Author: Mark Murphy

First year at University of Essex, studying Multimedia Journalism.

Gallows Humour in football

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Gallows humour and football have always been two things that complement each other very well. The reason being is that in football, one minute you can feel on top of the world after a great result or when you exceed expectations and have an amazing season, the next you feel like a team of 7-year-olds could probably beat your team in a 90-minute game.

Social media is a tool that many football fans use to express their thoughts and feelings on any given match. With that comes of course people trying to be funny, whether it be at the expense of someone else’s team or their own.

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Pandemic has played its part in U’s Decline-PDF file (as featured in the Colchester Gazette

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Pandemic has played its part in U’s declineDownload

From promotion contenders to fighting for league survival – what has happened to Colchester United this season? Mark Murphy reports. Colchester United’s League Two 2019/20 campaign ended with a play-off semi-final second-leg defeat to Exeter City where the U’s lost 3-1 (3-2 on aggregate over the two legs). Unfortunately, the 2020/21 season will not be mirroring the same events as last season; in fact, it will be quite the opposite. Colchester sit currently in 22nd place in League Two, which is only one spot above the relegation zone. How in the space of less than a year can a team go from almost being promoted to then fighting to survive in the Football League?

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Sam Thorley-Proof TikTok is not just a teenage girl’s world

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Sam Thorley is a content creator on TikTok, making comedy videos. Just to clarify to those who are unaware, being called old on the app doesn’t necessarily mean that you are elderly like it does in real life. It seems like once your late twenties, everyone seems to throw the label of old on everyone.

When he joined the Zoom call, I was surprised at how much quieter and more reserved he was. I suppose this was because when you think of people who are funny you tend to think of loud personalities. With Sam it was different but not in a bad way at all. To me, he came across as one of those people who only spoke when they actually had something to say, which in my experience many of those types of people are actually the funniest.

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Top 10 Underrated Paul McCartney Songs

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Paul McCartney has been a prominent figure in the music world since the 60s. Since The Beatles split in 1970, McCartney has released 25 studio albums from the immensely successful Band On The Run in 1973 to his most recent release 2018’s Egypt Station. I want to look at the songs that perhaps not many will know about, in a 50 year plus career there are certainly many. My criteria is any song from Paul’s solo and Wings career is fair game but, only one song per album.

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Life in a South African boarding school

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Evan Thomas lived in South Africa from the ages 8-14 and spent a year in boarding school aged 13. I sat down with him as he reflected on his time in Limpopo and specifically the boarding school. The school he attended was one of the best not just in Limpopo (a South African provenance that borders Mozambique and Botswana) but in the whole of the country. When I asked him the classic question of “what was it like?” He answered that it was like a 50s boarding school style, he quipped “the teachers can’t beat you, but the students can.” The majority of students were from rich backgrounds from different countries spread across Africa. When applying there was a weekend which Evan described as being like an audition where they determined whether they’d let you into the school or not.

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Sam Fender-‘Hypersonic Missiles’ Review

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Born and raised in North Shields 25-year-old Geordie Sam Fender dropped his debut album ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ on September 13th, 2019. With this in mind you’d expect maybe some nice guitar and some patchy song writing as it’s a young man’s first major project. But this collection of songs surprised me in how mature it really is, the issues and themes explore many aspects of life. From ignorance of world problems and how we can all come together to try and fix it, to exploration of affairs, white privilege and the struggles of the northern working class. Continue reading “Sam Fender-‘Hypersonic Missiles’ Review” →

Newcastle United will never progress under Mike Ashley

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Mike Ashley has been owner of Newcaslte for 13 years now. In that time it’s certainly never been quiet or uneventful on Tyneside. While a top five finish in the 2011/2012 season was achieved, it has been mostly mid-table finishes and relegation fights for the Toon Army. For most part since 2007, Newcastle have not really looked as if there was any progress under way.

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The effects of supporting a football team and why fans keep coming back

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Eric Cantona once famously said: “You can change your wife, your politics, but never, never change your football team.” There are many highs and lows in football, some fans experience more highs then lows and other experience more lows than highs. I chatted with three footballs fans, who each support a team with a different context in the English game. Continue reading “The effects of supporting a football team and why fans keep coming back” →

How to: Retake Year 12

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Making the decision to retake year 12 can be a daunting one. You begin asking questions such as: Did I waste an entire year of my life? What’s the point? I know this because that was me nearly four years ago, been there done that. I learnt a lot from my extra year in sixth form, so I thought I’d offer some advice to those are worried or anxious about doing so. Continue reading “How to: Retake Year 12” →