Worthington's Squad Selections Continue To Puzzle Fans

Slovenia v Northern Ireland

03rd September 2010 @ 19:45

Northern Ireland squad to face Slovenia: Taylor (Birmingham), Tuffey (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Blayney (Linfield), J Evans (Man Utd), Craigan (Motherwell), Cathcart (Blackpool), McAuley (Ipswich), Hughes (Fulham), Baird (Fulham), McCann (Peterborough), Brunt (West Brom), Gorman (Wolves), C Evans (Man Utd), Davis (Rangers), Clingan (Coventry), Healy (Sunderland), Feeney (Oldham), Paterson (Burnley), Patterson (Plymouth), Lafferty (Rangers)

Having witnessed at first hand the debacle of Northern Ireland breaking an unwanted International football record of going 13 games without a goal (1298 mins) and 16 games without a win, one would have thought Northern Ireland would never be in that situation again. However, as we all know, Northern Ireland are currently creeping ever closer to breaking that unwanted record as they have currently not scored in a senior football match for 7 successive games and haven't won in 10.  At least our last win did come against Slovenia our next opponents in a 1-0 win via a Warren Feeney goal in April 2009!

As fans wait with anticipation and perhaps fear for the start of the forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers (technically they started on 11th Aug 2010 when Estonia beat the Faroe Islands 2 - 1 in Tallinn!), there have been many rants and anger aimed at our manager Nigel Worthington for his team formations and selections, the primary causes of our failings.
 

The constant refusal to select Ivan Sproule or Paddy McCourt has enraged fans but only for those that don't understand the manager's thoughts behind this.  Anyone that witnessed the final Euro 2008 qualifier between Spain and Northern Ireland in Las Palmas will have noticed the headless chicken running display put on by Ivan in the first half of the game.  Subsequently he was substituted at half time and according to sources words were exchanged and hence he has never played for the international side since.  Throw into the mix the "I may take a break from international football" story, it is clear that the relationship between player and manager is at a level where Ivan will not play for Northern Ireland while Nigel is in charge of the team.  Paddy McCourt on the other hand is a different situation entirely where Nigel fails to believe that for all Paddy's solo wonder goals for Celtic he still lacks the discipline to be a team player and "must work hard on that side of his game" to be considered for selection.

Meanwhile, Johnny Gorman of Wolves has retained his place in the squad for the fourth time while fans believe other players deserve the call-up before the 17 year-old A-Level student.  For instance, Oliver Norwood (Man Utd), Jamie Ward (Sheff Utd), Lee Hodson (Watford) and of course Paddy McCourt.  It had been rumoured that because of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to allow the F.A.I. to poach players from within the I.F.A.'s jurisdiction because of the Good Friday Agreement, that Nigel was picking Johnny to prevent the F.A.I. from poaching him.  Johnny although English by birth had represented the Republic of Ireland in youth games but it would seem that because you can only change associations once, he is now tied to Northern Ireland, so he technically does not have to gain a competitive cap for Northern Ireland to stop him from jumping ship.  However, whether Nigel and the I.F.A.are aware of this and if it is actually true is another matter.  However, it would seem that youngsters with talent getting selected for the senior side will be the norm for Northern Ireland teams soon, as managers try to prevent Northern Irish talent from being poached by the Republic.

On the tactical front a lot has been said for Nigel's continual policy of playing 4-5-1 or a variation of it.  It is clear that the formation does not suit our players and that Kyle Laffery cannot play the role of the lone striker especially with his temperament.  Nigel has even played David Healy there in the past obviously without success.  So how should the team be set up?  The argument goes on and on but our best results came playing the traditional British system of 4-4-2 with a big man little man combination in attack.  With creditable draws against Sweden and Poland away and wins against England, Spain and Denmark at home it does seem to point towards a formation which plays to our strengths.  Playing with [on paper anyway] a lone striker prevents us from scoring goals hence the problem we are experiencing now and in the past.  Overall though its teamwork which gets results and when some players seem to play their worst football in the green shirt i.e. Chris Brunt and George McCartney, it doesn't help matters.

Another topic of of hot debate is the continual inclusion of our one time saviour David Healy.  David as you are all aware is currently classed as a Sunderland 3rd team player with George McCartney, that being he plays for the reserves but has not been asigned a squad number so therefore cannot play for the senior team if required.  It has been that way for some time now and the fitness levels of the player should rightly be questioned.  So why is Nigel picking players who are not fit and do not play regularly for their teams?  I could have sworn Nigel stated that he would not pick players if they weren't playing for their clubs week in week out so what has changed?  It seems our squad is full of bench warmers while the first team club players get ignored!  For example Andy Kirk (Dunfirmline), Rory McArdle (Aberdeen), Josh Magennis (Aberdeen),  Lee Hodson (Watford) etc.  Hopefully David, George et al. will get a move away from their respective clubs before the transfer window closes on 31st August 2010.

Time will tell whether our manager has got it right for the qualifiers and we will hail the master tactician and the great performance upon their return, but if we loose against Slovenia and evenmore so fail to score, expect the knifes to be sharpened even further and the anger and dispair to grow deeper.  Surely if we get beat 'to nil' against Slovenia it is time for Nigel to say goodbye to the job?  I however, am strangley optimistic.  I have that feeling that I had prior to the England home game that we will pull off a great result in Maribor.  

The past few months have been an all time low for Northern Ireland supporters, surely things can only get better?

Nigel seen asking higher powers for help

Until next time... Onwards and Upwards!

Geo Wha ?

OK so I have neglected my blog for a while as I’ve just been so busy catching up with hobbies and work after returning from my honeymoon.  It took me flipping ages to go through the photos and videos to get rid of the not so glamorous ones and I’m still not finished!

Anyhow the purpose of this blog is to let you all know about my new hobby (or should that be fad?), Geocaching!  I’m sure you’ve seen my Twitter posts about it!  So what is this so called Geocaching I hear you cry?  Well the ‘official’ description is thus:

“Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.” (http://www.geocaching.com/faq/default.aspx)

“Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.” (http://www.geocaching.com)

So there you have it, treasure hunting without the map but with a GPS device!

I randomly got into it when I was reading a thread on a message board I regularly post on about good iPhone applications.  Among the usual apps highlighted like WhatsApp Messenger, the Geocaching app was mentioned as being ‘good craic’ so I downloaded the free version which shows you three local caches near to your current location or home co-ordinates.  The paid version £5.99 gives you access to all the caches within an ‘n’ mile radius of your choosing.

What is a (geo)cache you ask?  It is basically the treasure chest you seek which can be of various sizes and shapes, sometimes camouflaged as screws, trees etc., or simply a tupperware container (small-medium), ammo box (large), film canister (small) or merely a lost animal address canister (micro).  There are also numerous cache types which you can go seeking with varying difficulties: Traditional Cache (just one cache with co-ordinates to its location), Multi-Cache (find one cache which contains a clue to the next cache and so on) and Mystery or Puzzle Caches (this type of cache can involve complicated puzzles to solve to determine the coordinates).  There are others for example the Webcam Cache but the three mentioned above are the main ones.

A geocache always contains a logbook or logsheet for finders to sign. Larger geocaches may also contain items for trade. These are generally small trinkets. If someone takes an item, he should leave something of equal or greater value in its place for the next geocacher to find. A geocache may also contain trackable items. Trackables are geocaching “game pieces” bearing a tracking number - a unique series of letters and numbers – that allows geocachers to follow the items’ real-world travels on Geocaching.com. Some of the most popular trackable items are “Geocoins” and “Travel Bugs".

Be warned though!  Caches can be anywhere and can be located in environments surrounded by a large number of people so those who are easily embarrassed need not apply!  There is a Geocaching term for non-geocachers in the vicinity of a cache… Muggles!  Yes Muggles as in Harry Potter… don’t ask my why! :) Muggles will give strange looks when you are searching for your cache but its all part of the excitement!  My most recent find was in the middle of my local Tesco’s carpark!

There is nothing stopping you hiding your own caches for people to find.  I hid one after only finding a few geocaches of my own ( http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1f07edce-1166-493d-b529-9c47fa681111 ).  I even bought a TravelBug from eBay to place into a cache (http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=2799381 ).  

Diego My TravelBug

The TravelBug has its own unique tracking code which you and anyone else can enter into geocaching.com to track its progress using Google Maps and see photos etc.  In my very first ‘find’ near my house I found a TravelBug and saw that it began in Germany and travelled via Cyprus, Sweden, England, Scotland and Ballymena before I found it!  Anyone that finds a TravelBug and retrieves it from the cache is expected to help it find its ‘goal’ which can be seen on the Bug’s Geocaching page.  That being said if you come across one you don’t have to take it.

Caches if big enough will contain small items to trade, usually small trinkets but again you don’t have to take anything, but if you do you must replace it with something of equal or greater value as stated above.

For those of you with an iPhone, Blackberry or other GPS enabled mobile phone then you can start geocaching straight away just download the appropriate app.  Mobile devices are not as accurate as normal handheld GPS devices but they work well enough to find caches.  Each cache has a clue to help you find it so reading it is useful including any previous logs and photos.

When you find a cache log it on the geocaching.com website or via your geocaching.com application its that simple!  It’s a good way of getting exercise outside and if you have kids they will enjoy the challenge of finding the caches and seeing what's inside!

So I hope I have given you some inspiration to try your hand at geocaching.  It’s worth a try and if it’s not for you then at least you can say that you’ve tried.

Enjoy and if you need any help or advice let me know ! (“,)

Geocaching.com Profile: http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=3da7d61d-7255-49c0-9b7a-c647d1e91a01

Official Website: http://www.geocaching.com

iPhone Introduction App: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/geocaching-intro/id329541503?mt=8

Geocaching Guide: http://www.geocaching.com/articles/Brochures/EN/EN_Geocaching_BROCHURE_online_color.pdf

I'm Back !!

After a wonderful wedding day on the 03rd June when the sun was spitting through the trees and a joyful mini tour of the USA for our honeymoon I have returned to the Emerald Isle to my surprise warm and humid conditions.

The wedding was of course an amazing day and everything ran smoothly including my speech which I was extremely nervous about!  The weather was perfect as was my new wife and everyone appeared to have an enjoyable day.  The day was very long and we were both warned about how quickly the day itself would fly in... it did and its hard now to remember it as it was 3 weeks ago!  Hopefully the photos will jig our memories when we choose the ones to go into our album!

The honeymoon was firstly a few nights in Los Angeles then onto Hawaii, San Francisco and finally New York, just over two weeks in all.  The travelling was tiresome but it was a once in a lifetime trip so it was well worth it and it never rained once, infact temperatures were always between 26-32o!  My Factor 30 suncream even gave me a tan!

Los Angeles had the sights but it was quite a dirty place and really isn't worth staying more than 3-4 days.  We did catch a LA Dodgers game which was an experience if not slightly boring!  Hawaii as you can imagine was hot and sunny and aimed for sun worshippers on the golden sandy beaches.  However, there was Pearl Harbour to visit which brought a lot of emotion out of the present Americans.  Hawaii seems to be the tourist destination of Japan and South Korea and there are so many of them present in Hawaii you would think you were in Asia rather than America!  San Francisco was a nice if very hilly city with less sights than Los Angeles but the good thing is that the city is easily toured by yourself on foot which we did.  The hills are a killer on the feet though!  Alcatraz was really interesting to see and there was no fog present at all so the Golden Gate Bridge was in full view to everyone.  New York was a stop for shopping and the credit card took a hammering!  We did visit Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty which was closed on our last visit to the States four years ago.  Our hotel overlooked the Ground Zero site and unfortunately apart from the great view the noise was unbearable at times.  They are working 24/7 to build the new Freedom Tower by the tenth anniversary of Sep 11th.

Back to normality now and back to work next week :(

Good-Bye Social Networking

I took one of my notions again to get out the small violin and say woe-me.  I can't really explain why but just got fed up with things.  With that in mind I have stopped using Twitter and Facebook for they both started to annoy me.  

Any time I logged into Facebook for instance, all I saw were the usual suspects who had updated their status for the umpteenth time that day!  The update usually went along the lines of "I've just eaten an orange", followed by the delude of comments (replies) e.g. "wow that's cool", "omg I just had an orange to!" and "what type of orange was it?" etc.  Whats the point and how do people have 600+ 'friends'?  That's impossible!  Surely Facebook should change 'Add Friend' to 'Add Acquaintance'? Or perhaps I'm just jealous at their popularity!?

Twitter on the other hand was fun and is useful in that it kept you up to date with the latest news, weather, sport and gossip etc. so it did have a meaningful purpose.  It just got awkward when people started using Twitter to have long conversations with each other rather than Direct Message or by sending a text message.  Doing that defeats the purpose of the site really and takes up a lot of Tweet space i.e. I have mine set for 50 Tweets, and having 40 of those taken up by two people having a conversation is rather annoying.

I will still be using Twitter for news and sport updates so if I need to be contacted just @hnisc me and I'll see it :)  I won't be deleting Facebook this time either (I had deleted it last year) as it is useful for being contacted through but I won't be logging in to join the group 'I bet I can find more people who like this sausage roll than like Cheryl Cole'... (o please...) or to see who has broken a nail!

Does a blog count as a member of Social Networking genre?  I'm not sure... I don't think many read my blog anyway to continue with it, perhaps it does and it will also be thrown onto the proverbial scrapheap!  Time will tell!

For those who follow me thanks and for those who I chatted with through Twitter you've all been awesome!  Although I've never met you all it was great chatting to you and if there is ever a Tweet-Up I shall be there!

Adios Amigos (",) 

(knowing me I'll be back at some point lol)

Its Getting Closer

Tonight I have finished my wedding speech, timed at a respectable 6 minutes give or take.  I've thanked those needing thanked etc. and thrown in a few jokes along the way.  Not bad, but the proof will be in the delivery on the day!  

It has really hit home now that in under 3 weeks I will be a married man!  Before this I just got on with it as we have been engaged for over 2 years now and have been a couple for over 8 so it didn't really feel like anything significant was about to change.  I know a few people of have only been in a relationship for a couple of years and got married within a year of engagement.  We both decided to plan the wedding to the finest detail so that it is meets every expectation of our own ideal wedding, so we took our time in the preparations.  

Weddings are a popular thing these days.  When we booked the reception a good 2 years before we planned to have the wedding, every Saturday at the venue was booked up until the end of 2010!  Luckily we wanted a Thursday wedding anyway!

Deciding the music for the evening reception was fun.  What the heck is the Ska genre?!  We don't have our own song like a lot of couples, mainly because of our differing tastes in music, so we settled on a beautiful less known track by a sensational vocalist!  Its beautiful :)  Choosing music reminded me of my DJing days and I really want to get back into it but that will be pricey!  For those interested I had a Funky House mix played on Cool FM in 2004 so I wasn't bad ;-)

Download The Mix Here or Click Play Below To Stream

Funky House Mix [April 2004] – DJ Brian Livingston

MP3 search on MP3hunting

I'm really excited by it all now, a few minor details to sort but generally everything is looking good.  As soon as my speech is done and dusted I will be relaxed and enjoy the day more I think.  I hate presentations and speeches as I get so nervous and embarrassed!  I also really hope the ash cloud goes away as I don't want our dream holiday to be ruined, we would both be devastated at even loosing a day due to connected flights etc.

Sure My Vote Won't Make A Difference

Politics is the Marmite of our society, you either love it or hate it.  Personally I try to keep abreast of both local and national politics, after all I am a tax payer with a mortgage who has his own personal views on aspects of life.

However, generally I tend not to vote come election day as I dislike the tribal politics that Our Wee Country brings.  Its a choice of either Green or Orange, with bread and butter issues like the Economy, Health Services etc. put to the back of a Manifesto which concentrates on either staying within the Union or joining with the Republic of Ireland.  I'll be honest I do have an opinion on this but my main concerns are being able to pay my bills and having a job.  This is a major reason why I want to move to mainland Britain to live where the bubble that is Northern Ireland is free from sectarian lines, and the issues affecting our daily lives are at the forefront of politics.

In this Election however, I did vote as a friend was standing in my constituency.  If he wasn't I doubt I would have bothered, sure my vote won't make a difference anyway.  Isn't that how a lot of us felt?  I know a few people who didn't vote for that reason.

My attitude to voting has now significantly changed after last nights General Election results... seeing Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew win the Fermanagh/South Tyrone seat by 4 votes (21,304 votes)! Apparently 16 spoiled ballot papers had T.U.V. scrawled on them in protest as no T.U.V. candidate was standing for that seat, only an Independent Unionist Rodney Connor.  If 5 of those voters had of voted for Rodney Connor (21,300 votes) instead of spoiling their votes Fermanagh/South Tyrone would have a different Member of Parliament tonight!  The moral of the story is that EVERY VOTE counts in an Election and in future I will always be casting my vote! It is even more poignant as in other countries people are denied their civil right to vote, so we should be thankful we live in a democracy!

On the other side of the country Naomi Long of the Alliance Party ousted Peter Robinson of the D.U.P. in East Belfast, surely the shock of the Election?  Seeing an Alliance M.P. is a breath of fresh air in Northern Ireland politics, however, to burst Naomi's bubble slightly, she only won the seat due to the Robinson scandal and the subsequent protest votes rather than her own campaigning as she believes.

(",)

So I Have Started a Blog...

So I Have Started a Blog... but why do you ask?  Aren't I about 5 years too late?!

I have been using Twitter since the start of the year when I splashed the cash on an iPhone, which has been a wise purchase.  I always had daily annoyances which I usually just told my work colleagues of, such as road range, politics, football etc. etc.  However, Twitter working in conjunction with my free Internet allowance on the iPhone allowed me to inform random strangers who are following me of the topics which grind my gears!

Unfortunately Twitter is limited to only 140 characters so while trying to 'Tweet' my thoughts I needed to squeeze everything into a tight space.  This led to Nokia Speak becoming part of my daily typing skills once again just like in the good old days of not having unlimited mobile phone texts!  Not a good way to type when your approaching 30!

Twitter it appears is full of Celebrities, Politicians, News Feeds, Sports Stars, Photographers and Bloggers. I only really fit into the Photographer bracket in which I have done quite well in competitions.  I came 3rd out of 23,000 entries in a BBC 'Britain in Pictures' Competition a few years ago!).

Having sold my camera however, to purchase a big sparkly engagement ring for my future wife I haven't taken a photograph in over a year.  Therefore, to fit into a niche on Twitter and seeing a lot of my followers having Blogs I have started this one which allows me to post my crap with UNLIMITED characters!  Wooo :)

I'll keep this one short and sweet (most of my posts probably will be anyway) but tomorrow I hope to blog a wee bit on the election results with my thoughts etc.  One thing which is currently annoying me is that voters where turned away at polling stations earlier as the queues where too big... Legal implications they say... Why did they not vote earlier?!

(",)