Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Same standard, 1/2 price?
A miracle too far..
Liverpool 1 - 0 Debrecen
Fiorentina 1 - 0 Lyon
As it takes a moment for most to digest the result over a cup of teh tarik or nescafe, the long sigh from Benitez could almost be heard all the way from Hungary. For the first time in six season under his charge, Liverpool failed to qualify to the knockout stage of Champions League. While he is frustrated to say the least, I wouldn't say that he couldn't see this coming. Several near misses including Liverpool's one-off exception qualification to the Champions League 2005-06 even though they ended up fifth in the league, by virtue of being the 2004-05 champion.
As, Rafa adjust his GPS - changing course from Madrid to Hamburg, he is left to ponder - if Liverpool was ever meant to play in Europa Cup with the likes of Everton, Benfica and Valencia. The true damage to Liverpool will be the failure to qualify for next year's Champions League. With the likes of Spurs, City and Villa all hovering above them, it might soon become a task too far..
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Attention folks: One miracle coming right up!
Well his words are not without credit actually: Liverpool is a team that lives on miracle after all - two years back when they miraculously survived to the knockout stage, whacking Porto, Besiktas and Marseille along the way - and of course, which Liverpool fan will allow you to forget their 0-3 come back against AC Milan to win the Champion's League in 2005.
Any difference now and then? YES
For starters, this guy isn't playing:
He is the sole reason why Liverpool is winning - sad to say.
Fiorentina only need one point from the match against Lyon to dash Liverpool's hope. And this man is on a mission to make sure that this happens:
Adrian Mutu
Yes, thats right boys and girls - Adrian Mutu is back to wipe that grin off all those English fans that mocked him during his scandalous stay with Chelsea. At one point fans were even laughing at the report where he was in the sack with four ladies - but didn't impress any of them! Now back with the big boys and despite a difficult elbow injury, Mutu managed to finish the 2008-2009 season with 14 goals, along with Gilardino they were one of the top ten single season striker partnerships in Viola history with 33 goals between them.
My money is on him - finishing of Liverpool's faint hopes. What do you think?
Hand of Henry
Monday, November 2, 2009
A shift in power
At first glance, you may be forgiven for thinking that its business as usual - as all (well, with Liverpool as an exception) the big names are occupying the top 3 spots. A close look will reveal how close these teams are from the rest of the chasing pack. Arsenal with 22 points could go above United if they win the next game (having played only 10 games and with superior goal difference) and City could potentially make it 22 points - having played 1 game less as well. Villa could also move into 5th if they win the next one - having 18 points and having played 1 less as well.
Interesting enough - all top 3 teams have lost twice so far with 11 games played. Gone are the days where title contenders run away with a clear cut lead after playing only 1/3 of the season. All top teams have been going through a tough time so far:-
Chelsea - Woeful away form (2 away losses) and slapped with 2 transfer window ban. Better hope no one gets injured.
United - Lack of creativity in attack and midfield. Hopefully for United, all the rumors of capturing David Silva and David Villa will come through good. Scrapping through 1-0 wins may not be good enough at times - like what the Gaffa always say - At the end of the day, it may come down to goal difference. Right now their 12 is a pale comparison against Arsenal's 19 and Chelsea's 20.
Arsenal - Inexperienced young Gunners tend to collapse towards the end of the season. Games like the one against West Ham are tell tale signs. That being said - when they thump teams, they really do it in style!
Manchester City - Showed promising signs defeating the likes of Arsenal. Like Liverpool, they rise to big occasions, but play poorly against mid table teams. Looking at their performance against Birmingham - Hughes has a lot to do for the remaining season.
Liverpool - Most likely to drop out of the top 4 position. Rafa has got to make up his mind. With a squad like theirs (Lucas & Voronin - need I say more), competing on all fronts for honours, is an impossible task. Now staring at Champion's League exit and with Gerrard possibly out until December - League title should be a foregone conclusion by then.
With a WAG like that, it is no wonder Stevie G's groin injury is so serious..
Consistency - as in the past and now as important as ever - will be the key to winning the Premier League this season.
Friday, October 9, 2009
To celebrate or not to celebrate
Then this fella started rambling about how United fans have been unkind to him and how United refuse to pay £30m to buy him.
Tevez - needing a pacifier to shut him up
Then comes this fella who is trying to pretend to be Mr. Nice Guy by not celebrating his goal which led to the 1-1 draw with Manchester City. But Mark Hughes said "It'll be nice if he doesn't score against us". Can you do that Mr. Nice Guy?
Richard Dunne - trying to be Mr. Nice Guy
For crying out loud - Time to act like a professional. Some pointers for the millionaires:-
a. It's ok for you to celebrate your goal. After all if you scored, you deserved it - just don't do it in front of the opposition fans!
b. What do you expect if you leave one club to join another fierce rival? That your old club's fans kiss your feet still when you walk into the pitch? Common - grow up. Let's keep it real.
c. Don't burn bridges - ask any juniors in the working world and you would know this general concept. You never know when you will need another person's help.
d. If you want to be Mr. Nice Guy - try to allow others to see your good deed by themselves. That way it look way less fake.
Think I've seen this tit-for-tat behaviour before, wait hang on - I think it was in the kindergarten. Please grow up - 'Professional Footballers'.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Taken for a ride..
Help me, I am trying to be optimistic. I love and want to support my Government badly, but as a concerned citizen, I have to ask - Is this the right time for this sort of venture? Our participation comes at a time, where we are technically in recession - going through 2Qs of negative growth for 1st and 2nd Q of 2009.
You may argue that it is also in part a privately funded team - with AirAsia, Proton, Naza and Petronas coming in. With the exception of AirAsia, please do remember that the money from these companies comes indirectly from the government too. Proton with Government's 20 years tax protection in the car industry, Naza from the thousands of APs gifted to them by Rafidah Aziz and Petronas from the oil rights given by the government.
The funny thing you may ask on the Government's part of the money - where to find the millions needed to fund the F1 team when it's not even allocated in the 2009 budget? One theory could be the reduction of petrol quality in Malaysia. Many Malaysians don't realise it but the usual RON97 that you have been enjoying has been downgraded to RON95 but the RM1.80 per litre price tag still applies! BRILLIANT! That way, no protest, no anti-gov sentiment but still can find the money to pay for the F1 team! On top of that, I see adds on the newspaper brainwashing the public that using RON95 has made their car more powerful - gosh - how stupid and blind can we be.
There's a fine line between being patriotic and supporting the government blindly - lets not cross it.