The Season 2013/14: Mackems ditch Di Canio

ROCK-BOTTOM Sunderland became the first Premier League club to sack their manager last night with the seemingly-inevitable early departure of Paulo Di Canio.

Di Canio had overseen a complete squad overhaul in the summer, with 14 incomings and 10 outgoings in total, as he sought to improve the Wearsiders following their lowly 17th-placed finish last season.

But, despite the new squad roll call, the same old problems have remained at the Stadium of Light.

Steven Fletcher's dislocated shoulder and the sale of Stephane Sessegnon to West Bromwich Albion has left the team woefully short of firepower alongside a defence, shorn of the sold Simon Mignolet, which just cannot be relied to keep a clean sheet.

It is little wonder then that Sunderland have struggled this season, taking a solitary point in the Premier League from their visit to Southampton.

The last three games have all been defeats, each of which have resulted in an increasingly-bizarre reaction from Di Canio.

Following the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace, Di Canio fumed at the "pathetic goals" which his team had conceded, criticising club captain John O'Shea for giving away a penalty and getting sent off.

Then, in the Arsenal home defeat by the same score, the Italian admitted he had invited referee Martin Atkinson to send him off, which Atkinson promptly did.

Di Canio saved his most bizarre move of all for the full time whistle at the Hawthorns after a match in which Sunderland had been comprehensively beaten by West Brom, with Sessegnon inevitably scoring.

Striding across the pitch, Di Canio faced up to the away supporters, asking them to keep their chin up despite the team's poor form. This gesture was a world away from his knee-sliding celebration at St James Park in April.

Indeed, it is now strange to think that it had all started so well for him in his first top-flight managerial position.

A 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in his opener showed plenty of promise before Sunderland then pulled off their biggest win in the Tyne-Wear derby since 1979. This was followed up by a win in his first home game against Everton.

Since then, though, Di Canio has only tasted victory once more with Sunderland - and that was at home against Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup.

In the Premier League, the Black Cats are now without a win in nine games stretching over the two seasons, having limped over the line in the last campaign without actually getting to 40 points.

That mark looks a long way off again right now, and their next two league fixtures are at home against Liverpool and Manchester United.

Still, having seen so much transfer activity, it was a surprise not to see Di Canio get at least until around Christmas time.

But American owner Ellis Short can be a ruthless character, as witnessed when boyhood supporter Martin O'Neill was dumped in March following a string of similarly poor results.

Clearly, Short - realising Di Canio's loose-cannon approach was never going to work long-term - has cut his losses at an early stage, petrified that the Black Cats might already be getting cut adrift.

Nevertheless, a myriad of problems remains. The fact that the club has confirmed that there is no shortlist to replace Di Canio shows that this was a move which they did not expect to have to make.

And, then, the new manager - whoever he is - will have to come in and buck up the ideas of a squad brought in largely by Di Canio.

Meanwhile, the former Swindon Town boss will now presumably head back to the lower leagues with his tail between his legs, though few should lament his failure as a top-level manager.

Woody Guthrie once wrote "All of you fascists bound to lose" - a song covered by Billy Bragg in 2000. It looks as if they were right again. Ciao, Il Duce!

THAT PAULO DI CANIO REVOLUTION IN FULL...
Three wins from 13 games in 175 days:
2012/13

7 Apr	Chelsea (A)	L1-2
14 Apr	Newcastle United (A)	W3-0
20 Apr	Everton (H)	W1-0
29 Apr	Aston Villa (A)	L1-6
6 May	Stoke City (H)	D1-1
12 May	Southampton (H)	D1-1
19 May	Tottenham Hotspur (A)	L0-1

2013/14

17 Aug	Fulham (H)	L0-1
24 Aug	Southampton (A)	D1-1
27 Aug	Milton Keynes Dons (H) [LC]	W4-2
31 Aug	Crystal Palace (A)	L1-3
14 Sep	Arsenal (H)	L1-3
21 Sep	West Bromwich Albion (A)	L0-3

[Overall record: P13 W3 D3 L7 Win% 23.08]

Glastonbury Festival and the Hyde Park hiatus

MY, OH MY! How quickly a year flies!

It seems just like yesterday since Stevie Wonder brought down the curtain on Glastonbury's 40th birthday celebrations.

But the time has come to make the journey to Michael Eavis' Worthy Farm in Pilton once again.

Even by Glastonbury standards, last year's festival was particularly spectacular. Not only was there the anniversary aspect but we also had a full week in which not a single raindrop fell.

It was, in fact, the first totally-dry Glastonbury since 2002 and so wishing for a repeat performance from the weather gods is rather optimistic.

Nevertheless, my hiatus from this blog for this year's festival looks like being pretty extraordinary again.

For, I will not only be attending Glastonbury - but also three further days of music on the following week at Hyde Park in London.

The reasons for this, in my head at least, are three-fold. Firstly, by paying for Hyde Park tickets, the number of clashes at Glastonbury is vastly reduced. More on this below.

Secondly, attending more gigs is the perfect way to banish the inevitable Sunday night Glastonbury blues which I have not avoided yet in three previous visits.

And, finally, there is no Glastonbury Festival next year so splashing out on extra music now seems especially worth it.

The fallow year was actually meant to be this year but with resources such as portaloos and security being taken up by the 2012 London Olympics, it made more sense to delay the recess.

So what exactly will I be looking forward to see at Glastonbury 2011?

Well, for a start, the Pyramid Stage headliners are U2 on Friday, Coldplay on Saturday and Beyonce Knowles on Sunday.

U2 will make a belated return to the festival, having intended to play last year until pulling out due to a back injury to their front-man Bono.

Coldplay are also making a long-awaited return to Glastonbury, having last played there in 2005, while this is Beyonce's first appearance, coming three years after her husband Jay-Z headlined.

To be honest, it is far more likely that I will spend the last hours of Sunday at the West Holts Stage celebrating good times with Kool & the Gang over a few last pints of Brothers cider.

I will have already spent a fair bit of Sunday in front of Pyramid anyway, waking up to the sea-shanties of the Fisherman's Friends before watching Don McLean and Paul Simon on the afternoon.

On Friday, I intend to make visits to the Park Stage for Jenny & Johnny and Big Audio Dynamite before a long evening stint at the Pyramid for Morrissey and U2.

And, on Saturday, I will probably be back at the Pyramid again for the likes of Stornoway and the Gaslight Anthem.

However, I would like to get myself around the site a bit and, on Saturday afternoon, I will combine some real ale and folk as Thea Gilmore's version of Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding is followed in the Acoustic Tent by Pentangle.

And, of course, I would hope to indulge in some Glastonbury traditions by attending Tony Benn's talk at the Poetry & Words tent - if there is room - and by seeing to a bit of Billy Bragg on Leftfield.

Then, there are the visits to the Green Fields, the Stone Circle and the plethora of late night areas, now operating under a new one-way system. I am a little skeptical about those new plans but it is intended to improve access.

By way of a disclaimer, this itinerary is not for definite - nothing ever is at Glastonbury where there are constantly plenty of distractions. But the schedule is perhaps more definite than in other years.

The reason for this is that the number of possible clashes between the various acts has been vastly reduced by my choice to extend my trip by attending Hyde Park on 30 June.

There, I will see a one-off gig by Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Chase & Status and the Vaccines - before returning there for the Wireless Festival on 2-3 July.

At Wireless, I expect to see the likes of Pulp, the Chemical Brothers, Devotchka, Yuck, Fight Like Apes and Katy B among many others.

And so it is no surprise that, right now, I feel like a kid at Christmas and simply cannot wait to get going. I think Millie the Micra and myself are in for the most fun we have ever had.

Glastonbury hits 40

THE ANNUAL pilgrimage to Pilton Farm in Somerset takes place this week as Glastonbury Festival celebrates its 40th birthday.

Gorillaz, Muse and Stevie Wonder will headline the Pyramid Stage after U2 were forced to pull out due to Bono having surgery on his spine.

Bono's misfortune is Damon Albarn's gain and the Gorillaz front man gets top billing at Glasto for a second time in a row, having played an emotional set with Blur to close the festival in 2009.

But Glastonbury has rarely been just about the headliners as proven in October when tickets sold out within a day without the line-up having been announced.

As it happens, Aussie octogenarian Rolf Harris opens the Pyramid Stage on Friday after attracting a huge crowd last year when playing the Jazz World Stage, now called West Holts.

That stage name is not the only change this year with the site bigger than ever following the creation of three new late-night areas due to popular demand.

And in a welcome re-think, the Leftfield Stage is back. It looks set to make a big impression on its return, especially on Saturday night when fans of shouty political folk-punk will flock to see successive sets by Frank Turner and Billy Bragg.

Elsewhere, folk with a more indie feel will be provided by Stornoway on Saturday and Turin Brakes in the Acoustic Tent near the always-impressive Red Flag Real Ale bar on Friday.

I would also love to see another set of folk musicians currently making a big leap into the mainstream - Mumford & Sons. But they face an almighty clash on Friday night with Florence and the Machine who I have yet to see live.

However, there are certain acts for whom the decision is rather easier for myself.

The aforementioned Frank Turner, the bizarre sound of The Flaming Lips, 90s legends The Lightning Seeds, and The Kinks' frontman Ray Davies - complete with gospel choir - are top of my own must-see list for this year.

Added to those, the Sunday night sets of Faithless and Stevie Wonder on Pyramid will round off what promises to be a glorious weekend very nicely.

Glorious is certainly what is being promised in terms of the weather for this year with Glastonbury expected to bask in bright sunshine and temperature of around 21 degrees.

Perhaps, for once, there is a good chance that the plastic ponchos and the infamous wellies can be packed away without being used.

But other, more enjoyable traditional Glastonbury pursuits - Brother's Cider on the first night, Spicy Cider from the Cider Bus, sitting at the Stone Circle - are sure to continue.

Tony Benn's Sunday afternoon speech is another fine tradition. Famously, the former Labour MP for Chesterfield said on retiring that he was "leaving Parliament to spend more time doing politics".

A man of real principle, Mr Benn is a worthwhile pause for reflection in a often hectic weekend.

On the other hand, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg - who organisers hope will still turn up - may get a less than generous welcome.

Although, I suspect, both his attendance and his reception will depend on the contents of the coalition government's emergency budget.

But that particular issue is for another time. For now, I am off to enjoy myself and spend the next few days forgetting about the outside world - except, perhaps, the World Cup.

ESSENTIAL LINKS
*Official Glastonbury Festival website
*BBC Glastonbury Festival website
*The Guardian Glastonbury Festival website
*Halvin's Clashfinder 2010
*Glastonbury Festival map
*E-festivals message board for Glastonbury
*BBC weather for BA4 (Wells nr Glastonbury)

All you fascists are bound to lose!

On the day that the English Defence League march through Newcastle upon Tyne, here's a message for them...

I'm gonna tell all you fascists you may be surprised
The people in this world are getting organized
You're bound to lose, you fascists are bound to lose

Race hatred cannot stop us this one thing I know
Your poll tax and Jim Crow and greed have got to go
You're bound to lose, you fascists bound to lose

All of you fascists bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose
All of you fascists bound to lose
You fascists bound to lose
You're bound to lose! You fascists!
Bound to lose

People of every colour marching side by side
Marching 'cross these fields where a million fascists died
You're bound to lose, you fascists bound to lose

I'm going into this battle, and take my union gun
We'll end this world of slavery before this battle's won
You're bound to lose, you fascists bound to lose