Work trip to Valencia, Spain - 12th to 16th May 2009

Over the past 4 years, I've been doing a lot of travelling for work. In fact, until very recently, I'd barely gone a month without leaving the country at some point. Then my daughter came along, along with a recession induced travel clampdown, and I have been in London for the last 3 months. After constant use of the passport for a few years, I have to admit I've been going a but stir crazy. So, a sneaky work trip to Valencia for a conference was most welcome - especially as it was Valencia, which is obviously a great city.

The trouble with recessions is that everybody scales back their travelling. Which means that airlines scale back their flight. Which means that travelling gets harder. There are 3 direct flights a day from London to Valencia - 2 on Ryanair, and one on EasyJet. None were at the time I needed to go, so I found myself going on Iberia, changing planes in Madrid. One advantage of this was that I got to see the fantastic new airport terminal there, with a nice executive lounge, which enabled some early sampling of some Spanish ham.

Eventually in Valencia, it was scorching hot (and still only lunchtime). Our venue for the week was the Palacio de Congresos, a modern venue with lots of glass on the outside - which meant you could easily enjoy the Valencia sunshine from inside the building. Of course, during the week, we also got some time out in the sun, which was a welcome change from windy London. Wearing a suit in 30 degree heat was not a huge amount of fun - but its always a nice problem to have!

The congress centre was a block or two away from the New Mestalla, the football stadium that is being built for Valencia CF. Construction has slowed down recently, because of Valencia's money troubles, but what is built so far looked really impressive indeed - almost like a flower shape. On my taxi ride between conference centre and hotel, we spent much quality time stuck in traffic, looking at the new stadium. Looking forward to going there before too long.

My hotel was in a completely different part of town, in the City of Arts & Sciences. So, good views to be had, and it was an easy stroll to get out into the riverbed, to look at some of the fantastic architecture. There seem to be new buildings still springing up there too, as they develop the whole area from the city centre to the sea. One one evening, we had a tour of the Formula 1 circuit, the pits, and the Americas Cup area. There has been a ton of development in Valencia over the last 10 years, but I was struck by how empty much of it is - the tourists are not here (although of course this is still only May), and you wonder how many white elephants the city will be left with in a few years time.

Arsenal vs Chelsea - Emirates Stadium, London - Sunday 10th May 2009

After the extreme disappointment of the Manchester United game on Tuesday, there was at least something to cheer Arsenal fans up the following night. Chelsea's last minute exit to Barcelona, after having had 25,000 penalty claims turned down, was highly amusing. The intensity, bitterness and sheer sour grapes of their complaints, just underlined for many people how pleased they were to see them go out of Europe. Some of the dissent at the end of their game was just symptomatic of their "win at all costs" mentality, instilled in them by Jose Mourinho - his shadow still looms large over them.

So, we had the opportunity to laugh at Chelsea. Looking at their team sheet for this game, it was amazing just how many detestable players they have - Cole, Drogba, Anelka, Terry, Mikel, etc. Frank Lampard isn't that likeable, but came a poor sixth in the hate stakes - and would have been seventh if Michael Ballack had made the starting XI. Incredible. By contrast, the Arsenal team wasn't all that hateable - Adebayor being left on the bench saw to that. Fabianski bizarrely came in to face Chelsea after screwing up against them last time, and Arshavin again missed out, with a virus this time.

Arsenal started off OK, lots of possession, a few decent chances, the best of which fell to Theo Walcott to miss. Overall, the first half hour or so was a tale of much Arsenal possession, but relatively little to show for it. Against teams like Chelsea, that is always something that makes you nervous you might get punished. And, before too long, punished we were - Alex getting up relatively unopposed for a header, and the ball bouncing in off the underside of the bar. Again a soft centre in defence, and the keeper may have done better, but it was 1-0 to Chelsea, against the run of play.

Before half time, it became 2-0, a decent Anelka shot from outside the box, which swerved a bit, but was still nowhere near enough to the corner for the keeper to have missed it. It was a fair shot, but should really have been saved, and I think it needs to go down as a(nother) keeper error. Not good, and you have to question Fabianski's future at Arsenal now.

Just after half time, it was 3-0, an own goal from Toure. A good header from Nicklas Bendtner pulled one back with about 20 minutes to go, but Arsenal were never likely to get themselves back into the game. A late Malouda goal made it 4-1, for Arsenal's heaviest home League defeat for over 30 years, and what was something of a hammering all in all. The Arsenal players didn't really seem to show up - players like Van Persie and Nasri were rather anonymous, Walcott missed everything that came his way, Diaby was absolutely useless - and the few that did seem to be up for the game were always going to struggle against that background. It was pretty much the same starting team that had beaten Chelsea earlier in the season, and it just underlined the size of the gap between Arsenal on form, and Arsenal on a bad day. That gap is too big, and needs some experience to bolster our "bad day" performances so that we can get results from those games.

So, a depressing game. Despite the season being over, it could get a whole lot more depressing next week, as Manchester United could win the League against us - a grim possibility. It was all looking so hopeful about a month ago, but this will turn out to be a frustrating season for Arsenal fans. Thank God there is a long summer with no football, I am just about sick of it for now.

Arsenal vs Manchester United - Emirates Stadium, London - Tuesday 5th May 2009

Without a doubt, the biggest game at Emirates Stadium so far. More than likely, Arsenal's biggest home game since Anderlecht in 1970, a game which I (like many) wasn't alive for, and which even fewer Arsenal fans actually remember. Having lost the first leg at Old Trafford, Arsenal knew they needed either to win this game by 2 goals, or get a 1-0 win, which would of course involve stopping Rooney, Ronaldo and co from scoring. Tough stuff.

As requested, the fans were in the stadium early, building up the singing to the point where the ground was rocking when the teams came out. The flags, one on every Arsenal fan's seat, looked good, and the whistles made it an uncomfortable place for Man United to have the ball. The game kicked off, and Arsenal started taking the game to United - looking generally pretty positive for the first 5 to 10 minutes.

Then, after about 10 minutes, Kieron Gibbs slipped over in the box (as defenders do from time to time), and gifted an easy ball to Park Ji Sung to finish. 2-0 on aggregate, an away goal, and Arsenal needed three goals to go through. That completely burst the bubble of enthusiasm and confidence for both the team and the fans. Three minutes later, Ronaldo scored one of those free kicks that is really pretty hard for a keeper to do much about, to make it 2-0 on the night, 3-0 on aggregate, and the tie practically finished. So much anticipation, nervousness, and so many hopes for what Arsenal might do in the game - and the entire game plan had gone out of the window inside 10 minutes.

After that, the rest of the game was a complete let down from an Arsenal fans perspective. We huffed and puffed, didn't create a whole lot, and looked vulnerable whenever United broke at pace into our half. The third United goal came in the second half, one of those breakaway goals that Arsenal used to score when we had Pires and Henry. But, to be fair, it was the kind of goal you concede when you are busy chasing four goals at the other end. Arsenal didn't necessarily set themselves up wrong, or approach the game wrong, it was more that the whole plan had gone wrong before the game was even 15 minutes old. It is always going to be very difficult to recover from something like that.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining - Arsenal did score one goal, a penalty, for which Darren Fletcher received a very harsh red card, which will keep him out of the final. Obviously, it would have been much more fun had it been Rooney, Ronaldo, Ferdinand or one of the more odious Mancs, but there we go. All in all, a disappointing tie for Arsenal - we didn't really create very much across both legs; United defended far too well for the likes of Walcott and Adebayor to get any change at all out of them; and given the number of chances they created, they deserved to go through. For Arsenal, there's always next year, hopefully with more experience, and better luck.

Arsenal vs Middlesbrough - Emirates Stadium, London - Sunday 26th April 2009

A game near the end of the season - in the sunshine, with nothing much to play for, can often be a bit of a lazy kickabout. This was one of those for sure, slightly surprising in that Middlesbrough at least did have a hell of a lot to play for. For Arsenal, this is probably the least important game between now and the end of the season, so the pedestrian nature of the play was understandable. But for Boro, needing points to avoid relegation, they didn't seem to show up - which really makes you think that they will be playing Championship football next season.

Arsenal rested some players with the Manchester United game in mind, so Adebayor, Song and Djourou all started on the bench. Still, there seemed to be plenty of creativity in the team, with Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri, Denilson and Walcott making up an attack minded midfield. From the word go, they had the better of the possession, and seemed to making all the running without really even breaking sweat. Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring by finishing off a wonderful attacking move with Andrei Arshavin, with just under half an hour gone. Other than that, in the first half, I recall Almunia having one minor save to make, but that was about all that Middlesbrough offered. There was the constant possibility that Jeremie Aliadiere would do what he constantly failed to do when he played for Arsenal (i.e. score a goal), but any real threat along those lines never really materialised.

So the second half became a procession in the sunshine, it reminded me of a testimonial or preseason friendly game at times - and I think the tally of zero yellow cards showed just how much commitment there was around. Arsenal did not want to take any risks with a Champions League semi final coming up; and Boro will obviously think that there are easier chances to get the points they need to stay up - so may have been eyeing those up instead. Cesc Fabregas added the second goal that had looked inevitable for a while, with around 25 minutes to go - by rounding the keeper and finishing excellently. It was his last kick of the game, he was subbed before play could restart.

So, an easier 2-0 win at the top level, you would be hard pressed to see. Towards the end, Arshavin had a couple of wayward shots, to much amusement from the crowd. The introduction of Adebayor and Diaby obviously saw the workrate plummet, passes start to go astray, and clumisness creep into Arsenal's play. But, to be honest, it was too late for Middlesbrough to come back, even if they looked like they were trying to do so. An easy win in retrospect, taking Arsenal to 20 unbeaten in the league (although with Chelsea and Man U to come in our last 4 games). There are more important games to come, so this was a good one to get out of the way with the minimum of fuss. Unless Middlesbrough improve significantly and fast, we won't be playing them next season.

Arsenal vs Chelsea, FA Cup Semi Final - Wembley Stadium, London - Saturday 18th April 2009

Arsenal's first visit to the new Wembley, and the only thing to dampen the excitement before the game was sharing the journey there with 30,000 Chelsea fans. A bunch of more idiotic people, you could not wish to meet. You could spot them a mile off, generally looking very pleased with themselves from the word go, and of course exhibiting more than a little mouth as usual.

I never used to like going to Wembley when the old version was still there, and that hatred hasn't changed much for the new version. Although it is in London, it contrives to be a total pain to get to, it is in the middle of a horrible concrete wasteland, is horrendously overpriced at every turn, and I always thought it was just very overrated as a stadium and an experience. The pitch there is a case in point - the venue for Cup Finals and the like, and the pitch cuts up something stupid. You'd think that would be an obvious thing to sort out, in between working out how to fleece fans for £5 for a hotdog.

I was sat in the lower tier corner, and the stadium does look fairly impressive when you are in your seat. The middle 3 blocks of the lower tier are corporate central, which I think makes the stadium look stupid when the cameras are on a half empty area at kick off. Still, whatever they need to do to make money, eh?

The game itself was quite forgettable. Obviously, given that Arsenal lost, I also want to forget about it as quickly as possible too. Arsenal had a strange team selection, with no Arshavin (despite him not being available in the Champions League), and no Nasri. Looking back on the game, we didn't create much, probably didn't deserve to win as a result, and with either of those 2 playing, it could have been different. We ultimately lost through what Arsene Wenger called 2 cheap goals - both caused by a combination of defensive cock-up, plus an exceptionally bad day at the office for Lukasz Fabianski. I hope it doesn't affect him too badly.

So, a day that will be remembered as Arsenal's first visit to Wembley. The sun was shining, and it could have been memorable for good reasons besides that - but ended up being a day to forget, as quickly as possible. Having got to the Champions League semi final as well, we all hope that doesn't end up the same way. Getting revenge on Chelsea in Rome would be ideal.

The Enemy - Brixton Academy, London - Saturday 11th April 2009

So, after a recent false alarm, where I got to find out what a down to earth and decent band The Enemy are, I finally got to see them play some of their songs. Their cancelled gig in Tunbridge Wells proved that they care about their fans, and seem to really be aware of where they have come from. This gig, though, was one of the biggest on their pre second album tour - one where they could revel in the acclaim that being in a big rock band brings.

The band started the day appearing on Soccer AM, where again they underlined their "nice, humble, normal bloke" credentials. They seemed really in touch with reality, and very much sticking up for their home town. They said how honoured they were that Oasis were playing Coventry, when they didn't really need to; Tom talked about how he bought a Coventry built Jaguar that his grandad worked on building; and about how they sponsor local football and rugby league teams. Lastly, they talked about how they actually have some respect for people on TV talent shows, because at least they get young people listening to music. All in all, a very grounded band, in touch with the normal people in their fanbase.

Anyway, on to the gig. Brixton Academy was a sellout for 2 nights, although judging by the ticket prices from touts outside, and the amount of space available inside, it was one of those Brixton sellouts that wasn't quite as busy as it could have been. Busy enough for the bar queues to take a while, of course - but there also seemed to be quite a few couples there. I got inside just in time to catch the end of the support band - Twisted Wheel, who seem to be popping up all over the place lately, and are no less mediocre for it. The song I heard was pretty dull, and generally they are one of those poor bands that survive for a while under the patronage of Oasis - but I really don't get why anybody would like them.

The same cannot be said of The Enemy, who played what I thought was a fantastic set. They only played for 45 minutes - an hour with the encore - but every minute was really enjoyable, they definitely left the audience wanting much more. Their guitars sounded fantastically grinding, and the songs rocked out that much more live. The band and especially singer Tom seemed to be really up for the gig, which always helps of course. Highlights for me were a really rocky, anthemic version of Happy Birthday Jane during the encore, and This Song, which had everybody singing every word.

The fact that, for a lot of their better known songs, people seem to know and sing every word, really reminds me of Oasis 15 years ago. Tonight's set was drawn mainly from their debut album, with a few tracks from the new album. These new songs seem to comprise a lot of anthems - songs you can imagine people singing as they fall out of pubs. That, along with their common touch and the way they connect with their fans, make me think that they could become absolutely huge in the next 18 months. That would need luck, of course, as all bands do - but the support slots for Oasis, the quality of the new songs they played tonight, and the fact that they seem to have captured the mood of large sections of the population, mean that they could well be the next "band of the people". On tonight's showing, with their excellent songs, and their great live show, they look like they would deserve it - it couldn't happen to a nicer band.

Arsenal vs Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 4th April 2009

This was the first Arsenal game in what seemed like ages, after another of those boring international breaks. The worst thing about them is definitely that you only get 2 rounds of matches in a fortnight - so no games on the first midweek of the break, no games on the Sunday, anywhere in the world. So annoying, and when your players all come back injured, especially when their international managers have risked playing them, you really start to hate international football.

Still, this game had a distinct feelgood factor about it - maybe you need the boredom so you can get the elation when its all over. The sun was out, Arsenal had a chance to carry on their excellent form from March, and Cesc Fabregas was back in the side. For most, the first chance to see him link up with Arshavin was the thing they were most looking forward to in this game. Of course, when you play Man City, you can never be sure what kind of team will show up, so we were all hoping for their usual "away from home" team - the crap one!

The game itself was a fairly simple 2-0 victory in the end, and was even one of the duller 2-0 wins you are likely to see. A goal inside the first 10 minutes set the win up, a habit that I really wish Arsenal would get into more often. Then, less than five minutes into the second half, came the second - to kill off any sense that Man City may have regrouped at half time. Both were from Adebayor, on his return from injury, and both set up by Fabregas, on his return from injury. What a fantastic time to have them both back, with so many important games coming up.

There were a few City chances, especially in the first half. Shaun Wright Phillips made a decent chance for Fernandes to miss in front of goal, and Micah Richards had a decent shot that tested the keeper. In the second half, they quietened down significantly though, to the extent that the last 35 minutes were pretty much like an Arsenal training session. It wasn't the cut and thrust that the English game can be known for, and that some fans pay to see - but we got the 3 points with minimum fuss, and saved energy for Villarreal away on Tuesday, which was most definitely what I wanted to see.

Stereophonics, Noisettes - Royal Albert Hall, London - Thursday 26th March 2009

I wouldn't normally do this, but I went to see Stereophonics. A mate had a spare ticket at the last minute - and, needing to get out of the house, I went along. Not exactly my favourite band - although I liked their very early stuff - and this was the first time I'd been near one of their gigs since walking past their encore at Reading 2000. Tom Jones was on stage with them that evening, which they probably don't do at every gig! This show was for Teenage Cancer Trust, at the Royal Albert Hall, so a great cause in a fantastic venue.

The support band were Noisettes, a band I walked past when they were supporting somebody a couple of years ago, but who sounded crap at the time. They had a number of decent support slots, most notably Muse, but just didn't go down very well at the time. This time, they seemed like a totally different band - much better. They were fronted by a very tall black woman, who jumped around the stage quite energetically - even falling on her arse at one point. They played a decent half hour set, including their very catchy single Don't Upset The Rhythm, and another standout track called Never Forget You. Really enjoyable set, they are a much improved band since 2 years ago, and they look like they are about to go quite big.

After some inspiring videos of people who had been helped by TCT, Stereophonics arrived on stage. They started off with a couple of excellent old songs, More Life In A Tramps Vest, and A Thousand Trees. All in all, they played quite a bit of material from debut album Word Gets Around, which seemed to be well received by the audience, me included. It reminded me how good their very early material is, in contrast with how bland much of their radio friendly later stuff can be.

One thing about Stereophonics is of course that singer Kelly Jones has a fantastic and distinctive voice, without which they would undoubtedly not have survived as long as they have. Some of the songs are good, some are average, but it is his voice that lifts the band above others that weren't as successful. The audience at the gig surprised me - lots of them seemed to be incredibly excited to be there, as if Stereophonics were their favourite band in the world. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but it was a bit of a weird thought. They have a few nice songs, but I can't imagine how you could say they were your favourite band. Whatever you could like about Stereophonics, there is another band out there that does it better, surely?

The highlight of the gig for most people, and a low point for me, was when they played Have A Nice Day - the audience were all on their feet, with hands waving from side to side. The song is a crime against music as far as I'm concerned, absolute middle of the road daytime radio dirge. Ok, it was one of their most famous songs, but really, it is incredibly dull and wet.

But it wasn't all like that - they of course played the radio friendly rubbish, but there were plenty of obscure songs like Goldfish Bowl, and early album tracks like Same Size Feet. All good stuff. The show ended with Local Boy In The Photograph, before a 4 song encore which finished with the excellent Dakota. A good way to finish what was a long set at almost an hour and 45 minutes.

Despite not being a huge Stereophonics fan, I was glad I went to this show - they clearly have a hefty catalogue of big singles, so you are always going to hear a lot of songs you know. I still think that they are a band who made a great first album, then sold out to get themselves played on Virgin Radio all day long. Since then, they have written a few songs that have got close to their early heights, and as long as they keep playing them live, they will probably keep playing to lots of people for years to come. I find it quite hard to get excited about them, but they have been around long enough now to deserve a bit of respect at least.

Arsenal vs Hull City - Emirates Stadium, London - Tuesday 17th March 2009

Its amazing how much, and how quickly, things can change in football. Last time I went to an Arsenal game (just before the birth of the daughter that has kept my hands rather full ever since), all was doom and gloom. We had injury worries, players who were terribly out of form (especially in front of goal), and a new signing who was yet to do anything concrete to show why we bought him. My last Arsenal game ended with our zillionth 0-0 draw in a row, and the team booed off at the end. Grim stuff.

Since then, and since I have been changing nappies, I have missed 4 Arsenal games. In those games we have reached the Champions League last 8 after a long night in Rome. We have scored 7 league goals (after looking like we couldn't buy one for all of February), and beaten Burnley in the cup with some real champagne goals. Players have come back from injury, Bendtner has turned his form around, and players like Song and Eboue have been playing like we all hoped they could. We have got back into the top four of the Premier League. And, Arshavin scored his first goal. 4 games, 2 weeks - its amazing how quickly things can change.

So, it was a very different - and much more positive - stadium that I walked into for this game. The short notice meant that there were empty seats - 5,000 according to Arsenal, but quite a few more in reality by the looks of things. All this also seemed to mean that there were quite a few people that don't get to many games - all of whom sounded like they were in good voice. I don't know what it is about midweek evening games, but the atmosphere is always much better.

All in all, this was a very good game I thought - plenty of chances at both ends, and of course the right result at the end! Hull took the lead early on, with a very lucky, heavily deflected shot - which looped over the keeper and into the net. In truth, they had probably started better, but the goal was still outrageously lucky! They then set about timewasting mode - engaging in frustratingly long waits to take goal kicks and free kicks. This went on until the hour mark, when the referee finally had the sense to book their keeper for such blatant timewasting. Why he felt the need to subject us all to it for 45 minutes before acting, I have no idea.

As we got properly into the second half, the game effectively became a one team match - Arsenal did all the running, had the vast majority of the play, and most of the chances. By the time Nicklas Bendtner had come on, Arsenal were virtually bombarding the Hull goal with chances, many of which looked like they were easier to score than miss. Bendtner himself had a decent game, to add to his very solid performance on Saturday - and he was involved in the equaliser, being one of the players who took turns to tee the ball up, for Van Persie to eventually smash into the net.

The winner came about 10 minutes later, another chance that seemed to involve lots of players in the penalty box, Gallas finishing this one with a strange backward header. The replays showed he was offside, but given the sheer number of bad decisions Mike Riley seemed to make in the game, that wasn't a surprise - and was a refereeing break that Arsenal probably deserved. Hull's timewasting seemed to abate after that, and despite a couple of scares near Fabianski's goal, Arsenal held out for the win.

So, into the FA Cup Semi Finals, for our first visit to Wembley. As well as a Champions League quarter final, and back in the top 4 of the league, this could still be a very good season. We all thought that this time last year, but you never know, one day it might all come true!

A New Arrival - University College Hospital, London - Tuesday 3rd March 2009

Just before half past midnight on Tuesday 3rd March, after a labour that lasted just over 24 hours, my first child arrived - a beautiful baby daughter weighing 7lb 8oz. We called her Julia. She means that gigs, football and travelling are off the agenda for a while (travelling had already been banned for a month), and will be coming back only gradually! Therefore, I won't be updating this blog very much for the next month or two. Even in Julia's first week, gigs by Mumford and Sons and The Maccabees, plus Arsenal vs Burnley, have all gone by the wayside - there will be many more I'm sure.