supergrass

I finally had a story to tell.

A couple weeks ago a customer came into my shop looking for a travel pillow, which we had. He mentioned he was a tour manager for a band playing the O2 academy next door. It was Fozzy, he put me on the list, I went. Awful, to be honest, but not completely in a bad way.

I've seen Group A a couple of times, Japanese duo, would highly recommend. Much better live and often play around London if you can catch them

I could do without the gold bits. But other than that, it's plain, it's simple, it's fine. I wish all kits were as plain as that one.

I went to Graceland and stayed in the Hearbreak Hotel, this performance is pretty much on a loop 24 hours a day, in the rception, the corridors, the lift, the restaurant, there's a TV channel in the rooms showing it looped, another showing an Elvis documentary over and over. And so on. It sounds great, and the performance is, but it is also possibly the most depressing hotel in the world.

Let me know when I'm having fun.

I'm glad you phrased that the way you did, because that is the first word that came to mind when I read all the restrictions for this show. They're the first act to pull the forced entry stunt at this venue and only the second or third to restrict all cameras (Jack White was the first, because artiste, you guys). This was followed by pretty much everyone taking as many photos as they wanted at the Jack White shows I went to, only security would flash a torch at you after a while. Surprisingly this was not an effective deterrent. Most websites seemed to think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were great when they pulled the same move - I too find it preachy and annoying. I pay for my ticket, I'll take a photo. It's not getting in anyone's way and I've never been bothered by anyone else doing the same thing. And no, a terrible photographer on the stage taking boring press shots that I can download later is not really the same. When you get to the point where you're telling people how to enjoy your show, it reaches the point where I no longer want to go. Or they tell you you're not really "experiencing" the concert. I experienced many a great concert over the last 10 or 11 years, but I can't really remember what the early ones were like visually - a picture is nice.

My Amkar team ended their run of 7 Russian cups with a semi-final loss this year around. Given that we had that game sandwiched between a big league game and the UEFA Cup final against Man Utd, it was the one to sacrifice - even if my young team probably should've won it. All of the above was played in about a 5 day span. The Russian calendar/FA likes to make it as hard as possible for their teams to compete in Europe as possible. We have nevertheless won a second UEFA Cup in my time there, won on penalties after a 120th minute equaliser, and we should secure an 8th straight league title. The midfield is good and young, I've only really got to find a good centre back and goal-scoring forward to complete the team that would probably last another 5 or 6 years. The current plan is to stay and out-do Guy Roux.

A friend was working on the door for The Vaccines while we were in Paris last week so caught their show, on the Friday I think. Not a band I would normally go to see, although I've heard both albums and there are bits I like on both. They do what they do very well, it's just that they don't really do anything else. It feels like their show could be a little more varied, but I'll definitely give their next album a go, I'm interested to see if they go for a bit more of the same or if there are any departures in store.

I'm sure Rodgers is aware that if he comes out and admits he's desperate to shift Downing then Liverpool can wave goodbye to the hope of recovering any of the transfer fee they paid for him.

You should get the video stuck in your head too.

Playing still on FM12. I started in Romania with limited success, before taking Coventry from League 1 relegation fodder to losing in the Championship play-offs - at which point the club agreed the sale of our best players and I felt like it was time to move on. A brief spell in Russia with Amkar to get a bit of Europa League experience has now turned into a 10 year stay. We won the Europa League once against Real Madrid, have had a few outings in the Champions League quarter-finals and have done the league and cup double for the last 7 years. The problem is now I've built most of the next team for the future I can't bring myself to move on. Arsenal and Bayern were turned down a while back, two jobs that were what I was trying to work towards at the start of the game (the re-building required was huge, the players old, wages high, transfer budgets low). I can't bring myself to go to a club where they're paying £150k wages, while in Russia we pay a limit of £35k and bring through a lot of young Russian players. So now I've set the target of winning the Champions League and making Amkar the most successful team in Russian history, which we're quite close to I think. At that point I'll flirt with leaving before probably staying on for another age.

I was a bit too young to really get the Carry On films at first when my brother used to watch them when I was little - not that they're overly complex, I was just very young - but I always liked Sid's voice and that laugh. They're staples of bank holidays in our house as well, I think Abroad was the most watched. Even now if I ask my brother any food related question - which isn't that often - he'll reply "sausage, beans and chippins". So that remains my favourite. Matron, Camping and Cleo were fairly regular too.

Had a listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeah's stream of the new album. I try not to judge too much on the basis of one listen, especially for a band I like, but I'm really glad I didn't order a copy. It's not bad, it just sounds like a bunch of average, vaguely-sounding Yeah Yeah Yeas songs. They had the awful album cover, the celebrity stunt-y music video and generated plenty of attention, but the melodies they previously had don't seem to be there. I'm determined to give it another listen but it left me feeling like they're out of ideas and making a bit of noise for the sake of it behind repetitive songs.

Ugh, it kind of feels like that could be the end for him, at least as a first teamer at Arsenal. He started the season really well and looked like exactly what we had been missing in midfield and a much better foil for Arteta as the deeper two. But he just can't stay fit. Realistically it's time to either bring someone in or look to give more playing time to Coquelin to see where he can go. It's such a shame because as has been said he can be such a good player when fit - how comparable he is to someone like Yaya Toure is impossible to say considering he hasn't been able to put a proper run of games together in years, but there's always the promise that he could get near that level. He's remained one of my favourite Arsenal players over the last few years too, mostly for his love of dribbling directly into 4 or 5 oncoming players to see if he can then find a way out of it. His plus point is Wenger has always been a staunch supporter and never waivered in that despite any of the setbacks. I'd really like him to one day get an injury free run like van Persie has over the last couple of years, but every season it becomes harder and harder to ever see it happening.

The first QOTSA album is very good, although I don't know any people who the band at all. And my first thought when I read the title was Humbug by Arctic Monkeys, especially when it's disregarded by those who are otherwise Arctic Monkeys fans. They've never sounded as good as they did on that album. After hating the first and liking most but not all of Favourite Worst Nightmare, it was the one that really turned me around and is still one of my go-to albums when I'm not sure what to put on next. I was disappointed they took a little bit of a step back on Suck It and See, although I liked the album overall. R U Mine was an encouraging return, looking forward to their next album. In terms of overlooked albums, the Girls In The Garage compilation series is great. There are about 10 volumes - some harder to find than others, a lot of it is on Youtube. The first and tenth are my favourites and well worth a listen I think. Not all gold, but it's worth a sift through to find the tracks that really stand out - if you like 60s, girl led, garage bands.

Saturday night was cave club night, which meant a lot of drink and a lot of psych/fuzz/girl bands both before and after the wife and I headed out. I am still listening to and would recommend: A great original and what I think is the best cover of a very covered song.

Why would Ferdinand not be worthy of inclusion even if he can't go to the World Cup? The qualifiers are now, so you pick the best players we have available now. Then when the World Cup comes around, you pick the best and most in form players then. There are a number of friendlies to be played where Hodgson can look at new defensive partnerships. For now it's a better idea to pick the best players who can actually get us to the World Cup.

Was it in the Carling Cup semi finals or somewhere else that away goals only used to apply after extra time? Anything that pushes back away goals is a good thing, I think.

That's the problem. UEFA are pretty much powerless now, as soon as the big clubs decide they don't like being under UEFA's rule - and I believe they will sooner or later - they'll make their own rules. All you can do is hope the bigger clubs making the decisions remain considerate of what the national league and it's teams need. Relying on that in football isn't very comforting.

That's the current proposal on offer, but I'm sure if it went ahead it would be used as a stepping stone for either a much bigger tournament or to bridge the gap into a league.

Maybe games between other teams of your nation become derbies, or it establishes new rivalries. Travelling to the other side of Europe every other week would be a big ask though, can't see that ever working out.

Oliver Kay, who broke the story, is currently doing a webchat on the Times website. Apparently the story and his source are very real (the French questioned that), but the English clubs he spoke to seem very resistant to the idea and the implications it would have on the national league. Good news on the part of the English clubs that they're not looking to actively break away at the moment, but with enough time and enough money thrown their way the whole thing feels very inevitable. Perhaps not a Qatar-y super-league, but surely a super-league of some description will one day be in effect.

I absolutely cannot get this song out of my head: But will attempt to do so by moving on to the next album I've been waiting to get stuck into. It'll either be the new Bowie, or the new Nick Cave. Nick Cave's someone I've never really got into, only small bits here and there, so I thought this would be as good a place as any to start with. A good friend of mine is itching to talk about the new material with someone, so Nick might get the nod over David for now.

I'm currently rewatching Trailer Park Boys, although it's a first viewing for my wife. It takes me a few episodes to get into normally, but once I do it's all I want to watch.