Off side la!

The Living Legend that is Ryan Giggs

2009-01-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday i talked about a player, that quite frankly has been a dissapointment so far IMO, Robinho. You can check out yesterday's post to see my points on this. Today i'd like to pay tribute to someone who's the complete opposite ....Ryan Giggs

A quick check on Wikipedia reveals the following facts on Giggsy:

Ryan Joseph Giggs was born Ryan Joseph Wilson on 29 November 1973 in Canton, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom (Wilson was his Dad's surname. He took the name Giggs so that everyone knows that he is his mothers son)

Giggs holds a host of football records, including that of being the most decorated player in British football history. On 11 May 2008, he became the first footballer to collect 10 top division English league title medals. (to have won all those things...damn..i'm so jealous!)

Giggs was the first player in history to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award consecutively (1992 and 1993) and as of today has played and scored in every single season of the FA Premier League since its inception, also holding the league's record for most all time goal assists with 289 assists in 535 appearances. (thats almost an assist every other game!)

Giggs is mixed race — his paternal grandfather is from Sierra Leone — and has spoken of the racism he faced as a child. (i wonder how many people actually know this?)

Giggs had no English grandparents, and was only available to play for Wales and Sierra Leone, the home of his paternal grandfather. (wasn't there some hype about 10 years ago that Giggs should have played for England? How is that possible if neither his parents or grandparents were actually British folk from England!?)

While playing for Deans FC, Giggs would be watched regularly by local newsagent and Old Trafford steward Harold Wood. Wood regularly told the senior staff at Manchester United about Giggs, but they did not send anyone down to watch him until Wood spoke personally to Alex Ferguson. Wood told the United boss "He's with City at the moment, and if you lose him you'll regret it". So Ferguson sent a scout to a Deans match, who was impressed enough that United offered Giggs a trial over the Christmas period in 1986. (Giggs at Man City...what a waste that would have been...no offence City fans, but you guys haven't done squat in the league)

The following November, on Giggs' 14th birthday, Ferguson turned up at Giggs's house with United scout Joe Brown and offered him two years on associate schoolboy forms. They also waived YTS forms, and persuaded Giggs with the opportunity to turn professional in three years. Giggs signed there and then. (Wow...on your 14th birthday, a manager tells you that you can play pro when you're 17, and he actually goes on to become pro at the age of 17..read on!)

Giggs turned professional on 29 November 1990 (his 17th birthday) and made his League debut against Everton at Old Trafford on 2 March 1991 (Giggsy has been playing forever!!!)

Giggs had a very good disciplinary record during his early career receiving relatively few bookings. In fact, he has never been sent off when playing for Manchester United and only once when playing for Wales. His only red card came in 2001 in an international match against Norway, which Wales lost. (and he's such a nice guy too..hahaha)

Personally, my forever enduring memory of Giggs will be that famous FA Cup goal, when after Patrick Viera lost the ball well into the Man United half, he picked it up, ran up to the half way line, then proceeded to beat the entire Arsenal backline before slotting in the winner. We will probably never ever see another goal like that in the near future.

I also remember that during his early years, a lot of of the media were saying that the last time they saw a lad this talented, it was a certain George Best. I think they were also expecting Giggs to take the same path down life: Football, Booze, Women.

Thank goodness he did not, and thank goodness for Sir Alex Ferguson, who knew what had happened to Best, and did his best to guide Giggs down the 'right' path, without jeapordizing his footballing skills.

There' a rumours that Giggs might retire this year, if he feels he cannot play anymore, or can't play regular games. Either way, he's had an explicably awesome career, littered with medals and cups. He's won practically everything there is to win, except the World Cup. What a way it would be to end a career, if he could lift the BPL throphy one last time, at the end of the season.

The Dissapointment that is Robinho

2009-01-21T21:07:00.000-08:00

Revolution seems to be somewhat of an overused word in footballing terms. It always seems to crop up whenever a new manager gets installed. More recently though, this word seems to follow whenever cash rich philantropist take over ownerships of a club.

The latest club to go through this revolution is Manchester City.

Right now, Man City are occupying the dizzying position of ermm....21st place? Some revolution. Ok, in all fairness to them, the team hasnt changed much from the one which Sven Goran Eriksson was in charge of. Only 2 notable buys since Mark Hughes took over and that was Robinho and Jo. Thus far, i will say that they have been flops, no matter how many goals Robinho has scored. I don't think i need to elaborate on Jo's performance, its pretty self explainatory. When's the last time he made any positive headlines?

Robinho's whole Machester City season (who's betting its going to be his only one with them?) has been littered with goals, but the distinction being that they were not match winning or match changing goals. These goals came primarily against weaker opposition, and not against opposition with much tougher defences. So far, his performances also seem to be akin to a bystander, somewhat who is just flowing with the tide of the match. If the match is going bad for Man City, his game flusters. If Man City are winning, he awakes from his slumber and plays as if he might be enjoying himself

Robinho is not the Fabregas, Rolando or the Gerrard of his team. For the amount of money they paid for him, you'd think he'd be doing more.

Perhaps i'm being a tad harsh, it is after all his first season. I'll be very happy to be proven wrong, but somehow i doubt the bratty moneyloving Brazillian will.

Liverpool 1 - Everton 1

2009-01-19T18:56:00.001-08:00

As a hardcore Liverpool fan, i'll try to give as an unbiased report as i possibly can. Ok, here goes.

TIM CAHILL DESERVES TO DIE.

See, that wasn't so hard.

There's nothing i loathe more than the sight of the "Cahill" strutting around the field with such pompus arrogance and sneakyness. He's no Jan Koller, but he is so impossibly good in the air. The countless times he was ahead of Hyypia and Skrtel in getting to the hanging air balls was mathematically improbable. He's also a pretty dastardly figure in winning freekicks, whether legal or illegally.

The game as a whole was largely a dissapointing one, not due to any lack of quality on the pitch. The blame largely goes to both managers, who sent out their teams to try and stiffle each other. Space on the pitch was at a premium, and it was no surpise that both goals didnt result from any great passing moves.

Nevertheless, the quality of the goals one of the few moments of joy for the entire 90 minutes. Gerrard's goal was typical of the man. Striding from midfield, and before he could be hacked and closed down by 3 Everton players, he lets loose a powerful grounder that the Everton keeper could do nothing about.

Everton responded a couple of minutes later. Yossi Benayoun who was just sent on to give the attack more impetus, found himself doing more defending than attacking. By and large, he did a good job against the Everton players who were doing more running and attacking once they went a goal down. However, he failed miserable at a crucial stage. The 86th minute. Victor Anichebe had switched flanks with Steven Piennar, and was desperate to get a corner in from the left side. Benayoun was having none of it and clumsily hacked him down near the corner line.

From such a dangerous angle, you could just see a goal coming. It was inevitable. Perhaps the Anfield crowd sensed it as well. Arteta stepped up to take the freekick. Everton and Liverpool player crowd the area around the goal post, trying to get an advantage. Hyypia marks Anichebe. Skrtel behind them, marks Cahill. Cahill moves in front a little to stand next to Reina. Anichebe exchanges a few words with cahill, and right before the freekick is struck, Cahill manouevers infront of Anichebe, who now blocks both Hyypia and Skrtel!

Arteta's freekick is delivered with pinpoint precision to the head of Cahill........GOAL!

Well worked goal, and its clear that Everton had practised this before, exposing a small weakness in the zonal defense method that Liverpool loves to much.

After that, it doesnt matter who was brought on or off, the game was headed to a draw, which more of less equates to dropped points for Liverpool, and hard earned points for Everton.

Liverpool fans all over the world hang their heads in despair. More dissapointment. More dropped points. We're handing the title to Manchester United. A collective sigh all around the world is enough to tilt the planet slightly off angle.

But is it all lost for Liverpool? Quite frankly, NO. Its hard to be positive, but if you would tell me at the beginning of the season that Liverpool would level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more, i would have told you to go stuff a turkey.

There's still plenty of games to go, and anything can happen. Its a funny game. In Rafa we trust.

Welcome back to fantasy football!

2009-01-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Wow. Its been more than a year since my last post. Piles of virtual dust has settled on my small piece of internet property here, creating a sort of ghost town. Time to bring out the dust busters and whip this place up into a football frenzy fiesta thats fit to host high quality ramblings and manager tantrums!

(If you didnt understand all that, please bare with me. I need to dust off my vocabulary and grammatical skills, which has been in recession due to excessive overdose of the good stuff and mental trauma. I'll leave you to decide what the good stuff is)

Now that i've escaped the initial hysteria of blogging again, lets come back down to earth and talk football shall we. But those damned Manchester City owners are hell bent on letting be believe that fantasy football is possible! Damn you, you Arab Billionaires!

KAKA = 100 MILLION PEANUTS

Kaka is one hell of a player, but no person is worth that much! I'm sorry all your Man City fans out there, i'm sure you'd love to see Kaka in your colours, but this well into the realms of insanity. The transfer market is spiraling out of control with all these billionaires trying to play fantasy football. On top of that, its reported that he has been offered 500,000 pounds a week? Ridiculous!

I thoroughly understand the need for professional sport players to be payed high wages. After all, their careers rarely live past the age of 30. But 500,000 pounds a week? Again, let me say it. Ridiculous!

We need to get a grip on things and protest such absurdity. Do you know how many people can be helped from hunger, famine, war with 100 Million Pounds and a weekly donation of 500,000 pounds a week?

Football is just entertainment. And if we live in a world where our billionaires would rather spend 100 Million pounds and 500,000 pounds a week on entertainment, instead of using all this money to help the poor and the helpless, then i dont know what to say.

On second thought, i do know what to say, fuck these billionaires. You are all single handedly killing football and killing our souls.

A titanic battle at Anfield ends all square

2007-10-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Arsenal and Liverpool had one of those classic titanic battles at Anfield today. It was a pulsating, incident laden game that was great to watch from beginning to end that ended 1-1.

The footballing styles of both sides wildly contrasted, with Liverpool's very direct long ball and getting their players to harass the opponents, and Arsenal's silky free flowing passing game combining to make a very entertaining tactical battle.

Credit to Arsene's young side. They dominated the home side for long periods of time, but found it tough to break through a resilient Liverpool defence, that was well protected by the midfield pairing of Alonso and Mascherano. Mascherano in particular was a beast in the center of the field, and was instrumental in cutting out most Arsenal attacks.

However, playing in his 400th game for Liverpool, Steven Gerrard was showing glimpses of his talent and power, and it was from his harassing and closing down of Flamini that lead to the first goal.

But Arsenal didn't crack under the pressure cauldron of Anfield. They kept the ball for long periods of time and slowly built back their confidence. Liverpool's front 3 pairing were negated as an attacking force, as 90% of their work was being done in their own half, just tracking and defending against Arsenal players!

In the end, Cesc Fabregas, who is having a brilliant goalscoring season, added another one to his tally, courtesy of another brilliant move. It was the least they deserved for all their enterprising play.

For Arsenal, the result is a good one for them. At the start of the game, i'm very sure Arsene would have settled for a point. The result also returns them to the top of the league, and keeps the pressure on defending champions Manchester United, who is trying to retain the crown.

For Liverpool, the result will be accepted, but Rafa really would have preferred a win, and all 3 points. Their home record has been dreadful this season, which is a reverse of their form last season. Last season, Liverpool were virtually unbeatable at home, but dreadful away.

There will be fresh injury worries for Rafa, with Alonso coming off in the second half, Mascherano limping his way to the end of the game and Torres clearly still not fit yet and was taken off at half time. I have to say though, Liverpool played much better when Crouch came on, and he had 3 shots on target and kept the ball for Liverpool very well. Just why he has been so underused this season is quite a mystery.

Liverpool stumble...AGAIN!

2007-10-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

What a horrible performance from them. A team like Liverpool should be carving up teams like Besiktas with ease.

Liverpool were unlucky to go behind through another freak goal. And yet again, Sami Hyypia is credited with another own goal. He must be praying he doesn't make it a hattrick on Sunday against Arsenal.

Generally, i think Liverpool played much better than their last 2-3 games. They actually had 55%-60% of possesion, playing away from home. The only thing lacking was a final touch. Gerrard was trying too much, but again, was the only one looking threating. Babel had a good game.

The front 2 pairing of Kuyt and Voronin looked sparkless and unimaginative. There was lots of effort and running, but no real quality. I'm sure a lot will be made of the decision to only bring Crouch on for the last 10 minutes.

The Champions League door is almost slammed shut on Liverpool. And to think, Benitez was boldly claiming a few weeks back that they were aiming for a quick 12 points to get this first phase out of the way. Don't count you eggs before it hatches, eh Rafa?

AC Milan tries to deflect attention away from Dida

2007-10-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

The reactions from AC Milan of the sentence handed out to themselves and Celtic is quite embarrasing.

AC Milan lawyer Leandro Cantamessa said: 'The impact of the sentence is disproportionate and illogical. I have no issue with Celtic but I am only trying to establish a sense of proportion - one is the event, the other is only the effect of the event.'

What an imbecile. Why can't these damn people just shut their traps and try to handle the situation with grace? Right now, all these actions just give me the impression that they are backing up their goalkeeper, Dida, and basically just trying to deflect as much media attention away from him.

Thats totally understandable, as being a team means sticking up for everyone of your players, and never criticizing them in public. Being a team means everyone has to fight for each other, through bad and good. Its like a marriage, but a marriage of 11 men and their manager (could be 20-30 if you include the backroom staff and reserves).

However, by defending a 'criminal', they have all therefore been associated as 'criminals'. They might not mind that, but what i do mind is the fact that they are not even trying to accept and apologize for their players pathetic behaviour. No one is trying to do the right thing and say Dida was wrong to cheat and cheating of any kind in a sport, especially football..should be outlawed and offenders seriously punished.

No my friends, all they only want to say is,' Why is my punishment bigger than your punishment? Yours must be bigger!'

AC Milan, Just quit whining, suck it up and say you're sorry damnit! Geez...

Celtic suspended, Dida suspended for overacting

2007-10-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

Celtic have been fined £25,000 and Dida the 'over actor' suspended for 2 games. I think Milan and their Oscar nominee got off lightly.

Celtic won't mind the fine, as it was their inability to control the security of the stadium resulted in one fan running around amok during last weeks Champions league game. It was this very fan than ran amok, and appear to give Dida a 'sniper' slap.

A sniper slap is one of those rare forms of fan based slap attacks that only begin to affect the victim after about 5-6 seconds.

Don't know what i'm talking about? Missed the whole incident? Well then, thank your lucky stars for YouTube baby!

Dida, the Brazillian overactor

Sometimes i wonder, are footballers a moronic bunch? Don't they know that their every move during a game is scrutinized by media from almost every angle. Nowdays, there isn't a single blade of grass that isn't covered by camera. If i was Dida, i know i'd feel like a moron. I'd also feel very lucky that UEFA didn't make a bigger effort to clamp down on other moronic behaviour by fellow players (e.g. diving, faking, grabbing other players balls during corner kicks) by making an example out of me.

I wish i was a friend of Dida though. I know in this kind of situation, he will need friends like me. Friends that will continue to laugh, mock and taunt him for his stupidity.

Ah, 'footebol', tis why we love thee.

Barry finds his feet

2007-10-11T01:15:00.001-07:00

Gareth Barry's long-awaited return to the England team was regarded by many observers as a galvanising factor for the two 3-0 successes against Israel and Russia in September.

Although the partnership between Emile Heskey and Michael Owen was lauded for providing the finishing touches, it was the dovetailing between the 26-year-old and Steven Gerrard in the centre of midfield which had critics purring.

"The point is your star players don't always make your star team," said former England manager Graham Taylor after the Russia match.

"You have to get the balance and the shape right and anyone can see the balance and shape Barry has given this side.

"Barry has had to wait for his chance. He played 27 times for the England Under-21s and never made that step into the full side but all along, he's had an inner conviction that he is good enough to play for his country."

That conviction was severely tested over the three-and-a-half years he spent in the international wilderness during Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign.

And what made it more galling for the Sussex-born player, is that it came at a time when England were struggling to find left-sided players.

Having made his debut as a 19-year-old against Ukraine in May 2000, Barry was called-up to the England squad by Kevin Keegan for the European Championship the same year.

But when it came to Sven-Goran Eriksson's first game in charge, Barry was relegated to the under-21s and featured only intermittently over the next six years.

Contrast that with another teenager who made his England debut the same day.

Steven Gerrard joined Barry at the Euros that summer but he went on to pick up 47 caps during Eriksson's tenure. In the same period Barry earned just seven.

"There were times when I thought I was not going to get back in again," Barry said.

"Three or four years have ticked by; you have not made a squad - and you start fearing the worst.

"Under Sven, I basically gave up hope. But I always felt I was playing well enough, that time was still on my side - and I just got my head down at Villa and kept going."

That approach eventually lead to Villa boss Martin O'Neill handing him the captaincy and last season shifting him into the middle of the park where he flourished.

So after spending years hoping for a call-up when England were devoid of a left-footed player, Barry perversely got a chance to re-unite with Gerrard in an area considered to be an embarrassment of riches.

The leading argument with Barry, however, was that he brought a completely new dynamic to England's midfield.

While Lampard has been on form for Chelsea over recent seasons, when he does not score, his role in the team has been questioned. And as a more direct player, he can be liable to misplace his passes.

Gareth Barry in action for England against Israel

Playing alongside Gerrard, Barry showed patience, an ability to link play simply and let the attacking players pour forward.

And the fact the pair have been firm friends since making their international debuts, adds an interesting footnote as to why they clicked.

Barry's biggest contribution may well be the pressure he has now put on England's central midfield positions.

But, despite his lack of international experience, he is quietly confident that he can hold his own.

"There is competition everywhere, and it is nice to put my name among the great players being talked about to start for their country," he said.

"It would be great to start - and it was nice to put in two good performances and be talked about for the way I played."

With Gerrard struggling for form and Lampard coming back from injury, it may be that McClaren has to choose between the attacking midfielders rather than cut Barry adrift once again.

(Courtesy: BBC)

The Real Reasons Raúl Will Not Play For Spain

2007-10-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

Raúl González has little chance of playing for Spain again under Luis Aragonés after he was part of a clique of veterans that openly criticised the coach during the World Cup Finals last year, according to a report.

The Real Madrid captain has not played for the national team for a year and as calls for his return grow louder, AS believe that they have uncovered the reasons behind his omission.

Alongside players such as Santiago Cañizares and Michel Salgado, complaints were made about training methods and team choices and it was the creation of that divide which led to Raúl being left out.

AS state that the problems started, curiously, after Spain had beaten Ukraine 4-0 in the World Cup Finals and Raúl and Cañizares were caught on television remonstrating with members of the coaching staff.

Cañizares even explained himself to AS after the tournament and stated that he objected to the goalkeepers using tennis balls in training.

In the win against Tunisia, Spain's second group game, Raúl scored, but was then substituted and while pouring wine at his table that evening at a team dinner stated loudly: "I think I am only at the World Cup to be a waiter".

The third game saw Aragonés claim he was using his second choice players against Saudi Arabia and upset Raúl further by naming him in that starting side.

Aragonés was unimpressed with the group that were openly critical of him and was quoted as stating: "The veterans are trying to take me on in an arm-wrestling match."

After losing to France in the elimination phase, two or three of most vociferous critics went from room to room back at the hotel asking: "Let's see what the coach has to say now he has lost this game and we are out of the World Cup playing with these playmakers."

The playmakers jibe came after Aragonés named Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fàbregas in the midfield at the expense of a defensive midfielder to win the tackles.

All this led to rumours that the coach had said in private that he had pinpoited two players who had given him enough reasons to expel them from the squad.

That was denied, but what is now true if that since the defeat against Northern Ireland brought matters to a head neither player have ben chosen again.

(Courtesy: goal.com)

Rafa criticism just has to stop

2007-10-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night a name rang around the Mastella Stadium in Valencia for the first time since May 2004. That name belonged to Rafa Benitez as the home fans sang in union "Come back Rafa, come back Rafa".

It says everything about the esteem in which the Liverpool manager is still held in Valencia that more than three years after he departed the La Liga side he remains the man the fans would love to see running their club.

With a pair of league championships and a UEFA Cup won during his stint at the Mastella we shouldn't be surprised that Benitez is still revered there.

Breaking the Real Madrid/Barcelona duoploy marks him out as an iconic figure in the Mediterranean city and seeing as the La Liga title has eluded Valencia ever since Benitez's departure it was always likely that absence would make the heart grow fonder.

In England, meanwhile, the very same Rafa Benitez is finding his ability to turn Liverpool into genuine title challengers questioned and, on occasion, his methods ridiculed whenever results go against his side and sometimes even when they don't.

The criticism of Benitez comes at a time when Liverpool are unbeaten in the league and lie just six points off first place. I repeat, when Liverpool are unbeaten in the league and just six points off first place.

The stick with which the Liverpool manager is being beaten most often is rotation. Apparently, if you listen to his critics, teams which rotate do not win the big prizes.

Well, it certainly worked in Spain so rotation cannot be dismissed as a failure all that easily.

"Ah," say the critics, "that's all well and good but football in England is different to Spain and it'll never work here".

The case for the defence could easily centre on the fact that Benitez has already guided Liverpool to domestic success in the FA Cup (not to mention that continental triviality that is the Champions League).

It might well pain him to do so, but in this case Benitez could quite easily point to Manchester United's Premiership triumph last season.

In the 2006/07 season, Sir Alex Ferguson used a total of 23 players en route to the title. At Anfield, Benitez used six more.

Significantly, five of those selected by Benitez only featured in Liverpool's last three games of the season when the focus had shifted from domestic to continental pursuits with key first team players making way for youngsters as the Champions League final loomed.

So, for the most part of the season, Benitez and Ferguson utilised squads of an almost idenitical size.

When it comes down to rotation, the two managers both made constant changes to their sides throughout the season and looked on track to record an almost identical number of changes until Liverpool secured their place in the following season's Champions League and Benitez began to make more and more changes in a bid to assess the quality of his younger squad players and the club's priority shifted to that meeting with Milan.

So, again, both Benitez and Ferguson used rotation. The difference? United won the title and Liverpool didn't.

This season, the criticism of Benitez's methods has grown more and more ridiculous with every passing week. So much so that their are now people far less qualified who feel they have the right to tell the Liverpool manager what his team should be.

Sensationalism is masquerading as analysis and it has got to stop. By all means question Rafa Benitez but it has to be done with perspective.

Trophies aren't handed out in October and we will all only know if the Reds boss' system will pay dividends come next May.

But if you have doubts about whether Benitez's methods should be accepted then consider the words of another of Valencia's favourite sons, centre forward David Villa.

In a recent interview, Villa was asked how Valencia had managed to be beaten by Chelsea in last season's Champions League quarter finals despite having gone 2-1 up on aggregate at home.

His answer was revealing: "It is very simple. We had a very small squad last season so the manager (Quique Sanchez Florez) could not rotate as much as he would have liked.

"By the end of the season we had played a lot of games, too many games, and we were tired and carrying injuries and when Chelsea came back we had nothing left to give."

It is this kind of endemic exhaustion that Benitez is trying to avoid at Anfield.

Rotation is new to the English game and in a country as insular and naturally conservative as this one it was always going to be viewed with suspicion.

But it is all too easy to blame all a club's ills on a selection process when results go against it. When Liverpool were beaten by Marseilles last week the usual suspects again argued that the defeat was caused by rotation.

This was despite the fact that physically the Liverpool players were at their highest level for several weeks. They were fresh and the occasional rests they had been given were the reason for this.

The problem was, their physical attributes were fatally undermined by a lack of confidence which meant their technical and tactical skills simply did not function.

It was a bad, bad performance but to lay the blame for it at the door of rotation is lazy in the extreme.

Just three seasons ago, the very same critics claimed that every single goal Liverpool conceded from a set piece was caused by this new fangled zonal marking system that Benitez had brought with him from Valencia.

Now, no-one even talks about it. The reason why? Liverpool hardly ever concede a goal from a set piece anymore while other teams which use more traditional man-to-man marking systems continue to concede them on a much more regular basis.

So the message is simple - support the manager and support his methods. Let the critics have their say but never lose sight of the fact that we have one of the most tactically astute coaches in European football who has a record of success that few can get near and most envy.

Oh, and his Liverpool team is still unbeaten in the Premiership as autumn kicks in.

Those fans at the Mastella know all too well that Benitez is a special manager - that's why they still sing his name - so let him get on with the job in hand at Anfield and let's see where we end up in May.

(Courtesy: www.liverpoolfc.tv)

Bolton striker Anelka relishing UEFA Cup challenge against Bayern

2007-10-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

French striker Nicolas Anelka said an upset of UEFA Cup favourites Bayern Munich by Bolton would put the Premiership club on the map as a European force, following Tuesday's group stage draw.

Bayern Munich, who have had a continual presence in the Champions League for a decade and a half, are in the second-tier UEFA Cup this time and would look a tough draw but Anelka saw the positive side of playing the German giants.

Anelka told the Bolton club website they had nothing to lose when they go to Munich next month: "I would love to go there and upset the world of football by winning. It would put Bolton on the map in terms of being a European force.

"Bayern Munich are the best team in the competition and will give us a great test in Munich. I have played at the old Olympic Stadium many times and the atmosphere is amazing.

"The new Allianz Arena, where they play now, is one of the best stadiums in the world. I haven't played there before but I'm looking forward to it. Bayern have some great players that will be a threat to us.

"My international team-mate Franck Ribery joined them from Marseille this season and he is a great talent, who has the ability to change a game."

In Group F, Bolton have home games against Portugal's Braga and Greeks Aris Salonika before trips to Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade, who won the competition in 1991.

"The match against Red Star will be very intimidating," Anelka added. "They always seem to raise their game in European competition and their fanatical fans are always very passionate at home. It will be a great atmosphere in Belgrade and one that the Bolton fans will look forward to."

Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspurs have been drawn against Belgians Anderlecht, the team they beat in the 1984 final, in Group G while Everton are up against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in Group A.

In Group B, Scotland's Aberdeen meet Greeks Panathinaikos and Atletico Madrid.

Each team will play two matches at home and two away with the group stage starting on 25 October and the top three of the five go through. They will be joined by eight third-placed teams from the Champions League groups for the knockout round.

(Courtesy: soccerway.com)

Personally, Bolton need to fight hard to get anything out of this game. Bayern have got quality stamped ALL over their team. Bolton are a mediocre team sprinkled with one or 2 quality players like Anelka. Still, the Bolton players are more than likely to raise their game against their more illustrious opponents. Should be a good game.

Cristiano predicts poor season for Blues

2007-10-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo believes Jose Mourinho's exit will cost Chelsea when the trophies are handed out later this season.

Mourinho's shock departure from the Stamford Bridge hot-seat last month left new coach Avram Grant with a huge act to follow - and Portugal international Ronaldo believes that cannot fail but to have an impact.

"Chelsea without Mourinho, that's a completely different team," Ronaldo told Austrian newspaper Heute.

"You can never write Chelsea off, but I have a feeling that this will not be a good season for them."

(Courtesy: teamtalk.com)

Yes, Henry misses England

2007-10-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

There were several clues that this was not an ordinary football interview. Sitting opposite Thierry Henry was one of them — but the most obvious was the instruction not to mention football.

Henry flew into London after Barcelona’s Champions League victory away to VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday to promote a collection of clothes by Tommy Hilfiger, profits from which are going to One 4 All, the anti-racist foundation backed by the French player. Fortunately, Henry likes talking about football, which was just as well — attempts to weave soccer into questions about fashion became tiring.

Last weekend, Henry scored his first hattrick for Barcelona (away to Levante) since leaving Arsenal. A hattrick is a sort of football fashion statement, isn’t it, a way of telling a new set of supporters that you have arrived? “They wanted me to score,” he said. “I f you give 100% , they recognise that, but scoring three goals, as you say, it is a statement.”

The Thierry Henry Capsule Collection was influenced by the player’s “grace and charisma”.

Presumably Hilfiger could have chosen any number of footballers, but Henry is a star, a fact borne out by the jostling fans who stood outside the Hilfiger store in Regent Street and cheered as he stood in the window and grinned at them.

“It’s always the thing I am fighting against; stars, heroes, icons,” he said. “What is a star? At night I see them in the skies, but if you kick a ball, I don’t know if you can call that a star. I think if you look in the dictionary they won’t put ‘football player who plays for Arsenal’ or whatever. Players never call themselves stars; people give you names.”

There is a theory that Henry became too big a star for Arsenal and his transfer liberated the team’s youngsters, who were inhibited by his presence. Henry did not like it, though, when reference was made to “Thierry Henry’s Arsenal” rather than plain Arsenal.

“That was annoying because it’s Arsenal playing and people get sucked into it,” he said. “Football has always been a team effort and always will be .”

So, is he enjoying playing for Barcelona and not Thierry Henry’s Barcelona?

“It’s the same thing — now it’s Lionel Messi’s Barcelona,” he said. “Then it’s going to be another player. They always find a player because there is always a player who shines more at times. You have to live with it. We don’t get sucked into it. You never hear a player saying he is more important.”

Arsenal were not expected to thrive without Henry, but they lead the Premier League, having delivered performances of flair and steel. Has Henry noticed anything different?

“The only thing is the last two seasons we didn’t start well,” he said. “This season they did . I know and the boss [Arsène Wenger] knew what the players were capable of doing. Sometimes it is not always easy.

“Two years ago, Chelsea had an amazing year, Manchester United last year had an amazing year. There is quality [at Arsenal], you don’t reach a Champions League final just like this, so it was always going to come. To find out [how] you have to go inside the head of Arsène Wenger and that’s more difficult; he pulls the strings.”

Henry continues to watch Premier League matches and retains a love for English football. “There’s the type of game you can see only in England; 4-1 [the scoreline in Aston Villa’s favour away to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday] with 20 minutes to go and then it’s 4-4. It was 7-4 in Portsmouth against Reading. In two games you have almost 20 goals. It’s ridiculous — not in a bad way but ridiculous, like wow, but that’s the Premiership. If you go to get a bottle of water from your fridge you can miss two goals.”

Does the forward miss those rollercoaster games?

“Not just that, everything,” he said. “Everything about the Premiership, everything about England. The stadiums always full, the whole thing on Saturday, everyone raving about going to the game, going to the stadium, waking up early, walking to the stadium, going to the pub afterwards, talking about the game for the whole weekend.”

Oh, and in case you were wondering, his favourite colour is blue.

“But I don’t wear it,” he said, “that’s weird, huh? It’s difficult to match blue.”

(Courtesy: thetimes.co.za)

Superb Elano Blumer fits the bill for Sven-Goran Eriksson

2007-10-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Manchester City’s renaissance under Sven-Göran Eriksson gathered momentum yesterday when two goals from Elano and Chris Riggott’s defensive blunder secured an emphatic victory for the home side and strengthened their grip on third place in the Barclays Premier League.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when City paid Shakhtar Donetsk £6 million for Elano, the Brazilian midfield player, but he has not taken long to justify the price. His creativity has allowed a previously blunt City team to score nine goals in their past three outings and his two-goal display left Eriksson drooling.

The mercurial Brazillian leads the assist charts with Fabregas

“The big difference between him now and when he first arrived is his fitness,” Eriksson, the City manager, said. “He’s much stronger now and we don’t have to teach him how to play football. He won’t be able to keep this standard up all the time, but you are seeing the best of him at the moment. He can keep the ball, see things around him and is starting to score goals. You can’t ask for much more. He’s a top-class player.”

Mido, Lee Dong Gook and Jérémie Aliadière were ruled out for Middlesbrough before kick-off and Gareth Southgate, the manager, handed Tom Craddock, 21, his first Premier League start of the season.

His task as Middlesbrough’s lone forward appeared fruitless, though, when the home side took the lead inside ten minutes. Martin Petrov’s inswinging corner evaded Richard Dunne before striking the foot of the unfortunate Riggott, who steered the ball past Mark Schwarzer and into his own net.

It took a fine save from Joe Hart to prevent Lee Cattermole from equalising in the 30th minute with a diagonal header from Fabio Rochemback’s cross. It proved to be the turning point of the first half and, ultimately, the match. Three minutes later, City broke forward with pace once more, with Michael Johnson’s sublime backheel allowing Elano to drill a dipping drive past the diving Schwarzer into the bottom corner. Game over, not least because Middlesbrough had no stomach for the fight, despite the tenacity of Jonathan Woodgate. Even he was powerless to prevent Elano from scoring his second with a stunning free kick in the 63rd minute.

Ben Hutchinson, a second-half substitute, scored a consolation goal with a minute remaining, but City’s home league record now reads: played five, won five, nine goals scored and two conceded.

(Courtesy: www.timesonline.co.uk)

Real win again as Barca go second

2007-10-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Recreativo Huelva frustrated Bernd Schuster's side for 73 minutes but could not hold out any longer as van Nistelrooy and Higuain eventually sealed Madrid's sixth win of the season.

The Real goal scorers practising their ballerina duet steps at the Bernabeu

Barcelona rose to second after they secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Athletico Madrid thanks to goals from Deco (17), Lionel Messi (20) and Xavi (90).

Villarreal suffered their second defeat of the season after Osasuna claimed a 3-2 victory. Giuseppe Rossi (20) put the away side ahead but Osasuna replied through Juan Juanfran (21) and Eduardo Dady (34). Diego Godin (36) levelled for Valencia but Franciso Javi Garcia (79) scored late on to hand Jose Angel Ziganda's men all three points.

Sergio Garcia (64) scored Real Zaragoza's opener as they moved up to eighth with a 3-0 win over Levante. Ricardo Oliveira (70 and 82) put the result beyond doubt with a late brace.

Athletic Bilbao were held to a 1-1 draw against Almeria at the Estadio San Mames. Joseba Etxeberria (32) put the home side in front but Felipe Melo levelled with 28 minutes remaining.

Gregorio Manzano's Real Mallorca put on an inspired second half display to come back from two goals behind. Francisco Sousa (3 and 48) put Getafe ahead but Ariel Ibagaza (55), Juan Arango (72 and 79) and Ivan Ramis (93) sealed an impressive 4-2 win.

Sevilla lost their fourth consecutive league game following a 1-0 home defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Riki got the goal for Deportivo with just 17 minutes remaining.

Elsewhere, Murcia and Real Betis shared the spoils following a 0-0 draw at La Condomina.

(Courtesy: www.teamtalk.com)

Tottenham show their quality

2007-10-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Spurs were unlucky to leave Anfield with just a point. The game with Liverpool was an extremely entertaining, end to end encounter packed with goals and incidents. Liverpool started the game better, and Voronin put Liverpool ahead as he was the quickest to react from Robinson blunder. A Gerrard freekick was deflected off the Spurs wall and Robinson reacted well to get to the ball, but couldn't hand on to it and gifted the ball straight to an alert Voronin. Also if not for some overly elaborate play from Voronin, who should have just shot, they should have been 2-0 up by the first 30 minutes.

However, with the potent strike force of Berbatov and Keane, Spurs made Liverpool pay for not taking their chances. Time and time again, they served warning to the Liverpool backline. If anything, these two are the classic example of how NOT rotating your strikers can benefit a team. Their understanding and movement was almost telephatic, and they scored 2 gems of a goal. The first came before halftime and the second came just after the second half started, to make the scoreline 1-2.

But as the commentator rightly said, Liverpool cannot be counted out, especially at Anfield, and they made an almighty effort to get something out of the game. They risked a lot, leaving plenty of space at the back and Spurs should have capitalized on it on a few occasions.

In the end though, Torres scored from a bullet header right at the end. There was nothing Robinson could do about it. The Spaniard has been a joy to watch this season, and did his team a big favour by scoring that equaliser. Alarm bells will be ringing in the Liverpool camp though, as a loss and a draw at Anfield isn't just what is expected at this club.

What a game it was though, a showpiece for what the EPL is all about. It will be hard to believe that Spurs will stay at the bottom of the table if they continue to play like this.

Liverpool can't pass for nuts

2007-10-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, the team that pioneered that pass and move concept. The team that conquered all by out passing most other opponents. Yes, its a sham to see the new Liverpool.

I thought perhaps the last game against EPL game was a blip. Their passing there was average and lackluster. I expected a much better performance from Liverpool against Marseille.

I should have just watched the Valencia v Chelsea game.

Marseille totally outplayed Liverpool, at Anfield no less. Can't remember the last time Liverpool were outplayed by a lesser team. Not only that, Liverpool was happy to not even try to keep possesion. Did they ever string 3-4 consecutive passes in the Marseille half? Maybe on one or two occasions only.

Credit to Marseille though. They had a full uninterrupted 10 days to prepare for this game and the did their homework very well. Cisse and Zenden probably contributed with a lot of inside information as well.

Sissoko, geez, what an infuriating player. He played as the holding midfielder, but was completely useless. Above all, he constantly lost possession and never made a decent forward pass.

Remember my previous post when i said Liverpool aren't out of winning the EPL yet? Well, i take it back. In fact, i am going to take it back and further add insult and say Liverpool's not gonna win anything this season.

Highlights: Steaua 0 - Arsenal 1

2007-10-03T02:46:00.001-07:00

Van Persie scores a gem of a goal to keep the Arsenal momentum going. Have to say though, based on the highlights alone, there were some pretty shocking defensive mistakes. They need Gallas back, especially for games against the big guns

(Thanks palartoo)

B. Sathianathan: MY FEET IS FIRMLY ON THE GROUND

2007-10-02T08:36:00.001-07:00

The recent appointment of B. Sathianathan as the national coach of the Malaysian national team was a direct result of his team’s success in the 39th Merdeka Tournament.

But as he succinctly pointed out, nothing has changed as far as his outlook on Malaysian football is concerned and with his feet firmly on the ground, he hopes that the national side will tread new paths in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers as well as the SEA Games in Thailand later in the year.

QUESTION: Let us begin this interview with a look back to the 39th Merdeka Tournament with you as the head coach of a side which had won the title for the first time since 1993. What were your thoughts at the start of the tournament?

ANSWER: The first thing when I was asked to prepare the team was that it was an excellent opportunity for my Under-23 players to get at least three matches – at the most five - under their belt. It is not easy to get games at this point in time and with the excellent chance of playing against Laos, Myanmar and then Lesotho, I was just looking at getting some games for the U23 lads in preparation for the SEA Games.

Q: You came into the tournament at an awkward time as you had already drawn your programme to go to Slovakia before you were asked to put up a team. How did that affect you?

A: As you know, preparation and timing in football is everything. I was a little concerned as to whether the lads can deliver what is expected as they had to play several tough games in Slovakia before returning to play in the Merdeka Tournament. But the spirit in the team was good and even though, jet lag was a concern, still the players wanted to show something and that was important in the final equation.

Q: Give us a run through of the first game against Laos.

A: We had to play against some tough opponents in the competition and as such a decision was taken that we needed reinforcements. That was the reason why we took on three senior players. The first match against Laos, you could see that the lads were a little tired after the long 23 hours flight. But I can see something in the team when they played together and they became compact - they did not want to let the nation down. And from that first win against Laos, they gained confidence for their next match.

Q: And against Myanmar?

A: Well, we played with only ten men. And at this level, that counts for a lot of difference playing with a man short. But I was surprised by how the players cope with the situation where they played for almost the entire game with just ten men and they not only created chances but they scored a goal. The 2-1 defeat was not at all disappointing. I was very proud of the players.

Q: Would you say that the game against Myanmar was the pivotal point in Malaysia’s campaign?

A: Most certainly. It is the turning point in how I look at the team. I can see that the team has the quality to be champions.

Q: What about the game against Lesotho?

A: It was a very difficult and tough game against Lesotho as all matches against African side are. But the team showed confidence and they were patient although I must say that I was a little surprise by the 4-0 scoreline. I did not expect that.

Q: Against Singapore in the semi-finals?

A: I believe that it was our best game of the whole tournament – even better than in the final (against Myanmar). It was not the best of conditions but the players were cool under pressure and in the end, that made the difference although on hindsight, we could have scored a few more goals.

Q: And against Myanmar in the final?

A: By then, I knew that we will be champions simply because of the camaraderie in the team. The players were all pumped up and there was a synergy which has not been there for quite some time. It was all the right mix.

Q: Has winning the Merdeka Tournament changed anything?

A: Not as far as I’m concerned. My feet are always on the ground. It was important for us to win the Merdeka Tournament not only because of the Merdeka celebrations but also there was a need to show that Malaysian football is not dead and buried. It is still very much alive and kicking.

Q: What next from here?

A: The national team will be going to Australia for a playing tour. The team is essentially made up of Under-23 players as well as the additions of four senior lads. I’ve worked with older lads before and they will be there to guide the youngsters. The trip is part of our preparation for the World Cup qualifiers next month as well as for the SEA Games later in the year.

Q: What will be your expectation against Bahrain for the World Cup qualifiers?

A: We must realised that as far as the ranking is concerned, Bahrain is 5th in Asia while we are ranked 31st. That is a long way off. We have to be realistic and although I want to win, my only hope is for the players to show a good account of themselves as they had done during the Merdeka Tournament. That is very important.

Q: What will be your policy for the future?

A: We have to stress on the need to have a national ‘B’ team. We need to keep some of the players who are good players but quite can’t make the cut for the ‘A’ team yet. We need to keep these players together as it is important that we do not lose them. This team can then take part in the LG Cup in Vietnam or the Grand Royal Challenge Cup in Myanmar. They need international experience and will form the back-up to the ‘A’ team. The gap with the Under-23 lads is just too far, so we will need this buffer and that is what I will be pushing for.

Q: After winning the Merdeka Tournament, do you feel the pressure to deliver?

A: No, not at all. We have to start to realise that we need to build a team and for that to happen we need to do it together with the Under-23 lads forming the core. It will be a lot to ask for them to win the World Cup but one thing which I can guarantee is that these players will give nothing short of 100% in every game that they play. For the SEA Games, my personal target is to make the final and win the gold.

(Courtesy: www.fam.org.my)

Education Minister waives SPM for U-19 players

2007-10-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have extended their well-regard appreciation to Education Minister Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein for stepping in to resolve the issues of the eight players involved in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U19 qualifiers in November.

Dato’ Azzuddin Ahmad, the general secretary of the FAM said that the national body is highly appreciative of the cooperation from the Education Ministry in allowing the players to represent the country and provide leeway for them to do so.

“There is no greater honour than to representing one’s country and we at the FAM are just glad that the matter has been resolved,” said Dato’ Azzuddin.

“The Education Ministry has proven that it is serious about helping sportsmen excel in their field and I extend our deepest appreciation to the Minister for making such an allowance to the players.

“I know that with the news filtering through that they will be able to represent the country, it will put them to try even harder in the qualifiers.”

At the centre of the issue was the change in dates for the AFC U19 qualifiers has forced eight players in the squad not being able to attend the meet scheduled to be held in Luizao, China on 6th – 18th Nov, 2007 due to the SPM examinations.

The eight players concerned are Shafizah Hafizi, Yushairi Che Saad, Mohd Syahid Zaidan, Mohd Nazrin Baharuddin, K. Sarthiya, K. Gurusamy, Ahmad Aminuddin Shahahruddin and Bashrol Abu Bakar.

However, Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin announced yesterday that the eight players concerned will be allowed to go to China and need not sit for the SPM examinations as required where they will still get their SPM certificates through other means.

Through a system known as Agrotat, the Examinations Board will take into account at the players’ academic achievement before the SPM examinations as well as how they fared during the trials SPM examinations held by their schools.

After the tournament in China is over, the eight players will be required to sit for a General Aptitude test conducted by the Examinations Board to assess their capabilities before deciding on their grades.

This method of testing is not new and where it has been used in other countries like New Zealand and Scotland.

For the qualifiers, Malaysian have been placed in Group F against China, DPR Korea, Singapore, Macau and Timor Leste.

(Courtesy: www.fam.org.my)

Looks like the Trial SPM examinations will be more like the actual SPM examinations for these 8 kids.

Liverpool in crisis? Oh dont be daft.

2007-10-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

Its the common misconception that Liverpool are beginning to falter, after a promising start to the season. The commentators and columnist and every other know-it-all football critic have rained countless attacks against Rafa's rotation policy, pinpointing that as the reason for the current state of Liverpool FC.

All i can say, is don't be daft, especially you Steve McBacon a.k.a Macca of ESPN Star Sports here in Asia. He's a regular rotation policy basher.

Liverpool currently lie 4th in the table, 4 points adrift of leaders Arsenal but with a game in hand on the 2nd and 3rd place teams from Manchester. Thats wonderful news for any Liverpool fan. Liverpool are STILL unbeaten in the league, and have played more away games (4) and less home games (3) than the other top 3 teams. Those are the facts, and that still makes for pretty reading.

But i can just hear em knowitalls, screaming about the Derby game, of how Liverpool played vibrant attacking passing football that completely whitewashed the Rams. They probably argue about why Liverpool haven't played like that since, and how Rafa's rotation has broken the momentum.

Lets look at the facts now eh? Firstly, before the 6-0 thumping Liverpool gave to Derby, the Ram already got thumped 4-0 by Spurs. If thats not enough, Derby recently got thumped again 5-0 by Arsenal. Now, with all due respect to Derby, but they didnt' really make it that difficult for the top teams to THUMP them. I shall stop my debunking of the Derby 'argument', as its just baseless, and in the process , have drastically overused the word 'thumped'.

Anything thing which i find quite surprising, especially in light of last weeks 1-nil win against Wigan, is how Liverpool are always criticized when they play badly and win 1-0. If Chelsea or Man Yoo grind out a 1-nil win, its all about "the players really dug in and faught for the results" or "the team battled hard to get all 3 points"

But if Liverpool ever play badly and win a game....well, you know what happens next.

Personally, i'm not counting out Liverpool for the title. If they win their one game in hand, they will leapfrog the Manchester teams into second place, so plenty to play for, and its going to be a very intriguing season for Liverpool fans all over the world.

Sven's City playing like potential champions

2007-09-29T07:57:00.000-07:00

Led by the magical, enigmatic Elano, Man City were a class above Newcastle United, as they convincingly won 3-1. The Toon side played well, and against any other side, may have come away with a point. Obefemi Martin scored a gem of a goal, further reinforcing the belief that he is a scorer of great goals, not a great goal scorer.

Overall, the Man City team played well. The one touch passing and movement was a joy for fans and neutrals alike. It would be hard to pick out any player from that starting 11 who didn't play well. Hamann showed he still has much to offer as he constantly cut out most Newcastle attacks, Richards and Dunne were immense again, while Petrov was a constant threat down the left wing.

But the glue that binded all that together was Elano. And he capped it off with a awesome freekick.

Could he be Man City's own Eric Cantona?

Benitez looks at 'bigger picture' in rotation row

2007-09-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Fernando Torres has only been a Liverpool player for three months, yet he has already learned not to attempt to second guess the team selection of manager Rafael Benitez.

Four days after scoring his first hat-trick in a Liverpool shirt during the 4-2 Carling Cup victory at Reading, the Spanish forward will have to wait until 1.55pm today before discovering whether he has done enough to retain his place when Benitez pins his starting eleven on the board for the Premier League encounter with Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium.

Torres, the £26.5m summer signing from Atletico Madrid, has made a seamless transition to life in the Premiership having previously spent his entire career in La Liga, but the club's record signing is not safe from Benitez's tinkering.

Benitez is understood to be preparing for Torres to partner Dirk Kuyt this afternoon, but having omitted the 23-year-old from his team against Birmingham City last Saturday, when Steve Bruce's team emerged from Anfield with a 0-0 draw, nothing can be taken for granted.

Last Saturday's team selection, strongly criticised by supporters, appeared to backfire with Liverpool failing to score for a second successive league game. But Benitez insists that he has no regrets over his decision and that it was a statement of Liverpool's intent this season.

Benitez said: "As a manager, you need to see the bigger picture and think about the whole season. If we need to use our big names in every game at Anfield against teams like Birmingham, then maybe we won't be good enough to win trophies at the end of the season. If you say to me that I would have had to play Torres to be capable of beating Birmingham, then I'd say that we couldn't win the league.

"Sometimes I will make mistakes, but I was 100 per cent sure it wasn't a mistake not to play Torres against Birmingham. Kuyt and [Andriy] Voronin had been playing well, and at home at Anfield against Birmingham, I thought we had enough to win.

"Why are we talking about Torres now and weren't when Kuyt and Voronin were scoring in the Champions League? The answer is because we were winning those games. We're only talking about Torres not playing because we drew with Portsmouth and Birmingham."

Unbeaten so far this season, Liverpool have made their best start since Benitez's arrival from Valencia three years ago. Although Liverpool have finished strongly in each of their last three seasons, which two Champions League Finals and an FA Cup win underline, Benitez's reluctance to play a settled team in the early months has not helped the club's league form.

The Spaniard appears to have found the correct blend this year, but he insists that April and May, and not August and September, are the months that matter.

Benitez said: "I've done the same for seven years now and we've been winning trophies. The last 10 games of the season are probably the most important and you won't win anything if your players aren't physically ready.

"Torres can play 20 or 30 games in a row without any problem, but he won't be at the same level in the last few months of the season when we hope to be playing for trophies.

"We've played a final at the end of each season I've been here. Why? Because we've had a big squad without maybe as many bigger players as we have now, and were going into games with fresh legs. That proves that the system can work."

(Courtesy: sports.independent.co.uk)

The pyrotechnical area is not for me, says the new Keane

2007-09-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

The list of things that irritate Roy Keane is already lengthy but on the eve of today's duel with his former Manchester United team-mate Mark Hughes, Sunderland's manager has revealed a new pet grouse.

"Some managers keep losing their rag on the sidelines and some are doing it for effect - just to be spotted themselves," explained Keane. "That is not a road I want to go down. It's a habit some managers have got into, but I have made a conscious effort not to be ranting and raving on the sidelines. It's a waste of time which saps you of energy and means you can't get a clear focus on the game. And doing it would probably have put me in an early grave."

Accordingly, managers who jump up and down so much that they might as well be on technical area trampolines now rank alongside footballers in thrall to the demands of their wags, or those who insist on collecting opponents' shirts, as objects of Keane's gloriously withering disdain.

If this might strike those referees regularly abused by a once ultra-aggressive midfielder as somewhat hypocritical, the fact is that maturity has exerted a transforming effect on the Irishman. "I don't find it difficult to appear detached, I'm not trying to be someone I'm not," he said. "But if I'm going to lose my rag I want to do it in the privacy of our own dressing room."

Moreover Keane believes managers should observe a code of sportsmanship. "I look at other benches but I'm not one for jumping up and down and trying to get opposition players booked," he said. "You see enough of that around, managers appealing against every decision. I'm not going to lose my rag about a throw-in on the halfway line.

"When I see other managers doing that I think, 'If you're going to lose it, at least lose it for a major decision, a penalty or a sending-off'. And even then, I think losing it is a waste of time. If you're ranting and raving on the sidelines about refereeing decisions you lose focus on the game."

In any case, Keane knows from experience that many players remain oblivious to touchline hysterics. "As a player I never took too much notice of what the manager was saying or doing once I was on the pitch," he recalled.

As a spectator at Ewood Park watching Blackburn's home defeat by Portsmouth last Sunday he did, however, take considerable notice of Hughes's technical area demeanour. "For a 20-minute spell on Sunday I thought Sparky was the ball boy. He was chasing balls and getting quick throw-ins," said Keane with a mischief-suffused smile.

Although he and Hughes were never real friends and have had "no contact whatsoever" since their paths diverged, Keane has happy memories of nights spent drinking with the former centre-forward. "I had some good sessions with Sparky," he recalled. "I could tell you a few stories about Sparky but I'm sure he can tell one or two about me, too. I feel very lucky to have played with him, because he was a top, top player, but the nature of football is such that when people move on, you don't really keep in touch with them."

Many people, Sir Alex Ferguson included, were startled when Hughes became a manager but Keane was not among them. "I wouldn't say I was shocked," he said. "Sparky was always the quiet one in the United dressing room but he was always taking things in. He's proving to be a top manager and it's a good challenge for me to pit my wits against him. I'm looking forward to it."

Keano's methods

The gum-chew

Who needs words? Keane is now able to convey the full spectrum of human emotions via subtle variations in the speed of his gum-chew. Ranges from really fast (absolutely furious) to very fast (boiling mad) to quite fast (stewing with indignation)

The wax statue

Mastered the art of the match-long motionless loom, from either seated or standing position. Known to pass entire 90 minutes without blinking. Willing to spend long periods of either half silently staring the wrong way just to make his point

The I'm-watching-you

A single finger raised chillingly to the side of the eye. Tests show this can boost a player's performance by up to 180%. May be combined with threatening "think-about-it" temple-tap

(Courtesy: football.guardian.co.uk)

Overseas plans for Malaysian U-16 team, AGAIN!!

2007-09-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

There are big plans being formulated for the national Under-16 team based in Bukit Jalil Sports School following their recent win of the Youth Cup.

The national U16 squad won the Youth Cup – which is really for U19 players - when they beat Kuala Lumpur 1-0 in the final with the only goal of the match coming off Tamil Arasu.

Enroute, they had beaten Selangor 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

“Of course, it feels good to win the title but the truth is that we did not set out to put this team together to win the crown – the whole objective for these young players to play in a league several years their senior was more for exposure and experience,”
said head coach Ong Kim Swee.

The jubilant U-16 squad

“But for these players to win the title showed just how much of a progress they have made in these months where they have learned to stick to tactical discipline and also understanding game plan where for them to do it at this young age give promise for the future.

“The effort does not come from any one person alone but a whole cooperation of hardwork from Aminuddin (Hussin, head of FAM youth coaching), Robert (Alberts, the FAM Technical Director) and also the unwavering support from Institute Sains Negera (National Science Institute, specifically from its director Dr. Ramlan Aziz).”

Kim Swee said that the U16 lads will be reporting for camp next week before they unveil plans for the future development of this squad which is likely to include a trip to Brickendobury, England.

He said that the team will now need more quality matches to make sure that they are kept together for future assignments.

“The team will need more training and higher quality matches where I feel that if they can be kept together from now on, then Malaysia will have a ready pool of youngsters able to understand the needs of the modern game,” added Kim Swee.

(Courtesy: www.fam.org.my)

Why does the FAM need to go all the way to ENGLAND to play high quality matches? Is it not possible to go to other Asian countries that play high quality football like South Korea, Japan, Iran or heck, even Vietnam and Singapore? Bloody hell, even Iraq play awesome football.

WENGER: English game losing soul

2007-09-28T03:08:00.000-07:00

Arsene Wenger has admitted serious fears for the future of English football.

The Arsenal manager believes the domestic game in England is in danger of being severely damaged by mass media coverage and new club ownership.

Arsenal are themselves reported to be the takeover target of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and Wenger insists the increasingly business orientated ownership of English clubs is another damaging factor.

"English football is losing his soul," Wenger told The Sun. "Fans are the keeper of our football.

"But the first signs of danger are there to see. Stadiums are starting to empty, TV channels and radio stations are overcrowded with football.

"There is a kind of overdose looming.

"Suddenly the English model has gone from owner-supporters to owner-businessman.

"The danger wasn't there yesterday but it's there today. Of course you can have business integrated into the sport while still respecting the values of football.

"However perhaps it is time for people to worry."

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Frankly speaking, i think Wenger has a point, but its not as though these clubs had a choice in going down the foreign business ownership road. No no my readers. There is ONE person to blame for this, and he is that very expressionless Russion billionaire up at Chelsea.

As soon as he came into EPL, everything changed. Suddenly the prices of players became inflated. Wages inflated. Chelsea could buy anyone and everyone, and were above everything as they tapped up the best talent on the planet. Abrahimovich's coming was like an asteroid hitting the planet. Everything's went crazy and now that the dust has settled, clubs have realised they need to get money from somewhere to compete.

Rafa wants Torres protection talk, not rotation talk

2007-09-28T02:59:00.000-07:00

Rafa Benitez insists English football needs to clamp down on the heavy handed approach to Fernando Torres.

The Liverpool manager has been angered by the rough treatment dished out to Torres in the Reds' midweek Carling Cup victory over Reading.

Torres scored a hat-trick in Liverpool's 4-2 victory over the Royals, but Benitez's striking ace was on the receiving end of some robust challenges from Reading centre-backs Michael Duberry and Andre Bikey.

Recent football discussion has been on the subject of Torres' constant rotation from the Liverpool starting XI, but Benitez is adamant attention must turn to protection of the Premier League's stars.

"What puzzles me is why people are talking all the time about Torres when he plays, when they should surely be talking about how we can protect him when he plays," said Benitez.

"There was lots of talk about how Torres coped so well with the kicking he received, but why aren't people saying that kicking was wrong.

"I'm surprised people aren't talking about the need to protect players of quality because if we want to see exciting matches with real quality for the fans then we must ensure the quality players are allowed to play, and not kicked out of it.

"With Torres defenders feel they have to stop him by kicking him and it's up to the officials to stop that.

"I won't comment on the referee at Reading, but you could see yourself. He (Torres) was kicked badly in the first minute, it was a challenge that could have kept him out for a month."

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Injured Ricardinho tells Cisse: I´m suing

2007-09-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Besiktas's Brazilian midfielder Ricardinho announced Thursday his intention to sue Marseille's Djibril Cisse for a tackle that has left him facing two months on the sidelines.

Ricardinho was taken off in the 44th minute in last week's Champions League opening group tie at the Velodrome after Cisse's 25th minute tackle which resulted in a freekick for the Turkish side.

And in Friday's edition of France Football magazine the Brazilian claims the France international wilfully set about to injure him.

"Because of my injury I can't play for two months and so I won't be paid. Cisse wanted to injure me and he succeeded. But I'm going to take legal action against him."

The 31-year-old added: "The Marseille players played like butchers. They noticed that I was the playmaker and they did everything to take me out and Cisse succeeded."

Besiktas coach Ertugrul Saglam also maintained Marseille, who won the game 2-0, had overstepped the mark.

"There was a World Cup rugby match a few days before in Marseille, they must have confused the rules," he said.

(Courtesy: www.soccerway.com)

Real Madrid overcome battling Betis to regain top spot

2007-09-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

Real Madrid maintained their unbeaten record and returned to the top of La Liga after a 2-0 win over Real Betis but they made hard work of despatching the side from Seville on Thursday.

The reigning Spanish champions' captain Raul Gonzalez finally broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after 66 minutes following a foul on him by Betis midfielder David Rivas.

Brazilian international Julio Baptista then got Real's second five minutes from time but the scoreline flattered the reigning Spanish champions with lowly Betis hitting the woodwork no less than three times during the game.

Real started well and had by far the best of the first half hour, and a clear majority of the possession, but gradually Betis worked their way back into the game.

Edu and Mark Gonzalez both had good opportunities to score just before David Rivas sent a header against the post six minutes before the break.

The close shaves meant Madrid left the field at the break with whistles from the Real faithful ringing in their ears and the jeers from their ever-critical fans continued well into the second period until Raul opened the scoring.

Madrid rode their luck once again late in the game when Betis threw everything at them in search of an equaliser.

Firstly Rafael Sobis's free kick skimmed off the cross bar after 75 minutes and Mark Gonzalez then hit the post just a minute later.

The hosts' nerves finally calmed when second half substitute Baptista, who had only been on the field five minutes, hammered home his first goal of the season from the edge of the area.

The victory means that Real Madrid have 13 points from their five matches and a one point lead over Villarreal and Valencia, who are second and third respectively and split by goal difference after both teams won on Wednesday.

By contrast, at the other end of the table, Betis are third from bottom and still looking for their first win this season with only two points to their name.

Villarreal had an impressive 2-0 win at Racing Santander with goals from Turkish international Nihat Kahveci and their American-born Italian striker Guiseppe Rossi.

Valencia laboured to a 2-1 win over struggling Getafe but notched up their fourth successive win with first half goals from Spanish internationals David Silva and David Villa before Braulio Nobrega got one back for Getafe late in the game.

Unbeaten Barcelona are one point further back in fourth after inflicting a 4-1 thrashing on Real Zaragoza later on Wednesday.

All the goals in Barca's Nou Camp stadium came in the first half, with their Argentine international winger Lionel Messi finding the net after just five minutes although Zaragoza's Alberto Zapater equalised four minutes later.

However, the 2006 European champions quickly got back into their stride and Messi took barely a minute before he sent a cross from Deco into the back of the net to give Barca the lead again.

Andres Iniesta and Rafa Marquez added more goals before the break before the Catalan club stepped off the gas in the second half.

"I didn't see anything negative about this team," said Barca coach Frank Rijkaard after the game, responding to public and media criticism about him and his team.

However, Rijkaard might possibly concede that summer signing Thierry Henry once again had a below-par game, a fact which even the excellence of his team mates couldn't hide.

The Frenchman squandering several chances, including two late in the game, which would have added to the Catalan club's tally.

(Courtesy: www.soccerway.com)

Patience finally paying off for in-form Almunia

2007-09-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

They say patience is a virtue and Manuel Almunia would surely agree. The Spanish goalkeeper has been understudy to Jens Lehmann since he joined Arsenal three years ago but an injury to the Germany No 1 has given the Spaniard his chance. He has taken it with aplomb.

Almunia played in six successive first-team games before sitting out the Carling Cup victory over Newcastle on Tuesday, and could feature for Saturday's trip to Upton Park as Arsenal look to build on their impressive start to the Premier League season.

The 30-year-old has conceded just two goals since being drafted into the starting line-up. He puts that down to two things - the quality of the players in front of him and his own improvement as a goalkeeper.

First choice, but for how long?

"It has been a really good season for us so far and personally for me," Almunia told Arsenal.com. "I am enjoying so much my position in the team and I am trying to help the team as best I can. At the moment things are going well and I keep my fingers crossed that it stays the same.

"I am a better keeper now. If you are a hard worker and don't get down then you always improve. If it's not this year then it's next year but in the end you will play if you keep going and going. If you try to improve every day you get the results and that's what is happening with me.

"I am a bit surprised by how well we are doing. It's obvious, everybody is surprised with us. This team is so young but at the same time we have a lot of talent. When I am on the pitch I feel as if every player is giving 100 per cent and all our talent is coming out. That didn't always happen last year."

So can Arsenal maintain their fine start and collect some silverware this season? Almunia would not be drawn. Three points from Saturday's London derby is all he is concerned about.

"We want to achieve three points against West Ham," he said. "That is my only worry and it is the only worry of the boss and the rest of the team."

(Courtesy: www.arsenal.com)

Crouch: He's doing magnificent!

2007-09-27T05:31:00.000-07:00

Peter Crouch has paid tribute to strike-partner Fernando Torres for the way he has settled into life in England

Six goals before the end of September have ensured the Spaniard is already a firm favourite on the Kop. And Crouch revealed the new boy is adapting just as well off the pitch.

He said: "Fernando speaks a bit of English, though he's not confident enough to do interviews yet. But in the dressing room he's got a bit about him and it's always good to see a player trying to adapt and learn the language. He's a good lad. The Spanish lads are helping him settle in.

"He was magnificent at Reading. The thing about Fernando is that he's a top-class player but he works so hard for the team. You can see that. The manager obviously likes all the players to work hard and the strikers to track back - he does that extremely well, as well as his more obvious qualities.

The Liverpool striker certainly played well with Torres in the Reading game

"His goals were fantastically taken and it was a superb all-round performance.

"He's a strong lad and he proved that he can certainly cope with the physical side. He comes from a different way of playing - Spanish football is different to English football - but he's an extremely strong physical player. He has pace and attributes to help him cope with that. I'm sure he's going to be a force this year.

"I enjoy playing with a player with such blistering pace as Fernando. I'll hold the ball up and get in the box, he can run onto the loose balls and get in behind defences. I certainly think we complement each other. Fernando can win things in the air as well but the fact that he is pacy and reads the flicks helps him get in behind."

Liverpool are unbeaten in 10 games so far this season, a consistency which Crouch believes is now approaching that of Man United and Chelsea.

"We want to be as consistent as we can," he said. "Chelsea and Manchester United have proved how consistent you have to be to get anywhere near winning the league and we need to turn some of those draws into wins now.

"Ten unbeaten is a good start for us. It could have been even better but we need to get that winning mentality that the other two had last year and I believe we are getting that.

"We've certainly got strength in depth. The manager has a lot of players at his disposal. We are going to challenge on all fronts this year. I really believe that.

"The players the manager has brought in seem to have settled straight away and we've got off to a good start. Sometimes it can take a while to bed in but they've come in and are really firing. That's good for the squad and good for the team."

(Courtesy: www.liverpoolfc.tv)

Old Trafford is Europe’s top stadium - but Anfield is best for atmosphere

2007-09-27T05:26:00.000-07:00

Old Trafford, home of Premiership Champions Manchester United, has been voted Europe’s best football stadium by the UK’s travelling fans while Liverpool’s Anfield boasts the best atmosphere of any European club.

The news is set to perpetuate the two clubs’ old rivalry off the pitch as fans debate the virtues of stadia facilities over atmosphere.

In the study fans were asked to rate the European clubs they had visited, other than their own, in terms of the facilities, view of the pitch, and access to and from the ground. Old Trafford topped the league followed by Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, Barcelona’s Nou Camp, Newcastle’s St James’s Park and Manchester City’s City of Manchester Stadium.

However, fans also voted unanimously that the single most important thing that makes a top quality football stadium is atmosphere and none do that better than Liverpool fans at Anfield, according to visitors to the ground. Celtic Park came second for atmosphere followed by Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, which beat the Nou Camp into fourth place with Newcastle’s St James’s Park propping up the top five.

Drivers Jonas, the property consultancy, commissioned the survey to better understand what fans want from their stadia.

Geoff Aucock, Partner at Drivers Jonas and head of the company’s sports division, said: “Atmosphere is the most important criteria for fans when assessing the quality of the stadium but the view of the pitch, quality of seating, ease of access and the standard of the facilities provided are also important. It’s about getting that mix right as well as providing top quality football that clubs have to consider when building or developing their stadia and this survey shows we’re more successful at that than clubs in Europe as far as British football fans are concerned.”

The passion of the fans is what the majority of supporters think is the key ingredient for creating a great atmosphere along with the singing, scarf-waving, colours worn and flags waved by the supporters. Anfield does each of these well above the average of any UK or European club, say fans.

When it comes to food, Delia Smith’s Norwich City is famed for its pies but they only make third spot in the European football food league, according to visiting fans. Arsenal and Barcelona jointly serve the best food in Europe, with Kilmarnock – home of the award-winning 'Killie Pie' - fourth and Wigan fifth best among the culinary giants of Europe.

Security at football stadia on mainland Europe has been in the headlines this season, an issue borne out in the survey results. Barcelona’s Nou Camp was voted the best ground for security in Europe while Rome’s Stadio Olimpico being the worst by far. But overall fans are more likely to feel safe when visiting a German club than those of any other European nation, although Bayern Munich is the only German club to make the top five for safety.

Travelling fans are best placed to judge how easy it is to get to and from a football ground, and the majority of them voted Spurs’ White Hart Lane the worst club in Europe for its transport – while half the top ten best stadia for transport are foreign – Barcelona’s Nou Camp, Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena, Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium and Milan’s San Siro – perhaps highlighting fans’ frustration at Britain’s troubled transport system compared to those of Europe.

Geoff Aucock said: “The study clearly shows that fans’ enjoyment is not just measured in terms of the quality of the football, it’s about the whole match-day experience. Fans appreciate good stadia facilities, ease of access and most of all, a fantastic atmosphere. With Wembley now open for business it will be interesting to see if this magnificent stadium can steal the top spots in future and whether Liverpool can replicate the atmosphere of Anfield within their new stadium development plans.”

The study follows a similar study in 2005 where fans voted Hull’s KC stadium the best with Old Trafford the fans favourite.

Click on the link below to view the report.

view msword file

download msword file

(Courtesy: www.driversjonas.com)

Cottbus stunned by Klose encounter

2007-09-27T00:27:00.000-07:00

Bayern Munich extended their advantage at the Bundesliga summit to three points with a 5-0 thumping of Energie Cottbus on Wednesday, while champions Stuttgart got their campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over Bochum.

Germany striker Miroslav Klose was the chief architect of the Cottbus' downfall with a second-half hat-trick. Martin Demichelis and Luca Toni also notched after the interval following a goalless first period.

Over the weekend Cottbus, bottom of the league with just two points, sacked popular head coach Petrik Sander - a move that prompted furious fan protests aimed at controversial club president Ulrich Lepsch.

Sander's assistant Thomas Hossmang was asked to take the helm for the game in Munich, but refused due to his close ties with the departed coach.

Amateur team coach Heiko Weber took temporary charge, but could not prevent the league leaders romping to a comfortable win.

Roberto Hilbert grabbed the only goal of the game as Stuttgart, who managed just two victories from their first six games, picked up a much-needed win.

Hilbert struck five minutes into the second half to move Armin Veh's team up four places to ninth in the standings.

Elsewhere, new-boys Karlsruhe registered an impressive 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt with Maik Franz grabbing the crucial goal six minutes after the interval.

Karlsruhe were reduced to 10 men two minutes from the end when Andreas Gorlitz saw red, but the points were already safe.

Bayer Leverkusen moved up to second spot by triumphing 2-1 at Nurnberg, who remain in the relegation zone.

Steffan Kiessling gave the visitors the lead six minutes before half-time and, although a 73rd-minute penalty from Marek Mintal briefly restored parity, Tranquillo Barnetta's goal three minutes later sealed the points.

Elsewhere Hannover were 2-0 winners at Arminia Bielefeld. Szabolcs Huszti broke the deadlock from the spot nine minutes after the restart and Sergio Pinto made the game safe five minutes from time.

(Courtesy: www.sportinglife.com)

Magic Messi leads Barca to route of Zaragoza

2007-09-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Lionel Messi had his third straight strong performance for Barcelona - following up a three goals in two games performance last week - scoring two goals while contributing numerous other spectacular plays in a 4-1 victory over Real Zaragoza in La Liga action Wednesday.

The 20-year-old Argentinean took over for the supposedly injured Ronaldinho as the team's top offensive player while Andres Iniesta and Rafael Marquez also added goals for the home side. Alberto Zapater scored the lone goal for the overmatched visitors.

Messi got the scoring started just five minutes in when he worked a give-and- go with Thierry Henry at the top of the box before blasting the return pass past a diving Sanchez Cesar to make it 1-0.

Zaragoza equalized just four minutes later when Zapater took a pass on the right side of the box and blasted a laser into the left side netting.

That was the high point for the visitors, however, because Messi got the game- winner and his second goal of the game just two minutes later when he found a loose ball in the area and blasted it past Cesar to make it 2-1.

Messi was involved in his team's third goal in the 21st minute when he worked a one-two with Deco at the top of the box before touching a through-ball into the six-yard box to spring the midfielder. Deco then touched a pass to the far post, giving Iniesta an easy tap-in for his first league goal of the season.

Marquez headed in a rebound of a Deco free kick in first-half stoppage time to close out the scoring.

With the win, Barcelona climbs to third in the La Liga table, behind leaders Villarreal and Valencia, which are a point up.

Also Wednesday, Villarreal moved to the top of the table for the first time in their history with a 2-0 away win over Racing Santander, Valencia beat Getafe 2-1 in the Mestalla, Almeria earned a 1-0 victory over Real Murcia, Mallorca toped Real Valladolid 4-2, Osasuna dominated last-placed Levante 4-1 and Recreativo and Atletico Madrid earned 2-0 victories over Deportivo and Athletic Bilbao, respectively.

Champions Real Madrid have 10 points from four games in fourth place and host Real Betis at the Bernabeu on Thursday.

(Courtesy: sportsnetwork.com)

Azrai: Now for the AFC Cup!

2007-09-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Kedah head coach Mohd Azrai Khor Abdullah is ready to put up a stronger Malaysian challenge for the AFC Cup 2008.

As one of two Malaysian representatives in the AFC Cup next year, Azrai said that the Kedah side wants to show that they have the ability to go far with the current side that they have built.

“I hope that the calendar which will be drawn up by the FA of Malaysia (FAM) will allow us to be better prepared for the AFC Cup,” said Azrai.

“I know that previously, teams which represented Malaysia had some difficulty in fitting in the AFC Cup matches but I hope that this time round; we will stand a better chance.

“It is about time that a side from Malaysia show how far we can go and it is not a question of being boastful but rather with the right ingredient and support, I believe that we can be quite successful.”

The best Malaysian representation was back in 2006 when Selangor made the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup only to falter to AL Nejmeh from Lebanon.

For 2007, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan NAZA crashed out in the group stage of the competition.

Kedah completed the treble for the 2006-2007 season when they won the FA Cup, the Super League crown and then the coveted Malaysia Cup late last month.

(Courtesy: www.fam.org.my)

Man Utd boss Ferguson: 1-0's could get me sacked!

2007-09-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has joked he could be sacked because of all the 1-0 results they've achieved this season.

"There's no question this club is built on goals," he told Manchester United Radio. "I was talking with Sir Bobby the other day and he said he'd never heard of four straight 1-0 wins. I said 'I'll be getting sacked soon!'.

"I'll take four 2-0 wins now. The way we attack and the way we play, of course you expect goals, but I think they'll come now."

(Courtesy: tribalfootball.com)

Man Utd Opposed To Grant Operating Without A Licence

2007-09-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Chelsea's current woes look like continuing with the BBC reporting that it understands Premier League rivals Manchester United will oppose Avram Grant being given special dispensation to manage Chelsea without a Uefa pro licence.

According to BBC Sport, Premier League champions Manchester United are set to oppose allowing Avram Grant to manage Chelsea withoiut the necessary coaching qualifications.

The former Israel national team boss, appointed by Chelsea last week as manager in succession to Jose Mourinho, does not have the required Uefa pro licence.

He has a 12-week period of grace in which to acquire the vital qualification, which normally takes a year's study to obtain.

But if he does not qualify within that period, Chelsea will have to appeal to the Premier League for special dispensation - or replace Grant.

Manchester United opposed the dispensation granted to both Glenn Roeder at Newcastle United and Gareth Southgate at Middlesbrough, and will maintain that stance in the case of Grant.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be a strong supporter of the qualifications, and of making them the entry criteria to manage in the Premier League.

Uefa and Premier League rules require anyone wishing to manage in the top flight to hold the Uefa pro licence, which requires 240 hours of study and usually takes a year to gain.

A Premier League spokesman confirmed: "We have written to Chelsea to remind them of these requirements regarding these qualifications."

Roeder was granted an extension on health grounds, while Southgate was deemed to have had restricted opportunities to gain a licence because of his international career with England.

Middlesbrough boss Southgate said of Grant's situation: "Most of the older coaches were given special dispensation when the rules were first introduced.

"I'm sure Avram has nothing to worry about because he has the backing of his chairman Roman Abramovich."

Meanwhile, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill was also granted an exemption after undertaking a five-day refresher course.

Grant, who won league titles with two different clubs when coaching in Israel, has not held a club manager's position for five years but was in charge of the Israeli national side during their qualifying campaigns for Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup finals.

(Courtesy: goal.com)

Michael Mifsud punishes Man Utd kids

2007-09-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

Michael Mifsud, a Maltese forward nicknamed the 'Mosquito', provided a true sting in the tail for Sir Alex Ferguson's selection gamble with both goals as Coventry City claimed a Carling Cup upset against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

United, weakened by the absence of a host of first-team regulars, were outplayed and outfought throughout by Iain Dowie's team, who booked their place in the fourth round with unexpected ease.


	Mosquito bites: Michael Mifsud's brace ends Man Utd's hopes

Ever since a then unknown Paul Scholes marked his senior United debut by scoring twice in a League Cup victory at Port Vale 13 years ago, Ferguson has cocked a deaf ear to suggestions that his preference for youth over experience in this particular cup has devalued the competition.

Yet turning to the club's lesser lights has not always resulted in success for Ferguson. York City humiliated United by claiming a 3-0 League Cup victory at Old Trafford in September 1995, while non-League Exeter City escaped with a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup third round three years ago

Sprinkled among the present crop of youngsters, however, were multi-million pound purchases such as Nani and Anderson and neither they, nor their junior colleagues, appeared capable of competing with Coventry's energy and desire in the first half.

Dowie's team, having suffered a 4-1 defeat at Ipswich at the weekend, were clearly under orders to show an improvement from that display and they were fully deserving of their lead when Mifsud opened the scoring on 27 minutes.

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It was a goal that United should have prevented. Leon Best's cross-field ball was easily taken by captain Michael Doyle and, unchallenged by United right-back Phil Bardsley, Doyle directed the ball to the far post where the lurking Mifsud was on hand to score from close range.

The former Kaiserslautern forward displayed a healthy arrogance all night long, never more so than when he hit the far post with back-heel flick four minutes after putting Coventry ahead.

Despite falling behind, United just could not lift themselves to get back into the game before the interval. The anticipated fightback failed to materialise and it was the Championship team who went closest to adding to the score when impressive midfielder Robbie Simpson sent a right-foot strike over the crossbar from 20 yards on 43 minutes.

Ferguson had spoken about the possibility of using Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha prior to this game in an attempt to increase the strike-pair's fitness following recent injuries, but neither even made it as far as the bench. How the United manager must have wished that he had followed through with his plan as his under-performing team trudged off at half-time.

The introduction of Wes Brown at the interval and Michael Carrick shortly afterwards underlined Ferguson's selection mistake, but it was too late by that stage. Coventry had already gained the momentum and they were too determined to allow the chance of an upset to slip away.

Andy Marshall, the Coventry goalkeeper, was a spectator who was only called into action when Nani and substitute Fraizer Campbell tried their luck from distance. When United finally broke into the visitors' penalty area on 65 minutes, Dong Fangzhuo's close-range shot was saved by Marshall before Elliott Ward blocked Carrick's follow-up.

A superb save by Marshall from Campbell's header on 70 minutes set in motion the move that led to Mifsud's second goal. The 26-year-old forward was released down the left flank and his pace took him clear of Gerard Pique.

After a one-two with Jay Tabb on the edge of the penalty area, Mifsud beat Kuszczak with a powerful right-foot effort from 12 yards. Two-nil up at the home of the champions, but Coventry deserved nothing less.

But for a rare piece of inaccuracy by Mifsud on 82 minutes, when he shot wide from only six yards following Kuszczak's save from Stephen Hughes, the Maltese striker would have celebrating an incredible hat-trick.

(Courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk)

Street Smart Sneijder Wants Madrid To Attack

2007-09-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Wesley Sneijder has revealed that growing up in a though area of Holland prepared him for professional football and also given his views on Real Madrid's recent displays.

The Dutch midfielder has made an instant impact at the Bernabéu after his summer arrival from Ajax and he has not suffered from any nerves in his surroundings.

That lack of fear comes from his childhood, where Sneijder was forced to fight in order to play on the one pitch in his local district.

"I started playing in my Utrecht district when I was three against kids who were six or seven years old," he explained. "I had to be psychologically strong and I believe that experience made me the player I am today: competitive and anxious to be successful.

"Ondiep, the district I grew up in, became famous a few months ago because one person was murdered and people protested with riots. People believe it is an important place now, but it is actually a tough area to grow up in.

Sneijder has formed an instant understanding the the Real strikers

"A kid there must be strong in order to be respected. When I was child there was only one football pitch and too many children that wanted to play on it. It wasn't enough to be good at football. I didn't manage to play because I was good, but because I fought with other kids to do so.

"You end up being tough if you manage to play football on the streets."

After being left out of the draw against Valladolid at the weekend, Sneijder had time to reflect on Real Madrid's best system and he has no qualms about stating his beliefs.

"I think we should play like we did against Villarreal; being patient and using our speed to score goals when we see a chance to do so," continued.

"We should be organised in defence and attack through our three forwards. That's what we did then and we managed to score three goals consecutively. The system isn't as important as playing together, fighting hard and using our speed in attack.

"We cannot play the counter-attack by waiting in defence. We should be organised, fight to recover ball posession and then attack as fast as we can. We should be able to make quick passes, penetrate our rivals' defence and shoot.

"Against Valladolid and Werder Bremen our game was too wide; the defence was too far back and the midfielders too close to the goal."

Finally, Sneijder talked about Ruud Van Nistelrooy's revelation that every new player must adhere to code of conduct laid down by club captain, Raúl.

"I don't know if they can be called rules per se, but what you can't do when you are new to the team is behave as if you were a great player that doesn't care about anyone else," he explained.

"You can't challenge what the more experienced players say. It wouldn't be wise to do so. It is better to do as they say.

"Raúl is a great guy, with great personality. He manages to do a lot out of nothing. The shot of his Valladolid's coach saved the other day was a good example of this. We hadn't had a chance in an hour and he suddenly came close to scoring a goal.

"He always knows where he has to go and where the ball will end up. Very few players have that gift. He is the best at reading a team's play."

(Courtesy: goal.com)

Huntelaar: Ajax Miss Sneijder

2007-09-26T07:57:00.001-07:00

With more than a hint of wistfulness, Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar has spoken of Ajax's loss of Wesley Sneijder.

The Amsterdam club, carrying on its reputation for providing the biggest European clubs with fine talent, sold the Oranje ace on in summer, leaving what Huntelaar describes as a gaping hole in midfield.

"Last season, we largely built our system of play around him," said the striker, himself capped eight times for Holland.

"Now that he's gone, we're finding it tough. We perhaps focused our game a bit too much on him. He took a lot of responsibility that others now must fulfill. We'll work on it."

The Ajax striker will shoulder more responsibility now that Sneijder has left

Ajax once again failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages and, adding insult to injury, have landed a tough clash in the UEFA Cup as they travel to face Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.

Their last Eredivisie result was a mere 1-0 win over minnows Heracles, with Huntelaar unhappy with many aspects of the performance.

"We need to start playing well again, and it needs to start at the back. We played early, long balls against Heracles - too easy for them to defend.

"And we can't focus on one player, like we did with Wesley. Everyone needs to get involved," he concluded.

Huntelaar scored 21 goals in 32 league appearances last season.

(Courtesy: goal.com)

Guti: I Am A Creator, Not A Scorer

2007-09-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Spanish international admits that he is not a natural goalscorer and takes as much enjoyment out of an assist as he does beting the keeper himself.

"I love it," he told the club's official website. "I would rather make an assist than score. I have always played like that.

"I know I am an attacking midfielder and that I have the skills to provide the last pass. I am not a goalscorer. I was more happy seeing the pass result in a goal than I would have been scoring it myself. I am here for a reason."

In recent months Guti has shot to prominence and is now considered a vital player for Madrid, after several seasons of failing to hold down a regular first team place at the club.

Real Madrid's midfield maestro, José María Gutiérrez

His vision and delivery have made him a crucial member of Bernd Schuster's team and the creation of the goal against Valladolid showed why.

"It was as clear as day for me," Guti continued. "I kicked it with my instep and lifted the ball. It went right between the two centre-backs and Ruud did a good job of breaking through.

"It's easy to see eye-to-eye with him because he is such an intelligent forward. The same goes for Saviola, who continued the play just in case and scored the equaliser.

"Saviola always has that intuition; he always finishes plays through. I'm sure he would have been there for the rebound had Van Nistelrooy not scored. He did it against Almería by chasing after a shot by Raúl and getting the rebound and scoring."

When asked about why Madrid had not performed to the same level at the weekend that they did in their first two games, Guti was adamant that expectations are too high.

"Let me make something clear. We are going to be playing a match every three days this season," he explained. "Whoever thinks that we can play well all the time is mistaken.

"We have tough matches in store and we need time to recover. There's barely enough time to prepare for the next match. We always want to play well, but we also have to win.

"I will admit Valladolid were the better team on Sunday. You have to play the entire 90 minutes and the added time in football. It's not over until the referee blows his whistle. We've learned something very important about ourselves.

"We never throw in the towel. We did have trouble because we didn't control possession. We were stunned by Valladolid's energy, but we also had our chances. Raúl and Higuaín each had opportunities."

Reflecting on his new-found status as one of the team leaders, Guti revealed that now is the first time he has been valued since Vicente Del Bosque eft the club.

"I am playing on a regular basis, which allows me to show what I can do," he said. "There were times with other coaches, Del Bosque for example, that I also felt comfortable and happy, but he left for one reason or another.

"It was hard for coaches to play me regularly. I never complained and I never will. I hope this streak lasts, but I also know that I'll have to be rotated out soon. There are a lot of matches in a short period of time and we need everyone."

(Courtesy: goal.com)

Liverpool, Arsenal win convincingly to reach fourth round of League Cup

2007-09-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

LONDON - Fernando Torres scored three goals Tuesday to lead Liverpool to a 4-2 English League Cup win at Reading, while Arsenal also reached the fourth round with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

Manchester City, Portsmouth, Sheffield United, Cardiff, Luton and Blackpool were the other teams to advance in England's second-tier cup competition.

Six-time winner Liverpool had stuttered after a strong start to the season, drawing its past three games, but manager Rafa Benitez's decision to recall Spain striker Torres proved crucial.

American midfielder Bobby Convey scored his first goal for Reading since recovering from a serious knee injury to tie the game after Yossi Benayoun had put Liverpool ahead midway through the first half.

Torres scored in the 50th minute and John Halls made it 2-2, but Torres scored again in the 72nd and then rounded goalkeeper Adam Federici before tallying in the 86th to clinch the victory.

"In Spain, we know that he can kill defenders," Benitez said. "You need to learn that if you work hard, you will have a chance."

Arsenal, last year's runner-up, rested several first-team regulars but still eased past Newcastle with two goals in the last eight minutes.

Striker Niklas Bendtner had just volleyed wide before he put the Gunners ahead in the 83rd with a header from Armand Traore's left-wing cross.

Brazilian midfielder Denilson, who starred in last season's semifinal win over Tottenham, sealed victory when he hit a 20-metre shot with a minute to go.

Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson made nine changes for his team's home match with Norwich and had to wait until the 90th minute for a goal. Greek striker Georgios Samaras scored for the first time since January.

Cardiff struck four times in the first 30 minutes at West Brom to win 4-2, with former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler scoring twice for the Bluebirds.

Portsmouth won 1-0 at Burnley with a goal by David Nugent, while Sheffield United beat Morecambe of League Two 5-0.

Luton rallied to beat visiting Charlton 3-1 in extra time after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes, and Blackpool scored in extra time to beat Southend 2-1.

Defending champion Chelsea and Premier League title holder Manchester United enter the competition on Wednesday, when another eight games are played.

Chelsea is at Hull City, while United hosts Coventry.

(Courtesy: canadianpress.google.com)

Why Wenger fears his dark side

2007-09-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

In an exclusive extract from the Arsenal Opus, an 850-page history of one of England’s proudest clubs, Arsène Wenger talks about his ongoing battle against a lifelong fiery temper

Arsène Wenger exudes intelligence and a sense of calm. Dignified and unruffled, he is used to living with pressure, but he admits it has taken years of self-discipline to keep his fiery temper in check. Even now he says he fears the dark side of his nature and the consequences of losing his cool.

“Is it anger, is it aggression, or is it a desire to be successful? Would I compromise my princi-ples? On occasions, yes, as first and foremost, I am a winner. But long-term, that’s not my attitude,” he explains. “Where does the anger come from? My father and my mother were both quite excitable, but the postwar world in which they lived was quite a rough world. The football world is also quite rough. You have to assert your personality and you need a high level of motivation. I control it now by thinking about the consequences of what I do. I didn’t always have the ‘off’ switch. I have seen very talented players and managers lose themselves to anger. A lot of things disturb me, but it is not a fear to lose. It is for you to master this fear. I was always concerned about dominating my animal feeling – not really dominating, I mean, knowing myself better.

“You can sometimes be surprised by your bad side. I have a dark side. You want to win so much that sometimes you forget that it is as well that you respect the rules. When you don’t win, you have to acknowledge the respect of your opponents as well. Sometimes I can’t do that. It is a dark side because the perfect side would be to say, ‘Well done. You played better’. You never know, in 50 years I might achieve it.”

There have been times when his impassioned response to on-field events led to criticism and, occasionally, disciplinary procedures. In October 2000 he was fined £100,000 and given a 12-match touchline ban, subsequently greatly reduced on appeal, for a disagreement with officials. “I feel like I have killed somebody,” he said at the time of the harshness of the punishment. In the final throes of Highbury’s last season, when Spurs were the visitors, Wenger argued vehemently with his Tottenham counterpart, Martin Jol. In Monaco he flew into rare but serious rages. At Cannes he once had to stop the team bus to be physically sick after a 3-0 defeat. His sojourn in Japan tempered his anger, but he could still finish matches at Highbury with his tie tugged to half-mast in frustration...

(Click here to read on)

Rafa blames England for Gerrard slump

2007-09-24T19:05:00.000-07:00

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez believes Steven Gerrard is paying the price for his recent outings with England.

Gerrard played in both Euro 2008 qualifying wins over Israel and Russia, despite being a doubt with a broken toe.

And Benitez told the Liverpool Echo: "It could be that playing twice for England has had an impact.

"They (England) knew (what I felt about him playing in both games) - but everyone was talking about how important this situation was for England."

Liverpool need their captain fit and fresh to maintain title challenge

Gerrard came off with cramp after 71 minutes in the win over Israel before playing the full game when Russia lost at Wembley four days later.

Since his return from international duty, the 27-year-old midfielder has seemed to be struggling for top form, while Liverpool have failed to impress in goalless draws against Portsmouth and Birmingham.

Gerrard came on as a substitute in the 0-0 draw at Fratton Park but started last week's 1-1 draw with Porto in the Champions League as well as Saturday's Anfield clash against Birmingham.

Benitez added: "His national team is England but it is clear that these players cannot play every game for 90 minutes.

"Gerrard was not 100 per-cent physically fresh, I don't mean fit but fresh.

"In these kind of games you need to keep the tempo really high and if you play too many games in a row for 90 minutes, especially if you are not fit then normally you have problems."

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

The Mourinho Exit Winners And Losers

2007-09-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Happy He's Gone

Roman Abramovich
The moral of the story is that, regardless of the success a manger brings, the owner is still the most important man at the football club. In a battle of wills, there can only be one eventual winner. Even armed with public support, Mourinho was fighting a losing battle against Roman's growing disenchantment.

Abramovich's dissatisfaction was understandable. Having spent unparalleled sums, he had good reason to expect more than economical football. It is this tension that was at the heart of the Mourinho-Abramovich divorce. The failure of the Mourinho regime was the refusal to explore - let alone prove - whether it was possible for attractive football to produce winning football. Having been seduced by ManYoo's epic 4-3 win over Real Madrid in 2003, Abramovich's mistake was to pick the wrong wife.

Yet Mourinho's ousting - probably best described as a jump before being pushed - will not be universally appreciated by supporters seduced by the notion that winning football is the definition of good football. Whatever the condemnation, Abramovich is unlikely to be moved. His reluctance to utter a single word in public since buying Chelsea in June 2003 is telling - by saying nothing, Abramovich has unwittingly revealed just how little regard he has for the opinion of the club's supporters.

If, as expected, Avram Grant is confirmed as Mourinho's full-time successor then Abramovich will have replaced a manager whose footballing ideals did not tally with his own with a coach who happens to be a close friend. Unmistakably, Abramovich is decisively stamping his own identity on the club. This is the price that the club once known as Chelsea FC must pay for ceding its autonomy in return for £500m-plus worth of investment.

Chelski's Big Four Rivals
The fact that every available bookie has increased the odds on Chelski winning silverware this season says everything.

But winning was no longer enough for the man who never says anything.

Peter Kenyon
Unlike the hapless Claudio Ranieri, Mourinho is not a Kenyon victim. Yet, as a victim of Roman's wish to be treated to stylish football, the Chelski chief executive has cause to cheer Jose's removal.

The embarrassment of Tuesday night's draw with Rosenberg occurring on the day that the club outlined its plans of world domination was less the draw with the Norwegian minnows than so many supporters turning up in fancy dress as empty seats.

In mitigation, Rosenberg were hardly enticing opponents, and Chelski have never boasted an especially large fanbase - a consequence, in part, of Stamford Bridge being situated in an affluent area of London rather than in the type of working-class district from which footballing behemoths have traditionally drawn their support.

However, the empty seats also underlined the incompatibility of Mourinho's minimalist style of play with Kenyon's remit of securing world domination. The advantage accrued from attractive football was further emphasised in the hours immediately before Mourinho's departure by Arsene Wenger calling for the Emirates' capacity to be extended beyond 100,000.

Avram Grant
Even if his 'permanent appointment' turns out to be seat-warming for Guus Hiddink, Grant has been handed a managerial opportunity that only Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez will not envy.

From playing second fiddle to Harry Redknapp as Portsmouth's Technical Director to being appointed manager of one of the four sides with a feasible opportunity of winning the Premiership title in little over three months is an astonishing promotion. Rarely in English football can a manager have been appointed with his new team boasting such a lofty league position and their aspirations of major success so realistic. Grant may face a win-or-be-sacked ultimatum but at least he has the opportunity of winning.

Officialdom
One of the particularly unedifying aspects of Mourinho's reign is the regularity in which a baying pack of Chelski players hounded referees. It was such a frequent sight that it is impossible to believe that it was not a specific tactic, encouraged by manager edict and designed to intimidate.

Mourinho's absence will not prompt the reinstallation of respect for officialdom, but it might cause temporary relief from the descent into anarchy.

Mourning His Departure

The Nation's Press Men
Win, lose, or draw, Mourinho was always good for a quote.

The Chelski Supporters
The vast majority of Chelski supporters revered Mourinho. There were exceptions, yet, on the whole, the Stamford Bridge faithful were prepared to accept his foibles in return for two Premiership titles. The confirmation that Abramovich has greater sway at Stamford Bridge sits incongruously with their blinkered insistence that Mourinho's management rather than Abramovich's money was the decisive factor in their success.

The Chelski Squad
They will be shell-shocked and, mostly, devastated. That Mourinho personally informed five players that he was leaving in the early hours of Thursday and arrived at the training ground at 7.30am to inform them all in person is indicative of their intimacy.

Sunday's trip to ManYoo should concentrate minds and players such as John Terry, whilst mourning their master's exit, will need little encouragement to prove that Chelski are still title contenders.

The flip side is that ManYoo have the opportunity to inflict a crushing, and possibly mortal, blow.

Martin Jol
The Tottenham boss will have done that rarest of things on Wednesday night: celebrate an Arsenal win. Yet just when the Dutchman must have thought that his job security had increased on account of Juande Ramos' awful audition as a Big Four vanquisher, he has another mighty foe to fear.

Tottenham would represent a retrograde step for Mourinho but it is difficult to foresee him settling for being a part-time boss (which is what an international manager is) and his family is settled in London. And only a special manager could make Tottenham a top-four outfit...

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Youngster Hobbs set to partner Carragher in central defence

2007-09-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

Teenager Jack Hobbs is standing by for his Liverpool debut with the full backing of Anfield lynchpin Jamie Carragher.

The 19 year-old, signed from Lincoln little more than a year ago, is expected to play in central defence at Reading on Tuesday in the Carling Cup.

It is a case of 'needs must' for Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, with key defender Daniel Agger out injured.

Talented youngster, or just another Gabriel Paletta?

But Hobbs will likely be part of a Liverpool side full of youngsters and squad players for the third-round tie.

Hobbs has been elevated to first-team squad training in the past week.

And Carragher, who could well be asked to shepherd the Portsmouth-born youngster through the match, says of his possible partner: "Jack has done very well and we have been impressed with him in training.

"He came in from Lincoln and was a massive part of us winning the Youth Cup two years on the trot.

"Now he is captain of the reserves and he deserves his chance. That is what the club is about, giving young lads the chance to play alongside our foreign players.

"People sometimes complain about the amount of foreign players coming in, so it is good that a good English lad can get the chance to show what he can do.

"He deserves his chance, but that is up to the manager. Someone will be asked to play alongside him, but the lad might end up helping one of us through the game.

"Everyone needs help, no matter who they are. If he gets his chance I am sure he will grab it and do well."

Benitez wants to utilise several fringe players at Reading, but will not want to weaken the side to the extent that he could gift the tie to the Berkshire club.

It is also expected that Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva will figure in the tie, as well as winger Sebastian Leto.

The likes of Moroccan midfielder Nabil El Zhar, fit-again Fabio Aurelio and young defender Emiliano Insua could also be involved.

Benitez is also expected to include Yossi Benayoun, who missed Saturday's goalless draw with Birmingham because of the Jewish day of atonement.

Peter Crouch and even Fernando Torres, both on the bench against Birmingham, could also play.

Benitez said: "For some of the players who are not playing too much in the Premier League or the Champions League, this will be an important competition for them.

"It is a trophy I would be happy to win, the first season I was here we got to the final. I would like to be in the final again.

"Some of the senior players will have to play against Reading, I will not change the whole team. It depends on who is available and what cover we have in certain positions.

However, it seems unlikely that Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano or Dirk Kuyt will be in the squad while Jermaine Pennant has a hamstring injury.

"But I would hope to give players who are not playing regularly in the Premier League the chance to play."

Benitez added: "It is clear, though, that with a big squad we need to see some of the other players.

"They must be involved because you cannot have them in the squad and then tell them you will not use them in any game.

"If we stay in the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League they will obviously have more chances to play."

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Jose-less Chelsea crash to defeat

2007-09-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

Jose Mourinho must be having a good laugh somewhere out there. Having just pocketed a cool 20million pounds to leave the managerial post, he just watched Chelsea's new puppet, Avram Grant lose 2-0 to Man United. A superb glancing header from Tevez in the dying minutes of the first half, as well as a late late penalty from Saha in the second half secured the points for the Red Devils.

However, the result aside, Chelsea can count themselves very unlucky, as they gave it a right go for the first 30 minutes. It was an open, end to end encounter and i'm sure fans from both side as well as the neutrals were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Probably the referee was also enjoying the match, so much so that he decided to get in on the action.

Mikel Jon Obi was sent off for a purported two footed lunge on Patrice Evra. The decision was obviously a pile of horse fart. There was no consistency in the referee, as Joe Cole's nasty challenge on Ronaldo was ridiculous and could have caused some serious injury. But in keeping with the inconsistency, there was not even a yellow card for Cole. After the sending off, there could only be one winner and the final score reflected that. But as i said earlier, Chelsea are unlucky, and they had many positives from the game.

The combination of Malouda and Cole and the left seems to be getting better and better. Sheva's confidence also seems to be growing and overall, matched Man United's play for the better part of the first half. Chelsea looked strong all over the park and passed the ball well, as they have over the 'Jose' years. However, for Avram, there's lots of work left to do. Playing reasonably well in your first game in charge, albeit against the defending champions, is a good step, but the league is all about playing well every single game, against different type of oppositions and situations.

So, does Avram have what it takes to do everything that Jose has done, but with the added expectation of making Chelsea play attractive football AND win the champions league?

Ferguson: I'll miss Mourinho

2007-09-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sir Alex Ferguson admits Jose Mourinho's dramatic departure from Chelsea this week came as a major disappointment to the Manchester United manager.

Mourinho was due to take his side to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Ferguson's United before the Portugese unexpectedly left his post on Thursday.

Ferguson attempted to play down the impact of Mourinho's absence on the weekend clash between the two teams expected to challenge most strongly for this season's Premiership title.

But while the United manager insisted the make-up of the Chelsea side will be unaffected by the changes in the dug-out, he admitted Mourinho's replacement, Avram Grant, faces a daunting task attempting to emulate the success of his predecessor.

And Ferguson, who acknowledged he will miss the chance to extend his three-year rivalry with Mourinho, believes the English game will be poorer for the loss of the controversial former FC Porto coach.

"Jose leaving is a disappointment for the game," Ferguson said. "He was terrific for football and terrific for Chelsea and I enjoyed the competition with him.

"He was something fresh and new for the game. But I wish him well and think he has been good for the game.

"He has been fantastic, unparalleled success and it's a test for whoever replaces him. At the moment it's Avram Grant and it's a big test for him.

"But we are looking at ourselves and not at Chelsea and what it does to them doesn't matter to me. We are quite focused on our own game because we are still playing Chelsea and it's still the same group of players and that in itself is a challenge for us.

"It's always a difficult match and if you look at the record of the two teams over the last few years, there's nothing in it. Very few goals are scored and it's always a tight, tight game."

Both teams have made an indifferent start to the campaign compared to recent seasons and while victory would inflict a major blow on the clubs' hopes of quickly regaining ground, Ferguson attempted to play down the significance of the fixture.

"When you play Chelsea it's always a going to be a big game," he added. "I don't think it's going to be a defining moment in the league but nevertheless it's still going to be important but at the end of the year you may say it was an important result.

"The recent results have given us a platform for Sunday. Both Chelsea and ourselves are in the same position, we have both dropped points.

"We dropped our points early on and now we have had four wins in a row and if we get to that consistency we'll get back to our normal position up towards the top of the league."

United have no new injuries following the midweek victory over Sporting Lisbon and the manager must decide on his striking options after the return to fitness of Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha.

Ferguson admitted that with Carlos Tevez and Anderson still battling to reach their peak, he is undecided about which pairing represents his most potent strike-force.

"I don't know what the best attacking option will be because I don't have any evidence at the moment and what we will do on Sunday may be different to what we will do in the following game," the manager said.

"If Saha stays fit, Tevez gets his fitness and Rooney is going to get fitter it gives me tremendous options. We are on the road to finding these things out.

"What it does is give me a far better squad and more ammunition to work with and that's really important because we maybe didn't have it last year."

Written by AFP

(Courtesy: www.fifa.com)

Mourinho: "If you ask me if I'll miss Manchester United's fans, Liverpool's, I say yes."

2007-09-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

LONDON (AFP) - Jose Mourinho claims his next job will not be in the Premier League but he would love to return to the English top-flight later in his career.

Mourinho's three and a half year reign at Chelsea came to an end on Thursday when he left Stamford Bridge after a series of rows with the club's owner Roman Abramovich.

The Portguese coach insists he will work in one of Europe's other major leagues next.

A reported clause in his 12 million pounds contract settlement with Chelsea that forbids him from managing another Premier League team for a set period ensures there is no chance Mourinho will be back in England for a while.

"For sure I want to come back but I don't want it in my next step," he told Sky Sports News. "I don't want to leave Chelsea's and go immediately to another door.

"I think my next step must be another country, must be another experience, another football.

"But I am 44, I hope I have many years in front of me. I love English football and I don't change a single word I've said before.

"In football terms, a fantastic period of my career. I want to be back but not the next step."

Chelsea described Mourinho's departure as a mutual decision that suited both parties and the former Porto manager admitted his exit was probably the right thing.

I'm doing this interview to clear up the one doubt," he said. "I was not sacked and I did not close the door on Chelsea.

"I'm not saying I'm happy to be leaving, but I think it was for the best. I will miss so many things. Obviously at the top is the Chelsea fans, who loved me.

"But not only the Chelsea fans, all of the fans in the country were fantastic. They booed me, sang songs about me, but only because I was different to the others.

"If you ask me if I'll miss Manchester United's fans, Liverpool's, I say yes."

Mourinho, who insisted he does not want to manage the Portugal national team at present, even had praise for two groups of people who made his life difficult at Chelsea.

"One or another frustration with referees doesn't stop me saying England has very good referees, honest people," he said. "Some of them have called me.

"And the English press, if you understand their philosophy, it was very funny to play their game. Salt and pepper every day.

"Other managers, great people, top people. Very supportive and very nice to me."

Written by: AFP

(Courtesy: www.soccerway.com)

Barcelona players defend under-fire Ronaldinho

2007-09-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

MADRID (AFP) - Ronaldinho's teammates at Barcelona have rushed to defend the Brazilian striker after he was jeered by fans earlier this week and accused once again by the Spanish press of being under form.

The 27-year-old ace was whistled by a section of the Nou Camp as he was substituted during the second half the 3-0 Champions League home win against Lyon because of what they felt was a lacklustre performace.

Ronaldinho did not look pleased about being replaced for the third straight match by Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard.

"I don't understand why they whistled him. He's the best in the world and a key player in the team," said Argentine striker Lionel Messi.

"He's an incredible player," added Barcelona's new recruit Thierry Henry who acknowledged that Ronaldinho had not been in top form during the team's recent away matches.

The Spanish sports press appear unanimous on their appraisal of Ronaldinho's dip in form, but some appear to believe his star is on the wane.

El Mundo daily on Friday said Ronaldinho is no longer "untouchable" while Barcelona-based La Vanguardia said the player was "in torment".

The toothed one seems to have exhausted his bag of tricks

Ronaldinho could be paying the price for his reported behaviour off the field too. Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia added that 48 hours before Barcelona's goalless draw against Osasuna at home on Sunday Ronaldinho was seen at a a famous nightclub in the city.

"No one understands" the decline in form of the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award, conservative daily newspaper ABC added.

Written by: AFP

(Courtesy: www.soccerway.com)

Jamie Redknapp to bring glamour to Chelsea?

2007-09-21T02:46:00.000-07:00

In possibly the most mental development in the whole Chelsea saga, Jamie Redknapp has apparently been approached to become Avram Grant's assistant to bring 'glamour and popularity'.

Roman Abramovich and Peter Kenyon have obviously been impressed by Redknapp's 'expert' opinions on Sky Sports, where he regularly comments that Frank Lampard (his cousin) is a "top, top player".

The Daily Mirror says that Redknapp is wanted for his 'pin-up' qualities as Grant is obviously not a big hit with the ladies.

In other Chelsea-related tomfoolery, newspaper reports suggest that not only is Didier Drogba going to follow Mourinho out of the club, but so are the "devastated" Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Florent Malouda and Paulo Ferreira.

If they're not already thinking about leaving, they will be when they hear that Redknapp is on his way - except Lampard, who is, of course, a "top, top player".

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Chelsea not entertaining? You mad?

2007-09-21T02:42:00.000-07:00

Anyone who thinks Chelsea have not played entertaining football under Jose Mourinho must be barking mad.

I saw them play some fabulous football - games like the 4-2 win over Barcelona come to mind - in the days when they had Damien Duff and Arjen Robben down the wings and Frank Lampard bombing forward from midfield.

It's wonderful if you manage to combine success and entertainment and for two years Mourinho did exactly that. He won back-to-back titles and they were undoubtedly the best team in the country.

To then push two players onto him and expect him to fit them into a settled and successful side was unacceptable. You wouldn't find Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger or Rafa Benitez having to put up with a non-football man deciding who they should buy.

That's the kind of thing that happens at foreign clubs but it's never been the culture at English clubs - until now.

I can't help but feel sorry for Jose. Maybe I shouldn't because of the money he has had to spend, but I do feel sympathy for anyone who wins two titles and follows that up with a runners-up spot and a cup double in a difficult season, and then is told that he should be providing more entertainment.

One thing I can guarantee Chelsea fans is that their next manager will not win back-to-back league titles. So they should prepare themselves for disappointment. His was a phenomenal record and the league will be a poorer place for his exit.

I was as shocked as anyone when I heard the news. It just seems the strangest timing. I could have understood if this had happened in the summer if the rifts were so deep at the club, but to wait until a few games in - with Chelsea losing just once - is just odd.

It's difficult to know what's in Roman's mind because he never talks, but you get the feeling that there are too many chiefs whispering in his ear.

The club has completely misjudged the fans if they think that they were unhappy with Mourinho as manager. You can bet your bottom dollar that nobody will be happy if the new manager comes in and they start playing lovely, slick, free-flowing football and start getting beaten.

Not every successful team can play fantastic football all the time - especially if you suffer bad injuries as Chelsea did last season and at the onset of this season. Manchester United weren't playing fantastic football the season before last either, but Sir Alex was allowed a relatively poor spell and then came back stronger last season. Mourinho has not been given that chance.

And talking of United, I would say that Chelsea have actually played more expansive football this season than Sir Alex's boys. They have just recorded their fourth 1-0 win on the trot and they've come a long way short of the fantastic football that was predicted after last season. Sometimes football is funny like that. But sometimes non-football people don't understand.

(Courtesy: www.football365.com)

Jol makes no promises to 2 goal hero Defoe

2007-09-21T02:38:00.000-07:00

Tottenham boss Martin Jol could not guarantee Jermain Defoe a starting place for the weekend despite the striker coming on and scoring twice against Anorthosis Famagusta.

Spurs were in control against the Cypriots in the first leg of the UEFA Cup first-round clash at White Hart Lane when Defoe came off the bench and made an instant impact.

The 24-year-old, who was not in the matchday squad at the weekend against Arsenal, chipped home the first and curled into the top corner in stoppage time for the second.

However, Jol would not guarantee him a place in the starting XI against Bolton on Sunday.

"Robbie Keane could have....

(Click here to read on)

Elmo to take over as Chelsea Manager.

2007-09-19T20:37:00.000-07:00

Now that the hot seat is vacated, i wonder who will be the one to take over. Eclipsing the 'Special One's' accomplishments will be no mean feat. However, a few interesting characters could possible make it. But there can be only one, at it will be Elmo.

You either love him or hate him. I think Chelsea will love him. Firstly, he's a puppet. The likes of Abrahimovich, Kenyon and Arnesen will have no problems in pulling this puppets string. No more disgruntled behaviour, no more snide insinuating remarks. No sir, this little red thing will love nothing more than to have his every actions controlled no. Furthermore, Elmo is so loveable, from the small baby size porportions to the cute tone of voice, and the way he enjoys doing the simple things like flying kites, will bring some much needed feel good factor back to the Chelsea camp.

A winning combination

Under Mourinho's time, there was a feeling that the club was very much closed minded, and that everyone else is inferior. They lived by their own rules as well as imposed their rules on others. But with Elmo at the helm, they can CONTINUE to do all that, but people won't care so much because Elmo is cute.

As for the players, well, they are all world class players anyway, why would they need someone with the tactical nous and man management skills of Mourinho? Are you telling me that if you lumped 11 world class players on a pitch, they wont have the intelligence to sort themselves out?

All in all, i don't see any other more qualified candidate other than Mr.Elmo. He is the puppet for the job.

Mourinho sacked? Good news for Tottenham!

2007-09-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Soccernet has 2 contrasting headlines on their mainpage this morning. But nevertheless, its major news, but one which i think was coming for a long time. I was actually planning to pen something about how i think this season would be Mourinho's last, not because he was lacking as a manager, but because the club was not allowing him to BE a manager.

Moaninho sacked or leaves on own accord?

No one can question his ability as a manger. Winning the EPL in his first season with a team comprising of great players that were NOT his own players. What i mean by this is that he largely inherited that team, but only brought in 1 or 2 players. Then winning it again in his 2nd season was even more impressive, as it is no mean feat to retain the EPL crown.

But of late, many things seem to be happening at Chelsea which seem to be undermining Mourinho's control of the club. Niggly comments from the likes of Peter Kenyon especially. Also the appointment of Frank Arnesen as sporting director was highly suspicious. It is widely acknowledged that Mourinho never wanted Ballack and Shevchenko, and they were probably brought without his consent. These 2 aging superstars was somewhat contradictory to the type of players he brings in; young and talented.

In any case, Mourinho is now out of a job, but don't expect this to last for long. The Board Of Directors of top clubs around the world would have noticed, and least of all the Tottenham Board.

Mr.Nice guy may be out of a job soon

Mourinho would fit in perfectly at Tottenham. All due respect to Martin Jol, who has done a tremendous job there, but now they need someone to take them to the next level, and few would doubt that the Special One has got what it takes.

Mark Clattenburg, you da man!

2007-09-18T00:55:00.000-07:00

Phew! What a weekend of EPL action! The pick of the bunch was the London derby, Tottenham vs Arsenal. It was an interesting battle, from every which way and angle you look at it. On one side, you had Martin Jol, his days at Spurs apparently numbered, and would a relieved man if he could knick all 3 points against their bitter rivals. Then there's the English vs Foreign Legion debate, with Tottenham the English team, comprised of a lot of top, young English players versus Arsenals skillful (and just as young) foreign stars.

Adebayor doing well to impersonate Thierry Henry

At the end of it all, we didn't really experience anything new. Arsenal whooped their rivals again, but after having to endure some pretty luckless Tottenham finishing. Adebayor and Fabregas are fast becoming stars. And yet again, Tottenham are shown to be a team with a soft belly. They do a lot of things right, but lack any real killer instinct and winning desire. Oh, did i mention that Arsenal are now sitting pretty at the top of the pile?

You go girl!

However, the Man Of The Match should be awarded to referee Mark Clatternburg. He made top notch decisions throughout the game and can't be faulted for anything. There was a 'flow' to the game, as it swung from one end to the other. Wonderful to watch!

Referees these days always get criticized for their mistakes, but sometimes, we have to stand up and give praise and acknowledge when they've had a good game. So, kudos to you Mr.Ref! Just don't f*** up the next game.

Interestingly though, a Cardiff fan thought Mr.Clattenburg should NEVER ever refereee again albeit about 7 months back.

Drogba proves to be the better buy

2007-09-17T01:52:00.000-07:00

Didier Drogba and Djibril Cisse both arrived in the English Premiership around the same time. Drogba just had his biggest season (03/04) with Marseille, scoring 29 goals in all competitions before sealing a then record signing for £24 million to Chelsea.

Liverpool meanwhile, under the guidance of Gerard Houllier had long courted the services of Cisse, who was the consistent top scorer for Auxerre. In 166 appearances, he scored an amazing 90 goals. Above all, he was blessed with tremendous pace and an eccentric flair. The move to Liverpool was finally sealed for £14 million in time for the 04/05 season.

Chelsea need some Drogba love

Fast forward 4 seasons later, and Drogba has clearly proved to be the better buy. He has become a player the Jose rarely drops from the side. Even the arrival of Shevchenko had no effect to Drogba's place in the side. He has become so integral to everything about Chelsea, that his current abscence from the side has become detrimental to their success.

Cisse on the other hand, had not become the superstar that everyone thought he'd be. He's obvious qualities; speed and flair; was apparently all he had. Sure, he could outrun anyone on the pitch, but it was glaringly useless as he did not have the footballing brain to make full use of it. Liverpuddillians world wide expected to see a Thierry Henry of their own. All they saw was a 'Jason McAteer' on steroids. In 2007, Cisse moved back to France, to continue his professional career with Marseille.

I guess breaking a leg really doesn't help

Breaking it AGAIN, doesn't help either

Who wants a free Liverpool jersey?

2007-09-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine (lets call her Cheryl) recently bought for her boyfriend (lets call him Redondo) a Liverpool jersey for his birthday. Little did she realise, that my friend Redondo was actually a closet Chelsea fan. He started coming out of the closet when Chelsea starting winning stuff.

Well now Redondo the ultra fanatical ex-closet Chelsea fan is stuck with a jersey he can never wear, unless Liverpool win the league and he converts into a Liverpool closet fan. Thus he has given me the jersey, but alas it just isn't quite my size. Click the flash slideshow below to check out the jersey for yourself!

So, what can i do with a Liverpool jersey i can't wear? Give it away la!!! But there's a catch, you gotta do something to win it. All you got to do is :

Be the FIRST to accurately predict the score of Liverpool's upcoming Champions League game versus FC Porto.
Send your answers to offsidela@gmail.com with the subject giveaway20070917. The game will be shown on Astro Channel 81 (ESPN), 2:30am 19th September 2007.
If you are a fellow blogger, do let me know your details (nickname,blog URL) so i can give you some shameless publicity as well.
If you do win it, Offsidela! would like to request (we say request, but we really mean demand!) a little shameless publicity in return. Nothing fancy really, maybe 20 posts about how we're better than Soccernet, or how Offsidela! has improved your sex life. Simple stuff.

Its easy isn't it? So, send your emails in now and i will announce the winner sometime next year. Ok, not next year, but on the 21st September 2007. You're probably asking why i can't announce it the very next day, right? Well, i've got a real life you know! I can't be spending all my time sorting through your emails now can I? If you have any questions, feel free to comment.

P.S By the way, this is only for people within West Malaysia. Don't worry, you don't have to pay for any shipping rates etc etc bla bla bla. Sorry to you peeps over in Sabah/Sarawak, but its kinda pricey to send stuff to you guys.

Which idiot voted for Phil Neville?

2007-09-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

The recently concluded online polls was quite surprising. Generally, the public was generally split and undecided on who occupy the other center midfield berth and partner Stevie G. 44% voted for Hargreaves while another 44% voted for Barry. When you think about it though, Hargreaves had proved himself during the World Cup, and Barry's recent endeavours in the 2 Euro 2008 qualifiers, perhaps it is not quite so surprising.

Personally, i believe Hargreaves should get the nod, because he has had more experience in top flight football ; German league, Champions League at his time with Bayern Munich. Also, he is more suited to playing the tough tackling anchor role, whereas Barry is more of a defensive playmaker type. When playing against top top teams, a defensive playmaker is a luxury England cannot afford.

However, the bigger question is, WHICH IDIOT VOTED FOR PHIL NEVILLE?

Maybe Phil voted for himself

Lucky Lucky Liverpool

2007-09-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

If Liverpool are to win the league this season, they are going to have play much better against the likes of Portsmouth. The Pompey team gave them a right go, and if not for better finishing, would have comfortably won the game 3-0. Liverpool were also grateful for the 'penalty-saving-specialist', Jose Reina who expertly saved Kanu's penalty. The decision to give the penalty was a good one. Arbeloa was clearing tugging the jersey of the Nigerian in the penalty box.

Ref Mike Rileypoints to the spot (Courtesy: ESPN Soccernet)

Portsmouth have proved capable of nicking points of the BIG 4 time and time again. Though the commentators were ranting (as usual) that Benitez rang the changes yet again, i don't see what the big deal is. Benitez ALWAYS rotates his squad. Is it really such a big surprise that he does rotate them? Perhaps the bigger surprise is that Benitez made such a big surpise against a strong Pompey team. No doubt the Liverpool starting lineup would comfortably win against weaker opponents, but Pompey are not to be taken lightly, and perhaps Benitez should have played his big name players; Torres and Gerrard.

On paper, the Liverpool starting lineup was a pretty formidable one, and though they started well, Liverpool's play fizzled out after the 30th min mark. From then on Portsmouth gained ascendancy and were the much better team. Much of this was due to Papa Bouba Diop's excellent midfield play, that totally nullified any threat coming from Alonso and Sissoko.

Should the Liverpool Manage have started with Gerrard and Torres?

It was only when Torres, Gerrard and Babel were introduced, that Liverpool started to swing the game back in their favour. Arsenal has now leapfrogged them into top spot, and with Man Utd and Chelsea beginning to pick up the pace, Liverpool can ill afford to give away points like this.

Top 5 reasons why Heskey should be Owen's prefered partner

2007-09-14T02:59:00.000-07:00

In light of all the recent debates and endless riots occuring in all over the world, i have devised a very simple TOP 5 list, which should put an end to this madness. Silly football fans, read this and be enlightened.

Heskey is the man to partner Owen.

5. Statistically, England (a.k.a Owen) score more goals if partnered with Heskey

4. His middle name is Ivanhoe. Any opponent would turn into pubescent whiny girls when faced with a player by this name.

3. He wins a lot of free kicks. in key areas. (actually, he just falls around a lot,but the referees think "Golly, that oaf is so big, he can't possibly be falling down on his own...*PHFEEEEEEEEEEEET!!! Freekick!!!*)

2. He can push around opponents until they wither into pubescent whiny girls ("REF! he pushed meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Someone hug me please!)

1. He isn't naturally butt ugly like Crouch or Rooney.

McFadden's goal, brilliant or just lucky?

2007-09-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

I've had the chance to watch it a few times now, and i'm convinced it was just a lucky goal. If anything, maybe it should be an own goal, credited to the French keeper, Mickael Landreau. If he had a stronger hand, that shot would have sailed over the cross bar.

Thought, not to take anything away from McFadden, it was a brilliant strike, the turn, touch and shot. Watch it again for yourselves.

He dribbles like Ronaldinho, crosses like Beckham and passes like X.Alonso

2007-09-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Seeing is believing.

McFadden steals victory from the Frenchies!

2007-09-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Brits suffered a mixed bag of results last night. England, Wale s and Scotland all record impressive victories while the only blemish was the Irish games. Both Ireland and Northen Ireland lost their games to Czech Republic and Iceland respectively. Northend Ireland somewhat surprising loss to Iceland was the more unexpected of the results. The Icelandish players seem to be on a sort of mini revival, after comfortably holding Spain last week to a 1-1 draw.

Though the headlines will all be stuffed with praises for the English demolision of 'Mother' Russia, i think Scotland's result was by far the best and most impressive. They went to France with a simple plan, to frustrate and hold their more illustrious opponents. It worked to a charm, with the French unable to break through the stubborn Scottish defence, even with them camped in the Scottish half for most of the game. The stats says it all:

	France	Scotland
Possession	72.00%	28.00%
Shots On Goal	7	2
Corners	16	3

Enigmatic Everton striker, James McFadden, provided the Scots with that little bit of luck, skill and flair upfront, as he scored a glorious 30 yard drive to stun the French crowd. Now the Scots top Group B, and have silenced all doubters. Can they do a Greece and go on to win the Euro 2008 without having any big name players?

Its official, Robin van Persie is a big whiny baby!

2007-09-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

Thats right folks, its unanimous. Its indisputable. The readers have voted, and i have no reason to believe that they are all anti-Arsenal fans. They might be Blackburn fans though.

In my previous post, i questioned van Persie's maturity and whiny-ness, and 83% of you have agreed, van Persie is a BIG WHINY BABY. All hail the truth that is the online polls!

So what if only 6 people voted? Its still 83% damnit!

Sir Alex Ferguson attacked in London!

2007-09-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, aren't people who have sir's infront of their name, supposed to be somekind of knight of the crown, or some mumbo jumbo like that? So Sir Fergie, why didnt' ya whip out your sword and smite down those that would oppress you. Probably left it at home with the missus eh?

Anyway, reports say Sir Alex is still alive, but only suffered injuries to his leg. Hmm, was the attacker trying to bite Sir Alex's leg? Maybe the attacker was a dog. A drunk scouse dog no doubt.

Crouch or Heskey? Why not both!

2007-09-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Your eyes do not deceive you. Yes, you read right, i think England should play BOTH Heskey and Crouch. I've given credit to McClown in my previous post, for being bold, and as they say, fortune favors the bold, so again i make reference to this phrase. Can McClown be twice a fortunate man and make England play a bold and outrageous attack, and WIN?

Think i'm full of shite, and have played too much Championship Manager, don't you? Well, you may be 100% right, but think about this formation:

--------------------Robinson---------------------

Richards---Terry---Ferdinand---Cole

-----Gerrard----Hargreaves----Barry--

-----------------------Owen-------------------------

--------------Heskey------Crouch-------------

Defence:
The defence is nothing new. Robinson is only playing because there is no one better. Calamity James is prone to blunders in the big games.

Midfield:
I've opted for a 3 man midfield, anchored by the tireless Hargreaves. With him sitting in that, he is able to provide cover while Gerrard and Barry bomb forward. Furthermore, Gerrard and Barry are very comfortable drifting to wide positions and creating other angles of attack

Attack:
Some defenders say its impossible to play against Heskey as he is just so powerful. Other say that because of Crouch's gangly height and awesome skills, he's just as unplayable. So why not stick them both in front? Then let little Mickey Owen have a free role and let him roam wherever he pleases while the opposition defence gets battered to death by the combined power of Heskey and Crouch.

It is also possible to mix and match this strange looking attack. Owen can be moved up front to partner Crouch with Heskey dropped to the bench, while someone more accustomed to playing in the 'hole' like Joe Cole and Rooney can be given that role.

Ultimately though, i think its a pretty decent idea, but realisticly speaking, McClown should stick with the original team and tactics that won so comprehensively against Israel. Maybe if things go horribly wrong, then he can try out my idea. As they say, if it aint broke, don't fix it.

Kedah reaping the rewards for investing in kids!

2007-09-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

PETALING JAYA: The seeds of Kedah's unprecedented treble were sown almost three years ago. And on Saturday night, it all came to fruition.

Having already bagged the Super League and FA Cup, the youthful Kedah side added the Malaysia Cup to their trophy cabinet when they defeated Perak 3-0 in the final on Saturday.

But this wasn't achieved overnight.

In fact, the Canaries' youth development programme took root when coach Azraai Khor Abdullah took over from Brazil's Mirandinha midway through the 2004 season.

“When I first took over, we were just three days away from the start of the Malaysia Cup tournament (in 2004),” Azraai said on Saturday.

Despite the short period of time, Azraai managed to guide Kedah to the Malaysia Cup final that year which they lost 0-2 to Perlis.

“It was clear that we did not have the material, especially the youth. So we decided to kick-start our development programme in the state,” said Azraai.

“We got our officials and coaches together to work out a proper development programme and to ensure that it was efficiently implemented, right from the youth set-up to the President's Cup and state sides.

“We used the same type of programme for all three levels. That way, the players were able to make a smooth transition from one level to another....

(Click here to read on)

Credit where credit is due, and Kedah Coach, Azraai Khor Abdullah and his back room staff deserves all the plaudits. Because of him, Kedah have shown a matured and committed effort to bringing up the kids, and are now reaping the rewards, having just won a historic treble. Its just proved what everyone has been saying in this country for years, that we need to start with kids, that Malaysia must have a long term plan. Not just any long term plan, but a comprehensive and cohesive plan that will be enforced.

Kedah should be the template for Malaysia's success. Kedah has shown what a team can achieve with good long term planning.

Will Datuk Azzuddin be the one to lead Malaysian football back to glory?

2007-09-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Sometime this week, it is expected that Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad will be announced as the new Secretary General of FAM. The other 2 candidates, Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat, the current FAM disciplinary board chairman, and FA of Selangor (FAS) secretary Hamidin Mohd Amin, apparently don't have a prayer, as Sultan Ahmad Shah (the president) favours Datuk Azzuddin.

Datuk Azzuddin (Courtesy: thestar.com.my)

Even so, the dude has a footballing background, having played for the national team in the '70s as well as the Armed Forces for 9 years. Furthermore, after retirement he became an independent member of the FAM, disciplinary board chairman for three years and at one point, was also the referees’ chairman.

His last footballing stint was as manager of the Malaysian U-20 squad for the Asian Championships 2004, where Malaysia qualified for the q-finals for the first time.

So, on paper, one can say that our FAM president deffinately has found his man, someone with "brains", as he so eloquently put it. Lets hope Datuk Azzuddin can foster a golden era for Malaysian football and bring back the golden years.

Click here to read the full article on thestar.com.my

What? Khairy Jamaluddin new Deputy President of FAM?

2007-09-10T01:27:00.000-07:00

I am totally shocked and outraged by this. All i want to know is, what does our esteemed Umno Youth deputy chief know about developing and promoting soccer in this country? What are his qualifications? Can someone enlighten me?

While incumbent Datuk Raja Ahmad Zainuddin lost by just two votes in the hotly-contested battle for the post of vice-president, Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin won one of the two deputy presidents’ posts unopposed. (Courtesy: thestar.com.my)

Well, i think the journalists probably wondered the same thing as i did, but this was the only response that Khairy provided:

“We have a team with plenty of new faces. I would like to work with them to find ways to improve football,” he said. (Courtesy: thestar.com.my)

Wow. Mind Blowing stuff dude.

Overall thought, there was not much changes as His Royal Highness Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah has been returned as the president of the FA of Malaysia (FAM) for the 2007-2010 term. The other new faces, who filled up the vice-presidencies are Datuk Che Mat Jusoh (president of the Terengganu FA), Affandi Hamzah (vice-president of the Kelantan FA), Ahmad Mohamad (deputy president of the Johor FA) and Datuk Gulzar Mohamad (council member of the Sarawak FA). (Courtesy: fam.org.my). I guess those dudes should know a thing or 2 about football, so all is not lost.

Arsene's Arse-anal statistics

2007-09-10T00:51:00.000-07:00

	P	W	D	L	F	A
Total*	621	361	145	115	1115	563
Percentage	100	58.13	23.35	18.52	1.8	0.91

The table above makes tough reading, but simply put, in Arsene's 621 games with Arsenal, he has won 361 games, drawn 145 and lost 115. All in all his Arsenal side have scored 1115 goals while conceding 563. It gets even more interesting when we convert these stats to percentages, as you can see.

"Arsene who?" was the headlines when he arrived in '96 (Courtest: arsenal.com)

Overall, he has won approximately 60% of his games whils only lost 20%. The average goal per game ratio is 1.8 while average goal conceded per game is 0.91. My first reaction to this was, " only 1.8 goals a game?". Its like saying on average, Arsenal wins their games 2-1.

Click here to view every other stats of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal career.

P.S apologies to all Arse fans out there for the subjectline, i just couldn't help it. I'm sure you've heard worse than that before anyway :)

Ryan Giggs marries partner

2007-09-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

United winger Ryan Giggs married long-term partner Stacey Cooke in Manchester on Friday afternoon. Ryan and Stacey tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, joined by close friends and family - including their two children, Liberty and Zach.
Everybody at Manchester United would like to offer their congratulations to the happy couple. (Courtesy: manutd.com)

This Stacey Cooke seems unlike most high profile wags. For starters, i can't seem to find any titillating pictures of the the lass. Apparently everyone seems to rate her as the best of the wags. Oh well, i guess its good for the Welshman that his wife doesn't try to be in the spotlight so often. Here's wishing the newly weds all the best!

Best of the wags? (Courtesy: ryangiggs.org)

Who said girls can't play football? (mad skillz!)

2007-09-09T21:13:00.000-07:00

These girls have amazing skills, skills i'd love to have! I've seen a few women football matches, albeit not the whole 90 min, but just 15-20 minutes, but i've been very impressed. One aspect which i've really been impressed with is their shooting. I've had this mentallity before that women players can't shoot for nuts, but after watching the Germans, i must confess, i wouldn't wanna be hit by their shots. I'd like to see more women footy on TV. Astro, you listening?

Want to be great? Then learn from the Great Zizou

2007-09-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

They don't get any greater than Zinedine Yazid Zidane a.k.a Zizou. I find it ironic that he has such an exotic name, to match his sumblime exotic skills. I guess he was born to play the beautiful game.

The big man himself

Mum's and Dad's, if you have kids that have ambitions of becoming great football players, then show them everything you can find about the great players, like the clip below. No doubt, just watching alone won't make them overnight sensations, but it will inspire them. I can watch this over and over again. I wished my parents showed me stuff like this when i was young.

There isn't anything left to say about ZZ, that hasn't already been said about million times over, but i'll say it anyway. ZZ was a joy to watch, able to ghost past opponents with ease and spray delightful passes around the pitch. Couple that with his ability to score goals and you can begin to understand what made him such a great player.

P.S Just don't show them the headbutt video :)

Kedah walks past Perak to record historic treble!

2007-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Kedah thumped Perak 3-0 last night in Bukit Jalil to record a historic treble. I wonder if they can go on to dominate Malaysian football for the next few years. They certainly have a good coach, and a young talented team.

First half goals from Mohd Khyril Muhymeen and Marlon James deflated a Perak side, who didn't help themselves when skipper Ahmad Shahrul Azhar was sent off just before half time.

2 goal hero Marlon James

Injuries to first choice strikers Khalid Jamlus, who limped out in the 30th minute and Guinean Keita Mandjou, meant that the Perak frontline was not effective as it was.

With a comfortable 2-0 lead, Kedah just played on the counter attacked and finished off the game 10 minutes before the final whistle, with Marlon James nailing the coffin shut on Perak's cup hopes.

Kedah head coach, Mohd Azrai Khor Abdullah was notably delighted with his teams performance, "It is not easy to score three goals against Perak - what more in the final of the Malaysia Cup.The players showed speed and power in the game against Perak and they also demonstrated a lot of discipline. " (Courtesy: FAM)

Fortune favours the bold, eh McClown?

2007-09-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

England 3 - Israel 0

Lets face it, Israel didn't even put up a fight. That begs the question though, was it down to England's dominating display, or did Israel just suck? I think its the latter. England will not find it so easy on Wednesday against Russia, who are a top side.

Nevertheless, McClown got a few things right in this game. As the saying goes, fortune favours the bold, and so fortune favoured McClown last night.

The inclusion of Heskey paid off handsomely, as he and Owen paired off as effectively as they did in their Liverpool days. Owen was comfortable, and afforded so much space and room to manouvere because of all the work that Heskey put in.

Barry and SWP show some love (Courtesy: ESPN Soccernet)

Gareth Barry's also revelled in the center midfield position next to Gerrard. Asked to play the playmaker/anchor role, he didn't look out of sorts on the big stage and provided the delicate through ball that slipped 3 Israeli players to arrive at the feet of Owen, who spun and scored a wonderful goal. However, come Wednesday, I suspect Owen Hargreaves may take his place back in the center midfield, as he well should be. Russia won't be as impotent in their attacks as Israel were.

England made full use of the flanks, with the Cole's rampaging down the left and SWP and M.Richards bombing down the right. A.Cole and M.Richards were in the Israeli half so many times, that they probably thought England had 4 wingers on the field. In essense, England really stretched the Israeli defence, and caused all sorts of mayhem.

So, few questions that still require answering, but only McClown and his circus will be able to answer it all:

Should the primary center midfield position be Gerrard/Hargreaves, followed by Lampard/Barry?
Should Micah Richards keep his place if Gary Neville is fit and available?
Should Heskey be dropped when Crouch returns on Wednesday?
Why does P.Neville still get international caps for England?

Italy vs France? YAWN

2007-09-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

They have some of the biggest names in Football. The likes of Viera, Ribery, Anelka, Henry make up some of the talent on show for the French. Their Italian compatriots are no less distinguished; del Piero, Pirlo, Gattuso, Cannavaro and Nesta. However, the very thought of watching these big stars battle it out, just brings tears to my eyes.

No my friends, not tears of joy, but tears that come when one has yawned too much.

Too often, these games between big names just turn out to be defensive tactical battles. So worried are they of making mistakes, that they simply end up playing like Houllier's one side Liverpool teams. I can just imagine the team talk:

"Everyone behind the ball! Wingers, dont you dare do any winging, just tuck into center midfield! Strikers, we don't need you anywhere near the enemy goal, just run back and get behind the f****** ball! We're gonna whoop them 5-0 with an amazing tactic like this boys!!! They'll never know what hit them!!! HOO HAAA!!"

Ah yes, international football, it is a cauldron of intense excitement. Yay. Frankly speaking though, i'd rather watch Mexico.

They may not have won much lately, but they will be soon. Awesome open attacking team play, and they do not have big stars, other than Rafael Marquez, but they do have some players with the potential to be superstars; Nery Castillo and dos Santos.

Prediction: Italy 1 - France 1

Why do they call him Fat Frank? Is Frank really Fat?

2007-09-07T01:34:00.000-07:00

Tis the eternal question which has been doing ballerina dances in the nether regions of my conscious and subconscious thoughts. No, i don't have wet dreams about Fat Frank. Shuddup, stop snickering!

Back to the question! Is Frank really fat? I never really got a good view of him without his shirt (that sounds so gay), so i did what any sane person would do. I Googled.

These are the search phrases i used:

fat frank
frank lampard abs
frank lampard shirtless

As i was typing that last google phrase, a strange sensation swept over me. Then it hit me as i was viewing the pages and pictures. I felt gay but not the happy kind. "I hope my colleagues don't see me looking at this picture of Fat Frank's naked upper half!" Hahah! But anyways, after much googling, and much ALT-TABS on my keyboard, i have managed to discover the truth! Behold my readers:

Hmm, i've scrutinized every inch (is that the only way i can word this?) of these 2 pictures and all i have to say is:

If he is fat, then i wanna be fat too!

However, this isn't the end of this truth seeking adventure. No laddies, there is one shocking image that i discovered, that could explain the legend of the 'Fat Frank'. Dare i say it, tis the Holy Grail of Football. Just seeing and knowing the truth will enlighten you and give you the peace of a million wise men.

Click here, if you dare!

Does McClown really need Gerrard to beat Israel?

2007-09-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

The news on most soccer pages these past week has been about whether or not Gerrard will play on Saturday. Now that Lampard has been 100% ruled out, this question has taken gargantuan like significance in the grand scheme of all things "ENGLAND", well at least in terms of football.

But honestly, lets compare the world rankings:

12 England

33 Israel

Ok, i would have expected Israel to be much lower than that, so that is indeed news for me. Every knowledgeable fan knows that football on the international stage is very very tight and tricky. Rarely do we see cricket like (e.g. 32-12) scores, but more like the usual 1-0's, 2-1's bla bla bla.

What this means is that international games should never be taken lightly, no matter the opponent. Even more so for a country that is ranked 33 in the world.

Possibly McClown's initial expression when posed the question "Can England beat Israel without Gerrard?"

But, do Israel really have the players to beat top sides? Well, other than Tal Ben Haim and Yossi Benayoun, i'm hard pressed to find anyone that are in the 'world class' standard of a few of the English players.

Furthermore, the English players all play in the best league in the world, the EPL. We expect NOTHING LESS than a Liverpool v Derby scoreline, don't you agree?

But wait, hold on just a minute there partner. 'World class' English players you say?

BOLLOCKS.

I think everyone has come to the realization that the England team are just severly overrated. The only world class players in my opinion are Gerrard, Rooney, Ashley Cole and Terry (and possibly Hargreaves). Lampard is the most overrated of them all. I still don't know why he gets called Fat Frank, but he should be kept on the bench as backup for Gerrard. I won't go into detail about that, as i need a whole new different post to discuss that.

Center midfield is where majority of games are won and lost. This is not to say that the other players are insignificant. Quite the contrary actually. They are important cogs in any well oiled machine, but the machine is utterly useless if its Engine (center midfielders) are a bunch a fat pussies.

England need the explosive power and determination of the Liverpool captain.

With Hargreaves also in doubt, i shudder to think who will be the center midfield combination; Carrick & Barry? Now there's a 'World Class' partnership there, eh? There's a combination that gonna overpower a country ranked 33 in the world, eh?

McClown knows this, and is shitting bricks in the anticipation that Gerrard will be fit and available. He might go so far as to take a big risk and give him those pain injections. McClown knows he can't afford anything other than a comprehensive win, and with Gerrard in the side, that fantasy become that much closer to a reality.

McClown needs Gerrard.

England needs Gerrard.

Mascherano finds his mojo

2007-09-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

Its been a strange but no doubt fairy tale 6 months for Javier Mascherano. At West Ham, he was unable to even get a game, but cue Rafa Benitez and he brings him to Liverpool, where Javier gets to play in the Champions League final.

Benitez was desperate to sign the man Maradona dubbed 'The Monster', so much so that he paid a personal un-announced visit to Javier's flat, and mesmerized him to join Liverpool.

"Then Mascherano received a knock on the door of his apartment in London's Docklands. It was Rafael Benitez. The Liverpool manager turned up unannounced and wanted to know why Mascherano had chosen the Stadio Delle Alpi ahead of Anfield. Over the next four hours Benitez talked to Mascherano as no coach had talked to him before, and the 22-year-old was utterly mesmerised. He also changed his mind. He would now try to join Liverpool."

(Courtesy: The Independent)

In his latest interviews with Liverpoolfc.tv, Javier appears to have found his mojo, and is extremely happy with his new team mates and club

"I'm very happy. I got to play in a lot of games for Liverpool last season, and important games too. I played in a Champions League final - amazing. Also the semi-final against Chelsea, that was special. It all happened so quickly for me, so yes, I'm very pleased. Things couldn't have gone better."

"When you are not getting a game for West Ham and the Liverpool manager is talking about you, you can't believe it. It is for this reason I am very happy here."

"I arrived at West Ham and was in another country with another language and a different culture. It's a lot easier here because the manager is Spanish. I can talk with him, though not a lot because he likes to speak English. The lessons are going well, but I find that here in Liverpool the people are hard to understand. Scousers - it's very difficult." (hahaha)

"I can hear them sing it and it makes me feel good. Like you said, I've been here just six months, so to have the fans sing my name already is just great. The Liverpool fans are fantastic – I have never seen anything like them at Anfield. No other fans sing like them, it's incredible"

"Carra is talking and Jermaine Pennant is always happy. He is very funny."

"I don't have one. Arbeloa has one: we call him 'Vareta Fly'. I don't know why, I think that's just what they call him in Spain. We call John Riise 'Ginger'"

(Click here to read the full interview with 'Monster')

Zlatan, a clone of Zidane gone wrong?

2007-09-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

If it wasn't for his tempermental and volatile nature, Zlatan Ibrahimović would probably be up there are the greatest strikers of this generation. He is a bit Zidane-ish in his stature, as in physically he is a huge monster, but with an amazing array of bamboozling skills.

He's actually Swedish, and if you're wondering, "Whats up with that funky un-Swedish name?", the answer is he is of Bosnian and Croation descent.

Its interesting to note that during an international match against Holland on August 18, 2004, Ibrahimovic injured fellow Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart, which led the Ajax side to disfunction after van der Vaart accused the Swede of injuring him on purpose. This led to Ibrahimovic's sudden sale to Juventus on August 31, 2004, the final day of the summer transfer window. A classic example of his attitude and temperament.

Nevertheless, his skills and talent are undoubtable. Take a peek at his dazzling skills in this clip below

I'm gonna be watching this clip a few times, memorizing every twist and turn, and hopefully i'll be able to reproduce it on the futsal pitch the next time i play. I'll end up either dazzling all my friends or falling flat on my a**.

P.S thanks for the clip Sangy!

van Nistelrooy, a talismanic goal machine

2007-09-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

Ruud van Nistelrooy actually started out as a central defender, then progressed into center midfield, and finally converted into a center forward at FC Heerenveen in 1997. The following year, he signed for PSV Eindhoven and scored and amazing 31 goals in 34 games.

Following these exploits, Alex Ferguson came knocking, but that relationship didn't last long, and now the Dutch goal machine is banging in the goals for Real Madrid. Manchester United never looked the same after he left, and it is even more apparent this season. With Ferguson recently admitting that he made a mistake in letting Jaap Stam go , i wonder if he will admit similarly to letting van Nistelrooy go.

The Dutch master, doing what he does best in the La Liga

There are a few flaws in his game, such as his lack of pace, and unwillingness to work the channels, but dont let these distract you from his major strengths. All in all, van Nistelrooy has scored 289 in 433 games, which equates to a goals per game ratio of approximately 0.6 ! Any team would love to have such a player on their side.

To find out what drives the man, what makes him tick, do check out this article on uefa.com. Its a great insight into a great player.

I'd pay to watch these women play football!

2007-09-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

I realise this video is a tad sexist to women football players out there, but well, in my defence, there has been worse. Please don't hate us because we like to watch scantily clad women muck about in the mud chasing a ball.

Liverpool branded ugly team by Real boss

2007-09-05T09:26:00.002-07:00

Bernd Schuster seems to have started the psychological warfare early this round. My guess is that he can get away with such arrogant comments, because his team just whooped Villareal 5-0. Now, Villareal are no pushovers, and anyone who watched that game knows that they played some great stuff as well, but were just outplayed by Real's devastating counter-attacks.

Ah, lets get this psychological party started eh?

But Mr.Schuster doesn't seem to have watched any of Liverpool's game this season, as he says this:

"Liverpool rely on an unattractive style of football. They are an ugly team to play," Schuster told The Sun.

"Look how they gave Barcelona a going-over last season, when they knocked them out of the Champions League.

He probably didnt notice Liverpool outplay Chelsea, stick 4 past Toulouse and slam 6 goals past Derby County.

I wonder if the goateed-one a.k.a Rafa Benitez will respond to this, but in all likely hood he will say the same old thing , "Real Madrid are a good team, and Mr.Schuster is a good coach, but i don't want to talk about other teams, i prefer to talk about my own team".Its either that or...

"Burn in hell motherf*****!!!".

Anyone willing to wager a pint on a "Real Madrid vs Liverpool" Champions League Final? Ah, Football, tis why we love thee.

The Rivaldo one was hillarious!

2007-09-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

Stressed out at work? Then check out this montage of the funniest soccer clips i've seen in a while. The Rivaldo one was hillarious, but some of the goalie bloopers just are just too wacked out to believe! Oh, and special mention to the outrageously queer ref. Good stuff!

Chelsea in Crisis? Oh, don't be daft.

2007-09-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

At the end of last week 2-0 loss to bogey team Aston Villa, Chelsea owner Roman Abrmovich rose from his chair, took a moment to shake hands with another VIP, walked up a short flight of stairs and out of public view.

Cue the media mayhem! Roman Rift with Jose! Jose to be sacked! Crisis at Chelsea! Fat Frank denies being overweight!

Is this the end for us?

Perhaps the English media need to be introduced to the meaning of the word 'ridiculous'...

Definitions of ridiculous on the Web:

pathetic: inspiring scornful pity; "how silly an ardent and unsuccessful wooer can be especially if he is getting on in years"- Dashiell Hammett

absurd: incongruous;inviting ridicule; "the absurd excuse that the dog ate his homework"; "that's a cockeyed idea"; "ask a nonsensical question and get a nonsensical answer"; "a contribution so small as to be laughable"; "it is ludicrous to call a cottage a mansion"; "a preposterous attempt to turn back the pages of history"; "her conceited assumption of universal interest in her rather dull children was ridiculous"

farcical: broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce; "the wild farcical exuberance of a clown"; "ludicrous green hair"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Now we hear that poor ol injured Ballack has been dropped from the Chelsea Euro squad. He deffinately wont take any part in the group stages, but should he recover in time, he could take part in the knock -out phases and beyond.

Cue media mayhem! Jose rift with Ballack! Ballack to be sold! Abramovich likes eat his booger!

Could these be the last we will see of the 'puckered' one?

Oh for the love of flying wet chapati's, have these sports journalists really nothing else to write about? Every little event seems to get picked up, turned inside out upside down, chewed up and spit out to reveal something entirely alien from the original event.

Ah, the EPL, tis why we luv thee.

FAM football awards, who's yer favourite player?

2007-09-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

The 2ND 100PLUS-FAM NATIONAL FOOTBALL AWARDS are back and the top 5 nominees for each category are below. I wonder why they have to have 2 different MVP awards, one for local and one for foreign? Is it because if there was only 1 MVP award, none of our locals would make it into the list?

------------------------------------------------------------
HOW TO VOTE:

1. SMS vote for Best Goal Keeper

Please type:

GKTEAMNAME and send to 39988

E.g.: GK PERAK HAMSANI

Keywords:
DF (Defender)
MF (Midfielder)
FW (Forward)
MVPL (Most Valuable Player – Local)
MVPF (Most Valuable Player – Foreign)
CH (Coach)
YP (Young Player)
------------------------------------------------------------

FAVOURITE GOAL KEEPER

1) Mohd Nasril b. Mat Nourdin (Perak)
2) Mohd Sharbinee Allawee b. Ramli (Terengganu)
3) Mohd Suffian b. Ab Rahman (Telekom Melaka FC)
4) Mohd Helmi Eliza b. Elias (Kedah)
5) Mohd Farizal b. Marlias (Kuantan Port/Shahzan Muda)

FAVORITE DEFENDER

1) Victor a/l Andrag (Kedah)
2) Norhafiz Zamani b. Misbah (Pahang)
3) Mohd Marzuki b. Yusof (Terengganu)
4) Muhamad Kaironnisam Sahabudin Hussain (UPB FC/My Team Perak)
5) Nanthakumar a/l Kalliappan (Perak)

FAVORITE MIDFIELDER

1) Mohd Hardi b. Jaafar (Telekom Melaka FC)
2) Muhammad Shukor b. Adan (Selangor)
3) Ahmad Fauzi b. Shaari (Kedah)
4) Azlan b. Ismail (Perlis)
5) Ahmad Shukor Azhar b. Sofian (Perak)

FAVORITE STRIKER

1) Muhammad Khalid b. Jamlus (Perak)
2) Akmal Rizal b. Ahmad Rakhli (Selangor)
3) Mohd Safee b. Mohd Sali (Selangor)
4) Cik Hishammudin b. Hassan (Terengganu)
5) Hasmawi b. Hassan (Kedah)

MVP (Most Valuable Player) – Local

1) Muhammad Shukor b. Adan (Selangor)
2) Ahmad Shahrul Azhar b. Sofian (Perak)
3) Victor a/l Andrag (Kedah)
4) Mohd Hardi b. Jaafar (Telekom Melaka FC)
5) Muhammad Kaironnisam Sahabudin Hussain (UPB FC/My Team Perak)

MVP – Foreign

1) Phillimon Chipeta (Perlis)
2) Marlon Alex James (Kedah)
3) Keita Mandjao (Perak)
4) Walter Ariel Silva (Johor FC)
5) Marin Mikac (UPB FC/My Team Perak)

FAVORITE COACH

1) Ahmad Yunus b. Mohd Alif (Terengganu)
2) Stephen David Darby (Perak)
3) Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah (Kedah)
4) Mohd Azuan b. Mohd Zain (Johor PBT Pasir Gudang)
5) Thaiyanathan a/l Kanapathy (Polis)

MOST PROMISING PLAYER

1) Mohd Noorfarhan b. Muhamad (Terengganu)
2) Mohd Sabre b. Mat Abu (Kedah)
3) Safiq b. Rahim (Selangor)
4) Mohd Aidil Zafuan b. Abdul Razak (Negeri Sembilan Naza)
5) Mohd Zaquan Adha b. Abdul Razak (Negeri Sembilan Naza)

Malaysia Cup Final: Perak v Kedah

2007-09-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Kedah are bang on course for a historic treble, after a fine 2-0 win over Terengganu. They always say 2-0 leads are tricky, but it was good enough for them, with Nelson Martin and Hasmawi Hassan scoring the goals.

Kedah: Mohd Helmi Eliza, Shafizan Hashim, A.Victor, Cornelius Hugging, V.Thirumurugan, Ahmad Fauzi Shaari (Bunyamin Omar), Nelson Martin (sabri Abu), K.Soley, Mohd Khyril Muhymeen (Badrol Bakhtiar), Hasmawi Hassan, Marlon James.

Terengganu: Mohd Sharbinee, Rosairil Asrul (Ismail Faruqi), Fabio Flor, Marzuki Yusof, Ahmad Shahril Zakaria, Saiful Rusly, Zairo Anuar Zailani, Mohd Shahrul Ezrain (Ashaari Shamsuddin), Mohd Norhisham Hassan, Che Hishamuddin Hassan (Abdul Manaf Mamat), Sharlei Miranda.

Perak on the other hand, didnt' have it quite so comfortable against Sabah, but they came away with a 3-2 aggregate win. Perak had former national striker Khalid Jamlus to thank for getting them there, as his 2 goals ensured Perak held out for the 2-1 final scoreline.

Perak: Mohd Nasril Nourdin, Chan Wing Hong, Vedran Kukoc, K. Nanthakumar, Ahmad Azlan Zainal, Ahmad Shahrul Azhar, Shahrulnizam Mustapha, Danial Fadly, Yusri Che Lah (Ahmad Fakri Saarani), Khalid Jamlus (Wong Sai Kong), Keita Mandjou (R. Surendran).

Sabah: Irwan Jamil, Jul Amri Muhamad (Azrul Danzah), Ronny Harun (Radzi Hussin), Ahmad Tarmizi Saiban, Dragic Dalibor, Redzuan Radzy, Feliberto De Oliveira (Bobby Gonzales), Mohd Munir Amran, Rosdin Wasli, Zainizam Marjan, Charles Obi.

Free soccer stuff for your web/blog

2007-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Just thought i'd share some cool soccer stuff you can add onto your web or blog for free. An example of this is the 2 latest and up-to-date league tables i have just added on my blog, as you can see on the right side pane.

Check out soccerway.com for other cool stuff you can add.

P.S Hmm, its getting crowded on the east side aka the right pane.

The seem to play better with 10 men, eh?

2007-09-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

I remember the commentator mentioning that since the time Arsene Wenger took over until now, 69 Arsenal players have been sent off. However, they are the only team i've seen that play better with 10 men than with 11.

Arsene's studiously plotting and scheming

In a peculiar way, i wonder if this has made them better at handling the loss of player during a match. Take for example last weekends game against Portsmouth. No doubt, they were already leading 2-0 at that time, but Portsmouth are no pushovers. They're a decent team and are capable of upsetting any one of the Big Four on their day.

However, it didnt happen. Through the mercurial Kanu they did get a goal back, but it was a one in a million fluke goal. At that point, you'd think Portsmouth would go on to batter the Arsenal goal. But the complete opposite occurred.

Arsenal continued to dominate, and scored another goal to make it 3-1.

Arsene's simply overjoyed that another one of his players got sent off

Ultimately, i believe that Arsenal are the only team that can play better with 10 men, because of their style of play, and the players they have always had. Arsene's preference for players who have nimble footwork and lighting quick makes it easy for them to pull everyone back and just hit the opponent on the counter attack.

The thought of playing against an 11 men Arsenal is daunting, but unless you are leading the match, playing against an Arsenal team with 10 men, is simply impossible.

Online Football Manager

2007-09-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

One game that i would recommend is Online Football Manager. I think its a good game to start in if you're a beginner. And its free. The learning curve isn't that steep, and after a while, it gets pretty addictive.

The main interface

My Liverpool squad

Basically all you need to do in this game is login once (or twice if your really bored) a day and setup all your tactics, formations, substitutions and trainings. If you see any player you like on the transfer list, you can do that too, or put some of your players for sale.

Match statistics, makes for proud reading if you'd just thumped your opponent

As the matches are played once a day, you can't really do much but wait until the game is over and the league updated. For us in Malaysia, we are fortunate that everything gets updated everyday after 9am. Sometimes, this is my only reason to get to work on time. :)

More match statistics

Individual player ratings from the game

I've played about 11-12 seasons now, playing many different teams from the likes of Fulham, Middlesborough, and finally Liverpool. If you decide to use a smaller team, i find that the 4-5-1 formation works wonders against the stronger teams, home AND away. Use this formation together with:

counter attack
slightly defensive
Defenders stay back
Midfielders support defence
Attackers attack only

The tactics screen. I've got my Liverpool team playing to a fluid 3-4-3 passing game

Also, i recommend anyone who tries out this game, to make full use of the 'training' facility. Generally, players at the age of 24 and below are the easiest to train, and more often than not, you can train them to be god-like within a few weeks.

Savage: Arsenal are hypocrites

2007-09-04T04:57:00.000-07:00

Gunners striker Robin van Persie attacked Mark Hughes' side after the Premier League clash at Ewood Park in August, claiming that a Rovers player had trodden on Cesc Fabregas' neck, and that Blackburn players had 'crossed the border' of acceptability in their play.

Arsene Wenger went on to claim after the match that Rovers had a 'desire for violence'.

Relations between the two clubs have been strained ever since the bruising 2005 FA Cup semi-final, when Andy Todd conceded a penalty with a forearm smash on van Persie.

And now the claims of both van Persie and Wenger have riled Savage, who said: "Wenger is a great manager and van Persie is a great player but they give as good as they get.

Click here to read on

Lets not kid ourselves here. Savage, as we all know, stays true to his name, and as i've mentioned in a previous post, Mark Hughes has built a very combative Blackburn team. They deffinately give more than they get, especially when Arsenal come visiting.

van Persie: talented striker or whiny cry baby?

Its common knowledge anyways, thanks to Sam Allardyce's Bolton, that Arsenal stop playing when they get roughed up. Its a tactic, and Blackburn are merely guilty of making use of that tactic.

What do you think? Does van Persie have a point or is he just a big cry baby?

Steve Mclaren, bold or desperate?

2007-09-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

The shock recall of Emile Heskey and the surpise inclusion of Joleon Lescott has deffinately shocked everyone. So whats gotten into Mclaren? Has he lost his marbles or does the inclusion of these 2 players actually bode well for England?

The Good

Emile Heskey has actually scored 5 international goals, which is more than the combined total for Alan Smith, Jermaine Defore and Andy Johnson. (Off course, its worth noting that even their combined number of caps is no where near Heskey's 43 caps, but we don't really care about that do we?)
Heskey's in not really to score goals anyway, but mainly to partner Owen up front. Owen always scores more, and plays better when partered with a big unselfish brute. Heskey's frame will cause a lot of problems for opposition defenders and allow Owen more time and room to do damage.
Heskey's actually having a stormer of a season, and looks hungry
Lescott has proved his class time in an average Everton team, making the transition from First Division to Premier league look seamless. He's even outscoring Andy Johnson at Everton. Is there any other English defender (who isnt retired or injured) that is playing better and more consistently than Lescott?

The Bad

Heskey can't score for nuts, and he tends to fall down on his a** a lot and look like a clumsy bull.
Can England cope without both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, with a strikeforce of Owen and Heskey?
Is there anything bad to say about Lescott, other than this picture below:

Wenger - Why Fabregas reminds me of Paul Scholes

2007-09-03T00:21:00.000-07:00

"I made a tape of him last year and you wouldn't believe how many chances he had, in some games he had three! When he was a young boy he scored goals and that's a nice disease to have, sometimes it disappears but it always comes back when you are mature. He has a lot of characteristics of Paul Scholes I think. Frame, intelligence in the game, passing ability, knowing when to go in the box. He's only 20, people forget that."

Fabregas (left) celebrates with team mate Adebayor (right)

(Click here to read the full article)

Personally, i think little Fabregas has really improved this season, especially in terms of leadership. He's shown immense maturity (which everyone has talked about to death), and more than that, he is scoring goals now. Its going to be important that he continues to do so, especially when they have no 20+ goal a season striker a.l.a Henry.

On a side note, though Fabregas has a long way to go to emulate the achievements of Scholes, there is something that he has which Scholes lacks.

Fabregas can tackle.

Liverpool or Arsenal to win EPL? Don't be daft.

2007-09-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this a few times before. Tis been a funny ol EPL this season. The defending champions Man United appear to be faltering and stumbling along, but not too far behind the leaders.

Zat Knight powering in Aston Villa's first goal (Courtesy http://soccernet.espn.go.com)

Meanwhile, having just lost 2-0 to a fast improving Aston Villa side, Chelsea have subsequently also lost the oppurtunity to leap frog Liverpool and Arsenal into the top spot.

As it stands, they are level on points with the merseysiders (Liverpool, Everton) and Arsenal, but having played a game more.

Liverpool's new number 9 couldn't have had it any easier against Derby (Courtesy http://soccernet.espn.go.com)

As for the leaders, well well, Liverpool and Arsenal are both playing sublime attacking football, and seemed to have added a little bit extra into their game as compared to last season. I don't think either managers would have predicted that they would be the ones topping the tables this early in the season.

Liverpool have complemented their stout defence and strong midfield with the potent attacking forces of Torres, Babel, Voronin and Benayoun. Arsenal meanwhile, seem to have added an extra dimension to their game play. In contrast to previous seasons, when Arsenal would have passed their opponents to death, they now seem more willing to deliver early crosses as well as taking long range shots.

Even with the dismissal of Senderos, Arsenal continued to dominate (Courtesy http://soccernet.espn.go.com)

All in all, it makes for great EPL watching for all fans and neutrals alike. However, many people seem to be getting carried away with this exciting start. Suddenly, Chelsea and Man United have already blown their chances of winning the league.

This is total flying chapati's and cow dropping nonsense. Its only 5 games into the EPL. Get a grip people. Especially all the Liverpool and Arsenal fans, and dare i say it, Everton fans. Man United and Chelsea may be faltering, but never doubt them for a minute. They have consistently shown in the past that they have what it takes to be champions, and perhaps they've decided to add a little bit extra 'spice' to the EPL, by giving some of the other teams a head start.

EPL Watch: Bolton vs Everton

2007-08-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

Of all the matches being played on Saturday, this one intrigues me the most. Its one of those matches which aren't so clear cut.

Bolton are on a high, only because of that emphatic 3-0 rout of Reading last weekend. Winning that game, after successive defeats definately put a cork on the bad mood spreading around the Bolton camp.On top of that, they managed to keep a clean sheep, which is good news for Bolton fans, as in their first 4 EPL games they let in 8 goals! Perhaps little Sammy Lee's ideas are finally beginning to take shape.

"I am very happy with my form, the club and the manager so signing a new contract was not a difficult decision"

The biggest thing going for Bolton right now is the parternship of Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf up front. There is no doubting that individually, they are both very good players, especially the sulky Frenchman. I don't think they ever got paired together during the Sam Allardyce days, but they seem to have struck up a very good understanding, and the Reading defence simply had no answer to their flair and skill. Additionally it comes at a great relief to everyone at Bolton, that Anelka has signed an extension to his contract to keep him at the club until 2011. This will also give the Bolton players a big boost ahead of the match.

Everton have experienced some contrasting fortunes, specificly in the transfer market. The very public snub by Manuel Fernandes, who after agreeing to move to Everton, conveniently made a u-turn and signed a deal with Valencia. Looking at the bigger picture, with an attitude like that, he probably would not have lasted long in the Evertonian team.

The bright spark in the Everton camp though, would be the latest signing, Ayegbeni Yakubu.

For 11.25 million pounds, he already looks to be a quality signing, and he is deffinately not an 'unknown' quantity, and he has shown he is a consistent goalscorer, scoring an average of 13.25 goals a season. Moyes will be expecting more goals than that off course, and more than that, hoping that he will be the perfect partner for Andrew Johnson.

Predictions: Bolton 2 - Everton 2

Malaysia, Merdeka Cup champions after 14 years!

2007-08-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

Malaysia 3 - Myanmar 1

14 years people, 14 bloody winless years.

I won't bother with the match report, as you can click the scoreline above to read that. However there were some interesting pre-match quotes, that i think captured the current mood in Malaysia football:

“But there’s promise for the future because Malaysia have a lot of talented young players and I hope that the youth coaches are given more faith to do their job. ” – Dato’ Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad, the general secretary of the FAM.

“I’m on a high especially when I saw the look on the Malaysian fans when we beat Singapore – they were very pleased with our performance. I hope that we can give our supporters more reason to come and cheer the team in the final. - Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak, Malaysian striker.

(Click here to read the entire article/quotes)

Congratulations, to everyone involved for this success. If there is anything to be learn from this though, is that we should focus on this current team and ensure their steady and progressive developement. Also, as the general secretary of FAM highlighted, we should trust our younger local coaches. But most importantly, we should not get carried away and shower them with property or other forms of monetary incentives, like what usually seems to happen in this country when someone wins something.

I think all the sports men and women in this country, should look to Nicol David, and follow in her footsteps. She got where she is, and continues to stay where she is (which is the No.1 female squash players in the world in case you didnt know!) by working hard and staying humble.

A template for success

In a recent interview on ESPN Sportcenter, i remember Nicol always mentioning that she is always learning, and always improving her weaknesses, even from players whom have already retired, with the sole intention of becoming a complete player. And to think, she is already the No.1 player in the world, and all she can think about is getting better.

Back to football l, i just hope everyone at FAM gets with the programme. I for one, would love to see more developement at the Youth level.

Sunderland crash out, Liverpool power through

2007-08-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

Surpise, surprise. A premiership club, Sunderland got whooped by a first division side, namely Luton Town. The scoreline doesn't make great reading for Sunderland fans

Luton 3 - Sunderland 0

In Sunderland's defence though, they did put out a weakened side, even resting their new star goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, probably in view of their next game, against Manchester United no less!

Consistency in rotation = consistency in performance?

Last season everyone was berating Rafa and his rotation policy, but little did they realise that he only rotated his team as much as Mourinho and Ferguson. The difference was, that Liverpool just didn't win as much. Fast forward to this season, and everything is going to plan, and not a pip squeak from anyone about rotation. Still early days though

Liverpool 4 - Toulouse 0

One could say, with a name like Toulouse (to lose?), they were destined to lose.

There will never be another babyfaced assassin quite like him

2007-08-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

The baby faced assassin strikes !

If any players deserves a testimonial match, its Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The man has guarenteed himself legend status with the Old Trafford faithful for all his 126 goals. The one which he will be most remembered for was that winning goal in the 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich.

Here was a player, that everyone liked, including opposition fans. Maybe it was his humble attitude, never complaining, or maybe its just his baby faced looked. Whatever it was, i feel sad for the dude, to end a career like that, because of injury but not every player gets to end their career on a high, and do a 'Zidane'.

He may be 34, but he still looked extremely fit and i'm sure ManUtd will miss him, especially this season where they need someone of his class, skill and natural predatory instincts.

I can't believe that he has played for ManUtd for 11 years now! How time has passed, it still feels like I've just watched him play for the first time, and now he has retired.

Off side la!

The Living Legend that is Ryan Giggs

The Dissapointment that is Robinho

Liverpool 1 - Everton 1

Welcome back to fantasy football!

A titanic battle at Anfield ends all square

Liverpool stumble...AGAIN!

AC Milan tries to deflect attention away from Dida

Celtic suspended, Dida suspended for overacting

Barry finds his feet

The Real Reasons Raúl Will Not Play For Spain

Rafa criticism just has to stop

Bolton striker Anelka relishing UEFA Cup challenge against Bayern

Cristiano predicts poor season for Blues

Yes, Henry misses England

Superb Elano Blumer fits the bill for Sven-Goran Eriksson

Real win again as Barca go second

Tottenham show their quality

Liverpool can't pass for nuts

Highlights: Steaua 0 - Arsenal 1

B. Sathianathan: MY FEET IS FIRMLY ON THE GROUND

Education Minister waives SPM for U-19 players

Liverpool in crisis? Oh dont be daft.

Sven's City playing like potential champions

Benitez looks at 'bigger picture' in rotation row

The pyrotechnical area is not for me, says the new Keane

Overseas plans for Malaysian U-16 team, AGAIN!!

WENGER: English game losing soul

Rafa wants Torres protection talk, not rotation talk

Injured Ricardinho tells Cisse: I´m suing

Real Madrid overcome battling Betis to regain top spot

Patience finally paying off for in-form Almunia

Crouch: He's doing magnificent!

Old Trafford is Europe’s top stadium - but Anfield is best for atmosphere

Cottbus stunned by Klose encounter

Magic Messi leads Barca to route of Zaragoza

Azrai: Now for the AFC Cup!

Man Utd boss Ferguson: 1-0's could get me sacked!

Man Utd Opposed To Grant Operating Without A Licence

Michael Mifsud punishes Man Utd kids

Street Smart Sneijder Wants Madrid To Attack

Huntelaar: Ajax Miss Sneijder

Guti: I Am A Creator, Not A Scorer

Liverpool, Arsenal win convincingly to reach fourth round of League Cup

Why Wenger fears his dark side

In an exclusive extract from the Arsenal Opus, an 850-page history of one of England’s proudest clubs, Arsène Wenger talks about his ongoing battle against a lifelong fiery temper

Rafa blames England for Gerrard slump

The Mourinho Exit Winners And Losers

Youngster Hobbs set to partner Carragher in central defence

Jose-less Chelsea crash to defeat

Ferguson: I'll miss Mourinho

Mourinho: "If you ask me if I'll miss Manchester United's fans, Liverpool's, I say yes."

Barcelona players defend under-fire Ronaldinho

Jamie Redknapp to bring glamour to Chelsea?

Chelsea not entertaining? You mad?

Jol makes no promises to 2 goal hero Defoe

Elmo to take over as Chelsea Manager.

Mourinho sacked? Good news for Tottenham!

Mark Clattenburg, you da man!

Drogba proves to be the better buy

Who wants a free Liverpool jersey?

Which idiot voted for Phil Neville?

Lucky Lucky Liverpool

Top 5 reasons why Heskey should be Owen's prefered partner

McFadden's goal, brilliant or just lucky?

He dribbles like Ronaldinho, crosses like Beckham and passes like X.Alonso

McFadden steals victory from the Frenchies!

Its official, Robin van Persie is a big whiny baby!

Sir Alex Ferguson attacked in London!

Crouch or Heskey? Why not both!

Kedah reaping the rewards for investing in kids!

Will Datuk Azzuddin be the one to lead Malaysian football back to glory?

What? Khairy Jamaluddin new Deputy President of FAM?

Arsene's Arse-anal statistics

Ryan Giggs marries partner

Who said girls can't play football? (mad skillz!)

Want to be great? Then learn from the Great Zizou

Kedah walks past Perak to record historic treble!

Fortune favours the bold, eh McClown?

Italy vs France? *YAWN*

Italy vs France? YAWN