Casino Royale - A Full House

Last night I watched the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale, and thought it was good fun. It is certainly different to those of the Brosnan era, with a new 007, Daniel Craig, but being directed by the man behind GoldenEye, Martin Campbell.

The story itself is intriguing and you don't lose interest in the plot as it develops. Another strength of the film are the gripping action scenes which are as good as any from a Bond film. The scene in which Bond chases and kills a bomber into an embassy is fantastic. Craig himself did a good job with what he had.

But the Bond of old, had never relied so much on his physical prowess as this one did. There were fewer gadgets and more brawn-driven victories. Whereas Brosnan, Moore and Connery were suave and measured in any situation, Craig is aggresive and emotional. Could this be to do with his character development? Overall I think Daniel Craig did a good job as 007 but will be even better in faster, more action packed sequels.

The 21st Bond movie does have its weaknesses. It was too long and drawn out, the chief factor being the love scenes or dialogue between Bond and Lynd. I want more action! I rate this film as a 7 out of 10. Better than a flush, but worse than a four of a kind.

How the cookie crumbles

Today, for the 2nd time this year, it pains me to announce I'm retiring from my football career.

Injuries have plagued me for months and I've decided to take a break indefinitely. I'm going to the chiropractor today and have a physio appointment in December. The main problem has been my knee (upper gastrocnemius medial), but issues with hips, wrists and back have accumulated over time. Hopefully these problems will be resolved and I can come out of retirement again!

While The Sky Is Blue

This one is going to be purely about football and Coventry City Football Club so you can stop reading here if you have no interest in the subject!

Supporting this team is probably not good for your health, neither is supporting most football teams in reality. Not everyone can finish 1st, win the cup or gain promotion. This is certainly the case for the Sky Blues. I think whoever you support, it is vital that you are realistic about your team's capabilities or potential. This can affect your attitude to the results you achieve.

As a Coventry fan I can say that I was happy we finished 8th in the Championship last season (2005/06). The manager, Micky Adams, undoubtedly did well. He made some useful signings and got us playing effective, match-winning football. Now for various reasons, most notably the sale of our best attacking player - Gary McSheffrey, we have not yet started to play as well as we did last year. Personally, I think our greatest problem is goal-scoring and consistency.

Seeing as we lost our third game in a row I can understand frustration that comes from following this team. But what I feel is important, is that we need to put this result and our predicament in context. Coventry got relegated from the Premierhip in 2000/01 and since then, have not looked like achieving promotion. Financially, the club are still in tens of millions of debt and the club's main assets - the players, aren't the best in the league, but are arguably good enough to finish in the top 10 of the league.

My point is this, although its great to be optimistic and desire success for the team you support, you must remain realistic. I think if we finished in the top ten this season that would be good, but to finish in the top eight would be great. If you're whinging about the manager now, I think you need to wait, at least until Christmas before making a judgement. Nothing happens straight away, I'm not defending the team or the performances, but everybody needs time. This is only Adam's 2nd season in charge and at times, you need to keep the faith. Look at Alex Ferguson; if he was sacked after a slow start to the season Manchester United would not have won their last nine league titles. So please guys, keep the faith. Play Up Sky Blues!