#I’ll do it Nuno had better not push me

[7yearsofdele]

I will lay my life at Levy’s feet if it means he keeps Sonny forever.

[aberorca]

New Cast: Part Two

Okay, guys. Part Two was really good tonight, really good. I’ll admit I still had/have some reservations about the cast after Part One but Part Two has smoothed many of those away.

Part Two opens with my favourite piece of choreography, led by Nuno Silva. Nuno didn’t come out of stage door tonight which was a shame because I wanted to tell him how glad I am that he’s stayed on. For those who don’t know, Nuno plays Bane, as well as other ensemble roles but his most important role is Movement Captain. He is basically Steven Hoggett’s (Movement Director) right hand man among the cast and he works with the rest of the cast to coordinate all the complex routines that are carried out on stage, often with very large set pieces. You could really see what Nuno does among the new cast today, how he guides them and the confidence in what he does.

Samuel continues to be the star of the new cast. He really is outstandingly confident and a total natural - you’d think he’d been doing it for years and the audience is absolutely focused on him  and him alone when he’s on stage. I think it was @mrsellacott who said that James Howard told her he loves his new son, and that shows. Samuel and James have a great chemistry on stage. As James is my favourite of Cast 2, I was really looking forward to tonight because Draco has his best scenes in Part Two. His first scene, in the Voldemort timeline did not disappoint. @bounding-heart did a post about why James is so good in this role and that is never more obvious than in this scene. But he also shows love and a sadness and a pain that flows under a Malfoy cover. He rarely shouts, which I like. He exudes menace and intimidation without doing so but he has softness hiding there. When he pinned Scorpius to the desk in this scene, he released him and then shook and twitched in his left hand, the hand he had used to pin Scorpius down. He was physically expressing regret with the movement, as though it physically pained him to be violent with his child. It very much felt as though violence had become a part of who he was in this version of the world, that it was now second nature but that deep down it wasn’t welcome there, a darkness that grips to him like a parasite. So, so good from Mr. Howard.

Elizabeth Hill is an excellent actress. She plays a firm, sporty Hooch with a cool Northen accent in Part One, and a bitchy, snotty Petunia, but in Part Two as Umbridge, she is genuinely unnerving. Her Umbridge relishes in the way she speaks. She’s posh, or at least pretends to be, and she milks it for all it’s worth, letting every word slither off her tongue in the most regal way possible in her desire to feel and to be seen as royal. Her laugh doesn’t induce laughter from the audience like Helena Lynberry did - it is really sinister. Her movements when talking to Scorpius were almost flirtatious, but in a really sickening way that made my skin crawl. Superb debut in the role.

David Annen as Snape - I was really looking forward to seeing David in this role and he didn’t disappoint. He is much more like book Snape than Paul was. He doesn’t raise his voice and he appears bitter and reserved. I never liked the dynamic between Snape and Hermione in the last cast - I get that they were working together but they were too touchy-feely for my liking. That’s gone with David. His “whatever you are” to Hermione was deliciously sarcastic and snotty The “How very pleasant for me” line dripped with sarcasm and the “I exist to serve” line was wonderfully but subtly aggrieved. When he threatened Scorpius with punishment, he deliberately and obviously moved his robe to reveal the pocket in which he kept his wand, making the threat very real. It was a cool detail. When Snape is taken by the Dementors, heave the most horrific scream once they had enveloped him in their cloaks. It really did sound like someone who was losing their life in a horrific manner.

Theo came out of his shell in this performance. Yesterday in Part One he showed signs of being good but he was visibly terrified (his first professional job is one of the biggest roles in a show that has won nine Oliviers - even John said that was terrifying for them) and as a result he was very stiff (I felt bad for Jamie G in the blanket scene in Part One because I felt Theo was giving him very little to work from). But the audience was great yesterday and I think that has put some of the cast (Theo was not the only one who was clearly nervous) at ease a bit more. I think Theo is going to be very good and I look forward to watching him evolve in the role. Also, for all you Scorbus shippers - if you shipped them with Anto and Sam, you’re going to go nuts for Theo and Samuel. They obviously already have a very close relationship as actors and the chemistry between them is fantastic.

Samuel, when he came out of the lake and saw his Dad, put his arms out for a moment as if he wanted to hug him but then lost his courage. It was sweet. James just pointed him in the direction he wanted him, with military-level authority. I really liked it. Alex often used to grab Scorpius by the scruff and march him off stage; I like this less aggressive approach from James because I think it contrasts the differences between Draco in the Voldemort timeline and in the present much more.

One of the Hogwarts kids slipped in some of the water left on the stage but luckily they didn’t go down and carried on.

Jamie finally started to show some Harry-temper in the scene where he visits Albus in the Slytherin dormitory although he only got half-way there.  I reserved judgement on Jamie in Part One yesterday. I agree with @torestoreamends that it’s very important not to compare Jamie G to Jamie P because I think we always knew that Jamie P’s Harry would always be incomparable and I’m OK with that, because I always knew that watching Jamie Parker was a privilege. In fact, it’s very important not to compare any of the new cast with the old cast - it’s not fair on them. Of course we love the old cast, but the new cast have to be given a chance to be different and make the role their own (within the context of the character, of course). But Jamie G certainly lacked something yesterday, for example, he did not sound nearly as desperate as a parent should when searching for their missing child in a forest. I think Jamie G was another cast member who was very nervous but he did much better in Part Two today. I think he needs time and I hope that with time he will push the role and feel his way further into it. This scene wasn’t as heated as it should have been and as a consequence, the argument with Ginny where she asks how heated it got, didn’t work as well.

More Samuel gushing - in the dormitory scene when Albus is sleeping and he wakes him up, he did it in the most brilliant way that beats Anthony and James. He first whispered Albus’s name. He then said “Pssst!” When this didn’t work, he tiptoed over to Albus’s bed and in a really high-pitched but soft voice said “Albus?”. Finally, he shouted it right into Theo’s ear and Theo reacted brilliantly. I always felt Sam underplayed the comedy of this moment slightly but Theo didn’t disappoint. He sat bolt upright with a yell and then turned and started whacking Scorpius with his pillow. It was fantastic.

Annabel as Delphi - finally, finally, I have seen Annabel’s Delphi and she is supremely unnerving. John said he thought she was smashing it. Her Part One Delphi is quite awkward and bumbling and Tonks-like, which I liked. Her Part Two Delphi is almost unhinged once she is revealed and it’s scary. Some stand-out moments for me were what appeared to be genuine, yet mocking pity for the shock and horror on Albus’s face after she kills Craig. It was pity, yet it was patronising. “Aw. Did you not understand?” Brilliant. Then, when explaining how the kids fitted in to the prophecy she kissed Albus. It was “Albus” *kisses his cheek* “is the unseen child who will kill his father”. It was the most possessive, horrifying action; that Albus is this most invaluable object to her that will make her dreams come true. Somehow it reminds me of the way in which Umbridge loves her kittens:  a repulsive obsession.

Emma as Ginny did much better in Part Two - she was another I was reserving judgement on yesterday. Yesterday I really felt that she lacked Ginny’s ovaries - her “So was mine” just didn’t feel strong enough. She definitely improved on that today, although I don’t feel the same warmth from her that I’d like to feel. Like Jamie G, I think she needs some time, perhaps. But I’m optimistic.

Jamie G in the Dumbledore scene was good. I’m so much more optimistic about him than I was yesterday. He can genuinely act and his break down in Albus’s bedroom was even better. He’s not Harry yet, but there is potential there. I’m looking forward to seeing him grow into the character. Harry and Ginny kissed twice when getting Albus's message, just like in the script. (It used to be that they only kissed even though the script called for two.

On the other hand, perhaps I’m just too hard to please, because all the main cast (Albus, Scorpius, Draco, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry) got a standing ovation at the curtain call. I was slightly gutted for the rest that they didn’t but audiences do vary and I’m sure that there are shows when they will. The past two nights had a very good audience and the stage door reception was lovely. I think the cast that came out definitely felt the love and I’m glad because I think it will give them fuel.

Speaking of stage door, April Hughes, who plays Myrtle (and is outstanding - didn’t think anyone would beat Annabel but she smashed it and even Annabel said so) was absolutely adorable. I sang her praises to her and she seemed really touched and happy and asked if she could give me a hug, so we had a hug. She’s a sweetheart! As is Sarah Miele who plays a now-Scottish Polly Chapman with purple hair (we asked her about this and she said it was just something she was told they were going to go for with the character this time). James Phoon (Craig) is adorable. I can’t remember how we got onto the subject but we were talking about the Friday Forty and I said that all my CC friends had won it at least once and I never had. He said that he played the Friday Forty every week ever since the play opened and he never won it either (he’s such a FAN!!). I told him “Now you’re in it! Even better!” and then asked if that meant that I’ll be in the play next year too. He gave a dramatic gasp and said “Oh, my God! That’s it!” and then grasped my arm and said “I’ll root for you for next year.” I told him to show me the ropes when I get cast. What an absolute doll he is. Again, the cast that came out all seemed so touched by the reception and I’m really pleased they’ve been given that confidence.

On Sunday 21st, I met Sonia Friedman. I found her at the back of the stalls and approached her, told her how much I loved and related to the play and congratulated her on all her success. I asked if I could show her something and she said “Of course” so I showed her my poster and she said she loved it because she was a dog person. I thanked her and didn’t see her after that until I passed by her yesterday when she was talking to Jack Thorne at the end of Part One about the pacing of the new cast (they had been a bit slow on a couple of bits). I don’t think she saw me as they were deep in conversation. Anyway, tonight, she came out of stage door briefly to watch the reception that the new cast received. No one realised she was there as she just lingered in the doorway and watched for a few moments - she didn’t go to greet fans. She had her hair different to usual and was wearing sunglasses so I actually didn’t recognise her even though I saw her right in front of me but she recognised me (we were standing right in front of the stage door at the barrier). She went back in to speak to someone but then came out again and came and stood next to me and said quietly “So, what did you think?” I then realised it was her and apologised, telling her I didn’t recognise her with the sunglasses and she said something along the lines of “I like to go incognito sometimes”. @torestoreamends , @mrsellacott and I had a nice chat with her and she thanked us for the support of the new cast.

I was hoping John Tiffany might come out of stage door but he didn’t (because I didn’t ask him to this time =P - I’ll tell that story in another post). My train got delayed on my way to the show this evening and I got in really late (I think @torestoreamends was panicking that I wouldn’t get in on time, she gave me big hug when she saw me and told me she’d been anxiously waiting in the aisle of the stalls to see me come in). Anyway, John was at the back of the stalls (he didn’t sit near the front like he did on May 21st - maybe he didn’t want to be inundated by fans again - more on that in another post) but anyway, I’d spoken to him on Sunday and as I walked past this evening, he looked up from his phone screen and so I gave him a big grin and he smiled back. Then in the interval, I had a brief freak-out with @torestoreamends at the Girls’ Bathroom (obviously) about how good Part Two was and then she let me go to the loo and went back to Stalls. :P On my way back, John stepped out of the Mens’ right in front of me and went back to the Stalls so I was following right behind him, seriously worrying that he was going to think I was stalking him. He noticed me and I immediately apologised and said “I’m really sorry, I swear I’m not following you, you just stepped out of the Mens’ room right in front of me.” He laughed and patted my arm and said “Don’t worry.” We got back to Stalls, right by the tech box where @torestoreamends appeared out of nowhere and we had a lovely chat with him for a few minutes. John is such a lovely, warm person, he’s so happy to talk to fans about the show. I told him that I thought it was great that the first show of the new cast had gone so smoothly and that I thought it was funny that there had been no technical hitches, given that there were so many on the 21st with a cast of fourteen months’ experience. He grinned and said “Because I kicked arse, that’s why”. So yeah. Sounds as though the tech team got a spanking for the screw-ups on the 21st.

And that’s all I’ll say about the new cast! I look forward to watching them develop and I hope everyone going to see them keeps an open mind and shows them the Potterhead love. I really think in particular that Scorbus is going to be sensational - even more so than it has been and we’ve all got lots to look forward to. I thought the ultimate test would be whether they could make me cry and they did. Happy Cast Change, peeps! x

[freebestbettingtips]

Premier League: Newcastle 1-2 Wolves

New Post has been published on https://bestfreebettingtips.com/premier-league-newcastle-1-2-wolves/

Premier League: Newcastle 1-2 Wolves

Artwork by @chapulana.

There was late, late drama at St James’ Park as Newcastle’s record of conceding late goals continued. Matt Doherty’s strike deep into stoppage time gave Wolves a deserved win in an action-packed game on Tyneside. In this tactical analysis, we shall look at how Wolves got all three points and moved into the top half of the Premier League table. Before we look at how Wolves won their second game on the bounce, let’s take a look over the team news as Benitez and Nuno both opted for some surprising choices.

Team news

Benitez went for a more conservative approach than he had done in recent weeks by opting to utilise Matt Richie at wing-back. In turn, Ayoze Perez played on the wing and Salomon Rondon was left rather isolated up front for Newcastle. Aside from Benitez’ decision to switch away from the 4-4-1-1 which he had been using at St James’ Park, there were no real surprises in the selections themselves.

On the other hand, Nuno decided to make three changes from the team that beat Chelsea. Morgan Gibbs-White, Raul Jimenez and Joao Moutinho were withdrawn for Helder Costa, Adama Traore and Ruben Neves. Nuno seems to be persisting with trying to play Traore through the middle, but it seems to be dying a death. From the Newcastle game, it was more apparent than ever that Traore struggles to play with his back to goal. It was hardly surprising that the game changed when Nuno introduced the three players that he rotated out of the starting lineup.

We are going to take a look at how Wolves snatched the victory at the death and how both of the goals in the first half were entirely preventable from a defensive perspective. Yes, you could account the goals to good movement. Or, bad defending. I’ll show you what happened and then you can make your own decision. Potentially a couple of other bits chucked in as well, we’ll see how we get on.

xG seldom lies

One of the best ways to judge who deserves to win a game of football is by looking at the xG and seeing how it all pans out. Now, Wolves are rather notorious when it comes to having a strong xG from a game, but then not converting as many chances as they should. On this occasion, they actually outscored the xG by 0.13. On the flipside, Newcastle’s xG was a measly 0.42 as they struggled to create anything of any real note.

For those still unsure about what xG means, let me explain it to you. xG means expected goals and each chance has an xG rating, the easier the chance, the higher the rating. For example, Doherty’s late goal had an xG of 0.72 which tells us that 72 times out of 100, it’s a goal if you base it purely on probability. From this game, the xG final score was Newcastle 0.42-1.87 Wolves, so Wolves deserved to win on the basis that they created the better chances. Make sense? Splendid. On we go…

Jota is back!

After getting the winner midweek versus Chelsea, Jota made it two goals in two games. In the preview for this game, we saw how Chicharito scored for West Ham after some basic movement created bags of space for the Mexican. In essence, Jota did exactly the same as he pulled away from his man as the ball was delivered.

Jota is being paid close attention to.

From Newcastle’s point of view, there’s not a great deal going wrong here. Costa hasn’t got much room to work in, despite the help from Doherty. Jota and Traore are being marked and everything seems right in the world. So, how did it go from the above image to Jota scoring just seconds later?

Jota is now in between the two Newcastle defenders.

After a quick interchange with Doherty, Costa has the ball back and has now got ample space to drive into. Something else worth noting is the amount of space that Neves has got in front of him. With Neves having Saiss next to him in midfield, Neves can travel forward a little more as Saiss will just sit and protect the defence. On this occasion, Costa makes the right choice and delivers the ball into the area.

One touch to set, one touch to finish

All the time in the world.

A lack of communication between DeAndre Yedlin and Jamaal Lascelles means that Yedlin holds his position. Due to this, Lascelles is on his own against Jota and because the delivery from Costa takes the Newcastle skipper out of the game, Jota just has to finish. It’s not the greatest strike in the world from the Portugal U21 starlet, but Dubravka is beaten, all the same.

Five minutes after Wolves took the lead, the hosts were level. Ryan Bennett brought Ayoze Perez down on the edge of the area to prevent him from collecting the ball back off Rondon. It looked like a good bit of defending, providing Newcastle didn’t score from the set piece. Technically speaking, they didn’t. Ultimately, they did. Rondon’s effort hit the underside of the crossbar before it was cleared and it’s there we will join the action.

Question marks surrounding the defence

Rondon’s delivery is key.

Ayoze Perez is the man who gets the goal to draw Newcastle level. Coady can see him and he’s behind Saiss. You’d like to think that one of them would take charge of the situation. Much like Wolves’ goal, a lack of communication gives the attacker too much time. See below.

The pace on the ball beats Rui in the Wolves goal.

Perez simply cuts inside and he wins the ball. Coady should’ve done better, though. The Wolves captain should have cleaned Perez out the way while winning the ball. It was very much a half-hearted attempt of overturning possession. Then again, we shouldn’t take anything away from Ayoze Perez as he does very well to get between Saiss and Coady AND put the ball beyond Rui.

Afterwards, Newcastle looked the more likely to enter the interval in front as they took charge of the ball and the half-chances. Irrespective of that, it was 0-0 at halftime and something was going to have to give in the second half if either side were going to take all three points.

Newcastle lose DeAndre Yedlin

Yedlin got given his marching orders early in the second half after pulling back Diogo Jota as he was bearing down on goal. Benitez argued the toss about that after the game, but there’s no way in the word Lascelles was going to get across to Jota before he reached Dubravka. Not a prayer. Interestingly, Nuno didn’t particularly take charge of the extra man as he stuck to the 3-4-3 he swears by. Saying that, the introduction of Gibbs-White, Jimenez and Moutinho essentially changed the game.

It wasn’t any of the substitutions that won the game for Wolves, mind. It was Matt Doherty. After assisting Jota for the winner against Chelsea, he was in the right place at the right time to win the game for Nuno’s side.

Don’t you wish your right back was Doherty

Wonderfully weighted pass from Moutinho.

Joao Moutinho slides the ball to Jota. Doherty, on the opposite flank, runs and runs and runs. Diogo Jota’s ability to keep the ball close enough to his body and zip beyond the Newcastle defence with ease was a tremendous sight. At this stage in the game, surely you’d just bring Jota down if you were a Newcastle player? Just kill the game.

Nobody can stop Jota.

The space that Doherty has found ahead of Kenedy is astounding. It’s made all the more impressive by the fact that Kenedy had only been on the pitch for five minutes. Shocking from the Brazilian, outstanding from the Irishman. Once again, you have to wonder why Newcastle don’t just chop the Portuguese player down. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

GOOOAL!

Diogo Jota stings the palms of Dubravka and Doherty says thank you very much. As I said earlier, Wolves deserved to win on the basis of xG. Whether they did or not in the grand scheme of things is still up for debate. Perhaps they could’ve had Boly sent off for an elbow on Ayoze Perez in the final ten minutes of the game, nonetheless, Boly wasn’t looking at the Spaniard and if that was a red card, then Lascelles should’ve been sent off for pushing Traore in the face. Sour grapes from Mr Benitez, or so it seems.

Final Thoughts

Even though Wolves left it late, Nuno & Co would’ve felt aggrieved if they departed Tyneside with anything other than three points. Despite both sides hitting the bar, there being a late winner and a red card, it wasn’t the greatest of games, not by a long shot. Some might say that those are the games you need to win if you want to do anything in this league and I’d be inclined to agree. After losing to Huddersfield and Cardiff, it would’ve been a travesty if Wolves had lost this.

Next up, Wolves host Bournemouth. We’ll be back later this week for that one.

Until the next time.

If you love tactical analysis, then you’ll love the digital magazines from totalfootballanalysis.com – a guaranteed 100+ pages of pure tactical analysis covering topics from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and many, many more. Get your copy of November’s issue for just £4.99 here or preorder the first of TWO December issues right here.