United team news: Vidic has been given medical clearance, so we should see him start, whilst Rooney's more likely going to start on the bench. Aside from that, all the other big guns are available.

For Wigan, Kevin Kilbane's out with a back problem, with Melchiot and Edman also out.

For the Chelsea v. Bolton clash, Carvalho is the one major concern for the Blues, and he'll have a late fitness test on his back to determine whether or not he'll be available. Cudicini is still out (hamstring), but Kalou's minor ankle injury shouldn't keep him out.

For Bolton, Jaaskelainen, Garner and Hunt are all out.

So in just a few hours' time, the final 10 Premiership matches are all set to kick off at 3pm. The matches being shown, as advertised by Sky, are:

Wigan v. Man Utd - Sky Sports 1 - coverage starts at 2pm (3pm kick-off)

Chelsea v. Bolton - Sky Sports 2 - 3pm kick-off

Birmingham v. Blackburn - Sky Sports 1 via the red button

At 3pm, all the pre-Sunday hype will be forgotten, all that will matter is what the players do on the pitch. The travelling United supporters should give United a great atmosphere in the JJB to spur them on. With both matches going on at the same time, nails will be bitten, as fans both in and outside of the stadiums will be nervously trying to keep up with the other match.

What a day for the Premiership. It's only the 4th time the Premiership title has gone down to the final day; if United and Chelsea both match results, it'll be the first time since 1989 that the title has been decided on goal difference. And on top of that, there's 2 relegation spots to be decided - no doubt the fans of the teams involved will all be nervously trying to figure out what the outcome for them will be, as they find out the scores from the other matches.

And there's a couple of records Giggs and Ronaldo will be hoping to break as well; if Giggs makes an appearance, he will equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 758 league appearances for United, and with Ronaldo currently on 30 Premiership goals, scoring one more would equal Alan Shearer's record of 31 goals in a 38-match Premiership season - and no one would put it past the Portuguese superstar to score a couple, and break the record altogether.

So with all that in mind, it's hardly surprising that an estimated 400m around the world will watch the drama unfold, whether fans of the teams involved, or neutral supporters.

This historic day in Premiership footballing history will no doubt be an exciting one, and scripts will most certainly be written, at both ends of the table...

Rebuscando entre mi colección de retroinformática, de la que me siento muy orgulloso, he encontrado, en una revista Microhobby, un anuncio que como poco, me ha provocado una sonrisa y cierta nostalgia, para qué negarlo.
Se trata de un anuncio de la época, de un ZX Spectrum +2, en la que era calificada como “La máquina alucinante”, y detallaba sus características técnicas y las posibilidades como soporte de entretenimiento:
* Micro z80A @ 3,25 MHZ
* 128K RAM, 32K ROM
* 24 x 32 (filas x columnas) de texto y Calculadora integrada
* Gráficos de alta resolución 256x192 pixels, con 8 colores, con dos niveles de brillo cada uno.
* 3 canales de sonido, interface MIDI
* Cassete incorporado
No he podido evitar hacer una rápida comparativa mental entre una máquina puntera de aquella época, nuestro añorado ZX Spectrum +2, y una máquina puntera del Siglo XXI, como puede ser una PS3 o un ordenador de última generación.
Sin tener mucha idea de informática es sencillo extraer conclusiones. Así, cualquiera que haya nacido más allá de 1983 en adelante puede soltar una carcajada despectiva, y hacer la siguiente pregunta ¿Y con esta porquería que se hacía?
Los de mi generación, los que vivimos aquellos LOAD “” del Spectrum, del SHIFT y RUN/STOP del Commodore 64, del RUN” del AMSTRAD CPC464, la pregunta que nos hacemos al ver el anuncio es ¿Para que queríamos más?
Cierto es que al final hemos acabado vendiendo nuestra alma, y quien más y quien menos, posee en su casa algo a lo que se le pueda adicionar “… de última generación”. Pero si algo hemos aprendido de nuestras vivencias con nuestros limitados microcomputadores es a mirar con respeto y morriña hacia atrás, y valorar todo lo que tuvimos en el pasado, y tenemos en el presente. Cualquier tecnócrata pedante se limita a cachondearse de los 256x192 pixels(esto lo he vivido en mis propias carnes), y a hacer chistes fáciles con la lectora de cassete incorporada ¡Como si una PS3 no fuera a considerarse retroinformática dentro de 20 años! ¡Ay! Esta falta de miras anchas es cada vez más preocupante.

En la era del FullHD, WiiFIT’s, experiencias tridimensionales y CGI’s por doquier, uno se cuestiona si no se están dando pasos equivocados en la industria del entretenimiento. Con un juego de apenas 48K, uno se podría tirar las horas muertas delante de la televisión, doy fe, porque yo lo hice, con Sergio, con mis primos, incluso a solas… pero si quería realidad, no seguía sentado delante de la tele dándole al ordenador, sino que me iba a la calle a jugar con los zarrapastrosos de mis coleguillas y volvía a casa con las manos llenas de mierda, un cosqui y alguna que otra experiencia vivida que me hacía madurar un poquito más en lo que los mayores definían como “las cosas de la vida”.

Uno sólo puede mirar hacia atrás con orgullo y afirmar que AQUELLO sí que era un máquina alucinante.

PD: Y si alguien quiere donarme material para mi museíllo del Spectrum, la posteridad se lo agradecerá.

One thing I've noticed is that general surgery attendings are not tremendously supportive of residents applying for plastic surgery.  I heard a lot of bad jokes from them about wanting to "cash in", and do "boobs" for a living.  I pretty much just laugh it off.  It's kind of irritating though that residents in my program who are applying for vascular surgery, or surg onc, or MIS, are accomodated more during the interview season.  They don't get near the flak that I got trying to get time off for interviews.  I guess that's because they are going to be "real" surgeons.

I am exhausted.  Financially, and emotionally.  I have no reserves left.  Flying to interviews, staying in motels, flying back home, only to work some extra call to pay back whoever was covering for me is not fun.  I am glad the interview phase is over.

I spent a few hours last night making my rank list.  I am not going to send it in until the end of the month, but I wanted to get the mental juices flowing.  I reviewed all of my post-interview notes that I scribbled down in motel rooms, airports, and airplanes.  I had forgotten a lot of stuff both good and bad about programs.  I highly recommend for the folks doing this next year to make notes right after the interview while everything is fresh in your head.

Making the list was easy and difficult.  The bottom part of my list was easy.  There were 2 programs that I thought would be suboptimal to train at so those get the bottom 2 spots.  The top of the list is easy as well.  There were 3 programs that I felt awesome about.  It's the middle 5 that I don't know how to rank.  The middle 5 are all very similar in some ways, and I would be happy to train at any of them.  One thing is for certain, I am going to rank all 10!  Better to be matched than unmatched.  In the end, we all just want to have a match, and not be shut out on match day (May14).

Speaking of match day, the way it works is that on match day, you get a phone call from the program director of the program you matched at.  I've heard of people being called at 8am, and some not getting the call until 6 ot 7 at night.  If you don't get a call, that usually means that you did not match anywhere.  On the day after match day you can call the matching service (SFMatch) and confirm the bad news.  In years past, match day has been on Friday.  So, if you matched, you had an awesome weekend.  But I have heard  stories of people not getting called on Friday, and having to wait until Monday only to find out that they actually did match... the program director just didn't call them on Friday!

As I made my rank list, I remembered all of the people I have met on the interview trail, and they are a great bunch of people for the most part.  I think that I have a decent chance of matching, but I also am prepared mentally for an unfavorable outcome.  The competition is ferocious, and there is a lot of stuff that is out of the applicant's control.  One of the programs I interviewed at has only one position in the match, and they interviewed 35 people!  Actually the ratio of applicants to positions ranged (from talking to folks on the interview trail) from as low as 7 to 1, to as high as 40 to 1.  On average I'd say that the ratio is around 15-20 applicants interviewed per spot available.  It's insane.  All I can do now is send in my rank list and wait.... for May 14.  I hope I get a phone call.

Brid lose 4 and 5 zip, but this was countered by Scarborough scoring 8. Here are some other results from around the non-league scene........

Unibond prem

Kendal 6 Marine 0

(The division saw 30 goals in 10 games Fri/Sat, and 33 goals in 10 games on Monday)

Unibond North

(The division saw 24 goals in 8 games on Saturday & 28 goals in 8 games on Monday)

Ryman Prem

AFC Hornchurch 9 Leyton 0

Hastings 6 Folkestone Invicta 1

(28 goals in 9 games Fri/Sat & 34 goals in 10 games on Monday)

Ryman Div 1 North (Brids level)

Aveley, Brentwood and Ware all win 4-0 at home & Wivenhoe beat Witham 4-3

(24 goals in 7 games on Saturday & 23 in 9 on Monday)

British Gas Prem

Kings Lynn 6 Cirencester 2

Bashley 4 Bromsgrove 0

(27 goals in 9 games on Saturday & 33 goals in 11 games on Monday)

British Gas sth&west

Godalming 8 Newport IOW 1

(44 goals in 11 games on Saturday in this league, and 34 in 11 on Monday)

Who says there's no value in the lower leagues - so many goals over the weekend 362 goals in 112 games

Come on Brid, its your turn to score some.....

The wrong way to choose a speciality is based on what you will believe will be potential income. While it's generally true that surgical specialties are better paying than primary care specialities, this is not always the case especially if you find that you just don't enjoy surgery and surgical procedures after a while. Anesthesia has become very popular in the sense that people feel that this speciality pays well and had less hours than surgery but a description of Anesthesia as "hours of boredom punctuated with seconds of sheer terror" can be pretty accurate at times. Many people find that this aspect of anesthesia far outweighs any monetary rewards.

Another wrong way to choose a specialty is by how wonderful your medical school experience was in that particular rotation. While you may have loved your residents and interns, you may have not loved the patients that you were treating. This can make for a miserable residency experience and an even more miserable practice experience.

As you rotate through your required third-year clerkships, you may want to pay close attention to the types of patient that each speciality treats. Do you enjoy a long-term relationship with your patient and handling of chronic problems? If this is the case, then family medicine and internal medicine may be of interest to you. Do you enjoy treating only female patients? This brings to mind OB-Gyn but you may find yourself drawn to internal medicine with a track in women's health.

Do you enjoy procedures? You may want to investigate the procedure-heavy specialties such as anesthesia, radiology, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology and invasive cardiology. You might also place any of the surgical specialties in this category. Finally, do you enjoy the outpatient treatment of patients? This might lead you to emergency medicine as EM spend most of their practice time dealing with outpatient issues with a bit of trauma thrown in. Dermatology is also a specialty that has far more outpatient care than inpatient care. Psychiatry can also go into that category.

Pathology tends to appeal to individuals who love to study tissues and medical problems. Pathologists do not treat inpatients and pathologists perform few procedures other than those pathologists who subspecialize in tissue banking and transfusion medicine. If study and evaluation of tissues and medical problems are appealing to you, look into pathology.

Another way NOT to choose a speciality is by what your classmates have to say about a particular specialty. Don't be drawn into the "the smartest people in medical school go into derm so derm is the best specialty". This might not be the case for you if you don't enjoy the scope of practice of the dermatologist. While dermatology is a competitive specialty, you may not enjoy much about this speciality other than the look on your classmates faces when you announce that you want to pursue Derm.

The telly shows such as "House", "ER" and "Scrubs" have also tended to glamorize certain specialties. Do keep in mind that telly watching is for entertainment purposes. There is little reality to any of these shows no matter how compelling the characters and patient situations. These shows are written by people who are generally not in medicine with input for practitioners. These shows are written with entertainment factor built into them. Most of actual medical practice is not entertaining.

As you study through medical school years one and two, you are creating the foundation upon which you will enter your third year. It is during that third year that you will be exposed to different specialties and their patients. It's good to keep an open mind during third year. Do not feel pressured to decide upon anything if you don't have an idea of what type of specialty might be of interest.

I can tell you from experience, that I generally liked every rotation that I encountered during third year. Basically, I enjoy the practice of medicine and patient interaction. I saw plenty of very interesting pathology and patients on OB-Gyn but I didn't particularly find this specialty appealing other than how I could learn to differentiate pelvic problems from abdominal problems in the course of seeing patients.

I loved my Psychiatry rotation and found the expertise of my preceptor far greater than any clinician that I have dealt with to date. I developed a very strong appreciation and high degree of respect for that multitude of psychiatrists out there that just do a good job taking care of their patients. While psychiatry was not for me, it was an awesome rotation that brought a depth of understanding as to how many medical and surgical problems might present with psychiatric symptoms.

As you go through first and second year, take the time to join one of two specialty exploration/interest groups at your medical school. By joining these groups, you ca expose yourself to residents and attendings that can assist with your exploration of their specialty. It is participation in these types of specialty interest groups that can allow you to keep your focus when you feel that you just can't look at another histology slide or review another article for biochemistry.

Also keep in mind that certain specialties do require a high level of academic achievement in medical school. I have often spoken to medical students who have struggled with a course or two in medical school who feel like doors have closed for them because they won't be competitive for a dermatology residency. My first inclination when I speak to theses folks is to find out if they actually understand the scope and practice of dermatology. If they do have this understanding, are there other less-competitive specialties that will satisfy many of their need? In the vast majority of cases, the answer is yes.

Finally, as a close to this little essay which is like a part one of this issue, if you know that you are not particularly competitive for a speciality that you feel you can't live without, spend some quality time with the program director/department chairman of that specialty at your school. Try to figure out if you have some options that can increase your competitiveness for said specialty such as research. There might even be a possibility of finding a program or two in that specialty that might be in a less desirable location and therefor less competitive.

Don't listen to anyone except yourself when it comes to your needs in terms of the practice of medicine. In the end, it doesn't matter what you classmates say about the specialty that interests you. It's how you feel about what you are interested in practicing and your suitability for said specialty. It's also about your attentiveness to your academics/boards too.

If you had a slow first year, try to have a strong second year. If you had a weak second year, then try to have a very strong third year. In short, you can decide at any point, that you are going to upgrade your work ethic and performance.

The wrong way to choose a speciality is based on what you will believe will be potential income. While it's generally true that surgical specialties are better paying than primary care specialities, this is not always the case especially if you find that you just don't enjoy surgery and surgical procedures after a while. Anesthesia has become very popular in the sense that people feel that this speciality pays well and had less hours than surgery but a description of Anesthesia as "hours of boredom punctuated with seconds of sheer terror" can be pretty accurate at times. Many people find that this aspect of anesthesia far outweighs any monetary rewards.

Another wrong way to choose a specialty is by how wonderful your medical school experience was in that particular rotation. While you may have loved your residents and interns, you may have not loved the patients that you were treating. This can make for a miserable residency experience and an even more miserable practice experience.

As you rotate through your required third-year clerkships, you may want to pay close attention to the types of patient that each speciality treats. Do you enjoy a long-term relationship with your patient and handling of chronic problems? If this is the case, then family medicine and internal medicine may be of interest to you. Do you enjoy treating only female patients? This brings to mind OB-Gyn but you may find yourself drawn to internal medicine with a track in women's health.

Do you enjoy procedures? You may want to investigate the procedure-heavy specialties such as anesthesia, radiology, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology and invasive cardiology. You might also place any of the surgical specialties in this category. Finally, do you enjoy the outpatient treatment of patients? This might lead you to emergency medicine as EM spend most of their practice time dealing with outpatient issues with a bit of trauma thrown in. Dermatology is also a specialty that has far more outpatient care than inpatient care. Psychiatry can also go into that category.

Pathology tends to appeal to individuals who love to study tissues and medical problems. Pathologists do not treat inpatients and pathologists perform few procedures other than those pathologists who subspecialize in tissue banking and transfusion medicine. If study and evaluation of tissues and medical problems are appealing to you, look into pathology.

Another way NOT to choose a speciality is by what your classmates have to say about a particular specialty. Don't be drawn into the "the smartest people in medical school go into derm so derm is the best specialty". This might not be the case for you if you don't enjoy the scope of practice of the dermatologist. While dermatology is a competitive specialty, you may not enjoy much about this speciality other than the look on your classmates faces when you announce that you want to pursue Derm.

The telly shows such as "House", "ER" and "Scrubs" have also tended to glamorize certain specialties. Do keep in mind that telly watching is for entertainment purposes. There is little reality to any of these shows no matter how compelling the characters and patient situations. These shows are written by people who are generally not in medicine with input for practitioners. These shows are written with entertainment factor built into them. Most of actual medical practice is not entertaining.

As you study through medical school years one and two, you are creating the foundation upon which you will enter your third year. It is during that third year that you will be exposed to different specialties and their patients. It's good to keep an open mind during third year. Do not feel pressured to decide upon anything if you don't have an idea of what type of specialty might be of interest.

I can tell you from experience, that I generally liked every rotation that I encountered during third year. Basically, I enjoy the practice of medicine and patient interaction. I saw plenty of very interesting pathology and patients on OB-Gyn but I didn't particularly find this specialty appealing other than how I could learn to differentiate pelvic problems from abdominal problems in the course of seeing patients.

I loved my Psychiatry rotation and found the expertise of my preceptor far greater than any clinician that I have dealt with to date. I developed a very strong appreciation and high degree of respect for that multitude of psychiatrists out there that just do a good job taking care of their patients. While psychiatry was not for me, it was an awesome rotation that brought a depth of understanding as to how many medical and surgical problems might present with psychiatric symptoms.

As you go through first and second year, take the time to join one of two specialty exploration/interest groups at your medical school. By joining these groups, you ca expose yourself to residents and attendings that can assist with your exploration of their specialty. It is participation in these types of specialty interest groups that can allow you to keep your focus when you feel that you just can't look at another histology slide or review another article for biochemistry.

Also keep in mind that certain specialties do require a high level of academic achievement in medical school. I have often spoken to medical students who have struggled with a course or two in medical school who feel like doors have closed for them because they won't be competitive for a dermatology residency. My first inclination when I speak to theses folks is to find out if they actually understand the scope and practice of dermatology. If they do have this understanding, are there other less-competitive specialties that will satisfy many of their need? In the vast majority of cases, the answer is yes.

Finally, as a close to this little essay which is like a part one of this issue, if you know that you are not particularly competitive for a speciality that you feel you can't live without, spend some quality time with the program director/department chairman of that specialty at your school. Try to figure out if you have some options that can increase your competitiveness for said specialty such as research. There might even be a possibility of finding a program or two in that specialty that might be in a less desirable location and therefor less competitive.

Don't listen to anyone except yourself when it comes to your needs in terms of the practice of medicine. In the end, it doesn't matter what you classmates say about the specialty that interests you. It's how you feel about what you are interested in practicing and your suitability for said specialty. It's also about your attentiveness to your academics/boards too.

If you had a slow first year, try to have a strong second year. If you had a weak second year, then try to have a very strong third year. In short, you can decide at any point, that you are going to upgrade your work ethic and performance.

The match is an interesting process. In your senior year of medical school, you must choose what discipline of medicine you are going to study, you apply to various hospitals and universities across the country. Once you've completed your interviews, you rank from top to bottom your choices for where you will do your residency. The hospitals and universities in turn also rank the candidates they have interviewed. All of this data goes into a computer and it "matches" the students to the residency programs. The results are then revealed on a Wednesday in March on "Match Day".

The Monday before the "match" is known as "black Monday". This is when the student who have not matched are notified that none of the residencies they rank had accepted them (remember, it takes two to tango). They meet with student affairs and they "scramble" to find them a residency training program. It is often described as an extremely anxiety/angst ridden event. But in the end, everyone has some place to go after medical school.

So I wanted to extend a heartfelt congratulations today to the class of 2008!

Apparently the M62 was an absolute nightmare and made everyone late. Some observers say the first half was the best they'd seen from a Brid team in many a year - 4 zip up (obviously lost the second half 2-1).

Heres the write up from the Mossley website (its their copyright and all that, if you want it removed let me know) :

Just when it looked like things were clicking into place once again following the week end showing at Wakefield, Mossley's season took another disastrous turn for the worse. Well at least it did if you're just going off the scoreline.On the face of it there's no denying that a 5 - 2 defeat at home, to the team currently second from bottom of the division, is an embarrassing one. Especially when you're trailing by four goals at the interval.

The full picture however is not entirely one of doom and gloom as the Mossley performance in this game was light years ahead of those witnessed in the similarly heavy defeats against Lancaster and Skelmersdale, and even some of the more recent ones where we've lost by the odd goal such as Harrogate. Not that that really makes the result any less of a bitter pill to swallow or hide the fact that the warning signs are flashing.

The match almost got off to the perfect start for the Lilywhites when, with just twenty seconds having elapsed, Adam Morning bounced a shot off the right hand upright. A little over three minutes then went past before the same post was hit again, this time by Gareth Hamlet following a goalmouth scramble. Unfortunately for the Lilywhites though these efforts sandwiched Bridlington's second minute opener - a stunning strike by Gowens from the right wing that left Ashley Connor rooted to the spot as it arced around him and into the net.

Despite being a goal behind Mossley looked the better team but with no-one able to direct any of the numerous chances that presented themselves towards the target, Bridlington's keeper Hill remained relatively untroubled with only a close range effort from Darren Royle causing him any kind of consternation

That said he was still seeing more of the ball than his opposite number at the other end of the pitch so it came as something of a surprise when Town doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute. The first goal was good but the second was even better. Receiving the ball a good 35 yards away from goal, Fleming hit a thunderous drive that evaded Connor's vertical leap before dipping under the crossbar and hitting the back of the net.

If the first two goals were 'wonder strikes' that little could be done about, the same can't be said for the next two. Mossley's failure to adequately clear their defensive lines following a throw-in led to McGarry adding a third for Bridlington on the half hour mark, and on the stroke of half-time the same player was given the time and space to make it four with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Mossley finally managed to get on the score sheet in the 53rd minute whren Martin Allison's attempt to charge down a clearance was rewarded after the ball ricocheted off him and into the net. And when the same player pulled another goal back from the penalty spot seven minutes later, it suddenly looked as though Mossley were about to fashion a remarkable comeback.

That optimism lasted for less than two minutes. Taking advantage of a huge gap that opened up in the home defence, Gowens made his way towards the edge of the box unchecked before slotting the ball past Connor for Town's fifth goal of the night.

To Mossley's credit though they refused to lie down and die. Right up to the final whistle they continued to enjoy plenty of possession and created a host of chances, but just as in the first half (and many games prior to this one) the lack of any kind of accuracy meant that the deficit in the score remained at three.

Report by SJNR

 There is also a decent Mossley blog similar to this, well its a lot better than this to be fair. It appears he's still in shock, coz Tuesdays result hasn't appeared yet. http://mossleyafc.blogspot.com/

Many apologies to everyone thats been coming back and finding no updates, this should be rectified as of now (problems with blog uploading and "other" situation sorted). Big 6 pointer v Woodley tomorrow.

They say familiarity breeds contempt and the majority of City fans had that feeling by half-time today. Playing a team 3 times inside two weeks was just too much. Each time West Ham have played us this season they have got stronger and learnt a little bit more.

Take for example the Lucas Neill v Petrov mini-saga. Neill has finally got Petrov's cards marked. However, it's taken him four matches to learn! City played poorly today and to be perfectly honest - the Hammers deserved to go back down the M6 with all three points.

City have hit a brick wall in recent weeks and coupled with the fact that we've played West Ham so often this year the result, in reflection, becomes a good one. It's not very often that you can say we're picking up points and playing badly - but that is the case and if you believe the pundits that's the sign of a good team. So there is positives to be had!

For the game itself, we were poor. Completely one dimensional going through  Petrov for every move. Now MOTD2 gave a 5 minutes presentation by Dixon and Keown on how West Ham stopped Petrov and how other teams can do it. So from now on - unless we can start becoming more adventurous with our play - the Petrov attacking option is a no-go.

West Ham started the game much the brighter team, which is becoming commonplace at Eastlands. The Invisible Man is not sure whether it's our new found "Italian Way" of playing that makes us slow or whether the team are not up for it from the start. Anyway their bright opening was rewarded with a goal from Carlton Cole (Yeah, remember him!!).

A great little overhead kick left Hart with no chance. Micah was very brave and threw his head into the path of Cole's swinging boot. It's something you don't see Prem footballers doing but Micah is made of hard stuff.

West Ham continued to control the game making nice triangle passing and leaving City to play on scraps. When we won the ball it would be overplayed at the back then pumped up to Petrov. How predictable! The team's lack of a front man was there for all to see.

However, out of a nothing corner City managed to equalise through Darius Vassell - poking home from 3 yards after Petrov's whipped in cross was mis-controlled by Bianchi and fell invitingly for Vas to toe poke home.

Replay's showed that Vassell was offside when the move first started but was onside when the ball reached him. The offside rule needs clearing up cos it's to grey at the moment. However, the Invisible Man was delighted that justice was done after Santa Cruz equalised for Blackburn at the very same end in very similar circumstances.

What comes around, goes around - meaning that City must be becoming a bigger team as we would never have got that decision in years gone by.

The second half was a non-event for City and it's loyal supporters. West Ham's Noble and the ever-irrating Bowyer controlled the midfield with our star man Elano no where in sight. Hart made some great stops, most notabley one with his legs and a fine tip over in the third minute of injury time. Without an onsong Hart West Ham would have beaten City for the first time since the 5th Round Cup exit which ruined the rest of that season for City.

City's strike force was completely ineffective - Bianchi showing he's not got the fight or bottle to be a successful striker in the Premiership. He's far more suited to getting the over-protection that Italian refs give attackers. He tried but his best effort was so far short of what is expected and needed. He spent far to much time on his knees appealing for nothing. He looked like a man who's head was no longer in England.

To end on a positive, City are still only 2 points off Champions League and level on points with Villa and Pool. Although we're in 7th - a few good performances and wins under the belt will mean City will still be challenging for European competition.

Player Ratings

HART - He was great in the sticks. No chance for the goal. You would have been disappointed though if he had of conceded one of the many West Ham shots on goal as most of them were straight at him. 8/10

DUNNE - At fault for the goal with a stupid pass on the 18 yard line. Positionally was out of sorts and was not the usual rock he has become this season. Disappointing 5/10

BALL - Didn't offer much in attack but did his job in defence well. A simple but effective performance. At home you do expect more of your full backs. 6/10

CORKLUKA - Same as Ball. Rarely got forward but defended well enough. A very quiet game for him. He did let Ljungberg get past him a few times though. 6/10

RICHARDS - A good display from the young England International. After conceding to Cole he wasn't going to let him get the better of him for the rest of the match. A good strong performance 7/10

IRELAND - Started off playing in centre midfield - and the game passed him by. He then went onto the right wing and the game passed him by. A poor performance but the lad ran further than anyone else. 5/10

HAMANN - Broke up play the Didi way and won a fair few "dodgy" fouls. Passed it simple and did his job well. The old legs are not giving up just yet! 7/10

ELANO - Same as Ireland. The entire match just passed him by. A few nice passes is not good enough for our main creative force. This corners and freekicks were awful. 5/10

PETROV - Set up the goal from a corner and cross but other than that he was marked out of the game by Neill and Ferdinand. Tracked back very little and his short passing game was way off. 6/10

VASSELL - Scored his goal and was in the right place at the right time. Goes missing from the game and doesn't look for the ball enough. Ran well up and down the flank until Boa Morte injured him 6/10

BIANCHI - A poor performance. Was clean through on two occassions and decided to shoot from distance. Very short of pace and lacks the edge and strength needed to be a quality Premiership goal getter. 5/10

MANCHESTER CITY - WEST HAM UNITED PREVIEW
Well this really is getting quite boring isn't it. Having to play West Ham three times in two weeks has resulted in even  the most passionate of fans thinking - not this old record again.

It certainly will make the Invisible Man think twice before singing "Can we play you every week, can we play you every week". However, our results against the not so happy hammers have been good of late.

City haven't conceded a goal against the Hammers this season and if you go include last years games as well then they haven't scored a goal against our great defence for 465 minutes. A Newton goal was our undoing that day. Having to play them again though so soon after Wednesday's one nil win in the FA Cup means that this game is much harder to call.

Curbishly has sent a war cry out to his players saying that they can qualify for Europe this season if they believe in themselves a little more. They're just 7 points off a four place finish so that is not as tough as it may sound at first.

For City this game is yet another critical game in our ever-impressive season. With four teams on 39 points a win is vital to open up a little mini-gap. Villa play Liverpool on Monday night so someone is going to lose ground on us if we managed to get a fourth win over the Hammers this weekend. Let's hope Wigan can do what they did to us against Everton tomorrow and draw.

Which nicely brings the Invisible Man onto that last Premiership game. Our home form and away form are like chalk and cheese. It was a drab, and poor game with only a couple of shots on target, both of which came in injury time. We lost a great opportunity to make fourth place our own - putting more pressure on the West Ham game.

However, our impact in front of goal didn't improve on Wednesday night. Despite 7 blocked shots and a few off target we only managed 1 shot on target - Elano's brave diving header.  

This is a real concern for The Invisible Man. Far too man times this year we have failed to get more than a couple of shots on target and our strikers and midfielders are not even firing blanks. The gun has jammed and nothing is being shot! With only two weeks left of the transfer window Sven has to make his move fast.

Vassell is never going to score more than 5 a season, Samaras seems all but certain to leave, Castillo is out for 6 weeks but doesn't look like a striker, and that just leaves Bianchi. Our one player who looks like he can score and cause problems to opposition defences.

There seems to be a real problem with him and Sven though. Constantly being linked with a more back to Italy on loan and often quoted in the press as being unhappy - Sven has settled for him to play out his City Season from the bench. After his good performance in the week though he might have found himself playing up front again.

It's a tough call to see if Sven will make that decision and either drop Vassell. It's more than likely that Vassell will move to the right and Ireland will go infield pushing Elano up to play in "the hole". That's where Elano needs to play as he's so much more effective than wide right or as a midfielder.

Well onto West Ham. They don't like playing us much do they! However, they are getting closer and closer to us as the season progresses. With Dean Ashton up front they will always pose a threat to our back line and that was proven time again in the FA Cup match where Hart made some last ditch saves. Six wins and four draws mean West Ham will be dangerous but City will have the upper hand at home.

City Danger Man
Martin Petrov - this guy is in the form of his City life and has Lucas Neill in his back pocket. Expect him to enjoy himself down the left flank

Hammer Danger
Dean Ashton - He might be big, bulky and always huffing and puffing but the ex-Crewe man has power and a fantastic sight for goal. He hits them with real venom. 

Prediction
Before the FA Cup draw and replay the Invisible Man would have plumbed for an easy City victory. However, the teams now are sick to death of playing each other and the Invisible Man thinks West Ham will have more to prove than City on Sky Sports tomorrow.

It's going to be a much tougher game. West Ham will be a bit more open and will be going for the 3 points. City though have Petrov and Elano - two proven matchday winners. With Petrov able to run circles around Lucas Neill he will surely be the bookies favourite for a goal or assist.

Therefore, the prediction for the fourth and final encounter versus the Spammers is an entertaining 2-1 home victory.

 Head to Head

Manchester City 2-0 West Ham United
23 September 2006 - Ref: Chris Foy
Man City scorers: Samaras 50, 63

Well City ain't won at Goodison since 1992 and this weekend's game was almost a carbon copy of last year's dire affair. The Invisible Man is unsure of whether or not the atrocious view from the back of the lower bullins was actually a blessing in disguise.   

That Bullen's stand though needs to be torn down. How can a Premiership club called themselves Premiership with wooden little seats which would look more in place at a pre-school reception. They were tiny. Good job The Invisible Man stood up for the entire match then!

Now, on previous visits to Everton, The Invisible Man has always been impressed with the crowd, the roar and the banter the scousers give. However, Saturday was unbelievable. No atmosphere, no banter, no singing. Even after they scored they didn't sing. Has it ever been so quiet? Maybe the previous night's capital of culture celebrations took there toll. "Capital of Culture, You're havin' a Laugh!"

Anyways, onto the dire match itself.

One shot on target meant that against both Liverpool and Everton in recent games we have managed a total of one shot. Competing against these teams doesn't quite hit the mark. It's a good job City keep beating teams in the bottom half of the table because against our actual rivals we are not at the races.

A very cautious City did very little in the first half apart from a deflected Elano freekick. A combination of poor marking, Elano stood 3 yards behind all the other defenders and the fact Petrov couldn't be arsed to close down the cross meant an easy goal for Lescott. This boy can't stop scoring - at either ends! 

Everton dominated the first half without creating too many changes. Before the goal Cahill missed an empty net after a great save from Hart. He really did get down well to stop that one.

After the break it was City's turn to dominate as Everton, rather foolishly, decided that 1-nil would be all they wanted. They decided to play on the counter attack but couldn't get out of their half for 20 minutes. Literally!

The crowd started getting on their backs as City continued to win every loose or second ball. City passed it and passed it and ended up going back to Hart who would then pumped it forward 70 yards for us to lose the ball then win it back again and pass it some more before returning to Hart would hit it 70 yards. It wasn't inspiring!

No cutting edge from City was the root cause for the defeat. Some fans like to blame Vassell for all our troubles but when you have no chances to miss the problem is a bit more than just a dodgy striker. Plus Bianchi was on the pitch for the seocnd and never got a sniff either. The trouble came from a midfield which was not creative enough. Every time we looked to set Petrov away down the left flank. It was very easy to read and Hibbert just stayed deep.

There were two highlights of the game though that were great to see. The first was Petrov's run. He didn't have any room down the flank so cut inside and took on two or three players. It was a cracking run fully of pace and single mindedness.

The second was Dunne's run and back-heel. With no creativity or movement from the midfield a little gap opened up and Dunne took it on. He slowly built up his speed (considerable for a big man) and then he was juggernauting his way to the box. After his run was checked he back-heeled it perfectly to the left wing. Dunney Monster is KING!

Player Ratings

HART - A couple of great reaction saves and got lucky with Cahill's rebound means a solid performance. His kicking was ineffective and Sven has already told him that it is "forbidden". Slipped on his arse when the fans were singing "England's No.1" was funny though. 7/10

BALL - Did well against Areta and kept him relatively quiet. Poor passing let Ball down but he was really up for the game. Lost his way when coming over the half way line and didn't overlap Petrov enough 6/10

NEDUM - Looked far more comfortable at Centre Back where he moved in the second half. Was way too deep in the first as a right back and rarely went past half-way. Looks like Ned's thinking a bit too much at the moment, rather than do what we all know he can do. Wasted a good chance from a corner 6/10

RICHARDS - Strength and power from the young man in the first half meant little got past him. Anichebe gave him a good run for this money though. Moved to right back in the second half and sprinted along the line well linking up with attack. However, he was suppose to be a right-back and ended up playing as a centre forward and failed to track back in the last 20 minutes. 6/10

DUNNE -The Dunney Monster was surperb again. Strong in the tackle, imperious in the air and making every 50/50 a 70/30. Very little got past him and he read the game very well. Even went on a couple of tank-like runs and did a great little back-heel to Petrov - Dunnedinho! Kick long far too often though and was poor with his distribution which was a a shame. He also got a great round of applause from the Toffees when his name was read out which was great to see. 8/10 STAR MAN

DIDI - Did the usual Kasier thing. Kept it simple and reads the game better than anyone else. Found it hard to pass in a very conjested midfield and spent most of the game breaking up play. Was wrongly booked for a fantastic sliding tackle. Subbed in the second half for fear of getting another yellow. 6/10

CORLUKA -Didn't look comfortable in midfield. Took too long on the ball and was caught often (mostly around the shins). Took a big kick in the second half which could have been red for Carsley. Too slow and not enough craft with his passing. 5/10

ELANO - Nothing from the little Brazilian. Marked out the game and couldn't create on a soggy, boggy pitch. Tried hard in the first half but was invisible in the second. 5/10

PETROV - All the attacking was going through Petrov and he was marked out of the game. Found it hard going and rarely got in behind. Had the only shot on target for City though. 6/10

CASTILLO - Looked way of the pace and like a fish out of water on the right hand side. Totally left footed and wanted to much time on the ball. Gave the ball away too often and needs to get match fit. Even failed to hit the target in the pre-match warm-up 5/10

VASSELL - No threat at all. A very easy day for Everton's back line. Even his usual full of running self didn't help in this game 5/10

GELSON - Came on for Didi and did what Didi did in the first half. (say that fast five times :-) ) No real impact 5/10

BIANCHI - Came on for Castillo and had 35 minutes to impress. Did even less than Vassell and gave away far too many freekicks. Strange why the City fans keep singing that song when he's this poor. 5/10

IRELAND - Gave balance to the team but didn't contribute anything else. Looked very fragile next to those massive Everton players. Has he got even thinner? 5/10

Rossendale at home next week WILL BE the test. At home, if we lose this then the future for the rest of the season may be quite bleak .

 

EVERTON - MANCHESTER CITY PREVIEW
It's back to Scouse Land this weekend for a six pointer of a match, which for the first time isn't a relegation six pointer for Manchester City. Oh how good it feels to talk about qualifying for Europe rather than getting to the 40 point mark. Incidentally, a draw at the Toffee's will bring up the magic 40!

If the Toffees manage to win then they'll draw level on points with City and we'll be pulled back down into the hunt for UEFA Cup spots. A win, and we will still be dreaming of the unthinkable - a Champions League birth. The Invisible Man has never seen City win at Everton though and this game will be a real tough task for the players and the fans too - for the past two seasons our hosts have failed to open the bars up in the ground meaning we all stay tee-total. Why Goodison do this is beyond me.

There's no better time to be playing Everton with their Africa stars already on the plane to the African Cup of Nations so the omen's are favouring City slighty. Our away form has been poor to date but the win against the Barcodes will surely give Sven's men more confidence. With Petrov, Elano, Castillo and the Kaiser in midfield we have the capability of scoring from deep.

Expect resolute defending from Richards and DunneyMonster  and don't expect Nedum or Ball to venture further than the halfway line in this match. Joe Hart will be full of confidence too after  great week in the press where he's been tipped as a future England keeper and the current best English keeper in the league. He won't disappoint and I expect him to make his usual breath taking save in this game - probably from an Arteta blaster.

Up front is where City are struggling. Don't expect Vassell to get on the scoresheet but I do believe he will start over Bianchi. He's a great team player and works harder than any other player for the team. He's got himself a couple of assists recently and he might just get another.

Bianchi is not Sven's favourite player at the moment - some suggesting that his work ethic and team play is not up to scratch. However, he is a natural born finsher and if he gets off the bench with 20 odd mins to go then he might just sneak a six yarder.

Everton Danger Men
Tim Cahill
Mikel Arteta

City Danger Men
Elano Blumer
Martin Petrov

Prediction
This game is tough to call. Both teams look very evenly matched. Midfield is where this battle is gonna be won or lost with both teams having midfielders capable of winning games on their own. A draw looks likely from the stats presented and the league table but something tells The Invisible Man that City can win at Goodison on Saturday.

Therefore, rather optimistically, the prediction is a hard-fought and tense 0-1 affair.

Head to Head
Man City                 2 - 1                   Everton
Everton                   1 - 1                   Man City
Everton                   1 - 0                  Man City
Man City                 2 - 0                  Everton
Everton                   2 - 1                  Man City
Man City                 0 - 1                  Everton
Man City                 5 - 1                  Everton
Everton                   0 - 0                 Man City
Everton                   2 - 2                 Man City
Man City                 3 - 1                 Everton
Everton                   3 - 1                 Man City
Man City                 5 - 0                Everton
Everton                   3 - 1                Man City

What does it mean for teams like ours ? Well for clubs like Brid, it means survival, as awful as that sounds, but its a fact of life, having a crowd in excess of 1,000 means the same as 9 average home games, 9 times the amount of beer and food consumed.

All in all, it turned out to be one of the best days at football that i had had in many years. The football became secondary to listening to the singing from the FC faithful, drinking beer and chatting to them. Mid way through the second half, I realised I hadnt watched any footy for about 15 minutes (glad i didnt coz we conceded during this period). Many of the FC fans told me that, yes they'd been to FA Cup finals, European cup finals, massive derby games, but at the end of the day, it was days / games like those at Brid that brought home the true value of football in this country - having a beer, cheering the team on, in a friendly, jovial environment.

I nipped into the bar before the game, and it was packed (12 o'clock), with FC fans getting ready to watch the Arse v the Mancs on Sky. After the game, it was heaving, but plenty of singing, even some locals singing the Leeds "Marching on together" theme to gee up the atmosphere, but it only spurred on the visitors to be louder.

The aftermath on the Brid forum was a tad lackluster to say the least, the FC forum was full of praise of the locals, hosts, hoteliers and fans for a great day / weekend away.

A big thanks to the Brid chairman and committee for organizing a great day out, the local & visiting fans for mixing so well - it was truly a brilliant day out. Perhaps we'll twin with FC and have a pre-season game over here one weekend in July !!!

A quote from yesterdays write up after their teams continued goal drought "Certainly the Royal Mail management were considering offering their postmen our kit, because let's face it that would have stopped them striking." and on the same theme "Minus points: Brothel. Barn door. Banjo. Cow's arse. Can't think of any other figures of speech, but you get my point." 

Heres his link : SW19 Army

Nominee 1

Nominee 2

Nominee 3

Don't be influenced by the captions.. ha

Hongliang with a Zidane-like nutmeg!! How graceful!! 1 in a million. hehe

Governor showing who is boss

Giving some credit to the opponents.

Kel showing who's boss on the right. Look at the opponent!! Another opponent bites the (KeL's) dust

More Photos

Newcastle Blue Star Vs Bridlington

But a dramatic conclusion occurred when just one minute later Bell drove a magnificent shot straight into the top corner for a 2-1 victory! Joy erupted from the home fans, Blue Star are still unbeaten at home but  must improve their away results.

 Sounds like the lads did well and weren't overawed by the opposition. Not sure if many (if any) fans got to the game, as Newcastle is a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Brid, bloody long way for mid week game, especially when there is work tomorrow. I take my hat off to anyone that went, it peed down, 3 hours each way traveling and we lost.

One day the lads might just get a good rub of the green, of course skill plays a big part in the course of a game, but luck is another crucial element. For us, well....we don't get very much, injuries, refereeing decisions, fixture timings (ie midweek away in Newcastle)...but hope is on the horizon.

Saturday they are away in a cup at Quorn FC- not the tasteless cardboardy vegetarian substitute for meat, but the place where it was "formed" (boom boom) - somewhere near Loughborough - another 2 hour plus trip. Quorn are in the Unibond South and are placed a little higher than us in our league.

Me ? I'm currently watching Man U v Wigan and may venture over to Queensgate later for Scarborough's game. who knows.

There was "a dissapointing" 199 in the ground for this match, against a team from Sutton, containing ex Liverpool & Tottenham player Paul Walsh (45 yrs old and still getting up and down the pitch), and a few ex Scarborough players.

£4 & £2 to get in, the Scarborough fans were trying to be innovative in the way they got extra funds into the club - their half time draw was one I know they did at the McCain whereby everyone bought a ticket for a quid, winner took half of all the monies the club get the other half. They also had programme sellers wandering around the ground flogging them. One guy just picked up a bucket and went touting for "some spare change", more importantly there was some nice totty there !!!

The game was exceptional from Scarboroughs point of view, apart form our mate Drew Mc who wasn't even going to play today (you won't become a pro player on Pie and chips Drew !!). Joe Lightowler scored a tremondous opener, but Sutton didn't take too long to equalise. But then the impressive Lightowler scored an absolute screamer of a goal, a 45 yard lob, and for the rest of the half, he bossed the front line. Sutton started ok but as the game went on and the goals went in, they faded, with only Walshy the only player putting up any resistance. Finished 6-1.

A good game and pleasant atmosphere. Oh and we beat Goole 2-1 apparently, lol, they beat Scarborough 3-0 who beat us 4-2. Queer game aint it.