Lucky Catalans..

Just in after leaving home since 8am from church and in case you are wondering,i am not the pastor's warden or neither am I a church worker... Service isn't always this long, I went for a family friend's childs baptism in another church. Unlike me i am not feeling hungry yet, guess am still to regain my appetite since last night's hugely disappointing defeat to spurs. I couldn't believe Man United played that bad.

Anyway after the match I quickly turned my attention to Sevilla vs barcelona match which as expected turned out to be an enthralling match as Barcelona won by coming from behind to win 3-2, but only after a harsh and unfair red card was given to Gary Medel and a late david villa strike

Barcelona, been the visitors started the game as they normally do by retaining the ball and producing some wonderful football and making their opponents chase shadows and that made sevilla rely on counter attack as many team normally do when they play them. Sevilla though took a surprise  lead  through Piotr Trochowski and from then on grew in confidence and they doubled their lead early in the second half through Alvaro Negredo. Barcelona had to fight back through two Cesc Fabregas and a late David Villa goal to preserve their unbeaten start to the season though they were really frustrated by the home side's goalkeeper and as barca's frustration grew, tempers began to flare. A number of rash challenges culminated in a confrontation between Medel and Fabregas  The pair came face to face and following Fabregas play acting that he was headbutted, Medel was shown a red card

As the clock entered the final minutes of normal time, Fabregas  came  up with an equalising  goal with david villa doing the full damage in injury time. Barcelona are eleven points clear of Madrid( with the latter yet to play this weekend) as we head into next weekend's el clasico.....a must watch for even non-football fans.

Meanwhile, you will really struggle to find any fan(both barca's and neutral) who thinks this was a fair result. Anyway, am off to watch the second half of the midland derby(aston villa vs westbrom) then the madrid game.....catch ya

And the Spurs go matching on.....

Recently,i looked in the eyes of my uncle and aunt,and all i could see was a bright light.That bright light that only comes on in a parents eye when their child makes them proud.On this particular day,my uncle and aunt were proud because their daughter had become a lawyer.There was joy in the air knowing that all the work,time and investment had paid off.You don't have to know her entire life history but my cousin had gone through a lot but finally was a lawyer.and it was on her 23rd birthday...............now why the hell am i telling you about my cousin?...well its simple shes 23 and that number is significant at this particular moment.....a lot of things have happened in 23 years,my cousin has become a lawyer, the world has seen a black president of America,a failed Nigerian suicide bomber(the idiot couldnt even do it well) and it has taken 23 years for Tottenham Hotspurs to beat Manchester United in Old Trafford.......

There is always a big buzz when you walk to Old Trafford,the fans pouring out with such confidence,pies,scarfs and match programs been sold.and this was a particular fixture that a lot of fans were not born the last time they saw Tottenham win at the the Theatre of Dreams.Tottenhams manager Andre Villa Boas said it was special night for his team,the Tottenham manager screamed at the final whistle in delight but was quick to point out that it was a massive team effort that got his team the 3 points and gave a special thanks to the fans.i don't know which one is more disappointing,the loss or the exposure the loss has shown to the Sunday football style of midfield that United had or currently have.....lets not even talk about the defense.

Tottenham stunned the vast majority of the 75,566 crowd inside two minutes when they took the lead after a neat one-two between Vertonghen and Bale.United backed off and Vertonghen burst into the penalty area and evaded a half-hearted Ferdinand challenge before striking a low shot which deflected into the net off Evans.It was a lead Spurs deserved as they took the game to United who barely had a touch in the opening 10 minutesTottenham looked assured and totally in control with Dempsey and Mousa Dembele dominating in the centre against a largely ineffective Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

With United struggling to make any impression inside the visitors' territory, Spurs doubled their lead with a fabulous goal which sliced a hole straight down the heart of the home defence.Dembele broke from the halfway line and slipped the ball to Bale who ran on and ghosted through the United defence before hitting a cool finish past Anders Lindegaard.With Wayne Rooney on for Giggs after the break, United predictably picked up their pace as they went in search of a goal and it was not long before the game took an incredible twist with three goals in just 139 seconds.United broke through when Rooney crossed for Nani to fire home from six yards but Tottenham immediately restored their two-goal advantage when Bale's fierce shot was only half-saved by Lindegaard allowing Dempsey to tap in.A fifth goal followed seconds later as United swept up field and Kagawa slotted in their second from Robin van Persie's slide-rule pass.

United continued to surge forward and Rooney was unlucky with a sweetly struck free-kick which crashed back off the woodwork before Van Persie had an effort which was correctly ruled offside.Tottenham had to dig deep into their defensive reserves as United, with Danny Welbeck on for Kagawa, pressed forward in search of an equaliser.There were several penalty appeals, including what looked like a handball by Sandro, and a number of near misses as Michael Carrick's header glanced off the woodwork.

Tottenham took the sting out of United's forward runs and in the end they just about deserved their victory.

It was a sad day, at least for the United faithful,i for one,left my jacket that has my house keys and train tickets on the train.and haven't found it yet..so am still in Manchester ...in bed and no particular rush to go back home.the only consoling thing now is that,This is only the third time in Premier League history that Man Utd have lost two of their opening six games in a season. On the other two occasions (2002-03 and 1992-93), they ended up winning the league.oh how the United fans will be hoping for history to repeat its self....

In more words to come...Sabi Boi..

EMIRATES BLUES

first of all i want to apologise for the 'few' errors on my previous post; it just reinforces the popular belief that men are crap at multi-tasking. anyway, back to business.woke up excited this morning considering the match that awaited at lunchtime kick off. bottles of beer....check; pen and pad....check; and fuel in the generator...check(i suspect only Nigerians would get this part).

Arsenal have finally been beaten in what i think was a deserved win for chelsea.they wanted it more,forced the win,and were the better team through the course of the 90 minutes at the emirates.there was an all too familiar story at the emirates today;a lot of promise,but no end result; there was also an injury to abou diaby(surprise!surprise!)and ofcourse theres Olivier Giroud who probably needs the gunners faithful to contribute and buy a goal for him.

as expected, this was a lively game,and one with which the 'neutrals' (and obviously chelsea fans thoroughly deserved).unlike man city,chelsea took the game to arsenal and forced a lot of errors from the home side.chelsea where the more settled side in the opening exchanges and took the lead after 20 mins that was partly caused by bad defending on arsenals part, and also torres taking full opportunity of it.he easily escaped the attention of lauren koscielny at the far post to hook his shot in Mannones near post.in all honesty torres should have doubled the lead for the visitors after he ran clear of the arsenal defense and had only mannone to beat,but hesitated to shoot and scoffed it at the end.

arsenals midfield structure had been disjointed after the loss of diaby, but managed an equaliser against the run of play through gervinho few mins before the break. he collected a low cross from chamberlain,took one touch and rifled a shot through the roof of petr chechs net. it set up an exciting prospect for the second half.however chelsea took the lead again thanks to some suspect defending by the gunners.arteta was caught in a fashion alex song would be proud of(he was admiring the ball,instead of playing it out),and forced vermalean to foul torres for a freekick.koscielny managed to steer the ball into his own net from the resulting freekick.

chech had not been tested in the second half, but had to pull out two amazing saves to deny both podolski and giroud a chance to level the game.however arsenals best chance fell to giroud in injury time(arsenal fans look away);he was set up beautifully by chamberlain only to beat chech and hit the side netting.chelsea held on for an impressive win.

so as i said at the end of the last  post,this game might tell us a little about the two teams;the final analysis is yours.

until the next time......

English Premier League Predictions

 Here are a few predictions from our Panel of Pundits for all the Premier League Games so just incase you feel like putting a few Naira, Pounds, Dollars, House Rent, Cars or whatever else you are willing to bet. Here are a few guidelines and analysis of the games in brief and some sample scores from our team of specialists.

Arsenal v Chelsea
this is a game always full of goals and dominance in the midfield.arsenal remains with their stylish play and Chelsea have added pace and counter attack to their gritty play.both teams at the moment don't have a dominant striker so goals can pretty much come from anywhere.they both haven't lost a match this season but somebody will loose tomorrow,its a game that can go anyway.

Everton v Southampton
everton has started the season with what we are not used too but we definitely accept.they have put their slow start to a season and def hit the ground running.yes they were kicked out of the capital one cup this week by Leeds,a team they have only beaten at elland road 5 out of 58 times but they are back to the familiar weekly grind. Southampton manager said their season started against aston villa after playing both Manchester clubs and arsenal. Rickie Lambert is showing that he is a proven goal scorer in any league and everton showing they can score from anywhere,even leighton baines.


Fulham v mancity
the new look fulham with the former man united striker look like they are in for a bang this season.berbatovs link with rodellga looks really good and shows they can score a lot of goals. Manchester city still look like they are recovering from party celebrations of winning last season and have conceded goals in every game this season but Mancini will want a result after being knocked out of the league cup by Aston villa.they drew last season but i don't think city can afford to drop any points again.

Norwich v Liverpool
these are two teams that have new mangers and both managers are still trying to blend their philosophies on the team. Chris Houghton likes a compact team,ready to soak in your attack and hit you with counters and from set pieces while Brendan Rogers loves the beautiful passing game.they both seem to be getting good from their wins in the league cup.player for player,i think Liverpool will be a bit too strong for Norwich.

Reading v Newcastle
Reading is one team,that ur not so sure of what they can do but they always look like they can do a lot of things(if that makes sense)they won at QPR on Wednesday in the league cup and have the home advantage. Newcastle lost to Manchester United narrowly but they have had two positives this week,cisse has finally scored and Alan Pardew just signed a new 8year contract...so both teams are buzzing... Newcastle does have better fire power up front and a starlet in Ben Afra so i think they might just edge it.

Stoke v Swansea
 Oh the Britannia stadium...the killer of beautiful football.if any team defines,lets go out there,knock a few balls aroundd and a few players..its definitely stoke.and Swansea..they also love the passing game..its a hard one to call but Tony Pulls knows how to win games like this but this is against a new manager-Michael landrup.

Sunderland v wigan
sunderland havent lost a game this season,they pretty much have learnt how to not loose games but not how to win them.they play the most unpredictable team in the league but their style of play is still the same...passing the ball around.steven fletcher is proving critics wrong with his form but is the only goal source this season for sunderland.they have the home advantage and wigan dont really travel well so i think a sunderland win is on the cards.

Man United v Tottenham
 for some reason,this might be the year spurs steal something from the red devils.spurs have been playing better than united this season and have arguably two of the best wingers in the league.with united sick list growing so big....and no regular back 4...tottenham might fancy a win but this is Man united we are talking about.

Aston villa v Westbrom
midlands derby.and by derby it means form is out the window.both teams also have new managers and seem to be kicking their teams in the right direction.different outcomes in the league cup but as i siad derbies...nothing matters than wat happens in 90mins.

Qpr v westham
Mark hughes...needs a win...QPR needs a win,they seem to always play well but they defenders only play for 80mins instead of 90...where west ham grind and grind from the famous allardyce long balls but once again.





Tosman’s Predictions
Arsenal 3 – 1 Chelsea
ManUtd 2 – 1 Tottenham
Fulham 2 – 2 Manchester City
Everton 3 – 0 Southampton
Norwich 1 – 2 Liverpool
Stoke 2 – 0 Swansea
Sunderland 1 – 1 Wigan
Aston Villa 2 – 1Westbrom
QPR 3 – 1 West ham
Reading 1 - 3 Newcastle

SabiBoi’s Predictions
Arsenal 2 – 1 Chelsea
ManUtd 1 – 1 Tottenham
Fulham 1 – 3 Manchester City
Everton 2 – 2 Southampton
Norwich 0 – 2 Liverpool
Stoke 1 – 1 Swansea
Sunderland 2 – 1 Wigan
Aston Villa 3 – 1Westbrom
QPR 2 – 1 West ham
Reading 1 - 3 Newcastle

Ekanem’s Predictions
Arsenal 2 – 1 Chelsea
ManUtd 2 – 0 Tottenham
Fulham 1 – 1 Manchester City
Everton 3 – 1 Southampton
Norwich 2 – 2 Liverpool
Stoke 2 – 0 Swansea
Sunderland 2 – 2 Wigan
Aston Villa 1 – 2Westbrom
QPR 1 – 3 West ham
Reading 2 - 2 Newcastle

Okechukwu’s Predictions
Arsenal 1 – 1 Chelsea
ManUtd 2 – 0 Tottenham
Fulham 1 – 3 Manchester City
Everton 2 – 0 Southampton
Norwich 0 – 1 Liverpool
Stoke 2 – 1 Swansea
Sunderland 3 – 1 Wigan
Aston Villa 3 – 0Westbrom
QPR 2 – 2 West ham
Reading 1 - 2 Newcastle

Sevilla vs Barcelona Pre-Match Analysis 29th Sept. 2012 9pm Kick Off

Forget English football and some of their long ball tactics, for true fans of technical, attacking football, Spanish football mostly likely gives you what you want and this Sevilla vs Barcelona clash is almost as good as it gets. The level of passing and technical skill is what makes La liga special.

Four points and four places  are all that separate Sevilla from Barcelona at the top of La Liga table now which means that if Sevilla can beat Barca this Saturday, they will potentially move just one point off first place,depending on other results. 

In the corresponding fixture last season, Xavi and Messi did the job for Barcelona and Sevilla's new goalkeeper Diego Lopez from Villarreal knows the task ahead as they prepare to welcome (in my humble opinion) the World's best player in Messi and his teammates when he said on Friday ........"With Messi, there is no point in thinking what he might attempt because he will just end up doing something totally different".

When looking at recent results from both teams then it is fair to say we might be in for an enthralling match. Barcelona are coming off two late victories in Spain and Europe where they needed Messi's double and a late Xavi's strike to beat Sparta Moscow and Granada respectively while Sevilla, themselves are also flying after their last two victories against La liga champions (2weeks earlier) and then Deportivo last weekend.

However, Barcelona's defense has been very weak especially without their first choice defenders with Midfielders Mascerano and summer signing Alex Song set to deputise. They seem to look weaker against counter attacking teams and speedy wingers as well as crosses and set pieces with their forever wack goalkeeper, the great Victor Wack Valdes very very poor at crosses and set pieces.  There are few teams in the league more capable of exploiting all of those weaknesses than Sevilla and they are buoyed with the fact that they along with Malaga boost the joint best defensive record in the league having only conceded two goals. 

With all these said, If Sevilla could be bold enough then we are likely to see  some exciting football, but it could be a detriment to the team in the end and If they are not careful on the ball, an early goal from Barca could be the catalyst to their downfall.

Though, an upset is definitely possible and not unlikely in this one, I expect a close win for Barcelona with goals...... May the best team win....

A Bit of Knowledge....

I have had the coffee( since my last post),a bottle of water and a pint of beer(its Friday) and am sure out there its somebodies birthday so i will have another beer just to help celebrate the occasion. Happy birthday whoever you are.....

well i thought i should give some information,just in-case you were going to place a bet or you just fancy a read...

Some match facts....

Arsenal v Chelsea

Arsene Wenger completes 16 years in charge of the Gunners on Monday. Victory over Chelsea would hand him his 350th Premier League win as Arsenal boss.

Roberto Di Matteo's men have not conceded in their last 331 league minutes since Danny Guthrie's goal in August's 4-2 win over Reading.

If selected, Mikel Arteta will be making his 250th start in British football, while Andrei Arshavin and Johan Djourou could make their 100th Premier League appearances.

Frank Lampard has scored 98 Premier League goals in London. He can become only the second player to net 100 goals in the capital after Thierry Henry (133 goals).

Man united v Tottenham

The Red Devils have been awarded a penalty in each of their last three league matches. The last Premier League club to get four in a row was Arsenal in 2007.

The win over QPR gave boss Andre Villas-Boas back-to-back wins in the Premier League for the first time since January, when his then-Chelsea side beat Wolves 2-1 away and Sunderland 1-0 at home.

Robin van Persie is set to make his 200th Premier League appearance. He scored five goals and made four assists in his last six league home games against Tottenham while at Arsenal.

Jermain Defoe has had more shots than any other player in the Premier League this season (31) and has had the most on target (nine). He has four goals and an assist in five league appearances and is currently on 199 club career goals.

Fulham v Manchester City

Fulham have won their last four league home matches. They last won five top-flight home matches in a row between November to December 1966 in the old Division One.

If City concede against Fulham, they will become the first reigning Premier League champions to concede in each of their first six matches of the following season.

Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has made a league-high 30 saves this season.

City dropped just two points from the first 36 available last season; in 2012-13, they have already dropped six from the first 15 available.

Norwich v liverpool

Liverpool are unbeaten in their previous four games at Carrow Road and have won their last three.

The Canaries have won just one of their last 10 Premier League games (W1, D4, L5).

Only Southampton (15) and QPR (11) have conceded more goals in the Premier League this season than Liverpool (10).

According to Opta, Norwich have the lowest conversion rate in the Premier League, scoring just 3.6% of their chances.

well i figured these are the matches most of you will be interested in beside my beer is almost finished,i need a top up..

In more words to come...Sabi Boi..

Fulham V Manchester City Pre Match Analysis

This pre-match analysis features two teams both on the same number of points, occupying very close positions on the table, the away team is yet to win an away match this season while the home team is yet to be defeated at home.

On one part of the pitch are the Craven Cottage boys who recorded a rare away win at the DW stadium on Saturday while on the other side of the pitch is a team popularly called the ‘Noisy Neighbours’.

Following Fulham’s very rare away win at the DW Stadium on Saturday Martin Jol is very likely to leave his Fulham side unchanged as they welcome the “other” Manchester team. Manchester City on the other hand would be expected to make a whole lot of changes following their poor performance in the League cup against Aston Villa.

Giorgos Karagounis should be making his debut after spending all of 90 minutes on the bench at the DW Stadium with a list of injured players including Mahamadou Diarra (Knee), Kieran Richardson (Slight knock), Simon Davis (hip), Ashkan Dejagah, Phillipe Senderos and Frei Kerim. Fulham has a very strong home record having just lost 1 out of their last 13 Premier League outings and also had decent record against the top 6 last seasons winning two games, drawing two and losing two. With the former Manchester United Striker Berbatov, who has managed to form a strong connection with Rodallega poised to start, Man City might be in for a Heart Breaker.

However, Manchester City has only won just one game in six matches in all competitions. Mancini would hope that he could turn around his team’s poor start to the season by turning the group of greatly talented stars into a truly cohesive team unit as they visit London. City is also likely to revert to their four man defensive formation rather than the 3-5-2 that yielded utterly no success on Wednesday. City is also set to be without Samir Nasri (hamstring), Micah Richards (Ankle), and Maicon (Foot)

Both Teams have played together a total of 59 times with City winning almost half with 26 wins to Fulhams 17 while there has been 16 draws between them.

This same fixture last season saw an almost amazing comeback that ended up in a draw where the boy from Craven Cottage came from two goals down to draw the game thanks to Kompany’s own goal and a Bobby Zamora goal

Records to be Set!!!!
Will Giorgos Karagounis, who is one goal short of 50 goals in league football having played in the Greek, Italian and Portuguese leagues, get to 50?

Will Goal keeper Joe Hart stop the Cottagers from scoring to take his clean sheet count to a massive 100 games in his club history considering the fact that he has conceived 14 goals in the last 7 games? Well!!!!! We will c

Possible Line-Up-
FULHAM
Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise, Duff, Sidwell, Karagounis, Kacaniklic, Berbatov, Rodallega

MANCHESTER CITY
Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Sinclair, Garcia, Yaya Toure, Silva, Dzeko, Aguero

Let the better team win!v

arsenal vs chelsea preview.29/09/12. 12.45pm

Arsenal vs chelsea

Premier league football returns this weekend; and what better place to kick off than the titanic clash between arsenal fc and chelsea fc. This fixture sees the second ‘top 4’clash of the season and a potentially mouth watering match. These two are arguably the two ‘best performing ‘ sides in the league this season with an array of attacking talent worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and we can only hope the game lives up to the hype.

This fixture has thrown up more drama than a nollywood romantic movie. Who can forget last years match at the bridge,where a seaminly regressing arsenal side cooked up one of the games of the season with  a 5-2 win; or a certain Mr Drogba terrorising various generations of arsenal defenders(one mr senderos always comes to mind); or the unforgettable hatrick at the bridge by kanu nwankwo.these two have battled it out for over 15 years to become the top dog in London, and this season will be no different.

Chelsea top the table and are unbeaten in six league outings; while Arsenal are getting back the groove after a stunted start,probably caused by the departures of van persie and song. However they too are unbeaten in their five league outings which include away matches to stoke,man city, and liverpool. Both sides scored six goals in midweek capital one clashes,so should come into this game full of confidence.there have been 108 goals in 40 contests between these sides in the premier league era, and arsenal have won 36 of the 75 league games against chelsea, who have recorded 19 wins.

Arsenal’s captain, thomas vermaelen is expected to return to the squad after a virus, while chelsea captain john terry should also return to the starting line up as he has the right to appeal the four game ban imposed on him after being found guilty of racially abusing anton ferdinand.

This will be a contest based on differences in style, formation, and ideologies.on the red corner poses a team whos philosophies are based on a footballing tradition that will celeberate 16 years by next Monday ,modelled around one-touch football based on intelligent movement and pace;a business model based on self sustained financial integrity;and the belief in giving its manager ‘almost’ total autonomy on decisions concerning the team.

On the blue corner stands a team who changed the face of english football and club ownership as we know it; since 2004 ,after being bought by russian billionaire abramovic and with the help of the’special one’(or as we know him these days....the ‘only one’)built a team of sheer brut and strenth,reliability and efficiency; their business model couldnt be more different from their opponents,because most of their financial power comes from the owners pockets;and so does many decisions about the team.

Each model has had its case for success..........so no pointing fingers. As monsier wenger once famously said every man says his wife is the most beautiful.some may argue that chelsea have modified their game over the years with addittions of exciting talents like mata and hazard...and they wwould have a point.

So on the opening match of the weekend, will it be the guile and technical of the little matadors(cazorla and mata), the wizadry of hazard,the efficiency of podolski,or the reliability of lampard that will settle the scores at the emirates,and give one of these sides the bragging rights in london even if for just a short while. By 2.30pm tommorow we would find out more about arsenals presumed new found still, or if chelseas early season form is merely flattering to decieve.

Till the next time.........

29th September 2012- 5:30 kick off

So lets see,a team dressed up in white,a short but in form striker,two pacey wingers-one that looks like donkey Kong(handsome) and the other who happens to be Patrice Evras nightmare-Aaron Lennon.Two men from Belgium,Moussa Dembele(who should be wearing a united shirt) and Jen Vertonghen.And a wonderful manager that sounds like he always has a hot scorn in his mouth-AVB.Thats right Tottenham Hotspurs are at the Theatre of Dreams but its not a ground they necessarily like.well unto the next-A team dressed up in red,a left footed striker,also in form and a former Gooner-RVP,the return of colleens man(Wayne Rooney) and the Scottish captan(Dareen Fletcher),two wingers,one pacey and disciplined(Mr Tony V),the other,well lets just describe him as Nani(which is his name).Dads army in Ryan Giggs and Scholesy,an injury plagued defence line and as at now we dont know who will be in goal between DeGea and Lindergard.Then our loving chewing gum,red faced Sir Alex Ferguson.For some reason United like playing Spurs.

Both teams have started this season on pretty much the same scale,United slowly grinding out wins,not playing well but doing enough to get the 3 points.A terrible start at Everton where a dark cloud covered the United team...a dark cloud being Fellanis hair...the Belgian was a key destruction to United on the day but United have bounced back to take 3 wins out of 4 games leaving them second in the league.Spurs also started with a loss against the Bar-code boys(Newcastle United) but since then have won 2 of their 4 games and drawn 1 conceding goals in the last ten minutes of every game.Having said all that, there's always a key question to this fixture....it has nothing to do with form or who is playing better at the moment.The key question is who is the ref?And it a question usually asked by the boys in white.Tottenham i must say have had what we might call rotten luck at Old Trafford.

It is January 4, 2005 - United and Tottenham are goalless at Old Trafford after 89 minutes when Spurs midfielder Pedro Mendes spots Roy Carroll well off his line in the dying moments and attempts to beat the United keeper with an ambitious effort from just over the halfway line. Although Carroll gets back in time, he spills the ball two yards over his line but instinctively turns to scoop it away with his right hand. With referee Mark Clattenburg and his assistant Rob Lewis too far away from the incident to judge, Mendes is denied a winning goal and United escape with a point. In april 2005, A controversial penalty and sensational second-half fightback helped Manchester United beat Tottenham and retain their grip on top spot in the Premier League. Tottenham went 2-0 up moments later when Modric converted Aaron Lennon's cross at the far post after the winger had jinked his way past Patrice Evra on the right.

With half-time looming and the Old Trafford faithful sounding increasingly anxious, a Ronaldo volley came within a Gomes fingertip of pulling a goal back.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson replaced the lacklustre Nani with the far more industrious Carlos Tevez at the break.And the Argentine, who could leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, tested Gomes when one-on-one inside the hour.Two minutes later, Carrick burst into the box and nipped the ball around Gomes, who was ruled to have tripped the midfielder as he dived at the ball.The Tottenham players were incensed with Howard Webb's decision, as was Spurs manager Harry Redknapp on the touchline.But they were powerless to stop Ronaldo from reducing the deficit from the penalty spot.United went on to win that game 5-2.and ofcourse march 4th 2012,This time around, Clattenburg chose just to ignore the linesman altogether.It was the 84th minute of the match, and United were in the lead and cruising towards a well-deserved victory thanks to captain Nemanja Vidic’s brilliant header in the 31st minute.Nani got tugged by Younes Kaboul in the box and went down, grabbing the ball in the bargain expecting a penalty. 

Clattenburg waved play-on, as Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes took the ball from Nani, rolled it on the ground and lined up to take what he thought was a free-kick. There was no whistle.Nani, realizing this, sprang up to his feet, went to the ball, gave one look at Clattenburg who kept his hands behind his back, and then slotted the ball past a much bewildered Gomes into the net.The Spurs were furious, as expected, and charged towards the linesman, who eventually raised the flag.Clattenburg had a word with his assistant, and looked set to disallow the goal, only to blow the whistle confirming the legitimacy of what was one of the most barmiest goals that the 75,223 people present at Old Trafford had ever seen.The Spurs were obviously infuriated at the decision, and argued that a free-kick should have been given as Nani had handled the ball. But Clattenurg wasn’t taking any of it as Old Trafford erupted.In the end, it was a presence of mind which separated Nani and Gomes. Gomes was guilty of not playing to the whistle, and assuming that his side were given a free-kick. Whereas, Nani used his common sense and coolly put the ball into the net, confirming a well-deserved victory.

There will be anxious eyes on who refs this game come tomorrow but we all do hope it will 90minutes of total fotball and not who was the ref?

Key Battle...

Schloes v Dembele...

United coudnt handle dembele when he played against them with Fulham,he is the chief in midfield for Tottenham,gets passed players with ease and everything starts with him.and Scholes determines the flow of play for united,the tempo and his ability to pick out passes that cant be seen he has a good game,so will United..

well,right now,i need a coffee so in more words to come...Sabi Boi..

To Strike or not to Strike......

When you look at him,you most probably will ask yourself,why is he a footballer?He probably would have had a better chance as a model.I once heard a girl describing him as the epitome of the word handsome.And even as a man i actually agree he is very good looking and most of the time feel sorry for his girlfriend.Its one thing to have to have a handsome man as your boyfriend but to have a man so handsome that he is hotter than his girlfriend........not good...........At this point your probably wondering who am talking about but i will try not to keep you waiting for too long.

In 2004 Theo John Walcott became the youngest person to play for Southampton  reserve team at 15 years  175 days against Watford when he came of the bench.He was described as a striker and had incredible pace..Walcott made his full first team debut away to Leeds United on 18 October 2005, scoring his first senior goal in the same game. He scored again away at Millwall four days later, and yet again in his full home debut against Stoke City the following Saturday....At this point,you will have to say,he definitely was destined for great things.Great things did come as on january 20th 2006,arsenal signed young Walcott for 5million pounds rising to a possible 12 million depending on appearances and bla bla bla(just Google it)...The story today is after a good run with Arsenal,Walcott is coming to his last year of his contract with Arsenal and with contract negotiations stalling he has come out to say,it is not about money but he wants to be the next Theirry Henry..he wants to play down the middle,he wants to strike(main striker).......

There are certain characteristics or attributes that make up a player,the player is gifted with natural talent(Messi,Zidane,Okocha),the exploitation of a certain skill through nothing but constant training and hard work(Milner,Roy Keane),luck(Joey Barton,Titus bramble),self confidence(Balloteli-even if he is wrong) and of course it must be written in the stars(destiny).These attributes complete a player but even with such attributes,a player must have what is called today as a footballing brain.Walcott has been described as an athlete with football boots on,Chris waddle,former football and now a commentator for ESPN once described Walcott as all speed and no brain.And its difficult to see how he wants to command a role that has been held by players that have been described with nothing less than the word greatness.

Thierry Henry-sublime pace,good touch and control,wonderful shooting ability and a footballing brain.With age,pace has reduced but other attributes still makes him a great player as he showed with his loan spell at Arsenal.

Dennis Bergkamp-not known for pace but majestic touch of the ball,dribbling skills,great awareness and ofcourse a footballing brain.... couldn't take away anything from him till he retired....he was just afraid of flying...

Nwankwo Kanu(many say hes over 50)never had pace but had a 100% footballing brain just ask the Chelsea fans about a particular hatrick.

Ian Wright......i can go on and on but don't want to be mistaken for a Gooner but lets just say Thierry Henry was a clone of Ian Wright.

Walcott does have pace,and the occasional sublime finish but hes football brain is definitely questioned.Then again you have to ask yourself,with no brains how did he come up with moments like his goal against Chelsea in in the Carling cup final,feburary 2007.Hes hatrick against Croatia for England, September 2008.And hes brace in the 5-2 win against Tottenham in the EPL season 2011/2012.....These moments suggests he does have something in his locker but it also shows inconsistency,something that separates a good striker from a great one.he is just consistently handsome..

If he is made a striker..
It will suggest player power,where he has demanded to play a particular position or leave the club,forcing the club to give him what he wants but is he a player arsenal are afraid of loosing?Then again all he has to do is score.Put him on the shoulder of the last defender and exploit that pace and occasional finish.He cant be worse than Olivier Giroud or Gervinho.

If he is not made a striker..
We might continue to see what we are already used to...a player said to have potential but slowly playing his career into and uncertain future(even if hes an England international)....There is only one man(Mr Wenger) that can determine where he plays and so far i don't think he shares Walcotts ideology..

In more words to come....Sabi Boi

Who will succed Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires??

Sir Alex Ferguson
Yet away from the pitch, the Scot's focus is no longer fixed solely on
leading Manchester United back to the summit of the Premier League
or snaring a third European crown of his reign - but also on putting in
place a cast-iron succession plan that will see the club succeed long
after he decides to call it a day.

And the key to both the Old Trafford legend's succession plan and the
timing of his retirement from management lie in part at least at the
feet of the only two managers Ferguson himself considers serious
candidates to succeed him; Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.

Who is a better fit?

Simple Unanswered Questions...........

There are a lot of questions that come with every game,as every ball is kicked,as every tackle is thrown in,as Sir Alex chews his gum,taps his watch or when AVB moves around like he chose the game of football rather than chase his long life dreams of being a dancer.And as the referee blows his whistle,most of those questions are answered.............and some of them usually answered with the scoreline but in other situations,there always seem to be a lot of unanswered questions.

Like every other weekend,i spent my wonderful time,watching twenty-two (22) men battle for nothing more than three (3) points or even one(1) depending on which team you support.And i spent my time in a place many men call home.........the pub.....and with the different games on....i pretty much came to the conclusion watching most games that there questions that need answers.and  

Question 1

How long will man united need Paul Scholes?

You could say that the fact that Sir Alex re-called Paul Scholes out of retirement to come and help his midfield shows there is little talent out there but what does that say about the caliber of players united already have.this season Scholes has once again shown that he is instrumental to united by commanding that midfield ans due respect was paid to him my RVP wen he was introduced in the 61st minute against Southampton.is there any replacement for him?and no the answer is not Tom Cleverly!!!


Question 2

Will there be a trophy at the Emirates?

The excuse of we play the best football in England and we are not a team in financial debt is good to hear if u are sitting on the board of directors of the Gooners but really,how good an excuse is that for an arsenal fan....most fans have gone into a delusional stage(like their manager) thinking it is enough just to compete but not win.....Arsene Wenger recently has said,hes current team is his best team ever.....i repeat..how delusional can a man be?or will he be right come the end of this season?arsenal were the better team for the 90minutes but couldn't beat an under performing man city team or was it because or Gervinho?

Question 3

What is the purpose of buying new players?

You would think that there is an easy answer to this but not if you ask why was Adam Johnson and Nigel De Jong sold to be replaced by Scott Sinclair and Javier Garcia??????your guess is as good as mine but please what is your guess?

Question 4

Should Harry have stayed?

Life after Harry hasn't been that bad,a couple of new faces in at white hart lane and a couple of good ones gone.Defoe seems to have gotten his touch back and Adebayo is probably just happy to be back in north London,even if its on the bench but how much better can AVB do with Spurs compared to what  Harry did?

Question 5

Which manager will be sacked first between...Mark Hughes,Brenden Rogers and AVB?

Am sure even Benitez wants to know


And the last question which came into my head after probably a couple of pints and after a certain goal celebration....

Will RVP ever kiss the UNited badge??????

You tell me......

In more words to come..Sabi boi.

Champions League Returns

The much anticipated Champions League group stage gets underway this evening, with some of the big teams in action in their different groups.

Arsenal start their Group B campaign against Montpellier and would be full of confidence coming from a  6-1 trashing of new boys Southampton on Saturday. Montpellier would be facing in-form Arsenal and it promises to be quite the thriller.

Four months have now gone by since Chelsea clinched the Champions League title in Munich but this time around the finals will be held at Wembley stadium there is an extra motivation for English teams to clinch the title in their home soil.

In Group B we have two unbeaten teams in their leagues going head to head, Olympiakos from Greece going against Schalke from Germany in Athens. 

While in Group D "Group of Death", Manchester City who were knocked out in the group stages last season going against Real Madrid who have had somewhat of a shaky start to the season.while Bundesliga and Eredivisie Champions Borussia Dortmund and Ajax respectively make up the remaining fixture of Group D .

In Group C AC Milan would be taking on the Belgian Side Anderlecht at San Siro. The Italian giants who came second in the Serie A last season will be looking at starting their Champions League Campaign with a win at home.

Below are the fixtures:

Group A
Dinamo Zagreb v FC Porto
Paris St Germain v Dynamo Kiev

Group B
Montpellier v Arsenal
Olympiakos v Schalke

Group C
AC Milan v Anderlecht
Malaga v Zenit

Group D
Borussia Dortmund v Ajax
Real Madrid v Manchester City.

Any Predictions???