Match Preview:Aab vs ManUtd

Firstly let me introduce myself to the bloggers,that is for those who do not know me already.I am Vasa and I am a Red Devil.A proud one,you can guess.This is my first post here.
I will go ahead with the match preview.Hopefully this kick starts my blogging career ;)


Aalborg,managed by Rioch,are the defending Superliga champions of Denmark.Honestly, even though I have been following football for such a long time I dont remember to have come across this club before and i guess its the same with most of you guys too.They are definitely unknown material when it comes to the Champions League.
AaB, as they are called in short, have won the their league championship for 2 years in a row,like ManUtd.

By no means i expect this to be a cake walk for us especially considering our present form,which is still nowhere near our best, and the result we had in this country not long ago.We lost to a decent Kobenhavn,aka Copenhagen FC 1-0 on their home soil.
A win is must for us to kick start our UCL campaign and top the table.AaB will be on a high though, with the draw at celtic park which is no mean result if you take the home form of Celtic.
I do not expect SAF to experiment much with the starting lineup.He will go for a strong one as a win is imperative.
The choice of the strike pair will interest me the most and i guess thats what most fans will be looking forward to.

Squads
ManUtd have nearly reached full strength.Though OH is out yet again nursing his knee.We seem to have found another Mr.Glass in him after the perennially injured Saha has been sold this summer.Neville has been left out.He deserves a rest after coming back really strong and surprising the boss himself, let alone the fans.

No idea about the AaB team though.Did not have enough time to find out about their team.

Predicted Starting line up
ManUtd: VDS: Brown,Rio,Vida,Evra; Park,Scholes,Fletch,Ron;Roon,Tevez

Score Prediction
1-2

Looking forward to the Matchday.

Cheers,
Vasa.
United Forever!

Salute to Hull, But Arsenal will bounce back

If I would have given everything to be at Emirates in mid-week when Arsenal ripped-apart Sheffield United , my commitment was same for the loss, which broke the 25 games unbeaten at home streak, in last game against Hull City. I guess its same for all the matches anyways.

They say arsenal needs to win even when they dont play well? Yes they should. If you ask me I want arsenal to win every hell of a game against any tom-and-jerry club in any penny-used-for-toss competition with our yet-to-pass-middle-school kids !

But why can't Arsenal do that? They do, but rarely. Not as frequently as Chelsea or lets say, Manchester United manages the same. Majority of the current Arsenal squad is shaped and dressed up in last 3 years. They are young, they have grown together and share the same metality on pitch. It forms the basis for their link-up and free-flowing football on pitch. So when they play good, they do it in team and when they suck, they suck together. All teams have
their bad days in offices. But if we see Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, they always have someone on the field who can change the course of the game on his own, when the rest of the team's performance is below par. Ronaldo for Manchester Unite; Gerrard, Torres for Liverpool and Lampard or may be Ballack for Chelsea. I see no one like that in Arsenal. Not even Fabregas, not even Adebayor. The reason is their playing style. HOw many times we have seen a goal from Arsenal as a result of totally one man's presence? Not many instances are there, as Wenger's play is purely a team-play.

I give full credit to Hull City for showing their courage and play at Emirates on Saturday. They have showcased what other mid-table and low-table English Primier League teams haven't dared to do at Emirates. They followed their system of play and scored 2 wonderful goals and just not dedededededefendeing (its defending with 10 men out of 11 on pitch) and banking on catching Arsenal at counter-attack. Where the first goal by Giovanni was a typical example of flamboyant long-range curl, the second inch-perfect header by Cousins (sadly hasnt received as much appreciation as the first goal got) was equally commendable. Now Arsenal or any other top team couldn't have done anything about the first goal. And the second goal came so soon (Gallas waited for 4 minutes to spectate that) after the first, like some cast was spelled which turned the match upside down within no time.

Unlike last season when Arsenal mastered scoring in last 15 minutes and everybody expected them to level-up atleast, they failed to do so. Arsene Wenger brought on Vela and Bendtner and i guess, i was seeing Arsenal playing with four strikers for the first time in my football fan life. It was bizarre atleast for me. I guess Arsene Wenger should have stuck to his system and might have brought one striker instead of two. You just cant put all 4 in or around the box and expect a goal. But he is the boss and boss knows. They came close when the captain hit the bar and Vela failed to guide it inside. Interestingly, he was smiling afterwards.

So, one shocking result and should the fans demand an explanation? (as this article suggests http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/steven-beacom/steven-beacom-arsenal-fans-need-answers-from-wenger-13987492.html - somebody please kick him).
Should Arsene Wenger be forced to make considerable changes? I dont guess so. I understand that. Fans understand that. And Boss understands that. Nasri is back and he will certainly play a part. Lets see. But I am fully confident our guns will be loaded enough to bounce back and bounce back beautifully against Porto.

Come On Gunners..You want to go to Rome or not ??

Man City brought back to earth

The richest club in the world was knocked out by Brighton and Hove Albion in the Carling Cup third round. Would this result go onto haunt Mark Hughes? Would this defeat against a league one side take the piss out of Man City’s owners? Would its ridiculously rich Arab owners bid 200 million for every young star to take them to the next level?                      

Surely by now the Arab sheiks must have realised that money doesn’t buy everything. It might give you short success but a club needs much more than that to truly be considered as a great club. 

To quote from Sir Alex Fergusson’s latest interview when asked about Man City, this was what he said: 

"Back in the 1950's Sunderland were called 'The Bank of England Team' - and they got relegated. There are no guarantees.

"You can buy 11 individuals - you can buy 11 Robinhos but it wouldn't be a team would it?

"The art of management is building a team with balance, with certain characteristics that blend with each other - that's the most important thing."

The defeat against Brighton might have greater implications that what one might expect. Has Manchester City actually lost the hope of any silverware this season? Because this was certainly their best shot at boasting of silverware this time.

 

Being a fan of football in India

Here’s the context: India with a population of 1.1 billion people from various backgrounds and cultures, can consider itself to be competitive in the world stage on a regular basis in only one sport: Cricket! Over the last 60 odd years, Indian sport apart from cricket has seen a few highs: The hockey era, brief flashes of brilliance in tennis, some great athletes, a gold medal in Olympics (:P); but ask any Indian to name the sporting moment that he considers the greatest in Indian history, and inevitably the answer would be the 1983 victory in the Cricket world cup.

Cricket dominates Indian sport with its glamour and money so much that almost every Indian school child dreams of playing for the national team. Almost all the other sports are ignored or are considered not worthwhile to pursue. So where does someone like me fit in, in such an environment? For starters, I have been watching football since 1998 and have been a fan of Manchester United ever since. Why Manchester United? Well, they were the only team playing on TV at the time, they were winning all the time, and they wore a classy red!

Mind you, I still loved watching cricket and dreamt, like any other boy in India, that with a bat in my hand, I could weave the magic that Sachin and Sourav did. But there were a few problems – I had as much chance of succeeding on the cricket pitch as Liverpool have of winning the Premier League (which is probably an odds of 100:1; bring it on, you Scouse Bas****s!). Secondly, my father regularly advised me not to watch cricket as it was a huge waste of time: wise words which I understood and followed only years later. Seriously, what a momentous waste of time to watch a sport that people play all day or for 5 days continuously!

Anyway, before I begin to get pilloried by cricket fans, let me get back to the point! The above mentioned were the reasons for me beginning to watch football regularly, sometimes sneaking up to the TV at home way past my bed time to watch the 1998 world cup. (I was caught doing it eventually and didn’t watch the final, and was really disappointed at the events that took place around Ronaldo and how Brazil lost out to France). I even began to start playing football at school with hardly 5% of the class interested in the game, my usual position being, of course the Goal Keeper owing to my slightly rotund frame back then.

These events were the origin of the football fan in me, and how the passion for watching football and Manchester United grew in me. I celebrated along with millions of other fans the Treble of 1999, numerous league victories over the years, great signings like van the Man. I was plunged into sorrow at cup exits, a four year barren period in the Premiership, the departure of greats like Keano and Beckham from the club. More importantly, I had great fun arguing and criticizing Man Utd’s Rivals and their fans.

Now, compare me with a fan from England or Spain or Italy or one of the numerous nations that have efficient football setups in the country. More often than not, you find the people from these places supporting their local clubs, be it Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds or Northampton! There are fans who are very passionate in supporting their clubs even if they are facing relegation from the Third division of the country! This, I am certain, would never happen to fans like me as we have no kind of exposure to these clubs and no way to follow their exploits regularly. I can say with full confidence that a football fan from India, who supports a European club, would be a fan of only if that club was highly successful in the past or when he started supporting the club.

Take a survey of fans in India who support an English Club: 99% of them would answer that they support Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United, that too only in the televised era. Frankly, how many Manchester United fans know that Leeds is one of United’s greatest rivals and United hates Liverpool much more than Arsenal or Chelsea!

Probably, if Manchester City manages to turn its new found fortunes to trophies in the coming year or two, we will have a new band of City fans joining the Elite 4.

Such a phenomenon again raises the question: Are fans in India and countries other than the home country not ‘True Fans’? Do those so called ‘True Fans’ have the right to criticize fans like us as many of us are part of the ‘Glory Hunters’ party?

Say what you want, but the clubs still love us! Real Madrid, United, Arsenal and Chelsea cannot be among the richest clubs in the world without fans like us. It is we who bring in the Moolah through their T shirt sales and TV rights, and most importantly, improve the Global image for the club! The debate will always go on about the so called ‘True fan’ but whatever they say, they cannot question our passion! Take the case of one particular Chelsea fan I know who knows everything about the club from the wages of its top players to the pre-season scorelines of the club’s under-15 team. This is the same guy who one assaulted and nearly murdered me when we argued over which match we should watch on the tell, the Man Utd one or the Chelsea one J. If I ever met a fanatic to match the ones in London, this was the guy!

We all love Football, and we are TRUE FANS in every manner of the word!

The boss knows

It feels so apt to refer to Arsene as "The Professor". Often we hear Arsenal fans say "the boss knows" - man, he sure does.

I remember having a discussion with Harsha (co - gunner) few months before the start of 2007 season. All we thought was Arsenal badly need a central midfielder - gilberto was too old, flamini was inexperienced and may be not good enough. I was trying to spot players who could potentially partner the magical Cesc in the center of the field. But Wenger had different thoughts. He decided to stay away from the transfer market. The 2007 season started, with no other options in the mid, Wenger went with flamini. And what did flamini do ? He gave no chance for gilberto to get back into the starting 11, He established himself as the best central defensive midfielder in the EPL, He became a part of the French national team, He moved to Milan for a lucartive 5.6 million euros a year deal.

Over the last few months I had similar discussions with Harsha. We dont have a central midfielder to support cesc - Diaby is always injured, Gilberto is gone to Olympicos or Panathanaikos or something like that, Ramsey is a kid and Denilson is inexperienced and may be not good enough. Once again Wenger's ideas were different. He decided to use the transfer market for young and costly teenagers. Those teenage transfers seem to be paying off (Vela, Walcott and many more to come). With hardly any options he decided to go for Denilson. 5 starts - 2 goals and 3 assists in the premier league. That is better than what flamini did in the entire season. The young brazilian seems ready to give cesc a run for money. I dont want to jinx it, but he is destined for some good times this season and eventually, may be a transfer to Real or Juventus or Barca or, who knows may be even Chelsea. I hope they make some good money selling Denilson, unlike Flamini.

Em'mental' Eboue

Well Well Well... Is it me here ?? AMAN... AMAN...!

1 year ago

Aman: Hey Harsha, what would you say if i tell you i want to start a football-based website?
Harsha: See, you cant start anything like that. You need to have proper planning.
Aman: Hmm

6 months ago

Aman: Hey Harsha, lets start a website man. Lets do something interesting.
Harsha: See, you cant start anything like that. Have you planned anything like what will be it all about?
Aman: No...

2 months ago

Aman: Hey Harsha, lets start a website man. We can have goal videos there at least.
Harsha: See, you cant start anything like that. Have you planned how will you manage to put all the goal videos there before anyone does? Have you consider finacial issues and do you have so much time?
Aman: No...

Yesterday

Harsha: Hey Aman, i have an interesting proposition for you.
Aman: Hmm..What is it?
Harsha: I and my friends have started a blog on English Premier League Football. It is actually about....
Aman: Can I write?
Harsha: Yes. Its actually about..
Aman: Yessssssssssss...

SeeHarsha, my fellow gooner (yeah Manures, Scousers and Chelshits, I am from Arsenal camp), I am on my way.

After three years (yeah, yeah i missed Bergkamp..shut up!) of arsenal-till-i-die, arsenal-i-can-die-to-see-you, arsenal-i-will-die-before-you-win-the-league, arsenal-i-need -not-die-to-watch-heaven's football...... I am writing this hypothetical humorous conversation between a 'Fan' and 'Lord Wenger'. The aim is to highlight the importance of our "Tricky Winger—Eboue" (courtesy: Harsha) in arsenal team. Its not an ideal start to my writing career and i never dreamed of ridiculing my club. But this space seriosuly needs a bit of fun.


Fan: Le Professor, you sold Hoyte, u sent Senderos and Traore on loan, would you mind buying one center-back and one left-back?
Wenger: Not really. But yes, if see a bargain. But we are mentally strong enough.


Fan: What if Clichy and Toure gets injured? who will cover them up?
Wenger: We have Djourou. We have song who is an excellent center-back. Our mentality is strong

Fan: We supposed song will is a cover for Denilson.
Wenger: Yes he is. He is mentally strong.

Fan: Who is he? some superman's kid?
Wenger: No he is an excellent mid-fielder with strong mentality.

Fan: You just said he is a defender
Wenger: He is both. he is versatile. he has great mental strength.

Fan: Can't u just spend some money to bolster our defense?
Wenger: We don't need to. I can also play if song goes out too. I will add to the mental strength of the team

Fan: When are u going to sell Eboue?
Wenger: He is our mind. And nobody sells the mind of the team.

Fan: Are you going to try this "mind" on all the postions in the pitch?
Wenger: Yes, I can. It all depends on the mentality of the team.

Fan: But your "mind" never scores.
Wenger: Thats not true. He scores in his mind. He has scored many hat-tricks mentally. And the goal at bolton was the result of same mental strength. Soon more goals will come out of his mind.

Wenger: How much does your sheep cost?
Fan: 100 pounds. Why?

Wenger: I can give you 75 !

P.S.
1. Thanks Vivek for the Welcome
2. I made up some things Harsha. Dont mind.
3. Can I call Manchester United - Manure, Liverpool - Scousers and a Chelsea -Chelshit ?
4. I dont aspire to become a humor writer. Pardon me for my contribution. But i couldn't control.

Are they or are they not ?

Every new season the Premiership introduces many new faces, some of them are young stars coming from another league and some young players rising through the ranks of the club academies. These young players are going to be the face of the premiership for years to come and big things are expected from them. Here is a look at some of the new young stars who have made a switch to the premier league and some youth reserves players who would represent the club for years to come.

1.      Samir Nasri: Carried the burden of being dubbed as the ‘new Zidane’ ever since he broke through the youth ranks at Marseille. He made his Ligue 1 debut in France at the age of 17 and has always been touted as the next big thing for France. Wenger could not let this young talent go when he could be snatched up at a bargain 12 million pounds. Got a goal on his premiership debut and with the kind of technical ability and vision he possesses he fits in the Arsenal system very smoothly.

2.      Luka Modric: Signed for a hefty 16.5 million pounds by Tottenham, he is the man picked up by Ramos to fill the glaring void that was left behind in the mid-field for Tottenham following the departure of Michael Carrick. Though he hasn’t had the greatest of starts to his premier league career, he is one player who would go a long way in deciding Spurs’ fortunes. Weather Spurs can eventually break into the top four is purely dependant on Modric’s services to the cause of the team.

3.      Robinho: Though has been in International Football for quite some time now, he is still a young player who will get some samba flair along with him to the Premiership. If Clint Eastwood ever decides to make a remake of ‘The Good the Bad and the Ugly’ he should cast Robinho in all the three roles.

4.      Giovani Dos Santos: Once tipped as the next ‘Ronaldinho’ he made the world sit up and take notice of his abilities when broke through Barcelona’s first team. Ramos has been looking for a left sided player for quite some time now and he couldn’t have got a better youngster for 5 million pounds.

5.      Rodrigo Possebon: Joined Manchester United from Internacional in January 2008 and already fans expect big things from him. He looks very composed on the ball and is a classy mid-fielder. He looks like a young Michael Carrick but has a pretty venomous shot too. Impressed everyone in the Carling Cup match with his distribution before he got replaced following the horrendous tackle by Pogatez on him.

6.      Franco Di Santo: This young striker joined Chelsea from Audax Italiano in Jan 2008. Touted as a prolific goal scorer he was immediately given the No.9 shirt. He represents Argentina for the Under 20’s and finally we find a young Argentinean player who is not compared to Maradona but to the more recent Hernan Crespo.

7.      Aaron Ramsey: A highly rated Welshman and was highly sought after by Manchester United and Arsenal before he signed for the latter. He is already touted as the next big thing in Wales after his idol Ryan Giggs. Dave Jones his former boss said Ramsey was so talented that they couldn’t find the perfect position for him. But the biggest compliment he must have received would have to by Arsene Wenger when he recently stated that he expects Ramsey to become a great player for the Gunners one day.

8.      Rafael/Fabio Da Silva: ‘The Twins’ as they are more famously called already have chants dedicated to them having barely joined Manchester United. The just turned 18 year old twins are tipped to be the new ‘Cafu and Roberto Carlos’ of Brazilian football.  Fabio already has a couple of Roberto Carlos kind of strikes to his name in the United reserves. Though he joined United as the better player, he captained Brazil in U17 World cup where he was the top scorer, it is his twin brother Rafael who is making all the headlines. Rafael impressed one and all in the pre season friendlies with his energy and flair. He followed them up with equally impressive performances in the reserves and more recently in the Carling Cup. Sir Alex has never been spotted so excited about a young talent since Wayne Rooney.

9.      Carlos Vela: He had the Arsenal fans drooling after his hat-trick against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup. He is definitely the next best thing to happen in Mexico right now since Salma Hayek. A player of great technical ability matched by some great finishing, big things are expected from this Golden boot winner in the Fifa U-17 World Cup championships. He is already a regular for Mexico national team and with the ability he has got it won’t be too long before he becomes one of the first names to be on the team sheet for Arsenal senior team.

10. Jack Wilshire: At 16 years of age he became the youngest player to make his debut for Arsenal senior team when he came on for Van Persie in their match against Blackburn rovers. He even scored his first senior level goal against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup this week. He is a left footed player who plays on the right wing and has such good close control on the ball that he is already called as England’s Lionel Messi. Arsenal fans will forever be grateful to him if he eventually turns out to be that good as they have been missing an out and out winger since Pires’ departure.

Young Guns....

How many times have you heard of this phrase this week? Well before you even try to estimate I can assure you that you would be hearing this for years to come. Whether you are an Arsenal fan or not it doesn’t matter, the way Arsenal play the game makes any one sit back and admire their exciting football. And this match (Carling Cup- 3rd Round) was no different and to make this even more special, this was the youngest ever Arsenal team (Avg: 19 years). Interestingly at Arsenal you can sometimes call 20 year-olds as experienced players ala our talismanic mid-fielder Cesc.

Carlos Vela, a nineteen year old Mexican, scored a hat trick on his first competitive start for Arsenal. The way he controls the ball, his touch, his pace and finish are just moth watering. We just can’t fathom our thoughts right now and find words to describe him. His second goal in the match was a treat to watch, to some it may remind them of Henry or Bergy. More of Vela is surely yet to come!!!! .

He adds to a long list of success stories at the Arsenal academy. He is the youngest ever league debutant for Arsenal. He is also the second youngest goal scorer for Arsenal after Francesc Fabregas. He is Jack Wilshere – Surely and almost certainly he is a star in the Making.

Aaron Ramsey I think is the second best capture in the summer for Arsenal. Though he may take some more time adjusting to the Arsenal style there is no doubting his prodigious talent.

With other youngsters like Randall, Gibbs, Hoyte, Merida, Lansbury being groomed by Arsene and throw players like Cesc, Theo and Bendtner into the mix we, Arsenal, are indeed a Soccer Special team.

Rohan.

Let me introduce my self. I am Rohan, Vivek's colleague. I passed out from IIT-G.

And, I am a Gunner-4-Life

Glory Hunters???

When taunting the fans of rival football clubs (especially Chelsea), terms like ‘Glory hunters’, ‘Jumping into the bandwagon’ float in the air occasionally. But are we justified in calling somebody so?

Let me elaborate on it by considering the ways in which a person becomes a football fan.

Style: The style in which a team plays. Most of the fans of Arsenal. Barcelona and may be Manu fans also fall into this category. And if you are a bit retarded you may even like Liverpool and Chelsea.

Titles: Winning trebles or doubles creates a lot of interest among non-followers, who tend to start following from then. Or even domination for that matter generates new followers. Fans of Manu, Real and to some extent Chelsea fall in this category

Players: Stars like Henry, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo command lot of attention and attract viewers easily. And once you like them you automatically start supporting the teams they play for. Arsenal, Barcelona and Manu fans again fall into this category

Bizarre: I call it bizarre, not that I disapprove any of the ways but just because I had to name it something. Some people tend to support the underdogs, because they feel that nobody else appreciate those teams’ performances. Some say that when they started following football only Manu matches were being telecasted in their country. It may also be the case that some of your close friends or relatives follow a particular team and listening to them talk so much about their favorites you too will get curious.

These are all the mutually exclusive reasons I could think of. Also more than one reason can be responsible for a person to become a fan of a particular football club.

Now coming back to the actual issue, in my opinion the first three are all equally effective in generating fans and cant find fault with any of them. So ‘Glory hunters’ who fall in the second category are not so different from most other fans.

Taking Chelsea for example, we can hate the club for supersaturating the game with money, creating inflationary pressure during the player transfers etc, but not its fans for following the club after it started winning.

The ‘converts’ who change loyalties whenever they see a better team or prospective winners deserve to be called ‘Glory hunters’ but not those who stick to the same club even during the rough patches and follow it passionately, after they started following it during a purple patch.

Is respect a one way relationship ?

Respect as we know or have often seen is a mutual relationship. One gains respect from others when one shows the same gratitude to others. But this seems to have been blissfully ignored by the Referee’s chief Keith Hackett. Respect as it appears seems to be a one way thing in modern football. 

FA tried to come down hard on the highly reputed players such as Terry, Rooney, and Ashley Cole to name a few who keep mouthing off the referees. Chelsea’s attack on the referee when a decision went against them last season spurred the FA into action who then announced that they wouldn’t in future tolerate any kind of a verbal attack on the referees. That following week Mascherano saw red and everyone expected that incident to set a kind of a precedent.

The FA announced recently that referees would in future have to talk to the club captain first before cautioning a player. It is kind of funny to find out that we have seen more yellow cards at this point of the season than last one. Probably referees are finding it very tiring to talk to the club captain every time a player commits a serious foul and they would rather just dish out a yellow card and get done with it.  

 Mike ‘Crystal Skull’ Riley who officiated the match on the weekend at Stamford Bridge certainly wanted to just offload the yellow card he had in his pocket. He probably must have promised his daughter to show how a red coloured card looks on their TV.Or did he go to a pub the previous night with Graham Poll? Because surely that day he thought three yellow cards make a red. The 8 yellow cards shown in the game was just ridiculous and it was by no means a dirty game. It did not have Liverpool or Boltonplaying. Expecting Riley not to show a yellow card that day was like expecting a stripper not to strip.  Does he deserve to be respected by the United players after the atrocious show? Isn’t respect mutual?

 Sir Alex Fergusson had the right idea, but chose the wrong time and the wrong tone, when he said referees have to be assessed too. After all the players are assessed and a totally not deserving yellow card for a player might actually lead to his suspension for an important match.

 It is very surprising to know that Keith Hackett was an excellent referee in his heydays. He was the youngest to referee in a cup match. It seems like he has different standards for referees now and he certainly has made the Referees association a big joke.

 You can read the analysis of the 7 yellow cards dished out to the United players in this forum

http://therepublikofmancunia.com/7-yellow-cards-you-having-a-laugh-riley/

Cheers

Vivek 

 

85 Unbeaten!

We just about saved our monumental home record in yesterday's 1-1 draw against Manchester United. I along with millions of Chelsea fans(I hope there are so many!), were fearing the worst, an anticipated agony compounded by the fact that Deco and Carvalho had joined the treatment table so recently vacated by Drogba and Ballack even before the Stamford Bridge faithful had found their full voice. Trailing by a goal and then missing sitters like the one missed by Anelka is not something that goes down too well with any football fan. I jumped off my seat in anticipation of an equalizer so many times during the match and then landed flat on my bum that its still sore. But that was much before the equalizer....when I thought we had enough time to get all three points rather than just one. And finally when it arrived I was satisfied but also a little agitated. I knew there was precious little time left to get a winner. Kalou came off the bench and slotted home the equalizer which I'm sure meant a lot to everyone and everything Chelsea but a winning goal seemed to be a far fetched hope at that point. This made me think...was it an equalizer we could do without? If the visiting team had been Arsenal or Aston Villa or perhaps even Wigan, my answer would definitely have been 'yes', (I know you're probably thinking I'm nuts but stay with me) but for Man United, I was not so sure simply because they're the biggest to Chelsea's title hopes in my opinion and any point taken off them is a plus.

However, I said we could do without that equalizer not because I was exasperated with our display on the day, in fact I thought we coped really well without two of our most important players this season, but because I think maintaining the unbeaten home record is becoming a notoriously demanding task for us. We tend to start thinking more about salvaging the record rather than go for the kill when we go down to the visiting team. To me this record seems like a huge bag full of gold that a man is trying to carry with all his might, a man who's tired and hungry. If he gets rid of the load he can hurry up and find a piece of bread before dusk but his reluctance to let go of the gold is draining him out completely.

To put things into perspective, let me show you some hard facts here. Chelsea have drawn four of their last six home games in Premier League, all with a scoreline of 1-1. Last season when we had an unbeaten home run, we drew seven games out of nineteen at home...that is 14 points lost(If only we'd won any two of them!). Here is last season's home league table for the top four:

P W D L Pts
1 Man Utd 19 17 1 1 52
2 Arsenal 19 14 5 0 47
3 Chelsea 19 12 7 0 43
4 Liverpool 19 12 6 1 42

We had by far the best away record last season. Here's the away league table for the top four:

P W D L Pts
1 Chelsea 19 13 3 3 42
2 Arsenal 19 10 6 3 36
3 Man Utd 19 10 5 4 35
4 Liverpool 19 9 7 3 34

Do you see now what I was taking about? Was the home record actually a bottle neck when Chelsea played at home? Was it the reason we drew so many times last season? And is the pattern continuing this season? Answer to all of them, in my humble opinion, is yes.

This season we have already drawn two out of three home games, both 1-1. Away we've won two out of two. Once we lose at home in the league, it'll certainly free up that bottle neck. When the prestigious record is no longer at stake, we can go out and play with more freedom at home. Its an irony that a record we take so much pride in is fast becoming a nuiscance and a luxury we can no longer afford. When we happen to take an early lead, we control the game quite with ease. However, when we go a goal or two down and the opposition starts frustrating us, we start looking to save the record. The thought of losing the record so much overshadows the broader picture, that an equalizer is treated almost as a winning goal. The celebration we saw when Kalou scored that equalizer in the 80th minute was less about getting a goal back but about that of a relief at salvaging the record. Though we pressed again to get a winner, that intensity which lead to the equalizer had gone.

I'd love the record to continue going as long as we make sure we're winning most of those games at home. If the record comes at a cost of 7-8 draws? No, thank you! I'd rather lose and then start afresh!

Rahul

ManUtd vs Chelsea Review

Was it a case of points lost or a point gained for Manchester United?

Manchester United was 10 minutes away from breaking the seemingly invincible record that Chelsea have at home. The record in a way reminds me of the fortress that Old Trafford was when Keane was in his pomp. Though that United team lost a few matches at home they hardly drew any, Chelsea on the other hand has drawn a few but has remained unbeaten.

Manchester United

  The intent was right from Sir Alex, he played players in their preferred positions or rather players who can provide an attacking impetus from their positions ala Hargreaves. He took a bold decision by playing Rooney behind Berbatov and benching Tevez who has been one of the better performers this season. He even played the young Evans who was actually quite impressive. Playing Gary Neville was always going to be a gamble and it didn’t back fire though he didn’t exactly show glimpses of his old which suggest Brown would regain his place in the side. Manchester United started brilliantly, they surprised Chelsea with their speed and they showed more desire than they did at Anfield. It certainly was the reaction that Sir Alex was looking from his team. They created many chances going forward and Chelsea took their time to settle into the game. Manchester United used the width really well in the first 20-25 minutes thus pushing back Bosingwa and Cole. Park buzzed around on the left flank and he even covered for Evra a couple of times. Rooney got the license to orchestrate things in the middle and played a delightful ball to Evra which resulted in the goal. Scholes slowed down the proceedings in the middle using his experience and Flethcer did all the running yesterday. He is actually turning into pretty decent box to box player.United in the second half tried to attack on the break and introduced Ronaldo who injected some speed but there were clear evidences that he is not fully fit yet.Though Sir Alex would be gutted to see his team concede a late goal , he would be happy with a point as Manchester United can only get strong from here on.

Chelsea

They were put on the back foot even before the ball was kicked by the news of Deco’s injury. But if there is anything which separates Chelsea’s squad from others then it is there depth in the squad. They had Deco going out but could afford to put in another world class midfielder there like Ballack. Ballack certainly showed rustiness as one would have expected but played a couple of very good passes. He and Lampard struggled early on to control the mid but once they started to do that Chelsea created a few chances. Lampard had a quite first half and many of Chelsea’s moves in the second half went through him. Mikel suggested little that he has the capacity or maturity to step into Makelele’s shoes or is he not exactly the player who can sit in front of the back four and just shield them?  

Joe Cole tried to create things,was a threat, but he needs to blame himself as he had two easy chances to put Chelsea ahead. Anelka was pretty disappointing for Chelsea yesterday, he was wonderfully picked up by Joe Cole but he just couldn’t manage to put the ball into an open goal. For me the stand out performer was Alex. He really put in a couple of brave challenges and he did not make Chelsea miss Carvalho. Chelsea might feel disappointed with the result as they might feel they had done enough in the second half to win the game but on the other hand they might feel satisfied as well as they were staring at their first defeat at home for God knows how long.

I thought the referee had an awful game. As the pundits on ESPN suggested, it was not a dirty game by any stretch of imagination and the referee had actually shown 8 yellow cards and some of them totally not deserving. He stopped the play on plenty of occasions in the first half and I must admit that suited Chelsea. Those interruptions not only broke the flow of the game but they also gave Chelsea the time to settle down into the game.

 But all in all this easily was one of the most entertaining games that the two teams played against each other in the last 3-4 years. 

Cheers 

Vivek

The' Roomania Curve'

Caution: As I write this, the unusually lackluster Manchester United is taking on the resurrected Chelsea hence the opinion expressed here needs to be viewed ignoring the performances of players and the result of the match. 

 

Manchester United are struggling at the start of the season as they always do but this season the lackluster performances have given rise to more theories than Einstein could have come up in his entire life. All the theories have been centered on of course the phenomena called Cristiano Ronaldo. Is Manchester United really a one man team as some ABU fans (Anything But United) believe? I personally think they are not, the reason being there is another player in the United colours who can carry the team on his shoulders. He might not get as many goals as his more celebrated team mate but on his day he is more influential than Ronaldo himself. That player is of course England’s boy wonder Wayne Rooney.

 

When Rooney scored that scorcher of a goal against Arsenal wearing the blue of Everton FC people around England started to take notice of him. When he finally arrived onto the international stage in Euro ’04 the world started to take notice of him. The English fans hailed the then prodigious 18 year old as the ‘White Pele’ as he carried the hopes of an entire nation before he got injured in the tournament. Some dismissed him as a mere flash in the pan, some did not and one amongst those was Sir Alex Fergusson. Anyone who has followed Rooney throughout his career can hardly disagree with Sir Alex. But those who have followed him for the last one year or so would start wondering if he has gone backwards in his development.

 

Nowadays one hardly gets to see the explosive Wayne that we are so used to. Whilst he looks like a more disciplined player now, there seems to be a sense of paucity when it comes to his spontaneity. He looks like a player who is a little short of confidence and he seems to be reluctant to be taking on defenders. We hardly get to see those slick one touch flick passes or him bulldozing his way through the defense line. But I do still believe that he is the best support striker in the world right now, I can’t think of another striker who has the vision and awareness of Rooney. He almost has the vision of a centre mid who pulls the strings for his team. For all those fluffed chances , his goal ratio isn’t bad either, someone recently quoted statistics in a Manchester United blog which showed that he has a better goal ratio than Zola or Bergkamp had. Then where is the worlds best support striker now when his team is struggling, one might ask, which brings me to the main point.

 

Has Ronaldo been an impediment in his development or has Sir Alex Fergusson sacrificed too much of the guy’s talents for the sake of his team?

 

Rooney as we all know loves to have the ball at his feet all the time, he likes to be involved in the play of the team through the middle and when he is not getting enough possession he tends to get frustrated much like how Sachin Tendulkar used to, in his early days, when he used to not get much of the strike. This frustration leads him to desperation which results in wandering about the pitch like a nomad. Ronaldo is so outrageously and ridiculously talented that Sir Alex had no other ideas but to revolve his team’s attack around him. Ronaldo being a winger has a gift for scoring goals. Manchester United lacked a no.9 for the last few years before the recent acquisition of Berbatov. Sir Alex had to get a goal scorer out of one of his players and that player happened to be Ronaldo. Hence Ronaldo was given a free role; he could cut in, go wide and get in to the box. This often left Rooney doing the dirty work for him, covering for him in the wings, going wide when Ronaldo cuts in. He often played like a mid-fielder trying to pull the strings. He had to be the more disciplined player of the two, not giving away ball while trying to dribble. Rooney being such a team player did not mind this , he was just happy to be there on the pitch representing United, for this reason Rooney lacks the attitude of a striker , someone who is so unselfish is always bound to get more assists than goals. Rooney was often pushed out wide in the European games away games to give Ronaldo the free role for example the Barcelona match. Sir Alex could have instead gone with a defender but he was happy to have Rooney on the pitch expecting him to produce one moment of magic. This by far I feel has diminished Rooney’s presence on the pitch, he has lost some of the attacking potency and it in a way has been a retrograde step.

 

Rooney in his defense has never played in his preferred position since Van Nisterlooy left Old Trafford. He either played up top or on the flanks. The only time Rooney has been played behind a proper front man who can hold the ball has been against the Croats recently and we know the havoc he caused in the Croation defense. The signing of Berbatov might get the best out of him but only if he is played in his preferred position

 

I close off with a rather rhetorical question, will Ronaldo’s departure be a blessing in disguise for  Rooney or does Rooney not give a damn about his individual career as long his team is winning ?

 Cheers

Vivek

Weekend Previews And Predictions - GW 5

We're starting a weekly feature where one of the mods will take up the responsibility of giving an insight into the coming gameweek with predictions for each game.

Gameweek 5 previews and preditions

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Having had a mixed bag of a start to the new season, The Black Cats would want to put their home record straight having lost two of the first two. Boro's start to the season has been impressive. Southgate won the manager of the month in August while his team seems to be a balanced unit in all fronts, especially going forward with the likes of Tuncay, Alfonso Alves, Mido, Downing and Aliadiere all in great nick. Tuncay is out with injury which means Mido will start up front along with Alves.
prediction: a hugely entertaining game with plenty of goals , 3-2 to home side

Blackburn v Fulham
Paul Ince has found life difficult in Premiership after an impressive opening game at Goodison Park. Having shipped in the maximum number of goals by any side(which makes me wonder more about their decision to sell Friedel and replace him with Paul Robinson) and with no victories in two matches at home, he is under pressure to get a good result against Fulham, who have started well considering they were tipped to be in relegation dog fight this season. Fulham have a great manager in Roy Hodgson and I can see them easily negotiating relegation and sitting mid table come next May.
prediciton: a tight game , 1-0 to the home side

Liverpool v Stoke City
They say its champions stuff to win when not playing well. Liverpool having done exactly the same so far, apart from their last game against Man Utd where they thoroughly deserved their victory, will hope for an easy outing against one of the relegation scrape bound Stoke City. One to watch in this one is Rory Delap with his deadly throw ins which almost turned the game around last week against Everton. Torres should be fit to feature in this game and I can see him getting on the score sheet.
prediction: easy victory for the home side, 2-0

West Ham v Newcastle
Newcastle made a dream start to the season earning a 1-1 draw against champions Man Utd at Old Trafford on the opening day. It has been a steep decline for them ever since. With off the field uncertainty, the club are in a real mess. West Ham have installed Zola as their new first team coach following the resignation of Alan Curbishley while Kevin Keegan has not yet been replaced. With Ashton out for three weeks, Carlton Cole will have the pressure of scoring goals on his shoulders. Newcastle lost to Hull City at St James' Park last week and a better performance seems far from being on the cards here.
prediction: 2-0 victory for the home side

Bolton v Arsenal
Bolton were tipped to be in a relegation fight at the start of the season and their start to the season fails to suggest differently. Having to entertain Arsenal at this point would be the last thing on their wish list. With 7 goals in last 2 league games, Arsenal are in impressive form scoring four at Ewood Park last weekend thanks to some sloppy defending by the home team. Bolton could make life tough for themselves with a similar defensive display but Arsenal having played on Wednesday in CL would not be as fresh and this is where Bolton have a slight ray of hope.
prediciton: a 3-1 away victory with a typical arsenal display

West Brom v Aston Villa
Baggies finally got their first victory in their return to top flight last weekend in a game that could have yet again slipped from their hands. West brom were favourites for survival among the promoted clubs at the start of the season but their current form does not suggest the same. Martin O'Niel has assembled a great squad at Villa with an exciting attack and an astute defense. Gabby and Young are lightning quick on the flanks and in Carew they have a potent goalscorer and an effective target man. Although Carew is doubtful to start the game, I still fancy Villa to nick this one.
prediciton: away victory with a 1-2 scoreline

Hull City v Everton
Hull are off to a flier and are currently sitting at 5th in the table. 40 points are enough to avoid relegation going by previous few seasons and they have already amassed almost 20% of them. Everton have started badly for their standard having lost two home games to Blackburn and Portsmouth but the return of Cahill, with whom they seem to do much better than without, is a boost and with Yakubu and Arteta in fine form, they could easily come out victorious from this one.
prediction: a close match with a 3-1 away victory

Man City v Portsmouth
City might have the financial muscle bigger than Chelsea now but it will take some time to build a team that could challenge the big boys. Mark Hughes would like to be there or there abouts to challenge for the top four until January when he can further strengthen the squad to have a real go for it, although I doubt if any big names would arrive at Eastlands in January. Pompey have come back well after losing the first two games of the season to Chelsea and Man United. Defoe is in deadly form and could well be a good bet for the golden boot if he continues in similar fashion. Diarra is certainly a big team material playing superbly at the heart of Pompey midfield.
prediction: good entertainment is guaranteed, a 2-1 home win

Tottenham v Wigan
Having had the worst start to the season in years, Spurs are under immense pressure and Ramos already in hot waters. With all the talent at his disposal, Ramos has failed to find the right mix and Spurs the right form. Midweek victory might lift the spirits at WHL and the team could finally get going but Wigan are no whipping boys having had a good start to the season. Zaki is in sublime goal scoring form and with Valencia and Palacios in their ranks, Wigan can be a real pain in the neck for any team.
prediction: a scrappy home victory, 3-2

Chelsea v Man Utd
Game of the weekend by all means and probably the game of the season. Chelsea boast a 6 point lead against their title rivals with just 4 games into the season, though Untited have a game in hand. A victory for the home side could take the difference to 9 points which could arguably be decisive in the long run. The game could mark the return of Ronaldo and Drogba, both could have a telling effect in the final result though both not fully fit yet. Vidic's suspension means either Evans or Brown would have to partner Rio Ferdinand in the heart of United defense while the right back position being taken by Brown or Phil Neville accordingly. While Chelsea will have Terry available after his red card was rescinded by the FA. Scholari plays in a system where the full backs have the freedom to go forward while the defensive midfielder and the two center backs make up a defensive three. Sir Alex would be looking to exploit the hole created behind the full backs and they have pacey forwards to do just the same. Rooney and Ronaldo might take up the flanks with Berba(if fit) and Tevez up front. Man United might get outplayed in the midfield and this is where I see the home side winning the game.
prediction: a tight game with plenty of chances for both sides: 2-1 to the home side


Have a great weekend ahead!

Rahul

A Tribute To Stevie Clarke

Steve Clarke is one of the truest legends of Chelsea FC and any club would be proud to have a Steve Clarke in their books. Having served Chelsea for more than 20 years as a player and coach, he's given his all to us. We can't thank him enough.

Here's a little history of Clarke from Wikipedia for the curious ones:

Clarke started his professional football career with St Mirren F.C. before transferring to Chelsea for £422,000 in February 1987. He stayed at Chelsea until 1998, making 421 appearances (the fifth highest total in the club's history) and winning the club's Player of the Year award in 1994. He was a part of the Chelsea sides which won the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup in the late 1990s. The Cup Winners' Cup final, against VfB Stuttgart in Stockholm, was Clarke's final appearance for the club. In 2005 he was voted into Chelsea's centenary XI, occupying the right-back berth.

Now that he has left us for West Ham, I'm a bit taken aback but I think he's made the right choice. With another of Chelsea legends, Gianfranco Zola as coach, Stevie is going to get a lot more exposure as an assistant to him than he would have got under Scholari for many reasons. Scholari has his own assistant for one. Clarke's job was that of a bridge between the English and the foriegners so to say. His great nous of the English game was the reason Scholari was so upset when Clarke handed in his resignation. Zola's relative inexperience as a coach means Clarke would be more involved in team affairs, tactical desicions etc than he could ever be at Chelsea. His ambitions to become the first team coach one day has more chance of fruition at West Ham than Chelsea. That is the reason I'm happy for him, though a little disappointed too.

His replacement is already in place in Ray Wilkins. Another great servant for the club who not only served us with his football but also bailed us out of financial crisis in the alte 70's when he was sold to ManU for a club record fee which helped the club immensely. He was made captain of Chelsea at 18, our youngest ever. Ray went on to play for Milan among others and was also assistant coach under Vialli. He was sacked following the arrival of Ranieri. His credentials are similar to Clarke's but we'd have to wait and watch his work.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Steve Clarke once again for all his services over the years and wish him all the best for the future. Hope he's back with us one day as our first team coach.

So We Kick Off

I welcome you all to our very own football blog. We wanted to call it kickoff but due to some reason and a few errors on my system and not to mention frustration we ended up naming it earlykickoff. Nevertheless as the name suggests we’ll try our best to be ahead of our peers and present to you our views about clubs, matches and our predictions before the kick off. We would vow to be as unbiased as possible be it our posts or our comments.We started of this blog in the blogspot but would shift this to another site wherein we would have a web page of our own.

 

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