Manchester United – Beşiktaş maçında Tello’nun attığı gol izlemek için tıklayın…

Found this list online, here, and thought it was interesting. Good for Spurs and Villa fans at least.

The list is correct as of 17/11/09.

Top 20 Teams For Producing England Internationals (all time):

1. Aston Villa – 68
2. Tottenham – 62
3. Everton – 59
4. Liverpool – 58
5. Man United – 57
6. Arsenal – 54
7. Blackburn – 48
8= Man City, West Brom – 42
10= Chelsea, Sheff Wed – 41
12. Nottingham Forest – 37
13. Derby – 36
14= Sheffield United, West Ham – 35
16= Newcastle, Wolves 33
18. Leeds – 30
19. Middlesbrough – 29
20= Bolton / Southampton – 26

Denmark's Footballer of The Year

I have always believed that everyone has their advantages and flaws in certain areas that is different from one another. Some can paint, some can sing, some can dance, while others are just plain stupid. Case in point, Darren Fletcher. After the Chelsea game, he was quoted to say that

I think we are starting to see Mr Wenger’s comments starting to influence referees which is a shame really. Now we have to raise our game and ensure these decisions are not affecting the game

I just couldn’t believe my eyes. In fact I rubbed it 15 times and read the statement over and over again just to make sure. This was Fletcher trying claiming to be the unknown player that Wenger quoted after the Old Trafford clash to be the one who committed 20 fouls without a card. It is unbelievable that he doesn’t realise that by making this statement, he has more than admitted to be that particular player. Not only is he not helping himself by making such remarks after a loss but it is also an admission of guilt. I’m sure he can remember the past statements that his boss have made and how it influenced subsequent outcomes.

Perhaps, that was not a foul on Cole (who I opined to be someone who can be kicked at without it every being a foul – this should be made a law) but he has really opened up a can of worms. His actions will most likely not get any sort of punishment from the FA as it usually is with Man United. He is trying to say that referees are not impartial and can be easily influenced in their judgement by past remarks. He has made himself a target for referees and I will not wonder why he gets booked or sent off the next time because he clearly just picked a fight with the officials of the game.

The FA are currently without any comment in reference to this statement and that is also unbelievable.  This is a damning statement on them. If this was any other club (especially Arsenal), they would’ve made a big story of out it. It’s really a pity that this club gets special treatment from the FA. As if they don’t get away with enough already.

Nicklas Bendtner won the Danish Footballer Of The Year award but will be celebrating it with a doctor’s appointment. It is yet to be confirmed but it is believed that further scans will show that he will require an groin surgery that will probably keep him out for another month or two at the minimum. It may not raise alarm bells but we will miss his presence. He is the only attacking option that can provide strength and height and without him, we lose the option of punting the ball forward for a striker to win headers. So far, RVP has failed in this department and as evident against Craddock last Saturday, he can’t win headers for nuts.

Not only that, we will also miss an improved version of last season’s Bendtner. He’s been energetic to say the least in those appearances that he has made but he is also a clinical finisher of the ball. If we are to chase games with time at a premium, we are faced with the option of sending in crosses or freekicks without a real big option in the box. Hopefully this is not a scenario we need to face with or without his injury.

Q. What exactly happened here?

A. Darren Fletcher won the ball and Ashley Cole jumped up into the air. Martin Atkinson promptly scurried across and awarded Chelsea the ‘foul’. The rest, as they say, is the rest of this post.

Q. Was Sir Alex wrong in criticizing the referee?

A. Absolutely. Considering it was the FINA World Aquatic Championships, and both Drogba and Cole were on the pitch, it’s absolutely unfair to blame the referee.

Q. Whose goal was it anyway?

A. That’s beside the point. Let’s talk about Drogba.

Q. What about him?

A. Determining whether a player is in “active play” can be complex. FIFA issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003 and these were incorporated in law 11 in July 2005. The new wording seeks to more precisely define the three cases as follows (let’s foget the other two):

• Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or maintaining a position which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent in any way.

Note this point your honour. I think there is a slight case of interfering with play when you have hauled down the opposing defender, and then stuck your boot out 2 inches from the ball and 3 inches from the opposing keeper. Of course, in all of the above sentence, the only 6 words that matter are in the opinion of the referee. And we know that it’s not a great opinion when he gave the free kick in the first place.

Q. Was that why Johny Judo-kicked Drogba?

A. No. As much as some Chelshits would have you think, revenge is not the only thing on a footballer’s mind all the time. Besides, the Judo kick happened before the goal.

Q. After the above incident, what the heck was Drogba doing?

A. Apart from Capello, a few other notable members in the stand included John Crickson, the owner of the Eastham theater in London, and Gary Pulishe, the talent scout for the ‘Travelling Triads of Trent Birdge’. They both were looking for an actor to play a fish out of water (literally, not figuratively) for their next play and next comic routine respectively.

Q. Why were United so poor going forward?

A. Because without Scholes or Berbatov, Rooney had to play Left Striker, Right Striker and Central Attacking Midfielder all by himself. And Carrick can’t shoot for nuts from 30 yards.

Q. But what about Giggs and Valencia and Anderson?

A. If you all noticed, they actually were anti-Ivanovic, anti-Cole and anti-Essien respectively. Fergie went with nature’s laws. Every matter, has an equal and destructive anti-matter. In the process, leaving out anything that might be constructive.

Q. Is that the title?

A. If you mean, is that the title for Chelsea, I would say NO. If you mean is that the title gone for United, I would say no.

Q. Was that guy actually brushing his teeth?!?!

A. I believe so, yes. God knows with what though.

First it was Burnley, then Liverpool, now Chelsea. Although two of the three away games have been against the so-called Big 4, and United have indeed beaten the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs and Manchester City, it’s a chilling prospect to know that not only were United beaten by a much better (luckier) team, but also the lack of scoring in those games prove to be the pain in the neck.

And was Chelsea lucky, or was Chelsea lucky? They scored from a freekick that the referee incorrectly given, off a John Terry header that was luckily glanced and almost touched by a player in an offside position. I think it should have been disallowed for offside. Not because the offside player – in this case Didier Drogba – touched the ball, but he did enough to misguide the goalkeeper. In terms of the offside rule, the player need not touch the ball, but interfering with play may also have him ruled offside.

.Goal scorer Terry celebrates his first goal of the season (ShaunBotterill/GettyImages).

Sir Alex Ferguson was again unhappy with the referee’s contribution with the defeat, but not to the extent of a few weeks ago. He did commented that his team failed to finish off a few good chances in front of goal.

Everton at Old Trafford is next after the international break at the weekend. Glory, glory Man United! ES7

Remember, remember, the 6th of November,

Post-Busby, Munich and all,

There’s no reason why, including 3 on the trot,

The Alex Fergie era, should ever be forgot.

A bird in hand...

It is slightly disconcerting to think that this man has been on this job for just about 55 days less than the time I’ve been on this earth. That should put the magnitude of this achievement in some sort of perspective. It’s also fitting that the next match is one that will have a great bearing on whether the 30 titles in 23 years get added to. Chelsea are seemingly on a juggernaut, and that man Dogbag has gone absolutely mad. United will be without Rio, so Johnny Evans will have to be thrown into the cauldron. Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble for the poor kid. Vidic seems to be available, but he’s not exactly going through a purple patch himself. The only way United can nick this is by scoring more than Chelsea, for Chelsea are sure as heck gonna score.

Papa Wayne and Berba should most likely start upfront, though it’s also likely that Fergie goes with a 5-man midfield, as he tends to do in away clashes against the Big Four. The only thing that might prevent him from doing that is the fact that he’ll have to play Nani then, a situation we all know, is best avoided. Valencia should be back on the right and Owen should be left back (on the bench) while Evra will be left back (on the pitch).

A largely inconclusive Champions League week which failed to put Liverpool out of the tournament has led to the table-watchers feeling very disappointed indeed. There’s no fun when everything’s status quo and people are waiting for something else to happen. Thankfully, this weekend will not be that, at least at the top of the table.

London Ho!

]]> http://chuacollection.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/prediksi-hasil-premier-league-71109/ Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:18:54 +0000 chuacollection http://chuacollection.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/prediksi-hasil-premier-league-71109/

PREDIKSI HASIL PREMIER LEAGUE 7/11/09 ADALAH:
CHELSEA 2-1 MAN. UNITED
ASTON VILLA 1-1 BOLTON
BLACKBURN 0-0 PORTSMOUTH
MAN CITY 2-0 BURNLEY
TOTTENHAM 3-1 SUNDERLAND
WOLVES 1-3 ARSENAL
HULL 1-1 STOKE
WEST HAM 1-2 EVERTON
WIGAN 0-0 FULHAM
LIVERPOOL 2-0 BIRMIGHAM

There was plenty of action in the champions league match at Old Trafford. As expected to be a tough encounter with nothing to lose for the visiting side CSKA Moscow, the actual scene was no different with many goals scored amongst them. After coming from behind, Manchester United shared a point against a strong CSKA Moscow with the final score line of 3-3. In the other match of the group, VfL Wolfsburg won 3-0 against Besiktas JK. With the result Wolfsburg go second in the table and last year’s runners up Manchester United are on the top. The good news is that despite the draw, Manchester United are through to the next round of thechampions league.

The match started in front of electric 75000+ old Trafford who never expects less than a big win. There was no real opportunity to any of the teams with only minor attacks. In the 25 minute Old Trafford was stunned with a brilliant left footed kick from Alan Dzagoev from a very acute angle with went straight inside the goal with the goal keeperVan der Sar like one of the spectators. But just 4 minutes later Michael Owen levelled it for United with a neat pass from Nani inside the penalty area, Owen shot the ball with perfection. And again, CSKA was in front with Miloš Krasićscoring in an empty goal after he rounds Van der Sar, Tomáš Necid being the playmaker of it as he one pass took care of all the United’s defence. The match went into the half time break with the host trailing 1-2.
In the 47th minute, the lead further widened when Alan Dzagoev’s free kick from the left flank caught Vasili Berezutski who headed across the goal and into the bottom corner. As it looked like CSKA will take the honours, recovery system was activated by United with Paul Scholes scoring in the 84th minute through a close range header of Gary Neville’s free kick from the right. And Again n again n again the Red Devils scored in there time i.e. in the injury time (90+2) through Valencia’s long ranger that got very much deflected of the CSKA’s defender but who cares!!! The game ended with a 3-3 score line not before Šemberas of CSKA was dismissed with a second yellow.
With Manchester United going to the next round, the other 3 teams in the group has plenty to fight for the final seat which will drive to the next round. The next match day will be crucial for them while Manchester United can try out now strategies specially their defence which need a bit of overhauling.

Man United are through to the last 16 last night with two games left in the group stage.

Goals from Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and a deflected Antonio Valencia strike at the end saw United getting 10 points from a possible 12 so far.

It would have been a different matter though. The home side might as well have been 4 goals up if not for the brilliant Igor Akinfeev. The Russian keeper denying the opposing frontline of Owen and Kiko Macheda time and time again. CSKA Moscow’s scorers were Alan Dzagoev, Milos Krasic and Vasili Berezutsky.

A controversial moment a few minutes after the restart saw Darren Fletcher tripped in the penalty box by Berezutsky. Not only did the referee not give the penalty, but he also booked Fletcher for diving.

With Chelsea at the weekend in mind, Sir Alex Ferguson rested Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra came off the bench while the defensive duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were injured.

.Valencia, Rooney, Wes Brown and Gary Neville celebrating the equaliser (GettyImages).

 .The (non) penalty incident (GettyImages).

Other Matchday 3 results:

Bayern Munich 0 Bordeaux 2

Maccabi Haifa 0 Juventus 1

Besiktas 0 VfL Wolfsburg 3

Manchester United 3 CSKA Moscow 3

AC Milan 1 Real Madrid 1

Marseille 6 FC Zürich 1

Apoel Nicosia 0 FC Porto 1

Atlético Madrid 2 Chelsea 2

Under serious pressure

1 – Another false dawn for Liverpool after a shambolic defeat at Craven Cottage. Two red cards, 3 goals conceded, Torres a major doubt for Wednesday’s crunch game at Lyon and Gerrard definitely out. How much worse can things get for Rafa Benitez? His power base within the club is secure after he saw off Rick Parry and negotiated a huge contract with the American owners last season. But Benitez knows the sack won’t be as distant as it appears now if a majority of Liverpool fans decide enough is enough. When that line is crossed Rafa will most definitely start to hear the Fat Lady clearing her throat.

2 – I’m beginning to seriously dislike Harry Redknapp. When he was at West Ham and Pompey he always seemed alright and managed to produce some very decent sides. Since he’s gone to Spurs though ‘Arry has taken on a whole new persona and seems to be fighting a running battle against the world. Every question posed is met by a sneering and dismissive response and he views every opposing side as flawed when compared to his charges. All he’s achieving by acting this way though is creating new enemies and feeding ammunition to those already opposed to him. And after Spurs got tanked by their North London rivals Arsenal at the weekend, exposing them for how good they really are, you’d think Redknapp could do with all the friends he can get.

3 – Football is a funny old game sometimes. Throughout Portsmouth’s early season struggles one of the most glaring deficiencies in Paul Hart’s side was the lack of quality up front. Nowhere was this more evident than in the form of Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane who looked like he was about as likely to score a Premier League goal as the Man on the Moon. His open goal miss from six yards v Spurs was the most notable example of his lack of precision. Then low and behold Wigan journey south with defenders Bramble, Boyce and Melchiot all having nightmares and Dindane leaves the pitch with the match ball after scoring a hat-trick. Remarkable stuff and if he keeps scoring Pompey might have a sniff at staying up.

4 – Man United have 25 points from their first 11 games and they’ve yet to come anywhere near to hitting top form. Their eight wins have come with a minimum of hassle, save for Arsenal beating themselves at Old Trafford and Michael Owen snatching a late win in the Derby. Defeats to Burnley and Liverpool were quickly rebounded from with three points and a draw with Sunderland was achieved via an injury time own goal. All in all it’s been far from a vintage few months for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men but still they look the team to beat domestically. Chelsea sit atop the table at present but once Drogba, Essien, Mikel and Kalou depart in January for the African Cup of Nations the Blues will be dramatically weakened. History shows as winter leads into spring the Red Devils kick into gear. For now just staying in touch is all that’s seemingly required for the Champions.

His side need to improve

5 – After a very bright start to the season the Man City juggernaut has shuddered to something of a halt. Their last four league games have all ended in draws. If it were not for the excellence in goals of Shay Given, who saved a 2nd-half penalty from James McFadden, Birmingham would have defeated Mark Hughes’s side yesterday. There’s plenty of time to get the show back on the road of course, and there’s always the January transfer window if new players are needed, but City need to resume winning sooner rather than later. It’s either that or Hughes will find that his Arab bosses expect more than draws at St Andrews from a squad that cost a large chunk of petrodollars to assemble.

6 – In Spain Real Madrid closed the gap on Barcelona to a point after the Catalans conceded a last-minute own goal to draw with Osasuna. The in form Seydou Keita put Pep Guardiola’s side in front but Gerard Pique slipped up in stoppage time and Barca journeyed home with only a point. At the Bernabeu Gonzalo Higuain notched a double to ease the pressure on coach Manuel Pelligrini who heard multiple calls for his head after indifferent form in the past few weeks. Sevilla are still in touch after a 2-0 win over Xerez and the revival at Villareal gathered pace as the Yellow Submarine dispatched Tenerife five nil. After an awful start to the campaign Ernesto Valverde’s side are returning to form which is hardly surprising considering this is a squad containing the likes of Joan Capdevilla, Marcos Senna, Robert Pires and Giuseppe Rossi.

7 – Too good domestically, not good enough in the Champions League is an apt summation of Internazionale’s season to date. We’re only at the start of November and already Jose Mourinho’s men are seven points clear of Juventus. A strike force of Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito has been as lethal on the pitch as it looked on paper and players like Stankovic, Sneijder and Maicon have come to the fore in Serie A. In Europe though it has been a different story as three successive draws against Barca, Rubin Kazan and Dynamo Kiev have left the Nerazzurri bottom of Group F. There’s no need for alarm just yet as the other three teams only have a point extra each but a loss in Ukraine could signal a looming disaster. Across town the resurgence of AC Milan continued as Marco Borriello scored twice at the San Siro to secure Leonardo’s troops another three points against Parma. They’re now up to fourth, a place and two points behind Sampdoria and a point ahead of Fiorentina.

We are twins, lookalikes. But between us, there is a difference of heaven and earth. I’m the most celebrated defender at my club, while he’s a young upstart. I’m the most uninspiring captain English football has ever seen, while he’s yet to captain any side higher than a reserve side in the Swiss Third Division. I slide in to tackle the player when I feel he’s gone past me and fall over in the process, while he, well, he just slides in.

My Dad always used to say to me, ‘Jamie, life’s a bitch. And what goes around, always comes around, including Red Cards. And the only way to deal with the red cards, is to be…’

In news that is sure to shock the footballing world, it has been learnt that the FA, after holding a high committee meeting in their secret meeting room in their secret facility, decided that Jamie Carragher should have been sent off for pulling down ex-Pal Owen during the game against United last week. Appalled that a referee of the holier-than-thou Football Association could make such a grave error, they passed a secret resolution to right this wrong immediately. And the man entrusted with this onerous task – Referee Lee Mason. However, they didn’t count on one thing. Kaminey.

Carragher at 25

Philipp Degen at 33

Hot on the heels of referee Chris Foy doing this at United’s Carling Cup game, the FA’s top-secret plan of ‘Two wrongs making a right’ carried out by Lee Mason also ran into embarrassing trouble. As Philipp Degen slid into Clint Dempsey at Craven Cottage, Lee Mason’s eyes lit up, as he saw the moment had arrived to carry out his bidding. As you can see above, in the blurred darkness of Craven Cottage (which has to be the most primitive stadium in the league) and in his whole hurry of somehow sending off Jamie with time running out, it was quite easy to mistake the two players. Matters were not helped by Philipp sliding in as he did, an act that in the whole of the Liverpool team, only Carragher and Gerrard are allowed to do. Or the fact that this happened on the left end of the pitch, a place where poor Mason would’ve hardly expected to see the right-back Degen. And before anyone knew (including the Sky Sports Producer, who completely missed the card-showing moment), Mason had sent off Degen, only to turn as red as the card he was holding up ten seconds later when he noticed the name on the shirt.

However, fate was on Lee Mason’s side, and this time, he was not to fail his employers! As is customary practice, Carragher bundled all over his striker who was a clean yard ahead of him and both people went down in a heap. It was a case of both people tripping over each other and the ball, as opposed to Owen’s case where the ball was a meter ahead,  Owen was in pursuit of it, and Jamie had simply no choice. But the moment Zamora went clattering to the ground, Lee Mason was swiftly on the scene, and the seaside resort in Dover promised to him by the FA reappeared in his eyes as he triumphantly flashed out his second red card in 3 minutes. Justice was served!

However, this issue, which could totally snowball into a massive controversy for the FA, has been avoided and just about brushed under the carpet thanks to a generous helping hand from Benitez, who has taken off all the attention from them. Top mathematicians and logicians from around the world are still trying to figure out the statistical, algebraic, geometric and/or binary reasoning behind taking off the League’s top-scorer at a moment when your team is just about coming to grips with the game and look poised to kill it off. PIt’s been suggested that Yossi was also doing these calculations when he was taken off subsequently, and all those things he mouthed as he was jogging off were in fact, not a string of Hebrew expletives.

We will update you with more on this matter as it comes in. In the meanwhile, in other yawn-worthy news, Fabregas suddenly found himself in a Nike ad during the match against Tottenham, where all the defenders were highly-paid extras doing a token slide-in as he skipped past all of them to score Arsenal’s second goal. He even waited a couple of seconds to make sure after the goal that the Big Tick with ‘Just Do it’ didn’t fill the screen, before actually celebrating. Also, Sam Allardyce without Bolton isn’t quite the same banana-peel fixture that everyone is used to. Him and Bolton were like the New Zealand cricket team, with a sum greater than its parts. Him and Blackburn are like… well, him and Blackburn. A fairly routine win for United, coupled with a fairly routine win for Chelsea, which makes for a fairly routine viewing at the top of the table. What new Manchester team?

This time in the quarterfinals as opposed to last season Final. And this time United aren’t about to face another 120 minutes again seeing the match will be played the week after November 30th. The toll on the players will be immense if it does go to penalties.

Carling Cup quarterfinal draw:

Blackburn Rovers vs Chelsea

Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspurs

Portsmouth vs Aston Villa

Manchester City vs Arsenal

Ben Foster was the hero for United during the final. Hope that this one will be done and dusted after 90 minutes though. Glory, glory Man United! ES7

On Sunday last, the Man United fans were asking why were United again outplayed and tactically outmaneourved by a game, willing but limited Liverpool midfield?

 The obvious answer of course was no Darren Fletcher or the injury plagued Owen Hargreaves. The former Munich man has missed so many games for United in his 2 years that his absence is no real excuse. Mascherano and Lucas, he who is perenially criticised, were a hive of energy compared to the elegant but immobile partnership of Carrick and Scholes. 

Perhaps Ferguson gambled that United could play their way their way around a technically inferior quartet, which also included Dirk Kuyt and Fabio Aurelio. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, while the minds of veterans Giggs and Scholes can still paint a canvas in their minds, the physical element is sadly deteriorating. Benitez set out the Anfield Road side to soak up the pressure, press United in the middle third and hit them on the break. It worked to a tee for the Spaniard who was feeling the heat like an Irishman stuck in a Spanish siesta!

Where now for United who were similarily overwhelmed against Barcelona in the Champions league final when the midfield was swamped? Ferguson appears to have lost a little faith in Anderson since the reported early season bust-up and AWOL performance in Rome last May. Giggs can give a performance from time to time but consistency was never a byword the Welshman. Besides box-to-box running wasnt his forte even in his younger days. Darren Gibson is young but unlikely ever to develop into a top class performer but many had that view of Fletcher too! 

Should Fergie dip into the transfer market? He may want too but funds seem to be an issue for the debt-ridden English giants. United have plenty of wingers but no one to set the pulses racing like Ronaldo (or to hit the net regularly). At the minute, the tabloid rumours mill are focusing on strikers like the Spaniards David Villa and David Villa but United are well served in that department. At the moment there isnt a commanding, enforcer-type midfielder available in the market. Perhaps United should have brought Gareth Barry to the Red side of Manchester during the summer but the Scot seemed happy with his lot.

After the ill-fated Champions league final, Ferguson cryptically said he knew where United went wrong and seemed to indicate he knew how to fix it. Well the first serious test of the season suggested otherwise. The defensive midfielder is a must for all the elite sides. Just to roll call – Yaya Toure with Barcelona, Diarra and Madrid, Essien for Chelsea, Mascherano with Liverpool and even Song anchoring the Arsenal midfield!

A ragged Blackburn on Saturday shouldnt present too many problems and United will continue to pick up sufficient points against the chaff to stay in the title race. Their encounters with their fellow contenders and the shape and personal of the midfield in those games will make or break their trophy ambitions.

Welcome to my new blog, Jack of all Sports.

This blog is going to be about all sports particulary GAA, Soccer & rugby. I will be writing features on different topics within these sports.

In light of the fact that United had a Carling Cup tie last night, which was won comfortably enough, but was overshadowed by a good ol’ college-style food-fight, BigFourZa shall not review the match in protest, to express our solidarity with the 1 Billion people in the world who go hungry every day (seriously).

Not to mention the fact that I didn’t know Ten Sports actually had the rights to Carling Cup ties, which itself is just an addendum to the point that I wouldn’t have bothered to see it anyway. So all you Gooners and Scouse, 1.15 AM tonight, is the time you have to note. Anyway, I squarely blame Carling for the above mess. I can see only one reason why people would’ve felt such a strong need for food.

For the record, United ‘B’ won the game 2-0 and are through to the last 8 with a host of other Premier League clubs. I reiterate, this competition should be for the little people. Like Hull and Portsmouth and all that, the latest in a line of clubs who are in ’serious trouble of bankruptcy’ to the tune of double-digit Millions. Though I can’t understand why Portsmouth had to have a transfer ban slapped on them. What, they tapped up the young, promising Nigerian Kanu?

Getting back to the point, yes, United ‘B’. Any game which starts with Owen has to be that. As a friend of mine put it today “This whole Owen thing isn’t quite working out.” I’m heavily inclined to agree. Though, I do also feel people shouldn’t watch him like the stock market. Tracking every uptick and downtick and writing a million reports on them. Gabriel Obertan got his first run out for United, while Zoran doesn’t quite seem to be up there yet. To start on the bench for a Carling cup match has to be a slight, well, cup.

However, to clarify the point about the title, and to reiterate my point about the solidarity, this post (or whatever’s left of it) shall only be about the seemingly ubiquitous suffix, which we shall phonetically call Lee, and it’s relation to the footballing world.

Most Recent: Lee Chung-yong – The ‘other’ South Korean plying his trade in the Manchester area (the only one currently plying anything actually). Got on to the score-sheet in the nice appetizer to the Liverpool-United clash at the Reebok.

Most Unlikely: Jet Li – What’s the connection, you ask? Well remember Romeo must die? The whole Kung-Fu American Football thing? That’s the one! (I shall now proceed to bury myself up to the neck in ice as punishment for that)

Most Useful: Tim Berners-Lee – For making this possible. Thanks Tim. Sniff.

Most Useless: Burnley – Completely not required of them to take points off us. It’s not like anyone’s crying to watch them stay up.

Most pissed off: Barnsley – Not only do they lose the match, they also lose their food. That’s got to be the worst double-whammy ever, and if that doesn’t piss off 11 sweaty, hungry guys, nothing will!

Hoping the bloody Scouse lose tonight. And eggnog gets his head cracked open or something.

]]> http://def1ant.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/carling-cup-holders-through/ Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:00:00 +0000 def1ant http://def1ant.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/carling-cup-holders-through/

Manchester United won last night against Barnsley to book a place in the quarterfinals. Danny Welbeck and Michael Owen both scored the goals in a game United again finished with 10 men as club captain Gary Neville was sent off.

.A stunned Neville got his marching orders (GettyImages).

In another note, Sir Alex Ferguson accepts the FA charge for improper conduct following comments he made on Alan Wiley’s fitness and could be handed a touchline ban. It’s a massive setback for United, but life goes on. There’s also a matter of league action at the weekend as United play host to Blackburn. ES7

Here’s 10 things you wouldn’t have known about Liverpool-United matches till you saw today’s. Well, you might still not know some of them, but you’d at least suspect them.

1. Rafa’s good at Math. He knows that if United are the champions above everyone else, and he beats United, then he’s the champion. Simply put, if A>B, and B>C, then A>C. The Premier League is commutative.
2. Scholes has lateral inversion issues. He short-plays back-passes and overhits long balls. He needs Amir Khan to get all Taare Zameen Par on his ass.
3. When Rooney and Berbatov are anonymous, Valencia finally emerges as the best player on the pitch. Suddenly he’s very Ussain Bolt in his pace, and very Berbatov in his first touch. Also, he hits the cross-bar at the most crucial time.
4. Even when he’s used only as a substitute, Nani cannot emerge as the best player on the pitch. When the ball is at his feet, he needs an eon to think what to do with it. And then an eon to actually do it. By then Torres has completed two 100 meter sprints up and down the touchline.
5. Speaking of, Torres passed a late fitness test declaring him eligible to play and a late sex test declaring him eligible to… well, be a him. I mean, he looks like a girl, he dives like a girl, he trips over himself and then cries. He’s also incredibly light, like a girl. Or an elf.
6. Jamie Carragher is a f***ing disgrace. Not only should he have been sent off, he has the nerve to go and say it was Owen who tripped him, and not vice versa. Senile old bastard.
7. Vidic and Mascherano are having an affair. That’s why they make it a point to always leave early when the two teams are playing.
8. This does not mean Liverpool are going to win the league. They did this twice last season and they still couldn’t, so I’m sure we’re all clear on that.
9. Beachballs are infinitely trippy. Most of United’s bad passes were because they were cracking up every time they saw a beachball on the pitch. Which was plenty of times.
10. When Liverpool are chanting ‘Three in a row’, they mean the number of wins over United. When United are chanting the same, it’s the number of championships.

That’s about as positive a spin as I can put on that performance by United. Till Old Trafford!

There are two things that have really irked me today, and the day has not even finished yet.

You know, I’m not English. I have no English relatives. I’ve never even been there, I’ve never experienced their weather or people. I haven’t even read a book from a genuine English-born author before (it’s on my to do list)… But, when it comes to the English Premier League – more specifically Manchester United – I’m as red and white as any of them. You can feel the passion every time the players take to the field, football is by far the greatest sport on Earth. And here in South Africa, it is definitely a religion.

This next paragraph should be skipped if you are a supporter of Man United. It sickened me to have to type it, but it had to be done.

Now, having to say that Man United were just beaten at Anfield by two goals to nil (actually, I’m not even sure it ended like that – I just switched the TV off) pains me beyond mere explanation. What a crappy game of football I just saw. I don’t hate Liverpool, by all means (apart from their stop-start style of play), but that referee… that referee. Oh my word, that referee is a freaking idiot. I’m not even going to elaborate as I may just punch a nice round hole through my CRT if I think about that game any more. Watch the highlights for irk number one, okay?

The second irk has more relevance to my personal life. Nobody seems to find my acceptance into Rhodes exciting. The people I’ve told – apart from my immediate family (count my father out of that class) – don’t seem to care, at all. Am I selfish for wanting a little more euphoria in the news I give? One or two of my friends are really happy for me but I mean I would expect my closest ones to be a little more interested in my life, at least.

Since I left school, I’ve had to leave some people behind. Most notably, the one I truly miss beyond all others. I’ve known her now for the best part of six years. I haven’t seen her since June, I think. But, she’s the person I miss the most. The only one other than my family members to really be over-the-moon-elated. She’s not too happy about the idea of me going to another city to study (we were actually thinking of getting back together again – yes, she is my ex) but things just don’t seem to ever work out. I’ll get to chat with her tonight though. Highlight of my day. Really hope hers, and yours, wasn’t as horrible as mine was.

A sad day for Mancunians, as United lost to a Liverpool side short of confidence and one who has a lot to gain from the win.

Starting with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in attack saw United lost only for the second time this season. From what I saw on the telly, Liverpool were deserved winners tonight, even though the goal at the end by David Ngog was a bit too much.

The hosts created more chances and truthfully could have beaten United by a bigger margin. Aurelio saw a freekick well saved by Edwin van der Sar, Dirk Kuyt could have shoot instead of looking for an assist, Youssi Benayoun dribbled his way into the United box and would have scored if not for Rio Ferdinand’s outstretched leg.

Even Sir Alex Ferguson said that Liverpool were worthy winners and that the players were not good enough on the day.

.Torres beat a hapless Ferdinand and van der Sar to score the opener. 

United’s next match is away to Barnsley in the Carling Cup before hosting Blackburn at the weekend. Hope we bounce back after tonight. ES7