(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher

Mary McNamara's review of Treme in the LA Times notes that the new series is "more hopeful and joyful" than the Wire.  As a football fun, I'm not to sure if I can cope with those feelings. Unlike Jackie Wilson, disappointment  is often, still, my closiest friend.

South American Wall of Defiance

The South American quintette of  Samuel,  Lucio,   Maicon,  Zanetti  and  Cambiasso were outstanding last night. Quintette? I have never used that word before and to tell the truth, it doesn't feel write in the context of the beautiful game. It will not happen again. The all-Latin maestros worked as one to nullify Barcelona's attacking threat. Although Inter were in the zone, both mentally and tactically, Barcelona's performance was a disappointment.  Guardiola's tactics were wrong. Ok, winning a hexagon of trophies in a season, places his management achievement at a  slightly higher level than mine, but it's just my opinion. Employing  Milito and Pedro on the left side seemed to narrow the play. The  passing tempo  was too slow. I also would have liked to see Bojan on straight after half time.  Inter's virtuoso demonstration of the art of  defending can be credited to Mourinho's ability to structure and motivate a team. Not always pretty, but still an important facet of the beautiful game.

Messi's Favourite Goal

I am really looking forward to the Barcelona v Inter Milan game tonight. Should be a classic; probably 0-0,then. The focus will be on whether Messi can perform his magic. I am sure he can. I recently read that his favourite ever goal for Barcelona is the one in the video below. This was his first goal for Barcelona. He has scored better. The pass from Ronaldinho is a stroke(or chip) of genius. Generally, in the global football village, I do not think that Ronaldinho receives the credit he deserves. Not just for been a top player, but also for his contribution to Messi's development. You can see his influence in Messi's play and his attitude to the game.

Week 31 Flutter Predictions

With only two more weeks of my experiment, I'm going to focus on the more difficult games :-
Manchester City
Spurs
Crystal Palace
Leeds
Millwall

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

Liverpool 2 v 0 Chelsea
Portsmouth 0 v 2 Wolves
Fulham 0 v 2 West Ham

Here Hugo, Again

Tonight in the Lyon v Bayern Munich game, Jim-True Frost will again be featuring as a top class goalkeeper. Yes, he does look like Lyon's Hugo Lloris. While the excellent Daniel Mays will perform as a much improved Lyon midfield player. And I still fancy Lyon to get through to the final.

Top Five - Short Centre Backs

There is something to admire about a player who is under 5ft 10inches and believes that he should be a centre back. Such players are normally intelligent, focused and fast. Here are my top 5 short centre backs:-

1. Franco Baresi (AC Milan) - the 'piscinin' played over 500 top class games, winning every honour and without breaking into a sweat. Always in the right place, at the right time.
2. Fabio Cannavaro (Parma) - the only defender to ever win the FIFA Player of the year award.
3. Paul Parker (Fulham ) - Remembered for looping Andreas Brehme's shot over Peter Shilton. Parker was an excellent defender.
4. Carles Puyol (Barcelona) -Farrah Fawcett would be proud of his perm. If he cut his hair, he would only be only 4 foot 6 inches. Plays with a passion and intensity that fans love.
5. Iván Córdoba (Inter Milan) - A strong old fashioned defender.

Any others that I can add to my list? I am sure I have forgotton some other stars. Please let me know.

See my other Top Fives and let me know what you think.

• Top Five - Wingers with No Pace
• Top Five - Goal Hangers

Profit and Loss Account Week 29 & 30

Accumulated Total Outlay   Accumulated       Winnings Profit/(Loss)

         £89.90                          £32.72                   -£57.18

Treme v the Wire

I enjoyed the comparison between the two mega series by the Baltimore Sun's  TV critic David Zurawik.  A very insightful analysis. 

Can Treme be shown in the UK this year, please? I am going to contact the BBC today!

Good Gudjohnsen

I enjoyed listening to Eidur Gudjohnsen's views about the Inter V Barcelona game on Sky Sports on Tuesday night. His analysis and insight was fascinating. His comments were as bright as some of his football. Someone should sign him up for this year's World Cup games.


His appearance also reminded me that he is the only person to have appeared in the same international game as his father. On 24 April 1996, his father Arnór started the match for Iceland against Estonia, and Guðjohnsen came on in the second half as a substitute for his father, so they were never on the pitch together!

Lloris No Spur

Interesting article by Paul Doyle  about Hugo Lloris, the 23-year-old French goalkeeper. Pleased to see some positive press about the 23-year-old, who is  establishing himself as one of the world's best goalkeepers. I did not realise that Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign him  at the end of the 2008 season. I look forward to tonight's European semi-final. I fancy Lyon to come away with a 1-1 result.

See also  After the Wire No.7 and Hugo, I Don't.

Tractor Power

Excellent game last night. Inter were very good, although I still believe the game is in the balance. I was impressed again with  Inter's Zanetti. A good old fashioned team player. He defends in a combative and intelligent way. His distribution is good and his awareness is excellent. Il Trattore (The Tractor) is another top class player in the Argentina squad. Maybe my October post is not as silly as it first seemed.

No Lyon Down

Daniel Mays' recent appearance in 'Ashes to Ashes'  reminds me that his twin,  Miralem Pjanić,  has been very good as an attacking midfielder for Lyon. With a superb goalkeeper and an excellent team spirit, I expect Lyon to surprise Bayern Munich in the semi-final.

Scholes Well Ahead

Excellent article on Paul Scholes in the Independent by James Lawton. Includes some interesting quotes from Francis Lee and Bobby Charlton. Ok, I promise. This is my last post this season on Paul Scholes.

Treme Trailer

The trailer for David Simon's new drama series, Treme, can be found on the HBO's website.

A review in the New York Times  by Allesandra Stanley concluded that, “Treme is a work of imagination that seeks to reacquaint the world with a struggling city’s reality." The reviewer also kindly helped with the name of the new series - it’s pronounced truh-MAY.


I look forward to it's UK screening.

Scholes Needs To Go

If I was Fabio Capello, I would make a phone call to Mr. Scholes and ask him to cancel his summer holiday. I said in a post that I felt that he was the best English player over the last decade. He has been very good all season.

Elba to miss World Cup

Idris Elba's appearance on  'Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'  again confirms the connection between the Wire and football, and therefore the need for footballonthewire.com! Elba has his left foot in plaster after tearing a muscle during a good old-fashioned kick-around. 


The Ross interview with Elba was not that good but we did get to see a preview of Elba in the  new British crime series called 'Luther'. To be honest, it did not seem great, but it would be unfair to judge the series from the 30 second clip. The series is to be broadcast on BBC1 in May.

See also  After The Wire and Stringing us Along

Soccer Sequence No.21

In this Soccer Sequence, I am focussing on one of the most important aspects of the game. Can you guess the link between these  five numbers:-

41904, 35592, 28478, 25304, 21034

The figures are based on the 2008/09 season.

For some more number puzzles, click on Soccer Sequences. Or find our what ex-Wire stars have to been upto in the rest of the blog.

Week 29 Flutter Predictions

This week my choices for my Super 5 accumulator :-

Sunderland

Leicester

Derby

Leeds

Swindon

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

Portsmouth 0 v 2 Aston Villa 

Sunderland 2 v 0 Burnley

Spurs 0 v 3 Chelsea

He's just like any other man, only more so

Sid Lowe 's piece on Xavi yesterday included the fact that the late commentator Andres Montes used to call Xavi Humphrey Bogart because, like Sam in Casablanca, he was asked to play it again. And again. And again. And again.

Profit and Loss for Week 28

Accumulated Total  Outlay Accumulated        Winnings Profit/(Loss)

  

£83.70                         £32.72                                 -£50.98

After the Wire No.8 - Callie Thorne

Playing McNulty's wife was a tough gig. But Callie Thorne's British, Armenian, Assyrian, Italian and Portuguese background helped her deal with her complex and often, confused, TV husband, in a knowing and assertive manner. She will soon be appearing in Edward Burn's new film ' Nice Guy Johnny' with Matt Bush.  


Thorne is pictured above with other Wire actors and Lennox Lewis.

Pitch Imperfect

What is wrong with the Wembley pitch? Both Spurs and Portsmouth contributed to a good game this afternoon in the second FA Cup semi-final, but the game was spoilt by the quality of the pitch. I know 'self praise is no praise' but on the 24th August I did post that 'Piquionne seems a good purchase'. A goal to help your team to an FA Cup final seems a very good return.

                 

Virtual Rubbish

Last week, it was Theo Walcott. Yesterday, it was Arsene Wenger. Today there were two pieces in The Guardian. Enough is enough. The comparison with Barcelona and  Messi's performance against Arsenal to what can be done  with Fifa 2010 or Pro Evolution Soccer is just plain silly. Next Picasso's artistic talent will be compared to the work of a ten year old using a classic Etch a Sketch box. Please stop.

Week 28 Flutter Predictions

This week my choices for my Super 5 accumulator :-

Liverpool

Watford

Brighton

Ipswich

Leeds

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

Manchester City 3 v 0 Birmingham 

Wolves 2 v 0 Stoke

Liverpool 3 v 0 Fulham

David Mills

It is very sad to report that David Mills has died after a brain aneurysm. Mills wrote episodes for the 4th and 5th series of The Wire. He had recently been working on Treme, a new TV drama about musicians living in post-Hurricane-Katrina New Orleans. 

Stop Messi About

Messi is just a football genius. No need to add to this sentence. Good night.

Profit and Loss for Week 27

Accumulated Total  Outlay Accumulated        Winnings Profit/(Loss)

  

£80.60                         £32.72                                 -£47.88

At last a win by predicting the Birmingham v Liverpool score.

Savvy Xavi

I really enjoyed the Arsenal v Barcelona game on Wednesday. Some of the football Barcelona played was breathtaking. And Xavier Hernández i Creus's performance was outstanding. Statistics can often hide the reality of a player's  performance but, in this case, they were evidence of a top class performance. Xavi made 113 accurate, and mostly, astute and effective passes. He ochestrated the game with an instinct that the beautiful game deserves. I enjoyed reading  Richard William's analysis in the Guardian. As the piece stated, " Xavi.....was quietly pulling the strings with passes of unerring relevance".  As the headline to  Ian Chadband's excellent piece in the Telegraph noted, 'Barca's game was almost beyond imagination'.  I was also impressed with Sergio Busquets and Pedro. Messi was subdued but still worth the entry price. 

Week 27 Flutter Predictions

With only a few weeks left, I need a result this week.The pressure is increasing. This week my choices for my Super 5 accumulator :-

Stoke

Manchester City

Middlesborough

Ipswich

Leeds

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

Birmingham 1 v 1 Liverpool

Fulham   2 v 0 Wigan

Everton 2 v 0 West Ham

After the Wire No.7 - Jim True-Frost

Jim True-Frost played Roland "Prez" Pryzbyleski, one of the most interesting and complex characters in The Wire. His performance was one of the stand out features of the series. As a policemen his flaws were as true as his name and, as a teacher,  his skills and empathy were a strength. His first few lessons as a teacher were brilliantly written and played. True-Frost has also appeared in one of my favourite plays of all-time, August: Osage County which won the Tony for Best Play in Broadway.

Apart from looking a ringer for Lyon's brilliant keeper, Hugo Lloris, True-Frost is to appear in two new films over the next few months. The first is The Conspirator (directed by Robert Redford) about a woman charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. The second is about the dying newspaper industry (that reminds me, please support my 'Save All Newspapers' campaign, that I have just decided to launch while typing this post) called Ink, where he plays the lead as a journalist. He will also appear as James Woodrow, in the much anticipated new series by David Simon, "Treme". Footballonthewire.com cannot wait to see the series.

Jim True-Frost - Actor, policeman, teacher and French national goalkeeper.