In defence of Jimmy Carr...

I know I'm behind the times but I've only just watched last week's 8 out of 10 Cats...

If you go to someone for advice and they look at your situation and ask you if you want to pay less tax, what would you do?  Okay, yeah, that's all the defence I have as it is a massive error in judgement - particularly as he has spent the last few years really laying in to bankers and Government austerity.  


At the start of my accountancy career I worked in tax for over 2 years and I'd see it all the time, people just wouldn't have a clue about their own situation.  In those days most of my companies clients came through referrals from a company who had promised to reduce the tax bill of contractors by effectively making them self employed, the problem was they had just heard the bottom line figure they had been promised by a sales person and not taken in what they had signed up to.  


These people weren't exactly the same as Jimmy, they were taking advantage of government incentives for the self employed (or were supposed to) to save a little bit on their tax bill as opposed to just paying 1%, so I doubt he was as naive as some of the people that I came across.  At the same time his situation is apparently legal, so I defy anyone reading this to say that they intentionally pay more tax than they legally have to.


I personally don't blame Jimmy, or any of the other celebrities/people who have been operating in this way, from taking advantage of the "loophole", I blame the people who allow this sort of arrangement to be in place to begin with.  You can't just blame the Tories for this, even if many of them have benefited (I believe George Osborne is due to pay a lot less in inheritance tax in the future because of his trust fund's 15% stake in Osborne & Little), you have to also blame Labour, who in 13 years didn't close down all of these schemes, and the Tories that came before them, and Labour before that...  People will always find a way to minimise tax, it's the Government's job to make sure that everyone pays their fair share and to not allow these schemes to exist.  

What's worse than Racism? Advertising!

Well according to UEFA it is.


Nicklas Bendtner was fined €100,00 for revealing "Paddy Power" underwear during the current Euro 2012 championships.  

Meanwhile Croatia have been fined €80,000 for their fans racist abuse of Super Mario Balotelli.

It's good to see punishments increasing (they have been pathetically low in the past for racism, in the past Croatia have also been fined the equivalent of under £15,000 for racist chanting against Emile Heskey) UEFA are still getting their priorities wrong.  It's one thing to talk a tough game against racism but surely their actions need to back this up.  (I wonder if there was also only an increase in the penalty to Croatia because of their fans being found guilty in 2008 as well?)  


I would be a lot stricter.  This is at least their second offence, fine them (more) and make them play their next home qualifier behind closed doors.  If they offend again make them play the entire campaign without any fans.  

Bad reporting and "research" can do more harm than good...

I've had quite a busy end of May/start of June so haven't had a chance to blog, or even keep up with most news stories (being out of the country/at a festival tends to cut you off).  However one story that caught my eye (well I couldn't miss it on the one day I bought a paper) "Young cannabis users 'do not realise the huge danger to their health'".  It particularly claims that smoking cannabis is 20 times worse than smoking cigarettes.

Now I welcome any attempt to improve the health of people and to educate people (particularly younger people) to the dangers of drug use - as I've often said, I would combat drug abuse through education rather than prohibition, however all this is doing is perpetuating a popular drug myth that has even been debunked on Wikipedia.  In fact most of the damage that is done comes from the fact it is commonly mixed with tobacco.  

I was pleased to see when I returned home a rebuttal in my inbox from the excellent Professor David Nutt:

"The BLF’s lack of care with the evidence, and the media’s lack of care in fact-checking, could have the opposite effect from their good intentions. Public confidence in science as a means of getting to the truth can only be harmed when the BBC reports “experts” mistakenly declaring that what 88% of us apparently think about cannabis is wrong. What’s more, if the BLF’s misguided information is believed, people could actually be put at greater risk of lung cancer, for example by cutting down on the cannabis in their joints and padding them out with more tobacco, or by making parents relatively more relaxed about finding out that their teenagers smoking cigarettes every day than finding out that they smoke the occasional joint."

That paragraph I think picks up on one of the most important aspects.  I've known plenty of people (the amount of festivals I go to it's hard not to be exposed to it) who smoke the occasional joint - not even that, it's more of a social thing where they might have a couple of tokes.  Yes people can get addicted to it and some people do abuse it but very few of the people I know who smoke cannabis would be classed as regular users whereas 100% of my cigarette smoking friends are addicts.

I'd recommend that everyone reads Professor Nutt's piece, he's not some liberal who wants to end prohibition like me, he is just an expert who was fired by the former Labour Government for pointing out that their drugs policy didn't make sense, alcohol and tobacco being much worse for people than numerous restricted drugs.

The start of the summer...

The Home of Cricket

We may have had our summer all ready (do you remember the few nice days we had in March?) but today is when it really starts!  Yes that's right, today is the first test match of the Summer - I don't think I get as excited at Christmas!  As usual, the first test is also at The Home of Cricket - Lord's.  That's special for every visiting team, it's the place everyone wants to play given all the history that surrounds the ground - every player would love to get their name on the honours board.

Who wouldn't want their name up there?

Personally I'm a little disappointed as I believe Cardiff were initially awarded the test - Cardiff is the easiest test ground for me to get to and I would have gone.  I'm not surprised that the West Indies wanted to change this though, like I said, everyone wants to play at Lord's!  I'm going to have to get a ticket for a test there one day!


As for the series itself I am genuinely excited.  The last few times West Indies have toured they haven't been the best of sides (in 2009 they lost both tests comfortably, 2007 they lost 3-0 out of 4 and 2004 they lost all 4 - they haven't won a test in England since 2000 and then they still lost 3-1).  Given that they've only beaten Bangladesh and Zimbabwe away from home in since 1995 you'd have thought that this record isn't going to change, however there have been some promising signs from what is a pretty young team.  They were very competitive in their recent defeat by Australia and have some very talented players who may relish the occasion.  


I of course expect England to win, but it may be tougher than many think.  If the West Indies frustrate England at Lord's then it could cause a bit of tension to creep in after what was a tough winter.  England really need to start off well.  They have won the toss and bowled first so they really need to take wickets and pile on the pressure.  The selection of Bresnan I feel is a sensible one, he's played 11 and won 11 tests which says it all.  Him coming in at 8 really makes our batting line-up look strong, especially with Broad at 9.  Graham Onions may have been a good shout though since he took 10 wickets for 73 runs against Middlesex there earlier this year and has taken 23 wickets at 14.52 so far this year.  Steven Finn can also be a little unlucky having taken 16 at 18.68 in one fewer (3) matches this year.  However Bresnan is played 11, won 11 - how can you argue with that?

It'll be a great day for Jonny Biarstow, 22 year old batsman (also keeps for Yorkshire) making his debut.  I also think this is the right call given that Ravi Bopara is injured, there were a few names in the frame and I'm pleased Bairstow got the nod.  He's proved he's got the right sort of temperament after his match winning knock on his ODI debut against India.  He also averages 46 in first class cricket, which playing his home games at Headingley is no mean feat (I think when fellow Yorkshireman Michael Vaughan came into the England side he averaged under 40).  He's also had a good start to the summer with two centuries.  Hopefully he'll take his chance.  James Taylor and Nick Compton can feel a bit disappointed to not take the place but it is promising that they are waiting there in the wings with Ravi also there and hopefully Eoin Morgan also working on his game. 


The future looks bright, I'm expecting a 2-0 England win, but hoping for 3-0 but most of all hoping for a good performance from the Windies.

A Labour MP talking sense...

If there's one thing I hate about politics it's political opportunism.  When a person campaigns, sets it out as their policy or just has it as a known opinion but then votes against it or makes a speech with the opposite message when the time comes just because it could be to their political advantage.  I was pleased to see on the Guardian's letter page yesterday a comment from a Labour MP:

"The idea that Labour MPs should connive with Tory opponents of House of Lords reform to block the bill is absurd (Report, 10 May). Labour has campaigned for reform for over 100 years and we should now seize the day to make it a reality. If instead Labour is tempted by short-termism to "give Clegg another bloody nose" it would represent the triumph of petty politics over radical principle."

Malcolm Wicks MP

Labour, Croydon North

This is an excellent sentiment - voting as to your opinion, much better than opposing everything for the sake of it.  I hope Ed Miliband listens, our political system is too important to just be voting to try and make your opponent look bad and 'create a buzz'.  What we need is a constructive opposition rather than one who take any chance they get to be destructive.

If you don't like Gay Marriages - then don't get one!

Yesterday was a good day, great in fact for supporters of equality everywhere.  The leader of the Free World, the President of the World's most influential country (for now) came out in full support of gay marriage.  Take a bow Barack Obama.  I assumed he'd sidestep the issue until at least after the next election, (or just positioning himself as slightly more liberal than his oponant - which isn't hard) but he didn't and for this he should be applauded.  BBC reports:

"The interview with ABC News was apparently hastily arranged as Mr Obama came under mounting pressure to clarify his position on the issue.

"At a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Mr Obama told ABC.

"I've stood on the side of broader equality for the LGBT community. I hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient," Mr Obama said."

Hesitation or not it is still very brave of him to say so in the run up to an election, it may swing some voters against him though I really hope it doesn't.

Over in the UK I'm disappointed by the sheer amount of idiotic negative arguments I hear.  The worst of all is of course that there 'should be other priorities'.  I mean come on, do you really think George Osborne is sat in Number 11 looking at the finer details of equal marriage legislation?  Of course he isn't!  Will he give it a small amount of consideration and then vote on the issue, I'm sure he will.   The excellent Lynne Featherstone also commented on this issue: 

"I couldn’t help but notice a few naysayers popping up in the media and uttering dire warnings about a government that needs to concentrate on core issues rather than same sex civil marriage.

For goodness sake – it’s not either / or.

The economy is clearly the No 1 priority – but the Coalition can multi-task!"

There has been some talk lately that perhaps the plans are getting shelved since they weren't in the Queen's speech, however Mark Pack rightly points out (when is he ever not right?  I certainly haven't seen it!) this was never supposed to be in the Queen's Speech!

At the end of the day, my opinion is that marriage is celebrating the love two people have for one another.  Who is one person to say that two people's love for each other is less worthy than two others?  Anyone who feels that their own marriage will be devalued by more people getting married, well then perhaps they got married for the wrong reasons?  Perhaps if they really dislike them that much then they should just not get one themselves or not go to any ceremonies - would their lives be any different?  

Anyway, a few pictures I've found online that I enjoyed/I think illustrate how ridiculous it is that this is even being argued about:

My England squad for Euro 2012

I have been having a healthy debate with a good mate of mine over the last week or so about who should be in England's 23 to go to the European Championships this summer.  Now I don't think either of us have particularly high expectations about England's chances, but that doesn't mean that we wont be supporting them.  

The debate itself has been kick started by two things - the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England manager and the return(?) to form of Andy Carroll.  We both actually are in favour of Roy's appointment.  Given that I have no expectations of victory I think he may be a good choice to get the best out of a group of players tactically, as long as they listen to him.  The problem however is that I think he is best when dealing with a group of players who know that they have limitations, whereas most potential England players have been brought up thinking they are the best in the world and have egos to match and he struggled with the egos at Liverpool.  The Andy Carroll situation I'll discuss below.


Anyway, I'm going to analyse here who I would take in my squad plus who I think Roy will take.  This is complicated by the fact I reckon Roy will probably go 4-4-2 as opposed to my preference for 4-3-3.

Goalkeepers

It is good that England finally have a first choice again.  Joe Hart will start every game unless he's injured/suspended.  I would have had him in my starting XI for the World Cup so it have felt vindicated to see him play every game since.  


There are relatively few other options I've always felt that Scott Carson was treated harshly, by England whilst Rob Green was overrated.  Ben Foster has been fairly consistent and given that Roy has managed him I'm sure he'll go.  Ideally you would convince Paul Robinson that he wants to be part of it.  David Stockdale is the only other name that comes to mind but he struggles because of never holding down a first team place at Fulham and having to go out on loan.  He is still relatively young at 26 so it might be good to take him for some experience.

Defenders

The main decision here for me is whether you take Rio or Terry, both or neither.  This is because it will probably effect the rest of the selections.  Personally I don't think you can take both.  They key to tournament football is to make sure you have a good group of players who are working together.  In particular your partnerships all have to function.  


Therefore, for me, this is a a make your choice selection.  I think if you take Rio, you'll probably should end up with a Man Utd player next to him (as first choice), if you take John then you end up with Gary Cahill starting.  Personally, a year ago I'd have only considered John, however the last 4 months or so I've been really impressed every time I've seen Rio.  Also, with John's personal issues I'd suggest that maybe he'd be the better one to leave out.

Defence is actually one area with quite a few choices to make.  For right backs there are Micah Richards, Glen Johnson and young player of the year Kyle Walker.  Not to mention this spot could be filled by the United pair of Chris Smalling or Phil Jones, who can also both play Centre Half giving a bit more option.  In fact taking one of these two could mean only selecting 7 defenders when I would usually take eight. 


In addition  to the United pair, you also have, Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill, Ledley King and Joleon Lescott all with a real chance of being on the plane.  If you leave behind both Rio and John then one partnership with experience of playing together is that of Phil Jagielka and Lescott, which may be worth exploring.  However I've personally always thought Lescott was over-rated.  In an area where I think we have a lot of good players I don't think he's the best and definitely wouldn't be in my 23 - but I can understand the argument for him going.


At left back there is the standard first choice of Ashley Cole, there rarely seems to be any debate about this. However we have a couple of other options.  One of the best crosser's in the Premier League is Everton's Leighton Baines, he has a wicked left foot and can strike a great dead ball.  There are also Kieran Gibbs and Stephen Warnock, I think Gibbs may still be too young and Warnock may have missed his chance.

Midfielders

Scott Parker has probably played his way into most people's starting XI.  In fact I would probably make him my captain.  I have always thought he was a bit overrated, but at the same time he almost never puts in a bad day at the office.  


This is an area that usually there are so many players to chose from, however looking around I was really struggling to pick players.  England's best two centre midfielders in my opinion are Paul Scholes and Jack Wilshere, neither of whom will be available (Scholes through choice of course).  


I've always thought England's reliance on Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard over the years has held them back (despite stating that they would have been my two choices last World Cup).  In fact, along with Gareth Barry I feel that the reason they've excelled at club level is down to the players around them which cover up their own limitations.  For me both Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverley are much better prospects from an attacking point of view, however Jack wont be there and Tom hasn't played enough games for me (I'd send him to the Olympics).  I personally would only take Steven Gerrard out of the those I've mentioned.


Then you are left with younger players.  I think this season has been far from good for Jordan Henderson at Liverpool, every time I've watched him he's disappointed me, this is frustrating as I had been really impressed when he was at Sunderland.  Jack Rodwell seems like a good prospect but still is only a prospect.  James Milner is one who I think could play that role of a third centre midfielder.  Having ruled out so many in my mind gives Phil Jones even more likely chance of going with his versatility meaning he can also do a job in midfield.


One person I've been really surprised that no-one seems to be talking about is Michael Carrick.  I was slating him for about 2/3 years.  I thought he'd really regressed.  However when Man Utd went on their outstanding run of games he was a different animal, in fact I'd say he's been excellent for them all season.  He was the second midfielder on my team sheet.

Forwards

This section also includes my attacking wingers.  This is one area that I'm finding impossible to say who Roy will chose.  There are so many options to go for - some of whom can play upfront too.  Ashley Young, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson, Theo Walcott, Stuart Downing, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all spring to mind.  I would personally take quite a few of these!  

Young seems to have had a great first season with United.  Lennon and Walcott are both full of pace and running, Walcott seems to have done a lot better the last two seasons too for Arsenal - a massive improvement in his goal and assist returns.  Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge are guys in form.  Adam Johnson has been a favourite in that position and can play on either wing.  Stuart Downing however has disappointed me at Liverpool and not exactly set the world alight in an England Shirt.  As far as I can tell Agbonlahor has had a reasonable season whilst Chamberlain is one for the future.  Joe Cole could also fit into this category, he's had a good year in France and shouldn't be ruled out - he could also play centrally in a 3, which could strangely be his best position.

The main problem with the striking position is of course Wayne Rooney missing the first two games.  He's had a good season at United so this is really unfortunate.  However I agree that he still should go.  He is our best forward man so if we get through the group stage we would need his potential to stand any chance of going further.


Who else goes is a key question.  For the 4-3-3 that I like, more of a target man is usually required, but these aren't necessarily the better players.  Again, there are plenty to chose from, but whether or not they are of the desired quality is debatable.  


Darren Bent seemed nailed on until his injury, now I don't think he'll go.  Jermaine Defoe has got a lot of caps (46 - 15 goals), experience may end up getting him a place.  


As for big target men, the main contenders are Andy Carroll, Peter Crouch, Bobby Zamora and Grant Holt's name has been banded about.  I really hope Roy doesn't take more than one of these, however I would take one as they offer something different.  Despite his goal return this season I can't see Holt making the list, nor can I see Zamora getting a seat on the plane.  Andy Carroll's substitute performance (and apparently his performance in the following game - which I haven't seen) may well lead to him getting the nod, however I've always thought Crouch has done what's been asked for him at international level.

Squads

How many of these will still be there?

Okay, so here's the decisions:

Mine:
Joe Hart, Scott Carson, Ben Foster. Micah Richards, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Jagielka, Chris Smalling, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines.  Scott Parker, Michael Carrick, Steven Gerrard, James Milner, Ashley Young, Adam Johnson, Aaron Lennon.  Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge and Peter Crouch.


Starting line-up:

----------------Hart-----------------
Richards - Rio ------Smalling - Cole
-------------Parker-----------------
------Gerrard ------Carrick---------
Walcott----------------------Young
---------Rooney(/Welbeck*)---------------


I know that side suffers from not playing together before, and it may struggle going forward if Rooney/Welbeck (*to play the first two games) can't get hold of the ball.  Gerrard would be expected to get forward as much as possible and they would be expected to work triangles, in this sense we'll miss Wilshere and Cleverley.  However if it's not working because of the opposition then it is always possible to change it, by sending on another striker and reverting to 4-4-2.  The real worry is of course that it's not a settled defence which almost would prompt me to chose Terry over Rio and partner him with Cahill, but hopefully these could work together.


My prediction for Roy's:
Hart, Carson, Foster, Walker, Johnson, Terry, Cahill, Jagielka, Lescott, Cole, Baines, Parker, Gerrard, Lampard, Barry, Milner, Downing, Young, Walcott, Rooney, Welbeck, Carroll and Sturridge.

I fancy he'll be more defensive/conservative with his choices than me and then line-up with the Chelsea boys at the back and a midfield with Milner, Parker, Gerrard and Young.  Due to the lack of real striking options he may even throw in Lampard to that mix and play with Carroll up front on his own until Rooney's fit.  I wonder how many I'll get right!


No matter who we chose I think even making it out of the group would be a good performance, obviously I'll hope for more though.


Edit:
Chris Smalling is now out of the tournament through injury.  I don't like it but that probably means I'd take Lescott instead, starting with Jagielka.


Edit 2 (16/05/2012):

It would appear that I correctly predicted 18 of Roy's 23.  Out of those I thought would go Kyle Walker is injured and can't go and I'd forgotten that Ben Foster didn't want to go.


Disappointed that Lennon and Carrick didn't make the cut but Stewart Downing did - even Tim Howard has more assists in the league than him this year.  Pleased Chamberlain's got a chance but Lennon should be ahead in the pecking order.  Also pleased to see John Ruddy in the squad - I totally overlooked him as nobody had been mentioning him, I would say he's a better 'keeper than Rob Green.