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stereax · 10 months

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How is Toronto doing over there?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay let me explain what Toronto is doing... actually no I can't, what they're doing defies all reason. Or it makes perfect sense, but only if you're on the same cocktail of black tar heroin and crystal meth as Brad Treliving. Here we go!

This is the Leafs' page on CapFriendly. They are currently almost 9 million dollars over the cap. This is the offseason, so nobody really cares right now - teeeechnically you can't go over 10% above the cap during the offseason but nobody's really watching. So why are they over 8.8 million dollars over?

Let's review why.

This is the Leafs' forward core. (There's a league minimum deal for Dylan Gambrell too.)

This is the Leafs' forward core with a $5.5m deal to Bertuzzi, $3m deal to Domi, and $1.35m deal to Reaves. And you'd think "oh, they're trying to get tougher, okay" and they really don't, because Bertuzzi and Domi aren't punchers and Reavo is getting old. Bertuzzi is a more expensive Bunting sidegrade on a one-year deal seeking term in next year's free agent market. Domi is a center whose defensive numbers are in the shitter, also hoping for a better deal next year when the cap jumps up. Reaves is honestly just happy someone signed his ass for three whole years. He's 36. This is his second 35+ contract. Massive red flag.

What you're also going to notice is that Matthews, Marner, and Tavares take the lion's share of the cash - over $33m between the three of them. Nylander adds another $7m to the pot, making each of the Core Four average around $10m. Oh, and Nylander is angling for a pay raise when he hits UFA next year. :) And Matthews hits UFA next year too, good luck icing a 12-forward roster that doesn't have two lines' worth of rookies if you keep both! :)

Compare this to, say, the Devils, who have their cap situation under control. How the Devils work is they rely on everyone taking a discount for the benefit of the team (or just signing them to "overpays" before they get good and make the contracts worth it, like Jack Hughes). In the same $40m as the Core Four, the Devils have Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Tyler Toffoli, and Erik Haula. An entire top six. And I'm not even counting Dawson Mercer because he's still on his ELC and that would just be unfair.

There's a saying that "you can't win a Cup with a $10m player". Jack Eichel proved us wrong. However, the idea of that saying applies - if you have too many top guys who are all demanding too much money, your boat is going to capsize because you're not going to be able to get the rest of the team signed. (Unless you're the fucking Rangers and get everyone on league minimum contracts because you're the fucking Rangers and you run a retirement home in New York, but I DIGRESS.)

The main issue with the Core Four, and the idea of the Core Four, is that they're eating up basically half the cap by themselves. And if you look back on it, you can go "Kyle Dubas was a moron", but you've got to remember: Dubas inked those deals thinking the cap wouldn't go flat due to covid. With the cap due to jump next offseason, you're looking at a LOT of 1-year deals because most free agents think they can get more money when there's more money to throw around. Bertuzzi and Domi are no exceptions.

Oh, also, Brad Treliving signed a 4C (David Kämpf) to a $2.5m contract with 4 years of term. You don't sign fourth liners for that money or term, as a general rule, unless they do something for your team that is literally irreplacable. Kämpf is good but he's nowhere near the great that justifies that.

Bertuzzi: Fair value for him, but you had Bunting who just signed for $1m less with short term to the Canes. Possible upgrade but too early to tell, probably a sidegrade.

Domi: Really should learn how to play wing. Inconsistent. A bit of an overpay for a third line center who can't play D at all.

Reaves: Punchy McFourthLine. That's it.

The Leafs' defense doesn't have anything too glaringly awful, on the other hand - except that newly inked $4.15m contract to a John Klingberg who can barely play defense on a good day. When you already had three at least passable RDs on the roster (don't know how good Liljegren or Timmins are). I get the idea of an RD upgrade, but man, that was not it.

Klingberg: We're really in the "outscore your opponents" phase of the meltdown now, aren't we? He is worse than Erik Karlsson at defense. Erik Karlsson, Fourth Forward, is a better defenseman. Good God what I would give to see Klingberg and Rielly on a D-pair together. Threat to score... at both ends of the ice.

So the Leafs are over the cap, but a few shenaniga- Wait, what is that? An unsigned RFA goalie?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA YEEEEEP. THEY QUALIFIED SAMSONOV AND HAVE $-8.8 MILLION IN CAP SPACE WITH WHICH TO GIVE HIM A CONTRACT. Better pray he doesn't get offersheeted because you won't be able to sign a big deal for him. Good Lord.

And now here's your injured reserve.

Note that Muzzin's $5.625m is already coming off the books and there's noooo way they can take him off IR (see the top). They still need to shed $3.2m just to fit under cap. With Sammy needing a contract and being arbitration eligible? Oh boy.

So what's going to happen here?

Firstly, Muzzin has to stay on Robidas Island. He comes back, you're fucked capwise.

Murray needs to go. You can't buy him out because that would put $2m on the cap next season as penalty - $2m that you need to resign Nylander and Matthews. Either you Robidas Island him (break his kneecaps permanently) or you trade him as a cap dump. You can't get value on him because he's already retained salary and with an M-NTC that limits where he can go. So you need to ship Murray out with a sweetener for our good friend Future Considerations or a seventh-rounder. The sweetener in question? Probably a first-round pick. Maybe a third if the team in question needs a netminder. Toronto is fresh out of second-round picks. Sweet.

Even with Murray out, you have $1.4m in cap space, and with Robertson probably drawing into the lineup because he's cheap and hopefully fixed by now, so only $700k to spare for Sammy's contract. You better believe Ilya Fucking Samsonov is not going to take a league minimum contract... especially when he's valued at around $5m.

You can ship out Jarnkrok and/or Timmins (as per the internet, the most likely to be dealt). Even with both gone, you only have $3.9m in cap space, which means Sammy would either need to take a team friendly or get dealt, leaving Woll and Literally Nobody to take the net for Toronto. And even if Sammy takes a $3.5m deal, you have next to no cap space and no 13F/7D.

Did I mention Samsonov can arbitrate? Because Samsonov can choose to arbitrate for a higher salary. For another Devils comparable, the reason we didn't qualify Bastian or McLeod was because they could choose to arbitrate if we did, with the arbitrator awarding a higher salary than Fitz would be comfortable paying. Arbitrator says $5m, Treliving can't pay it, Sammy walks. Great work, Brad.

The other speculation is that these moves are setting up for a Nylander trade, breaking up the Core Four. Don't know who the hell wants Nylander at almost $7m of cap hit - maybe the Senators if they manage to ditch DeBrincat? The Leafs would probably have to retain significant salary. Also don't know who the hell the Leafs would replace Nylander with. I doubt this happens, honestly, especially because Nylander's 10-team no-trade clause can kick the Leafs further in the ass. But who the fuck knows anymore?

So to recap: The Leafs just shopped for a bunch of guys with no defense at all that's going to make them have to get rid of Murray and has made resigning Samsonov tough. They need to let go of some of their depth (Jarnkrok and Timmins most likely) to make it work at all, and that's assuming Sammy does them a favor and signs for cheap. That's not even including the possibility of an offersheet to Samsonov - which, if you're a GM with goaltending issues and cap to spare (Chicago comes to mind), you should seriously consider dropping a $6m offersheet to Samsonov and watching the chaos erupt. If Kyle Davidson is reading this right now, do this and I promise I will stop bringing up the Kyle Beach scandal every time I hear about the Hawks and let your franchise turn over a new leaf. (Or Leaf, as it were.)

@excuseme-jimin @storybook-strange you guys also expressed interest in this :)

#stereanswers #stereanalysis #stereducation

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worldticketsandhospitality · 3 years

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Premier League Football: What Thomas Tuchel expects and why he has the respect for Chelsea Football squad

Chances are coming for more and more players at the Blues boss’s disposal, and Chelsea Football legend Pat Nevin is pleased with what he has been seeing from them when they have their minutes.

Premier League admirers can get Premier League Football Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Worldwideticketsandhospitality.com is the most reliable source to book Chelsea Vs Liverpool Tickets at exclusively discounted prices.

Just like everyone else, I was gusted away by the performance against Norwich at the weekend. If I was blown away then think how the Canaries felt on their way home to Norfolk. When you add the similarly leading performance against Malmo and a combined score of 15-1 over the last four games, it underlines the Chelsea Football team can comfortably say they have retorted pretty well to the Man City and Juventus defeats prior to that.

No season goes through without some difficult phases, but it is always about the reaction and the question of whether or not the sureness takes a hit. It is hard to imagine a more poised group of players right now and by that, I mean the entire Chelsea Football squad. Once again Thomas Tuchel had to delve around to see what was available and once again he came up with a good few peaches.

It is difficult to pass by any player who scores three goals in a Premier League Football match and I have no intention of doing so, but Mason Mount was only one of any number of players who were well over 8/10 for the day. To know more about Chelsea Football Tickets click here.

He got the hat-trick, the match ball, the man of the match and even a little bit of luck with the penalty re-take going in his favor. He did however deserve that little help as his quality and boldness were bordering on excellence from start to finish.

There was a moment just a few weeks back when we were playing a 3-5-2 that some people were asking skeptically, where is there a position for Mason in the Chelsea Football Club starting line-up? With wing-back not an option really with so many specialists at the club, the three in the middle being N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho, that only left the two striking positions.

A fit and firing Romelu Lukaku having one of the meant one slot was earmarked for either Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech or Mason Mount. Six into one doesn’t go very comfortably, but fortunately football isn’t science and it isn’t math.

You have to take the chances when they present themselves and Mason along with Callum grabbed the opportunities as if their lives be contingent on them. Difficult though it may seem sometimes, football almost always gives you an opening at some point if you are a good enough player, but you have to be ready and you have to have exactly the right attitude when it happens. Lately, I have watched a few Premier League stars come on, believing they had been slighted by being left on the bench, only to show a less-than-perfect attitude.

One player came on in a game and wouldn’t pass to his team-mates because he was so determined on scoring, even if they were in better positions. Offensive behaviour even if you are well ahead. It is hard to imagine any current Chelsea Football player coming on to the field and showing anything like that sort of attitude. First of all, I hope they aren’t the types, but secondly they know fine well the boss would notice and their chances of starting for the next few games would be seriously limited.

It is hard for any player to play well every week, but it certainly helps when you get enough minutes to be able to feel some coziness in the team. Yesterday’s game of Chelsea Football Club could be against a very strong Southampton side, as they may consider this their best chance of silverware, and remember they were playing well against us before they went down to 10 men a few weeks ago at the Bridge.

They should however beware of Chelsea Football side first goalscorer. In the last 12 games we have played and scored, the first Blues scorer has been ten diverse players. The boss will be satisfied with that ability to score from anywhere, but I bet the bookies are even gladder.

We are offering Premier League football tickets. Premier League admirers can get Premier League Football Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Worldwideticketsandhospitality.com is the most reliable source to book Premier League Hospitality Packages. Fans can Sign Up on the website for the latest Tickets alerts.

#ChelseaFootballTickets #PremierLeagueFootballTickets #ChelseaVsLiverpoolTickets

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tarjaturunenworldnews · 4 years

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Hoho!! Smells like Christmas already! 🎄🎅🎁

" "From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)" will be reissued on November 6th including the brand new Christmas live album “Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019”.

Get ready for an extra dark Christmas this year!

Additional to the 12 Christmas carols from the 2017 edition, the reissue includes 3 versions in alternative languages plus the collaboration with Tarja´s friends Cristina Scabbia, Doro Pesch, Elize Ryd, Floor Jansen, Hansi Kürsch, Joe Lynn Turner, Marco Saaresto, Michael Monroe, Sharon Den Adel, Simone Simons, Timo Kotipelto and Tony Kakko for the beloved “Feliz Navidad”.

The 2020 edition of this festive album adds even more to the perfect dark Christmas spirits. Further to the additional studio recordings, the reissue comes with the previously unreleased live album “Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019”. With this first ever Christmas live album, Tarja takes her fans back to an atmospheric celebration and invites them to be a part of her always successful Christmas tours.

Tracklist

CD1

1. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

2. Together

3. We Three Kings

4. Deck the Halls

5. Pie Jesu

6. Amazing Grace

7. O Tannenbaum

8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

10. Feliz Navidad

11. What Child Is This

12. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

13. Sublime Gracia

14. Ô viens, Ô viens, Emmanuel

15. O Christmas Tree

16. Feliz Navidad (Barbuda Relief and Recovery Charity Version)

CD 2

Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019

1. Sydämeeni Joulun Teen

2.What Child Is This

3. Tonttu

4. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

5. Varpunen Jouluaamuna

6. You Would Have Loved This

7. Ave Maria (Paolo Tosti)

8. Ave Maria (Michael Hoppé)

9. Ave Maria (Giulio Caccini)

11. Ave Maria (Tarja Turunen)

12. Together

13. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

14. The Christmas Song

15. Walking in the Air

16. Silent Night

The 2020 version of “From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)” is going to be released on November 6th, 2020 on earMUSIC as a limited 2CD digipak. Additional to that, “Christmas Together: Live at Olomouc and Hradec Králové 2019” will be released as a limited 2LP Gatefold on November 27th, via the official Tarja shop only.

You can pre-order “From Spirits and Ghosts (Score for a dark Christmas)” here:

https://tarja.lnk.to/fromSpirits2020 " - @tarjaofficial via her social medias

#tarja #tarja turunen #tarjaturunen #tarjaofficial #turunen

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x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 4 years

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A Conversation with Delain’s Charlotte & Martijn on ‘Apocalypse & Chill’

Apocalypse & Chill seem a lot darker and heavier than some of your prior works, what led you guys go into this direction?

Martijn: I think a lot of interviewers ask us, “Do you have a goal or like an aim before you started?” We always say no, but there’s also always one exception. We always say, “We want it more heavy, hard, or loud.” And so we always aim for that part and then let me start with just go, literally go with the flow, so to say. And it really worked out well with this album. What also helped is that our guitar player, Timo [Somers}, he normally always arranges what we write. So when we were done writing, we gave it to Timo and he tweaked it and then we recorded it. But this time, he also really contributed some material himself. And that also helped very much in the heaviness. And then there’s of course, how you mix and produce it. And yeah, we’ve always tried to make that as heavy as possible.

I enjoyed the contrast in the album artwork, which represents the title very well. Can you talk more about how the title and concept came together?

Charlotte: Sure. We started exploring album titles when we were about six, seven songs in, that’s usually when I feel like there’s enough flesh to the bone in terms of the music and the lyrics to discover whether there’s some kind of theme or a thread going through the album. And in this case I noticed that there were some songs that had a strong dystopian, apocalyptic. And then the other part is calmer, there’s love songs, there’s nostalgic themes, and that kind of worked as a mirror for the time that the album was written because for the last few years it’s been really striking how if you open a newspaper or you look at the news, then you see the world quite literally being on fire. And then if you look at your socials, you see everybody living their perfect lives and it’s hard to grasp that those worlds exist at the same time or are actually the same world. So that topic and that contrast, was really interesting. And then apocalypse kind of came up as a play on words on Netflix & Chill.

I really like the theme and the contrast as you described. What was the overall recording process for this record? Was it any different from your prior efforts?

Martijn: Yeah, it was. I was kind of thinking that this time it would be better to do everything fragmented. So normally the old fashioned way of doing it, so to say, is that you write everything first and then you record and mix everything. And this time we kind of wrote a couple songs then recorded and mixed those and then went back and wrote more songs and recorded and mixed those. And an advantage of that is you are way more flexible. You can go back to your song, which is already mixed and tweaked things even, while in the old way of working, when everything is mixed, it’s done and there’s kind of no return. And that makes things way more flexible. It always makes it more inefficient in the process because you have to build down and build up drums over and over again, and in the studio, and record over and over again instead of in one go, but it also gives you more flexibility, and I think it really benefits the process very much.

Charlotte: It also becomes easier over the years to do it like this because the drums, well, the drums and the choirs on this album, but they’re one of the only things that really cannot be recorded at home, while earlier would also be studio time for vocals.

Martijn: Or guitars.

Charlotte: Yeah, exactly. So parts have become more efficient and parts have become less efficient, and it definitely gives a lot of freedom.

Martijn: Oh, also a nice note is for example, Charlotte did all her vocals, recorded them at home and she also edited most of them herself, and I think that’s also really cool that she can do that, and in general with technology you can do that nowadays. It also really helps. Yeah.

Charlotte: Yeah.

I understand that technology is very helpful. Are there any particular songs that were more challenging for you guys to put together or for you, Charlotte, any particular tracks that challenged your vocal range?

Charlotte: Quite a few of them are. But I kind of enjoyed the challenge of going to new heights or going to a more distorted sounds like the grunt parts on “Burning Bridges” on this record. I have to kind of keep myself aware of the fact that I will have to reproduce this on stage at one point. Usually during the writing process and the recording process, I just see how far I can go and certainly have to keep in mind to throw in some lines that are easier to sing as well, just to be able to make the live shows not as exhausting. Fortunately, we also have an instrumental track on this records. So that helps.

What was the experience like for creating the video for “Burning Bridges?”

Martijn: That was a great experience. We went to Snowdonia in Wales, it’s beautiful there and the company we have really good cooperation with, and you know, we like it when we don’t get scripts thrown at us and we have to choose from that, but that you develop a script together with those video producers, so to say, and you ping pong back and forth with ideas. And I think it was very rewarding and we were also really happy with the results.

Can you talk more about what happened before your North American tour with the sudden visa delay for drummer Joey de Boer?

Charlotte: His visa had to get additional processing, and you know, we can maybe pinpoint some things that have caused this, but in all honesty, they have never said like, “Okay, it’s 100% this or that, that went wrong.” There was additional processing needed. I actually Googled on bands cancelling and tours canceled and people were not getting to do their tours and they all have the same story with the additional processing. Yeah. He couldn’t get the visa in time for the first half of the tour, but he was able to join us halfway and Jan [Rechberger] from Amorphis was gracious enough to perform double duty on the first half of the tour. That must’ve been such a workout every night for him. But yeah, he helped us out there.

It’s awesome that Joey was able to make it for the end of the tour.

Martijn: Yes. The second half actually. So he still did 12 or 13 shows if I’m correct. And we had I think 27 in total, so he did half of them. We were at least lucky with that. So yeah.

Charlotte: It was kind of a rollercoaster because when he did finally get his visa, we were not in the US anymore, but in Canada, and then it turned out he also had to get a Canada visa, which he didn’t have. So that was a stressful moment. And then when he finally hopped on the plane, he’s stranded in Reykjavik because the weather was too bad to fly. So his flight was delayed another day, which was stressful, and then he got a hotel, but there weren’t enough hotel rooms. He had to spend the night with a stranger. And it was quite a challenge to get him back on the bus. But he made it. And that’s the bottom line.

That shows Joey’s devotion to the band and fans. That’s insane what he had to go through, it sounds like an apocalyptic experience.

Charlotte: Yeah. I wouldn’t want to be an issue.

I was at the New York show and you mentioned to the crowd how you guys never had these visa issues before since you seem to always tour in the States. And has the overall visa process changed for you guys within the last few years to tour out here?

Martijn: Actually, it didn’t. The process is the same, but how it’s digested by authorities maybe a little bit more difficult or something. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. And also I think in America the culture is very procedural. You know, procedures are very important and it has its advantages but it also has its disadvantages because it makes the process more inflexible.

Charlotte: One thing is that this year, for the first time, I don’t know if I thought it was the first time, but correct me if I’m wrong, Martijn, this year, you also have to fill in all your social media accounts?

Martijn: No, because I didn’t. No, you could ignore that.

Charlotte: Really?

Martijn: Yeah.

Charlotte: Okay, but this was the first time they asked for it, I think?

Martijn: Yeah, but you can say no, and I did.

Charlotte: Yeah, I didn’t know that.

Martijn: I ignored it and that worked just fine. Of course, Joey also didn’t fill out, he also made a mistake filling something out, but it was such a small mistake and he wanted to rectify it and it wasn’t possible. And that’s where it started.

Martijn: But that’s a ridiculous reason to make this a problem, you know? Just, “Hey, I filled out something wrong, can I redo it?” And they say, “Yes, you can.” And then you do that and then, “Yeah, but we need two additional processes for a month longer.” And yeah, that’s kind of ridiculous. But yeah, it’s what it is. And yeah, we survived, so to say.

The US audience are very thankful for what you guys have to do now to book a tour out here and go through the extensive processing just to perform live. It’s very much appreciated.

Martijn: Well, thank you very much. Yeah.

Charlotte: Awesome.

Is there anything else that you want to say or add about the album?

Charlotte: Well, I do hope that people will enjoy Apocalypse & Chill. We thank the audience for taking the time to pick up the albuml and for the continued support that we’ve experienced from the US over the years. It’s, you know, one of the countries that we toured the most these days, and yeah, so much, thanks for the support and we just hope that they enjoy the new album.

Martijn: I completely concur. American crowds are always very enthusiastic. They’re very supportive and I think that’s one of the reasons that makes it very enjoyable to do a show for such a crowd. So I’m very grateful. And in general, I love the States anyway, my partner is from the States. We’re going to get married next month in Vegas, so I love to be in America.

Congratulations.

Martijn: Thank you very much.

Vegas is awesome, so that’s going to be an insane wedding.

Martijn: Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

#Delain #Charlotte Wessels #Martijn Westerholt #2020 interviews

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nuts-cracker-pn · 6 years

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I’m calling this thing a ficleton

Well.....eh...I’m sorry. This chapter was no pleasant to write, But it happened.

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4a part 4b

BLURRED TENDERNESS -PART 5

Armie comes back to the table after finishing his cig with the other guest at the porch of the restaurant. Thankfully he didn’t take too long there or else…

oh wait, there’s a long face. He still doesn’t know who among his family and friends is capable to detect it but he does, he knows those brows so well. Even if she’s smiling he knows when Elizabeth is upset. He will get to that later, cause now his mind is occupied with the fact that he needs to set a plan of steps to follow on friday and saturday in Toronto. Having more freedom of movement since he goes alone is the perfect opportunity to gain the lost ground, talk nice and slow, put feelings on clear, even if that does not mean he can do whatever the fuck he wants. ‘No, you can’t Armie’

He’s very aware of the especulations, the expectations, Tiff’s early insistence on his attendance. He can’t care less. This is his new and only chance.

Is the dinner downfall now, everybody having their own little one on one chat ,Liz went to the toilet, so he idly scrolls on his phone and gets to his hidden file. There’s a snapchat. He closes it startled when the guest seated by his side puts his phone in front of his face for him to see what’s in the screen. ‘Oh shit’ It’s a loop video. It’s Timmy’s appearance at the theater, more exactly his funny exit and interaction with him. And the internet is going crazy. Not that he didn’t suspect it would be a possible effect , but he looks at it for more than it should be razonable. He looks then at the guy -the same who were smoking with him outside, and the husband of one of Liz’s friends. They are not that close but the guy gives him a sympathetic glance. Armie does not know how to respond to that, but what he does know now is that the night will not end well.

When Liz comes back is Armie’s father who starts the goodbyes.

On the car ride back to the apartment their friends kept the charade pretty well.

The babysitter was asleep with the kids in the big chaise lounge and Armie carries them to their beds while Liz talk to the woman. When Armie comes back Liz is already in their bedroom taking off his clothes and organizing things.

“Look I bought this white shirt.”

“Nice”

Armie didn’t pays too much attention to the item.

“Armand.”

He looks at her.

“It’s for your suit. Thursday night.”

He frowns.

“Cartier.” She puts both hands on her waist.

“Ah ok"

“It doesn’t match with the grey one, better with the blue one ok? grey is too casual. You can wear it in Toronto too.”

“ Oh… I thought you didn’t like I repeat outfits at events in a week…”

“ As if you ever consent with my outfits”

“Deciding there then." He is already in his briefs to take a shower. He has the caution to grab his phone and hurries to open the snap. He also has the caution to always have a Google page opened -with any of those random themes he likes- for a cover.

He almost has a heart attack after reading Timmy’s snaps. This thrilling danger coming back again is giving him all kinds of mixing feelings. He’s not sure about anything anymore. The first time could be a confusion. Not a second.

He almost wants to take a screenshot but that would get notified and now he’s thinking of giving him as good as he got right? His butt hurt pride is showing again but this time is for a good cause. Will the boy anticipates? He needs to know.

ProfessorO: Really? I don’t know...Let’s see… 😏

He closes the thing as he gets up from the toilet seat and enters the shower plate.

Couple of minutes later Liz is all over him. Well it’s not as if he wasn’t already a little horny thinking about possibilities.

“I thought you were upset"

“Why should I babe?”

He’s observing her face while wrapping his arms around her.

“Fandom”

“We know how fandoms work right?” She plants a kiss on his lips.

“Anyways, did he tell you before going?”

“Nope"

“Well that’s strange. I mean all this latest isolation. Perhaps he’s heartbroken?”

‘Not now please’ “Don’t know, he didn’t say anything.”

“Poor kid" and she proceeds to spread the luxurious bath mousse in her hands to rub on his husband’s body.

He needs to concentrate on this

“Is this new?”

“Yes , I bought it today. It has japanese oils.“ She puts a hand’s palm on his nose so he can smell. He lets the smell invade his senses and erase everything.

“So…...Where do you want to try it?”

--------WatchThisAuthorWhistling 🌬 ------

Wednesday , September 5 11am

Timmy is staring absentmindedly at the screenshot he did took from Armie’s last night snapchat. He’s having a delicious breakfast,consisting in a chestnut milkshake with some increíbles croissants filled with selected pâtés, in a fancy deli, waiting for a meeting with some producer.

‘What the fuck did he means?’

Ok, he admits he’s been away for a while -he has a good reason but telling Armie now is not a good idea. First he needs to fathom this feeling he has for the man and still doesn’t know how to do it.

They could be friends -still not the kind that know each other very well and trust each other completely as to tell each other their deepest secrets.

They could be lovers -very hidden ones, for now, that is if that status could be changed at all someday.

Or they could be nothing.

Is that even possible now? There’s a sequel to film in a future that seems to be closer than he thought. What nobody knows is he made a visit to Italy before his return to New York, and Luca invited him to his new home in Milan right before going to Venice. Of course he cooked some holly dish of his personal recipe book for his caro bambino. They talked a lot, about the sequel too, and after returning home he gained some advice : “You both need time, Timo. For differents reasons. I really want you to take that time.”

For some reason he already knew this but the moment he learned at that dinner that Elizabeth won’t go to Toronto he started to stumble over his own resolution.

The truth is he won’t be ‘hanging out with the cast’. The cast will arrive Thursday night at different hours. He wanted to have a day alone there so he can readapt all the places in his last mémoires to the new scenario without Armie, Luca and everything “cmbyn”.

He planned this afternoon flight so he can do some shopping and walking around after landing at the Pearson airport . And so he does.

He heads to the Eaton Center after arranging with the staff his accomodation in the hotel room. He’s kind of changing his look, or the way he sees himself… Definitely tired of being seen as a “boy”, that is. This lil mustache & goatee will remain for the time being. ‘This hair has grown a little too.’ Looking at his head in the mirror of a store, he thinks about how he hated that bowlcut at first but now he’s finding new ways of ‘wearing it’.

Thursday morning he’s sorting out some casual outfits from the shopping bags in his room. He actually have some free stuff from brands. He loves this lilac t-shirt and he bought a similar design in white, but with an add touch of ‘risque’... ‘This is too much Timothée’ He smirks at himself. Where is he going with that thing he doesn’t know. He goes down for breakfast before heading to the atelier where his suit is going to be fitted.

-----Later in New York---

Armie doesn’t want to go to this Cartier event, but Liz is acting strange since that Tuesday night. Today she was all the time on her phone, making calls by the window-balcony. She surprisingly cheers him up before he went to the play… He finally dress himself in the car, yeah , with the blue suit, the white shit, and the mustard shoes. Later he finds out she looks quite stunning with that red dress,and cheerful, and funny, and flirty….’What the fuck is going on.’ He tries to engage in conversations with some fellows actors so the night will pass lightly. When they are returning home in the car Liz is quite tipsy, and smoochy, and touchy with his thigh. “Hon, I’m pretty horny.” She says in his ear.

Ok, he should have drunk a little more too. Thankfully he has plenty of vodka at home. After all his flight is at 2:30pm.

Friday morning Armie wakes up by the noise of suitcases, phone calls, kids yelling. He gets off the bed and looks at the clock in his phone. 11:am.

Entering the living room he sees all the suitcases there prepared, Liz is already dressed, and the nanny is preparing something in the kitchen.

“ Come on, get dressed. I need to get there to confirm my flight.”

“ Wait, what time was your flight?”

“Is. Same as yours. We are going together, hon” She kisses his cheeks.

Armie turns his head from the fridge and ends, at last, to open his sleepy eyes.

“What..?”

------------------I’M SORRY---------

P.D. next will be better I promise. 😞

@isitandwonder @larawashere @maraskolnikova @ohana @seconddayofsummer @babyboytimmy @pucomano @ladyblakeney25 @whatitis-inside @lovetheawesomeness @xiavttini @mjquintas @ellibellybutton @debmont8686 @imapplemint @peachlovercmbyn @lemmefangirl @morna-1 @buddhaoffice @lovingyou4ever2018 @lenore1126

Thanks for reading, liking, rebloguing, commenting.( sorry for the tags that don't work

#charmie reunion #ficlet #blurry tenderness #armie x timmy #this was hard to write #the mood is gloom lately #hopefully i will cheer up with next chapter #charmie

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sunilvethody · 3 years

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Sunil Vethody - Big Data: Should we love or hate it?

Hi Everyone!

I missed to write and share some thoughts from here so much! I hope you missed to read from here, too :) What really motivated to write here after a long time is an article at here by Dr. Timo Hannay. I would like to thank him from here for his motivation and inspiration.

If you have already clicked the link and caught a glimpse of his opinion, it is a mixture of high level ideas and facts about the relation of big data and science. While he explains what really is going on with the size of the data, he also mentions the aspects of the challenges to approach to the big data. After reading this article, I started to question to myself about my understanding of the big data: is it an opportunity or a trouble for us? Is it a good and useful to have that much information? What are the possible outcomes dealing with that much of data?… :)

I wanted to share some of my findings and comments about the big data as follows:

I really encourage and support the usage of big data and also the investment for that, because this decreases the lack of information for the problems we interest. In other words, I completely agree Timo Hannay’s subtitle that says “Information is Power”. How much we know about the system, that much we have a better understanding of the system. It reminds me the determinism principle; if you have perfect information, then there is no probability. Thus, if big data can take us closer to the perfect information about the system, we can state the clear conclusion about what will happen. That is, of course, under the assumption that the data we have involves minimal to none noise.

I believe that more than the big data itself, the real problem lies on our approach to handle big data. Even if we can partition the data and find solutions to our problems fast enough, the big picture always a combination of a massive amount of data, which can be always used in a better way. It is difficult to predict which approaches can work better before we actually involve with the data. We can also add noise reduction problems into the picture. Pre-processing and elimination of incorrect information are itself another big problems, that actually sounds exciting to us.

To sum up, I love and support the ongoing research and interest on big data. I enjoy to hear any news related to big data studies, up to date information and opinions about them. Even if this is not my core research topic in near future, I strongly believe that we will have many problems originated from big data studies that will eventually open new perspectives to all of us.

I would like to hear your opinions. What do you think about big data fever? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of it?

Source:- https://orcomplete.com/discussion/pelindcay/big-data-should-we-love-or-hate-it

#Sunil Vethody #Sunil Vethody San Jose

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classyfoxdestiny · 3 years

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Premier League predictions 2021-22: BBC Sport pundits pick their top four

Defending champions Manchester City have won the Premier League in three of the past four seasons – but can anyone stop them this time?

Manchester United were City’s nearest rivals last time out but finished 12 points back and have still not sustained a serious title bid since they were last champions in 2013.

Will United challenge for top spot until the end in 2021-22? How will Liverpool respond after their title defence imploded at the start of the year? Can Chelsea be contenders again domestically after conquering Europe? And will Leicester, Arsenal, Tottenham or anyone else break into the Champions League places?

We asked 20 BBC TV and radio pundits to pick their top four, with explanations for their selections.

Alan Shearer Chelsea Man City Man Utd Liverpool Fara Williams Chelsea Man City Man Utd Liverpool Sue Smith Chelsea Man City Man Utd Liverpool Chris Sutton Chelsea Man City Liverpool Man Utd Rachel Brown-Finnis Chelsea Man City Liverpool Man Utd Matthew Upson Chelsea Man City Liverpool Man Utd Rob Green Chelsea Liverpool Man City Man Utd Martin Keown Man City Chelsea Liverpool Man Utd Micah Richards Man City Chelsea Liverpool Man Utd Stephen Warnock Man City Chelsea Liverpool Man Utd Danny Murphy Man City Liverpool Chelsea Man Utd Mark Lawrenson Man City Liverpool Chelsea Man Utd Ashley Williams Man City Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Clinton Morrison Man City Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Michael Brown Man City Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Pat Nevin Man City Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Leon Osman Man City Chelsea Man Utd Liverpool Nedum Onuoha Man City Man Utd Liverpool Chelsea Lindsay Johnson Man City Man Utd Chelsea Liverpool Jermaine Beckford Man City Chelsea Man Utd Leicester

Five teams feature in the forecasted top fours, but only City, United and Chelsea feature in all 20.

In terms of who will win it, City are favourites, with 13 votes. Chelsea get seven, while the highest anyone thinks United or Liverpool will finish is second. The overall predicted ranking gives a similar outcome.

1. Man City 2. Chelsea 3. Man Utd 4. Liverpool 5. Leicester 72 pts 62 pts 33 pts 32 pts 1 pt

(using system of 4 pts for a 1st place, 3 pts for 2nd, 2 pts for 3rd and 1 pt for 4th)

Which transfer would affect three pundits’ title predictions?

The predictions were made on Thursday, 12 August, with just under three weeks to go before the transfer window closes on Tuesday, 31 August.

Alan Shearer: Some major signings have already happened, but there are more to come that will affect the title race. I’m expecting it to be much tighter at the top than last time, with four teams in with a chance of being champions, not just City and Chelsea.

Alan Shearer joins Ian Wright and Gary Lineker on Match of the Day this Saturday at 22:20 BST on BBC One and the BBC Sport website for highlights of seven Premier League games.

Chris Sutton: If Harry Kane goes to Manchester City, then he is the perfect fit for them and I would fancy them. If he doesn’t, I think Chelsea will nick it, because they are getting Romelu Lukaku. I don’t think City will win the title without signing a centre-forward. I know they won it last season largely playing without one, which was remarkable. I don’t see it happening again.

Matthew Upson: As things stand, I’d back Chelsea. It looks as if Lukaku is definitely going there, while things are very different with City and Kane – who knows if that will happen? It’s a big ask for them to win the league again without a new striker but, if they do get Kane, that turns that problem position into a massive positive – and I’d change my prediction.

Sue Smith: Chelsea will have massive confidence from winning the Champions League but if City can get Kane, then I’d put them on top instead.

Guardiola was a ‘massive factor’ in Grealish joining Man City

Pat Nevin: City have already added Jack Grealish, who is exactly the right player for them and there is the possibility of Kane, who is perfect too because he is so creative and adaptable. Arguably he’s the player that Pep tried to turn Sergio Aguero into, and I can’t think of many strikers so well suited to City’s style.

If they get him, they are big favourites. If they don’t, they are just marginal favourites.

Man City – ‘A team of Galacticos’

This is the sixth season running where Manchester City have featured in everyone’s forecasted top four. It’s also the fourth successive year where no-one thinks they will finish below second.

Micah Richards: It’s tougher than ever to call it this season but I am still going to say City, even if they don’t get Kane. John Stones has signed a new deal and, with him and Ruben Dias, the defence is sorted. When you look at their options in midfield and going forward, it’s just not fair on the other teams and, with the form that Raheem Sterling was in at the Euros, they still have to be favourites.

Micah Richards and Dion Dublin are the guests on Football Focus on BBC One and the BBC Sport website at 12:00 BST on Saturday.

Danny Murphy: My gut feeling is that City are going to be really difficult to knock off their perch. They and Liverpool will just about have the edge on everyone but not by much – the top four will be really tight.

Nedum Onuoha: I look at how good City were defensively last season and think they will be strong enough to win the title again. But I think this year will be the first time in a while where there will be more than two teams in with a shout at the very end. City have made an excellent signing in Grealish but their rivals have strengthened well too.

Jermaine Beckford: They are so powerful. Stones and Dias have formed a brilliant relationship and City don’t really have a weakness any more.

Michael Brown: My only doubt is if they don’t get Kane, or another striker.

Ashley Williams: City are the best team and squad in the league. They have added Grealish and if they get Kane then the title is done. Even without Kane, or another top-class striker, as a team they have got goals everywhere and their style of play doesn’t need a recognised centre-forward. I’m expecting a more productive season from Sterling too.

Martin Keown: What I am really excited about is seeing how Grealish will play under Guardiola, after seeing the effect Pep has had on Sterling and Phil Foden already. Now we have another talented English player in his hands, and Grealish has a team of Galacticos around him.

Chelsea – ‘The depth in their squad is scary’

Last season, no-one thought Chelsea would win the title and only two out of 25 pundits thought they would make the top two. This time, seven out of 20 pundits think they will be champions and 80% think they will make the top two.

Pat Nevin: I’ve been at all their pre-season games and have looked at the depth they have got in their squad and it is actually scary – and that’s before Lukaku has arrived. If you add him on top of Kai Havertz, who could be, certainly over the next few years, one of the great players in the world, and look all the way through their squad, then they have got so much quality.

Fara Williams: We saw the impact Thomas Tuchel made in the second half of last season and how hard Chelsea are to beat. Lukaku’s goals will turn a lot of draws into wins.

Rob Green: Their squad is stronger than everyone else’s, even City. Then you add Lukaku, who will bring the best out of everyone else.

Martin Keown: Lukaku is a player you have to keep hungry so I think this is the perfect move for him, going back to a club where he has something to prove.

Ashley Williams: Chelsea made big improvements last season and I think they will be better again. I played with Lukaku at Everton so I know him quite well – his goal record for us was incredible but having seen him play for Inter Milan and Belgium, he’s even better now. It’s as if he has recognised his own ability and strengths more than he did before, and he knows when and where to use them. I still speak to him a lot and he has worked hard on his game – it’s mentally where he has got stronger, because he has always been a beast physically.

Ashley Williams joins Dion Dublin and Jason Mohammad on Final Score on Saturday, from 14:30 BST on the red button and the BBC Sport website and from 16:00 on BBC One.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel celebrates winning the Champions League with his family

Stephen Warnock: Tactically, they are so well organised under Tuchel, and it looks a happy camp too. He has created the perfect environment of having the authority that means no-one steps out of line, but the players like him too.

Michael Brown: They have got the belief now too, which is massive. They have gone from wondering ‘where will we finish?’ to thinking ‘we’ve got every chance’. They will be right in the mix.

Rachel Brown-Finnis: Tuchel consolidated at first and made them difficult to break down, now he is adding more firepower as well. If Lukaku clicks with their creative players, they will just be awesome but I just feel they will have the edge because of how hard they have been to beat.

Chris Sutton: Tuchel has not just sorted them out defensively, he has added a really nice balance to their team. Timo Werner will benefit from his first year in England, and Havertz also came into form at the end of the season. If there was a criticism of Chelsea last time, it was that they possibly weren’t ruthless enough but with Lukaku they will have a guy in who is an absolute glutton for goals.

Jadon Sancho joins an already fearsome United attacking line-up for the new season. Also in their squad are (left to right) Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani

Man Utd – Will Sancho give them the ‘X-factor’?

Last season, 24 out of 25 pundits thought they would make the top four although 17 of the votes they received placed them in fourth. This time, 100% think they will finish in the top four and 11 out of 20 think they will finish third or higher, although only two people have backed them to finish second.

Chris Sutton: United missed a great opportunity to win the Europa League last season, which would have taken the pressure off Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by ending his wait for a trophy. They still had a good season but there is something missing – they have to show greater consistency and be able to take the game to the opposition. The other three top teams have a better balance about them but maybe Jadon Sancho will give them that X-factor.

Nedum Onuoha: If Sancho’s game can translate to the Premier League, then that is a huge coup for United. I can’t wait to see how he gets on.

Micah Richards: United have shown that they can beat anyone but they seem to have too many off-days over the course of the season and for me they are a couple of players short of being a title-winning side – including a centre-forward. Edinson Cavani is 34 and at the stage of his career where he needs looking after. He can’t play every week and they don’t have another striker like him.

Pat Nevin: It feels like Manchester United have been trying to sort out that centre-back position forever and, finally, by getting Raphael Varane in alongside Harry Maguire it looks right. I suspect it will turn out that way too, but let’s hold fire slightly to see – Varane was always lightning quick when he was younger but I have watched him a few times recently and wondered if he had lost half a yard of pace. I will only find out by watching him in the Premier League.

Matthew Upson: There is a lot of guesswork involved here until the season starts but Varane looks a really good signing, and one they needed to make. He and Harry Maguire are a world-class pairing at the back and that is going to make a huge difference for them.

Ashley Williams: You can’t ask for more from a centre-half partnership. My only question is whether Varane hits the ground running or does he need time to settle in. I’ve never played in La Liga so I am not saying there are easy games there but in the Premier League you are tested even by the poorer teams, and in different ways. Varane is vastly experienced but I’m not sure he will have come up against many teams like Burnley who have really physical strikers such as Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes. It doesn’t sound glamorous but they make your life difficult for 90 minutes. He has won everything there is to win, though, so I am sure he will cope with that.

Stephen Warnock: I see it as a four-horse race this year but the only difference between United and the other three is with their manager – I don’t think Solskjaer is the man to win the title. He’s done well tactically in some games but there have been times when something is not quite right and if you had given United’s squad to Jurgen Klopp, Guardiola or Tuchel last season, I think they all would have won the league. I am not sure he is the right man to take United to the next level.

Martin Keown: I have United down as finishing fourth but this title race is as open as it will ever be. They have made two brilliant signings, and they mean business. I am only picking this order because I have been asked to – and if they were to win it, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Liverpool’s only signing so far this summer saw France centre-back Ibrahima Konate join for £36m from RB Leipzig

Liverpool – A strong team but how deep is their squad?

Last season, 52% of the BBC pundits thought Liverpool would defend their title, while 21 out of 25 thought they would finish in the top two. This season, no-one thinks they will be champions, and only three out of 20 think they will make the top two.

Mark Lawrenson: A big factor for Liverpool is hunger after what happened last season. Yes, they had a lot of injuries but by their high standards it was a poor campaign – so they have a point to prove, especially in front of their fans at Anfield where they had such a poor run at the start of the year.

Danny Murphy: It is hugely important that Liverpool get Jordan Henderson’s contract situation sorted out. They have already lost Georginio Wijnaldum, who has been under-rated for the past few years. I do expect Henderson to stay, because he has been so pivotal to their success, but they need to put those concerns to bed quickly. Losing both now would be unthinkable.

Danny Murphy joins Ashley Williams and Mark Chapman for MOTD2 this Sunday at 22:30 BST on BBC One and the BBC Sport website for highlights of Newcastle v West Ham and Tottenham v Manchester City.

Georginio Wijnaldum left Liverpool in June and signed for Paris St-Germain on a free transfer. “He is seriously under-rated,” says Danny Murphy. “He is brilliant defensively but great on the ball too and he doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is technically.”

Stephen Warnock: They are still a very strong team and I just think the style of football will be back to what it was a couple of years ago, with the team playing that high press again. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah look fresh after a break over the summer but it is a concern what happens when they both go to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

Martin Keown: I know people are saying they haven’t really bought but there was nothing really wrong with Liverpool before their injury problems last season. I am backing Klopp to get back the perfection that was there in the two seasons before that, and they can challenge again, no doubt about it.

Pat Nevin: Liverpool still don’t look like they have a big enough squad to win the league, but then I’ve said that about them before. They have got Virgil van Dijk back now, which makes a massive difference, but I kind of think they need another serious striker.

Micah Richards: Diogo Jota did really well last season, and his injury came at a bad time for them. It might take a while for them to work out their best combination in attack, or what system to go with.

Chris Sutton: Ibrahima Konate looks like a decent defensive signing but the issue with Van Dijk is how fit is he? How has he been affected by being out for so long and the injury? We will find out.

Matthew Upson: It is hard to remember Liverpool at full throttle because they had such a disastrous time from the start of the year. Even though they have got Van Dijk fit, I had the same cruciate ligament injury and I’d say you are looking at several months from when he plays his first competitive game to him being back at his best. Joe Gomez is in the same boat really, and that’s the reason I have them down as third.

Rachel Brown-Finnis: I hope Van Dijk gets back to his best because he is such a wonderful player. They need him to perform individually but he also lifts the whole team. I don’t think it will happen for Liverpool without him, because of that knock-on effect. When they are in full swing, they are fantastic to watch.

Leicester – fighting it out with Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham for the top six?

Last season, Arsenal were the only other team to feature in the picks – two out of 25 pundits thought they would finish fourth or higher. This time, Leicester get a mention – but only one pundit thinks they will finish in the Champions League places.

Jermaine Beckford: I am going with Leicester to finish fourth. They are a breath of fresh air in terms of how much they invest in their squad compared to the teams who finished above them last season. They still spend some money of course, but they spend it so well. Their recruitment is absolutely brilliant, and I am a huge fan of the way Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers sets up his teams and gets everyone working hard together.

Ashley Williams: It’s going to be tough for anyone else to crack the top four, and I don’t think Arsenal or Spurs can do it. If anyone can wriggle in there, it is Leicester. They are a really good team and can beat any of the leading teams on their day but as they have already found out after finishing fifth twice, it is tough for them to sustain those standards for the whole season.

Martin Keown: Leicester will push again and they will definitely have a say in who will win the title. Arsenal and Spurs can too, but it still feels more like they are both in transition at the moment. There will be some pressure on Arsenal early on, because they have got some very difficult early fixtures against Chelsea and City in the first couple of weeks. I just want to see some more convincing performances from them, because I think we can see the club has tumbled down the league, and there are other clubs with more resources than them now. They need to be more competitive in games to get up the table, and they also need Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to have a smile back on his face.

Danny Murphy: If anyone might surprise a few people it’s Arsenal – they are not in Europe, and they have got some fantastic forward players. People forget that last season was the first in Aubameyang’s career where he didn’t score a bagful of goals, and nothing suggests to me that is going to continue. They have a tough start but their young players are going to keep getting better.

Pat Nevin: Just purely if you look at the finances and size and experience of squads, it is going to be very hard for anyone outside the top four to get up there again. After the top four, it is Arsenal, Spurs, Leicester, and maybe West Ham who will all basically be trying to be the best of the rest.

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tkmedia · 3 years

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Tuchel hints at Chelsea, Lukaku move after highlighting issue with current crop

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel refused to directly comment on the club’s reported pursuit of Romelu Lukaku, though hinted the Belgian would be a perfect fit when outlining what his current strikers lack.After the likelihood of signing Dortmund’s Erling Haaland continued to diminish, a potential deal for Lukaku has come under the microscope. A recent report indicated Inter would be willing to accept a deal of around £110m – should Chelsea lodge a bid of that size. Sky Sports then stated Lukaku had asked Inter to ‘accept a suitable Chelsea offer for him.’ With the Blues’ need for a clinical centre-forward great, the signs are all beginning to point toard a Lukaku return to Stamford Bridge. And after his side drew 2-2 with Tottenham in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday, Blues boss Tuchel was quizzed on the matter . “I will not talk about players who don’t play in my squad,” the German said. “He is a fantastic player but a player from Inter and with all due respect I will not talk about him. Not everybody but I can imagine a lot of players want to come and join but we don’t comment on that.”

However, with Oliver Giroud leaving for AC Milan, Chelsea are lacking a target man style striker in their squad. And when outlining the precise traits Chelsea now require from a striker, Tuchel described Lukaku to a tee. He added: “I think with the exit from Olivier Giroud from the type of players we could use a player used to playing with their back to goal. Whose strength is to keep possession from long balls, so we can add this direct style of play to our portfolio.

“This is the characteristic of player that is not Tammy (Abraham), Timo (Werner) or Kai (Havertz). So this is a profile we don’t have in the squad and could be useful but not for any cost and not hectic or in panic. “No matter what happens we will be competitive and have trust in our guys that we can still develop and that we have young players in the offensive part of the game who we demand that they need to improve. “We are relaxed and very well aware of our situation at the same time.” Where next for Man Utd’s exit-linked 10? Pogba, Martial, Lingard transfer chances rated

Lukaku deal would spark triple transfer

Meanwhile, Italian club Atalanta could be set to move for Tammy Abraham if Chelsea manage to seal a deal for Lukaku, according to a trusted source. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano recently tweeted ‘Chelsea are preparing a new official bid’ for Lukaku. And the transfer guru has added further information on Wednesday night. He believes that if Inter do lose Lukaku to Chelsea, they will swoop for Atalanta ace Duvan Zapata. The 30-year-old, himself linked to Chelsea in April, has scored goals for fun with La Dea. The Colombia international has bagged 66 from 130 outings and is on the radar of a number of clubs. Romano completed his transfer tweet by stating that Atalanta will try to sign Abraham if they lose Zapata. READ MORE: Chelsea defender pursuit stalls as major hurdle emerges in deal Read the full article

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tipsoctopus · 4 years

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"FSG need to sell", "Unbelievable", "Yikes" - David Maddock's update has lots of LFC fans fuming

With the restart of the Premier League still up in the air at the moment, one area of major concern for all sides is no doubt how things will impact the transfer window.

Clubs are set to lose big money over these coming weeks and months, and despite being the current league leaders, and the reigning Champions League holders too, Liverpool are seemingly not going to escape any financial consequences.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

According to The Daily Mirror’s Northern football correspondent, David Maddock, the Reds “now look virtually certain to do no transfer spending this summer” and that “they will look to cut their spending as much as possible in light of dramatically reduced incomes”.

Maddock further reveals how proposed moves for the likes of Timo Werner are now likely to be shelved as they adjust to the economic impact of the current climate.

After hearing the journalist’s update, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

the only annoying thing with this club is the transfers

— Jacob Elkins (@JacobBElkins) May 1, 2020

He just has to spoil the party

— Abubakar ali (@Abubaka94839749) May 1, 2020

100000% a negotiation tactic. Bouta snag this man for £25m

— mîtčhêll (from

) (@M_Brigden20) May 1, 2020

This is the perfect time to spend last season after the champions league win and especially after this season. Could regret this you strike while the iron is hot. Players want to join us more than they ever have.

— Aaron Jackson (@aaronjacko) May 1, 2020

Yikes we are gonna collapse with our 10 men squad. 4th place finish most likely.

—

(@nangnistal) May 1, 2020

If this is true we have truly messed up

, not asking for a new squad just a couple of players to add to it to strengthen us because let’s be honest our bench is poor

— Mike Newell (@MikeNew1106) May 2, 2020

Unbelievable

— Aaron doherty (@aarondoc971) May 2, 2020

Some Liverpool fans took aim at FSG over the report, and seemed to be stunned that the club would not be looking to strengthen this summer.

I’ll be even more #FSGOut if this happens

— Matt (@LFCxMatt) May 1, 2020

The owners must have been overjoyed at having a new excuse to spend no money this summer

— Ben (@Beninho_10) May 1, 2020

#LFC @LFC Considering our lack of spending and the incredible amount of success we’ve had on and off the pitch the last 3years this is embarrassing

We can more than afford these players and to suggest we can’t is yet another insult to the fanbase!! FSG need to sell.

— Makaveli (@Marklfc10Mark) May 1, 2020

That’s another summer of no spending by FSG, appreciate the climate makes it difficult but feeling like we need to upgrade our owners.

— Van The Man (@DavidVaughan5) May 2, 2020

So any dreams of Werner wearing Liverpool colours for next season seem to be dead in the water now.

Even despite being in the incredible footballing position Liverpool are in, even the Reds realise the need to be shrewd and smart about their business in the transfer market.

So whilst there may not be any big-money signings, that can only be a good thing for their long-term future.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/3dc7eLq via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/3fcuf2x via IFTTT

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m-myrtus · 7 years

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Project "Rename Hetalia's characters"

Hello everyone! Let’s talk about it: one of the most annoying issues about Hetalia are *drum roll* the NAMES, people. Characters’ names/surnames, yes. So, with my friend, I wanted to give them a more “realistic” trait, starting with my nation’s one, Italy. I tried to change ONLY canon names, not those who are not decided yet (such as Belgium’s or Ukraine’s, for example). Some of them remained unchanged, because of specific reasons, but I would be glad if all of you could help me with your home country. Let’s begin!

N.Italy= Francesco Vargas (Francesco is a common name in Italy, also is our St. Patron’s name. As an italian, I’ve never head before of “Feliciano”);

S.Italy= Salvatore Vargas (Salvatore is a typical southern name, very common in South Italy. Also here, Lovino is not an italian name.)

I left the same surname chosen by Himaruya just because “Vargas” is an existent italian surname. (If you want to know, it’s actually the name of a football player);

Germany= Ludwig Schmidt (Only changed the surname here, I think Schmidt is more common in Germany and its sound is similar to the original surname’s one);

Japan= Daisuke Honda (Kiku is a symbolic name, really beautiful and rare, but I’ve thought to give Japan a common name. Honda is a famous japanese surname, nothing to say about it);

USA= George F. Jones (The surname isperfect as it is, I guess. George is for George Washington and F. stays for the same Kennedy’s second name );

UK= Arthur Thompson (I was insecure about his name. At the first time I thought about bames as “Oliver”, because of his popularity and because of Oliver Twist, or “John”. But then I realised that Arthur is good and symbolic as well. So, I’ve changed the surname. Kirkland was pretty anonymous and I wanted something that could have sounded more british);

France= François Bonnefoy (Only transformed Francis, which was the english version of the name, in François, very used and “french”);

Russia= Ivan Vasilyev (Braginski was a polish surname! I’ve chosen something that still sounded like “Braginski”, but at the same time was a real russian surname);

China= Yao Wang (I didn’t found anything to change here);

Spain= Antonio Fernandez García; (Antonio was good, also Fernandez is popular. I’ve only removed Carriedo in order to replace it with García, which is largely used in Spain/countries with a spanish toungue);

Prussia= Gilbert Schmidt (Gilbert was perfect, only changed the family name);

Austria= Roderich Amadeus Wagner (Roderich was ok. I’ve added “Amadeus”, because of Mozart and changed the surname in “Wagner”, still a composer’s name. The combination of this three names gives me some sort of nobility impression);

Hungary= Ágnès Horváth (Totally renamed her. Ágnès is not only cute, but also a bit used, I guess. I found Horváth to be one of the commonest surnames in Hungary);

Canada= Matthew Williams (I don’t see nothing wrong here, maybe it has to be something francophone in there?);

Belarus= Natałlia Arłoŭskaja (Leave it as it was; but changed the way it was written);

Egypt= Muhammad Hassan Al-Nur; (Okay, Muhammad and Hassan are very popular among arabics names, in fact I just leave them to be. But, I found out that Gupta was an Indian surname and also the letter “p” kinda don’t exist in arabic. Soooo I’ve made a list of some cute surname and, at last, Al-Nur won among the others);

Estonia= Eduard Tamm (Tamm is pretty common);

Finland= Timo Hämäläinen (Tino actually wasn’t a finnish name, but TiMo yes. Hämäläinen is rather common and it’s a good alternative to Väinämöinen, that is not a real surname);

Greece= Αlexandros Ypsilanti; (Alexandros is a good, widespread and elegant name. Alexandros Ypsilanti, is also a national hero’s name, during the greek war of indipendence);

Latvia= Raivis Liepa; (Raivis was an actual latvian name, so why don’t keep it? Only the surname changed, Galante was an italian one);

Lithuania= Laurynas Valaitis (I’ve changed everything here, in order to make it realistic, but also to make it sound like “Toris Laurinaitis” as well);

Poland= Feliks Łukasiewicz (It is just normal as it is);

Sealand= Peter Thompson (Only changed his family name);

S.Korea= Kim Yong Soo (Just as it was before);

Sweden= Gustav Lindström (Gustav was the name of many swedish kings. Lindström is commonly used, I think.)

Switzerland= Noah Schweizer (Noah is commonly used in all the cantons, the surname has a german sound);

Turkey= Sadık Adnan (Almost the same. The name is written in turkish)

IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY/ADD/ERASE/CORRECT PLEASE, YOU’RE WELCOME! I’D LOVE YOUR HELP. DISCLAIMER! The post will be updated every time if needed.

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crystalracing · 5 years

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As Formula 1 continues its relentless progress into pioneering technology, it's refreshing when a real throwback enters the fray. The little HRT team that ran aground in 2012 was most definitely one of them; staging a full F1 season on a €46million budget, F1's first Spanish team was a modern homage to the mass of tiny outfits battling for a space on the grid in the late 1980s and early '90s.

After three years of toil with little reward, it met a similar fate to the likes of Simtek, Pacific and Forti when its owner Thesan Capital was unable to sell the team.

Triggered by the collapse of Lola's F1 dream in 1997, the FIA had tightened up the entry requirements to join F1, requiring any entries seeking to join at the turn of the new millennium to pay a bond of $48m, later repaid in instalments, to demonstrate financial security. This virtually priced all except manufacturer teams out of the market and, in the immediate years after, only Toyota emerged from scratch, as the large start-up costs put off even the largest marques from lodging new entries, instead electing to take over existing outfits.

In 2008 and '09, the global financial meltdown and ensuing exodus of manufacturer teams gave F1 and the FIA the job of replenishing its dwindling grid, amid the unfulfilled promise of a cost cap. Of the four teams admitted, Lotus Racing and the Manor-run Virgin Racing squads made it, US F1 was a stillborn project, while Campos Racing's entry went through a difficult birth and ultimately ended up with adoptive parents.

From the very beginning, the team toiled with financial pressures. Having budgeted for the cost cap, owner Adrian Campos's dream looked dead in the water, but a last-minute reprieve by Jose Ramon Carabante's Hispania Group provided the impetus to make the grid for the Bahrain 2010 season-opener - just, in the case of Karun Chandhok's hastily assembled machine - with ex-Midland chief Colin Kolles drafted in to run the day-to-day operations.

Although its Dallara-built chassis were underdeveloped and lacking pace, the team managed to avoid the wooden spoon at the end of its first two seasons, beating the Manor-Virgin outfit to 11th in the constructors' standings in both years.

Midway through 2011, Carabante sold up to Madrid-based investment company Thesan, which came in with the goal to drive HRT up the order while demonstrating a clear Spanish identity. Relying on Kolles's personnel to go racing, Thesan gave the Romanian his marching orders and went on a recruitment drive to bring more elements in-house. Ex-Minardi driver Luis Perez-Sala took up the reins as team principal, while the team moved its headquarters from Murcia to a new facility in Madrid.

How to build a budget F1 car

On the driving front in 2012, Narain Karthikeyan was re-signed for a second year having been benched mid-season to allow Red Bull to blood Daniel Ricciardo, while the experienced Pedro de la Rosa was signed to lead the team, bringing a wealth of knowledge from testing duties with McLaren and Pirelli to develop the car and boost the team's commercial presence.

"I learned a lot from the management side and how complex an F1 team could be," recalls de la Rosa, who now works as a sporting and technical advisor to DS Techeetah in Formula E. "I was not just focusing on racing, because there were many other things I had to help with; I had to try to look for sponsorship, and there was also the fact that we moved the team to Madrid, which I also had to help with.

"I remember the first time people asked me why I was going to HRT, and there were two reasons. The first was to continue racing, and the second was that it was a Spanish Formula 1 team. That was unique, [and if] I didn't help establish it then it might not happen again. I knew exactly where I was going and the difficulties we would be facing. I knew that it was going to be hell, but it was hell with a group of very committed people."

The F112 was hardly a significant departure from its predecessors, although some time had been spent in the vehicle dynamics lab to understand the F111's chronic lack of grip. Nonetheless, it was late in arriving - HRT attended pre-season testing with the old car, as the new design failed the roll-hoop and lateral nose crash tests needed to run.

It was another difficult birth for the team, and the long-awaited F112 finally made its on-track debut in a Barcelona shakedown. Dressed in a white, burgundy and gold livery, HRT's new chariot was a very conservative, functional design with little in the way of innovation. This was hardly surprising given its diverse roots, having been outsourced across Europe.

The design, development and construction had been produced by Munich-based Holzer, and the chassis was put together by UK-based Formtech Composites. Stress-analysis simulations were carried out in Portugal, leaving HRT's new technical chief Toni Cuquerella to tie everything together from various European industrial parks. It was far from ideal to lift the team off the back of the grid.

Avoiding the aesthetically challenged stepped noses of the time - a result of the FIA's lowering of the front crash structures - the car looked a lot more clean-cut than some of its counterparts, but just overwhelmingly basic in comparison.

In particular, the front wing seemed to have changed very little. In 2012, the complexity of the designs began to increase as aerodynamicists started to explore the realm of element curvature and vortex tunnels. Conversely, HRT's wing featured a trio of slats, still rooted in designs akin to those seen in '09 and looking rather utilitarian against the competition.

There was also performance left on the table through packaging, most noticeably at the rear end. Most teams had emerged from the 2011-12 off-season with a pronounced Coke-bottle effect at the back as the sidepods tapered in around the rear wheels. Even with a Williams-produced gearbox on board, which was kept as small as possible for the FW34's tight rear packaging, HRT's geometry was considerably more chunky.

However, the rear wing was completely overhauled, dispensing with the long-chord top flap for something smaller to boost the airflow attachment across the wing - especially in transient conditions when the DRS was activated.

Having briefly considered a switch to Ferrari power, budget constraints ensured that HRT continued with the cheaper Cosworth engines - derived from the fast-but-fragile units used by Williams in 2006. Like back-of-the-grid rival Manor, now renamed Marussia and also using Cosworth power, HRT chose not to complicate its car with the addition of KERS.

"I was quite surprised by the Cosworth," de la Rosa says. "It was very reliable. I would say the engine was not on our list of issues. OK, it had less power than the Mercedes and probably the others as well, but if you put that engine in a competitive car it would have been a decent package.

"Let's not forget that we didn't have KERS either, and that was at a time when everyone was running KERS. But we thought that the extra few tenths it was giving you was not worth the €1.8m, because we had other time gains to invest our limited budget on."

Those gains appeared in the form of a new aero package at the Spanish Grand Prix, after the team had propped up the field in the opening flyaways - and failed to qualify both cars at the Melbourne season opener for a second successive year.

The front wing featured a larger, more shapely top flap, yielding more contemporary airflow management ahead of the front wheels. Sure, other teams had ventured into three-element wings, but HRT was now consistently closer to the Marussia cars with the upgrade - which also included a new bargeboard package and revised rear-wing endplates to control vortices.

"In terms of set-up," recalls de la Rosa's race engineer Mark Hutcheson, who had joined the HRT rebuilding project from Marussia, "it was OK, a normal car from that point of view. The main limitations in all these teams is that you have ideas, but you can't implement those ideas in the same way as everybody else because you've got a budget limitation.

"HRT was very limited. We maybe only had one floor update through the year and three front-wing updates. If you consider in the same year Red Bull were on front-wing update number 30 or 40, you can see the difference. It's not that the team doesn't know what to do or have any ideas, but there's a limit to what you can do."

"We had a €46m budget and 85 people," adds de la Rosa, "including the marketing department and administration - it was incredible to have a team running with this budget. The group of people I found there... if people ask me, 'What is the difference between HRT and McLaren?' I say the quantity. The quality of people in these teams is outstanding."

Next time out at Monaco, where HRT's shortfall in downforce was at its most pronounced, de la Rosa plonked himself ahead of Marussia's Charles Pic in qualifying and within two tenths of Pic's team-mate Timo Glock, producing "one of the best laps I've done in my F1 career". It counted for nothing though, as his race was over on the first lap after Pastor Maldonado rode over the HRT's rear wing. Karthikeyan, meanwhile, rescued the team's best result in a twice-lapped 15th place.

The team had neither the budget nor the resource to continue its development, having outsourced the entirety of its aerodynamics department, so began to turn its attentions to 2013, with de la Rosa and Hutcheson both set to continue. Development of the F113, intended to be an evolution of the '12 car, began in earnest under the guidance of new chief designer Mark Tatham.

Then reality started to bite. A perfect storm of Spanish financial meltdown, the banking crisis, and a hangover of the global recession continued to unwind into 2012 and quelled HRT's attempts to find solid sponsorship. Looking towards '14 and the introduction of turbo hybrid V6 power units, HRT's financiers were considerably turned off by the massive investment required. With no low-budget option available - Cosworth had decided to pick its ball up and go home rather than try to compete in a high-budget exercise - and no other investors forthcoming, Thesan Capital pulled the plug.

"The biggest regret I have is that the turbo era caught us in the middle of the project, and the big Spanish crisis of 2012 hit us hard," says de la Rosa. "There were many factors, but we were really in serious conversations with [potential Spanish sponsors] and then in '12 we had the banking crisis and it was very difficult to get any sponsors at all. Everything conspired against us.

"I feel very sorry about it, because I knew that if that project died, I would never in my lifetime see another Spanish F1 team. When I told Ron Dennis I was leaving for HRT, he didn't even know what the name of the team was! Then he said to me, 'You must be nuts!' and he left the room. But that's what I wanted to do! [He was] right, but I think there's a time in life when you have to do what you think is right and that's why I don't regret it."

The remainder of 2010's 'new teams' passed in the succeeding years. Caterham (formerly Lotus) bit the dust at the end of '14 despite a concerted crowdfunding effort, while Manor survived falling into administration only to bow out two years later when Sauber snatched 10th in the '16 constructors' championship by one point. With costs of the current powertrains sky-high and the level of engineering needed to be competitive also requiring massive capital, talk of a budget cap persists.

Unless hell freezes over and the championship's grandes fromages agree to cut and limit costs, could the HRT F112 be the last true budget F1 car? As things stand, it certainly looks like it.

This feature first appeared in January's Autosport Engineering supplement, which includes an in-depth profile of Williams Advanced Engineering, an engineer's guide to designing a Formula 1 car on a budget and a look back at the engine wizard behind Audi's LMP1 success. Out every other month, the next issue of Autosport Engineering will appear on March 14.

Click here to see the full list of previously published Engineering articles

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footballghana · 4 years

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FEATURE: How Arsenal target Partey could solve Chelsea's midfield imbalance

On the face of it, Chelsea have made smart buys this transfer window and look set to make more with the expected addition of Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen likely to go through in the coming days.

Despite having the third-best attack in the Premier League last season with 69 goals scored, as well as being the third side behind Manchester City and Liverpool to create the highest volume of big chances, Frank Lampard’s added another playmaker in Hakim Ziyech and a prolific goalscorer in Timo Werner.

Indeed, both moves have their merits. Even though the raw statistics suggest the West London side didn’t necessarily need to prioritise their attacking options this summer, they sometimes looked short of ideas in the final third and suffered a bit when Tammy Abraham declined in the second part of 19/20.

Statistics provided by Understat also shows that the Blues underperformed their Expected Goals by 7.23, only four sides beat this in the entire division. In short, had the five-time Prem winners converted more really promising chances, they’d have rivalled the eventual tally of champions Liverpool.

The other major concern for Lampard was at the back, and signings of primary left-back target Ben Chilwell has been completed, as has Thiago Silva at centre-back who, despite his advanced years, they hope would significantly improve a team that allowed 54 goals last season.

While these signings are reasonable, an area that seems to be ignored is defensive midfield, where the Premier League giants lack a true holding midfielder.

The potential arrival of Havertz from Leverkusen, despite being considered a generational talent, only adds to positions that already look filled, while the club don’t have an all-rounder that can play at the base of their midfield.

Thus, it has been surprising that Chelsea haven’t considered Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey as the perfect anchorman for a side that currently looks attack-heavy. While many observers will balk at this suggestion given the presence of the much-maligned Jorginho and World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, neither provide what the Blues necessarily require in that role.

The Brazil-born Italy international, despite his adeptness in recycling possession, lacks the defensive awareness required to dominate as a blue-collar midfielder in front of the defence.

His inability to be alive to danger is well-known and was badly exposed in a cameo vs Crystal Palace, where a last-ditch Kurt Zouma tackle prevented a Palace goal, while a weak challenge to stop Andrew Robertson vs Liverpool at Anfield was simply shocking.

Both instances highlighted the weaknesses of the regista without the ball, situations in which Kante thrives.

However, regardless of the campaign by many pundits to have the Frenchman deployed in front of the defence, his limitations in possession remains a weakness. To be fair, he did give decent-to-good performances in that position post-lockdown, with the team’s impressive showing against Manchester City particularly notable.

Still, Kante’s best football has come when partnered with a deeper midfielder or natural anchorman. This was the case with Danny Drinkwater at Leicester City in 2015/16 and alongside Nemanja Matic at Chelsea the following season.

There are also doubts about the 29-year-old playing a more measured role in midfield different to his natural tendency to hunt for the ball higher up the pitch. This was evident in the Blues’ 3-2 defeat by West Ham United in July where two-time Prem winner was caught high up the pitch in the build-up to the fast break that won the Hammers the game.

Interestingly, what Jorginho and Kante lack in their skill-set, Partey possesses in his repertoire.

Every indication in the last few months has pointed to a move to Arsenal but with the North London side unable to complete the transfer yet, it’s been surprising that other clubs haven’t made a move for the Ghana star.

Partey’s awareness and astute positioning see him put out fires before they prove destructive and he’s rarely one to come out second-best in a tussle, an area of concern for Jorginho since his move in 2018.

The former Napoli man won 45 percent of his duels in the league last season compared to the West African’s 64 percent in La Liga. Curiously, even Kante didn’t fare well here winning only 41 percent of total duels in the previous campaign.

An area of importance will be Partey’s strength in aerial duels. He won 71 percent of battles in the air last term, significantly better than Kante (37 percent) and Jorginho (26 percent), and a statistic that’ll impress Lampard given his voiced concerns about the side’s weaknesses in such tussles.

For all that strength in ground and aerial duels, the 27-year-old isn’t only a midfield destroyer but is an expert in recycling possession and progressing the ball upfield. The African played the highest volume of passes into the final third for Diego Simeone’s side last season and he ranked third for progressive passes, behind Kieran Trippier and Saul Niguez.

He’s fairly press-resistant and isn’t one to be caught in possession repeatedly. He was dispossessed 15 times in La Liga in 19/20, fairly superior to Jorginho (22), Kante (32) and Mateo Kovacic (27).

Also, Partey surprisingly completed the most dribbles in the Atletico side with 47 from 56 attempts, a success rate of 83.9 percent. This was better than Kovacic’s 76.6 percent, as well as Jorginho and Kante, whose percentage of dribbles completed read 70.8 and 60.9 respectively.

In an attempt to find the right balance in midfield last term, Lampard tried different combinations in the middle of the park but most didn’t provide stability for a sustained period owing to the deficiencies of the personnel available.

The team played its best football with Kovacic and Jorginho pairing in midfield but neither offered the protection of Kante. The introduction of the France ball-winner saw the side lose some panache in the middle of the park while a midfield anchorman in a three proved unsuitable due to the aforementioned strengths and weaknesses of Chelsea's midfielders.

Partey offers solutions in that he’s equally adept as a lone defensive midfielder or in a pairing, which provides Lampard with the chance to be flexible with his selection with someone of the Ghanaian’s profile in the team.

The Blues have made sensible transfers so far but adding a defensive foil for their fragile backline hasn’t been considered yet. With Partey, the London giants could instantly solve midfield issues that could threaten their push to close the gap on Liverpool and Man City...and ultimately challenge for the title again.

Source: goal.com

source: https://footballghana.com/

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mancitynoise · 4 years

Link

How do you improve a team that just won the Premier League title with a record number of games to spare, with 99 points, and with a collection of some of the very best players in the world in almost every position? Worryingly for Liverpool, there’s a pretty obvious answer, and they seem to be ignoring it.

The Reds were unquestionably the deserved champions this season, finishing 18 points against a Manchester City team that were themselves so utterly dominant in the previous two campaigns, and who will surely be back as a stronger challenger again next term.

Liverpool fans will be relishing this moment, basking in the glory of ending an agonising 30-year wait for the title, but a quick look at the league table would give me one major concern if I was Jurgen Klopp.

For now, the only statistic that matters if the points column, and Liverpool are comfortably ahead of City on that metric, but it’s quite alarming that second-placed City managed to score almost 20 more goals than the champions, with 102 to Liverpool’s 85 – that’s down from the 89 Klopp’s side scored as runners-up last season, and they’ve also conceded 11 more goals than they did last year – 33, up from 22.

MORE: Official: Liverpool confirm big name has completed transfer away

Liverpool needn’t worry too much about that defence, which cannot be perfect every week, and which undoubtedly switched off quite a bit to allow uncharacteristic 4-0 and 2-1 defeats to Man City and Arsenal, respectively, which quite likely wouldn’t have happened had there still been something to play for.

Up front, however, there might well be a need for a change. As crazy as it sounds, that front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino may be passing its peak as a force, with defences perhaps smartening up with how to deal with them.

Salah’s goal tally has dropped with every passing season at Liverpool, with the Egyptian’s final tally of 23 in all competitions this season almost half the 44 he managed in that remarkable debut season; of course, there’s no denying Salah is a victim of his own brilliance as he set such high standards for himself, and no one’s saying he’s now a bad player by any means, but perhaps not the lethal goal-scorer in the Messi or Ronaldo mould that we all thought he might be.

Mane is an excellent all-rounder and has had another influential campaign, with his game clearly not all about goals, but his final tally is also down from last season, and his work rate and assist stats suggest he could be even better with more of a classic number nine alongside him.

Sadio Mane celebrates a goal for Liverpool

More Stories / Latest News

Video: Journalist claims Arsenal are actively looking to sell divisive figure

July 27, 2020 14:44

Opinion: Liverpool have already made one glaring transfer error this summer – and they’re sleepwalking into another

July 27, 2020 14:36

Manchester United hopeful of reaching agreement for £80m-plus-add-ons transfer

July 27, 2020 13:46

Firmino is much loved by LFC fans for the much of the unnoticed little moments of quality he brings to the team, but if Liverpool had missed out on the title again this term, his solitary home league goal might be more of an issue than the amusing little quirk it’s been portrayed as. The Brazilian clearly makes this team tick with his work rate and quality of passing, but is it really asking too much for more of a prolific player to be in that role?

In total, it’s been well documented that Manchester United’s front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood scored more as a trio than Liverpool’s front three did this season; the fact that that includes 18-year-old Greenwood, in his first full season in the first-team, certainly doesn’t reflect too well on Firmino in particular.

It’s little wonder that Liverpool strongly considered a move for Timo Werner, according to Sky Sports, before ultimately deciding to let Chelsea sign him up instead. The Germany international arrives at Stamford Bridge on the back of a season in which he scored 34 goals in all competitions – more than any of Klopp’s current forwards. While some may say his presence would deprive Liverpool of what Firmino brings the team, they couldn’t be more wrong, as the 24-year-old is a quality all-rounder up front as well, but with the added bonus of being more clinical in the penalty area.

If Werner can continue to shine at Chelsea, this is surely going to be a transfer that comes back to haunt Liverpool, and they may be about to make another major error as the Blues make progress on a deal for Kai Havertz, according to Fabrizio Romano in the Instagram post below…

After Liverpool’s three top scorers, their next highest scorer in the league is centre-back Virgil van Dijk, with five. After that, midfielders Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all have four, as does another defender, Trent Alexander-Arnold.

For a club that for so long relied on the brilliant Steven Gerrard to provide double figures for goals from midfield, it’s surprising that that has not been fixed by now. Of course, it helps when you’re winning things, but if that front three isn’t quite on its game, there’s a worrying lack of options elsewhere in the squad to come up with a moment of magic or a long range shot to break down stubborn defences.

Havertz can play a variety of roles, but he could be a perfect fit between midfield and attack for this LFC side, though it once again seems he’s heading to Chelsea pretty much unopposed.

If not Havertz, then Jadon Sancho could be another player who’d improve this team, with 20 goals from out wide in all competitions, along with 18 assists, but again there is an apparent lack of serious interest in going toe-to-toe with their biggest rivals to get a deal done.

Liverpool may be justified in thinking they have nothing to worry about after such a resounding title victory, but if the likes of City and Chelsea, perhaps even Man Utd, manage to close the gap on them next season, they can’t say the warning signs weren’t there.

The post Opinion: Liverpool have already made one glaring transfer error this summer – and they’re sleepwalking into another appeared first on CaughtOffside.

#CaughtOffside #Blog

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gigsoupmusic · 5 years

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Trevor Drury Releases Haunting 'Chapter 4' Video

Alt-pop singer-songwriter Trevor Drury released his latest single, “Chapter 4,” only moments ago. “Chapter 4” is from his forthcoming EP, Alice, It’s All In Your Head. On Trevor Drury’s latest single, the hypno-symphonic power pop-rock ballad “Chapter 4,” the multi-talented singer-songwriter intimately chronicles the closing of a special romantic chapter in his life. Though the song laments an impending breakup, he offers a glimmer of hope that he may see her again in the mysterious next chapter the song title refers to. The song articulates the exquisitely complex emotions surrounding the cessation of a romantic liaison. Yet even as one chapter ends, another may open. Drury explains “Chapter 4, “I am a big fan of sounds that have movement to them and records that evolve and tell a story. I don’t like creating generic pop stuff, and feel bored with the idea of doing that. If I hear a pop song, even if it’s a big hit, I’ll think what if they had made it bigger and added a choir or took their vocal and crunched it into guitar grittiness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh2Tp681G5M These things jump out at me as a way to make the song cooler and more interesting.”The turning pages of the multi-talented 23-year old’s ever-evolving life story create a perfect metaphor for his burgeoning career as an indie artist creating hip, contemporary alt pop flavored with indie rock, jazz and a distinct retro flair. The infectious “Chapter 4” represents the promising next phase of a dynamic journey that began in 2016 with the release of his stripped-down piano and vocal only debut The Start. Over the past few years, Trevor has released a handful critically acclaimed tracks that have received hundreds of thousands of views on Spotify, including “I Know You From the 70’s,” “Jealousy,” “Snowy Nights” and “Trip to the Water.” His most recent single, “Head on the Tracks,” a dramatic look at anxiety and self-absorption, recently premiered in Clash Magazine in the UK. In addition to receiving great reviews, it’s playing on multiple US radio stations from Maine to Hawaii. “Head on the Tracks” will join “Chapter 4” as part of the singer’s highly anticipated soon to drop new multi-track project, the quirkily titled Alice It’s All In Your Head – whose title track is a fascinating, trippy glam pop-grunge song whose title popped into his consciousness as graffiti on an abandoned train at a station near the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego during the filming of the provocative video (now on YouTube) of “Head on the Tracks.” Each track is a large-scale production featuring cello and string arrangements by Dave Eggar, whose hundreds of pop superstar credits include “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. While The Start offered a dynamic showcase for Trevor’s gorgeous balladry, spirited piano pounding, powerful vocals and insightful, emotional storytelling, he has taken his artistry and sonic dimensions of his artistry to a fresh, inspiring level since hooking up for “Jealousy” with veteran producer and two time Grammy winning songwriter Marc Swersky. While perhaps best known for prominent songs recorded by Joe Cocker and Hillary Duff, Swersky has become the go-to guy behind the boards for a wide range of independent artists, including The Chordaes, Ashley Delima and DR King. The Swersky-produced tracks are mixed by 11-time Grammy nominee Mark Needham, who has worked with everyone from Fleetwood Mac and The Killers to Elton John, Pink and Imagine Dragons. Though Trevor is credited as songwriter and Swersky as producer on the singer’s tracks, they are truly collaborative efforts. “I don’t think the songs would sound anywhere as powerful and impactful as they do without Marc,” Trevor says. “This is the first time I have worked with other musicians, and Marc instinctively knew who to bring in to flesh out my piano oriented demos into full productions – including the opera singer who sang with me on ‘Alice.’ “A great producer is one who knows how to reach into you as an artist and pull out the essence of your idea,” he adds, “honoring what you want from the song while offering new insights on where it can go sonically. Its really cool to hear these tunes I create on the piano suddenly come to life with this massive sound. I can sit back and listen to them as if they’re someone else’s work but every track represents my final vision. Marc works his magic, but they always feel like me.” Born in Tucson and raised in San Diego, Trevor began playing piano at 8 years of age, developing his offbeat musical aesthetic with a passion throughout his formative years while soaking in everything from Elvis and Queen to Radiohead. After a year at San Diego State, he moved to NYC to pursue a modeling career while writing and producing music on the side. The men’s face of Tom Ford in the 2016 fall campaign, Trevor has worked with such notable designers as Hermes, Robert Geller, Timo Weiland and Malan Breton, and has graced the pages of Details Magazine. Trevor currently is with Ken Harvey Management, New York Models (NYC), Sight Models (Spain), Core Models (Germany), D’Man (Italy) and State Models (Los Angeles).While enjoying great success in the modeling world, Trevor has continued to develop his musical vision and hone his artistry. In 2018, he moved the UK to study vocal performance at the British Irish Modern Music (BIMM) Institute. Trevor recently had the opportunity to tour Europe and Japan as the opening act for Ramin Karimloo, a well-known Broadway and West End performer. He is currently gearing up to return to NYC, where he plans to resume his modeling while focusing on creating more music and performing live. “I am a big fan of sounds that have movement to them and records that evolve and tell a story,” he says. “I don’t like creating generic pop stuff, and feel bored with the idea of doing that. If I hear a pop song, even if it’s a big hit, I’ll think, what if they had made it bigger and added a choir or took their vocal and crunched it into guitar grittiness. These things jump out at me as a way to make the song cooler and more interesting. Marc is totally on the same page as I am in that respect. We like creating things we have never heard before. To that end, for every track we’re doing together now, we will have three versions: the one on the recording, a live version with a band and an acoustic version. It’s fun to try different arrangements to play with the emotions of a song. Like with ‘Head on the Tracks,’ it’s a big massive anthem type tune which I can then play acoustically as a slow ballad to offer a totally unique perspective.” Read the full article

#indie #new #Pop #trevordrury

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Crunchyroll Favorites 2018 Part Three: EVERYTHING ELSE!

This is it--the final installment of CRUNCHYROLL FAVORITES 2018! In our first feature, we talked about our favorite anime and manga of the past year, and yesterday we shared our favorite video games. Today, we wrap up with one of my favorite parts of CR Favorites: "EVERYTHING ELSE!"

Instead of posting individual articles for everybody's favorite movies, books, music, TV shows, sports moments, life moments, and so on and so forth, we just pile them all here into the "Everything Else" installment and share what's important to us that isn't related to anime, manga, or video games.

Just like before, the rules are simple: only stuff that came out in 2018, or continuing works that had a major milestone last year. You're gonna get to see a lot of different lists from different people--let's get started!

Nate Ming

The Night Comes for Us- Timo Tjahjanto brings most of the gang from The Raid and its sequel back for this absolute onslaught of perfectly-choreographed action that refuses to let up--or look away. This one's for the hardest of hardcore action fans, and absolutely not for the squeamish.

Mandy- Nicolas Cage teams up with the stylish and totally gonzo Panos Cosmatos for a trippy, violent ride that starts as a horror story and ends up as a wild action/revenge flick. A friend of mine pointed out that Mandy is the closest we'll probably ever get to a live-action Berserk, and y'know what? He's right.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse- It's rare when, while watching a movie, I don't want it to end. It's almost as rare when it wraps up and I immediately want to watch it again. Into the Spider-Verse has it all: pure emotion, an outstanding soundtrack, action that's like greased lightning, and characters I want to spend even more time with. More like this, please.

Fighting in the Age of Loneliness- Jon Bois--already known for his insightful, fun breakdowns of sports minutiae--teams up with Felix Biederman for a deep dive into the stories that make the history of mixed martial arts. Even people who aren't MMA-heads will dig this--check it out and learn why people fighting in a cage for money is so compelling.

Amanda Nunes vs Cris Cyborg- And speaking of that, in just 51 seconds Amanda "Lioness" Nunes took down the undefeated Cris Cyborg, trading shots until Cyborg caught a huge overhand right and dropped. What a showdown--women's MMA has always been great, but now is the time of legends.

Honorable Mentions: Braven, Creed II, Hereditary

Nicole Mejias

A more stable life- 2017 and 2018 have been very trying years of my life, and I’m glad I made it through in one piece. Depression is something I’m still battling with, but it’s something I’m thankfully more in control of these days. I’m very grateful for my close friends who helped me when I felt I was lost; without them I wouldn’t be here. Thank you! Let’s conquer our goals in 2019!

CEO x NJPW show- I talked about this show briefly in my CEO 2018 report, but my goodness, it was quite the mind blowing show! I never expected NJPW to make it out to Florida of all places, and I certainly didn’t expect the world of fighting games and wrestling to come together in beautiful harmony! It’s a show I’ll remember for a very long time.

Crunchyroll Expo 2018 experience- It was my first time going to this event, and I was very impressed by pretty much everything the convention had to offer! Add in the bonus of meeting up with colleagues face-to-face for the first time and network with amazing folks, and it was an event that I was very happy to be a part of. I’ll be back again this year!

Working for Crunchyroll- The biggest highlight of 2018 was when I got the chance to work here, which was something I didn’t think would happen. Started as a video script writer, then moved on to becoming a features writer and editor! This job has helped me out in so many countless ways, and I’m really blessed to be here and that I’m working with such an awesome group of people!

Daniel Dockery

Beginning My Crunchyroll Writer Journey- Writing about anime for a lot of websites usually requires some handholding (“Hey kids. Have you heard of anime? Before I begin my actual article, here’s a half page about what anime actually is.”) Luckily, Crunchyroll came along and has let me geek out about One Piece for six months. God bless them.

Creed II- After his awesome performances in Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Day of Reckoning, it was only a matter of time before Dolph Lundgren became the heart of a major blockbuster.

Deadwood Movie Hype- It’s finally happening. The Deadwood movie that’s been talked about since 2006 is going to be in front of me in 2019. I don’t want to say that the power of my dreams made this happen, but I will. You can thank me all now.

Shrimp Tacos- Have y’all had these? They’re great!

Peter Fobian

Shonen Jump- I promise I’m not getting paid to tell you that Shonen Jump made history in 2018. They made the most popular comics magazine in the world FREE. They’re selling access to one of the largest collections of comics in the world at a pittance. This is the best deal in the history of comics, hands down. I’m only one month in and have already burned through over 20 volumes of manga. I’m actually going to catch up to One Piece. This is unreal.

Annihilation- I almost missed this movie since they did very little way in the promotion, and man am I glad I saw it in theaters. An awesome sci-fi horror film with a great premise, great cast, some fantastic effects, and a legendary ending. Even if you were underwhelmed by the majority of the film, those last 15 minutes aren’t going to leave your head anytime soon.

Wanikani- Various life circumstances have made it hard for me to continue in-class Japanese studies so I started up Wanikani in January at the recommendation of a friend. It’s the easiest to keep up with language studying app I’ve managed to main pretty consistent all year, finishing off 2018 with a 2000 written word vocabulary is pretty good, I think. I really want to hit max level...

Ricky Soberano

All of the wine I’ve drank- Cheers to speaking about the difference between organic, kosher, vegan, and orange wines. Biggest cheers to figuring out my preferred wine region (Piedmont) and enjoying every Barbera and Barolo I had the privilege of consuming.

The streetwear collabs that mattered- Thank you, universe, for finally getting it. The same people that love manga and anime can also love fashion and finally have a means to show it off to the world. This is why the Primitive x DBZ drop popped off. This is what made the Uniqlo x Shonen Jump collection so important. I can’t wait to see even more in 2019.

Crazy Rich Asians breaking the world- Everything was riding on this film to do well. The future of Hollywood’s treatment towards Asian casts, writing, and films hung in the balance and it slayed the box office. The phenomenon surrounding it was as electric as the film itself.

Japanese Breakfast’s article on H-Mart- My uncle had passed away a few weeks before one of my favorite singers published her first article for The New Yorker. It’s a beautiful testament to coming to terms with identity as an Asian-American, mourning, and food.

Everything that Childish Gambino has blessed us with this year- This special supernova doesn’t need to go so hard on every project that he works on but he does anyways simply because he can and if you can’t appreciate that then you can enter that black hole over there.

Emily Bushman

Victoria Schwab- One of my favorite authors because she writes fantastic stories, and her new YA book, City of Ghosts, is no exception. It’s like a cross between Stranger Things and the best parts of Scotland, with just a DAB of Harry Potter, and I love everything about it. Her other new novel, Vengeful (sequel to Vicious), also soared high for me with three superior villains who plotted death and destruction, all the way to a satisfying conclusion.

Supernatural- I’m late to the game... but why does it feel good to do something as bad as binge-watching 13 straight seasons over a three month period? To be fair, my friend and I are only on season 9, but we’re getting there. Slowly. Steadily. The checkout lady at our local grocery store approves. And if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that everyone should have a moose in their life. Get your moose, people. Get your moose.

Haunting of Hill House- The original book by Shirley Jackson (of “The Lottery”) was a favorite of mine, but the Netflix adaptation took it to a whole new level. Love the book, love the show, and love the questions about what it means to be a family, what can happen when a family turns against itself, what it means to be a ghost, either alive or dead, and, most importantly, how the trappings of a perfect life can turn into the ties that bind us down.

Sticky Toffee Pudding- This is a British thing, but I live and die for it and was recently reminded of how much I love it when my best friend begged me to make it for her, gluten free. It’s the perfect gooey sweet sheet cake, with to-die-for caramel toffee sauce. Please try this. This is my favorite recipe, from my favorite queen of internet food blogging, Deb Perelman. You can make it with Cup for Cup, a gluten free flour substitute, and it tastes essentially the same. >> http://bit.ly/2fE1OvW

Strange the Dreamer- Written by Laini Taylor, it’s a YA novel about a boy named Strange, the Dreamer. It’s a weird mix of pseudo-Egyptian Gods, alchemic research, and impossible puzzles that is both fascinating and, well, dream-like. It is unusual, the outlier in a field of run-of-the-mill stories, but it entranced me, and I eagerly await the sequel.

Nick Creamer

The Haunting of Hill House- Ostensibly based on the classic Shirley Jackson novel, Netflix’s Haunting of Hill House abandons the book’s narrative entirely, and instead tells a story about family, forgiveness, and the meaning of home, all filtered through the profoundly haunted titular house. Though the film’s dialogue can get a little clumsy, its evocative cinematography, psychologically scrambled cast, and sharp understanding of horror make it satisfying both for its thrills and its sympathetic emotional core. In a year I’ve spent binging whatever horror anthologies I can find, Hill House has risen to the top.

Offerings- As the follow-up to the staggering concept album White Lighter, Typhoon’s Offerings had some serious shoes to fill. The resulting album absolutely blew me away, with its comparatively stripped-down sound offering a harrowing journey through the steady disintegration of a fraying mind. Lines like “the part of you that I love is still in there, even if it doesn’t know my name” cut to the heart of watching a loved one fade away, and offered understanding in a very tough year. Offerings is a difficult listen, but it’s worth it.

Cooking- After a former housemate gifted me and my roommates a slow cooker last winter, we embarked on a lengthy journey to actually learn how to feed ourselves. After a long and arduous year of training, I am proud to say I can probably avoid incinerating a chicken at this point, and perhaps even prepare a soup. Getting there!

Kara Dennison

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch- I will never stop talking about this, and you can’t stop me. It’s my happy union of Charlie Brooker’s hardcore video game geekdom, my love of choice-based gaming, and my inexplicable desire to disturb myself at every given opportunity. It’s been at least a year since I lifted my hands off a keyboard and walked away because I was so affected. That’s how hard it got me.

Gabutto Burger- A recent trip to visit a friend in Illinois ended up with us at this anime fan-friendly burger place, run by a Japanese family and branded to the gills with mascot characters. It’s as close as I’m going to get (for now) to going to a collab café, plus the food was amazing.

The Night Before Critmas- I wish I had time for the full Critical Role experience, but their one-shots are just right for my schedule. This Christmas-skinned D&D campaign told the flipside of The Nightmare Before Christmas, with dangerously-skilled elves setting out to retrieve Santa from a legally-distinct talking bag of bugs. Their Crash Pandas campaign was no slouch, either.

Crunchyroll Social Media- This year I got to stick a toe in our social media department, running accounts for shows like Magical Girl Ore and How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord. I’ve loved getting to see what the fans enjoy and find more for them between episodes!

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And that's a wrap for Crunchyroll Favorites 2018! Thanks for joining us for this three-parter, and we'll see you next year! If you're in the mood for more CR Favorites, here are the links to past years' features:

Crunchyroll Favorites 2017 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One | Part Two

What were your favorite "everything else" parts of 2018? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST-OF list, so there are no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites!

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Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. His comic, Shaw City Strikers, launches January 15, 2019.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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