Chelsea and Liverpool won their respective derbies comfortably on Sunday. While Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates, Liverpool scrap a 2-0 win at Everton.

Sunday was always going to be ‘Judgment Day’ for the the sides from London and Liverpool. And both games witnessed equal amounts of action and drama.

Arsenal were always facing an uphill task against Chelsea as they lost out on van Persie, Clichy, Diaby and Gibbs through injury. Chelsea meanwhile welcomed Lampard back to their squad. Ancelotti’s men knew a victory would see them eleven points ahead of their city rivals.

After a mostly dogged first half where neither team created any meaningful chances Chelsea took the lead through Drogba on 41 minutes. Things got worse for Arsenal just before the break as a defensive mixup saw Vermaelen divert the ball into his own net.

The Gunners thought they had scored after 48 minutes but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Cech. However after that they failed to create any real chances. Drogba added further agony four minutes from time with a brilliant freekick.

After the game Arsene Wenger admitted that the loss was a ‘big blow’ to the team but refused to count them out of the title race. Arsenal now sit in fourth place on 25 points with Chelsea leading the table with 36.

Merseyside Derby

Earlier in the day the Merseyside derby saw Liverpool take on Everton at Goodison Park. Rafa Benitez’s men still showed signs of nervousness in a highly sketchy performance.

The Reds went ahead in the 12th minute after a Mascherano shot took a major deflection off Joseph Yobo. Everton however came back strongly after conceding early and created a host of chances.

Jo twice had the ball in the net but his efforts were ruled out for offside. Reina also saved Liverpool on a couple of occasions before Kuyt scored in 80th minute following a defensive mistake by Yobo.

The loss piled even more pressure on David Moyes and  his side as they lie only three points above the relegation zone. Liverpool on the other hand are now back in the top five two points behind fourth placed Arsenal.

United Dominate Portsmouth But City Continue Their Winless Streak

There was plenty of action in the seven games which were played on Saturday as well. Manchester United hammered Portsmouth 4-1 away thanks to a Wayne Rooney hat-trick. United’s fourth was scored by Ryan Giggs which was the Welshman’s 100th career goal for the Red Devils.

Rooney gave them the lead from the penalty spot in the 25th minute but just seven minutes later Portsmouth levelled through a penalty of their own. It was all square at half-time but that didn’t last long as three minutes after the restart Rooney scored his second.

Rooney stroked home another penalty and completed his hat-trick on 54 minutes. Giggs got his well deserved goal three minutes from time to complete a dominant performance by United.

United’s local rivals City had yet another torrid outing though as they drew their seventh game in a row. Shaun Wright Phillips gave them the lead in the 45th minute but Chris Bullard equalised from the penalty spot with eight minutes left.

This draw against Hull meant that the Sky Blues have not won in the league since late September. A draw next week will see them set a Premier League record and add further fuel to talks of Mark Hughes departure.

Round-Up

In other games from across the league last week’s heroes Tottenham were denied a victory by a rigid Aston Villa defence. The Lily Whites fell behind after just ten minutes to a Gabriel Agbonlahor strike. But Mark Dawson rescued a point for his team on 77 minutes. Tottenham desperately tried to get the winner but were expertly kept at bay by Villa.

Tottenham’s victims from last week, Wigan, restored some pride with a 1-0 win over Sunderland at home. West Ham had yet another entertaining encounter as they won 5-3 against Burnley. The Hammers went five goals ahead only to be pegged back later.

Fulham ended their game against Bolton with a goal apiece and Blackburn and Stoke played out a goalless draw. Birmingham City continued to impress as they made it five games unbeaten with a 1-0 win over Wolves.

I attended a workshop on collection analysis using excel at the Richmond Public Library. Christine Manzer was at the workshop too as well as Barabara Jo May and Miriam Moses.  Was an interesting workshop and I picked up a few trick or short cuts to performing certain functions in excel.  With my luck, some of my data on the CD  provided by Tony, instructor was not working and so it was frustrating at times.  On the way back home, I dropped Christine off and took the opportunity to visit the new Tomy Douglas Library, former Kingsway Branch of BPL.  What a library!  Absolutely amazing!  Hope I can work a few shifts there! Then, without any prior plans, we decided to go to Simbas for dinner.  It was a nice pleasant dinner-it was a lovely evening in all-and the company was good too.

Sunday sees two of the biggest clashes in world football as Arsenal take on Chelsea and Barcelona and Real Madrid battle each other in the ‘El Clasico’.

The clash between the London powerhouses promises to be a high octane one with both teams having made strong starts to the season. Arsenal have a chance to cut the gap back to 5 points while Chelsea will look to put themselves 11 points clear.

Over in Spain only a point separates the two giants. While Real Madrid will want to avenge last season’s 6-2 drubbing, Barca will be keen to show them that money can’t buy success.

Over the past few years both these fixtures have single-handedly glued people to their places and brought domestic life to a standstill. With hardly any time left there is only one thing to say – Bring on the Sunday!

The London Derby

Arsenal – Chelsea has always been a clash which has evoked strong emotions among fans. And this was even before a certain Roman Abramovich came along. Whereas Arsenal has always been the people’s club, Chelsea is seen as one for the elite.

In recent years though the rivalry has been even more fierce because of Chelsea’s new found competitiveness. A clash which was formerly one between title challengers and mid-table pretenders has become a top of the table game.

The same fixture last season was one to forget for the Gunners faithful as Chelsea drubbed them 4-1 on their own ground. This time Arsene Wenger will be hoping for a better performance from his troops.

Arsenal have again exhibited their Jekyll & Hyde tendency this year as they are scoring goals by the dozens but falteringly unexpectedly. Last week’s defeat at the hands of Sunderland served everyone a bitter reminder of the same.

On the other hand Chelsea seem to have returned to their ‘Jose Mourinho domination’ days. The team is five points clear at the summit and have a ruthless streak about them. The victory over Man Utd in a game where they were outplayed from long periods confirmed their luck as well.

A victory however will mean a lot more to Arsene Wenger and his men as it would put them right back into the title race. One shouldn’t forget they have a game in hand and a win will be most certainly desired. As for Chelsea a draw should suit them just fine so don’t them expect them to take too many risks.

Expect a hard-fought game which may get bogged down in the middle of the park. Van Persie and Gallas’ absence will make things that much more difficult for the Gunners but they will be keen to bounce back.

BEPL Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea

El Clasico

For football fans the treat will continue as immediately after the London derby ‘El Clasico’ kicks off. Barca and Real are two teams with such a rich history that this encounter is as old as one can remember.

In the last meeting between these two sides Real were humbled before their own fans as Barca humiliated them in a 6-2 win. The loss also ended Real’s aspirations for the La Liga title.

This year things are a bit different though. Real went through a famous overhaul in the summer and boast of having some of the world’s most recognisable names. Barca on the other hand made just one major change this year with the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Both teams have made relatively good starts to the season. Real Madrid however were shocked by Third Division Alcoron in the Copa Del Rey. But Barca themselves haven’t been as prolific as last year when they looked unbeatable.

In their last game though Barca thoroughly defeated Italian Champions Inter Milan in the Champions League and showed glimpses of their ominous form from last season. Real meanwhile strolled to a 1-0 win over FC Zurich.

The good news for Real is that Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in action after missing almost two months of action. Barca will also hope to have Messi and Ibra back after they missed the midweek win over Inter Milan.

The talent on both teams is undeniable and the past fixtures between these two sides suggest that Sunday’s game will be a cracker of a contest. With both sides going for a win this promises to be a must watch game.

This is by far Manuel Pellegrini’s biggest test as the Los Galacticos coach and he will want to repay the faith placed in him.

BEPL Prediction: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid

There were more surprises in the Premier League this weekend as Steve Bruce’s Balloon Boys caused their second upset of the campaign when they beat Arsenal at the Stadium of Light.

The 1-0 victory came courtesy of a Darren Bent strike in the 71st minute and once again exposed the Gunners’ lack of continuity. Their North London rivals Tottenham though set a bunch of records on their way to a 9-1, yes you read that right, 9-1 scoreline. Spurs seemed to be playing a third division side from Norway as Jermaine Defoe scored five times in a complete annihilation of Wigan. This result sees them go level on points with Arsenal in third spot with 25 points behind just on goal difference.

Meanwhile Chelsea and Manchester United continued to show why everyone insists on calling the league a two horse race with comprehensive wins over Wolves and Everton respectively. . Chelsea who started without Drogba, Ballack, Lampard and Bosingwa had little difficulty on their way to a 4-0 victory. Essien’s brace for the Blues was sandwiched in between a fabulous Malouda and a Joe Cole strike, the latter scoring for the first time in over a year in the Premier League.

Manchester United were also equally adept in their 3-0 win against Everton. Ferguson watched from the stands whilst serving his first of a two-game ban. Goals from Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Valencia helped the champions coast to victory. They will now hope that Arsenal can do them a favour and help them cut the five point gap when they take on Chelsea next Sunday.

Liverpool made it one win in ten as they failed to pick up the three points this time in their clash with Manchester City at Anfield. The Reds took the lead through Martin Skrtel who probably thought it was wrong for a Slovakian defender to score and duly lost Emanuele Adebayor and then Stephen Ireland as the Citizens took the lead.

But their lead lasted for all of 57 seconds as Yossi Benayoun equalized for the Merseysiders. Rafa’s boys tried all they possibly could in the final ten minutes but were once again unable to get the decisive goal.

Liverpool are now languishing in seventh place thirteen points behind Chelsea and City who have now drawn six games in a row just a point above in sixth.

In other action from around the league, Hull City played out a very entertaining 3-3 draw against West Ham. Aston Villa were held 1-1 at Burnley. Blackburn made it two wins in a row with a 2-0 victory at relegation embattled Bolton.

Portsmouth further confirmed their entry into next year’s Championship with a 1-0 defeat to Stoke and Birmingham City made it four games unbeaten as they won 1-0 through a Lee Bowyer strike against Fulham.

BarCamp Africa UK

BarCamp Africa UK November 7th 2009

I have been meaning to write about my experiences at BarCamp Africa UK but business has been very busy of late, which is never a bad thing!

The theme of BarCamp Africa UK was celebrating and discussing African development and innovation within the context of Technology.

The Event not only dealt with technology but also the effective application of tools to bring about development in its truest form.

On arrival at BarCamp Africa UK I was warmly greeted by the Event Organiser, Tony Burkston who showed me where the keynote speech was taking place.

The keynote speech was by Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah the CEO of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) who gave an insightful talk about some of the political challenges in Africa and how technology can improve the economic situation there.

Throughout the rest of the day many other presentations were given on varying topics revolving around Africa and technology. If you have never attended a BarCamp event they are classified as an Un-Conference. People wanting to talk on a subject write their topic on a board next to a suitable time slot for that day, and attendees can pick and choose which talks they go to. They are a great way to meet people from other professions, network and build business relationships, as well as to make new friends.

This was my second BarCamp event and due to the popularity speakers were asked to send through their presentation selection prior to the event, and a time was allocated for them.

Nexus Globalnet and our sister company, Nexus Powerline are investigating business opportunities in Nigeria and Ghana for deploying WiFi and Broadband Powerline (BPL) networks, and I made some excellent contacts.

I would like to commend the organisers for a well run event and delicious food.

See you next time!

Dale
Nexus Globalnet Limited
www.nexusglobalnet.com
@NexusGlobalnet

Having received the BPL.co.uk’s  conceptually brilliant new walking pole extender (which involves removing the bottom section of both poles and then inserting the extender into both poles and adjusting to size {length/height}) and ascertaining that it does not work with some poles, or (with Pacerpoles if it fits – and some it doesn’t) necessitates using the angled handles at the foot and top,  I spoke to Bob at BPL.co.uk only to be given the heads-up on another extender currently reaching fruition.

This new extender will involve a larger inside diameter section which will allow the  handle/top section of each pole – especially Pacerpoles – to be removed and the two bottom sections of each pole to be joined.  Simplicity itself when considered in the cold light of day.

So keep your eyes peeled for the new addition….AND remember, you first heard about it here.

Owh, what a sad thing to watch Man U lose to Chelsea by a goal which shouldnt be allowed.. even after conquering the match on the 2nd half, but still the much needed goal was out of sight.. hmm.. owh well, we still have a long season to enjoy. Glory glory Man United!!

Nevertheless,  Ferguson had only himself to blame after tactical mistakes were made against such quality team. How can he possibly put anderson against Chelsea knowing that he cannot perform above par?? Cant he remember when IT WAS ANDERSON’S FAULT for the 1st goal they conceeded against Barcelona and how badly he played against big teams? Thus, when I saw the formation and the line up Ferguson used against Chels, deep down I knew there would be a big problem in midfield and it was proven indeed. Man U was catching Chelsea’s shadow in the 1st half especially in midfield (with anderson at fault of course) and Giggs was not at his best (he performed very well in this season, thumbs up to him!). Valencia also looks like he didnt know what to do to break chelsea’s wall. In 2nd half, they increased their tempo and started to attack but yet, no goal until the controversy goal scored by anelka(originally claimed by John Terry).

What was driving me mad was when he took until the 85th minutes to put Owen in. Owh man, Owen should has been in starting line up or at the very least, at the start of 2nd half. A man with pace and good reading of the game, equipped with deadly finish inside penalty box, Owen is the predator Man U need to put the ball behind Cech. I bet most of us still remember the cool finishing that end up to be the winning goal for Man U against man city; scored by him. Ferguson should start to put more faith in players that he signed, Owen(awesome goalscorer) and Obertan(he was fast!!).

Not to worry or anything, let us enjoy a season of entertaining football…

I’m gearing up to head to Honolulu, Hawaii to present at the Hawaii Library Conference 2009. One of my sessions will be all about library experiences, particularly the slant that Boulder Public Library is taking on this broad and increasingly interesting arena through our Pulse Point initiative.

Those that are attending the session on Pulse Points will  get a lot of context for this image. What we know is that libraries and places of learning come alive when the people they are intended to to serve are engaged, intrigued or delighted in the process. By creating Pulse Points in your library or facility there is the opportunity to capture the imaginations and genius of both your customers and your staff.

With the Pulse Point  initiative, we are really undertaking a way of creating more interesting experiences while at the same time learning much about our capacity to explore curiosity, creativity and new ideas. Flexibility and discovery…all wrapped up in a great branded effort!

Hasil Pertandingan Liga Inggris 7 November 2009

Pesta gol terjadi dalam lanjutan liga inggris semalam. Arsenal menang telak 4 : 1 atas Wolverhampton. Sedangkan aston villa mempercundangi Bolton 5 : 1. Sementara itu Man City bermain imbang 3 : 3 ketika menjamu Burnley.  Pesta gol dan bisa juga dikatakan hujan gol mewarnai liga inggris semalam.

Slengkapnya lihat disini

This game is going towards all soccer maniacs out there who wanna try their hand on managing a professional football club such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus or even lower league clubs such as Bath City. Never heard of the club before? Same here.

Nothing much has been changed, so I hope you can refer to my previous post on the earlier version. Sorry, I don’t have much time to spare today and I just started playing it. The link is as below:

http://itsahanzo.wordpress.com/2008/11/16/football-manager-handheld-2008-psp/

If you think this game is easy too play by selecting the top flight clubs, think again! I started as Manchester United club’s manager and it begins with pre-season friendly matches which I won comfortably 1-0, 2-0 and 4-0. I lost out to Chelsea FC on penalty kicks and subsequently I lost the first 3 BPL matches to the newly promoted teams. I got frustrated and I restarted the game!

Guess what? I fair better this time around but the results were not entirely overwhelming with majority of wins, some draw and a few losses. I qualified through the next phase of European Champions League chalking out 4 wins out of 4. Great huh? Not really. I got kicked out by Chelsea FC on the League Cup and subsequent match was against Chelsea FC which I lost too. I got sacked immediately … so sad.

Why am I explaining the above experiences are that this game will be no walkover, although you have chosen a the rich and famous clubs. The game is well balance as you will notice Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool dropping points and even being humbled by other clubs. The treatment rooms will be busy with injured players. Star players will come knocking on your door asking for transfers or commenting your management style to the media and even the board will be giving comments if you overprotect your players.

The noticeable change so far is that there is a bookie styled odds where they will predict the outcome of the matches on the teams. It will also give comments such as Manchester United is predicted to win the match comfortably but the real outcome is a setback. Don’t fall for this anymore =.=.

So if you enjoy your football moments on games like FIFA or Pro Evolution series, why not try your hands on managing a club today in BPL, Seria A, La Liga and etc?

Jadwal Siaran Langsung Liga Inggris 31 Oktober dan 1 November 2009

October 31

19:45 Arsenal vs Tottenham H.
21:00 Bolton W. vs Chelsea
21:00 Burnley vs Hull C.
Everton vs Aston Villa
Fulham vs Liverpool
Portsmouth vs Wigan Athletic

Selengkapnya Lihat Disini

Can Torres help Rafa smile tonight?

So tonight’s the big game between Liverpool and Manchester United. We haven’t been in the best of forms coming into this game so it’ll be a nervous encounter I’m sure.

Rafa’s been under a fair bit of stick this week, probably the most since he’s taken over. I know I have been rather angry at him but I think some of the comments flying about at the moment are unfair.

Two things to address: the hate towards the American owners and calling for Rafa to go.

It’s easy to point fingers at H&G but I think we’re in that transition period from a club living in the 80s to one who’s only now catching up with the financial realities and potential of the 21st century. We’re a slumbering giant shaking off the cobwebs but we’re trying to make up for lost time now.

Some positives I’ve seen from the new setup are the new sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered that’s worth about 84 million pounds over 4 years. That’s about 20 million pounds per year compared to the paltry 7 million pounds Carlsberg has been shelling out annually. This is more in line with similar sponsorship deals that Chelsea and Manchester United have been enjoying.

With Liverpool’s fanatical support all over the world, coupled with StanChart’s global presence, merchandising revenue is expected to grow. The disassociation from an alcohol brand should also boost jersey sales in Islamic markets where having a haram brand splashed across the front of your shirt is taboo.

The new stadium with improved capacity is also expected to generate greater revenue for the club via ticket sales and better advertising packages.

The projected influx of money into the club will obviously help us battle on the transfer front with major players but it obviously takes time and money to finance these projects.

However, I don’t agree with some of the public going-ons in the press between manager and owner. Nobody wants their dirty linen to be washed in public and the animosity between the two parties doesn’t do anything for club harmony.

With regards to Rafa, am I frustrated? Yes like his choice of personnel, tactics – like two holding midfielders against teams we should be attacking –  but overall I think he’s a good manager.

Up till the later half of last season, where we saw Liverpool at their most rampant, I have always believed that Rafa didn’t have enough confidence in his team as an attacking force.

This year unfortunately, the loss of Xabi Alonso has screwed the balance badly. With his departure so late into the transfer window, there wasn’t any time to tweak tactics to mould a new playbook. So far, the experiments haven’t been going too well. Gerrard has gotten to used to playing in the hole to retain the discipline as a central midfielder like Alonso was. However, I feel in this current squad,  Gerrard is probably our best choice in the middle with Mascherano.

Like I mentioned in my last post, the team lacks belief at the moment. The early defeats probably played a part but we’re still the same group of players from last season. If Rafa can manage to instill the confidence back into the players, hopefully we can still get something out of this season.

Anyway, I read an interesting article by Paul Tomkins on the Liverpool FC site where he spent a day with Rafa. He spoke about how Rafa said he had to ship out about 50 of the players he inherited – from youth, reserve and first team – because they just weren’t good enough.

It’s easy to point fingers at the owners to say they haven’t given the manager enough money to buy new players but with the club in debt, it’s crazy to expect Real Madrid type of prices for players. Madrid’s net debt is 296 million pounds! That sort of numbers can send a club into administration!

But let’s look at our Academy. It’s been a decade since Gerrard stepped up into the first team. What’s happened since then? None of the players seem to have been of decent quality, except maybe Stephen Warnock though even then…It’s been extremely disappointing that the youth system hasn’t produced enough quality players to bolster the squad.

Then again, some of Rafa’s buys have been really quite questionable. But at the end of the day, we can’t go around just buying new players. Obviously, the scouting network and youth setup are part of the long-term strategies that Rafa’s trying to improve.

Just like everyone else, I too am a frustrated Liverpool fan, but I don’t think removing Rafa is the answer. Obviously, he’s instilled a new system into the team which has worked most of the time. Ultimately, the game depends on the 11 players out on the field for that 90 minutes. If they don’t believe that they can win the game (or the title), we can give up the fight now.

About 2 hours to kick off now. Cross our fingers!

It was not going to be an easy game.  Footballing pundits had already given their opinion on how detrimental a failure in this particular game at Anfield could prove to be for the Kop. And none of them believed Liverpool could get a victory here without the inspirational Steven Gerrard and marksman Fernando Torres. How right they were!!!

Liverpool tried to start in aggressive fashion and keep the ball against a fluent Lyon side. However, it was the visitors who would almost go ahead courtesy Brazilian striker Lisandro. It was only the athleticism of Pepe Reina that saved Liverpool from an early embarrassment. This failed attempt by Lyon seemed to have injected some life into Liverpool. From here on in the first half, the Reds kept most of the possession and dominated proceedings. This did not mean that Lyon did not pose a challenge. They always looked threatening when coming ahead and one was particularly noticeable, Sidney Govou. I would say that what Steven Gerrard is to Liverpool, Sidney Govou is to Lyon.

Liverpool managed to go ahead on 41 minutes courtesy Yossi Benayoun who was the man trying to guide a very scrappy Liverpool midfield. Credit has to be given to Fabio Aurelio for the excellent cross into the box which caused numerous problems to the Lyon defence and resulted in the only goal for Liverpool in the match. Liverpool went into the break 1-0 ahead. The home fans expected a much better performance from their team in the second half, but it was Lyon who stole the show. A goal on 72 minutes and another one deep in injury time from the Lyon super subs meant that Liverpool now have to win the remaining three games in the Champions league convincingly to go past the league stages.

Several things were clearly seen in this game. For instance, Liverpool no longer have the free flowing game of football that we were seeing last season. Surely this has not been caused by the absence of just one man Xabi Alonso. No, there is more to this than meets the eye.  There seems to be an absolute lack of awareness about where the other team members are. Most players look up to see where their nearest teammate stands before passing on the ball. Also, there seems to be no anticipation amongst the players that the ball is going to be played to him and no runs across.  In my opinion, this is nothing but the lack of teamwork. Yes, individual skills have to be improved, but football is a team game and if the players in a team cannot read each other’s minds, there will be no success for that team.

In comparison, the Lyon players were so well aware of each other placement that when they had the ball, Liverpool almost never managed to get it back cleanly. Another surprise was the team selection. You can see from the teams Rafa has been putting there, that he is trying to build a young team. What with players like Lucas and Insua getting regular first team appearances, and Ngog getting the look in once in a while. But, the question we must ask here is; is this being done at the expense of losing out in the top four slots in the league and an early exit out of the Champions league?

Rafa has been saying a number of things to defend himself and his team selection. He has been trying to mould Lucas to place in the place of Xabi Alonso. Lucas though seems to be following in the footsteps of Nani i.e. contributing nothing in every game. To be very frank, he only showed one good bit of skill till date, and that too in this game against Lyon, when cornered near the left corner of the field. He is weak in possession and needs to improve his tackling and defence capabilities on a whole. Maybe it is a little too early to be giving him a regular place on the team.

Also, considering that Liverpool now have a few strikers, namely Torres, Voronin, Babel and Ngog; its a wonder why Rafa never plays 2 of them up front. Its always better to have 2 up ahead who can score than one. Dirk Kuyt has been working as the makeshift striker during El Nino’s absence, but the guy is not really a striker. Mind you, he works like a horse in the field, but Liverpool could do with someone having a little more imagination up front.

Rafa – as everyone knows -  is a defensive minded manager. If he plays 2 strikers, he can put defensive midfielders out there and shore up his defence to take care of a counter attack from the opposition.

That said, Rafa knows the team better and the strengths and weaknesses of each player better than anyone else. Lets hope that he does some out-of-the-box thinking and starts getting those results that the fans always expect from the Reds.

***If I were Rafa, i would consider the following lineup against ManUtd on Sunday.

————————————————————————————————

Torres             Voronin

Aurelio                Benayoun                 Kuyt

Mascherano

Insua             Agger          Carragher         Kelly

Reina

————————————————————————————————

I would prefer Kelly to Johnson since Kelly has shown very good defensive qualities as well as looking good while moving forward.

And Voronin might seem to be a waste of money to many, but he has shown glimpses of his abilities during his time on the field. I would definitely put my money on him to score at least once every two games provided he plays regularly.

Hasil Pertandingan Liga Inggris 17 dan 18 Oktober 2009

Dari hasil pertandingan liga inggris kemaren hasil berbeda didapatkan oleh Chelsea dan Manchester United. Dimana Chelsea kalah 2 : 1 dari Aston Villa dan MU menang 2 : 1 atas Bolton

October 17
Aston Villa 2 vs 1 Chelsea
Arsenal 3 vs 1 Birmingham C.
Everton 1 vs 1 Wolverhampton W.
Manchester U. 2 vs 1 Bolton W.

Hasil Selengkapnya Lihat Disini

Okay, it wasn’t like the best weekend ever but it wasn’t so bad either.

On the bright side, Chelsea & Liverpool lost! Hahahahahahahaha to them both. Manchester United won and back on top of the table. Wohooooooo…to that!!! Re-watched The Vampire Diaries again. Still feeling it for the end note.

Went for a preview of window shopping, I liked the shades I saw. Am so getting it, sometime..and more window shopping to come :p

And so the weekend is ending, in a few hours time.

There was a dark side to the weekend, Sunday to be specific. I went to visit my late grandfather at the cemetary. I realised somehow, I never really let it go. I am not sure at which stage I belonged to in accordance to Elizabeth Kubler Ross 5 stages of grief. I did not deny his passing but I am sure as hell angry about it even till today. And let’s not pursue this further..

Looking forward to the next weekend now.

XOXO

Sunderland’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool hurts. Despite being in a cloudy haze of painkiller-induced drowsiness, throbbing pain and a pounding headache brought about by irregular rest, this defeat sucked enough to cast more hurt on me.

It exposed a few things I’ve been thinking about. One is we lack presence – both in stature and in heart. It’s something I’ve written in my previous blog – this overall lack of belief and confidence in the side.

We’ve always relied on Gerrard to get the team out of trouble. While his influence this season has been sub-par and he doesn’t track back anymore, as a captain, he has that galvanising effect on the players. When Gerrard doesn’t play, nobody takes charge on the pitch. Carragher rants too much. It’s hard to respect someone who’s just shouting at you all the time, you want a leader who’s calm, firm and well, generally a good example. He’s been our weakest link this season. The sooner Carra realises that no man is bigger than the team, the better and we should get another cover in or at least fast-track one of the youngsters. This Mr Liverpool tag is getting to his head.

Without Gerrard and Torres, we really looked ordinary. The choice of personnel and formation was unexpected but you’d expect these fellas to at least perform or step up when presented with the chance to do so.

Spearing looked lost versus a proper battling midfield. Shame they let Danny Guthrie go for the likes of Lucas – I’m sure he has his good points but not in our shirt. That’s midfield lost.

Our defence today was poor. You mix an unsteady centre pairing of Carra/Skrtel with Agger who hasn’t played this season against the Premiership’s hottest strikeforce =disaster.

The balloon deflection was weird. Sure, Reina and his defenders could have cleared it if they had spotted it earlier but if you’ve ever played a match, you’ll realise you’re usually following the action too and you don’t have time to look around to clean up. Especially when you’re too busy marking players etc. If the linesman had spotted it, couldn’t he have signalled the ref? It’s easy to blame the balloon but honestly, let’s admit it – the team sucked and deserved to lose.

The worst culprit was Babel.  He’s so frustrating. We know how good he can be when he applies himself. We hear noises from him about getting a regular place and what does he do when he gets it? Disappears. Miscontrols. Shoots waywardly. Miscontrols. Shirks from challenges. Miscontrols. Miscontrols. That’s criminal for a footballer who’s no longer a rookie, a full international and gets paid thousands for kicking a bloody football. I’d be surprised if he’s with us next season.

Today, maybe only Glen Johnson looked like he cared. Maybe Mascherano too. Btw someone should knock Masch’s head next time he mouths off to the ref, doesn’t he ever learn?

But really, we lack someone else who takes the game by the scruff of the neck, who imposes himself and dictates play. Maybe there’s not enough inner desire or hunger to win. And that’s really the difference when you see Chelsea, United and even Arsenal sometimes. Actually, Sunderland was a good enough example. People step up whether it’s a team spirit thing or a desire to prove people wrong – Liverpool players are too docile, too meek to fight. Forget Istanbul – that was 4 years ago coming to 5. The past counts for jack.

Maybe it’s the way Benitez manages – I’m sure it’s good for him that he has a bunch of yes-men under him but I’d always want the guys who work for me to be able to stand up for themselves, have a backbone, have conviction in what they do and be willing to fight for that. Sometimes they’ll head in the wrong direction but that’s when we’ll see a good manager who can show them the right path and guide them but not stub out their fire.

Honestly, based on my expectations of a Liverpool team, none of the players who wore the jersey today deserve to play for the club.