Britain's Got Talent 2011: Stroll in the Parke for Ronan?

Britain's Got Talent / Mike Norman / 30 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Ronan Parke is the early favourite to win BGT 2011

"If there’s any justice in the world then self-taught pianist Gbegbaje will make it to the final as undoubtedly in my eyes he is the one act in this semi-final with real talent."

The live semi-finals have arrived and Mike Norman believes Ronan Parke will be hard to beat tonight, but who will join him in Saturday's live final?

Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan, our country needs you. I've been saying from the very beginning that the standard on this year's Britain's Got Talent has been very poor, and whilst that isn't the fault of the current judges, it has to be said that last night Amanda Holden, Michael McIntyre, and David Hasselhoff made some horrendous decisions.

Their task wasn't easy of course, but in reducing 250 or so hopefuls down to just 40 they left out some really good acts, and instead included some absolutely awful ones. Something Cowell and Morgan wouldn't have done.

Take Michael Moral's elimination for example, arguably one of the best solo dancers BGT has ever seen. But because the judges didn't want similar-type acts in the live semi-finals (even though at least four dog acts were put through), Moral and Razy Gogonea were made to perform again. But in absolutely bizarre fashion, Holden told Gogonea that he was through not just because he was better in the 'dance-off', but because he was one of the best dancers ever seen on the show. Well if that was the case then why was he made to dance again? And why weren't both Gogonea and Moral put through, thus allowing the public to decide who they like best from here on in?

Unfortunately Moral wasn't the only act not to go through; pint-sized crooner Robbie Firmin was also given a resounding no. But fear not, a guy who dresses like The Terminator - but does nothing - and a man who pops out his eyeballs (now we've seen it do we really need to see it again?) did make it through!

Tonight's first live semi-final will see the favourite for the competition - Ronan Parke (available to back at [3.4] in the BGT 2011 Winner market) - perform again alongside Joe Oakley [23.0], Paul Gbegbaje [48.0], Donelda Guy [90.0], Girls Roc [120.0], Bruce Sistaz [120.0], Ted and Grace [130.0] and Stuart The Entertainer [140.0].

I'll give my outright winner selections tomorrow morning once the market has fully materialised but in terms of tonight's semi-final it's difficult to look beyond Parke. Unfortunately this talented 12-year-old singer is available to back at just [1.21] in the Semi Final 1 Winner market and that's certainly not a price that I want to be getting stuck into, so instead I'll be having a wager in the To Qualify market. Remember, two acts from each live semi-final will qualify through to Saturday's live final.

We can discount three acts without a second thought - Stuart The Entertainer (The Terminator guy), Ted and Grace (rubbish granddaughter/grandfather singing act), and Bruce Sistaz (martial arts duo that public won't vote for) - and I'm quite confident that a fourth - Donelda Guy - will be eliminated also, though with Cowell the dog act-lover back on the panel tonight don't be surprised at anything that happens.

That just leaves Joe Oakley - available to back at [2.0] in the To Qualify market - Paul Gbegbaje [3.2], and Girls Roc [6.0], the first two being the acts with real talent, the latter being the act that entertains.

Oakley is the BMX kid and super talented at what he does. But this is supposed to be a variety entertainment show and I'm not convinced that doing bunny hops on a bike is variety entertainment. Yes, at a BMX freestyle competition he is fantastic, but on an entertainment show he strikes me as boring. However, I have a feeling that the public will like him and I'm not at all confident about predicting he won't be the one joining Parke in Saturday's final.

But my money is going on Paul Gbegbaje. If there's any justice in the world then self-taught pianist Gbegbaje will make it to the final as undoubtedly in my eyes he is the one act in this semi-final with real talent. Not good with words by his own admission Gbegbaje likes to express himself through the music that he plays, and when he plays the audience listen. He is incredibly talented and a very likeable young man to boot, and if he is key perfect tonight then I'm praying that the British public vote him through to the final.

Girls Roc are very entertaining, and I for one can't wait to see them perform. They are not without talent either, dancing through fire, swallowing flames, stilt walking etc, but will the public vote for them? The men will, but I'm not sure enough of the female audience will.

Recommended Bet: Back Paul Gbegbaje in To Qualify market @ [3.2]

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Britain's Got Talent 2011: Girls Roc-ket to being leading contenders

Britain's Got Talent / Mike Norman / 11 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Something about Girls Roc caught the eye of our BGT reviewer

"It obviously helps when you’re outgoing, sexy and gorgeous but don’t let that detract from how good these girls actually were."

After a few weeks of disappointing audition shows, Mike Norman is in a far better mood after witnessing some proper talent on Saturday.

Admittedly I've been a bit grumpy of late, so much so that I've been accusing the current series of Britain's Got Talent as being dull and boring thus far.

Well either the guy dressed as Zorro at my last fancy dress party was Simon Cowell, the ITV producers heard my drunken rants about the rubbish being screened, or there is indeed a god out there happy to appease my wishes. But however it came about, Saturday's latest offering of bizarre, disillusioned, and fame-hungry contestants were far better than what we have seen in the three previous weeks.

Of course, when a septet of scantily-clad, none-too-shy beautiful women open the show then it's difficult to envisage BGT as anything but pure heaven and bliss.

Girls Roc really did rock. Ignoring their obvious assets, this bunch of sexy blondes and brunettes got the night off to a fantastic start. Much of what they did - flame throwing, fire eating, power tool stunts or whatever they are called - has been seen many times before, but these girls did it during a very confident and synchronised routine. It obviously helps when you're outgoing, sexy and gorgeous but don't let that detract from how good these girls actually were. It could easily have been seven hairy bikers doing the same routine for all I care, they would have still impressed... honest!

From a completely selfish point of view, it will be an utter disgrace if Girls Roc don't appear in the live semi-finals. But don't worry about that, I'll have a word with Zorro at my next fancy dress party.

Perhaps the silliest act I've ever seen on any series of BGT came when 21-year-old art student Nathan Wyburn appeared on Saturday to create a picture of judge Michael McIntyre from slices of Marmite-covered toast. From an art perspective it was ok, but from a variety act perspective it was brown bread just as much at its conclusion as it was before it commenced.

You only have to be a decent dancer to progress further on BGT; if you're an exceptional dancer then you can suddenly find yourself being touted as the potential winner before you've even had chance to polish your shoes.

On Saturday we saw two such dancers, one in the style of Billy Elliot, the other a cross between George Sampson and the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.

Eleven-year-old James Hobley found his passion for dancing when his mum took him to a dancing event as a child. James discovered that dancing helps a muscle problem he has in his legs, and it also helps him to overcome his struggle against autism. I'm no expert in the kind of dancing that he enjoys, but living just a stone's throw away from where Jamie 'Billy Elliot' Bell grew up I'd like to think that I know a thing or two to suggest that James can go a long way in this year's competition. His story and appeal are exactly what the British public warm to, so definitely keep him on your shortlist for when the Winner market materialises.

Michael Moral on the other hand just oozed class during the robotic, body-pop style dance routine that he performed. The problem I have with Michael - and it's nothing personal - is that's he was born and still lives in France. This is Britain's Got Talent for Christ's sake! Can you just imagine the announcer at the Royal Variety Performance if this guy wins? "And the winner of this year's Britain's Got Talent is... French!"

But given the talent and entertainment Moral, and the likes of Hobley and Girls Roc demonstrated at least the show is moving in the right direction - quality-wise at least.

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Britain's Got Talent 2011: Things can only get better

Britain's Got Talent / Mike Norman / 04 May 2011 / Leave a Comment

Razy Gogonea performing a jaw-dropping move during his audition

"Pip has an extremely good voice and possibly could have provided us with that SuBo, or possibly Paul Potts moment that we’re desperate for."

Three weeks into the auditions and Mike Norman is far from impressed with what we've seen so far, though a couple of Youtube entries have definitely impressed our hard-to-please blogger.

I know exactly what you're all thinking after what you've seen in the last fortnight, "Where's the talent?" Perhaps it was a bit much to expect a SuBo moment, or maybe it's still to come, but so far this year's Britain's Got Talent has been about as exciting as having your teeth pulled.

Not one act blew me away after the first week of auditions, and the reason I didn't blog after the second week of auditions was because it would have been impossible to write more than two paragraphs about all that was good that week.

But now I've got two weeks of drizzle to rabbit on about, and maybe it's just a bit of a mid-life crisis that I'm experiencing, but I'm still not getting remotely excited!

I mean, take Grace & Ted for example, a 21-year-old attractive blonde (even that's debatable) and her 91-year-old grandfather. Performing If I Were a Rich Man the best part of their act was undoubtedly Ted's charming appeal, and this is where Grace deserves credit. She knew full well that if she'd have performed alone she would have been told she was a club singer at best. Taking her loveable grandfather on stage was a masterstroke; no-one is going to say no to a 91-year-old man and thus the duo got through to the next round - but thankfully, they stand no chance of winning.

Also impressing the judges, but for no apparent reason, were acts like Les Gibson, a 41-year-old impressionist, and 66-year-old singer Herbie Armstrong.

Gibson started off by doing an impression of BGT presenters Ant and Dec, but sounded more like Jimmy Nail and Julian Clary - Dec looking particularly unimpressed backstage. Granted, Gibson's impression of Kevin Webster was on the money, but when you're doing an act of this nature, impersonating five or six famous people of whom just one is instantly recognisable is simply not good enough.

Armstrong meanwhile had to be stopped during his first audition (presumably because his song was about as uplifting as Vanessa Feltz getting a carry from her partner), but he then boringly sung his way through the Van Morrison hit Have I Told You Lately. He was ok, but certainly nothing special and I wouldn't bee too fussed if he didn't make it to the live TV stage of the competition.

So what does that leave us with? Well I suppose seven-year-old Olivia Binfield was fantastic at getting her message across to the world - via poetry and with a huge snake wrapped around her - that endangered species need to be looked after; and 12-year-old Ronan Park - despite being dressed by his parents - was a good singer. And there was also Edward Reid, who changed the words of the Leona Lewis hit Run to accommodate nursery rhymes. Bizarre! But quite frankly, some of the acts shown to date have been pretty awful, which is why BGT's decision to allow Youtube clips into the auditions could well save the day.

And the reason I say that is because in my opinion, the two best acts that we've seen so far are Pip & Puppy and Razy Gogonea - both of whom submitted their auditions by internet.

Now quite why Pip thinks her puppy (Buddy) adds anything to the act is beyond me. Pip has an extremely good voice and possibly could have provided us with that SuBo, or possibly Paul Potts moment that we're desperate for. Pip performed Pie Jesu, the classical song that Andrew Johnston sang in series two, and sounded fantastic. What didn't sound fantastic was her puppy yapping along. I really hope she ditches Buddy for the live semi-finals as she has the potential to go a long way.

Gogonea on the other hand put in a stunning performance that blew the audience away. Breakdancers have been notorious on BGT, but none have been quite as jaw-dropping as the Matrix-style manoeuvres that this guy produced. Given that singers and dancers always go down well with the general public, Gogonea has to be on the early shortlist to win this year's show.

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Premier League Bets: How harmony outweights talent

Premier League / Ralph Ellis / 21 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

Torres is substituted again. The Spaniard's arrival has created more problems than solutions.

"If you want an example of the way a good boss can transform a club then look at Liverpool. A miserable camp under Roy Hodgson has been transformed into a happy one with Kenny Dalglish at the helm and yesterday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland was more evidence."

A settled and happy camp is often a successful camp. Ralph Ellis looks at which Premier League camps are happy and which are on the verge of mutiny.

I've a friend who manages a huge company and says he's careful to make sure he stays popular with those workers who smoke. The five or ten minute breaks they spend outside the door in the rain or freezing cold might look pretty unpleasant - as is their habit. But it's where most of the office gossip gets started and any bother or rebellion begins.

It's a fact of life that chitter chatter, intrigue, grumbling and complaining happens in every working environment. All the more so in a football club. And it's why, in this age of millionaire players, it's more important than ever to keep the camp happy because any dissent soon rips the place apart.

It's something Fabio Capello will be reminded of this week after restoring John Terry to the England captaincy and leaving Rio Ferdinand - and his mates within the squad - upset in the process. And it's something Terry's club manager Carlo Ancelotti is also having to handle.

He's got a new £50million striker in Fernando Torres who isn't scoring goals, or playing particularly well, but an owner who wants to see his expensive new toy in the team. The look of thunder on the face of Roman Abramovich when Torres was substituted after 70 goalless minutes against Manchester City told that.

Ironically the fact that substitutes Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka then played their part in creating a 2-0 win will only cause more problems for the manager. More pressure on him to drop Torres while the owner wants the Spaniard in the team.

Nobody in the boardroom would dare tell Sir Alex Ferguson which strikers to pick. But he's got similar issues trying to keep three forwards happy when only two can play.
Dimitar Berbatov has started only one League game since early February - even though the 88th minute effort which brought a 1-0 win over Bolton made him first to reach 20 Premier League goals this season. It's also meant the Bulgarian's price for the Golden Boot shortened to [1.87].

Manchester United are now [1.62] for the title, with a 2-2 draw at West Brom meaning Arsenal have slid out to [4.3]. We wait to see how Arsene Wenger reacts to yet another goalkeeping blunder. It's only a short time ago that Jens Lehmann left The Emirates grumbling about the way Wenger treated him, but there was obviously some mutual respect because the German is back. He was meant to be emergency cover but could now step into the title campaign.

If you want an example of the way a good boss can transform a club then look at Liverpool. A miserable camp under Roy Hodgson has been transformed into a happy one with Kenny Dalglish at the helm and yesterday's 2-0 win at Sunderland was more evidence. And here's a thought. If Chelsea, nine points behind Manchester United, are [6.8] for the title then why are Liverpool, eight points adrift of Manchester City, as long as [16.0] to finish in the top four?

Even at clubs that are doing well, it doesn't take much for some moaning to emerge. Spurs might be in the Champions League quarter-finals and looking forward to a tasty tie with Real Madrid, but you should have heard the White Hart Lane faithful grumbling after they had failed to find a goal and had to settle for a 0-0 draw with West Ham. Harry Redknapp must wonder exactly what he has to do to make some Spurs fans happy.

At the bottom end of the table spirit and togetherness is even more important. Wigan might be 20th and [1.42] to go down but they've clearly got unity and Roberto Martinez is getting the best even from the truculent Charles N'Zogbia, as a vital 2-1 win over Birmingham proved.

If Capello wants some lessons on man management he could do worse than talk to Ian Holloway, who has kept his star performer Charlie Adam up to standard - even though the Scot was obviously bitterly disappointed that a January move to Liverpool was blocked. Adam got two more goals in a 2-2 draw at Blackburn which keeps Blackpool in sight of survival.

Compare and contrast to Aston Villa, where Gerard Houllier has lost the respect of many of his senior players. And now the home fans are turning on him too. A 1-0 home defeat by Wolves gave a great contrast in how Mick McCarthy has got limited players all working for him, while Houllier has too many talented ones who've downed tools. Wolves are [3.25] to go down while Villa are overpriced at [8.2].

And having everybody backing the boss - including the fans - is important. It's why Stoke are such a powerful force at home, proved again as they ripped Newcastle apart 4-0. The Potters continue to look value at [2.7] to maintain their current tenth or better.

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