Who need your sympathy, Gary?

I was browsing through soccernet to check out the Champion's League result, and the main page of the Champion's League page read "Neville has no sympathy"...

Wow! He is cold-hearted? I would have to credit the editor for attracting my attention with this catchy headline. But as the news turned out, he was talking about Liverpool's exit from the Champion's League.

He is saying "As a team, you get what you deserve, don't you?"

"We are where we are because we deserve to be there and it's the same with Liverpool."

"We went out ourselves a few years back. They just haven't performed well enough in the Champions League to get the results."

Well, I would agree with him in some part..ya, teams normally get what they deserved, but..sometimes luck play a part in life... at times the ball crosses the line, yet the referee and linesman miss it, thus not awarding a goal..

Or sometimes...some players have the "Hand of God"?

Ya, Liverpool's performance in Champion's League is below expectation, but, Gary, who are you to say about sympathy of other team? I watch the game you played against Besiktas, and you are not as good as you used to be...So I should I say " You get what you deserved (defeat to Besiktas), you are not playing well (because you are getting old)?...

*I'm not a fan of Liverpool, I just can't stand the arrogance..

Could this be the end of another era for Man Utd?

Well, well, this is highly premature for most people. This is not such a bad season after all... League Champions and Champions League finalist, something that Chelsea and Liverpool could only dream of..

But the signs are there..the key players (Cristiano Ronaldo and, err, if you include Carlos Tevez as well) are publicly commenting on Fergie's tactics, something that will surely make him mad. If history is something to be referred to, then Ronaldo and Tevez will not be in Man Utd at the start of next season. Any players that had a rift with Fergie were booted out, examples? Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gabriel Heinze and even Roy Keane.

Ok, now forget about Tevez, as he never impressed me with his performance for Man Utd. Though I would say when he play for Man Utd, he is a really committed player, a player that play with his heart out, his performance now is a far cry from the days when he play for Argentina in the Olympics 2004.

So if Ronaldo really leave Man Utd for Real Madrid, where will Man Utd's source of inspiration and "magic" come from? From the current squad, there is no one who can fill his boot just yet, so Fergie will have to go into the market and get one. Therefore, there will be an uncertain period, where the new signing will need time to blend with the existing players, to create a cohesive team.

If the new signing do not play up to his potential, or take too long a time to blend with the existing team, then next season may not go Man Utd's way..

Champions: Man Utd

This post's title is not the easiest thing for me to write, but it's a fact that no one can deny. Man Utd secured their title last nite with a draw against Arsenal. From the game, again, I would say Arsenal is no longer a title challenger, and don't seem to be able to raise their game to threaten Man Utd. So if Arsenal don't seriously strenthened their squad for next season, they will again be a 4th place team.

So, congrats Man Utd and their fans. You guys had certainly did it again, and with style and ease. Liverpool... you lost your chance, and you better improved, and stop relying too much on Torres and Stevie G.. With the current team, and without the duo, you don't seem to be capable of assaulting for the BPL title next season.

And Chelsea...hmmm.. they actually have the mentality and the squad..now they need to have a tactical coach (Brazilian coaches rely more on individual performance of their players then tactics). But even if they do win some titles, they will not create a generation of greatness like Man Utd. Their players is at their peak, and there are not enough young players to mature through the rank and filled the gaps by the older players. So if they want to continue winning, they need to keep on buying new players, which will very much depends on whether their boss will want to continue forging out huge money..

But this moment, it's for Man Utd and their fans to celebrate.. " We are the champions, my friennnnd "..

All English Final: Man U is the lucky one!

There has been so many coverage on "The Special One" tag ever since Jose Mourinho made it famous! So when Avram Grant said he would like the tag if he won the Champions League, something that not even "The Special One" can do, I think he fully deserved it.

And I thought he was within minutes of getting the tag when Cristiano Ronaldo missed his penalty, while every other Chelsea players converted their penalty kick.

But lady luck is just not Chelsea's side when skipper John Terry slipped and missed his penalty. It was the turning moment, and when Nicolas Anelka stepped up to take his, his expression certainly does not looked good, and it reminds me of the expression of Geremi when he missed his penalty during the shoot-out with Liverpool in last season's Champions League semi-final.

Though Chelsea failed to win anything this season, and this certainly wouldn't pleased their Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, overall, I have to say it has been a good season for Chelsea, but unfortunately luck is not on their side.

But I believe Champions League is a very fair competition. When there are surprised defeat happened, the loser will eventually win the cup in the later edition, for example Bayern's 2001 win after the shock defeat to Man U in 1999, or AC Milan's 2007 win after the ghost of Istanbul in 2005!

What Chelsea need now is to keep Peter Cech and the core of the team, and with a few addition, they are certainly capable of upstaging Man U next time around. But for now, let us hail the new European Champions - Man Utd!

A determined Chelsea wins the night!

Chelsea's game against Man Utd on 26th April 2008, is one of the most exciting matches seen in recent time. The final scoreline, Chelsea beat Man Utd 2-1, and are now behind Man Utd only on goal difference. The prospective outcome of the Barclays Premier League really look tantalizing, but when I say exciting match, I only mean this game, which itself is fascinating enough.

1st of all, Lampard will not be playing as his mother passed away from pneumonia on Thursday. Chelsea, is determined to win this game for Lampard and his family.

Then comes the starting line-up. I wouldn't say Man Utd had field a weak team (because they have no weak team, and also they almost hold Chelsea for a draw), but a weakened team (a team without Cristiano Ronaldo, Patrice Evra, Carlos Tevez). I believe any title contender will feel offended by a weakened Man Utd team, and will be determined to beat them outright.

So Chelsea came out attacking, with Joe Cole leading the assault. On the 20th minute, he got clear of the United defence, but after initially losing the ball, he lashed the ball against the crossbar from just inside the penalty area.

Chelsea continued to press for an opening goal and were unlucky when Joe Cole dribbled his way into the penalty area, only for Van der Sar to grab the ball at his feet. The United keeper required treatment for a minor knock as a result of the collision.

The 1st half belongs to Chelsea, as Rooney , who operate as a lone striker is clearly not effective and do not have enough support from his team mates. Terry & Co had a comfortable 1st half. Just when Fergie thought his team can go in to the dressing room nil-nil, Chelsea took the lead in the 45th minute when Drogba's cross was headed home at the far post by the unmarked Ballack.

The goal sparked emotional scenes as all the Chelsea players held up Frank Lampard's number eight shirt with the message 'Pat Lampard - R.I.P'. Ballack who had taken his shirt off, was then booked by Wiley.


United started the 2nd half stronger (perhaps as a result of receiving hair-dryer treatment from Fergie), but were still struggling to create anything to threatened Terry & Co. But Man Utd got themselves back into the game thanks to a mistake by Chelsea defender Carvalho.

The Portuguese defender passed the ball straight to Rooney, who accepted the gift by firing beyond Cech into the net. He looked to had injured himself from the goal, and he was replaced by Ronaldo on the 63th minute.


The beginning of Chelsea's attacking foray
These days, manager often play a cautious game, so it become rare that the manager will throw in all their strikers into the game even when the team is losing. But that's exactly what Avram Grant did.

On the 65th minute, Anderson was substituted for John O'Shea and Chelsea, sensing that Man Utd might want to slow down the pace and play safe, replaced Paolo Ferreira with Nicolas Anelka.

But when Anelka also don't seem to threatened Man Utd's goalmouth, Grant throw in his final striker: Andriy Shevchenko for Kalou on the 81st minute. With so many attacking player in Chelsea's side now, Man Utd drop back and defend in numbers.

Then the defining moment. Referee Alan Wiley awarded the spot-kick after Michael Carrick handled a cross from Michael Essien. Carrick got his arm in the way of Essien's cross and Ballack kept his cool to score from the spot and keep the title race on the boil.

But what is unexpected of Shevchenko's contribution is defending. In the dying minutes United were twice thwarted by goalline clearances - Ronaldo's left-foot drive being hacked away by Ashley Cole, before substitute Andriy Shevchenko nodded clear Darren Fletcher's diving header following a goalmouth scramble. After the clear Shevchenko received a appreciative smile from Cole, and Shevchenko replied with a smile of a goalscorer (back in those days when he is in Milan).

As the whistle blows, Chelsea finish the game as winner, and perhaps, Vidic's injury may had impacted the result. Nemanja Vidic was carried off on a stretcher with a facial injury after being caught by Didier Drogba's knee as he stooped to head the ball clear. Let's hope he is fine.

Unfair advantage?

So here we go again. This is the time of the year again when manager complain about fixture arrangement. And this time, Man Utd manager said "it's unfair".

'The fixture is not fair in terms of the timing between the two games,' Ferguson told reporters.

The situation now is, Man Utd will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a lunchtime kickoff on Saturday. With a United win,the title will head to Old Trafford for the second year running.

But if Chelsea win, they will keep their title hopes alive.

'The Liverpool fixture with Chelsea was Tuesday followed by Wednesday, so there is four days either way to get themselves ready which is a big advantage, there is no question about that.

'Unfortunately, we have 60 hours to prepare for this game. All we can do is rest them.'

The fixture is suppose to be fixed before the start of the season, so why the complain of unfair now? If Man Utd don't progress to the latter stages of the Champions League, will Fergie complain?

So the solution for Man Utd is, do not progress further to the latter stages of the Champions League if you want advantage in the BPL. By then you will have one week to prepare for the game, while Chelsea will only have 3-4 days. ;)

Why Man Utd deserve to be Champions in 2007/2008 season

After last Sunday's win over Arsenal, and Chelsea's inability to beat Wigan on Monday, it is clear that Man Utd will be crown champion of 2007/2008, barring any unforeseen situation that may happened over the course of the last 4 league games. Mathematically, both Chelsea and Arsenal are still in the race (very very unlikely for Arsenal though), but everyone is pretty sure Man Utd will be the champions, looking at the performance of the team over the course of the season, the exploit of Cristiano Ronaldo and Owen Hargreaves magnificent free kick, one can just feel they are the champions-elect.

Ok, so now we leave the feeling away and evaluate why they deserve to win this season. Simple said, there are 2 reasons. Yes, certainly there can be more if you would like, but fundamentally, just two.

1) Strong squad
They have a strong squad that is second to none in the league, with each position well covered just in-case of any serious injury. The only area where there might be a concern is the striking department, where they only have 3 strikers in Louis Saha, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. Injuries and suspensions can really racked their season, but for this season, with Ronaldo scoring 28 goals [equals to the combined total of goals scored by Rooney (11), Tevez(12) and Saha(5)] in the league, problem in the striking area is simply non-existence. But surely, Fergie will need to look at strengthen the striking department next season.

2) Inability of the COntenders
While Man Utd may not be leading the league comfortably, but if not for the failure of the contenders to sustain or keep up the challenge, Man Utd will not be top the league now. Some of the culprits are:

Liverpool
The most disappointing contender of the three. Started the season in renowned hope and confidence with Fernando Torres, they lost their way, indulge in boardroom fighting, and now no where near the top of the league (actually can be disqualified as contender). Their failure is self-inflicting, and this is disappointment to their fans. Besides, Rafael Benitez should start reviewing his tactics.

Chelsea
A bad start to the season and a change of manager lead many to write them off as contenders, but with 4 league games remaining, here we are, they are the closest to the champions-elect. Avram Grant had certainly work his way up quietly, but failed at vital moments when they failed to beat Wigan on Monday to stop Man Utd opening a bigger gap. But everything is not lost, and if they keep up their work, they may still have the last laugh.

Arsenal
Exciting, interesting young team who eventually fall after a great first half of the season, they can only look forward to the future after being knocked out of the Champion's League by Liverpool. But they can really look forward to the next season optimistically, as if the current squad is maintained with a few more addition, they will certainly be feared across Europe in the coming season.