At the start of a new week in the year 2011, it is a week that marks an anniversary, brings back memories and it is a week where the rest of my life started!
So what's the anniversary? Monday 23rd March 2010 was the date of 'Sport Dissertation Hand In' at The University of Wolverhampton! The date every third year student looks at at the beginning of the year and thinks 'September, October, November, December, January, February, March' ... 7 months! It's only really at the beginning of the second semester of term where it dawns on you that you have three months of pure hell ahead of you, where your first and last thoughts of the day are about your dissertation! A word that get's used in nearly every conversation you have with friends or family! A word that much is becomes 'the D word' or the word that shall not be spoken!'
Now to me, the Dissertation didn't really mean what it should of! Yes I put my heart and sole into it, moved into the library, carried my laptop and printed out journals around twenty four seven but for what? Three little letters at the end of my name? It's not like I am now addressed as Andrew Leese Bachelor of Science (BSc) is it? Considering I did a Sports Coaching Degree and did my Dissertation on the life of Sport Celebrity in the Media you can tell what my degree really meant to me by the end and what direction I wanted to head once I got that cap and gown! What was really the issue for me about my dissertation was how much it really affected my degree! The dissertation module was only worth 30 credits! So therefore, nothing more than what a 1,500 word essay in First Year meant - a year that means absolutely nothing to anybody completing a degree. The amount of credits given to the Dissertation module has now been addressed, it is now worth 40 credits and every other module is worth 20 - for the simple people of the world your dissertation to a Sports Student now means double than every other module. That is the way it should of been!
Your dissertation should be your pride, your heart and soul of your degree but to me... it meant 'the end'. The end of three years of university, where the first 18 months I destroyed my bank account on alcohol, resulting in knowing everyone worth knowing on Campus in about 6 months, became an owner of a hockey stick and a regular visitor to Selfridges & Co. in the Bullring and where I was converted from 'Pro Evo' (Pro Evolution Soccer) to then FIFA 2010, now FIFA 2011. The second 18 months was where I found my 'calling', a bit of direction in life. One journal on the life of sport celebrity in the media changed everything. But instead of moving universities, or changing my degree after two years I decided to stick it out with Sports Coaching, something I am glad I did because it made me realise how much I actually cared about Sports Coaching (very little) and how much you can really get from life once you know what you want to do with it!
So now on to the memories! It all started with a little gig at the LG Arena - where some guy named Tiesto played with the support of Avicii. My personal opinion on Tiesto then was he just one of those DJ's you have to see in your life! He's been around forever! This little gig that attracted maybe ten thousand people plus to, just happened to be on March 20th - three days before dissertation hand in!!!! To most people completing a dissertation the weekend before hand in is meant to be one of panic, where you read and read and read your work to check mistakes etc etc but to me that weekend set the tone of the hangover that was to come the following Tuesday! This gig with Tiesto was 'Step 1' into the future! Now, you wouldn't find me anywhere near a Tiesto gig, boycotted at Creamfields due to the fact Swedish House Mafia we're going to steal the show and because Tiesto like I said earlier is one of those things you just have to do in life! And that was show was epic! Good enough for me never to go and see Tiesto again due to the fact it could take of the shine, the gloss of what was an immense night - a night that saw the rebirth of a pretty damn good friendship with Jamie Palmer! I won't go into further details due to the fact he will probably read this and we don't need his ego getting any bigger do we! After all, he has a police car to fit in to catch the criminals of Burton-on-Trent! All I will say is if you're ever in Walsall - go to Pizza Hut & get the fantastic deal of "Buy one large pizza and get the other full price".
Other memories from March on wards are the time spent with Charlotte Gibbs and Annabel Hey! With university coming to a close you start to think about who are the people I will keep in touch with and who are the people I really don't care about seeing again. At the time, these two girls were right at the top of the list for who I would keep in touch with! The closing months of my university journey were spent at the house of 25 Redhouse St. enjoying the weather, 'Harvester Dates' along with James Belsey - purchasing gammon with pineapple, dressing up in suits and many many salad bowls. Then there was the dressing up as pirates and Disney characters, wearing Military Boots (Okay, that was just me), lots of pre-drinking, green and purple skittles, the power of a bag of Milky Way Magic Stars (LOL!!!), re-discovering the love for "those orange triangle things" (Colypso Ice Lollies) and celebrating three birthdays in the space of 12 days (with specially made birthday cards :D).
One further point to those who played huge parts in those times - Jessica Henderson, Alice Walters, Abigale Bedford and Roisin Kay Ladden aka Roisinasaurus - thank you very much! :D
"If you're dating a dancer raise your hand, if not... raise your standards!" :-)
Now away from being all emotional and onto more good stuff! My 21st laid the groundwork of things to come, a new Ford Fiesta Zetec (FIONA :D) was purchased (not by me, but from Daddy Leese) and said hello to the future and bye bye to the old - LJO the Corsa may you rest in peace! By August I had left Lindley Catering at The Britannia Stadium and said hello to Alton Towers Conference Centre! Full time hours, away from anything to with the words 'Sports Coaching' and a stepping stone into the world of work! This gave me the opportunity to enjoy life and wages in a week that I would be living off for three months whilst at university - where such places as the Harvester or Pizza Hut buffet's are what heaven in a bowl or on a plate for students too lazy too cook!
August flew by, Creamfields saw the birth of the "CREAMTEAM" and Ibiza Closing parties were booked - Space and DC10 closing and Bora Bora beach!! Do I really need to say anything else???? Dublin soon arrived, miles and miles were walked, The Wright Venue was found and Jamie Palmer found a love for Guinness in a City that you cannot describe in a blog post or do anything you want to possibly do in four days!
Life after university seems scary, but what you find is the life spent at university is purely just a stepping stone to bigger things! The people you might not see again are the memories, the nights out are the highlights - even if you can't remember them and the life of feeling like you are in episodes of Hollyoaks prove many lessons that if learned from will provide the answers to the questions you have not even been asked yet! So far it has been a year, and by next year I will still be Andrew Leese Bachelors of Science but what I won't be is looking back at the last year and thinking where did it go? What I will be doing is writing the same blog post about the new memories and remembering university as the place I found the direction I needed to know what I wanted from the world we live in.
"Don't tell me the sky is the limit, when there are footprints on the moon"
Monday 21 March 2011
#12 They say it's just a game! Luke Walker on Aston Villa's fight for survival
Been a while since I wrote anything fresh due to trying to develop a few articles I already have written onto In Design and a layout of a magazine so what I thought I would do is post a future addition to my blog called 'They say it's just a game'. Here is the first one from an Aston Villa fan and a good friend Luke Walker.
They say it's just a game!
Luke Walker on Aston Villa's fight for survival
It is absolutely gut wrenching to watch my beloved club perform with such a distinct lack of belief, passion and determination. I look at it from two ways ... the football he is trying to encourage us to play I am all for, patience, fluidity, excitement etc ... yeah great, but to see a guy seem to destroy the team cohesion that we once had and produce a hostility between both players and fans a like is something that absolutely disheartens me as a loyal supporter.
There is nothing better than seeing a MON (Martin O'Neill) character, kicking and heading every single ball, dragging his team through the mud at times of such lows and showing the sort of personality we all want to see from a Villa manager, if only that could be coupled with the sort of style GH (Gerard Houiller) is trying to apply, I think we would be onto a winner. Look, whether I get slated or not, I can not stand the present manager and I surely don't want him in our dugout. I really couldn't care less about him ... but what I do care about is keeping this huge, historic club in the PL and I hope every single Villa supporter out there feels the same. Lets just get behind the team, get them over the finish line, and we will see what occurs in the summer. Villa till I die!
They say it's just a game!
Luke Walker on Aston Villa's fight for survival
It is absolutely gut wrenching to watch my beloved club perform with such a distinct lack of belief, passion and determination. I look at it from two ways ... the football he is trying to encourage us to play I am all for, patience, fluidity, excitement etc ... yeah great, but to see a guy seem to destroy the team cohesion that we once had and produce a hostility between both players and fans a like is something that absolutely disheartens me as a loyal supporter.
There is nothing better than seeing a MON (Martin O'Neill) character, kicking and heading every single ball, dragging his team through the mud at times of such lows and showing the sort of personality we all want to see from a Villa manager, if only that could be coupled with the sort of style GH (Gerard Houiller) is trying to apply, I think we would be onto a winner. Look, whether I get slated or not, I can not stand the present manager and I surely don't want him in our dugout. I really couldn't care less about him ... but what I do care about is keeping this huge, historic club in the PL and I hope every single Villa supporter out there feels the same. Lets just get behind the team, get them over the finish line, and we will see what occurs in the summer. Villa till I die!
Tuesday 1 March 2011
#11 I think I've finally found some perspective!
After such a really positive finish to 2010 and start to 2011 in Dublin I had a feeling this year would be the year I discovered where Andrew Leese wanted to go. Now I have always known I wanted to do something involving writing about sport but what exactly? I don't see myself a journalist, basically because the majority of the stuff they report on or write is crap and is never believable. Which is my number one pet hate about the whole media scene! How many people actually say it how it is? Too many people cover the basics, say what people 'want to hear' and point out the things people already know instead of going straight to the point, blunt and admitting the truth about the situation. It is almost like they are too many rules now and these rules have to put in place so they don't offend people or get in trouble.
Someone who comes to mind straight away for telling how it is, is Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson! He is your typical cockney who says things how they are, in his own style and he really does cut straight to the truth! He comes across as someone who really does not care what people say about him. Merson was in the studio for the League Cup final between Arsenal v Birmingham and once Arsenal bottled it and again failed on the big stage he did not try and defend the team he supports, he simply said it how it is!
"Don't go scouting around the French and Belgian leagues for young talent who you can get on the cheap and develop. Buy the real deal for £15 million and win the cup"
That is exactly what people outside of the public eye and many supporters who can face the truth would say! They say the truth hurts but I guess that is the point of the truth! Lies cover things up so you are protected and I guess what I am doing to myself at the moment is not facing the harsh truths and protecting myself from putting myself out there to get hurt if things don't go according to plan!
What I started to do with my blog was introduce different things, bring in new ideas and start with baby steps. That was before these last few weeks where whatever I started a few weeks ago I have abandoned, become complacent and thought the baby steps I started were enough. Now, with the push of someone who has experienced the same kind of rut I have experienced in the last few weeks I am starting to see the light at the 'imaginary' tunnel. Everybody has to learn how to walk before they can run and this is exactly the process I am going through! Baby steps eventually become steps and steps eventually become strides as long as you keep trying and working towards what you want.
What I have got to start doing more is 'telling how it is', stop hiding behind truths and pride myself on things I believe in. Sometimes it is necessary to bite your lip and say nothing, but more often than not the truth gets you further than lies, even if it does hurt that little bit more.
Now back to that journalism thing! What I am trying to create is the bases of a magazine, or instead of calling it a magazine, calling it a portfolio. A portfolio of ideas to try and find myself a place in the world! What I want do is learn how to make the idea in my head to something proper, something I can look at as a draft, print it out, scribble over it and start again to make it bigger and better.
I guess that's why the idea was called 'The Bubble' in the first place. Inside my head I live in a world that is full of ways to look at the world in my own unique way and now I'm finally finding ways to put the world in my head into the world I want to live in. If I'm going to do this I'm going to do it my way, not by following the rules of other people who are too scared to go against the norm, but by saying things how they are, by saying things the way it works instead The Bubble I live in! :)
The is a quote or a song lyric that I used to live by and need to start doing so again. A quote that I want tattooed on my left forearm so that when times are tough I can take inspiration from it and start from scratch!
"Don't tell me the sky is the limit, when are foot prints on the moon"
Someone who comes to mind straight away for telling how it is, is Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson! He is your typical cockney who says things how they are, in his own style and he really does cut straight to the truth! He comes across as someone who really does not care what people say about him. Merson was in the studio for the League Cup final between Arsenal v Birmingham and once Arsenal bottled it and again failed on the big stage he did not try and defend the team he supports, he simply said it how it is!
"Don't go scouting around the French and Belgian leagues for young talent who you can get on the cheap and develop. Buy the real deal for £15 million and win the cup"
That is exactly what people outside of the public eye and many supporters who can face the truth would say! They say the truth hurts but I guess that is the point of the truth! Lies cover things up so you are protected and I guess what I am doing to myself at the moment is not facing the harsh truths and protecting myself from putting myself out there to get hurt if things don't go according to plan!
What I started to do with my blog was introduce different things, bring in new ideas and start with baby steps. That was before these last few weeks where whatever I started a few weeks ago I have abandoned, become complacent and thought the baby steps I started were enough. Now, with the push of someone who has experienced the same kind of rut I have experienced in the last few weeks I am starting to see the light at the 'imaginary' tunnel. Everybody has to learn how to walk before they can run and this is exactly the process I am going through! Baby steps eventually become steps and steps eventually become strides as long as you keep trying and working towards what you want.
What I have got to start doing more is 'telling how it is', stop hiding behind truths and pride myself on things I believe in. Sometimes it is necessary to bite your lip and say nothing, but more often than not the truth gets you further than lies, even if it does hurt that little bit more.
Now back to that journalism thing! What I am trying to create is the bases of a magazine, or instead of calling it a magazine, calling it a portfolio. A portfolio of ideas to try and find myself a place in the world! What I want do is learn how to make the idea in my head to something proper, something I can look at as a draft, print it out, scribble over it and start again to make it bigger and better.
I guess that's why the idea was called 'The Bubble' in the first place. Inside my head I live in a world that is full of ways to look at the world in my own unique way and now I'm finally finding ways to put the world in my head into the world I want to live in. If I'm going to do this I'm going to do it my way, not by following the rules of other people who are too scared to go against the norm, but by saying things how they are, by saying things the way it works instead The Bubble I live in! :)
The is a quote or a song lyric that I used to live by and need to start doing so again. A quote that I want tattooed on my left forearm so that when times are tough I can take inspiration from it and start from scratch!
"Don't tell me the sky is the limit, when are foot prints on the moon"
#10 The talk that Arsenal no longer needs Cesc Fabregas now they have Jack Wilshire is utter rubbish!
Arsenal fans may have been gloating last night to everybody involved at Barcelona that ‘they’ve got Cesc Fabregas’ but what they of being should have been singing was ‘we’ve got Jack Wilshire!’
Jack Wilshire is a rising star and at such a young age, to perform like he did Tuesday night against arguably the best midfield in the world was a statement to everybody this kid is no-longer just a fantastic young prospect but a player who is already good enough to mix it with the big names of world football!
With transfer talk apparently ‘dead’ between Barcelona and Arsenal for Fabregas until the summer; some questions are now being asked whether Cesc Fabregas is really needed when you have Jack Wilshire. The answer to that question is - of course they can! To win trophies you need quality players, not a quality player! That is what of course made Manchester United successful and what has made Barcelona successful now. Successful teams are made as teams not as individuals. These teams never just had one quality player they have 12-15 players who would walk into any other team in the league, if not Europe! For Barcelona now, you don’t just have to stop Messi you have to stop Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa. If you stop those players and think you can relax players like Pedro can pop up and do just what those players can when needed! If it’s not happening for one star; there are 10 other players ready to step up and make themselves a star!
This is why Cesc Fabregas is now just as important as he was before Arsenal as he was last season. If you want to put it in simple terms - Wilshire has the potential to be Barcelona’s Xavi - what I like to call the ‘linchpin’ or the ‘support midfielder’ to the attacking midfield player or advanced playmaker. Again in simple terms ‘Fabregas is Barcelona’s Iniesta’ - he player who gets inbetween the lines of the defence who feed the attacking players ahead of them! In front of these creative players you have three players all with different qualities that carry different treats!
Theo Walcott offers blistering pace who if you give space in behind has the pace to destroy teams and is now developing the end product in both scoring goals and assists. On the left you have either Samri Nasri or Andrei Arshavin who can skip past players for fun, score and create goals. Nasri is also very comfortable playing in the role of the advanced playmaker as he has shown when Fabregas has been out of the side - this is not a reason to think Arsenal can cope without there captain but a positive reason that when Fabregas is not in the side Arsenal have a natural playmaker who can offer the same qualities as Fabregas does without having to change their style of play!
Then we have Robin van Persie - Arsenal’s MVP. Sometimes he can be wasteful but more often than not he’s clinical - especially if the ball falls to his left foot - when it’s hit it stays hit! When Arsenal have these players mentioned fit and firing they can be unstoppable, they can beat anyone on their day as Barcelona found out after dominating and out playing Arsenal for 70 minutes! They do not have to just rely on Fabregas as was sometimes the case last season, they have other big names that can step up and make it count when it matters the most! But just because players may seem replaceable does not mean they are! The saying ‘you only know what you had when it’s gone’ counts in football terms too, Arsenal should enjoy the times while they have such attacking talent and look at ways to improve this and when it comes to mixing with the big names of Xavi and Iniesta they should make sure they have many big names on their side who are not just good enough to stand up the challenge but are good enough to go one better! Because after all that has been Arsene Wenger’s philosophy after all and if there is one person who knows better than anyone else just how important Cesc Fabregas is too Arsenal’s future then it is Arsene Wenger!
Jack Wilshire is a rising star and at such a young age, to perform like he did Tuesday night against arguably the best midfield in the world was a statement to everybody this kid is no-longer just a fantastic young prospect but a player who is already good enough to mix it with the big names of world football!
With transfer talk apparently ‘dead’ between Barcelona and Arsenal for Fabregas until the summer; some questions are now being asked whether Cesc Fabregas is really needed when you have Jack Wilshire. The answer to that question is - of course they can! To win trophies you need quality players, not a quality player! That is what of course made Manchester United successful and what has made Barcelona successful now. Successful teams are made as teams not as individuals. These teams never just had one quality player they have 12-15 players who would walk into any other team in the league, if not Europe! For Barcelona now, you don’t just have to stop Messi you have to stop Xavi, Iniesta, and David Villa. If you stop those players and think you can relax players like Pedro can pop up and do just what those players can when needed! If it’s not happening for one star; there are 10 other players ready to step up and make themselves a star!
This is why Cesc Fabregas is now just as important as he was before Arsenal as he was last season. If you want to put it in simple terms - Wilshire has the potential to be Barcelona’s Xavi - what I like to call the ‘linchpin’ or the ‘support midfielder’ to the attacking midfield player or advanced playmaker. Again in simple terms ‘Fabregas is Barcelona’s Iniesta’ - he player who gets inbetween the lines of the defence who feed the attacking players ahead of them! In front of these creative players you have three players all with different qualities that carry different treats!
Theo Walcott offers blistering pace who if you give space in behind has the pace to destroy teams and is now developing the end product in both scoring goals and assists. On the left you have either Samri Nasri or Andrei Arshavin who can skip past players for fun, score and create goals. Nasri is also very comfortable playing in the role of the advanced playmaker as he has shown when Fabregas has been out of the side - this is not a reason to think Arsenal can cope without there captain but a positive reason that when Fabregas is not in the side Arsenal have a natural playmaker who can offer the same qualities as Fabregas does without having to change their style of play!
Then we have Robin van Persie - Arsenal’s MVP. Sometimes he can be wasteful but more often than not he’s clinical - especially if the ball falls to his left foot - when it’s hit it stays hit! When Arsenal have these players mentioned fit and firing they can be unstoppable, they can beat anyone on their day as Barcelona found out after dominating and out playing Arsenal for 70 minutes! They do not have to just rely on Fabregas as was sometimes the case last season, they have other big names that can step up and make it count when it matters the most! But just because players may seem replaceable does not mean they are! The saying ‘you only know what you had when it’s gone’ counts in football terms too, Arsenal should enjoy the times while they have such attacking talent and look at ways to improve this and when it comes to mixing with the big names of Xavi and Iniesta they should make sure they have many big names on their side who are not just good enough to stand up the challenge but are good enough to go one better! Because after all that has been Arsene Wenger’s philosophy after all and if there is one person who knows better than anyone else just how important Cesc Fabregas is too Arsenal’s future then it is Arsene Wenger!
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