Luis Suarez, star of the big screen..?

Howard Webb and his Untouchables?

I was recently asked what my favourite film is, and this is a question I have real difficult answering. I eventually came up with The Shawshank Redemption, and I stand by that decision, but a contender I forgot at the time is The Untouchables. It’s a great story that indulges my (not so well hidden) inner history geek, and it might be due for a modern day reprisal.

Al Capone was one of the most feared organised crime bosses of 1920s America, and while everyone knew what he was doing, proving it was impossible. Two of the biggest issues were that he was providing a service that many people were grateful for (the importing of alcohol into prohibition-era USA) and the fact that most of the police were in his pocket. Along came Eliot Ness and his untouchables, and eventually Capone was jailed, albeit for tax evasion.

The modern reprisal could therefore reasonably be about tax, a hot topic as avoidance schemes are regularly being rumbled and the rich and famous are regularly placed under the microscope. Businesses have been accused of immoral or illegal gains, and so have celebrities, so a comedy version starring Jimmy Carr might appeal..?

However, I’d like to focus on the notion that while everybody knew what Capone was doing, nobody seemed capable of catching him and punishing him for it. For all the attacking football and goal scoring exploits on show in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup, there has also been a third incident of a bizarre and disgusting nature that has gone unseen by the officials present.

Luis Suarez has on three occasions lost the plot on the football field and chosen to use his teeth as a weapon to attack an opposing player. First at Ajax, and subsequently playing for Liverpool, these incidents went unseen, and on the day, unpunished.

I believe as part of the punishment for his second offence he was given psychiatric help for his apparent uncontrollable anger, but he has yet again acted in a way unbefitting of a human being. Punching and kicking is bad, biting is worse. We know Suarez has bitten three opponents, but none of the officials present seem to see him doing it, like Capone, Suarez seems to move stealthily.

Suarez has in the past moaned about the English, and our media persecuting and vilifying him, I can’t do much more to prove you right than compare you to Al Capone can I Luis? So in the modern day twist on a great film, I propose that we release a feature on Howard Webb and his untouchables trying to bring down the nibbly super villain before it’s too late… and if they can’t get him for biting, maybe someone will spot a dive or a handball on the goal line instead.

I'm just not a serious person...

Akinfeev hoping Capello has PATIENCE and gives him a chance to SHINE in the other games pic.twitter.com/O1y1lLcaGj #WorldCupLookalikes #Barlow

— Richard Jude (@RichardJude) June 17, 2014

 Me being a serious person... 

For much of my life the fact that I don’t take myself very seriously has been a blessing. It’s definitely harder to be offended by a joke (or a question or insulting observation) if you’ve either already thought it yourself or simply appreciate the humour. For the first time I’m beginning to question the use of this trait.

I often observe people posting things on Twitter, and am simply left wondering why they’ve felt the need to write those things. I think it ultimately comes down to them taking themselves, their profile, their opinions and their careers seriously. I won’t mention any names, and I’m not making any accusations, but when I see people with only a few hundred followers just reporting facts about global events I have wondered why they bother, but the fact is you have to start somewhere, and there are plenty of people with seven followers and an egg for a photo, speaking with just as much authority.

To play devil’s advocate with myself, even if they provide the information to one of their followers, that is one person who may well think to themselves that this person is now a useful source of information…

My problem is that with just shy of 200 followers, and having made no substantial attempt to expand this, I’m confident that nobody is following @RichardJude for breaking news. Frankly I think most people are probably there out of sympathy, loyalty or simply feel they have no choice.

What I have chosen to do, rightly or wrongly, is make my Twitter account an extension of me, the person who doesn’t take himself too seriously. So far during the World Cup the most insightful observations I have made have been highlighting potential lookalikes. I was particularly proud of Nico Kovac and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one that Paddy Power spotted a few days later.

#WorldCupLookalikes: Short-haired Luka Modric - A young Vladimir Putin & Niko Kovac - Joseph Gordon-Levitt
— Richard Jude (@RichardJude) June 12, 2014

If you ever see me just report fact (rather than opinion or my own brand of ‘humour’) you have my permission to point this out to me, and I’ll join you in deriding me for my outrageous hypocrisy. (Unless I have actually learnt to take myself seriously, in which case leave me be…)

Maybe now the fact I choose not to take myself particularly seriously is proving a weakness, but I’d rather that than be the 9 millionth person to make a list of things we’ve learnt during the World Cup, that simply contains nonsense, inanity or the bleeding obvious.

N.B. An alternative take on a World Cup list that I did enjoy exists here, but frankly I’d have been more inclined to list the reasons I hated it before England went out… I’m just that bloody negative!

Mind games… The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - The Good (Jose Mourinho)

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Mourinho in his natural home, the press conference

All through this season, Jose Mourinho has been playing games. It’s simply what he does.

Whether that comes in the form of describing West Ham’s defending as being ‘nineteenth century football’, before doing the same thing, albeit more efficiently, against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, or by describing his Chelsea team as the title race’s ‘little horse’.

The ‘little horse’ were in pole position for some time, and despite his assertions about building for the future, his young team really ought to have won the league this year.

However, Mourinho can sit back on his words at the end of the season, when Liverpool or Man City win the title, and say that they achieved all their aims. Nobody will believe him, except perhaps his squad, and to him, that’s job done.

Mourinho, therefore, despite employing some pretty ugly tactics, and having some decidedly bad habits, falls into the good in this particularly category.

His ability to create a siege mentality within a dressing room is simply second to none.

The determination of his players is forged in the belief that the world is against them, their tactics and skill are not appreciated, and that nobody wants them to win. This is the genius of Mourinho.

Before he arrived, Real Madrid were a sizeable margin behind Rijkaard’s and Guardiola’s Barcelona sides. By the time he left they may not have been equals, but he had created a machine that would do anything to try and beat Barcelona… and I do mean anything.

If you believe you have a point to prove, or people think you cannot achieve, then you are simply more inclined to go and achieve whatever it may be. Mourinho knows that, and it’s his first unwritten rule of management.

Other honourable mentions in the ‘good’ have to include Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Ferguson was the master at title race shenanigans, and he saw off a few managers during his time at Old Trafford. ‘Fergie Time’ embodies the strength of character he was able to impose.

Referees knew that they would not get away with short changing United’s godfather, and opposition teams knew United had a habit of scoring. If you expect to concede to Man United in stoppage time, it’s more likely you will.

Wenger is another that has built success around siege mentality, but to a much lesser degree.

The fact that he rarely saw any incident that occurred in a match during his first decade at Arsenal meant that his players knew he was on their side. They wanted to perform for him, and they largely did…

You’ll have to read the bad and the ugly follow ups to find out just who Sir Alex watched meltdown when squeaky bum time approached.

The magic that Moyes' Man Utd lacked

#485893377 / gettyimages.com

Looks like rain... When it rains, it pours David

The worst kept secret of the week: David Moyes’ tenure at Old Trafford has come to an end.

The post-mortems have begun, and the debates about who should succeed him will be back page news for the foreseeable future.

Where Moyes failed was in his ability to understand and run a squad of players with a big team mentality.

At Everton expectations were lower; they could play on the break freely, and they caused bigger teams problems, particularly at Goodison Park.

They played direct and high tempo football that put possession teams under pressure. Add in a sizeable chunk of Marouane Fellaini and the formula was an effective one.

Despite the result on Sunday, United’s away record this season has been that of a title challenging team, which says a lot about where Moyes’ problems lay.

For years I have listened to Arsenal and Chelsea fans moaning about away teams ‘parking the bus’ and playing anti-football.

My response was always the same during the Ferguson era. I like it when opposition teams come to Old Trafford for a 0-0 draw, because it means they won’t be scoring…

Sir Alex Ferguson’s United had the mentality of a big team. They expected to score, and they threw everything at the opposition to do so.

In the latter Ferguson years, teams started to come and attack at Old Trafford, either because they saw a weakness to exploit, or simply because they realised defending hadn’t worked on previous visits.

But still United found ways to win. The Newcastle game last season, which saw United come from behind to win 4-3, was a glorious example of a Ferguson-style Old Trafford performance.

With the game poised at 3-3, United threw absolutely everything, including the kitchen sink and a Jonny Evans at Newcastle. The result was men over in the penalty area, and a Javier Hernandez winner.

It was this inability to produce results under the pressure of expectation at home, and with teams sitting back waiting to counter, that Moyes’ team has faltered.

#485933105 / gettyimages.com

The tactical knowhow of his own successor puts the final nail in the coffin 

Sunday’s result and performance were a hauntingly fitting way for Moyes to exit.

His successor at Everton, Roberto Martinez, understood the circumstances that have seen United struggle this season, and set up tactically to exploit that.

On plenty of occasions United have dropped points, and lost games, at Old Trafford where possession has been plentiful, but creativity has been absent.

Contrast this with away wins at Swansea, Newcastle and West Brom that have shown the ability of United’s attacking players to exploit space and attack quickly on the break.

Martinez, usually so keen to retain possession and play football on the front foot, saw letting United play as the home team as the way to beat them on Sunday, and my God was it a beating.

It was the lowest percentage of possession Everton have had in the league this season, but due to United having to play against a packed defence, ready to pounce on the break, there was only one winner, and it was the men in blue.

Whoever Moyes’ successor at United may be, they will have the task of finding a way to win as the home team once more.

There is no longer a fear factor at Old Trafford, so it requires a team that have an unquestionable will to win and self-belief to recreate that. Something a Moyes’ United team never looked capable of.

Multimedia Journalism Projects

As it stands I am finishing my MA course, and looking forward to starting more training... this time preparing me to teach secondary school history.

Therefore, as it stands, I am not in the process of creating a one page CV describing myself as a multi-dimensional journalist, but that does not mean I haven't been developing these skills. 

Alongside the written pieces I have provided for Sports Gazette, and all of the exams we are about to take, we had to produce a radio project and a video project.

These two projects, above anything else, highlight the range of skills I've developed on this course, and are examples of my work that seems to have impressed industry professionals.

...and I'm quite pleased with the results.

Radio Project: Is Tchoukball the perfect sport?

Tchoukball - The perfect sport? by Richard Jude on Mixcloud

Video Project: Is running a suitable punishment in schools?