebound prod home after a Gravesen shot ensured that Stephen Carr's second half consolation strike was exactly that. In true Everton style that proved to be the last win of the season as the last six games saw just two points gained and a 17th place finish.

BLACKBURN 1-2 EVERTON (10.3.99)
Arriving at the ground as part of the traditionally strong away support at Ewood Park with both Blackburn and ourselves mired in relgation trouble, it was 'disappointing', to use a word we were hearing more often than we should have around that time, when the side announced contained six centre backs with a central midfield pairing of David Unsworth and David Weir. The lottery-like nature of the selection was still being digested when the perenially-relegated Ashley Ward was converting a cross at the back post to put us in even more trouble. This was though, the (correctly) much derided Ibrahima Bakayoko's finest hour. Converting a far post header from a fifteenth minute corner, he then raced onto Don Hutchison's through ball just after the hour to put the Blues 2-1 up. Despite Blackburn throwing the kitchen sink at the Everton goal through the remainder of the game, a defence brilliantly marshalled by the eccentric Marco Materazzi, and backed by Thomas Myhre, just about held firm.

Fingers crossed after yesterday's dire second half showing that Thursday night's game with AEK is similarly memorable.

Homicide: Life on the Street (Series One)

2009-08-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

The first and obvious thing to say is that as reviews go this is a touch late. First appearing on NBC in 1993 and running for seven series, the show was well established in the US but a victim of Channel Four's Rafa-esque rotation and resting in the schedules over here. Nonetheless, as with Shack when I arrived at HMS Fable and worked backwards, the end of the Wire led me to look to what went before it to inspire it. Having loved the David Simon book on which 'Homicide' was based*, and discovering the DVD (which confusingly seems to actually comprise Seasons One and Two) available for just over a tenner, would it be one option to fill the Bunk-sized void caused by the end of the Wire?

Some similarities emerge immediately. The gallows humour of the detectives in the Baltimore Police Department Homicide Unit as they go about their work and their depression at the seemingly unsolvable problem of drug-led poverty in the city have clear parallels in Simon's later creation. Certain devices - the whiteboard with victims in red or white depending on whether the crime has been solved or not and the occasional use of the photocopier as lie detector for the more simple of offenders - are more than familiar. Some of the themes that came to be fully examined in The Wire; the short-term philosophy of the upper ranks, the ability of the media to affect policing strategy and the pressure from the local government to deliver 'more for less' are also introduced. It is far more of a standard procedural police affair than the novel-like Wire, but this should not be taken as a criticism, as it is still streets ahead of the equivalents we are force-fed in the UK. It's not perfect, aside from the running theme of the murder of a little girl there is a feeling that the investigation will always be wrapped up within the episode. Regardless, the likes of Yaphet Kotto (Al Giardello) and Andre Braugher (Frank Pembleton) are very watchable and the writing is for the most part as sharp as many of the different US series that have followed it.

While later seasons apparently started to become more sensationalist and graphic in order to chase ratings, this DVD is more than worth a look in its own right as a rounded piece of entertainment, as well as being recommended for anyone interested in the provenance of the best series ever made.

*anyone enjoying the book should try and get hold of a copy of Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit by Miles Corwin, which is written in a similarly entertaining manner.

Guilty Pleasures - Gerry Rafferty's 'City to City'

2008-11-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not a massive fan of the concept of 'Guilty Pleasures'. Generally people should be free to embrace and enjoy the music they like without fear of censure and scorn from others (fans of Scouting for Girls, you are the exception to the rule). Nonetheless, I accept that a 29 year old male might not be expected to be a fan of 1970's soft rock acts with little commercial success since 1979's 'Night Owl' album. But, as with much of my taste, its origins lie in late 1980's childhood musical imprisonment while travelling on holiday in my parents' car. The Beach Boys, The Who, The Stones and other bands I continue to revere were staple selections, as was this 1978 album, which sold over five million copies and reached the top 5 in both the UK and US.

Whilst the album is primarily remembered for the incredibly radio-friendly 'Baker Street' (video below), the real beauty lies in records such as 'Island', which also employs the saxophone of Raphael 'Baker Street' Ravenscroft, and 'Whatever's Written in Your Heart', which offer simple tributes to love and longing. With not a bad track, it remains an effortlessly timeless and comforting record and heightens my sadness at learning that Rafferty is, at the time of writing, three months missing after checking out of a London hospital where he was being treated for liver problems. With much of his history since 1980 seemingly revolving around various drunken incidents - aside from producing the Proclaimers' glorious 'Letter from America' in 1987 - it would appear that this story is sadly not one destined to end with a glorious renaissance and a tour of 'City to City'. Retailing at around a fiver on the likes of Amazon though, it is a classic of its type and deserving of being recognised as such.

Genius - No2

2008-10-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Forget 'I Just Called To Say I Love You' or 'Ebony and Ivory'. There was a period when Stevie Wonder was untouchable. From 1972 to 1976 he was at his creative peak, releasing 'Innervisions', 'Fulfillingness' First Finale', 'Songs in the Key of Life' and my own personal favourite 'Talking Book'. This clip is taken from an appearance on Sesame Street playing the downright superb 'Superstition'. Enjoy..

y.

Genius - No1 in a short or not so short series...

2008-10-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

The man who lifted two average sides; Napoli and Argentina, beyond their capabilities and delivered honours. The greatest player ever with the sort of skill that has inspired a generation of number 10s with a low centre of gravity and a love of dribble in his home country - Ortega, D'Alessandro, Gallardo, Aimar, Messi etc. As so often in life though, the original is the best, with only Messi able to breathe the same air in my humble opinion.

Ladies and Gents, Diego Armando Maradona.

5 from New York

2008-10-12T01:46:00.000-07:00

Not particularly the best things to do, no 'must sees', just stuff that tickled my fancy whilst in NYC recently:

1. Zucco le French Diner - 188 Orchard Street (Houston Street), Lower East Side.
Having had this place recommended, we approached with a touch of trepidation after a decent walk in hot conditions. With the owner - Zucco - having apparently said himself the place holds "20 skinny people or 14 fat ones", nothing massive was expected, but only the most suicidal of cats would have allowed themselves to have been swung inside. Nonetheless it was only at maybe 75% capacity, so we entered, squeezed past the other customers and took one of the 2-3 tables. Zucco carried the air of a man who thinks he should be running a bigger bar in Paris, and is still not quite sure why it didn't happen. If this sounds like a criticism it's not, the slightly surliness was amusing and indicative only of the inherent old-worldliness of the French. Unsurprisingly this was also reflected in the menu, cooked in a tiny space behind the bar by the chef, which was predominately French classics with an occasional North African element. It was the North African element that appealed and we both selected the merguez sandwich with roasted red peppers and harissa and a side of frites. Washed down with a bottle of 1664 -no American rubbish here. Ordering in French went down well and the food, at roughly a fiver each was excellent. Off the beaten track but more than worth the trek to find it.

2. Resto - 111 E. 29th Street
www.restonyc.com
At the other end of the scale is this ultra modern, sleek Belgian bar and restaurant that was helpfully located two doors down from the hotel. Equally good for just drinking from their extensive Belgian beer menu or, as we did on the opening night, sampling their highly rated menu. The food was excellent, the little fried meatballs with a garlic-mustard mayonnaise and the mussels in leek and bacon being a particular highlight.

3. Shake Shack - Madison Avenue & 23rd Street
www.shakeshacknyc.com
Although no lover of the salty, flabby MacDonald's/Burger King monsters of rock, research had stated that the best burgers in the city were to be found at Shake Shack's attractive setting in Madison Square Park, and not wishing to be churlish we headed there for lunch. My main piece of advice would be to expect a wait, there was a huge queue when we arrived for an early lunch; thankfully we were entertained by a college student with a foghorn for a voice giving everyone chapter and verse on the latest on her and her friends' lives. Think Dawson's Creek, but without anything happening. We eventually ordered and the burgers, well dems was real tasty. The fries, although nice and cheesy, were obviously slightly drowned in salt, but the quality of the burger and my caramel milkshake allowed me to overlook it.

4. The New York City Police Museum - 100 Old Slip
www.nycpolicemuseum.org
Not one of the bigger museums in the city maybe, but it does give an excellent idea of the scale of the operation required to police such a massive geographical area. Although initially we wandered a little bit trying to find it, the presence of a number of vintage cars outside the building (the original home to the First Precinct between 1884 and 1973) was a helpful clue. Over three floors it details the history and events that have shaped the way that the city has been run from a law and order perspective. Highlights included a recreation of the cells, rooms with cars, bikes and uniforms used through the ages and the Hall of Heroes, containing the badge of every officer killed in the line of duty. While I understand there have been complaints in some quarters that the slightly seamier, murky events in the NYPD's history have been sanitised and ignored, I guess there is a certain inevitability that this will be the case and it shouldn't detract from what is a really interesting couple of hours' entertainment.

5. Buenos Aires - 513 East 6th Street
www.buenosairesnyc.com
I know, I know, food again. As I say, just the first five things that come to mind and for some reason food features in four... Determined at some point to enjoy a really good steak, we rejected the traditional steak house idea and elected instead to go South American. With an extensive meat menu, a bottle of Quilmes and then a cold bottle of white, a warm ambience and some non-descript game of Argentinian football on a mounted TV in the corner, I was a happy boy. The waiting staff were attentive and happy to explain the different cuts of meat. Chips were great and the black pudding I had for starter was plentiful and tasty. The steak was tender and, given the exchange rate, light on the pocket too. Recommended.

Greetings

2008-03-31T09:06:00.000-07:00

One of the most negative aspects of the Internet is that allows all sort of interlopers and half-wits their moment in the sun - an opportunity to 'spill their brains' as The Day Today would have it. Hence this momentus day in blogging as I join those ranks. Reviews and opinions in the world of music, football and travel, amongst other stuff, will follow...... For now, I'll leave you with a beer of the day, one of the highlights of a recent trip to Brussels (more to come there). Enjoy a virtual Gouden Carolus and I'll return with the menu forthwith.