#i used the worst photo editor for this and the quality is balls but you know what. who cares.

[loveoaths]

@cloudruns​ said: 

gordon ramsay but senjuro

senjuro has gotten sharp with kyojuro exactly three (3) times in his life and two of them were in the kitchen.  

#i used the worst photo editor for this and the quality is balls but you know what. who cares. #saved: senjuro. #answered: senjuro. #answered: ooc.

[sussex-nature-lover]

Tuesday 22nd December 2020

Our Garden Birds. Part 1

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Before I start today, did anyone manage to see the Great Conjunction last night?

It was thick cloud cover here and the only bright light in the sky was a reflection of the house Landing lights in the bathroom window. I’ll keep looking out and you never know our luck although I have to say considering yesterday was the shortest day, today is putting up some stiff competition and the sky is a sheet of grey.

Back to birds...

Long Tailed Tit on one of our feeding towers

I’ve been chatting with Ms NW tE and she’s disappointed that her venture into bird feeding hasn’t taken off like she’d hoped and she wanted to have a conversation about that and about why and when do the birds come and go, so I thought that’s what I’d write about today. It’s turning out to be long, so I’ll have to carry over to tomorrow.

Why and How to Feed Garden Birds

First off think about your budget and the amount of time you’re prepared to put into feeding your birds. Second, think about the birds and wildlife you attract into your garden and what their needs are. For example we have a large and active squirrel population and for that reason we tend to avoid feeding peanuts - the cost is just prohibitive, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with them.

We offer hanging feeders with high quality fat balls NB please do not buy the coarse,cheap ones which are less nutritious and avoid the dangerous netting at all costs, Birds can get trapped in the net, it’s a very bad idea. 

We have two metal garden obelisk type towers. They’re meant as features or to support climbing plants, but we have nicknamed them Italy and France (the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower don’tcha know, No prizes for why they got those names) and we suspend ‘Squirrel Proof’ (excuse me while I convulse with bitter laughter) Fat Ball Cages from each of them.

So called Squirrel Proof feeders No offence to designers and manufacturers but this is a battle you will never entirely win.

Squirrels are skilled acrobats and endlessly determined. We’ve used an old football rattle, a saucepan and wooden spoon, a kid’s Super Soaker water gun and any manner of things to frighten them off. They work, sort of, for a while...a short while.

We’ve had squirrels chew through plastic feeders and the ones made of very sturdy wire; learn to open the top lid so we had to secure it with twine and it was a devil then to top up or refill: one little squirrel actually got INSIDE the cage and when all else has defeated them they’ve stolen feeders and taken them away never to be found.

Squirrels really do manage the most outrageous assaults on the food sources

We also offer seed in ground trays of various sizes. The large wooden one has bitten the dust though after being trampled by Deer and the small ones have proven just the right size for tiny twins.

In the end we just accept that they’re hungry and pander to them as much as we look after our birds.

This brings me to another topic, not very savoury, but to be borne in mind - bird food may attract much less desirables. You can’t choose to put out food and always see it taken by what you intend it for and worst case scenario you may find it attracts rodents. Take in food at dusk if you can, sweep up any spilled seed and if you do have an issue then you may have to stop feeding for a time.

Also top priority for bird and garden health is to keep your feeders and the feeding areas clean. Good advice can be found Here and I do recommend to diary note regularly as we all know time runs away with us on the routine tasks.

Where to Place your Feeders

Bear all these points in mind:

Sheltered

The bird table needs to be positioned where there is not too much direct sunlight or in a windy location. Birds will feel safer it is in a sheltered position.

Quiet

If possible locate in a quiet place in your garden, preferably not by a path or any other area with human traffic passing. Remember not to place the bird table too far away from your house then you can still enjoy watching the birds!

One last thing to consider, make sure the bird table is placed away from cat ambush sites including fences which cats can leap from.

Safe Location

The bird table needs to be positioned next to a bush or tree; birds will perch before landing on the bird table to ensure that is it safe for them to land on it.

Raised

A raised bird table is easier to view from your house and safer being away from predators. Most bird tables are complete with a wooden pole but you can hang bird tables from a tree.

Nuthatch particularly like Sunflower seeds and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on suitable containers

Our feeders are directly in front of the kitchen patio doors so we have great viewing from our seats at the table - this is why so many of my photos are hurriedly snatched shots taken through the glass. We’ve left the dead trunk of the palm as a kind of Totem (our name for it) as the birds do like to fly to the various trunks and perch there or queue before going on to the feeder. The palm also offers some shelter and protection from both the weather conditions and the predatory Sparrow Hawk.  We have Bamboo growing in our garden and in the hot weather I’ve been known to cut branches down and use those as a natural parasol too. 

A lot of our birds are so used to us now that they don’t mind our presence and are happy to come and feed while we’re around outside. Some, like the Pheasants will more or less come and ask for more supplies, indeed when we had some resident Mallards, they’d peck at the door in the mornings. The Blue Tits will flock around my Crow as he fills up the feeders. We imagine the cry going out ‘The Man’s heeeeeeeere’

Female Common Pheasant above and Male below. The record number we’ve had in the garden at one time was the Season we got up to 22 - cost a fortune in corn

Anything for Me Please?

We’ve also been very lucky that when we had Dennis and now M Flambeau visiting, they are so well fed that they didn’t bother the birds at all. Actually Dennis used to watch the wildlife like he had his own TV channel for viewing pleasure. Here he is with his own personal Christmas tree. The little birds used to come and perch in it while he sat underneath.

When he first came to live with us he would occasionally give chase to a Butler (Squirrells) or two, but he soon tired of that and saved his energies.

Attracting Birds to your Garden

Just think when the breeding season is highly active, during Springtime, your garden feeders offer a handy and easy source of food for busy parents and their hungry nestlings. 

Hungry young Great Tit

In bad weather and harsh winters when natural food is scarce, feeders can be a life saver and please don’t forget to keep fresh water available at all times too.

The important things to remember are good hygiene for your birds’ safety and well being and that if you are going to feed, do it regularly as you don’t want birds wasting their energy seeking out a food source that isn’t available that day.

Much the same as humans have different tastes and diets which are based both on natural preferences and on learned or informed decisions, our animal and bird life is subject to the same. I’ve noticed how some birds learn new tastes and routines to go against type and some stick rigidly to their type. Insect eaters such as Swallows for example haven’t ventured into our feeding areas despite once nesting in our front porch in the Robin box.  Robins and the bigger birds like Magpie, Jackdaw and Rooks have found it very tricky to use the hanging feeders, but have persevered and triumphed, adapting their skills and mastering them to reach a food they enjoy. Others will happily scavenge for the bits that fall below.

‘Joe’ Rook and his balancing act. Source of the Joe nickname is Here

Starlings taking advantage of the berries on the palm

Top Ten plants birds will appreciate in your garden.

Birds of all sizes can be found sharing and feeding with impeccable manners, while others like Starlings descend like a veritable plague and are noisy and ill tempered with it. It all forms part of the experience of bird watching.

(mostly) Young Starlings and Great Spotted Woodpeckers make short work of three fat balls

Our gardens are an endless source of food for Green Woodpeckers, who unlike the Great Spotted ones, feed off Ants. We just need thousands more Woodies to keep up the sterling work.

Also insect eaters, Wagtails will come only to drink, although we did have one particularly comical Pied Wagtail who we nicknamed The Inspector because he liked to patrol the ground trays and see off other birds even though he didn’t partake for himself. I believe the expression for that is Dog in the Manger

Generic internet illustration

What's the origin of the phrase 'Dog in the manger'?

The infamous 'dog in a manger', who occupied the manger not because he wanted to eat the hay there but to prevent the other animals from doing so, is generally said to have been the invention of the Greek storyteller Aesop (circa 600 BC).

We happily ascribe this expression to Aesop, disregarding the lack of evidence that he even existed.

Many of the fables that have been credited to Aesop do in fact date from well before the 5th century BC and modern scholarship doesn't give much credence to the idea that Aesop's Fables, as we now know them, were written by him at all. Accounts of Aesop's life are vague and date from long after his death and some scholars doubt that there ever was a real Aesop. If he existed at all, it was as an editor of earlier Greek and Sumerian stories rather than as the writer of them.

Nothing written by Aesop now exists in any form. Nevertheless, you can go into any bookshop and buy a copy of 'Aesop's Fables'

I never actually thought of the expression as one of the Fables. The one that always springs to my mind is that of The Tortoise and the Hare, or the Hare and the Tortoise as it appears on the link above.

The carved staircase at Thornton Hall Hotel, Wirral - with scenes from Aesop’s Fables (est c1892) We used to go often for Sunday lunch when the girls were small

Once young broods are successfully raised you might notice feeders fall out of favour for a while. The wild foods like seeds and fruits in hedgerows and spilled grains from the harvest, mean birds can assert their independence and do their natural thing. They tend to return when they need to. Long Tailed Tits are a classic example of this behaviour taking long breaks in the woods and being missed very much by us. It’s great when they return.

Birds often disappear and go ‘into hiding’ after breeding when they moult and need time to recuperate, get their strength back and replace their flight feathers, Poor worn-out things.

Feeding birds can also have a side benefit - since the G S Woodpeckers became so very fond of the fat balls, we’ve noticed attacks on the bird boxes have ceased (fingers crossed) and everyone’s happily well fed.

To be continued.

Male Woodpecker using a crack in the palm to hold steady a piece broken from a fat ball

And do remember, as I said, in both hot weather and cold, please leave fresh, clean water for the birds to drink and to bathe. You don’t need a dedicated bird bath, they’re not fussy and really do appreciate a water source.

Little and Large, or should I say very large and little. Sparrowhawk above on the bird bath and Goldfinch below.

Decorations from the Standen Courtyard Christmas Trees

Two handmade heart decorations today. I thought we could do with seeing something nice and bright and different. These two are particularly beautiful and well crafted.

December 22nd Advent Door. The ever popular Blue Tit

The Nature Watch Nativity

The Shepherds were frightened at the sight of a brilliant light in the sky, but an Angel appeared and told them they should not be afraid as there was wonderful news to share. The lowly Shepherds were the first to be told of the birth of the baby Jesus.

Christmas Hymn of Choice today from King’s College Choir, Cambridge

‘Angels from the Realms of Glory’

#caring for garden birds feeding birds Advent decorations Christmas #Nativity Goldfinch Sparrowhawk Woodpeckers #Squirrels nature photography

[paulbenedictblog]

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Bbc news ¿Deberían los Oscar romper el libro de reglas de la ceremonia?

Bbc news

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Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption The 2007 arena used to be on the total glitzy, but the Oscars would now not attract as many viewers because it feeble to

The Oscars are looming, and for movie fans clutching a bottomless popcorn bucket, which method any other TV marathon.

Closing one year's ceremony used to be a whoppingthree hours and 23 minutesand used to be watched by 29.6 million of us within the US - a 12% boost from 2018's viewing figures.

Alternatively it used to be aloof the2d-smallest target market recordedfor an Academy Awards broadcast - segment ofa stylish fall in award ceremonies scoresas extra of us gain to spy the highlights online quite than take a seat by the total thing.

In distinction, whenExtensive swept the boardon the Oscars aid in 1998,the ceremony used to be watched by a file 57 million viewers.

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption James Cameron declared himself "king of the arena" when his movie Extensive won 11 Oscars

Matthew Belloni, the Hollywood Reporter's editorial director, thinks the ceremony desires a new method.

"I own the Oscars telecast shall be improved if there used to be outlandish movie allege that viewers needed to tune in to stumble on," he tells BBC News.

"To illustrate, the Hollywood studios may perchance also all conform to air an outlandish trailer nobody has viewed for the duration of the telecast. Who wouldn't want to stumble on for a well-known stumble on at Top Gun 2 or Swiftly & Wrathful 9?"

Belloni went extra on the Media Masters podcast in 2018, pronouncing: "The proven truth that the Oscars are so stupid is a gigantic failure on the Academy's segment.

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Julia Roberts and Russell Crowe won performing Oscars for Erin Brockovich and Gladiator in 2001

"First of all there are 24 categories, most of which the everyday particular person would now not care about. And they also're presented with the real same fanfare and real same time distributed to each and every without a doubt one of them.

"It's after middle of the evening on the [US] east flee by the point they acquire to most attention-grabbing image, and they're working by it to acquire it done because they're already gradual. It's crazy."

He also thinks the Academy "has been nominating movies that fewer of us are seeing" in fresh years.

"You develop now not survey as most of the Extensive or Gladiator-model motion photos that gain most attention-grabbing image any longer. It's smaller movies, movies with niche audiences."

That method, he says, that "there may be less of an incentive for viewers to tune in, because they develop now not undoubtedly feel delight in they've a horse within the dawdle".

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Editor Thelma Schoonmaker thinks the ceremony "may perchance also very well be shorter"

Three-time Oscar winner Thelma Schoonmaker,whose working existence is spent deciding suggestions to most attention-grabbing point to movie footage, also had some suggestions for the ceremony.

"Frankly I develop now not stumble on it unless without a doubt one of our of us is nominated," she suggested BBC News.

Nonetheless the outmoded editor suggests "it is miles going to also very well be shorter potentially [with] shorter speeches".

"There's so many thank yous that all people does - to their agent, their this, their that. That, I own, is now not as significant to a selection of the target market because it is clearly to the of us they're thanking.

"Seemingly the speeches may perchance also very well be extra relating to the work - , the art of it."

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Oscar winner Mark Bridges won a jet ski for the brevity of his speech in 2018

In 2018, host Jimmy Kimmel used to be so animated to lop down the speeches he gave a jet ski to the winner who spoke for the least duration of time.

"I undoubtedly own a stopwatch," he suggested that one year's nominees. "Why crash treasured time thanking your mom whereas that you just may perchance also very well be taking her for the roam of her existence on a new jet ski?"

Phantom Thread costume style designer Mark Bridges ended up with the $18,000 (£13,800) automobile,which he donated to charity.

Bbc news 'Unending list of thanking'

Schoonmaker, who is up for an Oscar this one year for The Irishman, famend that when she attended the novelAmerican Cinema Editors awards, the speeches were high notch.

"I was very impressed. They were very transferring speeches. There used to be rarely any of the endless, endless list of thanking. The speeches were quick and it used to be a extremely true ceremony."

Seemingly movie editors own a thing or two to educate the leisure of the movie alternate by talking succinctly.

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Jimmy Kimmel wanted to set aside the 2018 ceremony quick

Yet one more advice got here fromThe Enormous Narrate podcast, which suggested the Academy must depend appropriate down to the successful movie by undoubtedly revealing the votes each and every most attention-grabbing movie nominee bought.

Hosts Sean Fennessy and Amanda Dobbins, who'd viewed the premise on Twitter, talked about this may acquire the ceremony "phenomenal extra fun", alongside with that a ranking desires to be published "each and every 15 or 20 minutes until you acquire to the closing movie - that you just may perchance also own the elimination chamber of Oscars".

Obviously, the Oscars are now not the appropriate TV point to facing declining audiences. Venerable TV as a total is struggling to prevail in younger viewers.

"The most up to date shows on TV networks - which convey the supreme advert costs - are attracting older viewers, which is a challenge for brands that want to prevail in millennials and youngsters,"talked about the Contemporary York Cases in 2018.

"As TV advert spending has begun to fall, marketers had been diverting extra cash to tech giants delight in Google and Fb."

So what's also done to stem the exodus of award point to viewers?

This one year's Brit Awards areslimming down the variety of winners from 12 to 9, when put next with the Oscars' 24 categories.

The Brits are also promising "extra tune", with artists given fleshy artistic administration of their performances.

Image caption Celeste, the BBC's Sound Of 2020, is performing on the Brits as their Rising Star winner

The Baftas already edit their movie awards ceremony appropriate down to a two-hour BBC broadcast.

Even with novel host Graham Norton, this one year's match attracted a median of three.03m viewers, down from 2019's 3.5m - which in flip used to be500,000 fewer than 2018.

Oscar watchers may perchance also clutch that organisers tried to replace the ceremony final one year.

They wanted to embody ain model movies category, ownfewer songs completedand to give awards alongside with cinematography and editing for the duration of advert breaks.

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Spike Lee criticised a proposal at hand out Oscars for the duration of advert breaks

Nonetheless afterobjections from heavyweights alongside with Spike Lee and Martin Scorsese, the advert spoil dedicationused to be reversed.

The total layout remained the an identical - minus a number, afterKevin Hart resignedamid controversy over feeble homophobic tweets.

No question the Academy hopesone more hostless ceremonymay perchance also set aside or boost viewing figures - especially after Ricky Gervais'scaustic web hosting of final month's Golden Globessaw viewership fall 2% from 2019.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Ricky Gervais returned to host this one year's Golden Globes

So used to be dilapidated host Johnny Carson truewhen he famously called the Oscars"two hours of gleaming entertainment, unfolded over a four-hour point to"?

BBC News asked a team of students from theLos Angeles Film Collegewhat they belief.

As attainable academy voters, and even perchance future winners, they were in a say to give a youthful point of view - and their views were decidedly blended.

Whereas most of them loved the ceremony, they felt it used to be "too long", "hasn't modified in years" and "would now not captivate younger audiences".

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Attendees on the Governors Ball can abilities a chocolate Oscar after the ceremony

None of them talked about it desires to be hostless.

The ditching of the in model movie category spoil up idea. Some talked about it may most likely perchance simply reward "the movie that made the most cash" and used to be "ineffective" because "the awards desires to be about quality".

Nonetheless others loved the premise, feeling it "may perchance also attract the consideration of younger viewers" who are currently being courted by many aspects of the media.

Spell binding winners' speeches, similar to Olivia Colman's final one year, acquire for memorable moments, and some students love it when movie-makers focus on their work or politics.

"Motion photos are supposed to switch of us, and the of us making them own mighty voices and must focus on for what they own," talked about one.

Nonetheless others own "overlong thank you's are the worst", with one student declaring: "I develop now not care about Hollywood's idea on politics."

There also used to be no consensus about consigning categories delight in editing to the advert breaks. One student argued these awards represented "the put the staunch skill is", but one more answered: "It desires to be reported afterwards."

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Bradley Cooper and Girl Gaga's Oscars duet went viral final one year

Very top tune performances were a gargantuan hit with the scholars. After all, who may perchance also neglectfinal one year's steamy efficiency of Shallowby Girl Gaga and Bradley Cooper?

One remarked they "loved" the songs as "they acquire the point to undoubtedly feel extra stylish", whereas one more advocated lowering all of them to a "medley".

BBC News has also contacted Oscars organisers to stumble on within the event that they've any longer plans for the ceremony.

In response to Matt Wolf from the Worldwide Contemporary York Cases, Oscars organisers will "incur outrage nearly it be now not linked what they attain with the ceremony".

Bbc news 'Winners are guessable'

"Even though five novel preconditions were met, five extra would emerge," talked about Wolf, who describes himself as a "self-confessed Oscars nerd".

He also thinks the organisers must televise your total categories, but talked about of the technical nominees: "Mr and Mrs Center The United States don't own any belief what they attain."

He complained that "all four performing winners are guessable this one year in come, which takes the suspense out of it.

"It's now not the Oscars' fault, but Renée Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern seem dreary certs so the awards seem a bore."

Image copyright Getty Photography

Image caption Security is continually tight inside of the Dolby Theatre

Yet Wolf is sympathetic to the ceremony's organisers.

"The Oscars own develop into a extremely pliable punching acquire; of us can exercise it to vent their frustrations from all quarters. If they attain A of us want B; within the event that they attain Q of us want Z."

The Oscars, he goes on, want to own all aspects of the ceremony. "You'll want to own the garish costume on the red carpet as phenomenal as you'll need any individual gorgeous and stellar. We would like the kit, warts and all.

"People like to whinge relating to the Oscars, it be invent of a cultural sport, but the imperfections are what acquire them so beautiful."

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[mayramoss-blog1]

'I'm surprised that football fanzines have survived'

Image copyright Paul Gilham

The purchase of a fanzine remains part of the match-day routine for many football fans, who value an independent, sideways and often light-hearted take on the state of their beloved clubs. The BBC has asked the editors of five publications that are still in print - despite the competition from online offerings - to choose their favourite covers.

"In some ways I'm surprised that fanzines have survived," says Malcolm Clarke, chair of the Football Supporters Federation.

"You might have thought with the rise of social media and the internet they would have vanished years ago, but they haven't.

"I think it is partly due to in some cases a sense of great loyalty... but also because some have very high-quality writing."

The Gooner - Arsenal

Image copyright The Gooner

Mike Francis admits that he was pretty much goaded into forming The Gooner, one of the country's oldest fanzines.

During a trip to a bookshop on Charing Cross Road, he picked up a Chelsea fanzine for his then boss, a Blues supporter, and was given the reply: "That just proves we are a bigger club."

London rivalry also features in one of Mr Francis' favourite covers.

"Around the time that that cover came out we were on a run where we were beating Spurs every time we played them," he remembers.

"Clearly, as Arsenal fans that was a high point of the season.

"We'd probably beaten them five or six times and that was how that cover came about because we were asking: 'How are Spurs ever going to win a derby?'

"We then thought of the most famous Derby winner, Shergar, and that was how the two came together."

Despite its popularity, Mr Francis admits he still "cringes" at his "amateurish" drawing of a horse in a Tottenham shirt.

Image copyright The Gooner

The fanzine has become more polished in its appearance over the years.

The idea for the cover of Issue 235, which featured manager Arsene Wenger in style of a Roy Lichtenstein portrait, came about during a trip on the London Underground.

"I think I just saw an advert on the Tube for a Roy Lichtenstein exhibition and I just thought that it would make a great style for a cover.

"Darren was always keen to try new things so I suggested it to him and that is what he came up with."

At the height of its popularity, Mr Francis estimates they were selling 7,500 copies of each issue, but that figure has dwindled to about 2,000.

The Gooner will cease publication at the end of this season.

The Square Ball - Leeds United

Image copyright The Square Ball

"Some of the best fanzines have some of the worst owners," says one of The Square Ball's co-editors, Paul O'Dowd.

First published in 1989, the fanzine has covered league titles and Champions League football, but also the lows of administration and relegation to English football's third tier.

Mr O'Dowd, who runs the fanzine with three others, says one of his favourite issues they have produced is the "Kenopoly" edition.

Produced during the 2009-10 season, it was what Mr O'Dowd describes as a "sarcastic and satirical" look at the way then Leeds owner Ken Bates ran the club.

"We were working on it for a couple of months... it just seemed to sum up Ken Bates," he says.

"He would use everybody else's money for whatever business he was doing.

"It was just our way of being sarcastic and having a go at Ken Bates in a very artistic way."

Image copyright The Square Ball

Mr O'Dowd says another of his favourite covers was the "Hoof" edition from 2012-13, mocking the "horrible" style of football played during Neil Warnock's tenure.

He says that when the editorial team saw the photo of Michael Brown, it perfectly encapsulated the topic that they wanted to cover.

The headline, written in the style of an Oxford English Dictionary entry, helped to get their simple message across, Mr O'Dowd says.

He explains: "It was to the point, very matter of fact.

"It just summed up the football at the time that was just horrible, and we were paying top dollar to watch it which was the annoying thing."

United We Stand - Manchester United

Image copyright United We Stand

United We Stand has been following the fortunes of Manchester United since the fanzine was a created by a 15-year-old Andy Mitten in 1989.

He says its focus on original content has kept it popular through 275 editions.

One of the publication's early editions gained notoriety, when it wrongly called the outcome of the 1991-92 First Division title race, the last campaign before the introduction the following season of the Premier League.

United We Stand's headline read: "Champions at Last," a nod to the fact that they had not been champions for 25 years.

But the Red Devils then lost three games in a row to hand the title to arch-rivals Leeds.

Image copyright Getty Images

"I'd had 4,000 copies printed and I was stood outside Old Trafford making an absolute fool out of myself," Mr Mitten remembers.

"I was getting loads of abuse because of it, and quite rightly so."

Perhaps luckily for Mr Mitten, a recent house move means he can no longer locate that particular cover, but its notoriety endures.

He is more fond of the June 2017 edition, a tribute to Wayne Rooney before the club's record goal-scorer left to rejoin Everton.

"At the time, most United fans online saw him as persona non grata," he says.

" was our way of saying... he has clearly dipped as a player but he has been a fantastic player here.

"We've put him all of these different shirts because Manchester United change their shirt every five minutes, because they are a commercial beast like every football club.

"But there was nothing commercial about that goal - it was just pure beauty."

Blowing Bubbles Monthly - West Ham United

Image copyright David Blakemore

Blowing Bubbles Monthly is the brainchild of David Blakemore and has been entertaining West Ham fans since 2012.

The fanzine was initially going to be online only, but a test print run proved so popular it is now produced monthly.

Its editor, David Blakemore, says their September 2016 edition (pictured above) is one of his favourites.

"In a season full of highs and lows... it just captured one of the brighter moments, that first goal at the London Stadium," he says.

"We also had an interview with David Gold in there which set the tone for the rest of the season.

"We just felt page after page it was one of our stronger issues."

Image copyright David Blakemore

The September 2017 issue is one Mr Blakemore says feels significant because they "stuck their neck out" and questioned then manager Slaven Bilic's position.

He says the decision was not taken lightly.

"I think most knew that Bilic was on the brink at that time," Mr Blakemore adds.

"That vocal minority who were calling for his head had gathered momentum and by September it was starting to go full power."

Given that the Croatian would be sacked just a few weeks later, it appears Blowing Bubbles, picked their moment perfectly.

Bandy & Shinty - Nottingham Forest

Image copyright Bandy & Shinty

The team in charge of the unusually named Bandy & Shinty, a relatively new Nottingham Forest fanzine, freely admit they are not "traditional fanzine sellers".

Born out of a meeting at a pub to celebrate the club's 150th anniversary, the four-man team behind the publication tend to send out their fanzine via post.

The appeal? The chance to still enjoy match-days with family.

The fanzine's name is a nod to the two hockey clubs that met to form Nottingham Forest in 1865.

History also is an important part of each issue's cover.

"The Brian Clough one (pictured) was extremely popular," says Sean Hockett, one of the team behind Bandy & Shinty.

"I like the fact that a fair number of Forest fans will just be able to identify that image.

"It is based on a photograph when he is sort of laissez-faire.

"He has got his thumb to his nose and he is almost irreverent about the fact he is having his photograph taken.

"It just encapsulates Brian Clough as a character."

Image copyright Bandy & Shinty

Mr Hockett says issue six is also a personal favourite, because it features their most detailed piece of cover art.

"It has taken us out of that zone of just using a silhouetted image," he adds.

"I like the fact you have got the image of John Robertson in the middle of the passport instead of the Queen.

"As a piece of art I just think it's lovely."

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Nemanja Matic is trusted by Jose Mourinho and can be what Paul Pogba and Manchester United need

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Nemanja Matic is trusted by Jose Mourinho and can be what Paul Pogba and Manchester United need

With Nemanja Matic reportedly on his way to Outdated Trafford, the FC crew discussion Manchester United’s title probabilities.

Alejandro Moreno states Nemanja Matic updates Gentleman United’s midfield and permits Paul Pogba to play a more attacking function.

Even immediately after Manchester United included Nemanja Matic, Jon Champion is not confident they have more than enough to earn the Leading League.

Jose Mourinho reveals Nemanja Matic would like to indicator for the club immediately after a photo emerged of him wearing a Gentleman United teaching kit.

Ahead of his transfer from Chelsea to Manchester United, Nemanja Matic invested the weekend in a Manchester resort that his new club would desire not to be the centre of consideration just about every time their gamers remain there.

In the meantime, a photograph of him in a United shirt went viral on social media it experienced been taken at United’s Carrington teaching floor but its release was unlucky supplied that, at the time, his signing experienced however to be introduced. Later on on Sunday, Jose Mourinho talked optimistically, but far from absolutely, about Matic signing. The news was at last confirmed on Monday.

Mourinho enjoys an great relationship with the Serbian midfielder. He trusts him and, with club captain Michael Carrick getting just turned 36 and not likely to be ready to play fifty-moreover game titles in the coming period, United’s need for a central midfielder was obvious.

Matic cost £40 million, a rate that tends to make him the sixth-most transfer between English golf equipment — 6 of the prime 7 have involved Manchester golf equipment — and while his arrival may not excite admirers like the signing of a goalscorer this sort of as Romelu Lukaku, his arrival will assist free of charge up assault-minded gamers, specially Paul Pogba.

“In some game titles, Paul Pogba has been in the incorrect position and it has stifled his qualities which United bought him for,” former United ahead Brian McClair told ESPN FC. “At Juventus, he performed in a three on the remaining-hand aspect, which allowed him a ton of liberty to get ahead. He also experienced Patrice Evra taking part in as a remaining wing-back and he experienced fantastic energy likely up and down the remaining-hand aspect. That allowed Pogba an exterior ball because Patrice would overlap it also allowed him to move proper and have a shot. He has a challenging, exact shot.

“So United need another person who sits there at the rear of Pogba, who performed his most effective soccer when Michael Carrick also performed previous period,” McClair ongoing. “Carrick appears to move the ball ahead and that permits Pogba to play bigger up the pitch. Michael is coming to the conclude of a wonderful profession, so United need another person who can do one thing comparable but who will be more mobile in the coming many years. In the short phrase, I could see that another person like Matic would healthy in and that’s why Mourinho is interested. He’ll give you 7 or eight out of 10 just about every activity. Worst scenario state of affairs, he’ll give you a 6. He’s consistent.”

Matic, who’ll hope to do superior than other recent midfield signings this sort of as Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger did at Outdated Trafford, turns 29 on Tuesday.

“Ideally at Manchester United, you want the club to be signing more youthful gamers who will build into a [Nemanja] Vidic or a [Gary] Neville or a [Cristiano] Ronaldo, but it is really not often probable to bring that player in. It is really not probable at the second.”

Opponents previous period, Paul Pogba, remaining, and Nemanja Matic, proper, are now Manchester United teammates.

McClair, who scored 127 objectives in 472 game titles throughout an 11-12 months United profession, was the club’s head of academy when Pogba to start with joined as a sixteen 12 months aged.

“Men and women search at Paul’s physique and compare him to Patrick Vieira,” states McClair. “Like Paul, Patrick was a incredibly skilful and athletic midfield player, but he was more defensive minded, even though he could play ahead when he bought the ball. Pogba’s attributes are all about attacking he is more like Lionel Messi than Vieira. Pogba can discover a move, defeat a player and has fantastic expertise. He can rating objectives. For him to have the most effective opportunity of results at Outdated Trafford, Paul Pogba requirements to be taking part in in the final 3rd of the pitch as considerably as probable, whether or not that’s him on the ball, running into positions or shooting.”

Pogba also requirements to discover his selection and rating more objectives but, as McClair observed, Ronaldo’s early times at Outdated Trafford saw him under no circumstances fearful to have a go at shooting or beating a person, but failing more usually that he succeeded.

“There is this sort of a thing as striving much too challenging,” states McClair. “Pogba will have external and interior tension with regard to the transfer rate and the actuality that he’d been at United before and then accomplished so perfectly at Juventus. But it is really less difficult to go to Juventus as a younger player who cost almost nothing and just play. The price tag tag signifies that he is now subject matter to a large sum of evaluation in the television media, the prepared and audio media much too. Possibly Pogba has tried using much too challenging to you should and meet the anticipations, but possibly it will also be less difficult for him in his next period back at Outdated Trafford.”

Pogba has turn out to be arguably the most crucial determine in the United dressing place immediately after the departures of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It was Pogba who took the captain’s armband when Michael Carrick went off in Oslo on Sunday, relatively than Ander Herrera as may have been expected.

“Zlatan and Wayne leaving could really assist Pogba,” states McClair. “They were being a large influence and possibly he’ll action into the void remaining by them. Pogba is a self-assured, with out staying arrogant, lad.”

As for the tension he is beneath, it is really not like Pogba hasn’t been subjected to intense scrutiny before.

“He was castigated in the 2016 European championship because he arrived into the French team with incredibly high anticipations and he did not have a fantastic tournament,” states McClair. “That can come about. Contrary to previous period, he is experienced the summertime off and accomplished a full preseason. There have been a good deal of large transfers, much too, and while the scrutiny will nevertheless be there, other gamers will also deal with it. I am definitely on the lookout ahead to seeing Paul Pogba this period.”

He’s not the only a person.

Andy Mitten is a freelance writer and the founder and editor of United We Stand. Abide by him on Twitter: @AndyMitten.

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