So, what's wrong with England?

After crashing out of yet another tournament on the back of a poor performance, my first emotion wasn't anger; nor disappointment. It just left me feeling optimistic that things can change in the future. So, what should be done?

Looking at the match at a whole, we were thoroughly outclassed by a side that previously looked some way off the best two teams in the competition; Germany and Spain. I still believe that either Germany or Spain will win the tournament, but the gap in quality between England and Italy tonight was tremendous.

Let's go back to the start of the tournament to when the England squad was first announced. Roy Hodgson picked the squad which most people expected him to pick. I was disappointed to see that he didn't make any bold decisions in terms of selection. Stuart Downing's inclusion and Micah Richard's exclusion were of particular interest. Taking into account the lack of expectation surrounding England's chances in this competition, it would have been good to see some wild card players being picked. Perhaps Swansea's Scott Sinclair rather than Stuart Downing; or Norwich City's Grant Holt. Plus many felt that Micah Richards should have been picked rather than the eventual deputy right-back Martin Kelly. Though it has to be said that Glen Johnson played well all tournament.


Nevertheless, the real problems the England squad has is our footballing style; and our dwindling national pool. Spain and Barcelona have proven that the future of football lies in intricate short passing; much like Ajax's total football that dominated the early 1970s. Perhaps tiki taka is too extreme, but Italy played a short passing game tonight; and when they did attempt a long pass, it often came from the assured foot of Andrea Pirlo. There's a patience that comes with a short passing game, that's also imperative to success.

As expected, England regressed back to our tired, old, impatient, long-ball style. Andy Carroll did a good job of taking the ball down, but however once at his feet; he couldn't find a pass for love nor money. Our forwards also seemed nervous on the ball, particularly Ashley Young. The Italian players were perfectly happy to pass backwards if there was nothing on ahead; but the England players played a Milan Baros 'head down and run' style. This often lead to us getting crowded out and inevitably losing the ball. If we're to have any success in the future, we have to ditch these archaic tactics; and get our youngsters learning the more modern, short 1-2 passing style.


Lastly, the amount of imported foreign talent in English football has had an effect on the amount of quality game time that our English (and British) players receive. Martin Kelly played a reported 12 games all season, yet was included in the squad as the third best English right-back; (after Glen Johnson and Micah Richards.) If the national squad is going to have any success in the future, then it will rely on bigger clubs developing youth talent at the club, and buying from the lower leagues in English football more often.


After all, let's take a quick look at how many current Barcelona players came through their youth team: Puyol, Pique, Valdes, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Thiago, Fabregas, etc.


Here's to the future of the England national team!

Coming soon on YouTube

Hi everyone,

Just a quick one to say which videos I'll be working on in the next few weeks; after I finally completed my GT1 secret cars video.

So alike to the picture I posted before; I am intending to upload some footage of the re-created beta taxi from GTA III. Just got to get the codes for the beta wheels working properly, then it'll be ready to go!

Also, I'm working on a secret characters video for Dynasty Warriors 2; and I'll also be loading up the secret and beta tracks from the early Gran Turismo 2 demo.

Just last month I hit 9,000,000 views. I don't think I've ever released a video to celebrate hitting a views target before; so I'm planning on doing one for when I hit 10,000,000. Hopefully it'll be ready in time; and I'll give just a little clue out for now. Fans of fighting games will definitely enjoy seeing these characters.

Ratchet & Clank Q-Force (Full Frontal Assault) Announced at E3

It's that time of year again; it's the summer month of June and people are outside enjoying the fine weather. But for gamers, June means E3; new and upcoming video games! The biggest surprise for me this year was the announcement of Ratchet & Clank Q-Force; set to release this Autumn. (Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault in North America) Oh, and Ratchet & Clank titles usually come out when they're supposed to; and don't get delayed like other series. #granturismo5delayedforabouttwoyears

In an age where I find it difficult to get excited about too many games, Ratchet & Clank is definitely an exception. Insomniac Games give a certain care and attention to R&C, and it's evident when playing them that every fine detail has been given the same amount of development time. In addition, R&C is one of the few series that has strongly benefited from next gen graphics. A big reason for me to play these games is actually the planetary scenery. It's always stunning, and no two planets in the R&C universe look alike.

So, what information on R&C Q-Force has been released so far? Well not too much of course; as it's only the first time the game has become public knowledge. But, the game will go back to the classic R&C style gameplay; rather than the gameplay style of All 4 One, or Ratchet: Gladiator to name another exception. It's great news, as the classic R&C games are always the games with the most replay value, and the most memorable for me.

Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price comments; that the series will return to a 'classic feel, camera, controls and weapons', and also that there will be various new online features that will bring about 'a whole new way to play Ratchet & Clank with your friends'.

Although this is all the information we have so far, by the use of the term 'Q-Force', we can infer certain things. The Q-Force were last involved in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, and were a team of space cadets formed by Captain Qwark to defeat Dr. Nefarious. It is unknown what happened to the group after the end of Up Your Arsenal, although Captain Qwark commented in the last game; that Dr. Nefarious is a fine addition to the Q-Force. Though, this was before Nefarious, together with his side-kick Lawrence; stole a space ship, and parted company with the All 4 One team.

The original Q-Force line-up:

• Captain Qwark
• Big Al
• Helga
• Skidd McMarx
• Skrunch
• Ratchet
• Clank
• Sasha
• Klunk (spy for Nefarious)

That's all the info for now; more to come soon hopefully!

GTA III - Beta Taxi

I am currently trying to re-create the beta taxi in the PS2 version of Grand Theft Auto 3. Here I have re-created the the taxi that featured in a lot of later beta screens. Yellow body, yellow bumpers and these wheels.

In earlier beta versions, the taxi had different wheels, which I am also looking to add to the taxi. I'll probably make a YouTube video when I finish both versions. But for now, enjoy this picture! :)