#Liverpool's inexperience

[doux-amer]

Utterly disgraceful. If we lost because we tried hard enough and it just wasn't in the cards, I'd be sad but proud. But the past month or two? I've just become increasingly irate and started to lose most of my patience. We're losing because we're playing like mentality losers. Slow passes, short passes, passes straight to the opposition, missed passes. Passes that go sky high or are way too overshot so no one is able to get near the ball no matter how fast they run. Halfhearted shots at goal or shots that have no thinking whatsoever behind them. They're just fired right at the goal amateur-style. Wasted chances.

Forwards who don't want to score apparently. Defenders and midfielders who get easily dispossessed, most of the time because they're slow as hell or they decide it's a brilliant idea to suddenly stop and walk around leisurely like they're taking a nice stroll at the park, taking the sights in. A goalkeeper who's settled to do the same thing (what the hell was Kweev doing today other than those two saves? And sorry, but he's done this a few times in other matches too and while I've been supportive of him, he's showing his inexperience and the reason why he's second keeper tbh.) There was a moment where the ball shot off to the side on our side of the pitch where no one was and I forgot who it was (Joe?) who just....literally stopped walking and stood there, watching it from far away. No one went to it!!!! IT WAS STILL IN PLAY, NOWHERE NEAR THE SIDELINES! And that pretty much sums up Liverpool tonight and many nights this season.

And don't get me started on players who decide hey, you know what...what if I...just dive straight into this thick clump of opposing players instead of going into open spaces? What if we decide to open up space too widely? What if we decide that instead of using our feet and our heads, we'll just kick the ball automatically as soon as it lands at our feet, straight into the opposition so the ball ricochets everywhere and we lose possession? What if instead of moving forward, we keep passing sideways and backwards and then once we do that enough, we slow down to a walk or even stop walking at all and then do sloppy, short, slow passes that just roll across the grass for anyone to pick up?

I don't know what's going on with this team. We have players who are really, really talented, but the passion sputters and their minds drift. They lack so much discipline. And I'm going to say it. I don't blame Klopp for leaving. This isn't a tactics thing, imo. You can make all the strategies you want, but they won't do anything if players decide to stop playing for some reason.

[breitzbachbea]

That Arthur post makes me think how Harry thinks about him in that Irish Problems scene. Imma pull it up, to not let you wait for 5 years, but here it is.

“Of course your lot thinks dying is easy,” he told him. “Because killing is, isn’t it? So much easier if we laid in the mud you trampled us into and stopped getting up.” “I wish I could say that this will hurt me more than you, but that’d be a blatant lie.” The pretence was gone and the man in front of him more familiar now. There was no negotiating table here, not that it made much of a difference to Harry. He treated the Arthur he ran into at night in Liverpool harbour no different than the one he was forced to endure at noon in Paris. A shapeshifter wasn’t your friend any time of day.

It is framed in the cultural idea of fae folk, of the old Gods you should be wary of when you encounter them in human form, but it really is about how much of Arthur is pretence. But for Harry, as an Irishman, it is the kind of Tacitus' idea of imperial pretence: They make a desert and call it peace. He's like You can dress yourself up all you want in manners, but you have the same demons that I struggle with and nothing will justify them. Fate has afforded to call your monsters Good Business Practice with necessary human cost, while mine are I don't want to die, so you're gonna have to.

And certainly, other people see him in a different light. Some may somewhat believe the act and think he just has a bit of a nasty temper, because they're young and inexperiences, others think THEY are the civilized ones while Arthur is just a dressed up scoundrel. But he really is interesting because it's about the FEELING of power and about hard work PAYING OFF, no matter how rotten. He wants to reap the rewards that fall into your hands when you play along with society's ideas.

[ohblahdo]

I started a whole essay about this one that I probably never finished, but my crack theory is that it's about Brian. (And not just because his mother's name was Queenie. But maybe also a little bit because of that.)

There were rules you never told me, never came up with a plan All the stories that you sold me didn't help me understand But I had to get it worked out, had nobody who could help So then in the end it turned out that I had to do it by myself

IMO, this sounds like someone talking to an authority figure: you didn't tell me the rules, and I had to figure things out for myself. "All the stories that you sold me" = in the context of the song, this sounds like something that he'd say to someone who was selling him on the dream of fame. And that's not a super long list. In theory, the intro could be about a romantic partner who refused to tell him the rules of their relationship, but I don't know if you'd then talk about coming up with a plan or having to do it by yourself. It seems more like he was looking for guidance in a larger sense and didn't get it.

I actually looked up the Queenie Eye game at one point, and its purpose is basically to teach children how to get better at lying and hiding things. One kid's trying to guess which of the others have the ball, and the person who has it has to convince them that they don't. And if they're not a good liar, then they're out.

Now, famous people have to hide a lot of things, so we could consider that part of the game in general, but obviously some people have to hide more than others, and if they couldn't, in the 60s, then they were out... in many senses of the word. Is that too on the nose?

Also: "Never blame circumstances / If romances seldom came" - who seldom had romances? Not Paul and not most of his friends or girlfriends. And "It's a long way to the finish / When you've never been before" evokes youth/inexperience, as does the general conceit of the song. It's reflecting back both on Liverpool and on their rise to fame.

So that's my theory.

anyone wanna tell me what they think Queenie Eye is about

[testing-carraville]

Carraville - Gary manager AU

Disclaimer: This was posted on my main blog before. I’m trying to figure out why my writing doesn’t show up on the carraville tag.

It was truly a sign of how bad things were that they came to knock on Gary’s door, and everyone involved knew it. Perhaps if he had been an untried manager, it wouldn’t be so bad, but after the disaster that had been Valencia…

And fuck his loyalty, fuck his life… because he was going to accept the job. Even though it was a piss-poor opportunity, what with Manchester United barely making the upper table, in a position he wouldn’t have a lot of power to change things, no matter what he was told. The only consolation he had going in with open eyes was that a) at least this time he already knew the language, and b) he wouldn’t be so far from home and country this time.

On the other hand, the more likely result would be his head in a stick, when he couldn’t make the team work as a team (which he thought couldn’t be blamed on him, God knows he wouldn’t be the first to fail at that).

His acceptance was as bleak as his probable future, and none of the men around the table had any doubts that he was at best a stop gag measure to get more time, to have some other chance to find someone else, a better coach, a better prospect.

It was infuriating, because if he entered the dressing room like that, he was as good as done, there wouldn’t even be a need for him to play one game, he would have already lost. And maybe it was the stubborn bastard in him, or the blind idiot who would do everything for his team, but he wanted more — he needed to do more.

So the first thing he did was to call Carra.

He didn’t believe in himself right now, but maybe he didn’t need to, maybe he had tor each out to someone who would do that particular job for him. And for all that as a player he would have laughed at the notion of a Scouse, of Carragher, whose name was synonymous with Liverpool, ever being a person he could trust…

That was what they had come to: There was no one else he would rather talk to this situation, no one else he could be so vulnerable as to admit he thought he would fuck this up, perhaps the one, if not the only thing he would dearly wish to not mar with his inexperience and clumsiness.

He had the certainty it would a kill a part of him, if he had to ever go out of Old Trafford thinking he hadn’t done all he could, that he had dragged his old team even deeper in a hole than they already were.

[colepalmer20]

Funny how every big six team (bar liverpool bc it was the first game of the season) wants the throw the whole ‘you’ve had your best game of the season’ ‘we played our worst’ debate.. maybe.. there’s a reason for that? Maybe.. just maybe.. Chelsea outplayed you 🤔 but our inexperience is still there.. that’s why we’re wayyyy off where our performances should have us. The experience we’ve missed got injured back in preseason and will be back after the international break. Nkunku has been missed and people fail to acknowledge it.

Anywayyyy! Rant over! Give chelsea the respect they deserve and don’t try and say ‘we still couldnt win’ bc Anthony Taylor gave you your first goal x

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

City spent so much and can’t beat us? It’s hilarious how many excuses you give for their defeat🤣. Chelsea deserved a win today, your small club deserved nothing.

holdup holdup holdup…you are a chelsea fan…talking about “spending so much”…when your club spent a billion in 2 years…and sits in 10th place…and finished 12th last season…

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Aladdin Queen fic John Deacon x reader chap. 3; Second meeting

*Author’s note*

Okay guys so get read to binge read this series for a bit because since yesterday after finishing the last part of this chapter as well as writing up all of the next chapter, I’ve got 4 full chapters ready for you all to read and be amazed with. So I hope you all enjoy this little chapter and until the next update in just a short little while.

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural​

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@ixchel-9275​

@georgesgentlyweepingguitar​

@queendeakyy​

@simonedk​

@geek-and-proud​

@kairosfreddie​

_______________________________________________________

In the throne room of the palace, stood the three daughter of Sultan Hassim of Punjab: the eldest Aesha, the middle child Kaia, and the youngest Priyanka along with their escorts and ensembles. Across the throne room just near the steps where the steps stood were the three English kings, King Harold of the kingdom Middlesex, King Michael of Norfolk, and King Arthur of Leicester.

“Welcome Princess Aesha, Kaia and Priyanka. We trust you three had a safe journey.” King Harold stated them as the doors slowly began to open.

When the doors were fully opened there in their royal garb stood Prince Roger and Prince John and in the middle stood Prince Brian.  John nervously and unconsciously touched his right ring finger but remembered his ring was gone so he retreated his hand back.  The three princesses stood in awe at seeing the three English princes.

“By Allah.” Whispered Priyanka.  The three princes slowly walked down the steps with grace and poise and soon coming behind them was a servant around their age with short black hair and a mustache across his lips, in his arms he carried a badger and coming from the other side were the two lions, one female and a male lion with his dark mane shining proudly.

“Daughters of Hassim, allow us to introduce our sons, my only son Prince Brian.” King Harold started off.

“My eldest and only son Prince Roger.” Continued King Michael.

“And my eldest son, Prince John.” Finished King Arthur.  The princesses stood in awe before the middle princess Kaia spoke.

“Why did no one tell us we would be meeting gods?”

“No one mentioned we would either.” Roger flirted back, but unlike how he would normally flirt with a woman, there was a bit of coldness to it.

“Aww thank you.” Kaia gushed obviously oblivious to Roger’s true meaning.

“They say back home in Punjab that we would be worthy of Lakshmi herself.” Bragged Priyanka as she made a high-class laugh and soon the escorts all laughed together in the same unison tone. “Men would line up the entire castle just to get a look at us.” The parrot on top of the advisor holding the snake staff laughed as John finally spoke.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Funny. We share the same title but are clearly not cut from the same cloth when it comes to humility and self-awareness.” At that statement Priyanka shuffled nervously.  King Arthur cleared his throat and whispered.

“John, manners.” It was then Aesha noticed the badger the servant was holding and she said.

“Just what is that rat that servant boy is holding?”

“Badger. He’s a badger, actually. Not even relatively close to the rodent family.” Brian piped in defending his pet badger.

“It looks disgusting, take it out of my sight. I hate things that crawl!” Brian wanted to interject but his father told the servant to walk away with Brian’s badger.

“Oh forget about the rodent thing Aesha, check out those cats. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Stated Priyanka. The male lion and lioness both glared at the princesses and were growling lowly.

“Indeed, especially the one with the luscious hair. She’s got to be the most beautifuliest cat I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Answered Kaia.

“He. Male lions have the mane, females don’t.” Roger answered as he stroked through his lion’s mane.

“They like you.” The parrot stated.

“What’s not to like? Back home cats adore us. Here kitty, kitty, kitties, hi kitty, kitties.” Priyanka walked up holding her hand out waving it towards the female lioness who just kept glaring and growling lowly, slowly baring her large canine fangs.  As Priyanka continued to coo at the lioness, she was then met with a roar and a swipe of cat claws.

Her screams echoed through the walls as the escorts all just laughed.

Later that night in the study room of the English kings, they all sat around a desk with maps, books, a globe and scrolls all surrounding them.  Standing before them was their grand vizier.

“My kings, our enemies grow stronger every day yet you allow your sons to dismiss the daughters of Hassim and a possible military alliance.”

“What enemies Paul?” asked king Arthur.

“Liverpool continues to amass.”

“Liverpool is our ally.”

“Was our ally.” Paul hissed out in emphasis.

“You would drag us into war with our oldest alley.”

“And you would allow our kingdom to sink into ruin for mere sentiment!”

“Paul!” roared Michael.  Paul ceased and turned towards the second king. “Remember your place.” Continued king Michael.

“I apologize. Forgive me king Michael, I went to far.” Paul said as he slowly walked towards the door.  But he stopped and slowly turned around and said “But,” it was then the eyes on his snake staff began to glow red.  

It was then the three kings looked at Paul like they were under a trance.

“If you would only reconsider, I think you three would see that invading Liverpool, is the right thing to do.”

“Invading…Liverpool is…..” Arthur droned out in a monotoned voice.

“Invade Liverpool?” Paul was forced to release the spell he had over the three kings as John soon came into the room with a lioness behind him.  His father Arthur turned towards his son as John continued, “Why would we invade mother’s homeland?”

“We would never invade Liverpool.” His father spoke.

“But an ally in Punjab would improve our situation.” Suggested Paul.

“Yes, if you and our sons would reconsider giving the princesses a chance.” Suggested king Harold.

“To rule? Uncle Harold I would rather have Nala as my Queen.”

“My son, we’re not getting any younger and…..we are running out of kingdoms. India is our only hope of a stronger worldly alliance.”

“Why must we marry a royal blood of a foreign country in order to help them? Now I have been preparing for this my whole life, I have read—”

“Books? But you cannot read experience Prince John. Inexperience is dangerous. People left unchecked will revolt, walls and borders unguarded will be attacked.” Paul spoke to him like he was scolding a child.

“Paul is right. One day,” his father came up to him and cupped the side of his face. “You will understand my son.” John looked up at his father breathing sharply but silently. “You may leave now.” John huffed before storming out of the studies with his lioness Nala following behind him.

John stopped in the middle of the hallway trying to calm himself down of his anger but also his sadness that his father still wouldn’t take him seriously.  

Nala, his lioness came up and sat in front of him softly huffing and staring up at him solemnly, but when Paul Prenter came around the corner, her ears narrowed back and she growled defensively.

“Life would be kinder to you, Prince John. You have no wisdom of the world like Brian, nor the ambition of Roger. I think it would be better for you to be seen and not heard.” Paul spoke as he got closer to the young prince.  As Prenter stared him down, he heard the threatening growl and was staring into the golden eyes of Nala.

He glared down at the big cat like he was looking at an abomination before calmly retreating back down the hallway.

John was now back in his, along with Brian’s and Roger’s, bedroom.  He began thinking back to what Paul said.  For years out of the three young Princes, John Deacon has always been the more quieter of the sons, he always relied more on his emotions rather than his actions.

Sure he would speak his mind when the time was necessary but he’d rather not get involved with things that were mostly stupid to him.  After he lost his mother just three years ago he was so depressed and would barely speak, so with each princess he’s met he’s either acted cold and distant, or retorted back with his words like he did earlier this afternoon.  As he walked around the room, he softly sung to himself.

*John*

Here comes a wave meant to wash me away A tide that is taking me under Broken again, left with nothing to say My voice drowned out in the thunder

But I can't cry And I can't start to crumble Whenever they try To shut me or cut me down

I can't stay silent Though they wanna keep me quiet And I tremble when they try it All I know is I won't go speechless

He sat down on the couch on the balcony before wiped away his hidden tears and trying to compose himself before Brian, Roger or their servant came through those doors.

*3rd Person POV*

Outside the palace, a merchant with a cart full of fresh supplies for the palace came pulling up to the gates of the palace and one of the guards told the gate keeper to open the gates.  Standing amongst the crowd of people, who were watching a fire eater perform his nightly routine, (Y/n) stood there and whispered.

“Okay Abu, you know what to do.” Abu hopped off my shoulder and pestered one of the guards.  As he was distracted, I walked up to one of the men and took his shawl off his back and wrapped it over my head and walked alongside the cart, pretending to be one of the assistance.

Unbeknownst to (y/n), something was watching her. The red parrot that always stood on Paul’s shoulder looked down from the perch he was on and said.

“Dirty monkey.” He then took off flying squawking out, “Street thief, street thief.” He flew high and over the palace till he arrived in another large study area that belong to his master, Paul who was now removing standing before a globe with a harsh look in his eyes.

“‘Remember your place, Paul’.”

“Remember your place.” The parrot mocked back.

“If I hear that one more time!”

“Sorry, master!”

“Another petty insult from those three small-minded English buffoons. They see a kingdom, where I see an empire.” Paul said as he walked around the globe towards a book that stood on a podium.

“Such vision.” His parrot spoke.

“Once that lamp sits in my hand…then I shall sit on the throne of England.”

“Thief in the palace.” His parrot spoke as it sat on the railing of the balcony.

“Thief. Thief in the palace?” asked Paul.

“That’s what I said. Thief!”

“What have you seen Iago?” Paul asked his parrot as he walked up towards him.

“Diamond in the rough.” As Paul now stood by his parrot Iago’s side he saw for himself just what the bird was talking about. Jumping and scaling across the top of some of the palace buildings was (Y/n).

After walking across the vineyard walls, (y/n) silently hopped down and hid behind one of the steel vineyard walls just as two guards turned around, wondering if they heard anything.

She then walked into the palace to see some servants cleaning up the room, while the captain of the guard monitored them. Telling them to either make bigger circles, or get a spot that they missed.  (Y/n) noticed an abandoned red sari so she grabbed it and wrapped it around herself.

Paul and Iago came around towards the very part of the palace where they saw (y/n) go into to and there was a female servant with her head bowed down, her face hidden as she held a tray of tea while two guards passed by her.  

When the servant revealed her face, it was (y/n). She softly smiled before walking off towards the Princes chambers.

“Who’s a clever girl?” Iago stated as Paul smirked.

“Indeed. She could be just who we are looking for.” Iago squawked as he flew off and Paul slipped away from the room.

Meanwhile in the Princes’ chambers John was standing along the balcony with the servant boy who came along with them to greet the Princesses.  Prince Brian was by his maps with his badger standing right beside him, sniffing the paper, while Roger sat along his bed with his pet lion by his side.

“But Jim, there has to be something we can do.” John said as their servant Jim prepped him his nightly attire.

“Three princesses want to marry you and your two friends, when will life get any easier?”

“It’s not that we don’t want to marry, it’s just that we…..” Roger spoke as he dried his wet hair after just having his bath.

“John wants to be king, you wish to explore the world, and Brian you wish to become an astronomer.”

“You remember what our mums used to say, we would only be as happy as our least happiest subject. If they saw what Roger and I did today, they would be heartbroken.”

“They would also want us to be safe Deacy. And clean. I’m taking the next bath. You better not have used all the hot water this time Roger.” Brian spoke up as he stood up and headed towards the bathroom.

“No promises.” Roger said.

“With Paul’s guards on every corner, soon he’d have them invading our neighbors, risking lives and for what?” John continued as he looked out towards the balcony.

“Well one good thing will come from this forceful commitment of marriage. When I’m king, I’ll finally have the power to get rid of that slimy leech. What do you think John beheaded or gutting him? Or maybe a hanging?”

“Roger Taylor sometimes you worry me lad.” Jim stated solemnly.

“Oh come off it Jim, you’re the only Irish man I would spare from punishment. But Paul deserves everything I’ve got planned coming to him. I still don’t get why our father’s made him the grand vizier. If anything I would’ve made him the royal poop cleaner to Simba here.” He spoke as he stroked his lion’s mane who huffed and lowly growled. “What do you say Simba? You could give that overdressed, self-absorbed Paul Prenter a thing or two to scream about wouldn’t you?” Roger cooed as he cupped his lion’s face before affectionately headbutting him.

Simba rubbed up against Roger’s head before raising his head up and Roger proceeded to scratch under his chin down to his mid chest.

“To a degree I agree with Roger. We were born to do than marry some useless princess. It seems like all these princesses we are given don’t know how to speak up and just do whatever we say, or are too arrogant and spoiled.” John said.

“If you three had to choose a triplet of princesses, you lot could do worse than these three. I mean they do seem beautiful and yes they are a little spoiled but you’re just getting married. It’s not like you’ll have to talk to them.” Jim said.

“I wouldn’t go there Jim. Besides, he’d rather take that girl from the market place.” Roger teased as Jim softly chuckled before heading towards the bathroom to prepare Brian for his bath. John scoffed a chuckle. “Oh don’t play that John, you both we’re practically gaga for each other this afternoon. Hell she didn’t even notice me at all when we first met.”

“Yes Roger you’re very attractive, so much so that everyone confused you for a woman frequently while we were there.” John mocked back.

“Are you serious?!” cried out Brian from the bathroom.  Roger glared at John and hissed.

“You bitch.” John grinned smugly when a soft knock was heard at the door.  He walked down the two steps of the balcony and went up to the door and opened it to see someone with their back turned.

“Can I help you?” but when the person turned around, John was surprised to see the girl from the marketplace.

*My POV*

When the doors opened to reveal Jim, I held the tray of tea out and said.

“Tea?”

“You? You! What are you doing here!? Get in here now!” he pulled me inside the room and quickly shut the door.

“I came to return your ring.”

“My ring? Where is it?”

“On your finger.” I looked around in awe before I caught the sight of Ben, shirtless but wearing nightly pants stroking a big cat of sorts.  I think I was a lion maybe? Never really seen those here but I have read stories about them. “Oh Ben hello.”

“Well, well look whose come back? Enjoying the view?”

“I’ll admit it’s not bad. I love what the princes have done with the place.”

“How did you get past the guards?” asked Jim.

“That was challenging, but I have my ways.” I said as I turned back towards him. “Hey Jim, while the princes are out, would you—like to go for a stroll? Have a little chat?” I now stood in front of him and he softly shook his head as he said.

“You’re unbelievable. You cannot just break into a palace and walk around like you own the place.”

“If you don’t have anything, you have to act like you own everything.”

“She’s got you there mate.” Ben said as he continued to stroke the lion.

“So what do you say? I did find your ring.”

“You did not find my ring, you stole it.”

“Correction the monkey stole it.”

“He’s your monkey.” He retorted.

“He’s still a monkey.” I argued back.  He softly grinned at me.

“Who ordered the tea?” it was then we all turned to see a tall lean man who had massive curly hair and hazel eyes.  He was in a bathrobe and standing by his side was another lion but without the hair, which made me think that this one was a female lion.  I looked at the man stunned but before I could say anything Jim spoke up.

“I did. For you, Prince John Deacon.” Oh my god this was Prince John.

“Your majesty.” I did my best to bow.

“Why are you being weird?” I heard Prince John say. I turned to look towards Jim who settled himself from doing something and just smiled at me.  I turned back towards the youngest English Prince and that’s when he face shined with realization.

“Oh I’m Prince John. Yes, mm-hmm. And it truly is good to be me. The young prince of Leicester. The accent I have is far unique and strange to anyone else of my little kingdom. But of course I always look up to Prince Brian because he is far superior to me with his wisdom for words and wisdom of numbers. Yes I do so admire that brother of mine.” He praised in an accent that almost clearly didn’t seem to fit him. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my precious lioness needs to be cleaned.” He then turned and walked away.

Okay that was—weird.  I turned towards Jim and he looked at me and said.

“Poor thing doesn’t get out much.” I hummed and turned my back as I set the tea set down on a nearby table.

“Clearly.” But when I turned back around I was suddenly greeted by the lioness staring me down.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the bath?” she walked up towards me and sniffed my hand before softly whining out.

“Oi servant boys! This cat aren’t going to clean themselves you know!” Prince John proclaimed from the back room.

“But don’t cat’s usually clean themselves?” I asked.

“You have to leave now.” Jim urged me on as he dragged me towards the doors.

“Okay. But I’m coming back tomorrow night.”

“What? No you can’t….”

“Meet me in the courtyard beside the fountain when the moon hits above the minaret.” I then swiftly stole another ring from John’s finger, this time a silver medallion pin like ring that rested on his right ring finger. “To return this ring next.” Jim looked at me astonished.

I then reached up and gently but hesitantly tucked back a strand of his hair that fell to his eyes.  I fiddled the ring between my fingers at him giving him my promise, before finally slipping out of the room.

As I ditched the servant sari, Abu came up towards me and got up on my shoulder and we walked off.

*John’s POV*

“What a woman. Now if she had done that to me, I would’ve had her right then and there.” Roger whistled.

“Keep your urges to yourself.” I hissed.  I looked down at my right hand to see my ring finger was now naked but as I touched it, I swore I could still feel a hint of her fingers touching it as she went to grab my ring.

*My POV*

“Can you believe it Abu? The most heavily guarded place in all of Agrabah…” I said as Abu hung from my shoulder to my arm and we both admired the ring as well as me twirling around like it was nothing. But as I faced forward again, the captain of the guards stood before me.

“Evening.” He said as Abu came to hide behind my back.

“Evening.” My voice squeaked before I cleared my throat and I said again, “Evening.” There was silence before I said, “You’ve got guards behind me, don’t you?” suddenly my vision went black as something came over my head and I was dragged out of the palace.

[husheduphistory]

The Glenesslin: Pints, Ploys, and a Picturesque Wreck

By most accounts October 1st 1913 was a beautiful day on the Oregon coast. The sky was clear, the ocean was calm, and anyone walking near the town of Manzanita could take in views of the sun, the sea, and the rocky coastline. Although the age of steamships was fast approaching, looking out into the water one could still see great ships with their full sails, cutting through the water with the permission of Mother Nature and guided by their crews. One of the ships coursing through the sea that day was the highly decorated and revered Glenesslin, a windjammer that eleven years earlier set a world speed record for traveling from Portland to South Africa in only seventy-four days. She was a beautiful ship, and on this first October morning of 1913 her sails were full as she crashed headfirst into the rocks at the base of the Neahkahnie Mountain.

A modern view of the coast near Manzanita, near the site of the Glenesslin wreck.

The Glenesslin was only twenty-eight years old when it met its bizarre demise. Built in Liverpool, it was the pride of the C.E. DeWolf & Co. fleet and was an amazingly fast ship. But, times were growing hard for sailing due to the introduction of steam power. Sailing ships were slower, much less predictable, and far more susceptible to natural factors delaying or sometimes ruining a voyage (and its crew). Magnificent as she was, the Glenesslin had not been able to turn a profit in years.

In charge of the ship on this last voyage was Captain Owen Williams, a seasoned captain with a spotless record, and his crew of twenty people including his first and second mates, both of which were in their twenties. When the ship crashed a hole was ripped in its underside and it came to rest wedged in the rocks at the base of Neahkahnie Mountain. The crew was stuck in a destroyed ship being pummeled by surf but, thanks to the use of a rescue line, everyone aboard the ship was safely brought to shore. The crew seemed oddly calm about the ordeal, some even took the time to grab possessions before leaving the ship. The crash was a strange event, but what turned it from strange to suspicious was what wasn’t said back on shore.

Naturally, people wanted an explanation for why the Glenesslin crashed but they would find no easy answers. The crew refused to talk and Captain Williams’s few words did nothing to illuminate what went wrong. When asked what happened Williams answered “All I can say is that the boat is ashore and is a total loss.” When asked who was at the wheel at the time of the crash he only said “One of the seamen. I don’t remember his name.” Interviews were attempted but the moment the crash was brought up to the Captain they were immediately ended.

Crew members and locals posing with the wreck of the Glenesslin.

With no official explanation for the Glenesslin story, people began to fill in the blanks themselves. One theory was that the ship simply fell victim to a trap of the sea. Navigators familiar with the region claimed there was a small area, a “wind shadow” where ships could get easily trapped in a pocket of no wind. With nothing to propel the sails and ship forward, the vessel would be stuck. Some theorized that this fate befell the Glenesslin and as the crew was attempting to escape the windless pocket, the winds suddenly picked up and without enough time to react they were sent crashing into the rocks. It might have sounded like a legit claim, but if it was true why did the crew not tell that story? Was the embarrassment of landing in a wind pocket strong enough to silence the entire crew?

If the fault was not on the sea, then it was on the ship. Williams may have been a seasoned professional, but both of his first and second mates were very young at twenty-two years old. As the age of sail began to dwindle it became increasingly difficult for captains to man their ship with an experienced crew leading to sailing ships often resting in the hands of young men who took the job for all the wrong reasons. Sailing ships offered higher titles just to get working feet on deck, they developed a reputation as a stepping stone to getting a position on a steam ship, and sometimes a crew member found himself on board only after being shanghaied. This could lead to even the best captains having to deal with unexperienced and unmotivated crew members. After all, with such a shortage of sailing crew captains often had no choice but to deal with whatever workers he could get.

According to one later testimony, the Glenesslin was not experiencing the sun and clear skies often reported on that day but was actually dealing with fog. Captain Williams left the deck at 12:45pm, telling his second mate he was going to lay down and should be called upon at 2pm. When the second mate went to the captain at the decided time he told him the ship was dangerously close to the shoreline, saying “She's getting very close in." When the captain got to the deck the Neahkahnie Mountain was straight ahead giving them no choice but the head directly into it.

But, the question remains that if any of this was true, why did Captain Williams and the crew refuse to speak about what happened on the ship? The truth may lay not in their accounts, but in the words of those who met the crew on shore. According to multiple accounts when the surprisingly relaxed sailors set foot on shore they and their captain all smelled strongly of alcohol.

Photograph of the Glenesslin wreck taken several weeks after the crash.

While there are several theories that the wreck of the Glenesslin was accidental due to shadows, inexperience, or alcohol-fueled negligence, there is another possibility that the crash was absolutely deliberate. Captain Williams was undoubtedly aware that the Glenesslin’s days were counting down and taking his job with it. The ship had not turned a profit in years, but there was one way for the captain to get one last payday from the ship, and that was through an insurance payout.

Many factors made insurance fraud seem like an obvious motive for crashing the once famous ship. With the head on collision with the rocks the Glenesslin had a hole torn into the hull making it impossible to fix. The sails were left in place ensuring that any wind would only further press the vessel into the coastline and cause further damage. There would be no loss of cargo, the ship was empty and the exiting crew lacked the panic expected to accompany a wreck. The calm was due to the placement of the ship, it just so happen to crash in a spot that was perfectly situated for casting a lifeline to the shore ensuring their safety.

Legal hearings to determine the cause of the Glenesslin’s demise brought little clarity. Captain Williams said that he took a nap after lunch and when he was woken up the ship was already doomed to crash. After multiple tedious court proceedings it was determined that negligence brought the Glenesslin to its untimely end. The first mate was reprimanded for their lackluster response to the impending danger of the crash. The second mate’s license was suspended for six months for allowing the ship to get so close to the shore without making the captain aware of the situation earlier. Captain Williams’s license was suspended for six months under the charge of negligence. But, Williams walked away from the whole debacle with more than a six month suspension, he also pocketed an insurance check worth $30,000.

The wreck of the Glenesslin sat stranded on the rocks and was gradually picked apart by souvenir hunters and those looking to make a quick buck until it finally was sold for salvage for $560. The buyer purchased the wreck sight unseen and when they finally laid eyes on their purchase they turned around and sold it off for the sum of $100.

When the Glenesslin crashed into the coast along the Neahkahnie Mountain it created a spectacularly bizarre sight that may have been lost to time if it had not been for local photographers capturing it on film. One local man named Paul Bartels was near the scene that fateful afternoon and he happened to have his camera with him, “one of those old-timey cameras, you know the kind you have to throw the black rag over your head.” The images captured by Bartels have become iconic images of the Glenesslin crash, some showing crew members standing on the rocks with the freshly wrecked ship in the background. Today the image collection belongs to the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum.

The true cause of the Glenesslin wreck has never been determined.

Photograph of the Glenesslin wreck taken by Paul Bartels.

[thisdaynews]

Breaking News: Champions League Final: 5 key factors which could influence the game

New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/05/22/breaking-news-champions-league-final-5-key-factors-which-could-influence-the-game/

Breaking News: Champions League Final: 5 key factors which could influence the game

Taking a look at the key factors which could determine the biggest footballing war of the season

Right then ladies and gentlemen, the Champions League final is almost upon us. It’s fitting that the two most exciting teams this season clash against each other to grab the biggest trophy in club football. Liverpool vs Real Madrid, Ronaldo vs Salah, Zidane vs Klopp, Firmino Vs Ramos and what not. If this doesn’t excite you, trust me, folks, nothing ever will.

We look at the key aspects of the game which could well determine which team lays it’s hands on the trophy when Milorad Mažić blows his final whistle on the night.

#5 Liverpool’s inexperience:

Since that magical night in Istanbul, rightly called as the greatest night in the rich history of Liverpool FC, the Anfield faithful have waited for 13 long years to see their team compete in another final.

This in itself might be Liverpool’s undoing on the big night as, on nights having magnitude as big as this, it’s the players’ experience which helps in soothing the nerves, getting into stride quickly and rising to the occasion.

The fact that no one in this Liverpool squad has played a Champions League final before makes Klopp’s task all the more important as it’ll be his duty to maintain his player’s resolve, not allowing to succumb to such immense pressure et al.

These are the matches where players turn into legends; the ones that distinguish the true greats from the mere mortals. Klopp himself had to face defeat in his lone appearance in 2013 when his Robert Lewandowski-led team were comprehensively beaten by Bayern Munich, which was a perfect example of the Bavarians using their big match experience to snarl away Dortmund when Robben scored with the last kick of the game.

Madrid, on the other hand, are the most successful team in the history of this competition and will be looking forward to lifting the trophy for a record-extending 13th time. Marcelo, Ramos, Kroos, Modric and Ronaldo among the other Real players have played in numerous finals prior to this and it’ll be interesting to see if they can bring their experience to the fore one more time.

#4 Real Madrid’s shaky defence

Real Madrid’s defenders haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory this season

Real Madrid’s backline has been defensively poor throughout this season, letting in goals by the dozen. Opponents have found the back of Madrid’s net a staggering 15 times this season in the Champions League.

Keylor Navas has managed to keep just 2 clean sheets in 10 matches played this term, which pales in comparison to the competition high 6 he had managed in last year’s triumphant campaign.

The full-backs Carvajal and Marcelo have put in commendable performances going forward, but it has been their defensive showing which has left a lot to be desired. Their defensive lapses almost cost them against Juventus, who were cruelly kicked out of the competition when Ronaldo scored the last-ditch penalty.

Even in their last league game of the season, they blew a two-goal advantage, highlighting their defensive frailties. The huge acres of spaces left behind by the full backs were quite smartly exploited by all the teams, but Madrid being Madrid, survived by the skin of their teeth.

However, they’ll have to be at the top of their game in order to stop the marauding trio of Salah, Mane and Firmino. Klopp would consider himself a relieved man if the two are kept busy on the night as Real are bound to suffer going forward if the two are negated.

In the absence of Carvajal for the second leg against Bayern, Madrid were found woefully short of quality, both in defence and attack. Bobby Firmino has been the standout performer for the Reds this year and has troubled every defence with his directness and subtle movements.

Salah and Mane both use their supreme pace to run defences ragged and their combination will be fundamental to Liverpool’s chances. The center-backs Ramos and Raphael Varane will have their hands full throughout the course of the match and if they manage to come out of the battle unscathed, which quite frankly seems unlikely at the moment, this final will surely be Madrid’s for the taking.

#3 The midfield battle

Can they do it again?

Though the front three of Liverpool have rightfully gained plaudits from their fans and football pundits alike both domestically and in Europe, their midfielders have performed exceedingly well, both in attack and defence.

Their captain James Milner has registered the most assists this season (8). The captain’s armband has seemingly taken his game to a higher level and his immaculate performances on the pitch are a testament to that fact.

Jordan Henderson has been the defensive rock in the midfield three. The much-maligned England international has overcome a torrid start to the season and looks set to finish the season with a flourish.

Georgino Wijnaldum has enjoyed a breakthrough season, earning Klopp’s trust and has become an instant hit with the fans. In absence of the Ox, he’ll be the one tasked with dictating play and carrying the ball forward.

Madrid, however seemingly have the edge in this area of the pitch, thanks to the effortless style of play and insane reading of the game displayed by the midfield double pivot of Kroos and Modric.

The delicious outside-of-the-foot passes, amazing through balls, calmness on the ball and telepathic connection on the pitch has been a sight to behold. Casemiro, who has been brilliant in patches, symbolising Madrid’s year, remains Zidane’s best bet to play the role of a destroyer at the heart of Real’s midfield.

The Whites will be praying for Casemiro to churn out a repeat of last year’s final in which he was at his belligerent best and scored an absolute screamer during a critical phase to give Madrid some breathing space.

#2 Team selection, tactics and formation

Can he secure a hat-trick?

After an underwhelming end to a torrid domestic campaign on Sunday, Zidane stated that he had all the 24 players available for the big night and summarised his feelings about it by blatantly moaning that he was ‘fu**** up’.

That’s what the problem of plenty does to you more often than not. Klopp, on the contrary, might go with the traditional 4-3-3 with Wijnaldum playing behind the front three and Milner playing with Henderson in the central midfield.

Virgil Van Dijk ought to start as central defender along with Dejan Lovren while Alexander Arnold may start with Robertson as the full-backs. Bale looks set to regain his place in the starting XI given the breathtaking form he is in.

Another thought doing the rounds is that we might get to see the famed trio of ‘BBC’ back again which seems quite logical as well, but I personally feel that Benzema will have to make way for Isco given the scanty amount of game time he has had in the past few fixtures.

Also, it will be quite interesting to see will be how Klopp manages to make use of his substitutions if the game goes into extra time. That, although seems unlikely given the number of goals that will be plundered within regulation time.

Contrarily, Zidane has made a living out of his timely and tactical substitutions who have time again bailed his team out, with Marco-wonderboy-Asensio and Lucas Vazquez providing the fresh legs and width required on the pitch late in the game.

As far as tactics are concerned, the “geggenpressing” style of Klopp has stuffed the momentum out of many a side in Europe and against Madrid, the Reds will surely look to harass the Madrid players on the ball.

Casemiro, of all Madrid players, always seems a bit uncomfortable on the ball and I won’t be surprised if he’s touted as the trigger point for Klopp’s hounding boys.

A riveting off-pitch encounter awaits us, innit?

#1 Is there any stopping Mo Salah or Cristiano Ronaldo?

Who will blink first?

Both Liverpool and Real Madrid have qualified to the Final primarily due to the blistering form their respective talismans, Salah and Ronaldo.

While Cristiano has always amazed the football audiences around the world with his unparalleled consistency and a burning desire to win everything, the Egyptian king has been nothing short of a revelation in his debut season at Anfield.

Destroying defences in England and Europe alike, Salah has racked up the numbers (and trophies) at an astonishing rate this season. The Golden Boot winner scored a mind-boggling 32 goals in the Premier League this season, overtaking the record of 31 goals held by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, when it comes to the Champions League, there hasn’t been a better player than Ronaldo in its history. Even after he failed to score in two legs against Bayern Munich in the semifinals, he has already plundered 15 goals this term, 5 more than the PFA Footballer of the year.

While Salah has never reached this stage of the competition in his career, it will be the 5th time when Cristiano steps out to play the final for Madrid. He has ended up winning the trophy on four occasions and the Liverpool defence will have to defend for their lives if they are to stop the man from scoring in a competition in which he has scored 121 times.

They might follow the Bavarians’ strategy of tightly marking the Portuguese and closing out the passing lanes to him if they are to prevent him from finding the back of the net. As in Mo Salah’s case, there haven’t been many teams who have kept a lid on him.

Even if teams make a conscious effort to shut out Salah, he still manages to serve goals on a platter and that is the reason why he is so hard to defend against. For all the goals and assists which salah has against his name, he has shown this tendency to miss some easy chances as well.

Klopp would be wary that in a Champions League final against Real Madrid, there won’t be many chances on offer and he’ll require his sensational forward to be at his imperious best if Liverpool are to lift the trophy after 13 years.

When these two met last time around in an international friendly, it was the Madeira born player who hogged the limelight with his twin headers in stoppage time to overcome the deficit created by none other than Salah. Will Mo get his revenge in Kiev on the grandest of stages on Sunday night or will it be the Madrid superstar who will come out trumps again?

Your guess is as good as mine folks!

[park-lane-blog]

Expectations

“If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.” - Sylvia Plath.

Every now and again, after a poor result or performance, I look over at my 15 year old Son, who by this point is close to tears and question myself as to why, at less than an hour old, I deemed it a good idea to wrap him in my Spurs shirt and begin what is now a life long association with pleasure and pain. 

It reminds me of myself, at the age of 10, in tears (but without an understanding why) as England lose a penalty shoot out to West Germany at Italia 90. I’m wiping my tears away with my shirt, impersonating my newly adopted hero Paul Gascoigne. “Dad, who does he play for?”. “Tottenham, Son”. “Are they good?”. “Best team in the world Son”.

It’s amazing the lies we tell our kids!

For the purpose of this blog, I’m going to pretend that Saturday didn’t happen, Ok?

Due to work commitments, friends not about to watch the game with us, it’s just me and my son Ethan at home, in his room watching the game via the BT sports app on his xbox. Even at 5 minutes to kick off, I’m pretty calm. I’ve had a manic day at work which pretty much kept my mind of the game all day. My words to Ethan were simple. We were only 1-0 down. We needed to score twice regardless, so stay calm if we concede. This Ajax team, although exciting to watch are also very young, naive and lack leadership at the crucial times. If we get at them and put them under pressure, we will have plenty of chances. 

So as we go one down, I’m naturally calm. Ethan’s face has dropped and the dream of a Champions League final starts to look a little less likely. We haven’t actually started that badly but now they’re in front, they start to look dangerous. 

2-0 down and my resolve is broken. Ethan’s head is in his hands and there’s tears in his eyes. He worships these players. He loves this club as much as I do. Liverpool come back from the dead, but they’ve spent the money. They have the Anfield roar to get them over the line. We have none of this. We’re done. Out. We’ve overachieved to get this far given our circumstances. It’s been fun. I try to console Ethan. I remind him of our magical nights this season. We’ve been lucky to see the majority of the home legs live. We were there when we smashed Dortmund. We sang our hearts out when we beat City. Nothing can take that away from us Son, nothing!

Still, somewhere in my subconscious is this nagging notion that the show isn’t over. There’s no fat lady in sight and whilst there’s time on the clock, there’s goals in this team. I remember vividly. The clock showing 51 minutes. We have a corner. I look at Ethan and say, “if we can pull one back before the hour, then we stand a chance. As the clock hit 55, that chance was standing tall thanks to some great work by Dele, finished off by Lucas slotting home.

Hope. 

But it was the 59th minute that saw our chances standing stronger than ever like it had borrowed some of Lance Armstrong’s special pills! At times, it looked like Sunday morning football defending but when it fell to the feet of Lucas, it was anything but. Footwork to envy the Gods of the beautiful game resulted in something bigger than hope. It was belief. The tied had turned. The tie had turned. The inexperience in this Ajax side was now about to show. The desire, the commitment, the Pochettino effect was in full swing. Surely, now, there was only one outcome. 

Not only is Ethan now on the edge of the bed, hands clasped together in prayer, my two daughters, 18 and 11 have no entered the fray. At first to find out what all of the noise was about, but once captivated by what was unfolding in front us, they took up the available spaces on the bed to join in with our suffering. 

Posts were hit. Chances were missed. Substitutions were made and yellow cards were issued. What’s the emotion up from tense? What ever it is, we were experiencing this in bucket loads. 20 minutes left. 10 minutes left. Poch is pacing. 5 minutes left. 90 minutes up. 5 minutes stoppage. Time wasting. One last chance. One long ball held up. One last shot, on the weaker foot. 

2-3! 

There are no words. No breath. No time to hold back emotion. A mass of bodies on a single bed. All embraced. All crying. All screaming. All trying to comprehend what we had just witnessed. 

It’s ok to cry, at any age. Poch is crying. Lucas is crying. JJ is crying. Hoddle is trying to regain composure. Even Rio has lost his shit. 

Nothing in football surprises. Everything is possible. 

From our late equaliser at Barca to Sterlings offside “goal”, we have at time rode our luck but what a ride it has been.

June 1st 2019. Madrid. Our beloved club. Our one and only club will be playing in the Champions League final. Read it. Absorb it. Inject it. Do what ever you will with it.

Because to dare. Is actually to do!

[sjrresearch]

“Greyhound” On Target: A Review Of Tom Hanks’ New World War II Naval Drama

Coming on the heels of the successful 2019 naval epic “Midway,” Tom Hanks’ equally intense and exciting “Greyhound” is on target as it chronicles a harrowing 52-hour running battle between an Allied supply convoy’s escorts and a German U-Boat pack across a remote, undefended region of the North Atlantic during World War II.    

The fictional story is set in February 1942 and follows the USS Keeling (DD 548), a U.S. Navy Fletcher-class destroyer codenamed “Greyhound,” and its captain, Commander Ernest Krause, as he leads a multinational escort fleet comprising his vessel, the two British destroyers Harry and Eagle, and the Canadian Corvette Dickie.  Their mission is to protect the 37-ship Convoy HX-25 from Halifax to Liverpool as it runs the U-Boat gauntlet.

Greyhound was shot aboard the USS Kidd, pictured above.

The USS Kidd stands in for the fictional USS Keeling (Greyhound) in the movie.

This was a daunting task during that early phase of the war, with America having only entered it two months before with a small, unprepared navy and obsolete technology.  The Keeling’s radar and sonar are balky, its window wipers freeze up, it’s low on fuel, and the warship does not carry enough depth charges for the job. Moreover, the wintry heavy seas of the North Atlantic are unforgiving, forcing Krause and most of his crew to fight on the Keeling’s weather deck and weapons stations while soaking wet and shivering cold.  There is no air cover either since that part of the deep ocean was beyond the reach of Allied land-based anti-submarine aircraft.  Naval planners formally named it the “Mid-Atlantic Gap” but sailors and merchant mariners simply called it the “Black Pit.”

An Allied convoy traverses the Atlantic in November 1942.  

An Allied convoy crosses the Atlantic Ocean in the Tom Hanks movie.

While contending with the U-Boats, his ship’s limitations, and the environment, Krause himself also has to resolve an inner struggle with his personal frustrations, insecurities, inexperience, and even guilt in killing his German adversaries.  In his forties, over-the-hill, and still a low ranking officer, he was the victim of the peacetime Navy’s practice of “fitting and retaining” competent officers by shuffling them from one administrative assignment to another during the 1920s and 1930s without ever assigning them to a sea command. Therefore, he is acutely aware that all eyes in the convoy are upon him since this is not only his first command but also his first combat crossing of the Atlantic.  

Krause is emotionally hurting too since, in an early flashback, his girlfriend Evelyn had refused to move from San Francisco to the East Coast with him and accept his marriage proposal.  Her explanation that “the world has gone crazy” and that she wanted to wait until they “could be together” rang hollow.  What she was really worried about was getting married and then quickly becoming a widow, which a heartbroken Krause understands and accepts.  As a consolation, she then gives him a toy destroyer to commemorate his first command at sea and a pair of monogrammed slippers to remember her by.  

Krause perseveres under these multiple burdens by drawing upon his devout Christian faith, daily prayers, and a handbill that he has posted on the mirror in his cabin quoting Hebrews 13:8 from the Bible—“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”  Ultimately, Krause proves to be quick thinking, stalwart, and tactically brilliant, as seen during his first encounter with a U-Boat. Despite his problems, he falls back upon his training and intuition and successfully deduces his enemy’s circular dogfighting path to port, orders a rapid “right full rudder” to cut it off, and then destroys it with depth charges, much to the delight of his crew and British peers.  While his men are celebrating their first kill, he takes no joy in his achievement, quietly mourning the deaths of the 50 German souls he had just sent to the bottom of the Atlantic.

This was just the beginning of the Keeling’s ordeal.  Over the next two days, Krause, his crew, and the other escorts fight an increasingly desperate series of engagements with the U-Boats, which penetrate the thinly-stretched destroyer screen and pick off several of the merchantmen as they cross the Black Pit.  The lead U-Boat commander, calling himself “Grey Wolf,” taunts the Allies with blood-curdling threats and predictions of their doom over the open radio frequencies. “You and your comrades will die today,” the mysterious German skipper warns Krause in his final rant.  

The Grey Wolf’s cat-and-mouse game with the Keeling is both deadly and personal but Krause eventually succeeds in his mission though not without loss.  Sleep-deprived and exhausted, Krause runs his feet bloody raw during his non-stop scrambling back and forth across the Keeling’s bridge and weatherdeck.  He can barely walk before the climactic battle with his nemesis and finally replaces his stiff leather shoes with Evelyn’s lined, warm slippers, not only easing his physical pain but also comforting himself with her virtual presence in the midst of combat.

Hanks’ story of Krause follows closely that of Cecil Scott Forester’s original character in the 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, right down to the sonar and radar bearings, the same orders, and the same combat maneuvers, blow for blow, against the same U-Boats.  One notable difference though is that Forester’s Krause is named “George” and he is much more damaged psychologically than “Ernie” in Hank’s film.  In the book George Krause suffers overwhelming guilt from a broken marriage, his wife’s infidelity, and their divorce, as well as the professional shame of a stalled career and passed over promotions.  He also has to deal with the awkwardness of commanding more experienced crew members and Allied captains in the convoy.  

However, both George and Ernie reveal quiet inner strength that allows them to overcome their adversity and to win both their battles and the respect of their sailors.  Each is “the man alone,” as Forester liked to call his prime characters, such as Horatio Hornblower, for whom the author is most famous.  Indeed George and Ernie embody many of the introverted Hornblower’s traits, including his introspection, his dedication to duty, his discipline, his command brilliance, and his loneliness.  Commander Krause is in effect Captain Hornblower in a World War II naval-setting, without the chronic sea sickness.

In his many books Forester (real name Cecil Louis Troughton) went to great lengths to portray his characters, their appearance, equipment, and customs and traditions in minute detail based on meticulous historical research.  In 1943, the author was able to sail as a civilian aboard the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Penelope as it patrolled the Mediterranean Sea.  During that experience, he learned first-hand how a ship-of-war operated and made several key naval acquaintances who later served as advisors and proofreaders for his books, including the The Good Shepherd, as reflected in its exquisite accuracy.

Tom Hanks took Forester’s historical approach to heart in making Greyhound and consulted with Naval History Dr. Craig L. Symonds of the Naval War College and Marine Historian Gordon H. Laco to ensure that the film’s technical details and crew interactions and behavior were as historically accurate as possible.  He toured the U.S. Naval Academy and filmed as much as he could aboard the USS Kidd (DD 661), the only remaining Fletcher-class destroyer still in existence in its World War II configuration, currently moored as a ship museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  According to Symonds, one point of contention was Hanks’ desire to portray a more familiar relationship with Mess Mate George Cleveland, a black sailor who feeds and looks out for his captain when not handling ammunition at his General Quarters gunnery station.  Symonds told Hanks that this would have been impossible in the segregated World War II-era Navy which was dominated by hard-nosed, old school, class and race-conscious officers. Hanks resisted but Symonds insisted, so the producer met the historian half-way and split the difference in Greyhound, portraying Krause’s relationship with Cleveland as gentle but firm.  

Other details are more authentic, from the uniforms and personal gear to the actual control knobs, lights, and wheels of the Keeling’s control panels and even its guns and their specific rates of fire.  The burial at sea scene was also accurately done too, based on Navy regulations and customs of the period, which Hanks researched from the original archived manuals.

The shootout between one of Grey Wolf’s surfaced U-Boats and the Keeling and Dickie at mid-film is based on an actual close-quarters brawl between the Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine and U-210 that occurred on August 6, 1942 while the Assiniboine was escorting Convoy SC-94.  Both vessels had encountered each other by chance in the early morning mist and fog. Historian Gordon Laco described the action to USA Today, noting that “They were literally blasting each other with pistols, rifles, revolvers. The cook even came out of the galley and threw an empty case of Coca Cola bottles down the submarine hatch.” 

U-210 photographed from Assiniboine's deck, 6 August 1942

There are a few inaccuracies though that should be noted.  The USS Keeling itself never existed, since destroyer (DD) hull #548 was canceled before construction, and the first of the Fletcher-class warships did not launch until May 1942, three months after the events of Greyhound.  It would have been more authentic to show the Keeling as an earlier Mahan-class destroyer, as Forester originally wrote it, but the Fletcher-class was likely chosen by Hanks because of the availability of the Kidd in Baton Rouge for filming. Further, radar and sonar technology was not quite as advanced as portrayed in the film, even though the U.S. Navy had been participating in convoy operations since early 1941, with the USS Reuben James (DD 245) sunk by U-552 near Iceland on October 31 of that year.  

And although the Type VII U-Boats were the most widely used of the war, with 703 built, generally they would not have fought Allied warships on the surface in broad daylight unless it was absolutely necessary, the chance historical battle between the Assiniboine and U-210 notwithstanding.  Considering that a U-Boat’s chance of avoiding detection and survival was already slim, stealth was its key weapon and the darkness its ally, as was portrayed in 1981’s German film ‘Das Boot.’

German U-boat U-848 is attacked by a U.S. Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator in November 1943.

A German U-boat is besieged in the Tom Hanks Greyhound movie.

Additionally, it would have been suicidal for a U-Boat commander to openly taunt destroyers on open frequencies as shown in the film and thus reveal their presence and locations.  Forester did reference one instance in The Good Shepherd in which a British officer refused to send Krause an important message over voice radio because “Jerry’s been on this circuit more than once during the night. He has an English-speaking rating who chips in with rude remarks, and I wouldn’t like him to hear this.”  This is undoubtedly the source of Hank’s plotline with the Grey Wolf’s rather childish howling, which is historically implausible, since German naval officers of the period were thorough professionals and considered to be the elite of the Kriegsmarine. They tended to follow Kriegsmarine regulations to the letter, which required strict radio silence while stalking and attacking convoys.  The submarine profession is not called the “silent service” for nothing. Consequently, there is no historical record of such taunting ever occurring, even though there are a couple of recorded incidents of U-Boats “blinking” distant destroyers with their signal lamps after dark.  

And while we do catch a brief distant glimpse of a brave U-Boat captain fighting his submarine from his conning tower and his crewmen manning its guns during the Keeling-Dickie surface battle, it is also unfortunate that Hanks otherwise chose to depict the Germans collectively through the disembodied, sneering voice of the Grey Wolf, particularly in light of their more realistic portrayals in previous classic films like Das Boot and The Enemy Below.

Those nitpicks aside, Greyhound is an excellent film depicting the often neglected “Battle of the Atlantic,” which was in fact the longest continuous and most complex military campaign of World War II, running from 1939 to 1945.  British Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself later wrote that “The only thing that really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril. I was even more anxious about this battle than I had been about the glorious air fight called the 'Battle of Britain'.”   Indeed, 3,500 Allied merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk in the Atlantic, with 36,000 merchant mariners losing their lives, while 783 U-boats were sunk with 28,000 out of 39,000 German submariners perishing by war’s end.  

Up to now, there have only been a few films focused on this crucial theater of the war, perhaps because it was previously difficult to capture its vastness and complexity before the advent of current CGI technology made it possible.  Among the most notable from a surface warfare perspective are The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Enemy Below (1956), while submarines and submariners are the focus of Das Boot (1981), U-571 (2000), and In Enemy Hands (2004).  And although current reviews of Greyhound are mixed, with many reviewers (perhaps spoiled by Midway) complaining about the film’s short length at 90 minutes and its lack of character development, and without any German voices except that of the generically evil Nazi Grey Wolf, they miss the point.  The Allied navies and the merchant mariners they protected acted in concert as a team, and because of that “all hands job”, as portrayed in the 52-hour snap shot of Greyhound, the Grey Wolf howled his last howl, portending “Wolf” Hitler’s last howl four years later in April 1945. That too was an “all hand’s job.”

Working on your next award-winning documentary or binge-worthy historical fiction drama? Our team can help you create media so captivating your viewers can’t stop watching. How? By giving you the details you need to turn casual browsers into super fans. From screenplay creation, to costuming, to final review, SJR Research can bring immersive accuracy to your project every step of the way. You can browse SJR Research’s service on your site at SJR Research.

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Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is Keane to prove Roy and other critics wrong

Frank Lampard admits he is out to silence doubters like Roy Keane by making a success of his Chelsea tenure.

Keane sarcastically claimed Lampard has “all the answers for Chelsea” in a typically-pugnacious Sky Sports panel discussion with Jamie Carragher on Sunday.

The former Manchester United captain questioned Lampard’s progress at Chelsea while defending Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s situation at Old Trafford, in the wake of Liverpool’s commanding 2-0 win over the Red Devils.

Frank Lampard, pictured, has praised Jurgen Klopp amid responding to criticism from Roy Keane (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Lampard was quick to sidestep any clash with Keane but revealed his surprise that his name cropped up in the discussion.

“I watched it, it was good viewing wasn’t it? It makes your ears prick up,” said Lampard, who took the Chelsea helm last summer after just one season at Derby.

“I don’t think being English gives you any sort of a bye from criticism, in fact I’ve heard quite a lot when I first got this job of writing me off because I’m young and English and only had a year at Derby.

“I think that conversation was so quick that a lot was coming out.

Roy Keane, pictured, has questioned Frank Lampard’s progress at Chelsea (Niall Carson/PA)

“And fair play to Roy, I love watching him talk about football because of how passionate he is and to the point, but I don’t think I’ve had any byes for being English.

“I get the whole Derby one. I went to Derby with a team in a difficult place and we made a fantastic effort to get promoted.

“I don’t expect that to be a gauge of whether I should have got the Chelsea job or not.

“A lot of people want to question inexperience and it’s my job to do as well as I can here, so I put those questions to bed.”

What it all means…#PL pic.twitter.com/GXAHG4hTVn

— Premier League (@premierleague) January 19, 2020

Keane and Carragher were locked in a heated discussion over United’s route to closing the gap on fierce rivals and runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Lampard hailed Jurgen Klopp for transforming the Anfield outfit, admitting Chelsea can learn plenty of lessons from the German boss.

“We are in a process here at the minute and I want to get better and better, and I have respect for Roy Keane and Carra (Carragher) and I got it,” said Lampard.

“Give him time. Give the man time. I’d give Ole certainly another year.”

It’s getting a little heated!

Roy Keane and @Carra23 clash over Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer…. pic.twitter.com/L8UGDW6o0x

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 19, 2020

“Where they were coming from on Liverpool, my feeling was they have a great manager and a great team.

“Jurgen Klopp doesn’t run 70 yards up the pitch and stick that in the net, but what he does is coach and create an environment and an atmosphere so it’s two ways – players and coaching.

“My job now is not to concern myself too much with that sort of stuff because it can throw you both ways.

“In terms of coaches and managers and I listen to them intently, because you look at Jurgen Klopp and I think he’s an incredible manager, and he has had four years there to build this incredible team.

Frank Lampard believes Jurgen Klopp, pictured, has shown the Premier League the blueprint for building success (Martin Rickett/PA)

“So that’s probably, as I saw it, a mixture of young players who have come through and improved and he takes credit for that, some fantastic recruitment of some players who have certainly improved over the course of that four years and then some big-hitting signings that really hit home and came in at the right time.

“So it’s a beautiful model to look at. Everybody’s different, but he has had time and opportunity to bring in players for his style and the way he wants to play. So that’s an incredible story.

“When it comes to Ole (Solskjaer) or myself, you do want time and you do want put all those things in place, young players that take time to develop and get better, recruitment will be hugely important over the next two windows, and we hope, not in trying to follow a Liverpool model, that we get things right and we move forward.

“For my point a view, all I want to do is work and work and work to try to get the best scenario for Chelsea.”

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Year-Ender 2019: Liverpool FC- Klopp’s world beaters are pride and envy of Europe - football

As Jordan Henderson lifted Liverpool’s third continental title of the year in Qatar, it was bedlam back home in Merseyside, where fans saw their beloved Reds become champions of the world for the first time in their illustrious history. It’s astonishing that a club with six European titles never lifted the Club World Cup until their successful trip of Doha recently. But this isn’t like any Liverpool side that graced the hallowed turf of England’s top flight in the past. They aren’t like the dominant force of 80s neither are they the chokers of EPL era. They are different. They are an enigma which seems to get better year after year, so much so, that this could actually be their year.Leading Pep Guardiola’s machine-like team from Manchester by more than 10 points till Christmas is no mean feat. Last year, Liverpool tried their best to end their Premier League duck but their best fell one point short. This year somehow they have bettered themselves, without making any significant adjustments to the squad, forcing City to relinquish the top spot. It seems Jurgen Klopp has finally discovered the secret formula to make teams consistent, which was introduced in the Premier League by the great Sir Alex Ferguson at Theatre of Dreams, passed on to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and honed by Guardiola in the blue half of Manchester.City’s grasp at the throne is getting weaker by the day while Liverpool are finally ready to lift the crown which once was their commodity until the Devil awoke in red half of Manchester. Liverpool now have a friendly menace about them which isn’t a good sign for the rest of Europe. At half-way stage in the Premier League, The Reds have opened up a significant gap at the top but their supporters aren’t ready to celebrate until the fat lady sings. One cannot blame the Kop as they have seen their gods slip in the most unfortunate moments in the past. They have led the way till Christmas four times in Premier League era and have squandered their advantage every time. But in reality, Liverpool are in such a position that they can come a dismal second only if they stop showing up for matches. The reigning European champions are also in a good position to successfully defend their Champions League crown, a feat achieved only by 13 time winners Real Madrid, since the change in format decades ago. Liverpool are arguably the only side on the entire continent who can look into the eyes of Real, Barcelona, Juventus and PSG and not feel inferior. The daunting task of travelling to Anfield has become even more gargantuan these days. Just to put things into perspective, it has been more than 900 days since they lost a Premier League or European game at home.YNWAIt took time but it was worth the wait as Liverpool have assembled a remarkable team which is robust at the back and sublime up front. In Alisson Becker, they possess a complete goalkeeper. Dutchman Virgil Van Dijk has replaced Sergio Ramos as the best defender in the world. Trent Alexander Arnold will soon have more assists than the great Paul Scholes in the Premier League. Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino form a trident that’s as effective as the famed MSN of Barcelona or BBC of Real. And to hold it together like glue, they have a non-illustrious albeit level-minded captain in Henderson, who somehow brings out the best in the team. He is on course to pull off something that even Steven Gerard failed to deliver to his beloved worshippers.“They are a side which literally plays with Henderson and the two centre-halves at the back and the rest can go wherever they want,” Curtis Davis said after Hull were thrashed 5-1 at Anfield. “That is not an ill-disciplined thing. That is organised. That is what causes all the problems… the inter-changing, the good football, the passing.”This organised behaviour has been instilled by Klopp, who has a history of disturbing the apple cart. In Germany, he kept Bayern away from Bundesliga for two years in a row. He then came to England, found his feet after an unceremonious trophy-less beginning and is now moving Liverpool towards immortality at a very rapid pace.Since 2001, this has been the most successful year for Liverpool in terms of trophies. They are unbeaten in 34 league games and this ridiculous number has never been reached by them in the past. Chelsea were unbeaten in 40 consecutive games under Mourinho while Arsenal’s invincibles were a bit better at 49. Klopp’s army is more than equipped to surpass both of them. So-called rivalsUnlike Liverpool, Manchester City once again meant business in the transfer market and strengthened their squad which won the right to be called champions of the country. Injuries haven’t been kind and they find themselves in the unfamiliar position of not fighting for top two. Guardiola have also lost his trusted Lieutenant to Arsenal, making his job to become three-time successive champions all the more difficult. City have drowned themselves in Spaniard’s philosophy but a European medal still looks like a distant dream considering their inconsistent performances this term. Not to forget they will up against Real Madrid next.Another team which managed to turn Liverpool’s head in England are Leicester City, who are coached by a former Kop darling. Such has been Brendan Rogers’ influence on the former champions that management had to offer him a significant pay rise just to keep him away from Gunners. But Foxes inexperience to wage war against the elite on a consistent basis make them a less dangerous proposition. They were blown away but City, a team which was schooled by Liverpool earlier in the season. Fallen GiantsApart from poor results, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have another thing in common - they are stuck up in the past trying to conjure a magic for a better future. Old heroes have returned to take charge of fallen Giants in a bid to help them recapture their glorious past. Inconsistent performances have kept them away from top but they still remain a force, which awakens sometimes here, sometimes there.As things stand, they still are few a transfer windows behind the current pack of leaders. For normalcy to resume in England, these Giants have a major role to play. If not, Liverpool and Manchester City can keep exchanging trophies year after year and the Red Devils and Londoners can call the next year as their own.Foreign ThreatsKlopp hasn’t just kept in-house rivals under check but with typical German precision, he has dealt with foreign threats equally. Liverpool have entered the final of UCL twice in the last two years. While the Los Blancos in their Cristiano Ronaldo power trip swept them aside in Kiev, Liverpool barged into Madrid and edged high-flying Spurs at Wanda Metropolitano. Not a single season goes by when Real aren’t favourites for Champions League glory and this season it is no different. Although they have drawn City in last 16 which will see the return of public enemy number one at Bernabeu, they pose a massive threat to Reds’ dream of a European double.The other Spanish team, Barcelona, still haven’t forgotten the magical night in Merseyside where somehow they managed to concede four. It was supposed to be a routine day at work for them. They had a three-goal lead. They had arguably the best player ever in full flow. But they were brought down to earth by collective power of Liverpool’s young side. Barcelona were so hurt by Liverpool’s European dominance that they hatched a plan to bring the best to Catalunya. While they succeeded in landing Antoine Griezmann, they failed in their public pursuit of Neymar. The Brazilian has somehow managed to get his act together and firing on all cylinders for Paris St. Germain. He along with Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi, Edinson Cavani and other ‘Expendables’ make PSG a tough nut to crack.Their pursuit of Neymar ended Phillips Coutinho’s dream of making it big at Camp Nou. But a door closed meant a door opened up for the Brazilian and he is letting it rip in Germany now. Coutinho seems to have inserted as the missing piece in Bayern jigsaw as they are trying hard to get over the hangover created by Nico Kovac. Not just Germans but Italians are also after Liverpool’s crown as the best team in Europe. A certain Portuguese changed his home address to Turin and Serial A once again back in the spotlight. Juventus last won the Champions League in 1994 and they want to rectify that stay which puts a blemish on one of the most successful teams in world football history. If you can’t beat them join them seems to be the motto as in came Ronaldo, who scored two goals to beat them in the final three years ago. CR7 has 5 UCL titles in his bulging cabinet and if anyone can fulfil the Old Lady’s wishes, it’s the superstar from Madeira. Read the full article

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Premier League: Jose Mourinho started Chelsea mind games early with Frank Lampard comments

Jose Mourinho’s remarks about Chelsea earlier in the season could work to his advantage when he faces the Blues with Tottenham this weekend In November Chelsea were flying high after an excellent start to the season and were gearing up to face Manchester City.

City came into the clash off the back of a devastating 3-1 loss to title rivals Liverpool and it was suggested that Chelsea could upset the defending Premier League champions. Football fans from around the world can purchase Premier League Football Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances.

However, Mourinho was not convinced claiming the young team’s inexperience may leave them found wanting against elite opposition.

Jose Mourinho saying

“In the first weekend I was nervous and I'm still nervous with the big matches,” he said. “I think fanciful effort. The kids coming into the team are fitting amazingly well with the top class players like Willian and Kante.”

I think really great work by Frank. But they lost twice against Manchester United they lost against Liverpool at home. They conceded four goals against Ajax and I’m very curious to see Chelsea in the next match at the Etihad.

I’m curious to see if they found that great empathy between the good football they play and the pragmatism that the top teams must have to play against top teams. When they find that I think they have a great team for the future. I do not believe in them to finish top two but I believe very seriously for them to finish the top four.

Ultimately, Mourinho’s reservations were proven correct with City winning the match 2-1 after some defensive lapses by Chelsea. Since then Lampard’s men have been on a poor run losing three of the four league games that followed.

Now, with Chelsea gearing up to face Mourinho’s Tottenham the Blues will want to attention their former boss’ cautioning if they are to emerge with all three points.

Football fans can get Chelsea Tickets through our trusted online ticketing marketplace. Ticket4football.com is the most reliable source to book Chelsea Football Tickets.

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England: Southgate to make changes with Alexander-Arnold and Tomori in line to start | Football | Sport

England boss Gareth Southgate is expected to rotate his team following the defeat to Czech Republic (Image: GETTY)

Gareth Southgate has been daring and ruthless throughout his tenure as England manager — and he will need to be even more radical again now to stop the alarming slump in form of his team.

The 2-1 defeat away to the Czech Republic illustrated fundamental flaws that had been creeping in for months, and he knows it.

“We’ve had straightforward qualifying games that haven’t challenged us and this was a proper test that we didn’t come through,” admitted Southgate.

“It would be naïve not to take the lessons from what we’ve seen on the pitch in this game.

“I’m under no illusions as to where we stand. I know there’s a huge amount of work to do. The performance wasn’t at the level that we need.

“To be a really top team, with players with experience of winning the biggest matches — we’re still some way from that.

“But we found a way to progress through the World Cup with what was a relatively inexperience team and that’s what we’re always trying to do — find solutions to bring some good players through.”

The most serious problems are in central defence and midfield. They weren’t good enough or technical enough for a team whose avowed strategy is to pass the ball through side from the back and dominate possession.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to start for England (Image: GETTY)

A change in personnel and tactics required — and Southgate indicated that will happen, starting immediately with the next qualifier away to Bulgaria tomorrow night.

Harry Winks is the likely replacement for the under-performing Declan Rice, while either Joe Gomez or Fikayo Tomori will start in place of Michael Keane, whose international career looks over.

Southgate has already identified youngsters Gomez and Tomori as long-term internationals, but in midfield there are fewer options.

One suggestion is to use Trent Alexander-Arnold there. Germany have flourished with that kind of switch — Philip Lahm a decade ago and Joshua Kimmich this season.

Former Liverpool ace Jamie Carragher has spoken in favour of playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield, the position he favours and in which he played as an emerging talent in the youth ranks.

Fikayo Tomori is expected to replace Michael Keane (Image: GETTY)

It won’t happen tomorrow night, but it is surely a “solution” worth exploring before the Euro 2020 tournament next summer.

There will also be a change of tactics. The 4-2-3-1 system employed in the first half on Friday night was a miserable failure.

Southgate revealed that he had thought about using three central defenders in Prague, a ploy that was so effective at the World Cup.

“It’s certainly something we’ve considered and I don’t think we can dismiss it,” said the England boss.

“I think we are in a difficult situation in terms of the players that have played international football with us in that area of the pitch and who are playing regularly with their clubs.

England were beaten 2-1 by Czech Republic on Friday (Image: GETTY)

“So that’s part of the reason we didn’t do that against the Czechs.

“But we’re very aware and assessing those things.”

The bold move against Bulgaria tomorrow night would be to field both Gomez and Tomori alongside Harry Maguire in a 3-4-3 system.

It probably won’t happen, but Southgate does believe a profound change in style can be implemented in time for Euro 2020.

Harry Winks has had to be patient for an opportunity (Image: GETTY)

“Yes, I think so,” he said. “I think players take in tactical concepts very quickly, especially top players.

“So we we have to keep reflecting on what’s working, what’s possible, and learn from every experience we have.

“It’s something we should consider. We have to look at the personnel in the roles as to whether that would work.”

Defeat against the Czechs was the first in a tournament qualifier for England in 10 years, and the reality check was plain enough.

Mason Mount had a tough evening on his first England start (Image: GETTY)

Where does it leave England as they head towards next summer’s tournament where the group stages will be played at home, and the semi-finals and final if they can emulate the World Cup journey?

“Look, it’s not for me to tell the public not to dream and not to have hope,” said Southgate.

“I think internally we have to be different and be realistic — and we haven’t changed our tone on that at all.

“We know our strengths and we know the areas we have to improve upon. We’ve had evidence of it here, so I don’t think any of us within the camp are under any illusions.”

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Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea: Isaac Hayden's injury-time winner stuns Blues

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Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea: Isaac Hayden's injury-time winner stuns Blues

Isaac Hayden’s dramatic injury-time header earned Newcastle an unlikely three points at St James’ Park

Newcastle showed they have the appetite for a scrap in the bottom half of the table as Isaac Hayden’s dramatic injury-time header earned a vital win against a dominant Chelsea.

Frank Lampard’s side were on top for most of the game but had little to show for it as Tammy Abraham skewed wide from an acute angle and N’Golo Kante’s shot was well saved by Martin Dubravka.

Prior to the winner, it was the hosts who came closest to scoring as Joelinton headed against the bar after Federico Fernandez’s cross after 22 minutes.

But Steve Bruce’s side showed their steel by keeping Chelsea at arm’s length with a resolute defensive display.

And when Hayden headed in Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross past Kepa Arrizabalaga, it sent St James’ Park into raptures as they moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Their only worry was an injury to Jetro Willems, who was carried off in the first half.

Bruce said after the game that the problem looked “horrendous” with him fearing a cruciate knee ligament injury.

For Chelsea, it was another frustrating day during a mixed season under Lampard, who took over in the summer.

It was a first defeat since Boxing Day but they will rue another missed chance to improve their top-four claims after also drawing at Brighton earlier this month.

The Blues remain five points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United, who face Liverpool on Sunday.

But the lack of firepower up front may sharpen Lampard’s intentions to recruit a striker during the transfer window after being linked with the likes of RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner.

Relive Newcastle v Chelsea, plus the rest of Saturday’s Premier League action

Newcastle fortunate after string of bad luck

Bruce said prior to the game that he was happy with his squad and would only bring players in during the transfer window if they would improve on his current crop.

And they showed their defensive quality by holding out against a Chelsea side who had 70% possession during the game and created the vast majority of the chances in freezing conditions on Tyneside.

If there was a touch of fortune to the result, Bruce will not care.

His side has been struck by a succession of injuries this season, and he will be delighted that the returning Saint-Maximin created the goal which lifts his side to 12th place in the table.

The result also earned a fourth game unbeaten for the first time this season, albeit with two of those games coming against Rochdale in the FA Cup.

Despite all of Chelsea’s endeavour, it was Newcastle that created the game’s other best chance when Joelinton crashed a header against the crossbar.

With the £40m summer signing breaking a 20-game goal drought by scoring against Rochdale, Saint-Maximin offering trickery on the wing after a hamstring injury and Miguel Almiron scoring in three of the last four games, Bruce may feel his luck is turning.

The cheer that greeted the final whistle underlined how elated and surprised the home crowd were as the hosts earned their first Premier League win since December 21.

Frustrated Lampard rues poor finishing

Chelsea came into the match unbeaten since Boxing Day but it was another game where Lampard’s young side showed their inexperience in front of goal.

Abraham, who has excelled in his first season at Chelsea with 15 goals, was wasteful at times, but there were also missed chances for Mason Mount, who headed over, plus Willian and Emerson, who could not find the target.

Despite their links with a striker during the transfer window and the potential departure of Olivier Giroud to Inter Milan, Lampard has said nothing is “imminent”.

But he showed his frustration on the touchlines as his side failed to take advantage, much as they did in a 1-1 draw at Brighton earlier this month.

Lampard’s faith in youth has drawn praise this season, and while home losses to Bournemouth and Southampton have been countered by away wins against Tottenham and Arsenal, this result will offer the new Chelsea boss plenty of food for thought.

His strict adherence to playing one lone striker may also be something he will consider in games where teams sit behind the ball and try to break as Newcastle did so successfully.

And there may be further questions about Arrizabalaga, who has had a mixed season, and looked like he could have done more to prevent the winner going in.

Man of the match – Jamaal Lascelles (Newcastle)

Newcastle’s fit-again skipper produced 11 clearances in a resolute defensive performance

Unhappy hunting ground for Blues – the stats

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce has picked up just his second Premier League victory against Chelsea on what was his 23rd managerial game in the competition against the Blues (D5 L16).

Chelsea have lost five of their last seven trips to St James’ Park in the Premier League (W1 D1).

Isaac Hayden’s goal was Newcastle’s first 90th-minute winner in the Premier League since December 2015 (Ayoze Perez against Tottenham).

Chelsea have now lost as many games after 23 Premier League games this season (8) as they did in the entirety of 2018-19.

Since the start of 2019, only Liverpool (19), Man City (17) and Spurs (12) have more home Premier League wins than Newcastle (11).

At 93 minutes and 26 second’s, Isaac Hayden’s winner was Newcastle’s latest Premier League goal since Yohan Cabaye netted against West Ham back in January 2014 (94 minutes and 9 seconds).

Isaac Hayden’s goal for Newcastle was just his third in the Premier League on his 70th appearance in the competition and first since February 2019 against Wolves.

‘The brutal reality of football’ – what the managers said

Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce, speaking to BBC Match of the Day:“I can’t fault my players for the way we defended. The big thing we need to do better is look after the ball and cause more of a threat. Today we didn’t seem to carry a threat. But one great ball or delivery – you may call it smash and grab, but it is good to see.

“We can’t press from the front like Chelsea do. If we did that we would come a cropper. We have to do it our way, a way that suits the squad we have got.

“We can get better but we have had results against the top teams. They find it difficult to play against us and that’s what we try to do.”

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, speaking to BBC Match of the Day:“We dominated every aspect of the game. They hit the bar in the first half but the rest of the game was ours, except scoring.

“Newcastle defend their box, you won’t make too many clear-cut chances against them. We controlled the game, we were at the end of their box. If we want to go to the next level we have to take chances and score in these kind of games.

“The lads have got their heads down in there. But the brutal reality of football is if you don’t score, teams stay in the game and something like that happens at the end.”

What’s next?

Newcastle travel to Everton in their next game on Tuesday, 21 January (kick-off 19:30 GMT), while Chelsea host Arsenal in the evening’s late kick-off (20:15 GMT).

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[sportsleague365]

A 4-0 aggregate drumming by Barcelona over two legs in the Champions League exposed fragilities throughout Manchester United’s first team. One of the biggest was their inferior defence. At the Camp Nou on Tuesday night, the Reds lined up with a back four consisting of Ashley Young, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof. Although the average age of that back line was just 28.25, this is largely down to 24-year-old Lindelof. The other three United defenders are aged 27 and above, with Ashley Young now 33 and in the twilight of his playing days. Notably, three of that back four lined up against Basel in the Champions League way back in 2011 – albeit Young in a more advanced position – illustrating the lack of transition within the defence on the previous seven seasons. Not just an ageing back line, there is also no evidence to suggest that the defence is performing at suitable standard in comparison to their rivals. READ MORE READ MORE In the Premier League this season, the Reds have the worst defence of any side in the top six, conceding 44 league goals – that is more goals conceded than the likes of Wolves and league strugglers Newcastle United. Looking at Expected Goals Conceded (xGC) – which is a metric that assesses the likelihood that a shot would lead to a goal based on numerous factors such as the shot distance allowed and quality of the assist granted – United are as high as 42.78. In comparison, Liverpool xGC total for the season is 27.36 and Manchester City’s is just 24.57. This would suggest United are allowing the opposition nearly twice as many quality shots on their goal than the Premier League’s top sides. In light of the same, unsurprisingly the Reds haven’t kept a clean sheet in their previous ten matches across all competitions. READ MORE READ MORE Not just uninspiring defensively, United’s defence don’t seem able to replicate other top sides in terms of their ability to play out from the back. The modern blueprint for all the top sides across Europe is their ability to play out through the keeper and into their defence. Notably to do this, there has been an enormous investment on keepers by the Premier League’s top sides in recent seasons. Man City parted with £35m to bring in Ederson last season as Pep Guardiola sourced a keeper capable of implementing his ball playing style, meanwhile Liverpool and Chelsea splashed out a combined £135m in their bid to secure the same this season. As a result, the trio of Ederson, Alisson Becker and Kepa Arrizabalaga can boast impressive passes per 90 minutes averages of over 20 and a success rate in those passes of around 90%. Yet David De Gea averages just 14.85 passes per 90 minutes with a significantly reduced success rate of just 80.7%. READ MORE READ MORE Additionally, all three have an average pass length of below 30 meters, suggesting they often favour short passes out to centre-backs rather than long upfield clearances. However, De Gea has an average pass length of 36.42m per 90 minutes. This all likely illustrates the Spaniard’s lack of comfort in playing out from the back; his bias tends to be to play the ball long and clear any potential danger to his goal. And it isn’t just the stopper. Unlike their rivals, United’s centre-backs aren’t known for their ball playing ability. In fact, according to Wyscout, in terms of centre-backs with the most passes per 90 minutes who have played over 1000 league minutes this season, the highest ranked United defender is Phil Jones in 19th place. The top ten is made up exclusively of defenders from City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham. Due to their inability to play out through the centre-backs, if they don’t go long, United will often look to build attacks through the wings, usually relying on the likes of Luke Shaw on the left or Ashley Young on right to commence these attacks. READ MORE At just 23 years old, Shaw have proven a key component to United’s attack and should be a mainstay in the defence for years to come. However, on the right side, an ageing Young is proving liability. Once a formidable winger, Young was initially deployed to fill the gap vacated by a sidelined Antonio Valencia, yet the poor form of Matteo Darmian and inexperience of Diogo Dalot has seen the former Aston Villa man make the position his own. Too many times though this season his defensive weaknesses have been exploited; notably it was he who gave the ball away which allowed Lionel Messi to capitalise for the first goal on Tuesday night. Whilst always expected to be defensively fragile, the benefit of playing Young is supposed to be his offensive threat. But again this has diminished in recent times. Now well-documented, the Englishman attempted ten crosses against Barcelona at Old Trafford, and all ten failed to find their target. READ MORE His attacking inferiority is further outlined when compared with some of the talent United’s rivals have at their disposal. Comparing the attacking influence of Young and Trent Alexander-Arnold in the league this season. (Image: Wyscout) The above compares the attacking influence of both Young and Liverpool’s 20-year-old right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in the league this season. As can be seen from the above, the youngster outperforms Young in virtually every department. He has better numbers in terms of xG per 90 minutes, shots per 90 minutes, assists per 90 minutes, xA per 90 minutes, key passes per 90 minutes and xGChain, which values the possession each player is involved in per 90 minutes – basically measuring their influence in the build up play to a team’s attack. FOLLOW TACTICS WRITER DAVID HUGHES ON SOCIAL MEDIA To follow David on Twitter, click here. With the full-back positions now such a pivotal part of the modern game, United can no longer afford to simply plug a hole, specifically when their rivals can boast such a wealth of talent in the same positions. With Ole Gunnar Solskaer now fully at the helm, he must oversee a big transition period at the club, starting in the summer. If United truly want to compete with those above, they must develop a young and vigorous side capable of replicating their rivals in style and ability – upgrading their below-par defence will act as a good starting point. 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