JN2053: Data Test

England's cricketers begin their Ashes campaign on Wednesday in Brisbane. Ahead of the first test match at the Gabba stadium, England's frontline bowlers have been acclimatising to the conditions but are they the right men to lead the Barmy Army attack?

The graph highlights the best English bowler from each Division One county side (in blue) according to their bowling averages during the 2010 season, alongside the four men (in red) who are due to step out against Australia on November 24th. All county bowlers have bowled over 150 overs to make the graph results fair.

Stuart Broad's average of around 15 stands out as one of the best of the season and therefore deserving his place on the field, as well as James Anderson and Steven Finn whose averages fit in with the pattern of the graph and therefore it can be argued that they rightly deserve their places. However one anomaly is that of Graham Swann, whose average of around 44 stands out for the wrong reasons. I believe however that this figure can be unfair as his England commitments have stop-started his county season and therefore put him out of stride. When playing for England he has stood out as their best bowler and he proved this when winning England Cricketer of the Year back in May. Therefore despite failing to perform on domestic level, he thoroughly deserves his place on the Gabba pitch come Wednesday and also throughout the full five test matches during the 2010/2011 Ashes series in Australia.


The Guardian Datastore: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/sep/21/county-championship-batting-bowling-averages#data

JN2053: Audio Test

Vox pop2 by CJWayness

The government has announced a rise in university tuition fees. Callum Wayness travelled to a Preston Shopping Centre to see what UCLan students thought of the announcment.

McConville "delighted" with winning goal

Sean McConville admitted he was delighted to get his name on the score sheet after scoring Stanley’s only goal in their victory over Stevenage.

McConville netted with a well taken goal in the 66th minute, before John Coleman’s men held out to record their first win in seven outings.

“The gaffer’s been on my case all week,” admitted the 21 year old. “I’m happy to have scored, in fact I’m delighted.”

Stanley’s number 11 believes the Reds battled hard for the three points.

“Against physical teams you have got to grind out and I thought we did play reasonably well. We stuck in there and got our tackles in and sometimes you have got to win like that.”

“It was a dirty game but we are over the moon by getting the three points,” he admitted.

Three points has put Stanley 13th in the league table on 20 points, just above Bradford where Coleman’s men travel to on Tuesday night.

McConville believes the result over Stevenage gives them momentum going into the fixture.
“The result has put us in good stead now,” he said. “On the back of three points I think we can go to Bradford and be confident.”

“In front of a hostile crowd we can get the ball down and play like we know we can and beat them.”

The midfielder, who is now on six goals for the season is confident about the near future.

“If we can get at least a win and a draw then we are right back in the play offs again and I think with the side we’ve got, that is where we should be looking.”

JN2053: Video Test

Coventry City are positioned 14th in the Npower Championship after 14 matches. Callum Wayness speaks to Sky Blues supporter, Daniel Clowes about his views on the current situation.

4th after 14!!

Dear Coventry City fans,

Please look and cherish this moment, you don't know how much longer it'll last.

Joyce: "Their goals were errors from ourselves"

Stanley are now four league games without a win after their 4-2 defeat to Cheltenham, despite two second half goals from Terry Gornell and Phil Edwards.

Luke Joyce believes the Reds were victims of their own downfall.

“The most disappointing thing is that all their goals were errors from ourselves, it could have been prevented as they’ve not cut us open really and I think that’s really frustrating.”

Cheltenham shocked Stanley with two early goals scored by Brian Smikle and Jeff Goulding.

“The two early goals from them in the first half has really put us on the back foot, I think we did give it a go and we probably played the better football but we didn’t have that cutting edge in the final third” admitted Joyce.

Soon after half time, John Coleman’s men pulled a goal back as Gornell poked home from an unmarked position. Joyce believes this should have been the turning point in the match.

“We were pressing and putting all the pressure on, putting them on the back foot and we had all of the ball however the third goal has killed us.

“I think we had a chance straight after their third and if we had put that away, at 3-2 we’re back in the game again but it just didn’t happen.”

“I think they were alright”, Joyce admitted when asked about Cheltenham, “They knew we like to get the ball down and play football and pass it around and they played to this and played just as well but we’re still disappointed with the result.”

Hereford United v Stanley Preview

Accrington Stanley go into tomorrows match at Hereford United looking for their first away league win of the season.

Stanley haven't won away in the league since March 13th, however they will feel Saturday's game will be their best opportunity to rectify this.

Hereford are currently propping up the League 2 table, so John Coleman's men will be hoping to kick start their away form against the Edgar Street side with the full three points.

The Reds have had a rivalry with Hereford in recent years after some tough battles, unfortunately Stanley have never come out on top when away to the Bulls.

Accy are sitting nicely in mid-table, however two defeats on the bounce have slowed down their progress as they look onwards and upwards.

Coleman will have to change his starting 11 for the second match in a row, as loanee Kevin Long serves his suspension for the red card he recieved against Rotherham. Captain Andy Procter and Jonny Bateson are serving their second match on the sidelines after their red cards against Bury. Ray Putterill will also miss the game through suspension.

Terry Gornell will have a late fitness test ahead of kick off.

JN2053: Maps Test

This map is part of my work at the University of Central Lancashire.



View Maps Test in a larger map


This map includes four articles which have been taken from Monday 11th October edition of the Lancashire Evening Post.

Each point on the map includes a link to the online version of the article on the LEP website, plus a link to a website that is related to the original story.

The four articles are:
-Traffic fears for locals at Fulwood academy
-Preston North End Manager praises Paul Hayes.
-Local stars on show at the Guild Hall.
-Unfair staff dismissals at Fulwood Leisure Centre.

JN2053: Image Test

These photos are part of my university work and they represent the diversity of the University of Central Lancashire.

This is the original image of the Media Building at UCLan.

This is the 100x100 thumbnail. The UCLan logo is symbolic and the bold style represents its character.



This is the 400x300 photo. It includes the block colours of the Media factory which is an iconic building within the campus. It also incorporates the bold logo which makes the image stand out.

This is the 200x500 photo. The student is included in this image to cement the subject of the photo. The student is also 'on the move' to represent the university is moving with the times and mordern.

The Football League Paper: My Stanley Fans Piece

I believe it could have been a whole other game if Sean McConville had netted his chance in the fourth minute when one on one with Cameron Belford, however after that Stanley looked a different side to the one that scored seven goals last week.

The flowing football that Accrington usually bring to the game was replaced by long ball football and frequent offsides leaving Stanley fans frustrated. Not to mention the two second half red cards that left John Coleman and many other Reds fans fuming.

It’s fair to say that this trip to Gigg Lane is one that I may try to forget as there was not much to shout about.

"there was not much to shout about"

On a brighter note, Coleman signed a new contract earlier in the week and after improving Stanley’s end of season league position every year since taking charge in 1999, fans will be hoping for nothing less than a top half finish this season and I have every faith in Coleman producing this result, however an away win would be welcome some time soon.

Stanley 7-4 Gillingham

Stanley took all three points after scoring seven goals in an extraordinary game against Gillingham at the Crown Ground.

Sean McConville, Andy Parkinson, Charlie Barnett, Terry Gornell, Phil Edwards and Jimmy Ryan were all on target as the Reds extended the Kent outfit’s wait for an away win.

Stanley broke the deadlock with thirteen minutes on the clock. Gornell made a tidy run down the left hand side and pulled it across the six yard box to find McConville who had enough time to take a touch before hitting it past Lance Cronin in the Gillingham goal.

But fifteen minutes later the Gills were level. A long throw from Barry Fuller found the head of Mark Bentley who flicked the ball past goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin into the far corner.

The 34th minute saw Gillingham take the lead. This time a flick on from Adebayo Akinfenwa found Bentley in the clear for him to fire home his and Gillingham’s second and turn a deficit into a lead in the space of a few seconds.

But a frantic last ten minutes of the half saw the tables turned once again. Three minutes after Andy Hessenthaler’s men had taken the lead, Gornell found Parkinson on the edge of the box, who smashed the ball across the goalkeeper into the far corner of the goal.

Barnett then made it three goals with two minutes left until half time. He seemed to cross the ball from the far side and somehow found the net, although he may argue that it was indeed a perfectly crafted chip, whatever it was it sent Stanley into half time with a 3-2 advantage.

The second half was just as impressive as the first.

Cody McDonald again levelled when he chipped Dunbavin with nine minutes gone to make it 3-3, but seconds later the Reds were awarded a penalty when skipper Andy Procter was brought down by Bentley. It was scored by Edwards, who sent Cronin the wrong way with a drilled effort into the left corner.

Five minutes later referee Iain Williamson pointed to the spot again when Gornell was tripped just inside the area by visiting defender Josh Gowling. Once again Edwards sent the Gillingham goalkeeper Lance Cronin the wrong way, this time going right, to fire the Reds further into the lead.

In the 72nd minute Gornell made it six for Coleman's men, cutting into the penalty area and sliding the ball through Cronin's legs. With the score 6-3 it was surely all over.

But not so. The referee awarded another penalty in the 77th minute but this time to the away side. Dunbavin spilled the ball to McDonald's feet and seemed to impede young striker inside the area. Akinfenwa proceeded to place the ball past the Stanley goalkeeper to take the score to 6-4.

No score line seemed safe in this goal fest of a match and Gillingham would not give up however they could not finish any more chances, whilst at the other end Stanley also kept pressing, trying increase their own goal count.

The only sour moment of the game came five minutes from the full time whistle. Referee Williamson failed to award a free kick, which led to something of a melee on the sidelines. After everything cleared up, Gillingham’s goal scorer Bentley was sent off for a second bookable offence and a further caution was given to Stanley’s Ryan.

In added on time Ryan finally got his goal that he thoroughly deserved. He slotted the ball into the far corner of the net to make it seven for Stanley and took the full time score to an unbelievable 7-4.

Stanley: Dunbavin, Bateson, Winnard, Hessey, Procter, Ryan, Barnett, McConville (Turner 82), Edwards, Parkinson (Murphy 94), Gornell (Lindfield 94) Subs not used: Cisak, Joyce, Richardson, Boulding

Stockport 2-2 Stanley

Stockport scored two late goals in the space of six minutes at Edgeley Park to deny Stanley their first away win of the season.

Andy Procter gave Stanley the lead they deserved in the first half and Terry Gornell doubled the Reds lead with 15 minutes of the game remaining. John Coleman’s side were then denied the win as Stockport’s Tom Fisher and George Donnelly scored twice late on to create a nervy finale.


Despite Stanley dominating early possession it remained a quiet affair, with the single opportunity falling to Andy Parkinson on seven minutes. The ball hung in the air on the edge of the box for Parkinson to hit his volley five yards wide of the Stockport right hand post.

It took a slip in Stanley’s defence to give the home side their first chance of the half. Paul Turnbull found himself in a position 35 yards from goal and with no pressure around him decided to pull the trigger resulting in the ball whistling just past Ian Dunbavin’s goal.

This seemed to wake up a sleepy Stockport. They took a quick throw deep in the Stanley half which caught Sean Hessey unaware, allowing George Donnelly to stride into the penalty area and with support to his left decided to try and finish the move himself, however his low shot crept past the wrong side of the woodwork.

With the game having taken half an hour to warm up, Stanley responded instantly to Stockport’s newly found energy. Jimmy Ryan rattled Matt Glennon’s crossbar from a fantastic long range effort and five minutes later had another chance from outside the penalty area, this time tipped around the post by the out stretching Hatter’s goalkeeper.

The home side’s best chance of the half fell to Jamie Proctor, who found himself unmarked at the back post. An Adam Griffin cross was whipped in from the touchline, only for Proctor’s effort to miss the gaping goal and ripple the side netting.

John Coleman’s side had a flurry of chances in the last 15 minutes of the first half in what proved a fascinating spectacle. The pressure finally paid off when Stanley finally got the away goal they desperately needed in the 39th minute.

The goal came from a superb effort from Andy Procter on his 350th appearance for the club. The ball was pulled across by Dean Winnard, who found the Stanley captain on the edge of the area. Procter proceeded to place the ball brilliantly into the top right hand corner of the Hatter’s net.

The second half began as a carbon copy of the first, with Stanley holding the majority of the possession. Half chances fell to Jimmy Ryan, Andy Procter and Terry Gornell, however nothing prevailed.

The Red’s away lead was then doubled in the 75th minute. After retaining possession for some time, Sean McConville took control of the ball in the middle of the opposition’s territory, McConville had options left and right, choosing to slip the ball through the their defence to Andy Parkinson and in turn put the ball on a plate for Gornell who inevitably side footed the ball into the back of the net and took the score to 0-2.

Stanley looked comfortable with a rare two goal away lead, however this was for all of three minutes as Tom Fisher started a fight back that would hurt Stanley. Stockport’s Mark Lynch took hold of the ball near the Stanley corner flag and when he played the ball in, substitute Fisher managed to flick the ball past Dunbavin in the Red’s goal.

Six minutes later, George Donnelly broke through the Stanley defence, past a couple of half challenges and then proceeded to smash the ball from 12 yards past Dunbavin’s right hand and into the corner of the net to complete a rapid comeback.

The final few minutes were nail biting and the referee’s whistle signalled another draw and yet another away day where Stanley have failed to take the full three points.

Stanley: Dunbavin, Bateson, Winnard, Hessey, Procter, Ryan, Barnett, McConville (Turner 86), Edwards, Parkinson (Richardson 87), Gornell (Lindfield 89)
Subs not used: Cisak, Joyce, Murphy, Boulding

A week of make or break?

Cast your minds back to March 2009. It was a Wednesday night and we had a home league match against Sheffield United. Everyone was buzzing, not only because we had chances of climbing the league table but we were three days away from playing Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

It was a massive week for the club and fans alike. In terms of the season it was make or break, win the league game and keep up our play-off chances, win the chelsea game and see the Sky Blues at the new Wembley for the first time.

What happened? Well we lost both games, heads went down and we had another average season.

Looking now at this weeks fixtures, it reminds me very much of a year ago. City's next two fixtures are against Cardiff and local rivals Leicester in the League. Win tonight (Tuesday) at Cardiff and there is a possibility of getting into the play-offs. A further win at the Crisp Bowl on Sunday and maintaining that position until the end of the season could become a reality.

Hoppers fight back to beat bottom side Waterloo

13/03/2010
Preston Grasshoppers - 20
Waterloo - 12

by Callum Wayness

Hoppers went into todays match against Waterloo expecting an easy encounter against a team who lie bottom of National 2 North. It was far from that however as Waterloo took the early advantage before a relieved Hoppers side sealed victory with a second half comeback.

After little inspiring action in the first 10 minutes, Waterloo needed to take their opportunities and they did in the 11th minute when they won a line out on Hoppers 22-metre. From the throw Waterloo's packs solid drive pushed Hoppers back to their five metre allowing their scrum half, Chris Banks to whip the ball along the back line and put in Alex Rees to touch down in the corner. The conversion was missed to put the score at 0-5.

A few minutes later Hoppers won a penalty after Waterloo failed to release the ball on the ground, after sharp thinking from Hoppers Tom Ball to take it quickly Waterloo were penalised for not being 10 metres. This gave Alex Zavallis-Roebuck the chance to have a shot at the posts and he stepped up and slotted it straight down the middle to put the first points on the board for the Hoppers.

On 25 minutes the big figure of Waterloo's number eight, Njike Tchakoute broke from the half-way line and with a couple of hand-offs managed to gain 30 metres before spilling the ball forward. However from the resulting scrum Waterloo were awarded a penalty for binding infringements. The penalty was kicked to the corner and the strong line out worked again as the catch and drive pushed Waterloo's Ryan Mckie over to score their second try of the match. The conversion was knocked over by Adam Anderson taking the score to 3-12.

Almost directly from the kick off Hoppers were again awarded a penalty which Roebuck kicked perfectly and this was to inspire a Hoppers comeback as 10 minutes later Roebuck stroked another through the posts from 22 metres out to take the score at half time to 9-12.

Hoppers started the second half as they had finished the first, camped in the opposition's 22. After 10 minutes Waterloo's discipline finally cracked as a penalty was awarded against them for offside and Roebuck in fine form took the three points to level the scores up.

Hoppers maintained their pressure for another 15 minutes, however nothing came from this considerable onslaught.

Hoppers then shot themselves in the foot as they were reduced to 14 men after Anthony Harvey was sin-binned for an alleged dangerous tackle on a Waterloo player. This looked like a lifeline for Waterloo, who had struggled through the second half. However two minutes later the sides were even in numbers as Waterloo's Njike Tchakoute was sent to the bin for exactly the same offence.

The altercations seemed to go in favour of the home side as Waterloo's indiscipline gave Hoppers another penalty which Roebuck again scored to put the score at 15-12.

The nail in the coffin came for Waterloo in the 79th minute when prop John Nuttall saw red for a terrible stamp on a Hoppers player. From the resulting penalty, Hoppers broke out of their half and when the ball landed in the hands of centre Phil Whyte there was no stopping him as he broke through two tackles and touched down to make the full time score a more respectable 20-12.

What a scoreline, 1-0...again!

Coventry City recorded their 13th victory of the season yesterday (Saturday) with a 1-0 victory away to Peterborough and they are becoming familiar with these tight winning margins.

Out of 13 wins this season, Coventry have six 1-0's to their name and a further five matches have been won by a single goal. While many would say a win is a win, City have also taken a few heavy defeats and this puts the Sky Blues 8th in the Championship table with a goal difference of minus six. With the teams around them all in positive figures what does this mean for City?

If Coventry are to have a late push for the play-offs this season, it's looking more than likely that there is only going to be only one spot to fight for.

You might say, whats all the fuss about goal difference? but if you look at the table from the past two years, the desired 6th place spot has been decided on goal difference (Preston - 08/09, Watford - 07/08).

This does not bode well for Coventry as they only have 11 games left to increase their goal tally and unless they get a couple of 3-0's under their belt it is unlikely they would beat any of their neighbours on goal difference come the end of the season.

Coventry now need to focus on edging out these close victories as we know how vulnerable City are in the dying minutes. If they can pick up these one or two extra points (and not hand them to the opposition on a plate) come the end of the season, IF they're still challenging, they may not need the goals.

Late push or same old, same old..

With the business end of the season approaching Coventry City find themselves in a very familiar position, mid-table of the Championship.

However, things are looking up for the Sky Blues as they have found some form at the right time, something which can't often be said. They also have a Chairman in Ray Ranson who has kept his faith with Manager Chris Coleman through sticky patches and this seems to be paying off. The whole set-up at the club looks much improved and vitally they are debt free, which stops any backroom problems.

Ray Ranson has admitted he has long term plans in place, which will bring a smile to the majority of City supporters as they have seen how awful the attempt at Operation Premiership went. These plans have been put in place to build and establish a squad good enough to compete at the top level. I think most fans would admit now that although how amazing it would be to see the true sky blue colours back in the Premier League, maybe it's a few seasons too early.

Coventry City may run close to grabbing a late play-off spot this season, however if they establish a quality side at this level in the next couple of years, they will have a much better opportunity at reaping the rewards when eventually their time comes to face the big guns.

It's your time to shine.

Every summer thousands of new graduates from across the country begin the daunting task of finding a job in the real working world. Journalism graduates seem to have a harder time than most in finding employment.

Over the past couple of years many jobs have disappeared in all lines of work due to the recession as companies cut back on costs by cutting back on jobs. Journalistic jobs have also seen a decrease as newspapers are slowly becoming a thing of the past. However newspaper’s online websites are a growing thing – surely this means an increase in jobs for new journalists? Well the answer is most likely yes, but however we like to look at it, newspapers need experienced and trained personnel in their ranks. This means a limit to the jobs available for up and coming journalists.

Fortunately it is not all doom and gloom for future graduates. The BBC’s move to the north-west, Salford Quays in 2011 will provide much needed job opportunities for those looking to get on the job ladder. Surely fresh faces for a new location will be ideal for the BBC to grow even further and enhance their reputation. Another huge opportunity for new graduates will come around in 2012, with the Olympics coming to London. The event will be an amazing chance to get some vital experience and make contacts that are fundamental in this line of work. Plus what better way to begin your career by being at the heart of the biggest event in the world.

Finding a job doesn’t have to be as daunting as first thought. It’s just building bridges that takes time and with the opportunities to build those bridges ahead, there’s no better time to be beginning your life as a journalist.