First published by Ace Magazine online. June 2014.
If the world of football, and its many critics, were shocked by events in the match involving Uruguay and Italy in the afternoon then surely there would have been many a smile on the same faces a few minutes before the end of the near one sided game involving arguably the best team from South America so far in this tournament and the men from Japan.
First published online by Ace Magazine online June 2014.
For a few brief minutes there was real hope in every Mexican heart that they would go and get at least a couple of more goals against Croatia and equal amount of dread that Brazil would somehow slice open the Cameroon defense simply at will in equal response. Such were the margins for error that the Gods of expectancy and the false idols of the disappointed held Damocles’ Sword of all four of the squads in this particular group.
Forst published by Ace Magazine online June 2014.
The atmosphere for most of the games so far at this World Cup has been as electric as witnessing as a supernova explode with fury or finding yourself at the most sought after party in history where every drink was free and yet nobody got the slight bit inebriated and the conversation flowed like millions of tonnes of water over Niagara Falls. Yet somehow that same supernova was somehow lacking as you watched knowing that as you safely hid behind enough material to keep you safe from the harm, the explosion that would leave countless worlds destroyed was inaudible because your earphones had decided to pack up just before the mass of fury cascaded throughout space.
First published by Ace Magazine, June 2014.
There are moments in which a single image can transcend any sport, any encounter and make it almost meaningless but also be seen as the pinnacle of humanity’s endeavour to push ourselves harder and better each time we wake up in the morning. The very human emotion of shedding a tear in front of a watching world, perhaps even letting the floodgates open and letting grief take its natural place in the world, not to let it bottle up inside as you would expect a robot to do. This enduring image was captured by television cameras inside the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha as Ivory Coast midfielder Serey Die showed the world exactly how much a person he was during the national anthems before this open ended, superbly evenly matched game between the Ivory Coast and Columbia.
First puiblished by Ace Magazine on line. June 2014.
In the end it came down to two moments in which Luis Suárez, the talisman of Liverpool, shined brighter than anything else on the field. Two moments in which genuine class showed and in which he joined the likes of Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Pele as reasons to admire him as a footballer, even if some of more personal habits leave a sour taste in the mouth.
Originally published by Ace Magazine, Liverpool online June 2014.
Every World Cup needs a villain, in the same way that hundreds of Pantomimes up and down the country require a Captain Hook, a wicked witch or rampaging giant or a Government finds it essential to for its people to fear another country somewhere in the world, so the football World Cup necessitates that a player must be the man that the negativity surrounds itself around. From Antonio Ubaldo Rattín in 1966, Harold Shumaker and his rather disgraceful pole axing attempt on Patrick Battiston, Diego Maradona and the scandal that surrounded 1994 and for England fans his flagrant handball in Mexico in 1986, Zinedine Zidane and his over the top reaction and even England’s own David Beckham in 1998 against Argentina, the fan always loves a villain.
The Everyman has been announced as a winner in the 2014 Royal Institute of British Architects Awards (RIBA) National Award, the most rigorously-judged awards for architectural excellence. The winners go forward for consideration for the Stirling Award shortlist, which will be announced on 17th July.
Since it opened in March, the Everyman has already won the RIBA North West Building of the Year at the regional round in April. RIBA states that the National Award winning buildings ‘set the standard for good architecture; these are projects that go beyond the brief and exceed the client’s expectation’.
Get ready for 2 hours of premium rock ‘n’ roll, super opinionated banter, superb guests and live music every Friday night 10pm to midnight on The Ian McNabb Show.
“I am a lover of radio and always listen to a few hours of it every week in the hope that I will hear something I’ve never heard before and learn something new. Being given this opportunity to have my own show on Wirral Radio is a real thrill for me, especially as I have no brief from anyone about what type of music I can play. I have a free hand and it will basically be a night round at mine for a party. I can’t wait! I will also feature a guest every week and we will have acoustic music live. I will play some of my own stuff too of course” says Ian McNabb.
First published by Ace Magazine online, June 2014
Columbia taking on Greece was never going to be the highlight of the 2014 World Cup; however for the 50,000 plus fans inside the Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte the game was surely riveting, colourful and for the first four minutes at least could have gone either way. It was a game in which vindication of 32 teams in the competition presented itself, perhaps for the first time since 1990.
First published by Ace Magazine, June 2014.
Until the legendary Didier Drogba came off the bench, The Ivory Coast never truly looked like breaking sweat, let alone scoring. Yet something changed in the space of two minutes, something astonishing happened, The Ivory Coast suddenly turned on the heat, the drums in the stands, so long a sound to terrify even the most seasoned of explorers to the dark-continent, became louder, deafening and thunderous and matched the intensity in which Cheick Tioté, Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré had wanted their team to play.