It’s About Time

Well, after a week plus of EPL, we see Man Utd defeated by Burnley and then rebounded to thrash Wigan 5-0. At half-time, it was still 0-0 and people are wondering if Ronaldo’s departure is that significant.  Many forgot that Utd didn’t win the first 4 games last season. I recalled it was a stuttering start. 

Anyway, I was glad that Rooney opened the scoring with a world class header to register his 100th goal for Utd. I’m personally glad for Michael Owen who scored his typical goal and kicked off his premiership scoring for this season.  Good for Man Utd. 

What makes teams like Utd enjoyable to watch is their resilience, and gumption to fight on when the goings got tough. 

Well, the EPL has barely started for a week and already there are shockers : 1) Liverpool was beaten on the first day of EPL (cos it’s the only top 4 that didn’t register a win – big deal!).  Pundits and sports writers speculate that they’ll not be able to win the Premier League. What rubbish!  One swallow doesn’t a summer make!  Idiots!

2) Man Utd got beaten by newly promoted Burnley yesterday; whose last triumph was 1968.  Undoubtedly, the naysayers will speculate that Utd is facing a crisis cos of Ronaldo’s absence.  Ha! That’s the beauty of football, and as Arsene Wenger says before the match between Arsenal and Celtic a couple of days ago — “it’s down to 11 vs 11 on the pitch.”  Nothing else matters. If teams turn up expecting to be beaten; they’ll be beaten!  A team that comes up disrespecting the opponents might can beaten too!  Another team that turns up expecting nonthing; gets nothing! 

I think it’ll be interesting to see how things fare in a month’s time. When things are more settled; transfer windows closed. 

Well, last weekend saw the new EPL football season started with lots of goals and furore.  The usual pundits with their dead-sure predictions came reversing some of them without shame as usual.  Classic example, the writing off of Arsenal pre-season due to sale of Edabayor and Toure, saw a heap of praise over the play when Arsenal beat Everton 6-1 in style. 

Personally, I could care less about pundits prediction.  Most fueled by need to keep readership writes in tabloid manner.  Speculations aplenty.

I think the usual top four will still be there. Interesting to see how Man Utd will adapt to changes without Ronaldo. Not that it will suffer greatly for after all football is a team sports.  Most tend to think that minus one equal disaster. Most didn’t recall that it was ROnaldo who almost jeopardize Man Utd’s chance to capture the Champions League trophy when his penalty was missed. It was John Terry’s slip-up (literally) that saw Utd winning the trophy. 

I would like to see Michael Owen proving pundits and critics wrong.  Especially Capello who seemed to have an axe to grind against Owen since Real Madrid’s days. I still think he is much better player than Berbatov the new le-sulk of EPL.  I’m waiitng for him to do that. Maybe it’s the underdog mentally. 

Chelsea will still be a strong team because of its resilience but will not capture league title due to injuries.  Utd starts off with injury much like last season, but should rebound quickly. Liverpool? Unlikely given Benitz’ unusual reluctance to field non-spanish players (maybe he can communicate better with them?).  His ultiamte mistake to leave the Israeli player out consistently. 

Everton, will be affected by City’s distracting tactics.  Aston Villa, need not panic and sack O’ Neil. That would be a knee-jerk reaction for sure. 

On a side note, interesting to see how Arsenal will fare against Celtic tonight in Scotland.

Last week was “Kaka-Frenzy” week for Manchester City as well as AC Milan.  What intrigues me was not so much the amount offered to get Kaka to cross over from Italy to UK, but the person himself.

It was said that Kaka is a devout evangelical Christian.  He also claimed to be a radical because he goes against the flow so to speak.  Apparently he has conviction and strive to live accordingly. Well,it’s refreshing to read of such a person given the notorious lifestyle of highly paid sports stars.

What’s happening to EPL? Only time will tell if it will change into something more European than English. The saga regarding Keegan and Curbishley reveals the different approach to the game of football management where the owners are trying to have a hand in who plays and who’s to join the club.

Personally I think it’s best not to micromanage but to leave the task to the managers who watches over his charges. Of course if he fails to produce the result, he might be fired but when it comes to decisions involving selection and objectives setting, leave it to the manager. It is not easy to have a group of players whom the manager don’t think will fit into his philosophy of football.

Both Keegan and Curbishley have a good track record insofar as producing results during their tenure with their respective clubs. Of course if greater funds were available they would have achieve greater things, no doubt. These men work well and produce results where it mattered given the limited resources available. It’s regrettable that these things have happened and only time will tell what’s going to be like for EPL. I hope some smart foreigners intent on buying another English club will use these men and give them freedom to do as they should with greater budget. I am sure they will give the results within 3 years, no doubt. Sigh…. if only I am a billionaire. . . .

Rich football owners should leave it to the managers to manage
by telling them early as to their expectation and keep their promises
to them. Either they get certification to be coaches or leave their
mouth shut both on and off the pitch!

The latest manager to quit is West Ham’s Alan Curbishly. Newcastle’s
Kevin Keegan’s fate is still uncertain albeit much speculations of his
sacking that prompted club’s official statement. Both managers are
good managers but sometimes results are as healthy as they should be.
Truth is, time must be accorded to managers to do something right but
owners just won’t have it. Well, these will be painful lessons to
learn.

Alvin

The latest news is that West Ham’s manager Alan Curbishly has quit the club amidst the hoohahs of transfers. Wasn’t it yesterday that Newcastle fans were demonstrating their support for Kevin Keegan at St James’ Park but he is still around (at least a couple of days?).

I think some of these English clubs suffer from management crisis – not so much that the managers can’t manage the players but the owners or board can’t manage. They are there because they fulfill the “the Golden Rule” – he who has the gold-rules! I suppose the only manager who counts himself blessed is Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger because the board supports his viison and conviction. though critics might argue that major trophies eluded them recently, none can argue about the quality of players he has thus far.

Managers ought to be left with autonomy regarding players managed and wanted on transfer lists. Either tell them there is no money or let them decide rather than micromanaging them.

Just a thought.

Well, the EPL and Champions League are finally over.  It has been an exciting season finale I must say. It’s not always like that when a season ends with so much hype and tension.  Of course, one disappointment this season is Arsenal’s falter at the late stage of the season, squandering away precious points towards the end.  I suppose it is still true that experience matters during crunch time like that. Youth is energetic but lacks the perspective and caim needed in  critical times.   

Another disappointment is Ferguson’s decision not to include Pak in his finale lineup even on the bench. That was harsh though it is the team not the sentiments that matter in crucial matches.  On the other hand, I suppose Ferguson should repay loyalty rather than ruthless parading to the beat of the drummer.  He has admitted that Pak was tireless in his game. Stats backed up the contribution of the Korean player but these matters little in that decision.   

At any rate, I am glad the season is over with some positives… Chelsea lost [that's a yahoo!] and one of my favorite team won the double this season.  I personally do not like Ronaldo though I would give him credit for his goals.  Actually I tend to think he’s overrated often.  Also, Liverpool is seeing the rise of Torres and Gerrard partnership that might actually translate into it being a formidable team next season. This assumes, of course, that finance isn’t the factor forces the hand of Benitez .  then there is Newcastle who might fare better than this season under Keegan.   

Now that the European nations 2008 is starting soon, who will be the new crown champion? We’ll see …

Well, the EPL season has come to the point where the championship will be decided by this weekend games. 

Wins by Man Utd and Chelsea means the former clinch the title on goal difference.  This is interesting. Personally I root for Man Utd because I don’t like Chelsea for obvious reasons.  Of course I would rather see Arsenal win it because style wise it is the most admirable amongst all.  I suppose age and experience still play a major part in a system when winning and scoring are critical to achieving championships.  I believe Arsenal lost its momentum due to lack of manpower than ability.  With various tournaments to play in, the same players can only go so far without injury.  Enough said.

As for UEFA championship, I think Man Utd can win too provided it can sustain its form and not overly relying on Ronaldo. If Rooney plays, and Tevez too, I believe they will win.  Ronaldo can’t do it without Rooney’s untiring support; Tevez is still an unknown factor to most EPL teams let alone Europeans.  Of course they believe he is good but what other trick he has up his sleeves is still anyone’s guess. Therein lies the mystery factor.  Ronaldo’s recent perfecting of his ‘rocket free kick’ gives cause for concern to opponents but his side-stepping, body-feinting tricks has been studied by others.  Tevez could once again prove the match winner.

Last Saturday, Arsenal played against Birmingham City at Emirates Stadium in the EPL.  Barely 3 minutes into the game, Birmingham’s Martin Taylor launched a heavy footed tackle that broke Arsenal’s Eduardo ankle and according to the papers, it also ended his season and appears to be a long while before he could resume training again. 

It appears that the manager came to the defense of his player who was immediately given the red card, claiming that he was not a vicious player and it was unfortunate that the striker was too fast for him (!!).  It is only logical that a manager need to display his loyalty to his player and vice versa.  To say it wasn’t intentional would be untrue since most players these days go for the jugular veins, so to speak, in attempt to disable the players from his effective best.  Sometimes it comes in the form of intimidation but also in the form of disablement.  

I would think the relevant FA should impose a severe fine or punishment to deter bad tackles from occurring too often.  Anything less is akin to a mere slap on the wrist that nobody remembers or feels pain enough to bother.  

So comes the crucial part of the season where Arsenal and Manchester United will race to the finished line. The papers suggested that it might come to goal difference that will separate the champion from the runners up.  For Arsenal they will need to stay focus and not be distracted by other factors around them.  Manchester United has the maturity and muscle to do that, and needed to win all to retain their title.  Arsenal is a young and talented team. I personally will feel sorry for them for their lack of experience and thus anxiety.  But I look forward to Arsene Wenger’s ability to calm their nerves to maintain their slender lead.