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Football talent from UCLan took on local side, Preston United to help promote plans Kick It Out campaign, to eradicate racism from football.

A university side included a mixture of football team players and staff including the coach of UCLan’s Football 1st team, Adam Shilcock and the Student Union’s Activities and Participations Officer, Tom Bailey.

It was Bailey, Captain for the day who put his side 1-0 up minutes of the start of the first half after a great ball by Jack Mawdsley on the right wing.

Preston United soon equalised but a Jordan Butler penalty then saw the SU retake the lead. A third goal from Yusuf Kaffo, after another Mawdsley cross put UClan 3-1 up.

A penalty was easily converted by Preston United’s player/manager, Omar Kahn, to pull a goal back but a Hussain Master goal for UCLan killed the game off for a 4-2 victory.

The match was just one of many activities taking place nationwide as part of the Kick It Out campaign, football’s equality and inclusion campaign against racism.

Afterwards Bailey said: “With football nowadays, there is a lot of racism. This is a worldwide problem. Starting small will have big consequences in my opinion.”

The match at PSA also helped promote new plans for football and community work within the University.

Other exciting plans include the chance for students to get involved with community work including coaching some of Preston United’s football teams including their Under 10s and 13s squads.

The club’s manager, Omar Kahn has helped many young people throughout the area and has called for students to get involved.

Kahn who also works as a community officer said: “I’ve been working for 9-10 years and we’ve stopped a lot of young people from getting involved in the wrong stuff. It’s really important they get disciplined.

“It’s important students realise that in the economic downturn, people will be looking for more voluntary opportunities,” Kahn added.

“The more volunteering, the more young people we can get involved. It’s about mentoring young people and developing a young person’s life “.

With more volunteering on board, more people throughout the area will have the opportunity to take part in football and other initiatives.

Participation was very much the buzzword with plans for a 11 a side inter-university football forthcoming tournament under way. It is also hoped that the plan will include other sports (see page 14).

Bailey said “Obviously we hope to increase participation. It will help make new friends and getting people involved and giving people a chance to do things they wouldn’t necessary choose to do.”

Those who are interested are asked to contact Kahn, from Preston United at prestonunited@yahoo.co.uk with other voluntary opportunities available from The Bridge.

Lava and Ignite Wednesday is considered by most to be the most popular student night in Preston. In this exclusive report, DAN BIRCH speaks to the director of the club and a man largely responsible for bringing you the nightlife of Preston that we know today.

When you think of the nightlife that shapes the small, diminutive town of Preston, the masses think of one word – Lava. It is true that this nightclub continues to dominate the night scene in the town but what do we really know? Talking to the club director, Andy Macdonald, there were many interesting remarks and discussion about what goes about bringing a night of today to Preston.

A former UCLAN student himself, Macdonald is the director of YBD Club which owns three bars, Assembly, Academy and Wall Street plus two nightclubs, Squires and Lava. That’s right – FIVE venues. Forget your independent clubs, Warehouse and Method. This proves the domination that a single organisation can have on a medium sized town in this country today.

What is the secret? Probably Macdonald’s experiences at University. “I was a big socialist at Uni. I was always very critical. I’d buy a queue jump for 53 and said you’d have to be there by a certain time” he said. “I thought I’m gonna put club together to create these mistakes”.

Having taken a management degree, the blonde haired Scotsman saw the mistakes that needed to be ironed out. “It was also a commercial market. It needed tweaking. I approached big clubs and management. When I first started, David Beveridge was your man. I said ‘I can promote your club’ “.

Ironing out the mistakes, the chain of Lava and Ignite has since become known for what it is, playing commercial chart music and providing a venue for the end of a night what usually starts at Assembly, the den of cheap drinks.

The price offers at Assembly for drinks at 75p have seen to be believed. However the recent advent of pre-drinking at flats and houses for young people alike, has taken a huge blow on the bar business. “What that means is nightlife will deteriorate” according to Macdonald. However the 75p drinks are still booming business. “I think it doesn’t matter what price you charge. If the price is not right then students will still drink. When you put a price on 75p, they can enjoy nights out. It applies to students because they have no income. Student fees have gone down. Tuition fees are up. Student’s don’t have same cash”.

There is no doubt the drinks from Assembly have helped engage an atmosphere of flames in Lava but what about the underground scene? Are student’s who don’t necessary want to drink and party on, wanting to come to a place that offers a taste for their kind of music? ““Commercial adapts to masses. Anything else is for more individual people. What are the chances we will be able to get 2,000 people coming to listen to House Music? – Slim”. This is possibly true but this is an answer that certainly proves it is all about business. However Macdonald says that he is happy to target other students and has promised more hardcore and even drum and base nights following on from the recent night consisting of well known acts such as DJ Hype and Bryan Gee.

There are also some other nights in Lava which will help towards fundraising for many of the UCLAN clubs including, the cricket and cheerleadings clubs. The prizes on offer include Holiday prizes. In addition, a new Thursday night for lava with new drinks deals is also set to take place.

One of the big future things coming up is Spring Break on 23rd March in Assembly. Promising to be a hot night of good deals, and with a mix of chart and underground music, Macdonald said if the night was good for Business however, then he would be all up for it.

But it all depends in your eyes: Is Business everything in the clubbing world? Is the nightlife dominated by this club captivating? Get yourself down to Lava.

It could be said that it is a step into the unknown but the opportunity to play an amateur side from Wigan was far too good to miss for the Sports Journalism Football team at UCLAN.

Fresh from a decent first half of the season, Chris Plumb’s team are set to challenge teams from further afield and it could be said of higher quality.

Chairman, Dan Birch has arranged fixtures against Sports Therapy, IQ Kopa (The largest halls at the University) plus an obscure team of a group of friends. However, all these teams are unknown and Wigan Celtic will certainly provide the toughest test.

Formed last year by UCLAN third year student, Paddy Ryan, Wigan Celtic are a new local club in the area who will enter the Lancashire Premier Amateur League next season. Playing in the shirt of Ryan’s native Glasgow Celtic, the squad is mainly full of ex semi professional footballers who have all joined a project, with high ambitions having been raised at the club.

As the first team coach, and captain, Ryan has said that the team aim to win everything going in it’s first season. If they did indeed win the league they will be entering the next season, they would enter the first division of the North West Counties which is just five divisions below the national Conference. That would make it possible for Wigan Celtic to enter the English Football League in six seasons, if they win everything. Scary or not?

Indeed, the club will also operate a reserve team and an Under 18 side which shows their ambitions. As well as obtaining other players from other sides in the league, the club also has a majority of very good footballers who have good reputations. The goalkeeper was a Wigan Athletic reserve keeper last season, plus there a number of ex Athletic and Everton players in the team. Some of the majority however have trained with teams such as Bamber Bridge near Preston.

The most interesting piece of their squad however is the signing of a Canadian reserve international who was due to sign for Colchester United for £300,000 but was not able to obtain a green card (to live in the UK). Therefore, he will sign for Wigan Celtic having been a team mate of the chairman of the club at the famous independent Scottish school, Gordonstoun. The fact, Nottingham Forest are also supposedly after this man certainly shows how ambitious the club actually are building their way to the top and it is certainly no Gretna story for sure.

But what for the Sports Journalism team? Is a match against this supposedly much feared new team full of ambition, a step too far? Not a chance, and the squad will be keen to put on a good performance as well as show their talent to the opposing team, as Wigan will also be on a scouting mission to purchase new players, maybe from the SJ team.

Adding to the loss of Paul Cox and Jonathan Croft, rock and roll star, Thomas ‘Seagull’ Wilson is out once more leaving manager Chris Plumb without any recognised wingers plus a patchy squad of about thirteen to fourteen.

Squad (probable): Anderson (GK), Fleming, Boon, Persico, Haile, Lowson, Plumb, Birch, Hucker, Clark, Squires, Haile, Mackley, Watson

Hard Fi never lived up to their first album in 2005.

The concept of Music has perhaps not changed much since the start of the decade. However, the way we have listened and shared music has been the greatest change.

If you ask the teenagers and children of today, on how they first got into music, you can no longer just expect a CD, TV show or even Gig. The value of sharing music through media files, with the increasing impact of the internet has changed the way we listen to music.

The majority of my listening to Dubstep for instance has been frequently through rapid share. On social networking sites. That’s right – social networking sites. The fact that music has now converged so much with other people over a screen is something that has made music more accessible more than ever. Clicking on other people’s links and there a ‘tune’ downloads. This is something that was talked about back in 2000 as MP3, a way of uploading files into MP3 players, a new better version than a Walkman. In terms of social networking, even MSN was still basic, and as soon as we hit 12 and 13 ‘pre-teen’, its messaging chat and its way of sharing things (pictures, games etc) became a real purpose for using the internet.

Now it is Facebook, Facebook and Facebook. Social networking has never been a bigger part of our lives. Groups, Events and the like all hype new albums, news and importantly new music. But even before Facebook, was Myspace who were responsible for perhaps kick starting the most important British band of this decade.

The Arctic Monkeys are king of the MySpace trend, and the first mainstream band of using music through the internet. When we now think back to 2005, we think back to Myspace and the Arctic Monkeys. Their first album ‘Whatever People say I am, That’s what I am not’ was great for its musical style and witty lyrics, but the fact was, they were propelled right from their bedrooms to a thousand of people arced field, within the space of just a year.

2004, was also the year of the ipod. Who can forget the multi coloured adverts on television with U2′s ‘Vertigo’ blasting out in the background? People might have thought this was nothing more than an MP3. Just a collection of tunes but in a nicer looking music player. Indeed, it’s colour helped secure it as an accessible fashion trend amongst all ages, much like the mobile phone had done. However, its purpose was far greater than what people would have imagined.

The ipod became the focal point of personalities. People expressing how they felt, and their music on the pod expressed their kind of person. The ability of it’s kind to bring ‘communities’ together, as well, helped a house party experience or gathering give more of a party feel.

The ipod is now a piece of handheld furniture.

But what of the actual music itself? Some music columists such as Miranda Sawyer this week, have highlighted the fact that music has remained the same. Indeed, there has not been a movement as such like Rave, Britpop or Punk. However it has more been a case, of some music been revived. Mixing the old with the new helping the old audience like the new music just like their children as an example. Though there have been slight movements such as ‘new rave’, these have not fizzed out to be blessed into history. The current wave of Indie bands have followed their predecessors and not been able to follow up a second album in Britpop fashion.

If that has been the case, with the indie world, what about the pop? Only one man can rule that planet at the moment, Simon Cowell.

Can he be stopped? His ‘music’ or more like his ‘money makers’ are also killing the concept of underground genres of dance music in favour of X Factor talent blended in with the chart music.

In the next decade, it will be interesting to see if there is such a reaction to the brand. It rules our television, our dance floors and also practically everywhere in one social form or another, because of the huge convergence of the media. Social characters such as Susan Boyle and John and Edward are now icons.

Can someone fight against this? Well that could be a new movement in the ‘Teenies’.

For Top 50 Albums of this decade, check out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/17/nme-top-albums-decade-noughties

The double was not to be as SJFC Year 1 football team’s winning streak of five games came to an end yesterday afternoon.

Moor Park, witnessed for the first in a long time, a scrappy game of football that was mostly played through the middle of the park, with a huge contest to win the ball.

Chris Plumb’s preperations for the game were dealt with several blows with the absence of top scorer, Tom Haile and attacking midfielder, Will Squires. Add to the loss of both keepers, Anderson and Mackley plus talisman, Peter Long and the team on paper lacked in depth. The further absence of a couple of late additions would would have at least given the team some substitutes, meant SJFC had just eleven. Dominic Fleming took the spotlight, making just his second appearance in goal this season, with manager, Chris Plumb and Chairman, Dan Birch both occuping the left side.

With Paul Cox, the winning goalscorer of the famous 2-1 win over the same team, playing up front in a 4-5-1 formation, the SJFC team tried to keep the ball on the ground in the first half. However, it was clear that the opposition had a threat on goal. It was soon 1-0 to them with Rob Bartlett scoring with a fine finish getting past three players before striking the ball home into the top right corner of the net.

However the first year’s slowly crept back into the game and were rewarded with an equaliser, thanks to some fine battling in the box. A Mike Boon headed goal also resulted in a slight facial injury for the commanding centre back, but this was also a fine piece of bravery. The scoreline was now 1-1, and thus that was it was at half time.

The second half was when the game came into life slightly with chances in the first half far and few between, from both teams. Making his first start in goal, Fleming was called upon to make a superb save tipping the ball over the crossbar. Chances came for the first year’s with Jonathan Croft narrowly hitting a shot over the bar after getting past two players. Tom Wilson also hit the crossbar with a good effort.

However, the injuries sustained to Gary Clark and manager, Plumb were perhaps a contributing factor to this defeat. Clark already having sustained a blow, gave the ball away at the halfway line allowing the opposition to score past the onrushing Fleming in goal. The third goal dealt the final killing, with the Year 1 players appealing for offside, thus allowing the opposition to score, with referee, Long allowing play to continue.

Despite this defeat which ends the winning run, stand in keeper, Dom Fleming believed that there was still positives to be taken. ” I just thought we played quite well seeing as we had quite a few players missing ” said the Exeter short wearing journalist. ” When we kept the ball on the ground, we played better than them “.

Dan Birch believed that no substitutes was a key factor in the defeat. ” Obviously when we had players missing, it was going to be hard. We had a few injuries during the match as well. They are a lot more physical than we are and also older. ”

The tournament scheduled ahead is now looking a no go according to the Scotsman. ” It’s not going to happen I don’t think. I spoke to the SU officer (Jonathan Fletcher) and he said that they have not been able to get it going. There will be a league after Christmas maybe, but now its important that they sort something out to rival Leeds and Loughborough’s intra mural leagues “.

SJFC: Fleming (gk), Lowson, Persico, Boon, Plumb, Croft, Hucker, Wilson, Clark Birch, Cox

SJFC Manager, Chris Plumb faces a goalkeeping crisis for tommorow’s quickly arranged encounter with the Third Year’s.

First choice keeper, Chris Anderson will be unavailable due to commitments with UCLAN 4th’s, with back up, Stefan Mackley also ruled out, swapping his goalkeeping gloves for a note pad and pen. With the other possible choice, Edward Bretherton refusing to return in goal, Dominic ‘Shorts’ Fleming will swap from full back to goalkeeper, for his start in between the sticks. Fleming’s only other appearance in SJFC colours was in a 4-0 win against Team Random back in October.

Plumb will also lose two further players to UCLAN with creative attacking play maker, Peter Long and defender, Jake Watson both on Uni sport duty tomorrow afternoon. However, Will Squires will make a welcome return to the squad after recovering from his latest battle with his long term ankle duty.

(Squad):

Fleming, Lowson, Boon, Haile, Persico, Birch, Plumb, Squires, Croft, Cox, Clark, Hucker, Haile, Wilson

=== History ===

Sept 09: Lost 1-5

A first ever game for the first year’s with a vastly different line up back in the day. Greg Hall proved to be the toast of Moor Park getting all five goals for the third years, and this helped him give the confidence to break the goalscoring charts in Moor Park folklore this season.

Nov 09: Won 2-1

A triumphant display of pride, passion and belief. Beating a team two and three years older, the SJFC team under Dan Birch didn’t take it to heart going a goal down, with a Mike Boon header and Paul Cox screamer blending in with a superb display of passing football in a rain fest.