Year in review

The year in review. What a year it’s been. Every year is filled with highs and lows. The best years are the ones where the highs outnumber the lows. Some years feel like they’ve dragged on forever, others feel as though they’ve flown by. This is the latter! It feels like just yesterday my girlfriend & I were sharing our first Christmas together. It is true what they say. So much can happen in a year!

You can find yourself as part of the best drive time radio show in the mountain Kingdom, on the first online station  said Kingdom has ever had, all the while as part of a management team trying to ensure the highest definition of radio. You can find yourself as a growing concern in a brand new industry with exciting developments every so often! The Sky Alpha HD experience is one for the books. It really deserves a whole book! In one of the chapters one would have to lament the lack of support for startups in the Kingdom, but would also have to acknowledge the belief shown by many corporate players who just need help connecting the dots that show the picture of the great marketing tool that is Sky Alpha... In this year we’ve managed to go from an idea, to a station making radio, to a station making good radio, to experts in outside broadcasts, on to an entity that can assist in bringing renowned house music deejay Alton Miller! If that isn’t growth, I don’t know what is.

I have said on more than one occasion, that I remember a time when I wished for what I have now. A healthy strong relationship with a woman who is out of my league. I read a quote once that went something like “when you meet a woman out of your league, marry her”... Many older brethren have warned me that I cannot be happy forever, at some point I will have to get married. They are right, I do have to get married..

My personal development and growth this year has been awesome to experience. It’s strange writing about my own development and growth, but in the age of social media, narcissism is the order of the day! Every day I’m surprised by my own reaction to things that would have set me off some time back, but now are water off a ducks back. I’ll often have a self debrief at the end of the day and wonder to myself whether that was right or wrong, but then I’ll quickly move passed it acknowledging that there’s nothing I can do about something in my past. I must control the controllable a and leaving everything else to the universe in a manner of speaking.

We keep making quips about Vision 2020. It is many things to many people 2020. I’m looking forward to it more than anybody will ever know. I really feel like there are BIG THINGS coming...

Take your time...

Bella & Maps, the Big times finest commented the other day that I needed to revive my blog. This came after my girlfriend had asked more than once why I wasn’t writing anymore. I have seriously neglected that poor blog, and I’ve got to do right by it. I have made a vow to myself to write every day in the holidays. From about the 22nd December till January 3rd I’ll post something on the blog every day.

The main reason behind my silence is busyness. I saw a little twitter clip where Bill Gates laments “busy” as the new stupid. He and Warren Buffet are very clear that time is the most precious of commodities. These two super wealthy dudes say you have got to manage your time precisely and intentionally. I was then reminded of my brother’s PA at the red bank. She used to schedule an hour ever day in his calendar called “TWS” or time with self. Apparently it popped up as a meeting request.  A meeting with himself. I really love that! I can’t wait to be able to afford a PA like that. Right now it feels like I’m running around like a headless chicken. I never ever complete the tasks that I start in a week. If I showed the number of half baked, incomplete proposals (of really good ideas) that I have, or that I’m working on, you’d be amazed. I dare say, I’d be branded lazy or unable to complete tasks. That’s mainly down to time management. I just don’t seem to have enough hours in a day.

I never ever thought this would be me. I never envisaged myself as a guy who would go from one meeting to another and then not find time to do some writing-in whatever capacity. Never! As head of operations at Lesothos first online radio station I’m finding that is increasingly my plight. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. I love what this station is, and what it’s becoming. I really dig getting to know all of our personalities. And, more and more I’m loving being on the radio working with storied professionals like Maps (a radio legend & creative par excellence) Bella (a creative & sartorial genius) and Mattie (undoubtedly the best music compiler/producer the Kingdom will ever know). Our melting pot of a show is exactly the kind of radio I would tune in to back in my day. Bertram’s YFM, that’s my main inspiration!

Between doing the show and trying to successfully run the station and having a balanced life outside of that, I’ve found zero time for pet projects like writing a blog. Even scribbling this down took a concerted effort. I’ve forced myself to shut off from the world for a little bit so I can pen these musings. Naturally I’ve enjoyed writing this. I love the solitude that comes with writing. There’s a self connection that happens when I write that I’ve only found in writing and therapy.

Anyhow, Ke Dezemba Boss! And it’s time to shine! Let’s all be safe, let’s all enjoy the festivities, and let’s be less busy next year and more aware of how we spend our time...

Ode to love

The most magical experience I have ever had. That is the only way to characterise the last six and a half odd months of my life. I wrote a piece a while ago, a sort of letter to love, wondering out loud why it had forsaken me. Hoping against hope that one day I would be able to exclaim, my love is no longer waiting. I said it more in hope then genuine belief. In that moment, as I wrote that letter, I could not see where love would come from. I did not believe I would find anyone I could truly call a lover.

It's funny how someone you didn’t know even eighteen months ago can strut into your life and become the most important part therein. I have been constantly amazed by my girlfriend and her ability to fit seamlessly in to my life. How could anyone have known that there is a Nyaki sized hole that can only be fitted by that specific human? When Savage Garden gave us the hit classic “I knew I loved you before I met you” they had to have been lyricising this exact event...

Sometimes when I’m with my girlfriend I find myself gawking at her, unable to believe that someone could be so beautiful. I can’t get used to it. It is really true what they say about beauty being in the eye of the beholder! Those striking features, her confident demeanour and her dazzling smile add up to a masterpiece. She smiles with her whole face and I personally can’t help but be completely sucked in to her aura when that happens.

I have only known her ten or eleven months, but the connection we have seems like those of lifelong buddies. I tell her way more than I should, and she in turn does the same. We share everything from the mundane to the earth shattering. We laugh a lot, like a lot a lot because both of us have ridiculous anecdotes for just about every life situation. Well, me more than her because I’ve been alive a little longer. Often when I’m telling an inappropriate story, she'll be chuckling along, fully invested in my story without worrying about what kind of a halfwit she’s got involved with. There is nothing that I appreciate more than that!

I have always loved life. I really have. My sunny disposition has made it so, and since she’s been a part of my life the sun seems to shine even brighter. Even the dark days seem to be more dark grey than black. It has been the most exhilarating ride of my entire thirty odd years of life and I cant wait to experience more of it!

Rebuilding the Red Devils..

There was an instructive moment in Wednesday night’s derby game between Man City and Man United. In about the fifty fifth minute, after having plucked the ball out from the nights sky, Man United goalkeeper David de Gea almost instinctively rolled the ball out to an open Fred, a ball playing midfielder, Fred fairly assuredly played the ball to Matteo Darmian, who promptly hoofed the ball up field more in hope than ambition. The wing back was all at sea with the ball at his feet in his own final third, and it showed. Juxtapose that against a move earlier in the game where City’s Vincent Kompany whacked a volley at his own keeper Ederson, who without batting an eyelid chested the ball down with typical Brazilian nonchalance, before calmly rolling the ball on to Americ Laporte who efficiently found a city midfielder, thus beginning an attacking move. The difference in playing style between the two rivals is decidedly distinguishable. Without being disrespectful to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his new coaching contingent, it is fair to say City play how United wish they could. The difference in quality is-sadly for me-immeasurable. A team that won the league with a record breaking points haul, virtually at a canter, versus a team that limped to second place looking despondent and dare I say, bleak.

Everybody has had a go opining at the difference between the two clubs. The same is true for me. I’m going to do it once more, because United is my club; my drug of choice if you will. Aren’t drugs meant to bring some measure of euphoric jubilance? I digress. Man United in its current guise is a hollow club. A kind of ghost going around trying to remind people of its former glory, while also hoping it might scare them in to thinking that glory is only moments away again. Its fans (myself included) have become like that drunk old superstar at the local pub reminding all and sundry of their former glory. That guys face normally tells a story of melancholy and nostalgia. He normally smells of missed opportunity and regret. His tales will take you back to some of the sweetest memories ever, but you learn that you can’t dine on the tales of yesteryear alone.

United have stagnated in a league where stagnation is banished to the scrapheap of also rans. The unenviable truth of the current Man United tale is that United is the sixth best of the “big six” teams in England. It does not matter how many tales of former glory we regale follow fans with, the sad fact is, we are probably only good enough for position six in the English Premier league.

How have we got here? This is the most interesting part of this story, because there are so many divergent views on the matter. Some will tell you, it was poor planning on United’s part post Ferguson retirement. Others will tell you unequivocally that the Glazers lack of investment or poor investment strategy has brought us down this rabbit hole, while others will talk about an investment banker named Ed Woodward who has proved incapable of steering this ship through choppy waters. My take is… it’s been a bit of everything. The Glazers are not the ideal owners of a club the size of Man United. You only need to look at Ed Woodward still leading matters concerning football to understand that. On that, the fact that Ed Woodward has yet to learn that the football aspect of the job is beyond him speaks to his weakness. I will never forget him smugly jetting off to Barcelona to go and capture Cesc Fabregas’ signature. Cesc, who that same window ended up at Stamford Bridge, while we in turn got a (still very professional) geriatric named Bastian Schweinsteiger.  I was a big admirer of the Bavarian, and had he come two seasons earlier I have little doubt that he would have carved out a cult following for himself in Lancashire. The management of Sir Alex’s departure leaves much to be desired. It still beggars belief that United opted for Moyes when both Guardiaola and Mourinho were available around that time. Mourinho would actually have been a perfect replacement for Sir Alex at that time with a club having just won the league, and most of the players in that squad in the prime of their careers. Had Man United understood right then that every manager post Ferguson was going to be at the club for three or four years, Mourinho would have been a no brainer.

However, they did not, and we are where we are.  The rebuilding process is going to be as difficult a task as the Glazers have ever seen. First they need a complete rethink of what the Man United asset is to them, and to their biggest shareholders who I’d venture are the legions of fans scattered across the globe. The club isn’t something as crude as a cash cow. It is a mega club, one of the biggest footballing institutions in the world and must be respected as such. Ed must continue on the commercial side of things but failure to build a functional footballing arm with clear targets and checks and balances will ultimately cripple the club. Attracting top football administration talent should be far easier than playing staff. Edwin Van de Sar, Ji Sung Park, David Gil and even Rio Ferdinand are all names we should be hearing in the conversation about Uniteds new football business arm.

Once the administration is sorted then of course we need to have a serious discussion about playing style. Let me quickly outline a scenario. Let’s say United have a CEO of football called Van de Sar, under him is a Director of Football called Phelan, and then there’s a manager called Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Solskjaer and Phelan must devise a plan to win the league in 20/21. To do that, the manager must ensure a mix of youth team players and hungry experienced players who can uphold the ethos of the club. That ethos for me is built on a solid defensive unit. A ball playing centre half paired with a more aggressive tackling centre back. Outside them should be two energetic fullbacks able to get up and down the pitch without tiring. I can’t remember a United back three being successful. Then we need an intelligent ball playing midfield. One box to box midfielder, a holding midfielder with the technical acumen to both pick a pass and break up play, and two energetic wide players with pace and power who can contract in to the midfield in defence and stretch the play and whip quality crosses in on offense. Up front we need a technically gifted, intelligent number ten playing not far off the number nine, who needs to be big strong and physically inclined. Football has changed, there is little doubt about that, but even in its evolution, it remains about doing the fundamentals correctly. Press with purpose without the ball, and pass to an open man then provide an option for him in possession.

Indeed players must be moved on, the deadwood cut or whatever other cute term one would like to use, but the spending needs to be much more nuanced than the recent “throw money at the problem” sentiment that has prevailed over the last little while. My suggestions for what that looks like at present goes a little something like. To be moved on are: Marcus Rojo, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian, Tim Fosu-Mensah, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard. That’s ten players, almost an entire team. That will allow for academy players to be blooded in to the team. James Garner, Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood can join Scott McTominay from the academy side. Then new arrivals in my view should be Kalidou Koulibaly, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tangouy Ndombele, Jadon Sancho and Jamie Vardy. Pace, power, tactical acumen and football IQ.

I really and truly hope Man United can find a way through this challenging period. I hope rebuilding can be a priority project for the owners and executive management of my team! I we can return to the glory days of old!

Happiness is...

The question I’m asked most frequently these days is “should we consult our tailors?” And various different iterations of that. I get it too. This is the first time in the social media era I have been so public (ha!) With the object of my affections. Indeed, this is the first time I have referred to a girl as “my girlfriend” as has been pointed out by one too many an elder. Previously girls I was seeing were referred to as “my goose” or rather more glibly “the skippas I’m dating”. None of these are declarations of affection, nor confirmations of real romance. Both were aimed at obfuscation. Answer the question, without saying anything really. Obfuscation is an under rated skill, one which I really wish more politicians would make use of rather than telling us flat out lies, but I digress. I had never committed in real terms to those ladies and dare I say, it showed.  My inability to commit fully to the relationship was always the pink elephant in the room.

Relationships are really tough I thought to myself. I had even managed to convince myself that I wasn’t cut out for them. All the while my friends were taking a knee, requesting the state, the higher power and friends and family to support their relationships. Everywhere I went I was being reminded to run my own race at my own pace, but also feeling the immense pressure of those around me getting on with the business of adulting. I had become an expert in throwing a bachelor party. Good time guy, getting all his mates hitched, that’s what I’d convinced myself I was. There were a couple of weird things happening though. One was that I had a crush I just could not get over whatever I did, the other was that I was dating anybody who showed any kind of interest in me. Even girls who I knew for a fact were not suited to me. It was a form of desperation as a result of the pressure that was building up around me.

I remember February 2018 after parting ways with a lovely young lady who I wasn’t suited to, thinking to myself, I have to change tack here. I can’t carry on along this route. So I did. First order of business, dealing with the crush. I finally managed to tackle this issue head on. With some external assistance I managed to get it out of my head that I was doing any thing other than wasting my time holding on to hope that there was potential for love there. The second thing I did was to face up to the cynical notion that any girl you told you loved  would somehow use that to “dribble you” as the kids these days will have it.  I had to stop being a victim of my own silly ideas and start living in the world with everybody else. I knew I needed time to really believe in this new path. I knew I would need some experience at it too. As luck would have it, I started seeing someone around that time. I was trying throughout that period to behave like someone in a relationship. I was trying to communicate well, be supportive and to compromise. I was likely failing in all those areas. It just wasn’t a fit, and I wasn’t invested in it as much as I needed to be. I had an exit clause for myself. That said, the seed had been planted. I was now aware of the skills set that would be required for a real relationship. 

One random night at Cuban Linx (a quasi-
nightclub in Maseru) I found myself dancing with a stunning girl. A girl I had met previously but hadn’t had the privilege of getting to know. We danced and drank shots. The combination of the two dulling my otherwise very real fear of rejection (Gwababa). From that first interaction alone I knew I needed to put my best foot forward with this young lady. I spoke to her every day. Initially just getting to know her but with the intention of ultimately dating her. She tells me she didn’t know whether I just wanted to be friends with her or whether I had some other sinister boyish motives. Fortunately I managed to convince her I was well intentioned and she acquiesced to my advances.

In the passed I wouldn’t even have written a post like this out of fear of “jinxing” a good thing. Now, a couple of days shy of our four month anniversary officially speaking (we've actually been together closer to six and a half months) I am writing this with glee as well as comfort. Comfort that this great partnership I find myself in won’t simply be jinxed because I’ve declared my happiness!

You guys should have said earlier that this whole relationship thing is this awesome! Jeez...

Rejuvenated

A revelation... Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been an absolute revelation at the helm of Man United. One loss to a tactically superior PSG is the only blemish in the last thirteen Man United games. Nothing and no one could have prepared us for a run of results like this. Paul Ince seems to think any one of the former United gang could do what Solskjaer is doing, but I think “the Guvnor” is being a little too complimentary to himself and his former teammates. The notion that Ole simply came in and put smiles on the players faces is super simplistic and flawed. He has done more... He has introduced a playing style more suited to the material he has. He has made everyone that little bit better. Rashford and Martial have come out of their proverbial shells again, Ander Herrera has become a talisman in the United midfield, Matic is rejuvenated and Pogba suddenly looks every bit worth his ninety odd million pound transfer fee... Somebody went so far as to suggest he's the best midfielder in the world right now.  I’m not sure about that, but he’s come a long way from being referred to as a virus in the team.  The standoff between Pogba and Mourinho that resulted in the midfielder downing tools necessitated the fall of the Mourinho empire. I wonder whether, in hindsight, Jose regrets his management of the situation?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Mike Phelan and the rest of the technical staff have unlocked all the potential the team held. Rather than trying to mitigate the weaknesses in the squad the technical team are playing to the strengths of each and every player. Players are playing in their positions and thriving; not being asked to deal with their defensive responsibility before anything else. This has obviously benefitted Pogba specifically more than all the others and ironically his defensive play has improved as a result. He has become Roy Keanesque in his box to box play... Well, without the brutish edge Keano offered. He has regained his Joie de Vivre and what a pleasure it’s been to experience that!

Uniteds next home game is against arch rivals Liverpool. So much has been made of this game, that I am loathe to rehash it. I think it’s the biggest game of the season. A Liverpool victory and they’re almost a shoe-in to win the league, a United victory and we are truly nestled in fourth place. Many will say celebrating fourth place proves just how the mighty have fallen, not realising that in fact the giant is awakening from its slumber...

My suspicion is that we'll edge Liverpool in what will actually be a cagey match. Post game, United fans will begin to demand OGS be given the job full time.
Bring on the weekend I say! I

Gunning for Solskjaer...

Six wins out of six for Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The “Baby faced assassin” has come in and seemingly transformed the fortunes of a team that looked destined to finish sixth (at best) under Jose Mourinho. I referred to José as a square peg in a round Man United hole not so long ago. The exact opposite is true for Solskjaer. He is what you might call the perfect fit. He understands the culture of the club, understands the inner workings and has a strong relationship with the man who built the club in to what it is today. With each passing game, and positive result it gets harder and harder to insist on Pochettino or Massimo Allegri replacing Mourinho... For me the shortlist should feature those three names solely. Solskjaer, Allegri and Pochettino. I would be happy with either one of them. I suspect trying to pry Pochettino from Tottenham is going to be as painful as trying to pry Dimitar Berbatov from them some years ago. Incidentally, luring Allegri away from Juventus is likely to be as difficult.

Nothing about Ed Woodward and his negotiation skills in football related matters gives me any kind of confidence that he'll be able to make either deal happen. Some thing happened though the day after Mourinho was fired. There was very little reporting on it, and hardly any fuss if any, but I thought it was significant. David Gil was pictured driving out of Carrington. As an administrator Gil was worth his weight in gold, and the combination of him and Sir Alex was unstoppable. Seeing him drive out of Carrington made me wonder whether he was taking his rightful place back at the helm. That would really be a masterstroke were the Glazers to insert Gil back as CEO of football related matters with OGS managing the club...

Jose Mourinho wasn’t a fit for this period at Manchester United. Those doing the hiring and firing at Manchester United must hold their hands up in defeat. They have got it all wrong. Jose should actually have been given the job right after Sir Alex. At that time we had a strong squad of experienced players. With one or two additions Jose could have taken that squad on to one more league title and a deep run in to the Champions League in his traditional three season run. United could then have had a look at a manager who’s job it would have been to rebuild. Perhaps a young Pochettino. As it is, that’s not what happened. Instead we’ve had the hit or miss years of Messer’s Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho. That has unfortunately meant that this next managerial decision has to be spot on. There is very little margin for error now. This is how I know for certain that neither Diego Simeone nor Gareth Southgate should even be considered for the United job.

Much water must run under the proverbial bridge still, and there will surely be many ups and downs as we head towards the end of the season. My suspicion is, United will finish third in the league and will go deeper than we could ever have imagined in the Champions League. If I’m right about either or both of these predictions, then surely Woodward and his board will have no choice but to give the feel good factor of OGS a deal? Should I be off the mark, and United finish outside the top four, and get knocked out by PSG, then Allegri (more than Pochettino) must come in to sharp focus!

New Year dem...

My first blog in 2019. I hope I will write with more consistency than I did last year. I wonder why I fell off the writing? And whenever I wrote it seemed like I was bemoaning Jose Mourinho and his wayward ways. Ed Woodward too came in for some derision. Hopefully there will be less of that with club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having come to steady the ship. Five wins out of five at the time of writing this, suggest he certainly has, particularly when you consider the plus eleven goal difference Man United have now attained. Well and good...

But I’m not interested in writing about football just at the minute. Instead, I went to celebrate the narcissism that is having one’s own blog. I want to talk about this past festive season. My first sober one in Lord knows how long. Jeez! Who knew that one could stay sober and still have a good time over the festive period? It was such “a jump” as the young people would say. Loads of time with the family. Just on that, I saw on various social media that those of us who are fortunate enough to count time with the family as a good time are in the minority. What a shame! I can’t imagine not treasuring time with my kinfolk. It's even better now that my niece’s are in their teens. They are all the entertainment a guy could ask for! The youngest one is actually a pre-teen but she kept us all in stitches with her various life theorems and predictions for the future. Her very demure, lady like sister was often left exasperated by the lunacy. My poor sister-in-law rolled her eyes so often it became a common sight. I won’t even go in to her constant reprimands and scolding. All the elements that make for a merry festive period.

As ever geo-politics, economics, “internet of things”, football, rugby, basketball as well as a host of other things were discussed and debated with great gusto. My dad is the best in these matters. The other day the death of Tupac was being discussed. His only addition to the conversation was “wow, this is higher grade...” All the while the matriarch is there directing traffic. Even at our big (bigger, biggest) ages my mother is still scolding us. I’m told by some life experts that it'll likely never stop... Shout out to the disciplinarians!

We hosted people, friends who have become family over the period as well. Some came over for drinks, others for games, others just to chill and I suppose soak up the madness. That my family enjoys a tipple is neither a secret nor a negative mark against them! Au contraire! It is often the reason we have so many awesome passers by. They always add value to our chill sessions do our friends-cum-families. This year, my girlfriend spent a decent amount of time with my family and the experience didn’t see her call it quits on our relationship thankfully. I kid. My ebullient and effusive family made her feel as welcome as possible which was great to see. She really is all the awesome, and spending as much time as we did together this holiday really reinforced my deep appreciation for her.

The one rude awakening I got was how to do sober new year’s... You don’t just go with the flow of what the drinking people are doing. Nope! You don’t stand to be the winner when you do that! I have ducked and dived the question “did you enjoy your new year’s?” because in truth I didn’t. The vibe at the “club” we were at wasn’t the kind of vibe I enjoy. So it seems facetious, when I say I would rather have slept, but, I mean it... I was so tired from the whole festive that I really would rather have slept that night. As it is, I got to see some fireworks and more importantly spend some time with my girlfriend (always a winner). But I’m better prepared for the next sober New Year!

I'm looking forward to this year. It will have its ups and it’s downs. There'll be moments of activity and others of boredom, all the while it’s my hope that I’ll maintain the same sunny disposition that has carried me through thirty odd years of life. It's been a grand ol' time! Here’s to many more!