Peter's Blog

Uni of Leicester graduate, ex-erasmus at Strasbourg. All views are mostly, all but, sometimes, definitely mine. Follow me on Twitter: @peterg1992

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So Lower Than Atlantis were pretty rad last night. Mike Duce played a song in the crowd and everything.

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Premier League Week Fifteen: Top/Bottom Four Review

So, after a quick break and a dismal weekend of Premier League Football, it's time for a change-up in my blogging!

THE TOP FOUR

Chelsea

It's no surprise that Chelsea find themselves top of the league. Aside from their last two games, Chelsea and Jose Mourinho have been dominant. Diego Costa has been one of the buys of the current season, and each member of this new-look team are a perfect fit. I see the defeat at Newcastle, and the draw with Sunderland, as minor setbacks on the road to a real title challenge.

Man City

The Champions League victory at home to Bayern Munich has changed City's season. The team lacked consistency, and the 'buzz' they missed from David Silva. A couple of good results later and Pellegrini's side have turned the title race into a genuine battle once more. It remains to be seen whether the absence of Kompany, Silva, and particularly Sergio Aguero will be decisive on their future success.

Man United

In all honesty, I am baffled by the sight of Van Gaal's side in the top three. I can count on one hand the number of times that I've been genuinely impressed with a Man United performance, and yet here they are. Five wins in a row suggests that some sort of form is returning to Old Trafford, and with De Gea in net this United side could stick around in the top four.

West Ham

I am remarkably impressed with West Ham this season, and their last two outings perfectly highlight why. Twice behind, and yet twice victors. They've grown into a side that plays decent football, AND has a dogged determination to compete throughout the ninety minutes. I'm not convinced they'll stay in the top four all season, but at full strength this West Ham side could make Europe.

BOTTOM FOUR

QPR

Harry Redknapp's team had a rotten start to this season. It was a side that looked out of place in a highly competitive league, and a side that essentially could not keep clean sheets. Despite losing to Liverpool, that game was a turn-around for QPR. They've shown a bit more guile and motivation, and now I believe that they should stay up.

Hull City

Their slip into the relegation zone has gone almost unnoticed. Steve Bruce's side are not ones to regularly disappoint, or mesmerise us with spectacular football. But that's how we've missed their awful run of games. They are definitely a side that are struggling to win, but I cannot see their time in the relegation zone lasting long.

Burnley

The last few games for Burnley have been a dramatic improvement. Some good wins, and more importantly some good points, have revived hopes of a survival in the top league. Their terrible start to the season keeps them near the bottom, but teams have been worse off and survived!

Leicester

I am surprised to see Leicester here, bottom of the table, after the start they had to this season. The early optimism seems to have evaporated at the King Power, and so has the discipline. Two red cards in two games is a disaster and should not happen to a Premier League club. The visit of Man City to the Midlands this weekend could not come at a worse time for Nigel Pearson's team.

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The Best and Worst of the Premier League, Week Twelve

The Best Performances of the Weekend

Crystal Palace This weekend, Crystal Palace proved that last season's draw with Liverpool was not a fluke. By going one better and beating the Merseysiders, Palace rubbed in their value as a 'bogey team' for Brendan Rogers. Bolassie, and Gayle, had a great game.

Burnley Just like buses, victories are coming all at once now for the Northern side. Stoke knocked on the door constantly, but the Burnley defence held well. With Danny Ings, Burnley may have finally found a consistent goal-scorer.

Chelsea To call their 2-0 victory over West Brom a walk in the park is almost an understatement. Although Hazard put Chelsea two-up early on, the pressure continued throughout the game. This was a lesson to all of the Premier League.

Newcastle Where on earth is that team that was bottom of the league just a few weeks ago?! With Sissoko on absolute fire, and Ryan Taylor looking good again (whilst he was on the pitch...such a shame to see him leave), Newcastle are onto something at last. Pardew now must keep this team together during the January transfer window.

Man United This was very much so like a Man United performance of old. They were definitely not at their best, and without De Gea they could have easily been a couple of goals down at the break, but they walked away with the three points. It was a clever away performance.

The Worst Performances of the Weekend

Arsenal How can one team dominate a game, against a supposed big rival, and not win it? Wenger's 'caution to the wind' tactic once his side were one goal down basically cost his team Rooney's second, and definitely should have cost him a Di Maria third.

Southampton This was a good opportunity to build some momentum, and face Man City on Saturday on the back of three points. Villa are a sitting duck at the moment, and the Saints should have taken their shot. They had plenty of possession, but it ultimately came to very little.

Liverpool Brendan Rogers must hate going to Selhurst Park. It's a third straight loss in the league for Liverpool and now thoughts must be turning to the January transfer window. The big question...do they buy a striker?

Tottenham It appears that Spurs can only win if the opposition get a man sent off. Before Ramirez saw red, for a frankly daft challenge, Spurs were going nowhere fast at the KC Stadium. They walk away from Hull with three points, but they should count themselves lucky.

West Brom Their fixture this weekend was a prime example of self-capitulation. The corner from which Chelsea scored their second goal was marred by some terrible marking, and Yakob's red card was just plain stupid. West Brom's terrible start at Stamford Bridge ensured that the game was lost before it had even begun.

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This is certainly a good thing.

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The Best and Worst of the Premier League, Week Eleven

The Best Performances of the Weekend:

Stoke

This was arguably the best performance of the weekend. Sure Spurs are not in the best form at the moment, but White Hart Lane is always a tough place to go to. As a result, Stoke made a counter-attacking plan and perfectly stuck to it. They were aided by a Spurs red card, but they deserved the aid.

Southampton

Despite an early struggle, Southampton completely dominated Saturday's game against Leicester. Eighteen shots (six on target), compared to just five (and none on target), highlights the domination perfectly. 

Newcastle 

It's amazing what a difference a couple of weeks make. Just about a month ago it looked all over for Alan Pardew. Now, they're putting in a near-perfect away performance...and against an in-form team. Newcastle controlled play through pressing and control of the ball, then struck with two clinical finishes from Coloccini and Perez.

Swansea

Arsenal may not be able to hold onto a lead at the moment, but Swansea still did well to turn this game around. Chances were few and far between, and the horrific conditions made play very difficult. It took a stunning free-kick to get them going, but overall Swansea were worth the points.

QPR

I am with Harry Redknapp in praising his team. It was a success delivered by praying on the lack of confidence within the Man City team at the moment. All else I have to say is this...when will Charlie Austin get his call-up for England?

The Worst Performances of the Weekend:

Arsenal

There is nothing wrong with Arsenal's forward play, not whilst Alexei Sanchez is in the team. But Wenger will struggle to win championships, and maintain his top four status, if his defence continues to leak goals.

Man United

It was a shame that, after decent performances against Chelsea and Man City, United could not capitalise on their slow build-up of momentum. They should have been aiming to smash Crystal Palace as a way of signalling some intent. In the end, they just about got by.

Tottenham

Despite early optimism at the start of the game, Spurs were pretty lacklustre against Stoke. Harry Kane's inclusion failed to ignite the team, and the red card to Naughton extinguished any chance of a late comeback. 

Leicester

To not have a shot on target in the entire game is the number one sin in football. Leicester committed that sin this weekend and, despite a dogged resistance to some intense pressure from the Saints, never really looked like getting close to the net.

Aston Villa

The game on Saturday could well have been mistaken for Brad Guzan versus West Ham United...such was the domination of Sam Allardyce's team. It was all very negative from Paul Lambert and co., and a negative attitude is never going to start winning you games...or scoring for that matter.

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The Best and Worst Players of the Premier League, Week 10

The Best Player Performances of the Weekend Alexei Sanchez

A lot of people doubt Arsene Wenger’s transfer tactics. I’m one of those doubters. Nonetheless, Alexei Sanchez was a terrific buy. He works terrifically hard throughout the ninety minutes, he tracks back and competes for his team in attack and defence, and he scores plenty of goals. Imagine if Arsenal did not have this guy?

Harry Kane

He got a bit lucky with his free-kick goal (anyone else notice the Ronaldo-like run up?), but he deserves that bit of luck. Harry Kane has started most of his games in the Europa League, and has given life Spurs with enthusiastic performances and plenty of goals. After giving a similar performance from the bench against Villa, one hopes that he gets a run in the Premier League!

Victor Wanyama

Wanyama gets into this top five simply for the goal of this weekend. Sure it was an empty net, and sure it was a terrible clearance from Hull’s third choice ‘keeper, but it was not an easy chance at all. He was 40 yards out, and the ball had come to him pretty quickly. Nonetheless, he adjusted his feet and struck the ball with absolute perfection. Top finish to keep the Saints’ terrific run going.

Charlie Austin

Considering that Austin is the only QPR man to have scored more than one goal this season, it is certain that his importance to Harry Redknapp is ever increasing. He scored a great goal this weekend to beat a top 'keeper, and was unlucky to be on the losing team.

Stuart Downing

I will never forget the season when Downing scored no goals and made no assists. So will he, I imagine. But this spell at West Ham has reinvigorated the winger, and his performance against Stoke was a sign of a real return to form. An assist and a goal…not bad ‘ey?

The Worst Player Performances of the Weekend Mario Balotelli

It’s perhaps unfair to pick out just one player from the very average Liverpool team from Saturday. They were shaky in defence, slow in midfield and absent in attack. The fact that Balotelli was late arriving for the second half summed up this lacklustre Red’s display. The game against Ronaldo and co. tonight could genuinely be a humiliating drubbing.

Wes Brown

Ok…so his team won. And ok…I might be a bit harsh when criticising an own goal that he didn’t know a lot about. But for the third week in a row this very experienced defender has either cost his team or come close to costing his team points. He won’t be allowed a fourth week of mistakes.

Christian Benteke

This is simply for a needless red card. You hear commentators TIME AND TIME AGAIN saying that you can’t raise your hands in any kind of aggressive way without the risk of a red card. They say that because they’re completely right! Benteke was sent off, Villa sat off in response, and Spurs ended up reversing Weimann’s earlier strike. Poor judgement from the Belgian.

Yaya Toure (for half an hour)

For the first half an hour of the Manchester derby, Yaya Toure looked lost. He could not track the United midfield and nor could he influence the game in anyway similar to last season. Had he gone on like that for ninety minutes you feel the game would have been different. But he wasn’t, because of one particularly stupid individual.

Chris Smalling

I don’t think I’ve ever seen two more ridiculous yellow cards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more ridiculous red card. I’m still not entirely sure why he wanted (or needed) to close down Joe Hart like that, and on a yellow card that horrendous lunge on James Milner was bloody stupid. United started well, and were forced onto the back foot because of a stupid boy showing blind ignorance in a crucial game. His bus journey home must have been quiet.

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Ten actors that you may or may not have known were interested in music making too!

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The Best and Worst of the Premier League, Week Nine

The Best Performances of the Weekend

West Ham

Well, once again I am impressed. First Liverpool, now the Hammers have dispatched last season’s champions. It was not quite comfortable (Aguero and Yaya Toure smashed efforts against the post), but at the same time West Ham were never really hanging on. Valencia and Sakho have proven class additions once again.

Newcastle

For a team that seems to be constantly in the doldrums, it is extra important that their equaliser was seconds after the restart. It shows that this team still has fight in it, and is still willing to put its belief in Alan Pardew. The win topped off a much improved second half performance at White Hart Lane.

Swansea

Wilfried Bony and Gylfi Sigurdsson are proving some combination. At nowhere near the price of some of the biggest attacking duos in the league, Bony and Sigurdsson ran the game on Saturday night. The first goal was outstanding, and the second looked as simple as snow. Swansea will struggle to keep hold of these two…

QPR

At last! A decent performance and a win! Whilst the first goal was slightly against the run of play, the second was a reflection of a vastly improved performance. Charlie Austin showed once again that he is a prolific goal scorer at any level, and Harry Redknapp will start to feel justified in his claims that he still feels QPR will do just fine.

Everton

Whilst Burnley aren’t exactly the toughest team to play at the moment, Everton have lost both their games after Thursday adventures in the Europa League. To reverse this tide, and to do it comfortably, is an encouraging sign for Martinez. Eto’o was superb, and was also unlucky not to get the hat-trick late on.

The Worst Performances of the Weekend

Sunderland

Arsenal thrive on possession football and being able to pass the ball quickly. Anyone can tell you that. Perhaps it was a reflection of the previous 8-0 defeat then, that Sunderland were more concerned about holding a shape than cutting off Arsenal’s possession and pressing the ball. Furthermore, Wes Brown and Vito Mannone should be ashamed of two terrible blunders.

Leicester City

After a great start against top teams, one can definitely accuse Leicester of becoming slightly complacent. The difference in effort levels in the Swansea game, and the United game, were very evident. Swansea were good, but Leicester made it very easy for them.

Burnley

Still struggling to win, and still struggling to score. Last week it was a wandering Adrian, this time it was a terrible back pass by Lukaku that helped Burnley get on the score sheet. The first win HAS to be around the corner…surely?!

Aston Villa

I said last week that their good start to the season was looking far away. Now it’s almost out of sight. Five games lost, in a row, and eight hours of football without a goal. One can’t imagine Roy Keane to be a man that panics, but this has to be keeping him up at night now…

Tottenham

To keep plenty of the ball (67% in fact) and yet only have two shots on target is madness. I like Pochettino, and I definitely feel he needs time at White Hart Lane, but things are not quite right at the moment.

Player of the Weekend: Alex Song

This could have been Enner Valencia or Diafra Sakho. Basically, West Ham made some clever deals in the summer, and Song is the best of them. He bosses the midfield, and he was the central figure of West Ham’s defeat of Man City. If he keeps fit, West Ham will have a very good season.

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The Best and Worst of the Premier League, Week Eight

The Best Performances of the Weekend:

Southampton Well, where to start? Already riding high on the confidence of their most successful Premier League opening, Ronald Koeman’s team must now be at stratospheric levels of self-assurance. Yes, Sunderland were awful. But Southampton were equally very good. They can pass a team into submission, and with Pelle upfront there is no shortage of goals. As we saw this weekened…

Everton With Ross Barkley back in the side, Everton were a completely different team. Alan Shearer rightly pointed out on Match of the Day that he is the kind of player who can draw the opposition to him, and create space for other attackers in his team. Coleman, too, is a crucial part of Everton’s set up. With both Barkley and Coleman in the side, we can expect Everton to quickly improve on the nine points they currently have.

West Ham West Ham, and to a similar extent Southampton, are a very refreshing team at the moment. It’s nice to see Sam Allardyce’s team riding high at the top of the league. They deserve it. The standard of football coming out of The Boleyn Ground (or Upton Park) at the moment is top notch, and the performances of Downing, Jenkinson, and many others are match-winning. Valencia’s goal (West Ham’s second) was superb…what a header!

QPR Regular readers will be well aware of my views concerning Queens Park Rangers. Regular readers will therefore be surprised to find them in this five, rather than the latter five of the report. However, QPR were much the better team this weekend. They looked like they wanted to win, and played like a team that recognised that the last few weeks had not been good enough. They were slightly naïve for failing to tighten up after equalising (twice), but my god were they unlucky.

Chelsea I’m not yet convinced by those saying that Mourinho’s men can go unbeaten this season, after all anything really can happen before May 2015. But this is the kind of performance that will stoke the ‘invincible’ fire. Once Oscar scored his cracking free kick, the three points were never in doubt. Even when it was ten against eleven, after Azpilicueta had been sent off for an awful challenge, there wasn’t much of a panic. And Costa wasn’t even involved.

The Worst Performances of the Weekend

Sunderland Well, where to start (again)? Awful defending, awful team-spirit, and just awful all-round. I know it’s easy to give up at 8-0, but Sunderland (and Lee Cattermole in particular) seemed to give up as soon as they were a goal down. We won’t even mention Vergini’s volley…

Liverpool Yes, they won. But they shouldn’t have. Rogers’ men were against a side that sat bottom of the table, and that were seriously low on confidence. Although QPR came out and played very well, I still feel that Liverpool could have done what they did regularly last season and strike early. Hit them hard early and watch them fall. What’s more, to concede twice late in the game is an absolute joke. Real Madrid are going to smash this Liverpool team.

Burnley Burnley are still failing at the essential part of football…scoring goals. They were actually playing some good football at the start of the match against West Ham, but they simply could not score. It took West Ham keeper Adrian to go AWOL for Boyd to finally give Burnley a goal that they probably deserved. Wins are needed, and very soon at that.

Aston Villa That classy start to the season is looking very distant now for Paul Lambert. It’s a fourth straight loss for Villa, and a fourth straight game without a goal. I was originally convinced that the ghosts of the previous campaigns had been exorcised. Now I’m not so sure…

Arsenal Ok, some may say that it wasn’t that bad a performance from Arsenal. Sanchez was, incidentally, superb. But reflect on the result in this way. Arsenal are expected to compete for top four football, compete for the league title, play exciting football, defend well, and stay on a par with the likes of Chelsea and Man City. This Saturday, they drew 2-2 at home against a Hull side that you feel won’t be competing for much this season. They are now eleven points behind Chelsea and sit in seventh…Such a good performance after all?

Player of the Weekend: Sergio Aguero Who needs ten other players, when Sergio Aguero can score for goals on his own? I am such a big fan of this guy. He’s small but very sturdy, incredibly skilful, and completely aware of the best places to be in the penalty box. I adore his ability to score goals from angles that no one else would even consider. I think we can let him off one penalty miss…

Special mention to Neil Warnock. I have no problem with the notion of managers condemning referees for poor decisions during a game, because I think that the FA’s shielding of referees, who are after all human and prone to errors, is bizarre and unnecessary. But Warnock went a step too far this weekend in criticising Craig Pawson. To say that he was influenced by the Chelsea players is just ridiculous, especially considering that Azpilicueta was rightfully sent off before Delaney stupidly got himself double-yellowed.

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The Best and The Worst of the Premier League, Week 7

The Best Teams of the Weekend:

Liverpool I was fortunate enough to be at this game on Saturday. The first half was pretty average...that is until Lallana conjured up one piece of brilliance to net his first goal for Liverpool. In the second half, however, Liverpool were much better. Balotelli came on and actually impressed, creating chances and causing havoc up front. Amazingly, Glen Johnson also made an impact after returning from injury.

Man United Another team vastly improved. Yes, David De Gea single-handedly kept it at 2-1 in the final few minutes and, yes, there was no Rooney. But Di Maria scored, again, and Falcao scored what you can only assume is going to be the first of many. Everton, still tired from their midweek trip to Russia, couldn't quite conjure up enough to threaten a team that is possibly finding confidence again.

Sunderland The weekend of improving teams! I said last week that Sunderland needed to wake up from last season, and it seems that they heard me. Wickham, the in-form striker of April/May, got on the score sheet. As did Steven Fletcher, who may as well have been invisible the last few months! 

West Ham This is a team that continues to impress...and I can't believe I'm saying that. West Ham don't play stunning football, but Allardyce has come up with a team that knows how to win. What's more, this week was further proof that Sakho and Valencia - summer transfers - were actually brilliant buys.

Hull In their first win since the opening day, Hull have got themselves three very important points. The biggest attribute of this win was that their opponents, Crystal Palace, were in fine form. After reverting back to 3-5-2, Hull were the much better team and in the second half they were superior.

The Worst Teams of the Weekend:

QPR Sorry QPR fans, I know it must seem like I'm picking on your team. But you have to admit that the West Ham loss was pretty disappointing. There was no will to fight from any member of the team. At any point. QPR almost let West Ham win. 

Newcastle The point will almost certainly be appreciated by both teams...but Newcastle need to start winning. The banner that the Newcastle fans held up, showing their terrible run of form, is evidence enough that a draw will not do against a team that had been defeated for four games previous.

Stoke The best way to describe this week's effort from Stoke was...lacklustre. They were definitely subdued, and failed to make any sort of impact despite keeping a lot of possession in the second half. Let's hope for better in week eight.

Everton I think this performance against United was evidence that the Europa League, on a Thursday anyway, is bad for weekend matches. They only started to really threaten in the final ten minutes, and have now only won one of their seven league games. 17th place was not expected.

Leicester How can a team score five against Man United, and then concede two against a Burnley side that are arguably the weakest in the league? It makes no sense, and Nigel Pearson should be frustrated at this result. I'm hoping, because Leicester have proven themselves a good side, that they bounce back after the international break.

Player of the Weekend:

David De Gea Easy choice. He was the only United player that could hold his head high after last season, and he can keep it held high still. Those saves in the last few minutes were world class, and I am happy to suggest he's only behind Courtois and Neuer at the moment.

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Sad times for the music world, as Canterbury announce their split and a final run of shows.

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The Best and the Worst of the Premier League, Week 6

The Best Teams of the Weekend:

Crystal Palace I admit it, I am impressed. When I saw that Neil Warnock had taken over as manager, I was convinced that this had given Crystal Palace a one-way ticket to the Championship. Now, I’m having second thoughts. The performance against Leicester was a good one. Riding high after the win at Everton (for the second season running), it could have been expected that Palace might slip up against an in-form City. But they fought hard – Bolasie and Jedinak were particularly good – and got an impressive win. Palace look like they’ll be a hard team for the big boys to beat.

Southampton Another team that I am pleasantly surprised with. After selling essentially all their star names, I was concerned that Southampton might struggle to maintain the exciting, fast paced football that Pochettino had drilled into the team. But Koeman has bought well, and as such Southampton continue to be a threat to all who play them. Furthermore, the stunning strike that Pelle scored at the weekend could be an early contender for goal of the season.

West Brom Though Burnley offered very little in terms of attacking threat (Foster only had to make one real ‘save’), Alan Irvine can be thoroughly impressed by his team and his first home win of the season. They were lively in midfield, organised in defence, and up front they were clearly the stronger team. Saido Berahino is right to take the plaudits after his two goals. He is a young, promising individual who can qualify to play for England…good news.

Chelsea You get the feeling that José Mourinho’s team might feature a few times this season. Aston Villa are no slouches at the moment, and at times during the weekend’s game they were a perfect example of disciplined defence. Nonetheless, Chelsea scored three, Diego Costa scored again, and Chelsea remain unbeaten. I think this weekend decisively proves that this Chelsea squad will be the one to beat if anyone (Man City) wants to win the Premier League. It wasn’t all their way, and yet they still won…comfortably.

Man City Another team that will feature a few times. This was a game that, after being two – nil up initially, could have gone horrendously wrong. Mangala had an absolute nightmare, giving away a stupid penalty and scoring a pretty stupid own goal. At half time, one could have even suggested that Hull would go on to stage the ultimate comeback. But, just like Champions do, City responded. Dzeko scored half-way through the second period, and Lampard got himself into one of his classic penalty-box-positions to finally kill the game late on.

The Worst Teams of the Weekend:

Burnley The ginger Mourinho needs to get going…and fast. It’s fair to expect new teams to the Premier League to start slow, or need some time to adjust. However, we’re getting into October now and time is running out to adjust. Burnley’s start, whilst against some half decent teams, has been slow. The loss against West Brom is a big blow, and wins need to start coming…soon.

QPR It’s not quite going right for Harry Redknapp…not yet anyway. Defensively, QPR were far tighter than they have been in recent weeks, but they are still making errors. To allow a goal to be conceded just two minutes after Charlie Austin scored (an absolute wonder strike) is simply unforgivable. I feel things will turn around, because this is a much smarter team than the last QPR team of the Premier League...it’s not completely full of ‘has beens’.

Newcastle United Something isn’t quite right at Newcastle. They struggle to score, and they struggle to keep goals out. This is despite Newcastle having a squad full of attacking potential and a ‘keeper of real quality. The defeat against Stoke will do Pardew no favours, especially because it was a game that was very winnable. My diagnosis? A failure to replace Cabaye…still.

Sunderland Sunderland are yet to win this season, and their performance against Swansea on Saturday shows why. It was dull, and lacklustre. The team that completed the ‘miracle’ of last season is still bedazzled by their unbelievable success, and Poyet needs to wake them up.

Leicester I’m not necessarily saying that Leicester City are in bad form, or are playing badly. Quite the contrary, in fact. Leicester are in my bottom five this week simply because I am so disappointed. So far, Leicester have been so good. Jamie Vardy has shone, Wes Morgan has marshalled his defence well, and Leonardo Ulloa looks an absolute class act. Against Crystal Palace, though, they conceded two goals from set pieces. This will hurt Nigel Pearson considerably.

Player of the weekend:

Frank Lampard I could have quite easily chosen Man United debutant Paddy McNair. Aged just 19, and thrown into battle against an understandably confident West Ham – not to mention in a defence known to be on the shaky side – the young lad gave an outstanding performance. However, it has to be Frank. Rule him out at your peril. I admit it, last season I thought there were occasions where Lampard looked a little off the pace. But what a start he has had to this season.

In a slightly different shade of blue, Lamps has shown the quality he still has to offer. Goals and well-disciplined performances are giving City more than they could have ever imagined when they took him on loan from partner club New York City FC.

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I love a good acoustic album. From the likes of Charlie Simpson, to the talents of Ingrid Michaelson and even Ed Sheeran, acoustic albums can be a real pleasure to listen to. Therefore I snapped at the chance to review Tom Brosseau’s latest offering ‘Grass Punks’. On reflection, this follow-up to 2009’s ‘Posthumous Success’ is a special and quite beautiful ten track album…to a certain extent anyway.

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The Ripple speaks to Deaf Havana's Tom Ogden

It’s fair to say that the last year-or-so for Norfolk-natives Deaf Havana has been rather good. Add a top ten album, regular plays on Radio One, as well as shows with acts such as the legend that i...

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Bastille storm Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace is a large venue. Seriously, like huge. Therefore, it is testament to Bastille - and their staggering rise from near unknowns to Best Newcomer at the Brit Awards 2014 - that this e...

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Check out my review of the brand new album from Britain's very own Canterbury!

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An Essential Rock Record

Album Review - Old Souls by Deaf Havana Deaf Havana are a unique band, of sorts. Unique, in that each of their three studio albums have sounded nothing like the previous effort. Whilst Meet Me Half...

Better late than never, The Ripple takes a look at Old Souls by Deaf Havana!