Map Skills Test

Below is a google custom map, with pointers for four stories from Thursday 19th Novemeber 2009′s edition of the LEP.

Each story has a where element to it and are all based in the local Preston area. Each story can be found in the paper version of the LEP and also has a version on the LEP website(which are included in the bubble along with a related link) I have also added my own brief commentary on what the stories are about.

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Image Skills Test

The four images below are of the National Football Museum.

It was announced yesterday that the Football Museum, based in Preston will be ‘shared’ with the Urbis in Manchester. This has become a major story, and caused uproar in Preston.

The following set of images could accompany or add weight to stories about the National Football Museum.

Original Image

This is the original image i took.  I decided on this paticular image because i felt it gave me a nubmer of options, with two clear focal points- The Sir Tom Finney fountain and the museum itself behind. The two also complement each other nicely, and the fountain adds a little emotion to the picture and takes the focus away from the building which looks a little dilapidated.

200-500 pixels image

Of the three cropped images, this was the hardest to decide on, the original picture didn’t leave many options for a tall thin image. I eventually decided to go with a picture of the building, with the logo on the side as i felt it was the picture that could still be used to tell abit of a story- the logo on the building gives it an immidiate setting in your mind as to what and where it is, while the building which shows clear wear and tear could be used in a Pro-Manchester article, highlighting that it is time for  a change and a move from Preston.

400-300 pixels image

The 400 by 300 picture offered more scope as to get both the building and the Sir Tom Finney fountain in. All i had to do for this was crop around the sides to get rid of the unwanted background and re-size the image slightly. Again this gave me the opportunity to get the logo and the building in, but with the addition of Tom Finney, adds emotion and history to the picture- you are no longer looking at a building, but the Finney fountain evokes iconic football moments(and an iconic player) and could be used for a Anti-Manchester article, supporting claims that Preston is a worthy place to hold the National Football Museum. It could also be used in an article with quotes attributed to Tom Finney about his thoughts on the museum moving.

100-100 thumbnail image

The thumbnail image was less hard to choose, the only two real options were to get a picture of the statue or the logo on the museum. As it was a thumbnail I decided the logo would be more appropriate as it clearly spells out what you are seeing, whereas if you were unfamiliar with the statue the size of the image could cause confusion as to what the image was even of. There is no confusion that the thumbnail is the logo of the football museum-as it clearly says it in writing- it could be used as a supporting image in any article about the football museum.

Chelsea Bun and an Everton Mint

Sorry for the lack of updates guys. Been very busy at University.

Anyway, quite a hectic week that started with so much promise.

Another ‘Gary Megson total-football’ display against Everton. A deserved 3-2 win, but after an easy start, we were certainly made to earn it.

Clearly Everton were under strength in defence, and their inability to deal with crosses was evident from the first two goals. Fans favourite Lee Chung Yong scoring a well hit first(thank god Bibi didn’t get a touch!) and a Gary Cahill header. ‘Easy easy easy’ was the chant. Infact, i was on for my speculative 4-0 at 80-1.

The quality of Louis Saha soon changed that- another one of those pesky strikers who always scores against us. A beautiful strike that Jussi didn’t have a chance with.

Another good strike from mop haired Felliani had Bolton fans biting their nails. Had we thrown away another 2-0 lead?

On 83mins, striker Ivan Klasnic collided with Lucas Neill and to be quite honest, given all his medical past, i wasn’t the only one who feared he was dead.

On 85mins, Ivan Klasnic is dancing a funny little jig in front of the corner of the East End Lower. That’s why we love football!

Overall, we deserved the points and were hoping to take the confidence into a tough Chelsea double…

…we didn’t.

Two 4-0 thrashings that quite frankly showed the difference in qualityy. We are a long long way behind Chelsea. We held our own in the second game for the first 45mins. But once Samuel had been sent off, we didn’t stand a chance.

Again, apologies for the lack of updates. I will be back on later this week with a new update. One that i’ve been saving for a few weeks- it even involves club leg-end Didi Hamann!

Data Skills Test

The Wimbledon tennis tournament, with its illustrated history, iconic figures and legendary matches lacks one thing. A home-grown champion.

73 years and counting since Fred Perry won Wimbledon in 1936. But while Britain have lagged behind, which countries have taken advantage?

The chart breaks down the post-war Wimbledon winners by nationality  (1946-2009)

Australia and USA clear conquerors of the British Grand Slam.

Interestingly, Australia won 13 of their 16 titles between 1956 and 1971, With Emerson, Newcombe and Laver, Australia dominated  tennis for nearly 20 years.

Of course individual brilliance has to be taken into account.  Sweden and Switzerland for example, both countries feature high up the list but without Bjorg Borg, Sweden would have only 2 titles, without Roger Federer, Switzerland would have none!

So what are the LTA doing wrong? Is it the standard of coaching? The motivation of the individual?

The answer in my opinion is consistancy and strength in depth. The top nations are producing 5-10 top class tennis players. The LTA count 1 per generation as a blessing. If we want to assert any dominance we need more than one outstanding athlete.

The new hope is Andy Murray, will he live up to his potential, or prove just another false prophet?

Links:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/jul/06/wimbledon-federer

http://aeltc2009.wimbledon.org/en_GB/about/history/index.html

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/jeremywilson/100000080/lta-and-not-the-players-must-take-blame-for-wimbledon-fiasco/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1195860/DES-KELLY-Breaking-news–tennis-useless.html

Travel Club #1- Manchester United

Kevin Davies vs Patrice Evra

The first installment of many trips on the virtual Bolton Wanderers travel club(unlike the real one, i won’t be trying to flog you £1 scratch cards and fill you up on Weathers Originals.)

United away. For any side in the table, those two words do not evoke anticipation of a weekend ending in three points. There was a time, when we had a good record at Old Trafford, but those were the days when a certain chubby(and i’m being nice) duo, were banging in goals for fun.

Our record at Man Utd these days is less favourable but with Ronaldo and Tevez gone and Rooney seemingly out injured can we actually get something from our  north-west rivals?

After opening the season with three defeats, the Wanderers have had an upturn in form and remain undefeated since. A good footballing display last time out against Tottenham Hotspur whet the fans appetite for more of the same.

Whilst  a more conservative approach is to be expected, with the likes of Lee Chung Yong and Ricardo Gardner bringing flair and pace to the attack, we’ll always have a chance on the break.

Man Utd have been dealt a blow with the news that Rooney is likley to  be out.  After a nightmare trip to the Ukraine Rio Ferdinand will also be under the scrutiny of the media and will not be looking forward to dealing with Kevin Davies.

Another Man Utd player who will certainly not relish the challange of Kevin Davies will be Patrice Evra. The two have a chequered past, highlighted by Kevin Davies over-zelous tackling in Bolton Wanderers 1-0 win against Man Utd in 2007. As Davies tells it, Evra boldly asked the Bolton hitman, “Why do you tackle like that?” Putting on his best snarling eeeevil film villian voice Davies replied “Because I don’t like you!” Evra has never been seen to go for a 50/50 ball with ‘Super Kev’ since.

It became part of Reebok folklore that at the height of the Sam Allardyce era, Theirry Henry would suspiciously go missing with an ‘injury’ right before every Bolton vs Arsenal fixture, after the Kevin Davies vs Patrice Evra battles, one only wonders if Evra’s best option would be to pick up a ‘dead leg’ with France this week.

Van Der Sar and Michael Owen may be pushing for a recall, injuries permitting but Johnny Evans is likley to miss out after getting injured on international duty.

Bolton will not have a better chance to pick up something at Old Trafford, a combination of a shaky start for Man Utd and injuries in key positions mean that United go into the match with alot of pressure.

Predicted Team Line Ups:

Bolton:
—————–Jaaskelianen—————-

—-Ricketts—-Cahil—-Knight—-Samuel—-

Chung-Yong-Cohen-Muamba-Gardner-Taylor

———————-Davies————————–

Man Utd:
————————Foster—————————

—–O’Shea—–Ferdinand—–Vidic—–Evra—–

—–Valencia—-Fletcher—-Carrick—-Giggs—–

——————Scholes——————————–
—————————-Berbatov——————–

Jimbo’s Prediction(Warning: May contain bias and/or delusion)

Man Utd 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

COME ON YOU WHITE MEN!!!

Gary Cahill Gets The Call From Fabio

Cahill fends off Steven Gerrard in training

Gary Cahill was called up to the England squad yesterday after Joleon Lescott picked up a calf injury.

My first official Bolton blog is a positive one. We start as we mean to go on!

I,  like every other Wanderer, was dissapointed when Gary Cahill was left out of Capello’s upcoming England squad.

At 23, Cahill appears to be the future of England, earning plaudits from pundits, opposition managers and opposition players. Infact, if rumour was to be believed, Capello himself recomended the former Villa centre back to Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus.

Lets look at his rivals:

• Joleon Lescott- The big burly defender hasn’t been a sensation since his ridiculous big money move to Manchester City
• Matthew Upson- His club currently sit in 19th in the league and are struggling for a win. At 30, Upson is never going to break the dominance of Rio and Terry, and whilst a solid back-up does not provide healthy competition.
• Wes Brown- Possibly the most baffling. Whilst he can play in two positions, he is so far down in the pecking order at Man Utd he will struggle to get 15 games this season. Can anyone really imagine Wes Brown in the England squad if he was playing for Bolton? I can’t!

Wanderers fans may still be irked that Fabio Capello did not follow his mantra of picking players on form. Kevin Davies’ failure to break into Capello’s plans has caused alot of murmurs around the Reebok. On that front, England’s loss is our gain!

But the news of  Lescott’s injury provides Cahill with another opportunity to impress the England manager and his fellow teammates.

Good luck Gary.

Introduction to my blog!

Hello All,

Just a quick introduction. I am James Derbyshire, 19 years old and doing a Sports Journalism degree at the University of Lancashire. Over the next year i will be blogging for the ‘Digital Newsroom’ part of my course.

If you are interested in all things Bolton Wanderers, stay tuned and spread the word.

I write on several fans forums under the guise of Jimbo or Jimbo_Bwfc so you may recognize me.

I also write articles for the unofficial BWSA site, Voice of Bolton.

My articles will cover everything Bolton from transfer rumours, player news, injury news, match opinions etc.

Hope you all enjoy the ride.

COME ON YOU WHITE MEN!