Poor Devils…

Just when I thought it would be a 2-horse race between Chelsea and Man U for the EPL title, the results over the weekend had thrown the race wide open for a 3rd team to come into the equation… Arsenal.

It was one of those rare occasions last night that I was rooting for Liverpool. I thought they might just ”turn a corner” against the Gunners after welcoming Gerrad and Torres back into the team (even the ever-absent Aquilani). But instead of turning, they overturned… no thanks to Glen Johnson, who is fast accquiring the habit of putting the ball into his own net on a consistent basis.

While it effectively eliminated the Reds from this year’s title race ( nothing new here), it dawned on me that Arsenal is just 3 points away from Man U and with a game in hand. As if playing catchup with leader Chelsea (just 3 points, fortunately) is not tough enough, we still have to watch our backs for the young Gunners.

Seems like Fergie may need to open his purse for some summer shopping after all.

As much as I hate to admit it, Owen and Berbatov just don’t cut it, despite the occasional goals. We need someone like (gasp!) Ronaldo who can turn those tight games around with a moment of magic. Oh…. how we missed the Portugese Peacock…

Rooney has been excellent… but there is only so much he can do alone. 

Fantasy Football

As I am taking part in my company’s 5-a-side football tournament on Friday, just thought of coming up with a fantasy 5-a-side team. Feel free to come up with your alternative squad if you have one ( some sort of a readership test… haha)

Shay Given (Ireland) Goalkeeper

I wanted Iker Casillas, but I am restricting myself to a player per country. Considering Given’s consistent performance this season, he is my pick for the goalkeeper position.

Andreas Iniesta (Spain) Defender/Playmaker

Initially, it was to be Cannavaro in as a straightforward defender. But I thought in 5-a-side games, the “defender” is also the playmaker, so I pick Iniesta, who is able to hold and distribute the ball superbly.

Kaka (Brazil) Midfielder

It is a no-brainer here. The Brazilian is, at the moment, the most complete attacking midfielder in the world, more dangerous and versatile than even Ronaldo. Will be the focal point of my attack.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Midfielder

Another no-brainer. Imagine him and Kaka combining to twist and turn the opposing defence inside out (it is not too hard, since both are playing for Real). And I am counting on him for his rocket freekicks too.

Zlatan Ibrahimovich (Sweden) Striker

In a pure fantasy team, the obvious choice would be Lionel Messi, but I fear having too many dribblers might unbalance the team. So it is the big, prolific Swede as the out-and-out striker. 

Darren Fletcher (Scotland) Reserve

I thought it would be good to have a utility player on my side, someone who can add some grit (read: break some legs) to the already very skilful side.  

 

It has been my philosophy that good football should be all about teamwork (eg: passing the ball around with as little touches as possible) instead of individual brilliance. Now, it may sound painfully obvious, but it is just not easy to do that in practice.

In all my years of watching football, I considered only 3 teams to be true exponents of this philosophy: Brazil, Arsenal and Barcelona.While all 3 possess great players, their main weapon is NOT really in the individual skills of them, but in the quality of their passing.

Sure, it may be breathtaking to see Messi dribbling past 5 to 6 defenders to score, but I think it is no less spectacular and far more efficient to have Iniesta threading a defence-splitting pass through to Messi, who plays a quick one-two with Henry before sliding the ball to Ibrahimovich for a tap in.

*If you wonder why I didn’t mention Man United, it is because while they do play a fast and direct attacking game, their passing is really not as flowing the above mentioned.*  

We Are the Champions!!

While I do not believe we can predict anything, I am still going to make a bold prediction here and I am going to shout it for 7 times. Here goes…

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

Man U will win the Premier League title 09/10!!

It has been my habit to do this for the past 3 seasons, and Manchester United did go on to win on all 3 occassions. Yes, I know logically there is no correlation between the 2, but my irrational brain somehow choose to believe otherwise…. haha…. I mean, what has I got to lose?

Anyway… after Chelsea’s 0-3 win at Emirates Stadium, it looked like the Blues are in pole position to win the title this season, but for anybody who has watched EPL for a certain length of years would know, a 5 point lead is really nothing much to crow about at this stage.

Manchester United has a history (yes, again I know history really counts for nothing in football) of overcoming bigger deficits than 5 points, so no worries here,  come next May, they will be up there, winning their 19th title (eat your heart out, Liverpool)!!

We’ll still be doing this again… sans Ronaldo and Tevez of course.

 

 

 

 

Darren Fletcher

I have never rated much Darren Fletcher as a player. 

He was never blessed with the skills of Wayne Rooney, didn’t possess the vision of Paul Scholes or the flair of Ryan Giggs, and the only reason (I thought) he is even in the team is that he is Scottish.

But he has indeed improve quite a lot over the years, blossoming nicely into a  midfield hardman, breaking up opponents’ play, controlling the midfield and popping up with the occasional crucial goals… like Roy Keane used to.

Tough to imagine that a player of his physical stature could end up in that position, but he has managed it quite well so far. Adding to the skills he has learned in his time as a winger, I dare say he has the potential to surpass the great Keano.

I would dedicate this entry to this underrated midfielder for his outstanding performance and wonderful goal in the 3-0 win against Everton last night.

We missed him in the Champions League final… he could be useful for breaking Xavi and Iniesta’s legs.

 

The Best?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the reigning European and World Footballer of the year based on his exploits for Man United in the 07/08 season. For a winger to score 42 goals in a season were nothing short of spectacular and he was truly a deserving winner.

But the real question is: Is there really such a thing as the best footballer?

It is not a problem in individual sports where the degree of your greatness is tied to the number of trophies you won. Win more titles than everybody else, and you are the best.

But when it comes to team sports like football where it requires the collective effort of a group of individuals, all playing different roles, the line is not that clear.

Look,  we all know that an wonderful player in a mediocre team might fail to win league titles, or score enough goals through no fault of his, but a lesser player (not too much lesser) could benefit from having an excellent midfield or defence to protect his rear while leaving him free to grab the glories up front.

To add to the injustice, defensive or unspectacular players, more often than not, are overlooked in the selection process. 

Let’s face it, whenever we think of a great footballer, we instinctively conjure up images of players like Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo or Messi… players who are flamboyant in their play, players who can dribble their way through a maze of defenders, players who excite us with their spectacular skills.

Seldom would we ever associate “best” with defenders or defensive midfielders. (Goalkeepers, on the other hand, are a different breed due to their unique role in a football game… they are easier to spot)

Of course, defenders like Fabio Cannavaro do get voted, but they are the exceptions rather than the norm. And if they ever get voted, it usually reflects the defensive philosophy of the football team or an inadequacy in their strikeforce (which is not a good thing ).  

It would be better to simply abolish a single Footballer of the Year award, and instead, install awards for all different positions.

In that way, we can make sure nobody goes unrecognised just because of the position he played. While not everybody can dribble like Maradona or bend it like Beckham, not everybody can tackle and win balls like a Roy Keane too.

As the VP of my sec school like to say: “No man is an island”… including footballers.

Unpredictable

Jenson Button, beyond all expectations, clinched the 2009 F1 title. Yes, we have known for weeks that he is the favourite for the crown, but honestly, most of us had only start to believe that midway into the season.

Who would have given a serious thought at the start of the season that the Briton would actually be crowned as champion?  For most, Jenson’s good performances in the initial races were thought to be a flash-in-the-pan, and favourites like Hamiton, Massa, Raikkonen or even Alonso would eventually come good. But the end result just goes to show how we were never that good at predicting.

Button, a “handsome swine”, as what my colleague would call him… no disrepect to the swines.

Inspite of that, I am eternally amused how, over the years, many of my friends had tried to devise a “perfect” methology for football betting. They were totally convinced that there is a secret to beat the system and all they have to do is find it. I am always tempted to agree with them when I see them raking in the bucks, until the proverbial Black Swan hit and they lost everything they won, plus a few more.

In the aftermath, they would almost always tell me how they overlooked certain factors or how their emotions got the better of them or how Ronaldo’s injury did them in… but never would they admit that it was just impossible to predict the result of something as dynamic as a football game.

I mean, football is not something that we can crunch the numbers and derived a scientific analysis out of it. Look, what can we tell when Sunderland beat Liverpool 0-1? Does that mean Sunderland is a better team than Liverpool? (I am tempted to say yes to this)

It just meant Sunderland scored 1 goal and Liverpool did not. For all we know (I didn’t watched the game), Liverpool could be having 99 shots at goal, enjoying 99% of posession (not possible, I know) and failed to score but yet, conceded an unlucky (or lucky, depending on your perspective) on their end. 

If we really read into the stats instead of just the scoreline, we would be able to gain a clearer picture of the game itself, but again, even that would not be enough for us to predict whether Liverpool would win, lose or draw in their next match. But, strangely, for some punters, it would be a sure ”sign” that they should avoid Liverpool in their next away game.

But anyway, I am sure Liverpool will lose their next game, because they will be facing Manchester United, and Owen would score…. haha… Humans just won’t change, would we?     

My prediction of the expression of Liverpool’s players after the coming game against Man United.

We, the Citizen, of Singapore… not EPL.

Make no mistake, I do love Man U, but not t-h-a-t much.

Between supporting Man U and my own country, there is no doubt where my loyalties would lie (it’s with Singapore, just to be sure). As much as I am a huge United fan, I never forget the fact I am a “lifetime” Singaporean too, and IMO, it is a shame for any nation citizen to reserve their biggest cheers for a foreign team instead of their own country.

Case in point:

Years ago,  I had the fortune of catching my Man U heroes live in action when they came over to play a friendly against a Singapore Selection Team.

It was a time when David Beckham was United’s No 7, Roy Keane was still wearing the captain armband, and with the French joker Fabien Barthez still in goal ( he actually played as a outfield player that day in the second half, wearing Becks’ No 7 jersey… some thought it as a joke, but it was really an insult )!! It was THAT long ago…

For the match, I deliberately NOT wear my Man U jersey for that, choosing a neutral colour (black) instead, as I thought I should respect my own nation too, even if it was a just ”Singapore Selection”, not the national team itself.

Anyway, during the match, I only clapped politely everytime Man U scored. But I did stood up and cheered loudly when Indra Shadan went past Jaap Stam (remember him?) to score a equalizer (1-1). Although Singapore eventually lost 1-8, I thought Indra could be proud, as a Singaporean, to score against one of the best club in the world.

It was also heartening to see a small section of Singapore fans who CHOSE to dedicate themselves in rooting for Singapore by donning Singapore colours and waving the national flag.

At least, we would not be giving foreign teams the impression that Singaporeans have no sense of national pride and only love everything ”ang moh”, unlike those infamous sarong party gals.

So don’t give me the crap that “it’s not every day you get to support your favourite club” argument. I’m sure whoever said that would have spent a fortune to buy Liverpool merchadises, saved for months for a ticket to go Anfield and probably built a shrine for Bill Shankly in his bedroom…. if only he would do the same for our national team.

The Lions may have ONLY won the Asean Championship, but still, they are our national flag bearers… not the EPL clubs. 

Cash is King?!

While the rest of the world is still reeling from the financial downturn, it seems that some football clubs exist on a different planet.

After splashing some obscene amount of cash on Ronaldo, Benzema and Kaka, Real Madrid is still able some up with a further $30 million for Xabi Alonso. (Where did they even get those money?)

Once upon a time, they used to take their time to buy just one Galactico per year, but now,  as if the world is coming to an end soon, they are doing all their purchases in one season. Apparently, Barcelona’s success last season must have really hurt the Bernabeu’s pride, and they throwing tonnes of money to heal that wound.

But as all football fans have realized over the years, just because you have the 11 best players in the world doesn’t make you the best team in the world… and football IS a team sport.

Just ask Jose Mourinho. With the amount of money and quality of players under his helm at Chelsea, he never even got into the Champions League final with the club. And ironically, he actually won it with Porto, a club with lesser money and with fewer stars.

Clubs can buy all they want, but as the footballing cliche goes: success cannot be bought (at least not all the time), and I hope Real Madrid and Man City would win nothing this season to prove that point.     

As Mourinho might say: “It is never about the money, it’s all about ME.”

Save of the Day!!

Came across these 2 interesting pictures…

No matter how the devil shoots…

….Jesus SAVES!!

 

Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare
       and from the deadly pestilence.

  He will cover you with his feathers,
       and under His wings you will find refuge;
       His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

 You will not fear the terror of night,
       nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
       nor the plague that destroys at midday.

 (Psalms 93 3:6)

Golden Oldies

Michael Owen, in England colours.

I was incredulous when I read that some Liverpool fans actually think of Michael Owen as a “traitor” after his move to Manchester United.

Hmm… if my memories served me well, it WAS Liverpool that sold him to Real Madrid in the first place. And when he wanted out with the Galacticos, which club came forward to rescue him from his miseries in Spain? Not his beloved Liverpool but Newcastle United. 

After Newcastle was relegated, and with Owen looking for a  club to resurrect his career, Liverpool was once again presented with a chance to re-sign one of their living legend, for free. But again, they passed it. 

Despite being one of the most prolific striker of the country,  Owen was facing the prospect of signing for clubs like Hull City. No disrepect to them, but we all know it’s not exactly the best move for his international career. 

It was not a problem that Liverpool didn’t want to risk re-signing him, but it is not his fault either for grabbing the chance to join a club like Manchester United. 

I never expect I would ever be writing anything for Owen. But in life, you just never know. Despite his age and his reputation for injuries, I have a good feeling that he would turn out to be a success at Old Trafford.  

Just think Teddy Sheringham and Henrik Larsson.