#for example what does Oli lack for not being able to be the one that is linked as the person who could be Louis’ boyfriend?

[ishipmutualrespect]

-

[theelliottsmiths]

So anyway, Mein Herz Brennt Making of liveblog, one of my favourites

First of all, I do take any use of piano MHB as a slight towards my tiny hands. -1 point

I really would love to visit this place, it's beautiful

I love that Oli introduces it and then Till is straight in there talking about murder and stabbings. Trust that to be what intrigues him. I feel like 'smells like murder' isn't a direct translation but that's purely because I spent like ten minutes trying to work out what words he says. It rhymes, which is suspicious.

Oh this was before he let his chest piercing reject all the way out in the grossest way

When schneider says Krankenhaus it sounds very Geordie and I'm convinced that kind of thing is why Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was created

Richards eyes light up when he's talking about the room he's in and it's one of those looks where it's just. I would love to listen to anything anyone has to say when their eyes have that sparkle.

"the scavengers had already been here" cue Paul talking about his criminal past thieving from there. See, another example everyone forgets of him being the biggest bastard of them all. The smile is a front.

One of my favourite ever Rammstein things is the combined joy and mockery from Paul when Richard is revealed to be wearing the bird mask and it wiggles as he nods. He looks like a little black cockatoo. Richard looks embarrassed to be wearing it but Paul is having the time of his LIFE.

The way is echoes in his mask makes him sound like he's clucking

Flakes glasses perching in his cone make him look like that sesame Street doctor or scientist

They all suit this make up so much and I wish they'd consider it as a stage look

Peck. Not intimidated.

Considering the nightmares Till has/had, ouch

Richard looks so much like a little vampire prince but like, a character from what we do in the shadows. He makes his own smokescreen entry/exist and everything.

Melanie!!!

Richard has many tendons in his neck huh.

The sounddd. I used to always be curious as to whether or not people in music videos were making the sounds it looks like they're making and now I know and I'm uncomfortable. This and also later when till does the heart

His laugh is never what I expect it to be

That uh. That doesn't look like he's in pain the way the injection sounds implied. At all. Not that I'm complaining but it gives mixed messages.

I'm so sure Richard is the only one I've ever heard use the word quasi. It makes sense for him if true but maybe I only notice because of the tone he uses? His is quite a punchy nasal tone it might just be more noticeable.

Till with kids is always the most adorable wonderful thing. He's really helping to keep them relaxed despite the creepiness of the stuff they're shooting.

"if you look at the cover then you'll recognise a morbidity to the whole thing" till, my darling, do you think people don't already ~see the morbidity~?

I googled and the lady doesn't pronounce renaissance with a g like Till does and that interests me. In fairness I have to assume it's like in Norwegian how words like restaurant are pronounced with a g sound because it's closer to the French sounds? It's not like we in English donut the French way either but the Google translate lady does. This is why I always suspect that when I'm learning a language I'm learning the language wrong and at some point I'll find out there's a Real, For Adults version if the language that's totally different. This is irrelevant. Accents are fun and I like being able to notice them.

It feels so strange seeing this knowing what Eugenio did

Paul taking pictures because he knows better than them

Something about a child saying "ah yes, I know Till and Flake very well" is hysterical.

You can feel the dismay and disapproval radiating off till as he tries to be diplomatic about the Spanish understanding of linear time. He struggles to find a positive and only comes up with the fire walls. "It should have gone out before we filmed anything because they were fucking around with the playback so long but it didn't" is his only compliment.

The German word for French is wild.

Do they know they could have hired an interpreter? Interpreters existed in 2012 I know this

This whole thing with Melanie is beautiful you can't deny that the arm Eugenio made with then was lovely.

Till in the dress with Melanie in his lap. I don't off the top of my head remember seeing it in either video so I simply must assume that it was just what he was wearing that day when he showed up. She's so tiny on his knee I'm glad they're still friends.

"you're left in a state of trauma when everyone stares at you all the time" did this need to get so heavy? It's interesting that he focused more on her voice than her appearance there, though in fairness it's pretty high

They all love her so much and it's totally understandable.

Mit rock n roll und cola trinken

I have to skip the screaming the secondhand embarrassment is too much.

Part 2

Again, this liveblog is so long

Sometimes Oli speaks like his body isn't used to talking.

I want, so badly, to know if Richard was having memories of his dreadlocked youth The tiny cup in his elegant hand is so pleading and then you look left and. It sure is something.

Are they freckles or acne scars across Tills shoulders?...cute. The first set of arm/chest wounds, not so much. I do spy his lil tummy scar

Richard does look like he almost swooped in for a kiss and then changed his mind because of the camera. Paul turns his head that way and then Richard tries to save with a step back and face rub (his own). Just saying.

The fact that a few of them have taken pictures on their personal phones warms my soul it's such a nice reminder that they're good friends outside of work and My Heart

Schneider and Paul ready at a moment's notice to be Dumbasses. J'adore.

What if Zoran was more of a background character tho actually

God, schneider is beautiful. An ethereal, pure beauty that exists no matter how he's being styled.

See okay how is flake almost taller than Oli right now he's not even doing his standard open legs and swan spine thing

It must be so hard to find Oli sized clothes. Flake is also tall and slim but he's a lot more leg, whereas Olis height seems largely to be torso. I have to assume a lot of his stuff is tailored or custom made now.

I always forget about the marks on tills back when he's in the nightmare dress

The child staring with great confusion at a bright red flake reading. I would love to know what his favourite books are.

The childs plural poking and prodding at a very patient Oli, who gracefully bends his spine in ways I've never seen a human do before. I wonder if he's ever dressed up as Lurch from the Addams family.

The actress playing the woman in this half is so beautiful and has a power her younger counterpart lacked when she was threatening him with her weapon.

I am a dummy and was like weird why is Paul speaking Norwegian. I know full well he wasn't saying unnskyld because I've heard Germans say their equivalent before and I assume Entschuldigen either sounds like that fast or shortens so what the fuck, rhi

Till guiding people through him murdering them is truly one of life's greatest pleasures. They trust him so completely. I would like to watch them dance the elegance would be astounding.

Paul lurking watching with what I choose to see as pride as till slaughters an old woman.

Paul being critical (again, as always, rightly so) of the hallway mouthing the lyrics decision.

"for this in prepared to make compromises" he says, hating every bitter word of it

I would like to know what he wanted to say about till and then see him get into trouble over it.

I would like to see till in a bouncy castle. He's adorable jumping into the comfy pit I want to see him in a bouncy castle. Child, utter child.

Paul takes every opportunity to say how hot he thinks they all are and I love that about him. Sometimes your friends are all hot and everybody needs to understand that fact.

Their approaches to pretending to play cello are all so uniquely them. Flake and Richard are taking the time to try and understand what they're being told, whereas Paul just fucking. Lays into it, attracting the weirdest looks from Oli. Richard looks beautiful with that cello and I think he should learn to play. For fun not for work. It's not just that he looks so handsome, but I think that's the easiest way to convince him. I think he'd be good at it, and not being the lead at something might be good for him.

I appreciate that Oli is skeptical because yeah they do all look like they've never held a cello before.

They do, however, all look lovely in their dresses. I'm trying but actually I can't not say that Schneiders little sternum dip makes it seem like he has breasts in that dress and it's a good look for him.

Till singing it in such a high voice, more like his speaking voice, is both interesting and lovely. Oli is trying... So little compared to the others. Laughably incorrect

Why yes, I am laughing at the sheer length of the spikes. They're just... They're so fucking long. So long.

Paul is actually probably the best one there, ironically. They're all comically out of time. They're professional musicians. I know they aren't used to bowed instruments I do understand and I don't want to be uncharitable but also they are struggling. I want to see cellists react to this.

Pretty dresses! And the nightmare but with the most awful and worst fingers! Like the Grinch but goth.

Both Schneider and Richard had the same neverending shoot idea and I am Intrigued.

Till waiting for Schneider with the umbrella :)

Wir brennen! Paul is always so happy to play with fire.

[yurimother]

LGBTQ Game Review - Lingua Fleur: Lily

A significant part of my job is knowing the details of the goings-on in the world of yuri. It, therefore, shames me to admit that I almost missed out on the visual novel Lingua Fleur: Lily as I was completely unaware of it until Taiwanese studios Narrator and Storia, the game’s developers and publishers, messaged me. Thank the great goddess of yuri that they did, because I would have regretted missing this experience.

Lingua Fleur: Lily is a short kinetic visual novel set in a university told from the perspective of student Yuyi, the protagonist. Yuyi is a quiet and introverted student, hardly interacting with her classmates and having no close friends. Her isolated circumstances change when she is paired with the outgoing Yile, the deuteragonist of the story, during physical education. Slowly Yile beings to befriend Yuyi, helping her to come out of her shell and be truthful about her identity and difficult past.

As previously stated, Yuyi is extremely reserved and often anxious. However, she is also quick to anger, often getting short during Yile’s antics. This can make her seems stern and unlikable at moments but overall she is very realistically written. As the story progresses these moments mostly fade out and she becomes more likable and friendly while maintaining to her quiet and anxious demeanor. Her narration is the most enjoyable part of her character, as it gives insight into her feelings and her discomfort with certain situations, helping her to feel human.

In every way, Yile is the opposite of Yuyi. While the ladder is restrained and apprehensive, Yile has no such inhibitions. She is excitable and bubbly, often eagerly blurting out the first thought that comes into her mind without regard for how it makes others (specifically Yuyi) feel. This is never really treated for laughs, as this game is not in any way a comedy, but rather used to contrast Yuyi, helping develop her character by reflecting and responding to Yile’s actions. Unfortunately, most of the time Yile too easily falls into the stereotype of the naive and energetic girl.

There are however some lovely moments when Yile breaks out of this stereotype,  particularly when she or Yuyi is more emotionally vulnerable. For example, at the beginning of the game, Yuyi gets slightly during physical education and runs away. Yile chases after her to comfort and care for the reluctant Yuyi. It is a touching moment that really serves to establish the dynamics between the characters.

The game is complete with full Chinese voice acting. Both lead actresses do a decent enough job, shining especially during the quieter and more somber moments (which are plentiful). The louder moments of joy or anger are a struggle for them, the actress behind Yuyi does not carry enough vocal power for the scenes in which she yells (usually at Yile) and Yile’s tends to ascend into a grating shriek. I will give credit to the game for voicing even minor character that speaks only a few lines as well as the girls though. Overall, the voice acting added more to the game than it detracted but there is definite room for improvement.

Lingua Fleur is not a story of romance or attraction but rather of self-growth and healing. For me, this is a welcome change. It is not a happy story nor an overly sad cry-fest, but rather a very grounded and bittersweet narrative. Yuyi struggles to admit her identity (as a lesbian) and the ways in which this affects here are clearly shown and communicated in all scenes effectively.

The more emotional scenes are powerful and my favorite parts of the game. Thanks to not only a solid script but because they are so realistic and relatable. Yuyi’s struggles to articulate her identity to Yile will easily resonate with experiences of queer readers. I will not spoil the ending but it appropriately matches the somber tone of the story and is simultaneously hopeful and saddening.

I did have a few issues with the game. Some of these complaints are small, a few typos, a few places where the word choice could have been a bit better (is my English teacher side showing?). I also found what I can only assume to have been a mistake due to negligence where name cards such as “female student” and “male student” were still written in Chinese rather than being translated like the others. Additionally, while the English translation is mostly excellent there were a few terms that did not work as a direct translation into the language, such as “Sis Tutor.”

This character, Sis Tutor, is actually part of my biggest complaint. She and Yuyi share a difficult past together which is hinted at but not explicitly stated and explained until the final act of the game. This trope would be fine if it was not for the fact the story is told through Yuyi’s perspective and we hear her thoughts! This made the hints about her past unbearable and annoying. When you show the thoughts of the character with a hidden pass it does not work! It breaks immersion, as one can clearly see the writers’ attempt to contort the narrative of human thoughts as they clumsily build suspense to the big reveal. And it is a good (if obvious) reveal too, giving context to the actions of Yuyi, there is no need for it to be so hamfistedly teased.

Lingua Fleur: Lily’s CG artwork has a nice soft pastel look to it, with a serene hand-drawn quality to them. The artist was easily able to transfer the personality of the characters and the emotion of the script into the CG artwork, making them add to the experience. There is even one simple but stylistic animation. However, the CGs are inconsistent, with some being of clearly higher quality than others. Additionally, some of the choices for the CGs placement are questionable. Parts of the story were crying out for a nice piece of accompanying art but resources were put into other scenes which frankly did not need them.

The character sprite’s share soft design of the CGs but often, unfortunately, have an unpolished look to them. They also clash horribly against some of the backgrounds, leading to a clear cutout effect that regularly took me out of the experience. Their design, however, is quite nice, especially Yile, who is downright adorable. There is also some great employment of lateral movement and strategic zooming on characters, some of the best I have ever seen, and certainly, the most fluid, helping to illustrate the story.

The soundtrack of Lingua Fleur proves that a score does not have to be bombastic and overly complex to be successful. Indeed, the music was one of the highlights of my experience. Oli Jan and Sorane created twelve original tracks for the visual novel each of which I adored as I played through. Often they employ just a simple melody and maybe a few delicate strings or woodwinds, creating an excellent somber and soft backdrop that perfectly complimented the game. I was greatly enjoying it right up until the finale when I fell in love.

During the game’s climax the track ‘La Robe’ plays and MY GOD!! I was struck dumb by how perfect the track was, I was at a loss for words (a rare occurrence I can assure you). It keeps the same simple style as the rest of the soundtrack but was just… stupendous. The song is triumphant, delicate, intricate, and hopeful. The victorious crescendo reached its peak at the perfect point in the story I swear I applauded. I could easily extend this review another few paragraphs filled with nothing but adjectives about this song. If you do not get the game for the love of all things gay in this world at least give the soundtrack a listen! It is a whirlwind of emotions that perfectly encapsulates the relief and sorrow felt by Yuyi in the bittersweet conclusion. It is a special thing for a piece to convey so much.

Lingua Fleur: Lily is an imperfect but meaningful journey. It does not conform to the genre standers of destined lovers and soulmates but is rather a gentle and ordinary story of healing, grief, and friendship. While it lacks artistic polish and jaw-dropping prose the emotion and humanism of the game reverberate within me. Lingua Fleur is a lovely, simple, and bittersweet experience.

I also appreciate that Narrator and Storia have promised new content for the game in the form of DLC. Lingua Fleur: Lily is available now on Steam in English and Chinese.

Ratings: Story – 7 Characters – 6 Art – 4 Voice – 6 Music – 10 LGBTQ – 5 Lewdness – 0 Final – 6

Review copy provided by Narrator and STORIA

Help create yuri and LGBTQ+ content, news, and reviews by supporting on the YuriMother Patreon

[vspirit8]

Figure skating: Bunch of thoughts based on recent comments I came across

Warning: Long post ahead (apologies to those who are scrolling through on your mobile devices) 

I came across a comment that praised Chen for his mental strength, which isn't wrong, because the kid does have it in spades, but then they also go on to say that Hanyu's is weak because he lets things affect him too much. Which isn't technically wrong per se but....

...seeing their performances during their short program at the Olys side by side and their individual circumstances coming into it, I find it hard to make sense of this claim. I see the point that they are trying to make but I think they may have mental strength and mental fortitude mixed up and they also have a very one dimensional, or perhaps, selective view of what mental strength is. 

Chen is mentally strong in some ways, not in others. Meaning he's strong in coming back quickly from disappointment, but he can't hold it together during the moment of truth where the stakes are at their highest and the competition its strongest, and only seems to be able to perform at his best when he doesn’t have as much pressure or is relieved of it. Hanyu, on the other hand, has proven time and again he can perform very well under extreme pressure, despite his lack of mental fortitude at other times. Chen, like a lot of other skaters, so far seems to implode at the first sign of disaster during his performance, while Hanyu and even to some degree Uno, are able to leave their mistakes right where they made them and focus on delivering what's left of their performances as best as they could most of the time. I say most of the time because there were times when they did implode almost all the way through. But when they did, it wasn’t because they lost focus due to mistakes. It was due to other reasons that they weren’t able to save the rest of their performance (e.g.: rhythm loss due to tech change or bad mentalscape right from the get-go).

Both Chen’s and Hanyu’s strengths and weaknesses are trade-offs of one another and results have shown that Hanyu's less common brand of mental strength (Chen's type is more commonly found) and, uh, acute sense of competitiveness, is the more effective one in getting the exact final result one truly wants.

Uno also has an enviable and less common sort of mental strength that sees him with less of a tendency to get affected by outside influences, something that is especially handy to have as an athletic competitor (and something that Hanyu most definitely doesn't have despite everything else he does have--Medvedeva, however, has it in spades), but the guy himself has acknowledged that what he has is different from what Hanyu has. He can block out pressure by being so immersed in his own little world he remains unaffected, but he also mentions that, had he had to suffer the same kind of pressure and attention Hanyu has been shouldering for years and expected to deliver results on top of it all (this is also something Medvedeva also seems to be able to do) then he's pretty sure he'd be out of the race pretty quick. Say what you want about the kid's jumps and sleepy attitude, but like every elite athlete, the guy knows himself, because he is right and has proven that he does buckle under pressure when Hanyu isnt around to shoulder most of it like he was originally supposed to (JNats ‘16, GPF '17, JNats ‘17 & WC '18#). And while mental strength is good and all, I think the real secret behind these athletes' success is knowing exactly what both their strengths and weaknesses are.

Since I'm talking about mental strength though, I wouldn't undermine Hanyu's one. He may not be able to block out noise as effectively as others nor can he effectively shut off his brain when skating (he only managed it like, what, once?) plus he may take defeat harder than most others (though not in the sour grapes sort of way but more in a self-punishing way), but when he comes back, he does it swinging three times as hard. Possibly harder. In fact, he swings back so hard, it’s more than enough to make all the difference for him to win it all at the end of the day. So if anything, I'd be afraid of it. And would never underestimate it. Not as a viewer, and especially not if I'm a competitor.

There was also talk that if Chen and Hanyu were to both skate clean under the new rules and scores, Chen would likely come up on top due to the trend of judge's scoring so far this season. To a certain degree, I actually agree. It's entirely possible that a clean Chen with all guns blazing can beat a clean Hanyu who doesn't put out ammo to match because that's how the game is played. This was how Hanyu himself had gotten ahead of past rivals who had been ahead of him. Chen may not have beaten his record that he achieved with less quads but that was also during the era before Chenflation so if both skaters skate clean and Hanyu breaks his previous record, there is no guarantee that Chen with his bigger guns won't get even more simply because judges are compelled to score him as such. From what I observed, scores are relative and aren't given according to what's actually put out (or not put out) on the ice. Miyahara's scoring at SkAm is the latest perfect example of this (higher tech score and lower PCS than she truly deserves). Far from being ashamed and apologetic about it, though, they are making it more obvious, as if they are showing the world what they are really about and there's nothing anyone can do about it. And they'd be right. 

Everything is upside down and inside out when it comes to figure skating, and it's not even at random, so let's not delude ourselves that ISU and the sport they govern over will suddenly become the epitome of clean. Nothing that depends on judging ever is. Hanyu certainly hasn't deluded himself and that is a huge part of why he is able to win--or almost win--the biggest comps, season after season. Strategy based on information you gathered on the environment is key. You don't whine about it. You play their game according to their rules and if you're able to outsmart them (and get this, they're really not all that intelligent), you win. Zagitova did just that last season.* Easily. Not that what she did was easy, quite the opposite, but her strategy, although not easy to pull off, was an excessively simple one. If Tutberidze was testing out a theory with Medvedeva and Zagitova, she was proven right. 

Hanyu himself knows this. Which is why he had the 4lo, his biggest weapon at that point that Chen doesn't properly have himself, ready at hand during the Olys. If Chen had skated his SP clean, he wouldn't have held back on his own ammo, wonky ankle be damned. And if both Hanyu and Chen skated clean with their biggest ammo at hand, based on how judges are forced to judge Hanyu when he's at his very best in the past, I still think the edge would go to Hanyu because when two top competitors are head to head, then it's the little things that count. This is something that Hanyu had accounted for and worked into his winning strategy from Day One, even before all these trigger-happy skaters came out from the woodwork. The guy has what a lot of these shortcut athletes don't: rock solid foundation on both his tech and other performance-based aspects, that judges will be forced to take into consideration when they can't use other things as leverage to justify their scoring.

So, in a scenario where both skaters were to skate clean but only one uses all his ammo, the one with the bigger BV may just win simply because of that. But in a scenario where they both have high BVs with only a slight difference between said BVs, and where both skated perfectly, Hanyu will win not just because he is the better skater. It's because he knows what's inside the judges heads and is able to use it. To me, this, and not his skating skills, is Hanyu's true strength.

*Clearly Chen's and Uno's strategy doesn't work for Zhou, like he was hoping it would. Whining about it won't do much because at this point, it just sounds like he's making excuses for himself for giving judges room to doubt him in the first place, and angry they they chose to doubt him instead of giving him the benefit of it. If he truly wants to get somewhere in this sport, he might want to consider taking a page off Hanyu's and Zagitova's** books instead. It is infinitely harder but you get more control over your results. If he can't pull it off, it's simply because he lacks the ability to and that's no one's fault but his own. I know it sounds harsh but that is the reality of the world and situation he's in. He apparently won't be one of the lucky few who can apply shortcuts and make it work. But if he's able to come back with honest to goodness improvements and gain results in that way, then ultimately, he'll be the luckier one. If he's as wise as he seems to want people to think he is, he should be able to come to this conclusion.

**Admittedly, Zagitova's strategy is slightly different than Hanyu's in that hers also has elements of Uno and Chen's strategy of blinding judges with tech prowess (or so-called tech prowess  in Uno's case, but he seems to have other things to blind the judges with, like nice upper body movements). So Zagitova may not be able to bank on her strategy like she did last season as it was wholly designed to game the last system. Her basics aren't solid enough to enable her control even after a system change/revision but she does have her OGM rep so she may be able to completely cross over to Uno’s and Chen's strategy instead. We'll see.

I mentioned Medvedeva in passing when talking about mental strength because that girl is the epitome of it if I've ever seen one. However, what she doesn't have is a rock solid foundation that sees her with few skating flaws. If she manages to fix at least half of them and get her natural mental strength back into gear, she may just stand a chance against the upcoming lady quadsters, if they still have their quads when they turn senior (and Kihira, if her prowess with the 3A also stands the test of time).

#EDIT: I’ve struck WC18 off the list because it has been brought to my attention that it is not like the others on it. That mistake-ridden performance apparently had less to do with Uno succumbing to pressure and more to do with his injuries and not being in an ideal mindscape to overcome them earlier but was able to snap back into it enough to deliver the last bit of his perf (jumps that he apparently also had trouble with in practices but was able to nail during the performance itself). Having only seen that performance once and not being in the habit of seeing practices and warm-ups of any skaters, I might have been too hasty in my judgment of that particular performance. Thanks to those who corrected me. :)

[davewakeman]

Talking Tickets--1 May 2020--Refunds! Marketing! Seth Godin! And, More!

Hey! 

How is everyone holding up?

I just want to take a second to thank all of you again for being here. If you need anyone to talk with or just to bounce an idea off of, let me know. I’m here for y’all.

Prioritize your mental health and if you don’t want to listen to me, listen to Harry Winks.

If you are enjoying this newsletter, tell your friends and colleagues to sign up by visiting this link.

I’m still dealing with intermittent internet issues that hopefully can be resolved soon so I can do some more webinars and such. I will still be co-hosting the Sports Biz Happy Hour with my buddy, Ken Troupe this afternoon at 5PM EDT. So come share a drink with us and our other hardcore happy hour colleagues. We will be voting on Ken’s new profile picture for Twitter this afternoon!

Get into our Slack group as well. We talk beef, business, and BS.

To the tickets!

————————————————————————————————————

1. We Will Come Out Of This Period: 

There is no doubt that folks will be at venues, cheering, dancing, and connecting sooner rather than later, but we still have a long road back.

What is great is that we continue to see a bunch of efforts from folks all over the world that are working to help educate folks and get people prepared for relaunching the ticket industry.

We Will Overcome was started by my friends, Einar and Martin, from Activity Stream and includes support from folks around the world like  Frederic Auoad, Angela Higgins, Andrew Thomas, Derek Palmer, and too many folks to list in one email.

I’ve been pretty up front about taking care of yourself and reaching out to your community for support throughout this crisis, but as we enter May, I also want to make sure that we all spend time doing some planning and setting ourselves up to be successful when things begin to return to normal.

Trust me, they will. It is just what will the return of events look like and what will the market for folk’s attention look like…that’s what we have to really think about now. And, there are a bunch of really great resources to help you think through this, here are a few:

Eric Fuller is hosting a virtual conference called “Rescue Meet” and he’s launching on May 19th with a 60-75 minute web meeting and he’s asked me to participate along with folks from Live Nation and many other industry leaders.

Ticketing Professionals Conference in Birmingham is hosting many of their speakers and this year’s presentation online now. You can check out their listings and sign up for one, many, or all of them.

The Society of London Theatre has a bunch of webinars and information that they are sharing.

INTIX continues to host weekly lunches on Wednesdays and has a bunch of resources on their dedicated landing page for Covid-19 resources.

IQ is launching a virtual panel series as well with a pretty good lineup built around a lot of music and festival content.

If there is some resource or idea you are looking to learn or find out more about, let me know and I will help you find it. We will recover and we need folks to pull together and work together to get there. 

2. What Will Things Look Like When We Return? 

The truth is, none of us know.

The article above talks about a bunch of venues in the DC area and how they are planning….and, the truth is, no one knows anything right now.

Oli Shawyer wrote about the need to be clear and thoughtful in how we think about what our future selves might look like and his analysis of the current reality is right on. Right now, we think we are going to do one thing and in the future, we are likely to find that our actions are entirely different than what we imagined we would do…or, we may just be ready to do anything besides sit at home.

We have already seen organizations adapt and change to engage with people, entertain them, and stay connected. As a friend at an iconic venue noted to me, “it is amazing how we were able to become a digital content production facility in a week.” After struggling to get the necessary investments in tech prior to the coronavirus.

The only correct answer here is that we don’t know what things will look like when more countries start opening up again and we start seeing social distancing loosen up.

I have talked to a lot of folks about the idea of social distancing within venues and it is pretty unrealistic, difficult, or not entirely financially feasible to do the large scale social distancing that has been talked about in a few places this week. Most of the time, you have to look at the sources and the angle to know if there is some bias in these pieces and some of the ones in sports definitely have the hint of someone trying to drum up demand like Scott Boras does with his notebooks on his clients.

I do think that as you prepare for the return, it is important to think through the entire experience you want to provide from start to finish, how you can better curate your event, and walk through the concerns and questions your guests are going to have.

Repeat: start by understanding the value you want to create for your guests and work from there.

3. Refunds are starting to become a little clearer now: 

MLB teams started announcing their plans for refunds and cancellations this week with the Red Sox, Cubs, and Cardinals leading the way. But it hasn’t been nearly fast enough for the people that have been left in limbo by the fact that games and events have been postponed due to the coronavirus.

And in Europe, Ligue 1 was the first major league to call it quits for the season.

Admittedly, teams and organizations have been slow to announce refund and exchange policies or they have had to adjust them because of the nature of the virus, the shutdown, and the uncertainty.

From my point of view, StubHub got killed for going first and trying to do right by their stakeholders early on when things were so crazy, but the bigger issue for the organizations around the world has been in not communicating with their customers, in many cases, at all.

As an example, I had conversations with folks in several cities over the last week from around the country and these corporate ticket buyers told me that in most cases no one has called to talk with them about what is going on right now with their tickets, with updates, or just to check on them…from my conversations that included teams in most of the major sports. If that is widespread, that’s unconscionable and it will be tough for teams to ever overcome.

You may not know anything, but you need to at least communicate enough with your customers to let them know that you can’t give them an answer yet. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and imagine how you would feel.

It is this lack of communication and the changing nature of the policies that some organizations have been rolling out that has likely led to these lawsuits being filed this week…

In England, Brighton and Hove Albion announced their plans for next season as a hopeful sign that football will return sooner rather than later…I’m hoping that this season of the Premier League can be completed because if not Spurs will be out of European competition next year and I don’t like that.

The NFL is looking to announce its schedule next week and there is a bit of a conversation around whether or not putting out the schedule and selling tickets is a wise decision.

What do y’all think?

For me, it would be pretty risky for the NFL to start selling tickets…especially understanding what the current environment with refunds looks like, but what do I know? (Shameless plug…I was quoted in SBJ this week.)

Maybe, we can all just buy tickets for our cardboard representations?

4. Marketing, Community, and Connection Will Matter More Than Ever:

This is awesome because I get to write about Seth Godin in my ticket newsletter.

The backstory is that Seth put out a manifesto called Stop Stealing Dreams about 8 years ago and he challenged folks that read his stuff and follow him to find ways to share the content. I’d just bought a new iPad and was testing out GarageBand, so I did the first audio version of the manifesto.

With that, I got my first dose of internet fame! Now, look at me?!

The podcast and the article that introduce the podcast are totally worth the hour, even if you aren’t in the arts.

Seth hits on some ideas that have been at the core of my work in marketing and tickets over the years as well like community and connection.

I was on the internet with Frederic Aouad from Stay 22 on Thursday and we talked about the need to be better at marketing because the world that we will return to is going to be more competitive than ever and the need to give people a clear reason to come visit is going to be more important than ever before.

I’ve been writing and speaking about marketing and strategy for about a decade and what I found was that folks know they need to be better marketers and want to sell more stuff, but the “way we’ve always done things” is a tough competitor to change.

Now, we find that it isn’t possible to go back to the way things have always been done. We are seeing organizations change in a week or less, rethink their value, and brainstorm tons of new solutions…in tickets and everywhere.

The fact is that marketing is magic. That’s where the money is. That’s where the stories are. That’s where you can build relationships with your audience that can take you all over the world and to places you’d never imagine. (I’m speaking for myself here.)

But being good at marketing is tough.

You want a jumping-off point, start here with Rory Sutherland.

But all of us are going to need to sharpen our marketing knives because we are going to need them in the coming months and years. And, just giving into the tactical aspects of marketing isn’t likely to win you the business you need or the support you have to have to be successful.

I could go on all day about marketing and the need to market more effectively, but I won’t today.

5. Here are a few things that I loved or thought were interesting this week that don’t have a common theme:

First, how about that Post Malone fundraising concert where he covered Nirvana songs. I thought it was pretty good. And, he’s raised some serious coin for the WHO.

Every morning I read a newsletter called, “The Daily Coach” from George Raveling. Coach Raveling coached Harold Miner at USC and was instrumental in getting Michael Jordan to sign with Nike. The newsletter on Thursday was all about leadership and the first two points are super important right now.

The Mayor of London announces a fund to support the arts and culture. We need similar things in the States, but I’m not holding out on that one.

Live Nation is being sued for monopolizing ticket sales.  To quote Scott Galloway, it is good to invest in unregulated monopolies. This will be interesting to watch because the government has approved the deals that Live Nation has made and antitrust enforcement as a way to increase competition in the market hasn’t been a priority for a long time. So we will see. I’ll be watching it.

J Cobb shared the video of the world’s worst Old Fashioned and the redemption story that followed. This is fun and maybe that’s what I will drink this afternoon at happy hour.

Mark Pollard is an advertising strategist in NYC and he came up with the idea for a summer camp to help folks focus on their strategy. I’m going to talk with Mark about this and maybe as we work our way out of this shutdown, we can do something similar for marketing and selling tickets. I mean, 100 days for like $30 with 100 new exercises. That’s like the price of a book! 

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What am I up to this week?

You know, teaching fourth grade…poorly.

I’ll be in the home office all week, if you want to chat, let me know. My Internet connection is still a bit iffy due to my blown cable box, but the McGyver move I pulled to get it to work is genius. So I’m holding off on a lot of things that need the technology boost to produce them. 

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Talking Tickets–1 May 2020–Refunds! Marketing! Seth Godin! And, More! was originally published on Wakeman Consulting Group

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Swansea City vs Sheffield United

New Post has been published on https://bestfreebettingtips.com/swansea-city-vs-sheffield-united/

Swansea City vs Sheffield United

Artwork by @chapulana

In the EFL Championship evening kick-off, Swansea City saw off an in-form and promotion-chasing Sheffield United side by the smallest of margins at the Liberty Stadium. In this tactical analysis, we’ll look in depth at how Swansea City were able to recover from a poor first-half to take all three points.

It was a game of two halves. The first belonged to the Blades, who wasted two big chances, before Swansea took theirs. It was an interesting tactical battle even if it did lack clear-cut chances in the first half.

The form books were slightly in favour of the visiting side. Chris Wilder’s side had won four Championship games in a row which saw them leapfrog Norwich City into the automatic promotion places before the 3pm kick-offs. During that four-match winning streak, the Blades had scored 10 goals, conceding just once. Ending such a run didn’t look highly likely for a Swansea City outfit who have struggled at home this season.

Incidentally, this was their first win on home soil against any side currently above them in the table. Their only away win against a side currently above them in the table also happened to come against Sheffield United, on the opening day of the season.

The line-ups

Both sides lined up as expected with only one team change between them as Oli McBurnie returned from illness to replace Courtney Baker-Richardson up front for the Swans.

Sheffield United lined up in their recognised 3-4-1-2 shape. Iit was going to be interesting to see how Swansea City would cope with their opponent’s desire to push their wide centre-backs forward in attacking support.

Sheffield United dominate from the start

Sheffield United like to get the ball into wide areas where their overlapping centre-backs provide added support. Swansea City quickly recognised this, and were keen to get numbers across and limit their space and availability to send crosses into the box.

Swansea City recognise Sheffield United’s strength in wide areas and cover them well.

The visitors also committed players forward in attack. For the first 15 or 20 minutes, they pinned Swansea City back in their own half, while their hosts lacked an outball from deep.

The screenshot below shows nine of Sheffield United’s outfield players either in or approaching the final third. Their right-sided centre-back, Chris Basham (circled), has to quickly get back into a defensive position as soon as his side lose possession.

With so many players forward for United, Swansea City needed to find a way to make quick transitions from deep positions, but they looked disjointed early on and struggled with their shape.

Swansea City’s problems in the channels 

One of Swansea City’s main problems early on was that they couldn’t make the ball stick when aiming long vertical passes to their two inverted wingers, Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer. Sheffield United always closed the two of them down in the first half, as well as number ten Bersant Celina. This allowed them plenty of opportunities to regain possession just inside their own half before sending the ball back into danger zones ahead.

Sheffield United get tight on Routledge, forcing him to play the ball straight back.

Touch map showing losses of possession in the first 17 minutes by Routledge, Celina and Dyer (Swansea attacking left to right).

Swansea lost possession a number of times in the opening 17 minutes in the channels. The red dots above (with Swansea playing from left to right) show where Celina, Routledge and Dyer lost possession during Sheffield United’s early dominant spell.

Another problem for Swansea City was their slow, almost pedestrian play. Sheffield United were leaving gaps due to committing players forward. The hosts were too slow though on a number of occasions in getting the ball into key areas of space that were left behind.

Below is a good example of this. Space has opened up down the right flank and Leroy Fer is available to receive a pass from Oli McBurnie and release right-back Kyle Naughton down that side. However, the ball is held up on the opposite side of the pitch and Swansea then have to recycle possession, giving the Blades enough time to get back into their defensive shape across the pitch.

Swansea City were too slow in the early exchanges and struggled to get the ball into good areas, missing an opportunity here to get the ball to Fer who could have switched play to the right.

Swansea’s only decent attacking opening of the first half came after a good forward pass from Leroy Fer, picking out Bersant Celina ahead of him who occupied space in between the lines. With right-back Kyle Naughton too deep, Nathan Dyer (circled) stays wide this time to ensure width.

As the attack progresses (below), Nathan Dyer comes inside off the touchline, allowing him to get in behind the opposition’s narrow defence.

It’s a promising opening for Swansea following their previous struggles to get forward. As was the story of the first-half for the home side however, their build-up play lacks pace and decisiveness and the move breaks down.

Sheffield United’s overlapping centre-backs

Sheffield United’s overlapping centre-backs is something that’s rather unique and an admirable tactical commitment from their manager Chris Wilder. Like the Sky Sports co-commentator said during the game, “it’s organised chaos – it shouldn’t work but it does.”

Sheffield United’s right centre-back and right wing-back attack down the right flank.

It’s effective because it provides attacking overloads. These helped provide the Blades with one of their two big chances in the first half. It also helps when you have two very versatile centre-backs in Basham and O’Connell. Both are very confident on the ball and can bring the ball out from the back. Basham later moved into a midfield three as Wilder later switched to a 4-3-3 to match Swansea.

Despite adopting a back-three system, Sheffield United often play out from the back with effectively a back four. Below, the right centre-back Chris Basham (circled) steps out from the defensive line, so much in fact that he’s ahead of the two central midfielders as shown by the dotted line.

This allows the right wing-back George Baldock to get further forward to provide attacking width. As their attacks progress up the pitch, Basham and Baldock are a useful partnership down the right wing.

Sheffield United effectively play out from the back with a back-four shape as Basham (circled) moves out of the defensive line.

This contrasts with Swansea, who, despite adopting a back four, build from the back with effectively a back three. Usually, Swansea City split their two centre-backs very wide to provide passing angles with a holding midfielder dropping deep into the middle of them.

Against Sheffield United though this changed slightly, most likely due to United’s early dominance in wide areas. Swansea needed more support in these wide areas and to stop the number of times they were losing possession here. Below shows Matt Grimes (circled) dropping back in line with defenders Mike van der Hoorn and Joe Rodon.

Swansea manager Graham Potter likes his full-backs to provide attacking width so didn’t want either Kyle Naughton or Connor Roberts dropping too deep to receive the ball.

The two touch maps below show a comparison between the touches of Swansea’s two centre-backs, ex-Ajax man Mike van der Hoorn and Cameron Carter-Vickers, and those of Sheffield United’s two wide centre-backs, Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell.

Touch map showing touches made by Swansea City defenders Mike van der Hoorn and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Swansea attacking left to right).

Touch map of Sheffield United’s wide centre-backs O’Connell and Basham (Sheffield United attacking right to left).

Swansea City build from the back in a back-three shape as Matt Grimes (circled) drops deep into the defensive line

Sheffield United’s missed chances

Sheffield United appeared to suffer from the same deficiencies that Swansea have all too often this season. In other words, dominating early spells but going into the dressing room at half-time with absolutely nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.

The first of two that fell to Billy Sharp was their best one. After a long cross from the right was picked up at the far post, a low cross came back in towards the six-yard area. Billy Sharp dropped back just a yard away from his marker Cameron Carter-Vickers to get a left-footed shot on goal. It was aimed too centrally, though, and goalkeeper Erwin Mulder was able to make an excellent save.

Billy Sharp misses the first of two big chances for Sheffield United in the first-half.

With seven minutes left in the first half, the second came from Sheffield United benefitting from their overlapping centre-backs and the attacking overloads. As we can see below, the Blades are 3v2 down the right as space opens up in the right half-space. There is plenty of time to send in a cross aimed towards the back post for McGoldrick (circled), but he glances his header wide of the target.

Kyle Naughton looks over his shoulder to see what opposition players are near him but he’s completely unaware of McGoldrick’s position behind him.

Graham Potter’s tactical fix (Celina deep and a 4-3-3)

Sheffield United were in control in the first 20 minutes or so. Graham Potter needed to change things around, otherwise it was only going to be a matter of time before the visitors opened the scoring.

The 43-year-old Englishman arrived in South Wales last summer from Sweden with a reputation of being tactically flexible, able to seamlessly switch between two or sometimes three formations during a single game. It’s been pretty much a combination of hit and miss so far, but this one will go down as one of his most effective tactical changes of the season to date.

He dropped Bersant Celina – who had been playing as a number 10 up until this point – back to a deeper left-sided midfield role. Routledge and Dyer were pushed up with Oli McBurnie to form a 4-3-3 formation. McBurnie moved to a wide-left position, forming a useful left-sided trio with Celina and full-back Roberts.

Sheffield United press the central area effectively but Bersant Celina drops deep to receive the ball in the left-back position.

Moving Celina to a deeper left-sided role was a key switch from Graham Potter. Dropping back into the left-back position whenever possible, his eye for a pass was useful to thread balls through United’s lines and into space.

Matt Grimes (circled) points towards Mike van der Hoorn, recommending a pass across to the defender. However, Celina picks out Leroy Fer, allowing him to turn into space and drive forward. Leroy Fer won’t feature heavily in this analysis but he was rightly chosen as the man of the match.

Matt Grimes points back towards van der Hoorn for Celina to pass to but his forward inside pass to Fer helps start an attacking move through the middle.

He has struggled this season to perform consistently following an Achilles injury. Nevertheless, he’s getting back to his best, and this was one of his best performances of the season. Showing his physical strength on the ball, Fer has been known to lose possession too often in dangerous, deep areas but he fared brilliantly against a physically strong Blades side.

Swansea’s tactical change helped them get forward down the left. Connor Roberts had been pinned back to manage Sheffield United’s overlapping centre-backs, but Celina and McBurnie provided a better dynamic to work the ball in behind.

McBurnie shifting across to the left allowed Swansea to link up more effectively in wide areas, allowing Connor Roberts to get further forward.

As the half went on following Potter’s changes, which seemed to take effect at around the 25th-minute mark, more space began to open up through the middle as Swansea were able to finally stretch the opposition across the pitch. Like they have in recent matches, the full-backs provide the attacking width.

This allowed the two inverted wingers, Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer, to move inside to link up the play with striker Oli McBurnie. McBurnie has often dropped deep this season to get involved in the build-up play. However, Potter has looked to play his strikers further forward when possible, looking to make runs in behind the last man.

Rotations help to ensure that Swansea keep their shape

There were moments when Swansea’s players would rotate and switch roles momentarily. This was usually when players had moved out of position or had pressed out of possession. For example, we saw earlier how Nathan Dyer offered width on the right flank when Naughton was too deep.

The other main rotation was between Nathan Dyer and Bersant Celina. These movements caused problems for the opposition. In the screenshot below, Nathan Dyer (circled) has dropped deeper into the space available to form a three-man midfield.

Bersant Celina is in a more advanced left-sided role in this example. Celina initially drops very deep in the early phase of an attack but he soon pushes forward as the attacking move progresses.

Second half momentum switch: Dan James’ big influence

Swansea’s need for pace in their play and an outlet to expose Sheffield United’s forward commitment of players was pretty much as clear as day come half-time. The visitors had sent two warning signs during the opening 45 minutes when their two in-form strikers had rare off-days in front of goal.

They were left to rue those chances as Swansea City recovered and were now the side in the ascendancy thanks to the arrival of flying winger Dan James. The average touch-map below shows the average touches for both sides in the second-half. The dotted line shows each player’s comparison from their first-half average position.

As you can see, a number of Swansea players averaged positions much higher up the pitch while the likes of United’s strikers Sharp and McGoldrick dropped deeper.

The second-half average touch map. The dotted line shows each player’s movement from their first-half average position.

Thought to be another wise tactical call from Graham Potter, Dan James’ arrival at the start of the second half was actually the result of a calf injury to Wayne Routledge. Would he have still made the change, injury or not? Who knows. Either way, James made an impact moments after coming on.

Swansea City simply had to find a way to pin Sheffield United back and make them think twice about committing their centre-backs forward. Either that, or punish them for continuing to do so. The touches map below shows Dan James’ touches during the second half. You can see how he was able to push Sheffield United back into their own half, operating right across that band just inside the final third.

Dan James’ touch map shows him operating across the pitch in and around the edge of the penalty area

As the touch map above shows, James operated across the pitch in high areas, making excellent attacking runs into wide areas as well as through the middle. This helped to pin the opposition back, stretching them and opening up spaces in between the lines. For the first time in the match, Sheffield United had a serious threat to worry about.

Despite that fact though, the Blades were still committed going forward. On a number of occasions they left space for Swansea City to counter-attack into.

Swansea City counter-attack as Celina breaks through the middle before releasing the speedy Dan James down the left

On one occasion, Bersant Celina showed his dribbling skills by making up 50 yards or more with an excellent solo run from deep to kick-start a counter-attack. Leroy Fer was another capable forward runner through the centre of the pitch.

Spaces also opened up in the wider channels or the deep half-spaces. Swansea City were able to thread vertical passes that bypassed four or five players through Sheffield United’s lines.

Swansea City were able to thread passes through Sheffield United’s lines with players occupying space in between them.

Swansea City get the winner

Swansea City’s winner came during their best spell of the game just before the midway point of the second half. After a corner is cleared, good work from Kyle Naughton keeps the ball alive as he stretches to help it on to Matt Grimes, who in turn lobs the ball over to the right for Nathan Dyer.

A neat one-two with Mike van der Hoorn gets Dyer in behind his marker before sending an inviting low ball across the six-yard area. Oli McBurnie shows excellent desire to get beyond Basham to poke the ball home from close range.

Sheffield United desperately needed to shake things up as Swansea were starting to find it far too easy to pick their passes and find team-mates forward in areas of space. Below shows Sheffield United’s narrow defensive shape and the ease with which the hosts can get the ball to either side. Right-back Kyle Naughton is in-field so Nathan Dyer moves out wide in an attempt to stretch the opposition.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder changed his side’s shape in an effort to get back into the game, switching to a 4-3-3 formation to match Swansea’s as Chris Basham moved into midfield. Initially the Blades looked to work the ball into wide areas, but Swansea pretty much had this covered. They later opted to go long and direct, aiming long balls towards substitutes Clarke and new signing Madine.

This touch map shows all aerial challenges in the final 20 minutes of the match as Sheffield United went route one.

Summary

It was certainly a game of two halves. Swansea City made the most of their dominance following two surprising big missed chances in the first-half from Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp and David McGoldrick respectively.

Swansea City struggled in the first 20 minutes to cope with the Blades’ well-drilled and effective dynamic. They made life difficult for the hosts early on, but Graham Potter’s tactical switch helped contribute to their early second-half dominance, helped significantly by the superb Dan James.

A first clean sheet in the Championship since November will be very pleasing for Graham Potter, especially at home against a side who have been scoring for fun lately. United’s promotion hopes took a blow as they looked to close the gap on leaders Leeds, while Swansea may still hold on to some outside hope of reaching the playoffs.

If you love tactical analysis, then you’ll love the digital magazines from totalfootballanalysis.com – a guaranteed 100+ pages of pure tactical analysis covering topics from the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and many, many more. Buy your copy of the January issue for just ₤4.99 here, or even better sign up for a ₤50 annual membership (12 monthly issues plus the annual review) right here.

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Rant: Why I Gave Up on Micro Four Thirds Once and for All

If you’re thinking about moving to Micro Four Thirds or buying the E-M1 Mark II, read this first… it may actually save you money and headaches down the line.

For the past year and a half I have been shooting both the top of the range MFT and A7RII on professional assignments. Sadly, I often ended up frustrated by the poor low-light performance of Olympus’ cameras as well as the lack of 4K, which most of my clients ask from me when I shoot, for example, cinemagraphs.

Therefore, since December 2016, I’ve gone 100% for the Sony and dropped MFT altogether to cut my losses invested in this system as well as my cherished Ambassador status (which in reality meant very little). MFT cameras are useful; for street photography in particular, there’s no denying it. They’re light, compact, and generally they get the job done.

Part of the job anyway.

Full Frame or Micro Four Thirds

It’s an old debate, but I have a bit of an edge since I have used both in a professional setting and extensively for a quite a bit now. It’s all about learning, and hopefully I can help others avoid making the same mistakes I did.

I had great hopes for the Micro Four Thirds format, I really did. So much so that initially I sold my Canon DSLR and “downgraded” to MFT. That was pre-OMD. I say “downgraded” as indeed at the time mirrorless cameras were not quite ready.

Yet I could see the potential, or the marketing made me see it anyway.

Then came the OMD system with the E-M5, and that really upped the game. It was then followed by the E-M10, E-M1 and the rest. Last year I shot some photos for Olympus’ print brochure of the E-M10 MKII, I was in Prague for the release of the E-M5 MkII and my last Olympus camera was the Pen-F, which I just sold this week.

I really have used all of them.

As new cameras were released, as much as I was excited and saw plenty of improvements, there were still some major issues that didn’t really get solved for a while, and felt like a simple lack of listening to its users. As an ambassador I’ve never been consulted in over three years, or asked by Olympus “What would you improve, or what are your suggestions as a user?”

I think that’s a big omission from them, after all it’s free market research to ask your biggest and most faithful users. Or you could ask your users on Twitter or Facebook… I don’t know, just freaking ask.

1) How long did we wait for 4K?

This has been talked about a lot, but if a system is trying to attract the pros, it needs to offer what other pro systems offer. Tired of waiting, this was one of the main reasons I went for the A7RII in July 2015.

When a client asks if you can shoot 4K, you want to say yes. Trust me. It’s a bit embarrassing otherwise.

Sure, some would ask why not go for Panasonic instead, who have been offering 4K for a while now. The reason is simple: other MFT failings, which I’ll get to, mean Panasonic would be no better.

Yes, it’s 2017, and the E-M1 MKII will have 4K. Great news Olympus, just in time for other brands to release 8K (aka “I was late at the 4K party”).

2) The high ISO performance has always sucked and still sucks

It’s easy to keep claiming MFT low light performance is good or improved, but it isn’t once you try a full-frame camera. I can shoot at ISO 3200 or even 6400 on the Sony (it’s not even the A7S) and be more than happy with the results… they’re impressive.

With Olympus, I am seriously reluctant going over ISO 1000 (dare I say even 800) as all the detail is lost.

3) The auto-focus just isn’t good enough

Alright alright, the EM1 MkII is out soon and apparently it’s got the best AF in the universe. Similar claims were made with all previous models, beginning with the E-M5… I’m bored of waiting.

Try focusing in low light or on anything without a clearly defined contrast and you will be pulling your hair out. I lost my cool recently trying to focus on a simple berry on a branch that was 40cm away, so I won’t even try to explain how many shots I lost in the street from slow focusing.

It says a lot when manual focus is the best option.

4) The image quality

I know the Sony costs quite a bit more, and that I’m basically comparing a Ferrari with a Ford Focus here. Obviously, you get what you pay for. But as photographers we all want the truest representation of what we saw when we pressed the shutter.

The Sony A7RII allows that, hence this article and my decision to move on.

5) The dynamic range is far superior on the Sony

If a camera can help reduce the time I spend in Photoshop pulling out shadows and fixing what it didn’t get properly, it’s a winner.

Not only does the Sony capture more details in the shadows without the need to over-expose your highlights, but it also allows you in “worse case scenarios” to pull an incredible amount of details from shadows if really needed from the RAW files and even the JPEGs.

6) The endless choice of compatible lenses for the Sony system

Being able to use Canon, Voigtlander, Leica lenses and many more on it with an adaptor is just perfect. Whilst Sony full-frame lenses are pricier and, yes, pretty big, you can still find great deals online for second hand third party lenses.

I particularly like the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5, as it’s tiny.

7) You’ll make new friends

Okay, I can’t honestly claim this BUT… people do know that camera! I spent one morning in Shoreditch and three people stopped me to talk about the A7RII.

You know why that matters? Not for your popularity it doesn’t matter. But if so many people know about it, I tend to associate this with the good reputation this camera has.

8) Build quality

This reason should actually go straight to number one. I have had three main problems with Olympus cameras:

(1) If you know me you’ll know I am the most freakishly careful with my gear. I never scratch a camera. (I have never in my life broken a mobile phone screen. Enough said). And yet, each time I have a new Oly camera, it gets scratched in days. Sometimes I fear if I look at it it may get damaged. And after enough cameras I’ve logically deducted that the paint job is rubbish.

I’ve had my Sony for nearly one and half years: NOT ONE SINGLE SCRATCH.

(2) I also had a sensor issue very early on my E-M5 Mark II. The camera had to be sent out and the sensor was replaced but no explanation was given as to why exactly it did fail.

(3) Finally, on the Pen-F the battery door is made of the cheapest plastic on a super flimsy hinge and falls off quite easily. Not what I expect from a thousand pound camera.

9) Who is the genius who placed the tripod screw on the PEN-F?

Just a last one for the road. Seriously though Olympus??? I challenge anyone to mount the Pen-F on a tripod with the M.Zuiko 12‑40mm f2.8 PRO or most other lenses and not damage them! The screw is wayyyyyy too far at the front of the camera.

What that means is the lenses get damaged by the tripod plate. It’s a perfect example of designers that are too detached and don’t actually use cameras.

I know some of you will be surprised by what may seem like a 180 degree change of mind on Olympus cameras, others who know me well will be less surprised. I’ve owned the A7RII since July 2015 so I’ve had time to write this article and think about it.

Olympus has had it coming. They were not interested in hearing my opinion so here it is anyway.

I’ve been biting my tongue for about two years now, still enjoying Olympus cameras but knowing deep inside that my time using that system was coming to an end. It’s not so much dislike as a realization that I need to move on and choose what’s best for me, for my photography, and for the work I deliver to clients.

If you still doubt what I am saying here, ask yourself this question:

Would a professional photographer move to a new system, lose money reselling camera and lenses, buy a new camera and set of lenses that costs so much more etc… for no valid reason? I own a business. Trust me, I have to make very careful decisions. I sadly have no money to throw out the window!

I now know Olympus specifically, and Micro Four Thirds in general, will just never cut it versus full frame. You only need to use both to understand why.

I actually predict Olympus will possibly pull-out of this format (they’ll deny it of course) which will eventually disappear as full frame and medium format mirrorless cameras will be reduced in size close to MFT. Size is (or was) MFT’s biggest selling point.

I’m more confident now delivering photos to clients and when I actually compare the results it’s an improvement. The camera may not matter, it’s our vision that does, but I want a tool that at the very least doesn’t make it difficult for me and is faithful in the reproducing what I see.

Olympus, if you care, next time listen to your users and people you list as ambassadors—they’ll no doubt help you get it right.

Full Frame or Micro Four Thirds? I’ve made my decision.

About the author: Nicholas “Nico” Goodden is a London-based professional photographer specializing in urban photography, street photography, and attention-grabbing micro video content such as cinemagraphs and timelapse. You can find more of his work on his website or by following him on Instagram. This post was also published here.

Image credits: Voigtlander 42.5mm Test Shots by Zhao !

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Championship: Swansea City 0-1 Aston Villa

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Championship: Swansea City 0-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa got back to winning ways on Boxing Day in what was a tightly-fought encounter at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium.

In this tactical analysis, we’ll break down the key aspects of the game and how Aston Villa’s solid defensive shape helped them on their way to three points.

Both teams went into the EFL Championship match on the back of 3-2 defeats and both of which after taking the lead. Aston Villa threw away a 2-0 advantage against Leeds United while Hull City came back from a 1-0 deficit to end Swansea’s hopes of a third consecutive victory.

Two teams who have leaked goals in recent weeks, Aston Villa have shipped 12 in their last five while the Swans have let in 10 so you might have expected something of a goal-fest between these two sides.

However, both sides looked like they recognised their defensive vulnerabilities of late and adjusted accordingly.

Swansea City manager Graham Potter has used a wide range of different formations already this season. After showing weakness against counter-attacks at Hull, he ditched the 4-2-3-1 system he’s used in the last 3 games in favour of a 4-3-3.

By contrast, Aston Villa also made a slight change, ensuring they matched Swansea’s three-man midfield.

Having used a 4-1-4-1 for the most part of his spell at Aston Villa so far, manager Dean Smith dropped his two central midfielders in the back four alongside Whelan in the defensive phase. The two wingers – Bolasie and El Ghazi tucked in behind the lone striker, Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham.

Aston Villa control the midfield and force Swansea down the sides

Like they did at Hull last Saturday, Swansea City dominated the opening 30 minutes, but Aston Villa’s solid defensive structure meant that they did little with it.

Aston Villa’s two wingers move inside to help them stay compact. Number 22 – El Ghazi is available to press Swansea’s left-back Kyle Naughton if the ball comes back to him.

With Swansea City’s two wide midfielders – Leroy Fer and Jay Fulton closely marked and Matt Grimes being pressed, the holding midfielder is forced to go long and diagonal.

Matt Grimes is forced to go long and diagonal as Aston Villa control the middle of the pitch.

Aston Villa were effective at forcing Swansea City to play down the sides. When they did, they ensured that they outnumbered them in these wide areas. To combat this, Potter’s side looked to play long balls down the sides for the wide-men to chase in behind.

Kyle Naughton looks to release Dan James in behind Aston Villa’s defence.

Swansea’s number 27 – Jay Fulton acts as the link between the defence and right-sided attackers. The midfielder was usually looking to receive the ball from a centre back and play first-time passes to Celina or Roberts – either short to feet or long for them to chase in behind.

Jay Fulton in the middle allows to link up the play from defence to wide attackers.

The need to press Matt Grimes

Matt Grimes was Swansea City’s deep-lying midfielder and pulled the strings for the home side in their early dominant spell. Showing an excellent wide-range of passing, Grimes was accurate with long diagonals which helped his team bypass Aston Villa’s congested midfield and get in behind down the right side.

Another long diagonal pass by Matt Grimes from deep.

Further forward, Matt Grimes looks to play Connor Roberts down the right flank. Aston Villa’s Bolasie doesn’t drop deep enough to stop Roberts getting in behind the defence.

Aston Villa’s compact defensive shape

It was no wonder that Dean Smith was pleased with his side’s defensive performance in the game, keeping a rare clean sheet after leaking goals in recent weeks. Of Swansea’s 19 shots in the game, 11 of them were blocked and it’s not hard to see why.

Aston Villa’s tight defensive shape made it difficult for Swansea City to attack through them.

As Swansea City approach the final third, Aston Villa drop back while McGinn pushes out to press Leroy Fer.

With plenty of bodies back, Aston Villa were able to block out a large number of shots, limiting their goalkeeper’s direct involvement.

Swansea’s risky attacking shape

This was something that we saw in their recent 3-2 defeat at Hull City, Swansea’s attacking shape and commitment to push players forward left space available to counter-attack.

Once again, we see Aston Villa’s strong midfield block. It’s the two wingers that drop back in the example below – alongside Whelan, with McGinn and the match-winner Hourihane pressing forward.

From Villa’s point of view, they have Bolasie available in space to attack into (below) if Grimes attempts (and fails) with a long diagonal. Swansea are at risk with Bersant Celina (in the white circle) and full-back Connor Roberts moving forwards into the opposition’s half.

Aston Villa are also at risk if Swansea can get the ball into the space in between the lines (Celina). In this situation, they press the player on the ball well, forcing the ball back to Grimes and then across to the near side (left-back Kyle Naughton) and away from the key danger area.

With Swansea’s two wide midfielders committed forward, Aston Villa have space to counter-attack into if they can press and win possession.

Aston Villa’s main threat from crosses

With Aston Villa’s quality in wide areas and possessing a tall target man in Tammy Abraham, Dean Smith’s side were always going to offer a threat from crosses.

Their best chance of the first half came from a cross that was nodded down by Abraham but McGinn’s close-range effort inside the six-yard box was brilliantly saved by Erwin Mulder.

Villa had a similar chance early in the second half too. Another cross that was headed across the six-yard box but McGinn can’t make contact.

Aston Villa’s main threat came from crosses, usually, those headed across the six-yard box.

Loss of possession in middle-third costs Swansea again

Swansea City were punished for losing possession just inside their own half at Hull and it was the same again against Villa.

As is so often the case in open play goals, a similar situation usually occurs before it. In this case, Leroy Fer did lose possession moments before doing so a second time that led to the winning goal being scored.

In Fer’s defence in the first case (below), Tottenham Hotspur loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers plays a long, low pass into his feet when he’s already surrounded by three Aston Villa players. They smother him, win possession and break forward.

1/2 – Leroy Fer loses possession just inside Swansea’s half, allowing Aston Villa to counter-attack.

In the build-up to the winning goal, Swansea City are playing quick, one-touch passing football in a congested area over on the far side. As the ball comes to Fer, the home side look to switch the play away from the congestion and over to the right side where Celina waits in space.

Fer, looking to let the ball run alongside him rather than take a touch, is dispossessed, allowing the counter-attacking opportunity. The dotted-line below shows Fulton’s forward run and as a result, he has far too much ground to make-up to back-pedal and provide support against the attacking break.

2/2 – Leroy Fer loses possession again, this time, Aston Villa punish Swansea on the break.

As the attack quickly develops, the aforementioned Fulton isn’t in the picture. Leroy Fer (white circle) is also too slow to track the run of goalscorer Hourihane who demonstrates the threat of late runners into the penalty area.

1/2 – Bolasie breaks forward into the space in the left channel.

Alan Hutton does well here to provide the overlap for the speedy Bolasie who plays a perfectly-weighted ball in front of the left back, allowing him to put in a first-time cross that Hourihane running through the gap can head home.

2/2 – Alan Hutton provides the overlap option, Bolasie plays the ball into his path for a first-time cross that’s headed past Mulder by Hourihane.

Swansea go direct after Villa take the lead

Instantly after the goal, Swansea City go more direct, looking to release Jefferson Montero down the left wing. Their other route forward was moving Oli McBurnie further upfield alongside striker Wilfried Bony to win route-one balls from the defence.

After going 1-0 down, Swansea go direct as defender van der Hoorn hits long.

McBurnie moves further forward, looking to win the long diagonal passes.

Swansea City also increased the intensity of their high pressing and this presented them with a Bony shot on target from 20 yards and another saw Nathan Dyer getting in behind Villa’s defence down the right.

Swansea City apply a more intense high press in search of a way back into the game.

Graham Potter sacrificed midfielders Jay Fulton and Leroy Fer shortly after the goal in favour of attacking re-enforcements. After playing wide-right of a front three, Bersant Celina dropped deeper alongside Matt Grimes while substitutes Dyer and Bony pushed up in an attacking 4-2-4 shape.

In the deeper phase, however, Dyer had to drop back and more central after the large hole left behind following the double substitution.

Aston Villa’s good defensive structure continues, making it difficult for Swansea City to build attacks from deep.

Aston Villa continue to outnumber Swansea in wide zones

As mentioned earlier in this tactical analysis, Aston Villa were wise to ensure that they outnumbered Swansea in the wide areas. As a result, Jefferson Montero, who came on just before the goal – replacing Dan James, couldn’t offer much of a threat on the left wing.

1/2 – Aston Villa double mark Jefferson Montero ensuring he had a quiet cameo down the left wing.

2/2 – On the opposite side, Aston Villa again outnumber Swansea in wide areas who lack an inside runner.

It was nowhere near Aston Villa’s best performance of the season but they will be happy with a clean sheet and a win after the loss to Leeds.

For Swansea City, it was a case of same-old – missed chances (including a 90th minute missed penalty) and their counter-attacking weakness cost them dearly.

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