GMOAI Style: Shoe Obsessed.

So, after blogs about Elbow, BBC News School Report, and Formula 1, it was about time I filled in the last of those headings above. (Up there. See them? Good.) So returning tonight is GMOAI Style.

As we've found out before, I'm hardly the most stylish fella. I buy pea green jumpers. Alas, I have a tendency to get drawn in to certain things - jumpers, watches, and SHOES. Lovely lovely shoes.

So what do I reckon we should buy this coming season?

Well, as we've seen in every fashion magazine known to man, brogues are back big time for blokes. Specifically colourful ones.

These have to be my faves. These Paul Smith Miller Cobalt Brogues are just gorgeous. They look like they've been to Avatar and back. They even have a powdered blue sole - amazing. These are from the official website, for £235.

Or how's about stone? You can get these KG by Kurt Geiger Saint Suede Brogues in so many colours - you may have spotted the advert about with a rainbow of shoes. They're beautiful creations - to be fair, anything from Kurt Geiger would do it for me. These can be pur-chased on the Kurt Geiger website, for a mere £125. Totally worth it.

These Vivienne Westwood Tizer shoes are more like a pair of smart shoes, but they're vaguely brogue-y. So it was about time you got to see their wonderfulness. Normally, non-matching shoes don't go down a treat, but the blue, khaki and pink shoes are larvley. A bit of an investment, at £285, and you can get them from Viv's official website.

But that doesn't mean the classics aren't still cool. These grey Rolando Sturlini's are gorgeous. You'll have to excuse the dirt on the sole - don't blame me... They're £160, and you can find them here on ASOS.

How about some very posh Jeffrey Wests? These Two-Tone Brogues, from the Black Line collection, come in stone, and are rather delicious. You could eat these. These are 140 quid, but for a decent meal, that's fair enough. Available on ASOS, I believe.

These are Ellington New Dye Grey Wingcap Brogues, from H by Hudson, and they're from their official website too. Sleek is a word for them. The kinda shoe you'd imagine George Clooney to wear. It'd match his hair. Those dreamy eyes....... Shit. Blog, yes. They're £75, and Clooney is my man crush. Easy.

All a little steep? These ASOS Wingcap Pointed Brogues aren't in-keeping with what we've seen so far, but these are a snip at £28, whilst on sale. Black, simple, smart, and very, very cool. They're available on ASOS. Obviously.

Or these tan leather brogues? They are perfectly on trend - will look great with chinos too, ironically, also in trend. Which rock have you been living under? They're £66.99, and available from Office.

Here's another pair I really like - they're called Micro Sole Saddle Shoes, and you can get them from ASOS too. They're very similar to the Viv Westwood's. Very different - tan and navy leather. They're 40 squigglies.

And here's a shocker - something Adam likes from Next, of all places. These Brogue Lace-Ups, at £50, are lovely, and bang-on trend. Really nice, and come in three colours. These in the teeny-weeny pic are again, stone. Go buy here.

And for a nicely rounded £69.50, you can pick up these Suede Two-Tone brogues, from the Collezione collection at M&S. Fashionable, and relatively cheap. Leather and suede?! Well, there's a posh man's wet dream... All yours when you click here.

But my favourite pair? Like, my absolute FAVOURITE pair of shoes, in the whole entire world?

KG by Kurt Geiger Covent Wingcaps. Not quite brogues, but I couldn't care. I could write a post on bloody espadrilles, and these would appear. They're 90 quid, but I'd pay what it takes to own these. So simple, but so beautifully made even Eva Longoria would be kissing my feet. And she is gorgeous. Again, available at Kurt Geiger, and soon to appear on my feet.

So that's my 'short' guide on this season's brogues, and what to buy for your ever-increasing, or in my case, ever-decreasing budget. I'd like every one of these. If you feel like buying me a birthday present, pick one. I won't bite. Promise.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

F1 2011: Five Red Lights, Two Red Eyes

This weekend, as it does every year in Britain, signalled the start of summer. The clocks went one hour forward, meaning an hour more sunshine - and an hour less sleep for me. So when my alarm started beeping at 6:55 this morning, I was a bit pissed off, to be fair. So I went back to bed.

And when I did eventually surface at gone quarter past 12 (it was a bit of a heavy night Saturday...), I realised I had missed the first race of the 2011 Formula 1 Season, in Australia. Thankfully, not Bahrain, the most dull, boring race of the season, as it was 'postponed'. Nor was it Japan, as had been stuck in my head for the last week.

And in the first of what will apparently be 19 posts over the 2011 season (I've been told I promised this at the end of last season. I do not remember this. I hope Prince Kazoo in Nigeria is not scamming me.), I'm gonna be lobbing my thoughts on today's race onto a page.

So having watched the race through very red eyes, I was able to watch it in HD. I've been waiting for this for about 4 years, and it lived up to expectations. Cannot wait for Abu Dhabi now, to see it in all its hi-def glory.

Now the general consensus is that today's winner, Sebastian Vettel, won by a clear mile in a very dull, boring race. I'm gonna go against this. I reckon he was very lucky and had a lot going for him in today's race, and not only that, but it was a great way to start the season too.

We've had so many changes in the off-season too. We've had the big Lotus vs. Renault argument, which is now in the High Court to decide who can be called 'Lotus'. Hmmmmm, tricky one...

And there's been 10 driver changes, with plenty more to take place at the end of this season too. There are new tyre suppliers, in Pirelli, and something called DRS - Drag Reduction System - where the rear wing moves to decrease drag and increase speed by 12 km/h. Very clever, when you see it working with graphics all over the screen telling you exactly what it's doing.

Today the DRS system didn't seem to be given a lot of opportunity to get going, because of the lack of area for it to be used. One final corner, and on the long straight didn't seem to give it the 'ooomph' needed to get the thing going. But team it with the revolutionary KERS system, and we could have some quick, quick cars on our hands. But until then, sort it aaaaarrrt, Bernie.

Red Bull won't run away with it like the 2010 season, like many are predicting. There are too many competitors this time around. McLaren have built a car that is matching the speed, if not quicker, than the Red Bull, and Ferrari will pick up the pace over the next few races. Not only that, but Sauber, Mercedes and Force India all look to be a force to be reckoned with.

One question I was asked this morning on Twitter was 'Who are your favourite driver and team?' So, in response to that, it has to be Kamui Kobayashi, and obviously, the Sauber team. Kobayashi is kamikaze, to say the least. When he filled in at Williams, you could tell he wanted to get out there, and enjoy himself. He'd take the smallest of gaps, exploit it, and somehow manage to pull it off every single time. He's entertaining, more than anything, and he's bloody good too.

Sauber just seem to be the small team, with a small budget, who get the most out of their car. They have a knack of picking some absolutely beautiful strategies, and making them work. And with Sergio Perez, it looks like they've made one of the best signings of the season.

Oh, and if you fancy getting in touch on the ol' Twitter, I'm @Adam9309. I've even done the hard work for you. Go on, click. I'm sure you'll think of something to ask.

So what are we in for over the next 8 months? Crashes, fall-outs, team orders, quick lap times, big upgrades, and shocks all round. All in all, another frigging good season.

All my rather gorgeous pics aren't mine. I wasn't there, funnily enough. But anyway, thankyou to the lovely Guardian Sport team for these beauties.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Silence on Set... BBC School Report 2011

I apologise in advance - this blog is very photo-orientated, so is completely jumbled up. And there's bound to be a piece missing from my jigsaw of BBC-ness, so I'm sorry if you get a little confuzzled!

Six months in the making, two days in the creating, and ten minutes in the watching - the hectic day that is BBC School Report returns this year bigger, and better than ever.

BBC News School Report, as it is now known, was set up five years ago, and gives 11-14 year-olds an opportunity to make the news themselves for a day. They get 10 minutes to play with, creating both national and local news stories, looking at how to edit them, operating the cameras themselves, and putting the whole package together. It's a very long process, and that helps make it even better when we have the big rush before deadline!

See the full gallery on Posterous

At Hitchin Boys' School, we managed to put together something that I think every boy who was involved can be insanely proud of. As a 'mentor' (that was my official title. It should have been 'Boy Who Gets In The Way A Lot And Shouts When Something Is Wrong Because He Is A Grammar Nazi', or 'Plank' for short.), I helped the boys get it right, and kept them in shape. If I have to bark at one of them to 'turn off your mic' one more time, I'm gonna hurt someone. Probably the kid involved.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Anyway, we were very lucky to be accompanied by Absolute AVS for the second year running, who built us a beautiful set and helped the boys learn to use all their VERY expensive equipment...

See the full gallery on Posterous

The boys were brilliant, as ever - we used some different techniques and changed some bits about this year, and I'm sure they're all very proud of what they've created. If you haven't seen it yet, it's at the bottom of the post. Or if you can't be bothered to scroll any further, it's right here!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Also strewn throughout this one are a load of photos I managed to sneak in on me iPhone of the day. I've also created some shots using an app called Instagram that seem to have come out nicely. Bar some very poor lighting, mind you. But you can't have it all.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Hopefully we'll be taking the boys on a 'well done' trip to BBC TV Centre, and I'll blog a bit more then. Then they'll hate me jumping in their faces with a camera.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Music Musings: Elbow

Before 2008, no-one had even heard of them. They were 'counter-culture', if you were. Now they're 'mainstream', and everyone wants a piece of them. Mainly their elbows.

God I need a new sense of humour.

For those of you who have been living under some large rock for the last three years, this is Elbow. Their new album, 'Build A Rocket Boys!' was released earlier this month, and is another absolute masterpiece.

I'm an absolutely massive Elbow fan - and I didn't think they'd better 'The Seldom Seen Kid', their previous album. It won a hell of a lot of awards, including the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, as it was then, which propelled them onto the cover of every music magazine, and onto every radio station. Then 'One Day Like This' arrived, and people began urinating at quite how good that song was. Six minutes of incredible ingenuity to display the talents of Guy Garvey, Mr Frontman himself, to a world stage.

So what am I going to whittle on about tonight? Well, the new record. Obvs.

So let's go through it, in a nice logical, tracklist order. Like most normal people would. We begin with the 8-minute epic that is 'The Birds', which has an infectious hook threaded through it that sends you into a trance. Next is 'Lippy Kids', a song written by Guy to represent the British youths; a song that combats 'the anti-hoody shit that goes on in the media, the thought that if you hang around on a street corner you're a criminal.' It's a beautiful song, that includes an amazing storyline that musters up all sorts of personal memories stored in your head. Third is 'With Love', which starts heavy, and ends it too, and has a thumping beat that will have you whistling along in no time.

Next was the first single, 'Neat Little Rows', which has some very odd effects layered over it, and for me, isn't single material. Doesn't take away from the song though. The wonderfully-titled 'Jesus is a Rochdale Girl' follows, and is a stripped down love song, basically. It sounds very summery, put it that way.

'The Night Will Always Win' is a slow burner, but is a haunting song, that stops you thinking about all the heavy drums and beats, and just takes you back to another beautiful grown-up love song. Just oozes gorgeousness. Then 'High Ideals' comes next, and that returns with a brilliant, almost Brazilian-style beat and horns that just set the song up for constant smiles. Or what about the piano simplicity of 'The River', which has a beautiful choir that sets Guy's vocals to something new. I dunno if it was intended, but I can only think of rivers and water when this is on. Stunning.

Track 9 was featured last Friday on Comic Relief, for those of you who saw it. Titled 'Open Arms', again this features a choir and a rather-techno beat that thuds along with fast-paced drums, and is by far my favourite song on the album. Never fails to make me smile. A reprise of 'The Birds' manages to sneak in just before the end, with vocals from John Moseley, that sound like it should be at a funeral. It is truly, truly beautiful. One of those tracks you just have to sit back and listen to. Until it's destroyed by a Spotify advert. Finally, wrapping up the album, and indeed this post, is 'Dear Friends', which sums up tonight's mood. A beautiful, serene track that plods on and makes everything better. A genius way to end.

I'm seeing Elbow next Tuesday, so keep an eye on my Twitter feed for photos and videos, when I can be arsed to get my phone out. So the majority of the time.

If you haven't heard of Elbow, then why not?! You can listen to them on Spotify right here, have a listen on iTunes here, find them on MySpace by clicking on this one, follow them on Twitter here, or just visit their own website here. HYPERLINK CRAZINESS.

Anyway, this is a live version of 'Open Arms'. Please enjoy.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Music Musings: Elbow

Before 2008, no-one had even heard of them. They were 'counter-culture', if you were. Now they're 'mainstream', and everyone wants a piece of them. Mainly their elbows.

God I need a new sense of humour.

For those of you who have been living under some large rock for the last three years, this is Elbow. Their new album, 'Build A Rocket Boys!' was released earlier this month, and is another absolute masterpiece.

I'm an absolutely massive Elbow fan - and I didn't think they'd better 'The Seldom Seen Kid', their previous album. It won a hell of a lot of awards, including the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, as it was then, which propelled them onto the cover of every music magazine, and onto every radio station. Then 'One Day Like This' arrived, and people began urinating at quite how good that song was. Six minutes of incredible ingenuity to display the talents of Guy Garvey, Mr Frontman himself, to a world stage.

So what am I going to whittle on about tonight? Well, the new record. Obvs.

So let's go through it, in a nice logical, tracklist order. Like most normal people would. We begin with the 8-minute epic that is 'The Birds', which has an infectious hook threaded through it that sends you into a trance. Next is 'Lippy Kids', a song written by Guy to represent the British youths; a song that combats 'the anti-hoody shit that goes on in the media, the thought that if you hang around on a street corner you're a criminal.' It's a beautiful song, that includes an amazing storyline that musters up all sorts of personal memories stored in your head. Third is 'With Love', which starts heavy, and ends it too, and has a thumping beat that will have you whistling along in no time.

Next was the first single, 'Neat Little Rows', which has some very odd effects layered over it, and for me, isn't single material. Doesn't take away from the song though. The wonderfully-titled 'Jesus is a Rochdale Girl' follows, and is a stripped down love song, basically. It sounds very summery, put it that way.

'The Night Will Always Win' is a slow burner, but is a haunting song, that stops you thinking about all the heavy drums and beats, and just takes you back to another beautiful grown-up love song. Just oozes gorgeousness. Then 'High Ideals' comes next, and that returns with a brilliant, almost Brazilian-style beat and horns that just set the song up for constant smiles. Or what about the piano simplicity of 'The River', which has a beautiful choir that sets Guy's vocals to something new. I dunno if it was intended, but I can only think of rivers and water when this is on. Stunning.

Track 9 was featured last Friday on Comic Relief, for those of you who saw it. Titled 'Open Arms', again this features a choir and a rather-techno beat that thuds along with fast-paced drums, and is by far my favourite song on the album. Never fails to make me smile. A reprise of 'The Birds' manages to sneak in just before the end, with vocals from John Moseley, that sound like it should be at a funeral. It is truly, truly beautiful. One of those tracks you just have to sit back and listen to. Until it's destroyed by a Spotify advert. Finally, wrapping up the album, and indeed this post, is 'Dear Friends', which sums up tonight's mood. A beautiful, serene track that plods on and makes everything better. A genius way to end.

I'm seeing Elbow next Tuesday, so keep an eye on my Twitter feed for photos and videos, when I can be arsed to get my phone out. So the majority of the time.

If you haven't heard of Elbow, then why not?! You can listen to them on Spotify right here, have a listen on iTunes here, find them on MySpace by clicking on this one, follow them on Twitter here, or just visit their own website here. HYPERLINK CRAZINESS.

Anyway, this is a live version of 'Open Arms'. Please enjoy.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Music Musings: Elbow

Before 2008, no-one had even heard of them. They were 'counter-culture', if you were. Now they're 'mainstream', and everyone wants a piece of them. Mainly their elbows.

God I need a new sense of humour.

For those of you who have been living under some large rock for the last three years, this is Elbow. Their new album, 'Build A Rocket Boys!' was released earlier this month, and is another absolute masterpiece.

I'm an absolutely massive Elbow fan - and I didn't think they'd better 'The Seldom Seen Kid', their previous album. It won a hell of a lot of awards, including the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, as it was then, which propelled them onto the cover of every music magazine, and onto every radio station. Then 'One Day Like This' arrived, and people began urinating at quite how good that song was. Six minutes of incredible ingenuity to display the talents of Guy Garvey, Mr Frontman himself, to a world stage.

So what am I going to whittle on about tonight? Well, the new record. Obvs.

So let's go through it, in a nice logical, tracklist order. Like most normal people would. We begin with the 8-minute epic that is 'The Birds', which has an infectious hook threaded through it that sends you into a trance. Next is 'Lippy Kids', a song written by Guy to represent the British youths; a song that combats 'the anti-hoody shit that goes on in the media, the thought that if you hang around on a street corner you're a criminal.' It's a beautiful song, that includes an amazing storyline that musters up all sorts of personal memories stored in your head. Third is 'With Love', which starts heavy, and ends it too, and has a thumping beat that will have you whistling along in no time.

Next was the first single, 'Neat Little Rows', which has some very odd effects layered over it, and for me, isn't single material. Doesn't take away from the song though. The wonderfully-titled 'Jesus is a Rochdale Girl' follows, and is a stripped down love song, basically. It sounds very summery, put it that way.

'The Night Will Always Win' is a slow burner, but is a haunting song, that stops you thinking about all the heavy drums and beats, and just takes you back to another beautiful grown-up love song. Just oozes gorgeousness. Then 'High Ideals' comes next, and that returns with a brilliant, almost Brazilian-style beat and horns that just set the song up for constant smiles. Or what about the piano simplicity of 'The River', which has a beautiful choir that sets Guy's vocals to something new. I dunno if it was intended, but I can only think of rivers and water when this is on. Stunning.

Track 9 was featured last Friday on Comic Relief, for those of you who saw it. Titled 'Open Arms', again this features a choir and a rather-techno beat that thuds along with fast-paced drums, and is by far my favourite song on the album. Never fails to make me smile. A reprise of 'The Birds' manages to sneak in just before the end, with vocals from John Moseley, that sound like it should be at a funeral. It is truly, truly beautiful. One of those tracks you just have to sit back and listen to. Until it's destroyed by a Spotify advert. Finally, wrapping up the album, and indeed this post, is 'Dear Friends', which sums up tonight's mood. A beautiful, serene track that plods on and makes everything better. A genius way to end.

I'm seeing Elbow next Tuesday, so keep an eye on my Twitter feed for photos and videos, when I can be arsed to get my phone out. So the majority of the time.

If you haven't heard of Elbow, then why not?! You can listen to them on Spotify right here, have a listen on iTunes here, find them on MySpace by clicking on this one, follow them on Twitter here, or just visit their own website here. HYPERLINK CRAZINESS.

Anyway, this is a live version of 'Open Arms'. Please enjoy.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Music Musings: Elbow

Before 2008, no-one had even heard of them. They were 'counter-culture', if you were. Now they're 'mainstream', and everyone wants a piece of them. Mainly their elbows.

God I need a new sense of humour.

For those of you who have been living under some large rock for the last three years, this is Elbow. Their new album, 'Build A Rocket Boys!' was released earlier this month, and is another absolute masterpiece.

I'm an absolutely massive Elbow fan - and I didn't think they'd better 'The Seldom Seen Kid', their previous album. It won a hell of a lot of awards, including the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, as it was then, which propelled them onto the cover of every music magazine, and onto every radio station. Then 'One Day Like This' arrived, and people began urinating at quite how good that song was. Six minutes of incredible ingenuity to display the talents of Guy Garvey, Mr Frontman himself, to a world stage.

So what am I going to whittle on about tonight? Well, the new record. Obvs.

So let's go through it, in a nice logical, tracklist order. Like most normal people would. We begin with the 8-minute epic that is 'The Birds', which has an infectious hook threaded through it that sends you into a trance. Next is 'Lippy Kids', a song written by Guy to represent the British youths; a song that combats 'the anti-hoody shit that goes on in the media, the thought that if you hang around on a street corner you're a criminal.' It's a beautiful song, that includes an amazing storyline that musters up all sorts of personal memories stored in your head. Third is 'With Love', which starts heavy, and ends it too, and has a thumping beat that will have you whistling along in no time.

Next was the first single, 'Neat Little Rows', which has some very odd effects layered over it, and for me, isn't single material. Doesn't take away from the song though. The wonderfully-titled 'Jesus is a Rochdale Girl' follows, and is a stripped down love song, basically. It sounds very summery, put it that way.

'The Night Will Always Win' is a slow burner, but is a haunting song, that stops you thinking about all the heavy drums and beats, and just takes you back to another beautiful grown-up love song. Just oozes gorgeousness. Then 'High Ideals' comes next, and that returns with a brilliant, almost Brazilian-style beat and horns that just set the song up for constant smiles. Or what about the piano simplicity of 'The River', which has a beautiful choir that sets Guy's vocals to something new. I dunno if it was intended, but I can only think of rivers and water when this is on. Stunning.

Track 9 was featured last Friday on Comic Relief, for those of you who saw it. Titled 'Open Arms', again this features a choir and a rather-techno beat that thuds along with fast-paced drums, and is by far my favourite song on the album. Never fails to make me smile. A reprise of 'The Birds' manages to sneak in just before the end, with vocals from John Moseley, that sound like it should be at a funeral. It is truly, truly beautiful. One of those tracks you just have to sit back and listen to. Until it's destroyed by a Spotify advert. Finally, wrapping up the album, and indeed this post, is 'Dear Friends', which sums up tonight's mood. A beautiful, serene track that plods on and makes everything better. A genius way to end.

I'm seeing Elbow next Tuesday, so keep an eye on my Twitter feed for photos and videos, when I can be arsed to get my phone out. So the majority of the time.

If you haven't heard of Elbow, then why not?! You can listen to them on Spotify right here, have a listen on iTunes here, find them on MySpace by clicking on this one, follow them on Twitter here, or just visit their own website here. HYPERLINK CRAZINESS.

Anyway, this is a live version of 'Open Arms'. Please enjoy.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

An Open Letter to The FA Chairman David Bernstein

Dear Mr Bernstein,

As a fan of football, both here in the UK and worldwide, I believe it is within my right to express my deep concern regarding the current circumstances surrounding football within the Premier League.

We have seen time and time again this season referees making poor decisions, based on players getting involved and influencing decisions, cheating and diving, poor offside decisions and what looks like biased refereeing towards certain teams. A referee is there to keep the peace, and to be the decision maker, in order to keep the game fair. How can they be keeping it fair when bad decisions are strewn throughout the game? Yes, there may be mistakes from referees, but when it becomes apparent that these mistakes are in every game, something needs to change.

We have seen Wayne Rooney get away with elbowing a fellow professional in the head, of which you commented that 'if the referee states he has seen the incident the FA is not able to make decisions except in exceptional circumstances'. If the FA takes no action towards incidents like this, then we are just telling youngsters involved in grassroots football that when the referee's back is turned, you can get away with anything. Is this the message we want to portray?

Referees seem to be feeling the pressure this season, and plenty of poor decisions have been made. So much so, that Mark Clattenberg, once deemed one of the best refs in the game, has earned the nickname 'Mark Clangerberg'. Even today, during the Sunderland vs. Liverpool game, we saw a penalty, that was a free-kick, which the referee was going to rightly award. However, when the linesman hadn't kept up with play, flagged and then changed his mind to a penalty, the referee followed suit, and gave a penalty, which changed the match. How can this be deemed acceptable? When a team lose a crucial 3 points because a team of officials can't get the decisions right?

It seems that with referees constantly making the correct decisions for years, we forgot to give the praise necessary. Instead, we concentrated on the bad mistakes, and the mass media has enforced this. Admittedly, we don't give referees the recognition they deserve after a superb game, but when they have poor, indecisive games, the bad press is deserved. If we don't hear via the press and the TV from the referees, as is currently banned by the FA and the Premier League, then how are we, as fans, meant to award the praise when they are not allowed to justify their decisions? It seems a very stupid, pointless rule to me.

All clubs in the Premier League, and throughout the Football League, strive to reach their dream of European football, and the financial windfall can be the difference between survival or administration, as we have seen in Portsmouth's case. However, the joys of football fans, such as Tottenham's continuing pursuit in the Champions League, goes to show quite how necessary it is for the English football league system to keep its four Champions League spots. With UEFA President Michael Platini trying to tear that fourth spot away and handing it to the winners of the FA Cup, one team will miss out, and the Big Four of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool will continue to be the dominant forces in football. The most exciting seasons seem to be those where other teams make the grade, like Spurs and Man City, so losing that opportunity for European football would be catastrophic to the fans. We need to strengthen our ties with both UEFA and FIFA, and make sure that these proposals never take flight, keeping our football the way we like it.

Not only that, but with FIFA being one of the most corrupt organisations in world sport, we have to ensure that this does not filter through to our own national governing body. Your proposal to ensure two impartial, independent members on the Board of Directors of The FA will give more opportunity for fair proposals and reforms can be made that will benefit not only the Premier League, but the Football League, and amateur and grassroots football too. Adding two directors will not, however, make a difference to what we currently have, but will only impact on the future of football, so something needs to be done now as well.

International football is key to how the FA runs. However, had £798m not been spent on Wembley Stadium, we wouldn't have to have constant friendlies and international breaks. I am yet to find one manager who agrees with the international breaks that have to happen in order to gain that money back. The Millennium Stadium cost £121m, and is one of the best sporting facilities I have ever visited. How can Wembley have cost so much? A poor investment, if you ask me.

With England having to play these friendlies, we expect the best from our team. When you don't even see the 11 players, representing their country, staying silent during the National Anthem - then you know that something is wrong. There are 51 million people in England, the majority of who are very proud of their English heritage, and belt out the National Anthem at any given opportunity. These footballers, who earn in excess of £100,000 a week, should be banned from representing their country if they believe they are above the rest of us, and don't sing our anthem. They clearly do not care enough about representing us on an international stage. You don't see international teams, where the average wage of each player is below £10,000, not singing their anthem, becasue they see representing their coutnry as a privilege, and not as somehting else to add to the CV.

I do agree that the best manager available should fill Fabio Capello's shoes when he leaves after Euro 2012. But we know full well that foreign managers don't work, and nor do rushed decisions. Look at Sven, and Steve McLaren. These decisions should be made soon, and involve not only the FA Board, but the players, and those who truly run football - the fans. The only way to inject life back into international football is to make the fans feel that they too are playing for England, and if by involving them in big, monumental decisions, we increase crowds and increase interaction with the team, then that is how it should be done.

Instead of spending time arguing whether or not to ban snoods, we should be spending time working out how to reform football and the Premier League to ensure a fair official, male or female, is assigned to each game, who can keep a game under control and get the decisions right 100% of the time. We need to make sure the decisions that affect our game are made based on sufficient evidence, and backed by a number of senior officials who represent the clubs of our nation. We need to make international football something to be proud of, rather than just to keep the meter ticking over. And we have to make sure that the players playing our game are those of a professional demeanour - wanting to play football because they love it, not because of the money involved. Ultimately though, we have to make the fans of the Beautiful Game to feel as if the players are playing for them. The game is being played for them. And that football is a sport for them. Too much of our sport is about money now, and we need to get it back to the glory days when players played to see smiles in the crowd, not the number of zero's on their pay slip.

Yours Sincerely,

Adam Mills

A Fan of Football

Agree with me? Add your name using the comments box below, and then let's see if the FA will truly listen.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

An Open Letter to The FA Chairman David Bernstein

Dear Mr Bernstein,

As a fan of football, both here in the UK and worldwide, I believe it is within my right to express my deep concern regarding the current circumstances surrounding football within the Premier League.

We have seen time and time again this season referees making poor decisions, based on players getting involved and influencing decisions, cheating and diving, poor offside decisions and what looks like biased refereeing towards certain teams. A referee is there to keep the peace, and to be the decision maker, in order to keep the game fair. How can they be keeping it fair when bad decisions are strewn throughout the game? Yes, there may be mistakes from referees, but when it becomes apparent that these mistakes are in every game, something needs to change.

We have seen Wayne Rooney get away with elbowing a fellow professional in the head, of which you commented that 'if the referee states he has seen the incident the FA is not able to make decisions except in exceptional circumstances'. If the FA takes no action towards incidents like this, then we are just telling youngsters involved in grassroots football that when the referee's back is turned, you can get away with anything. Is this the message we want to portray?

Referees seem to be feeling the pressure this season, and plenty of poor decisions have been made. So much so, that Mark Clattenberg, once deemed one of the best refs in the game, has earned the nickname 'Mark Clangerberg'. Even today, during the Sunderland vs. Liverpool game, we saw a penalty, that was a free-kick, which the referee was going to rightly award. However, when the linesman hadn't kept up with play, flagged and then changed his mind to a penalty, the referee followed suit, and gave a penalty, which changed the match. How can this be deemed acceptable? When a team lose a crucial 3 points because a team of officials can't get the decisions right?

It seems that with referees constantly making the correct decisions for years, we forgot to give the praise necessary. Instead, we concentrated on the bad mistakes, and the mass media has enforced this. Admittedly, we don't give referees the recognition they deserve after a superb game, but when they have poor, indecisive games, the bad press is deserved. If we don't hear via the press and the TV from the referees, as is currently banned by the FA and the Premier League, then how are we, as fans, meant to award the praise when they are not allowed to justify their decisions? It seems a very stupid, pointless rule to me.

All clubs in the Premier League, and throughout the Football League, strive to reach their dream of European football, and the financial windfall can be the difference between survival or administration, as we have seen in Portsmouth's case. However, the joys of football fans, such as Tottenham's continuing pursuit in the Champions League, goes to show quite how necessary it is for the English football league system to keep its four Champions League spots. With UEFA President Michael Platini trying to tear that fourth spot away and handing it to the winners of the FA Cup, one team will miss out, and the Big Four of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool will continue to be the dominant forces in football. The most exciting seasons seem to be those where other teams make the grade, like Spurs and Man City, so losing that opportunity for European football would be catastrophic to the fans. We need to strengthen our ties with both UEFA and FIFA, and make sure that these proposals never take flight, keeping our football the way we like it.

Not only that, but with FIFA being one of the most corrupt organisations in world sport, we have to ensure that this does not filter through to our own national governing body. Your proposal to ensure two impartial, independent members on the Board of Directors of The FA will give more opportunity for fair proposals and reforms can be made that will benefit not only the Premier League, but the Football League, and amateur and grassroots football too. Adding two directors will not, however, make a difference to what we currently have, but will only impact on the future of football, so something needs to be done now as well.

International football is key to how the FA runs. However, had £798m not been spent on Wembley Stadium, we wouldn't have to have constant friendlies and international breaks. I am yet to find one manager who agrees with the international breaks that have to happen in order to gain that money back. The Millennium Stadium cost £121m, and is one of the best sporting facilities I have ever visited. How can Wembley have cost so much? A poor investment, if you ask me.

With England having to play these friendlies, we expect the best from our team. When you don't even see the 11 players, representing their country, staying silent during the National Anthem - then you know that something is wrong. There are 51 million people in England, the majority of who are very proud of their English heritage, and belt out the National Anthem at any given opportunity. These footballers, who earn in excess of £100,000 a week, should be banned from representing their country if they believe they are above the rest of us, and don't sing our anthem. They clearly do not care enough about representing us on an international stage. You don't see international teams, where the average wage of each player is below £10,000, not singing their anthem, becasue they see representing their coutnry as a privilege, and not as somehting else to add to the CV.

I do agree that the best manager available should fill Fabio Capello's shoes when he leaves after Euro 2012. But we know full well that foreign managers don't work, and nor do rushed decisions. Look at Sven, and Steve McLaren. These decisions should be made soon, and involve not only the FA Board, but the players, and those who truly run football - the fans. The only way to inject life back into international football is to make the fans feel that they too are playing for England, and if by involving them in big, monumental decisions, we increase crowds and increase interaction with the team, then that is how it should be done.

Instead of spending time arguing whether or not to ban snoods, we should be spending time working out how to reform football and the Premier League to ensure a fair official, male or female, is assigned to each game, who can keep a game under control and get the decisions right 100% of the time. We need to make sure the decisions that affect our game are made based on sufficient evidence, and backed by a number of senior officials who represent the clubs of our nation. We need to make international football something to be proud of, rather than just to keep the meter ticking over. And we have to make sure that the players playing our game are those of a professional demeanour - wanting to play football because they love it, not because of the money involved. Ultimately though, we have to make the fans of the Beautiful Game to feel as if the players are playing for them. The game is being played for them. And that football is a sport for them. Too much of our sport is about money now, and we need to get it back to the glory days when players played to see smiles in the crowd, not the number of zero's on their pay slip.

Yours Sincerely,

Adam Mills

A Fan of Football

Agree with me? Add your name using the comments box below, and then let's see if the FA will truly listen.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com

Comic Relief 2011: Adam's 100-Hour Challenge

Right, so here's part two, and the big unveiling...

As you will all know, Red Nose Day ties in with Comic Relief, and that happens to fall on this very fine day. Except my plan couldn't fall today, or even this month. Mine has to happen next month. I shall explain......

Back late last year, I had to go to hospital for x-rays and tests to ensure I didn't have testicular cancer. Thankfully, I was fine, but I've now been told I will be unable to take part in the BUPA London 10,000, to raise money for charities that will help those in need. So somehow, I had to come up with something that would allow me to do my bit to change lives, yet also have some sense of personal achievement.

So today, I'm telling you all about The 100-Hour Challenge. 4 days, 4 hours, of which there will be NO SLEEP. None whatsoever; not even a quick kip. But with this being the biggest year of my life so far, and with exams so very close, I had to pick a week where it wouldn't have such a big effect on my revision and my school life. So the 100-Hour Challenge will be taking place between the morning of Monday 25th April, and the afternoon of Friday 29th April. All day, and all night, I'll be counting down the hours to raise money for Comic Relief, and keeping you all updated with videos of how I'm coping... Or not, as the case may be.

My goal is a paltry £500, and compared to Chris Moyles' effort of £2.4m raised earlier today, I think that's very easily do-able. But £500 will raise money for something very close to me.

The videos shown on Red Nose Day that involve child mortality in Africa are the ones that get me, and make me physically weep. Kids, no older than 2 or 3, dying from diseases that in the UK, could be cured in days. Dying, from curable diseases. The one below is about a little girl called Esther, who looks after her AIDS-ridden mother. Please watch all the way to the end, no matter what effect it has on you.

And that £500 will buy 600 malaria testing kits. Currently testing for malaria in Africa isn't scientific - it takes days to work out the results, and tends to be inaccurate. Malaria testing kits work in 20 minutes, and are pretty much fool-proof. That's 600 lives we could potentially be saving, just from abstaining from sleep for a few days.

So, go go go. Please, on today of all days, give a pound or a penny - anything. All the money before the event will motivate me, and all the money after will help us all realise the benefits of not having that final pint can change lives. And will.

Not only this, but I want to get you guys involved to. If you fancy this, and wanna join in too, drop me an email. Monday 25th is Easter Monday, and Friday 29th is a bank holiday for the Royal Wedding - it's a 3-day working week. It's easy, providing we all go at it together.

So, obviously as we get closer to the event, the more I will go a bit mental. But you can give Comic Relief some money by clicking here, filling out a few details, and not only make me a very happy man, but give a family a gift they can never repay you for - the gift of life.

Thankyou thankyou thankyou. Now go get 'em.

Taken from General Musings of an Idiot: http://www.gmoai.com