In this the FA Cup fourth round weekend, this column from the current New Statesman writer Jon Bernstein looks into the parlous state of cup football competitions.
“So reviled and diminished have most football cup competitions become UEFA (Europe’s football governing body) should launch a knockout competition to discover which is the least loved”.
The guys over at the FA have gone against their better judgment by awarding a new two-years rights deal with broadcaster ITV for the FA Cup and England internationals.
The deal, which cost £90million over the period, will see ITV screen 16 live FA Cup games per season and England’s home World Cup qualifiers. They will also screen the domestic football season’s annual curtain-raiser, the Community Shield as well as six matches from the FA Youth Cup.
This deal represents a further smack in the teeth for armchair football fans. ITV‘s recent football coverage has been hit a series of poor presentation problems and high-profile cock-ups. The sooner the BBC and Sky jointly take back the rights when they next come round to bid, the better it will be for the fans.
Guardian columnist Charlie Brooker writes in his regular Monday column today about the state of British film making…. and gives unqualified advice to the government about how to support it.
He rightly argues the usual points about the problems about producing films in this country and getting them seen:
“….The problem with British films isn’t a failure of ambition- it’s a challenge of getting the damn things seen in a world filled with chain multiplexes with monolithic distributors…”
A new biopic on the life so far of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, The Iron Lady, was released in the UK today.
Meryl Streep steps into the role of playing one of the most well-known, and indeed controversial figures of world politics. More than twenty years after she left office, her influence in the way Britain is governed remains unaltered to this day.
The issue I and many people have with biopics is that they should have waited until Thatcher had died before making the film, as it would have made it far more interesting. At present, filmgoers will have to see it in its current form. To be honest, I’ve been more unhappy with the relentless publicity on this over the last few months, particularly over Streep’s portrayal of Thatcher.
To all those who are criticising the film, including of course, current PM David Cameron, I say, “Shut the hell up….and get a life!”
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple computers, will be remembered for the company’s most successful and iconic inventions. Sadly, now gone. The world at this time needs visionary people like him more than ever.
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