Manchester City have been told: If you don’t win your Champions League group there’s something wrong.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men have been drawn against Juventus, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach, and many experts expect them to struggle in Europe once more.
But Noel Gallagher insists that viewpoint is absolute garbage.
“When the draw was made everyone was saying it’s a tough group,” he told the Sports Bar. “But if we don’t win that group with that squad of players then there’s something fundamentally wrong.
“Juventus have got great players but with the first XI we can put out we should win that group, easily. We should win all our home games at a canter and remain unbeaten away from home.”
City have started the domestic season in fine style, winning all four of their Premier League games so far, and Gallagher believes Pellegrini is demonstrating his class – even though he feels it could be his last season in charge at the Etihad Stadium.
He added: “I still think he’ll go but, if he was to stay, I don’t think anyone would be that bothered now.
“He seems to have learned his lesson with this two up front business and he’s showing his quality now. I never expected City to play as well as they have in the last four games.”
Source: talksport.com
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Noel Gallagher insists Manchester City ‘won’ the transfer window.
Manuel Pellegrini strengthened his squad with the big money arrivals of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Nicolas Otamendi, as well as adding the likes of Fabian Delph from Aston Villa and Patrick Roberts from Fulham.
And Gallagher is delighted with the summer business done by his club.
“We’ve won it – we’ve won the window,” he told the Sports Bar. “The good thing was we got all the targets we identified, even publically. It was no secret we were going for De Bruyne and Sterling.
“Otamendi we didn’t know about until he came, but they’ve kind of pulled it off. Looking at the deals that have been done, I feel a bit for everybody else – apart from United!”
Click here to listen to a snippet from the interview.
Source: talksport.com
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Today marks the release of 'Lock All The Doors', the latest single from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' No1. album 'Chasing Yesterday'! You can order the limited edition yellow vinyl here, featuring the B-Side 'Here's A Candle (For Your Birthday Cake)', or a digital copy here.
Have a listen and add to your playlists on Spotify.
Check out the current collection and offers from Pretty Green here.
Who’s pre-ordered the limited 7” Lock All The Doors Vinyl? If you have, then as a thank you we’ve got a seriously special competition for you!
Up for grabs is the ONLY acetate of the vinyl in existence!
You just need post your order number and first name here to enter.
We’ll pick a winner by random early next week.
The vinyl is released on Friday. If you haven’t got round to pre-ordering it yet you’re not too late to enter.
There are still a limited number of the vinyl left and we’ll keep the competition open until Tuesday 1st September.
"The Importance Of Being Idle" is a song on the British rock band Oasis' sixth album, Don't Believe the Truth, written and sung by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher. It was the second single released from the album in the UK, on August 22, 2005, where it debuted at #1. It was also the first time that Oasis earned two successive #1's in the same calendar year. It was written by Gallagher sometime during the summer of 2004, before the band made their final attempt at recording what would become Don't Believe the Truth. He got the title from the Mark Twain book of the same name which he found whilst cleaning out his garage (it belonged not to him but to girlfriend Sara McDonald.)
Musically, as Noel has commented, the song sounds like tunes from two British bands, The Kinks and The La's. In particular, the sentiment expressed is noticeably similar to The Kinks' "Sunny Afternoon" and "Dead End Street", and the use of falsetto for every other verse line recalls The La's "Feelin'". The guitar sound is similar also to The La's b-sides; "Clean Prophet" and "Over". It also is a breakaway from the sound of Oasis's latter albums, especially the straight ahead rock 'n' roll anthems of Heathen Chemistry. The keyboard used on the pre-chorus sections was bought by bassist Andy Bell from the auction website eBay.
Noel has said that the lyrics of "The Importance of Being Idle" are inspired by his own laziness. Some of the second verse, with the reference to begging his doctor for "one more line", seems to be referring to an actual event as this resembles Noel's account of how he gave up cocaine in 1998.
Most reviewers acclaimed the track as one of the highlights of Don't Believe the Truth, which itself was widely praised as a marked return to form. The band mentioned in interviews in June that it would become the second single, after the UK Number One "Lyla". The b-sides are Liam Gallagher's "Pass Me Down the Wine" and Gem Archer's "The Quiet Ones."
The promo film was directed by Dawn Shadforth, (whose previous videos include Kylie Minogue's award-winning "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"). Shadforth's film for "The Importance of Being Idle' starred Welsh actor Rhys Ifans and homages the style of early 1960s kitchen sink drama British films, and is set during the build up to a funeral procession in a northern town, with the extravagant undertakers parading the coffin at the video's climax and Ifans playing the part of a high-kicking funeral director. The video is based on the film and play Billy Liar with Ifans playing the role of Billy. Noel and Liam therefore play Shadrack & Duxbury, the owners of the funeral parlour where Billy works. The rest band (Gem,Andy and Zak) make a brief appearance as lazy workers playing cards in an undertaker's office. It was widely acclaimed at the time as being probably the best video Oasis had ever made, not least by the band themselves, who were said to be very happy with the finished product. The video is very similar in style and concept to the music video for "Dead End Street" by The Kinks.
Q Magazine readers placed the song at #1 in a list of 2005's greatest tracks.
The video for the song was voted the video of the year at the NME Awards.
The song is included on Oasis' 'best-of' album Stop the Clocks.
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The former Oasis guitarist reckons standing should return because supporters are now more responsible.
He said: “I think they should definitely have an area in one corner of the ground for safe standing.
“I think people and football supporters and authorities are wise enough now not to let it go out of hand. I think it would be a good thing for the atmosphere but I don’t think it will happen.”
The Manchester City fan, 48, joins thousands of supporters who want standing brought back.
The Football Supporters’ Federation’s Safe Standing campaign aims for the introduction of terracing on a trial basis.
Be Here Now is the third studio album by the English rock band Oasis. Released on August 21 1997, the album was highly anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's previous worldwide successes with their 1994 debut album Definitely Maybe, and its 1995 follow up (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The album's pre-release build up led to considerable hype within both the music and mainstream press. At that point, Oasis were at the height of their fame, and Be Here Now became the UK's fastest selling album to date, selling over 420,000 units on the first day of release alone, and over one million within two weeks. As of 2007, the album has sold eight million copies worldwide.
Oasis' management company Ignition were aware of the danger of overexposure, and before its release they sought to control the media's access to the album. Ignition's campaign included limiting pre-release radio airplay, and requesting that journalists sign gag agreements. These tactics resulted in the alienation of members of both the music and mainstream media, as well as many industry members connected with the band. Ignition's attempts to limit pre-release access to the album only served to fuel large scale speculation and publicity within the British music scene.
Artistically Be Here Now failed to live up to the expectations that preceded its release. Although initial reviews were positive, retrospectively the album is viewed by much of the music press and by most members of the band as over-indulgent and bloated. In 2007, Q magazine described Be Here Now as "a disastrous, overblown folly—the moment when Oasis, their judgement clouded by drugs and blanket adulation, ran aground on their own sky-high self-belief." The album's producer Owen Morris said of the recording sessions: "The only reason anyone was there was the money. Noel had decided Liam was a shit singer. Liam had decided he hated Noel's songs [...] Massive amounts of drugs. Big fights. Bad vibes. Shit recordings." None of its songs were included on the band's 2006 "best of" compilation album Stop the Clocks.
Album cover
The cover image to Be Here Now was shot at the Stock Hotel in Hertfordshire in April 1997. It features the band standing outside the hotel surrounded by assorted props. At the centre of the image is a Rolls Royce floating in a swimming pool. The photographer Michael Spencer Johns said the original concept involved shooting each band member in various locations around the world, but when the cost proved prohibitive, the shoot was relocated to the Stock Hotel. Spencer remarked that the shoot "degenerated into chaos", adding that "by 8pm, everyone was in the bar, there were schoolkids all over the set, and the lighting crew couldn't start the generator.
It was Alice in Wonderland meets Apocalypse Now." Despite various meanings people have tried to read into the selection of the cover props, Johns said Gallagher simply selected items from the BBC props store he thought would look good in the picture. Two of the props that had considered thought in their inclusion were the inflatable globe (intended as a homage to the sleeve of Definitely Maybe) and the Rolls Royce, which was suggested by Arthurs. The release date in each region was commemorated on the calendar pictured on the sleeve; Harris said the dating "[encouraged] fans to believe that to buy a copy on the day it appeared was to participate in some kind of historical event."
Tracklisting
D'You Know What I Mean? – 7:42
My Big Mouth – 5:02
Magic Pie – 7:19
Stand by Me – 5:56
I Hope, I Think, I Know – 4:22
The Girl in the Dirty Shirt – 5:49
Fade In-Out – 6:52
Don't Go Away – 4:48
Be Here Now – 5:13
All Around the World – 9:20
It's Gettin' Better (Man!!) – 7:00
All Around the World (Reprise) – 2:08
Singles
D'You Know What I Mean?"
Released: 7 July 1997
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart positions: #1 (UK), #1 (FIN), #1 (IRE), #3 (CAN), #4 (US)
Stand By Me
Released: 22 September 1997
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart positions: #2 (UK), #5 (US), #2 (IRE)
All Around The World
Released: 12 January 1998
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart positions: #1 (UK), #1 (IRE)
Don't Go Away" (Japan Only)
Released: 13 May 1998
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher.