Thursday, February 24, 2011

Propaganda: Matrix

I was looking for a change of pace for my computer background so I threw this together fairly quickly and was rather pleased with how it came out. I'll try to come up with something a little more original sometime soon, I've been rather swamped lately and haven't had the free time I'd like to put things together. Anyway here's the latest desktop, hope ya enjoy...

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-Ultra

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Columbus Legends: Duncan Oughton

Duncan Oughton is a true Columbus Legend. He spent his entire career with the Massive club and made Columbus his adopted home. A true fan favorite when not showing off his skills on the pitch he was making people laugh off of it. His sense of humor and personable nature helped him become part of the heart and soul of the team. While he has retired from his playing days he has moved up to the Crew Front Office continuing his work in helping Columbus stay Massive.

Duncan Oughton, the kiwi of Columbus.


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-Ultra

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Going over the top: Columbus' set piece battles


Over the last few seasons there has been one main way for The Crew to net goals: set pieces. Back in 2008 the service of Schelotto and the Ariel prowess of players like Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno made corner kicks and final third fouls a dangerous proposition for those opposing the Black and Gold. This high flying attack wasn't the only means of production though. The Crew could still count on goals from the run of play to keep teams honest and prompt those dangerous fouls. The Crew could keep the game moving but still hit hard when the opposition forced a stoppage. In 2009 this fell off but did not entirely disappear letting the team scrape out another supporters shield despite a poor finish to the season. Year two of the Robert Warzycha project though saw the well all but run dry. The Massive club became almost entirely reliant on set piece goals to keep them in matches as the team struggled to find the net from the run of play. This predictability became a major liability, in 2010 if you could stop the set pieces you could stop Columbus.

Since the end of last season the team has undergone a major overhaul. Warzycha is no longer looking to be pegged to lining up in formation and charging headlong for the cross the way he had in season past. The plan is to switch from the classical set piece engagements that got the team bogged down to a more rapid war of movement. Think of it as going from WWI to WWII, from trenches to blitzkrieg. The problem however will lie in it's implementation. Switching styles is never an easy task, the culture of lining up and waiting for the whistle to send you up and over an opponent may have taken too deep of root to work out quickly. The result of which could be a slow and painful start to the season for fans of the Massive club. Given the early results in the preseason many fans may begin to wonder if we're adapting properly. In the first two matches all the Crew's goals have once again come from Set pieces. The question then is when will we see the change in style that was promised after the off-season purge. With limited time and options before the first match against Salt Lake it is unlikely the teams new tactics will be on full display. Warzycha will likely have to "attack the enemy's strategy" as Sun Tzu would say. He'll have to tailor the Crew to take on the Royals before he can tailor the Crew to be the Crew. Something that maybe a problem given his desire to totally shift the team's style and the limited time before First Kick. The good news things are still in their very early stages. The Crew won their third preseason match 3-0 with both Mendoza and Cunningham scoring. Not to mention that often times preseason is a poor indicator of how a team will actually play during the season. However given the frustration last year and with the first Champions League match less than two weeks away people are understandably nervous. They don't want to see another season stuck in the trenches and being forced to go over the top.

-Ultra

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Columbus Legends: Frankie Hejduk

Oh Captain my captain...
Frankie Hejduk embodies the spirit of the Massive; he works hard, he tackles hard, he runs hard, and he plays hard. While he no longer plays in Columbus, when someone asks you to picture the Captain of the Crew this is who most of you probably think of. His years of dedication to the team, his unstoppable work rate, his goal in MLS Cup 08 and his beers in the Nordecke. While he's finishing out his career in LA back near his california roots he has said he plans on making his adopted city his home in life after soccer. The man embodies what it means to be a Crew player and for his time with us he will always be a Columbus Legend.


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-Ultra

Monday, February 7, 2011

Columbus Legends: Guillermo Barros Schelotto

I've decided to do a string of Wallpapers dedicated to the greatest men to have donned the Black and Gold. Each will be unique to the player and commemorate his time with the club. To kick things off I'm starting with the man, the myth, the legend; Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Guille joined the club mid-season 2007 and went on to become one of the most Iconic figures in Columbus Crew history. The sublime argentine was named the 2008 MLS Regular season and MLS cup MVP helping to earn Three pieces of hardware in his time with the Massive. Though his contract was not renewed at the start of the season he will always be a fan favorite and arguably the best player ever to wear the uniform. So here's to Barros Schelotto, Columbus' #7 and a true Crew Legend.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Propaganda: Renteria

One of the pleasant surprises last season was the play of Emilio Renteria. The Venezuelan Bulldog powered his way through defenses and put in the work to notch Five goals and earn the adoration of many Crew fans. His strength, hustle, skill and memorable celebrations can now be honored by having him adorn your desktop. Hopefully 2011 will see many more calls on the shoe phone or dances by the corner flag.


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-Ultra

Friday, February 4, 2011

Propaganda: Wallpaper Round Up

Okay so I've posted quite a few wallpapers since I started this site back in 2008; Some of them have been quite good, others god awful. Looking back through my pages lately I realized it's been quite some time since I've had a proper round up of good wallpapers all in once place, so I figured I'd remedy that. So to save you from having to sift through several years worth of blog posts here are my personal favorites all in one place.

Oh and if you're looking for the walls for your smartphone here's the link too those I made for droids.

























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Feel free to comment on which you like/hate or would want to see more of in the future.

-Ultra

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Propaganda: Abstraction

I got bored with my desktop the other day but I still wanted something in a similar vein. So I came up with this wallpaper, an abstract sort of chaos about it but not so busy it hurts to look at, or at least that's how I feel about it.


click to enlarge

-Ultra

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Propaganda: Turn the Gears

The Crew market themselves with a blue collar attitude and the slogan "America's Hardest Working Team". The players grind out results and push hard every game, working a full 90 minute shift every week. So with that gritty attitude in mind I cranked out this next wallpaper.


click to enlarge

-Ultra