Website promotion & other stuff

Have signed up to this thing called The Publicity Wheel which seems a decent way to promote your site (If it takes off). You basically get credit for including stuff like this :




and this :

The Publicity Wheel - Winner in News and Media

and in return they flash your link onto numerous other sites around the world. Mainly doing it as an investigation into Search Engine Optimisation. I'm discovering that internet marketing is a pretty big game and there's lots to it, I am quite surprised how many readers are clicking the Google ads up top there. I didn't think much of it when I signed up to it and I removed it for a time 'cause it kept flashing banners for The Sun (Don't buy it) but it is quite an impressive system (speaking from a technical point of view).

The unstoppable forces takes on the spent force?

Well not quite...most of us trooped out of Goodison pretty miserable on Sunday. We'd twice been ahead only to be pegged back. Instead of 6 points with a much superior goal difference we were a mere 3 points ahead of the Villa with tougher games to play.

That was certainly a glass half empty attitude. Everton had looked dead and buried in recent weeks, the pundits were saying we'd hit the wall. Villa on the other hand were in stunning form having scored 15 goals in their last three games. I reckon any Evertonian would have taken a point before kick-off. I have to admit I didn't think Everton had that in them. It's just a shame that their performance didn't quite carry them over the line. If Villa beat us at the line then so bet it...it's worth bearing in mind that they've played about 15 games less than us this season. Yes that's the price of success but the facts remain. It's also worth bearing in mind that in any other year Everton would be enjoying an end-of-season cruise already guaranteed a UEFA place from an unused cup slot. It was a day of what ifs but at the end of it Everton are now almost certain to be playing European football again next year. Portsmouth haven't applied for the Intertoto so for Everton to come away empty handed Pompey would have to win their next two games then lose the FA Cup final with Villa also slip past Everton. Some blues seem to lament the end of season dip...it's very dissappointing but we shouldn't let it sour what's been a brilliant, brilliant season.

On Saturday we popped along to the last game of the Waterloo season....this was always going to be a toughie against Otley, a team who needed to win to be crowned champions. It proved a fairly easy win for the Yorkshire side but Waterloo played pretty well and pushed them all the way for their win. When you consider that Otley finised hust ahead of Manchester, a team Waterloo did the double over you perhaps get a sense of the topsy-turvy season 'loo have had.

Jewell tight-lipped over Carsley

Jewell tight-lipped over Carsley

Derby County manager Paul Jewell said he will not be commenting on speculation linking him with a move for Everton's Lee Carsley.

The 34-year-old former Rams midfielder has been widely tipped for a return to Pride Park this summer.

However Jewell told BBC Radio Derby: "It would be unwise and unfair to comment on players from other teams."

Carsley is out of contract with the Goodison Park club at the end of the current season.

Not happy about that...Surely Cars is worth another year at least. He's been immense, he just needs someone to take a bit of the pressure off him so he isn't our lynchpin week in, week out. I can't say enough good tihngs about Lee Carsley...he's everything you'd want in a player and since he was given the anchor roll atthe start ofthe 2004 season he's basically been indespensible. Add to that the fact that everyone at the club seems to love him to bits it'd be very sad to see him leave.

My kind of liverpool site

Not saying anything about last night...it was a hell of an own goal but I still fancy them to go through.

http://www.liverpool-kop.com/ - "Rejecting biased media hype and fawning 'blind faith' fandom".

For a long time I've noted how truly embaressing it must be for the decent, calm measured rednose when the stereotypical super-red wannabe is all over the media. At long last a site reflecting that silent element (you notice I held back on saying majority ;) ).

Since you've been gone

So while we were in the far east playing the occidental tourist Everton rapidly look to be running out steam. A ropey win against Derby and a draw against Birmingham show how the season has cuaght up with us. The Chelsea game is slightly irrelavent, they are form team in the league and probably our only chance was to catch them on an off day becasue of the utterly pathetic scheduling of the game. Sky demanding a title challenger play two games in 4 days is utterly ridiculous.

The sheer number of games and the small number of frontline players has caught up with us in a big way whilst the likes of Portsmouth and most notable Aston Villa hit form just at the right time.

This weekend's game will be vital in securing the UEFA place. I do think if we lose the Intertoto is probably the best we can hope for. According to the official Everton webiste site "If Everton finish fourth - we would qualify for the Champions League UNLESS an English side wins the Champions League and finishes outside the top four. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.

If Everton finish fifth - we would qualify for the Uefa Cup regardless of any other scenario.

If Everton finish sixth - we would play in the Intertoto Cup UNLESS the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth. We would then play in the Uefa Cup.

If Cardiff ARE permitted to take one of England's spots, then we would play in the Intertoto Cup.

If Everton finish seventh - we would play in the Intertoto ONLY IF the FA decide Cardiff City can't have one of England's Uefa Cup places AND Portsmouth finish fifth.

IF the FA decide Cardiff CAN have one of England's places, there would be only one Uefa Cup place from the league - awarded to the team finishing fifth. The Intertoto Cup place would then go to the highest-placed applicants who haven't qualified by other means. Everton, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur have applied for the Intertoto Cup. Spurs have qualified already through the Carling Cup. Portsmouth have not applied.

Therefore, if Portsmouth finish sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would qualify for the Intertoto Cup. If Aston Villa, Blackburn or Man City finished sixth and Everton seventh, Everton would NOT qualify for the Intertoto Cup.

There is also a possibility an English side could qualify for the Uefa Cup via Uefa's Fair Play league. England are currently one of several nations who could be awarded an additional Uefa Cup place, with Everton well-placed in the Premier League disciplinary standings. Full details of this situation are yet to be clarified by Uefa."

In other news we've finally signed up Steven Pienaar for a pretty paultry £2m and Dan Gosling is close to making his debut.

Big in Japan

Well it has to be said that was a GREAT holiday. As dear old Mark Tapley would say "There's no credit in being jolly". A 3am start and a 15 hour trip was pretty daunting but ultimately the exhaustion after a journey that long effectively dealt with any potential jet-lag (how's that for looking on the bright side). We arrived in Tokyo at 7:30am the next day and were met by my old university mate Dave...he should us round and basically kept us awake for the first day nosing round Tokyo so that by the time we slipped into a blissful coma our body clocks were totally adjusted (Apparently we slept through a big earthquake on the first night).

Loved Tokyo to bits...neon, beer, ramen, sashimi, cherry blossom, karaoke, Tokyoites picnicing or strutting their stuff in the park. Really can't say a bad word about the place. So grateful to Dave & Elly for looking after us.

From there we went up to Nikko...that was ace, have done a lot of templing over the curse of my travels and that was definitely up there with those real "Oh wow" moments...also me and Anne and a random Japanese girl got our sone-to-be legendary three wise monkeys picture there so it can't be bad.

From there we did a mad transit over to Kyoto....the Shinkansen bullet trains are every bit as impressive as you imagine they are going to be (and thanks to the JR Pass you can basically just jump onboard with impunity). Kyoto's main problem is that there's just so much to fit in there. Think we got a good feel for the place in the time we were there though. Saw the famous Zen garden and the beautiful golden pagoda (in between conveyor belt sushi & beer sessions). After a quick visit to the impressive Himeji Castle we went to Nara for some tramping round in the woods and some sunbathing (and to see the awesome Todai-Ji temple with it's stonkingly big Buddha) and then a rain soaked Ise before heading back to Tokyo for more food, beer and karaoke with Dave & Elly. Brilliant trip all round.

Konichiwa

In Tokyo at the moment...loving it (although the rain is a little Belguim-esque). The place definitely has the "wow factor" as well as a brilliantly benign, friendly "Ah factor".

Chuffed Everton won....goold old Leon.

身らﾃに地も背水と戸に幹巣地味氏らも野印と羅身地町製三井問いのいんこらちすし!
(Random japanese keypressing just for the hell of it)

Oh, not again

Waterloo Rugby Club look at moving ground

Can my sports clubs just stop leaving their beautiful traditional old homes please....is it too much too ask. First Everton ditch our wonderful old stadium for some souless-modern logistical nightmare out in the sticks....Now Waterloo are looking to move. In Waterloo's case it's a bit more understandable. Blundellsands is prime, prime real-estate and the club isn't exactly awash with cash. I just hope they move somewhere easy to get to.

Google bomb with a purpose

For no apparent reason I thought it'd be worthwhile put up this link to a site that explains exactly who is a Jew. ;)

Loved this story over at my favourite SEO company : Lycos and Excite to make bid to buy Yahoo. Google and Microsoft merge