Of Burnley and Arsenal..

There are better things to talk about than if CR7 deserves his Golden Ball.(though I will come to it later. :D)

The Lancashire Clarets, Burnley, for instance. Whatay Run!! I didn't see any of their matches to glorify the club, but give it to them, all sites report them to be the better side in all three games against Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal. If I remember correctly, they shocked Liverpool a few years ago in the Cup.

When you think about it, I really cannot imagine why a 'youthful' second string side should be used by Wenger against a team that has shown Chelsea the door. Yea, yea, premiership and Champions league are more important and players need rest, but heck rotate 'em. The Cup is NOT a silver imitation. Gotta be more serious about it, especially when you are meeting Burnley at Turf Moor. Not the best of stadia in England, you cannot dive in that grass facedown and keep all your teeth. Wenger, better luck. Arsenal is one of the better teams out there, and it really sucks when it loses periodically. I don't mind Arsenal losing, but I, for one, believe that EPL shines becoz' of Arsenal. The style of play, the speed, the beauty. That is sooo lacking of late, and that doesn't give me the best of feelings. I really miss pre-injury RVP. All Wenger had to do was send him in in the 71st minute against ManU when they were trailing by a goal, and ta da! Arsenal wins 2-1. As the only guy in that room supporting Arsenal, you know the feeling! An year later, i call it "Ol' times.."

All the best to Burnley and Coyle (and Kevin McDonald :)). It cannot be an 'upset' if Burnley lifts the Cup now. They deserve it.

Be a Sport.. Aswin ban gaya Columnist!

http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/13-be-a-sport

This is where you will see all my updates and news regarding sports in Bangalore..

The rest of teh stuff, i'll update here if i get to write :P

Bayern Munich to set up an Academy in Kolkata, India

Vielen Danke Bayern!

The Links say it all!

Goal.com link

Yahoo! Sports

Reuters

Thaindian

Guardian


Old news link:
Express India

Guest Column, indianfootball.com

I have written on two topics:

>Getting Kids interested

>Coaches


Read there and post your comments here. Thanks!

Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester United, Anfield, September 13, 2008

Man, did i miss posting on this last week!!!

For the first 20 minutes, it was the regular finish-the-job playing from ManU, with that ultimate combo of Tevez - Berb making the liverpool defence look like a pack of school kids.

I'd probably put it down to Mascherano, he was just beginning to run, kind of.. He kept looking on, as Tevez fired. Nothing he could have done in the last moment. But he shud have started running about 20 seconds prior to his actual start time. He started running properly in the game only after 20 damn minutes. Pretty long for a warm up, i'd say. But then, did he make up for it? Yes! In a big way!

The own goal from ManU gave a super human confidence to Rafa's side, as they started creating chances, though not much, until minute 71, when the impressive debutant Riera was subbed. In came the Football God, Ryan Babel. (Riera's got style. Needs to adjust to the EPL ways, though).

Whether it was Babel's zeal, i do not know. But Alonso & mascherano had "sprung to life", and there's not much that ManU could have done after that. The duo were to the midfield as the Corleones were to NewYork. Two words: Total Control.

And Babel was indeed the wind. Unstoppable.

ManU was at the receiving end. Yes, they struggled. Not that they played poor soccer. Just awestruck by the Wind of Anfield, i guess. It was just one of those days for Liverpool. Wasn't it?

Super Star: One Sun, One moon. Only one Ryan Babel.
Other stars: Mascherano after minute 27. Xabi Alonso. Carlos Tevez

Chelsea 1 - 1 ManU , Stamford Bridge, September 21 2008

7 cards in one game for ManU..

Now, Is that a new record? ManU rocks. Somethin's gotten into SAF for 3 seasons now.. The team is a far shade of the late nineties.. I Miss the style.

Saw in an orkut community in a post match discussion thread : "All teams try to foul CR7, don't blame him"..

Oh puhleez.. see this match's replay for CR7's dramatics. His dramatic effort deserves red. Same goes to every other diver in the sport. This is a sport to show your football skills. Only that. Neither acting nor diving. when is the guy ever going to learn that???

Let's say "u dive one more time and u get banned foreva" to mista cr7. i have a feeling that he wont concentrate on his amazing football abilities till then.

Same to Mista Drogba..

Say, Did Anelka have a crazy idea that he was the referee in this match??? He moved away from the ball whenever it came to him.

OMG, It was the cross of the season from Joe Cole.
And Sir Anelka! He gets the MISS of the season award.


LFS, U dont put Anelka as a lone striker unless u wanna lose. Guess u got the point today.

Chelsea: Missed Deco
ManU: Missed tevez

Star performers: JOE COLE, Salomon Kalou, Alex, Rio Ferdinand (except for the kalou header), JS Park.

King Keegan leaves! :(

The One hope that the Magpies had to reach the top four. You don’t have to do anything as the owner of NU. Just let Keegan be there at the top, and the fans will be happy. Such is the respect NU fans have for King Kev, who took NU to the Premiership from the Championship twice, as a player and as a manager.

No one expected a blasting turnaround in January 08. But the Magpies made news and did surprise its critics. Aided by ManU’s poor performance or not, but NU did draw its first game of the season, with no names to match the opponents’ lineup, except for maybe Owen. Yes, Keegan didn’t work wonders this time so far, but I guess no one else could have, either.

To me, all this transfer-window-concerns look like a stunt to get someone else into the job. Dennis Wise didn’t agree with Kevin on many things, and that we all know. So, they need a new guy and Keegan can’t go just like that. So, there’s this atmosphere that restricts King Kev’s authority and all this hoopla over nothing. Keegan promises three great signings for the season. Xisco comes in, and note Aston Villa was working out if he’d ‘fit’ their team. Come on, NU and Villa are poles apart! When NU should look at top players, they sign Xisco! Ignacio is another bet, though. It’s a gamble that could pay off, but I have this strange feeling it was not part of Kevin’s plans.

And top it, Milner leaves. Milner was a talent who could have been the future at NU. And this one.. Keegan wants Joey Barton in, no one else behind St.James Park does. He does not have the team he wants. Keegan is beyond the stage when he is ‘given’ a team. He is no more an entry level coach! And the bosses damn well know it.

“This is the last day I officially support Newcastle United”, claims a fan on BBC. And I’ve heard that NU doesn’t have mere fans, the club has sheer fanatics. For such a club, this is a totally embarrassing statement to earn from a loyal.

And Ashley! If Mike Ashley doesn’t go through with the same rate of victories NU enjoys this season.. Man, he's done for! 4 points from 3 games (Check this! Beats Bolton, Draws ManU and loses to Arsenal). This is a result card that’s acceptable with the likes of Liverpool or Chelsea. And out goes Keegan. This is a pattern that was bound to shake a few clubs. And if NU doesn’t do that this season, Oh well, I can’t imagine what’s in store. But if they do, Mike Ashley will have to work out a miracle and will be remembered and glorified as a Magician. It all depends on how it turns out from here.

To the top or to the Dungeons. There’s no midpoint.

Whatever, I still adore the way Keegan went about his job these 8 months.. Absolutely adorable. No one else in the history of the Club deserves the place Keegan does. And it’s time Mike Ashley & Dennis Wise realise it.

And hey, it seems the club plans to sue Keegan for not staying through the three point five years mentioned in the contract. And 2 million euros at that! I am sure Keegan has given that and much more to NU in the last twenty years. So, I guess HE should be claiming the rest of the value given by him to the club over the years!

NU is not about getting to the top anymore. And for someone who said Keegan can work wonders way back in January, I have lost hope in the Club and its management, and so will its investors.