Football Forever

Chelsea out of title race

2010-12-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

After today's match against Arsenal which they deservedly lost 3-1, Chelsea's ability to challenge for the title is severely dented.

After the initials burst of goals early in the season, Chelsea have really found it difficult to score and along with their defensive frailties, they have managed to lose substantial number of points. An interesting side story is the whole sags of sacking of Ray Wilkins after which Chelsea have probably not won a single match. Both things might be unrelated but surely, Chelsea do miss having Ray on the sidelines.

To look ahead, not sure as of now as to what Chelsea need to do. There are talks of buying players but not sure for which positions. Understandably, Chelsea need reinforcement at the CB position with Alex out with injury. Apart from that, I would atleast prefer playing with the younger guys for now. Let Carlo give the youngsters a long run so that they are ready for next season. This season can be written off for now but players like Kakuta,Josh,Daniel,Borrini could be developed so that they will be quality replacements next season. I would prefer not to buy anything in this window so that we do not pay exorbitant prices for some of the players. And Carlo surely needs to change his tactics. He needs to do something. The fear of Chelsea needs to be put back in the opponent team.

I know the above looks like a disjointed post but these are just ramblings of a guy who saw his team outgunned by their rivals. Would like to post something better a day or two later.

Buying the title

2010-11-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

A couple of links illustrating at the big money spending in football.

An article in mirror detailing the spending of the big clubs and how they fared since 92.

An article in daily mail on the big spenders.

An old article from 99 when United was the richest club.

Will the Safari bring Glory to England at the world cup?

2010-06-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

They are the exclusive founders of some of the most popular games but sadly masters of none!

This country has given the world renowned games like Football, Cricket and Lawn Tennis.

Their weakest link though is their inability to perform at a bigger stage; with the greatest case in point being Football.

Read more about England's chances at World Cup at www.isport.in

2010-03-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Check out the 10 Reasons Why I Started Hating Chelsea by Pulasta Dhar on iSport.in

A club which came into prominence a few years back, Chelsea FC is today considered one of the top European threats in club football. iSporter Pulasta Dhar is shocked at what money-mining owners can do in football and lists down 10 reasons why he ‘started’ hating Chelsea…

Just a thought

2009-07-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

As the EPL season approaches us, is it only me or there are others who think that the Owen signing is going to be a masterstroke of this season by Sir Alex...hmmm

Champs

2009-05-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

Sums up my feelings about the match by the article here.

The only thing that I would say is the match is over, no point in abusing the referees. I can definitely understand the frustrations of the players but there is no point in dissing out trash to the referees after the match. Make an official complaint and get on with it. Teams in the past have lost because of bad referring and teams will lose in the future too. There is something called sportsman's spirit and everyone needs to imbibe it.

This match should shut up all the people who talked about Barcelona being the best team. All this talk about attacking,creative football and talk about Chelsea playing anti-football; and all we get is this. Surely, I would like to have the thing they are smoking.

And, the nest time anyone talks about Chelsea playing boring football,us playing anti-football; I will just smile and move on.

New website

2009-03-07T06:25:00.001-08:00

This page has not see much activity for a while, one of the reasons is my involvement in helping develop a comprehensive website.

Please visit http://www.isport.in/ for news, previews and reviews of all the football action.

WTF!

2008-12-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Seriously, WTF!
Chelsea drew again! This season has been a total disaster. We are playing real bad. Period.

~HP

New Season, Old Aspirations

2008-09-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

The football season has been kickstarted and I hope Chelsea wins all the trophies in sight :-)

Chelsea has done a couple of big changes this year. Bringing in Scolari in place of Grant was a smart move though I would have loved to have Jose back. And Deco is a cool signing. Our mid-field is not the strongest in EPL but infact in the whole of Europe.
Also, I agree with the release of SWP. I really liked him coz he always gave his all when he was on the field but somehow he never was able to fulfill his true promise in the blue shirt. May he do well in City though not aganist Chelsea :-)

And I guess from this year atleast, we are stopped being called big money spenders.

The Reds did some spending too and some blocking too. They bought in Bebatov and managed to hold on to Ronaldo by going aganist the wishes of the player. If the same would have been done by any other team when Utd was interested in that player, then Alex and the English press would have crucified that team and its owners but then Sir Alex has a unique place in EPL and he gets away with anything.

Arsenal are still the same. I do like them except for Adebyor. So, I would not mind them taking the second place in EPL after Chelsea.

Liverpool can take the 3rd place with the Spurs in 4th. Yes, I want the Reds out of the top 4 and one could call me a bit mad but I do hope to see that happening this time :-)

And as Asif said, CL is more of a lottery and I have always been bad at them. So, I don't mind Jose's team taking the CL this time.

Let the beautiful game roll on!

~HP

The more the things change, the more they remain the same

2008-09-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Three rounds in the new season and things look the same as they were the last year, the year before and the year before.

Can't figure it how? Well Man. Utd started out with a draw against Portsmouth and looked like they wouldn't be able to defend their title, This year they started with a draw against Newcastle and don't look all that strong with all the injuries.

Liverpool started the year with some good performances, but always looked short of looking like they are going to be the champions. Its exactly the same story this year, add to it the sparring between the owners and the manager and the chairman etc etc.

After a disappointing year by standards of Jose's era, Chelsea started off strongly but there were always doubts about their quality and they are still being derided for one of the most boring football in the league. The second win scraped over Wigan and the following draw, just reaffirmed that they are the same as last year. The only difference, they've manage to bring in one of my favorite player - Deco - and a less boring manager.

As for Arsenal, well they didn't start the year strongly as they did last year, but nevertheless looked at ease in the next few game. Apart from that, it has been the same. There is no body apart from the manager who thinks that some money needs to be spent and big players brought in. But call it french arrogance or his old age, Wenger is hell bent on sticking with the kids to win him the league. God bless Arsenal and may they kick the other 3's ass!!!

The most interesting developments have come from Man City, where it looks like a crazy Sheikh got up one morning with a billion dollars to throw away, bought the next available club on the market and plans to turn it in to the biggest club in the world.

No offences to Chelsea, but after spending 3/4th of a billion, many cups won and as many managers in the number of years that Abromvich has owned the club. Chelsea is losing 10's of millions of dollars a year and still has empty seat for many of the matches. Man Utd. and Arsenal did not become the biggest clubs in the world in a year or two, it takes years and years to build a hugely successful club and I hope the Sheikh's have the patience unlike the big fat impatient owner of Newcastle.

Ok the important part, prediction time.

League winners --- Man Utd/Chelsea
CL --- Its always a fluke you know

Arsenal --- Might win a cup or two
Liverpool -- Nothing, unless they get really lucky

Watch EPL matches live

2008-08-31T05:23:00.001-07:00

Watch Chelsea V Spurs live

As for my predication. Well unless Chelsea do anything stupid, Spurs will be thrashed!!

Watch EPL matches live

2008-08-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Watch Portsmouth Vs Everton live

Footballing lessons for Man U. and Chelsea's win

2008-04-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

I was surely expecting a cake walk for Man United in their semi-final against a struggling and out of form Barcelona side, but there was a hint of doubt that it might turn out to be a repeat of last years semi-final. Whoever watched the match would surely remember how Milan made Man U. chase shadows for the 90 minutes. But the first half has turned out beyond my expectations. Fergusson's team have literally been receiving some footballing lessons from Rijkaard's side. Yeah they haven't scored a goal yet and they might loose too, but the game till now has been an amazing display of footballing skills by the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Toure, Eto and the team.

Thats the reason Barca along with Arsenal are a treat to watch, the free flowing, controlling football that they play is what the beautiful game is all about. One thing missing out of the Barca game and the reason why they haven't scored yet is the speed at which they are playing. Though they have complete control of the ball, they are not playing at the speed which they use to rip apart teams.

So who do I think will win the match?? Well at the start of the match I was sure it will be Man U. but as the match has progress and they have been completely outclassed, I have my doubts. Considering the great English tradition of long ball which Man U. have resorted to at times tonight and at which most English team rely on. Man U can still win the match. For now I have fingers crossed.

I had said a couple of posts back that Chelsea have been lucky this season and might just win the UCL and boy their luck was at its best last night. After being completely outclassed and outplayed at Anfield from start to end, they were lucky to get a Goal, obviously an own goal by Riise, who is obviously at the end of his footballing career at Anfield. Considering Riise was not under too much pressure when he netted the ball, it came down to plain dame luck which got them the crucial away goal. But as I have said before UCL is quite about luck and many not so good teams have won it in the past, so it might be the luck of one such mediocre team to win this season and just if you didn't get it, it was Avram's team last night.

End of days!

2008-04-11T13:05:00.001-07:00

Another night another heartbreak, the sad story of another failed season for the Gunners. Sometimes you might be the best but the things just don't work probably that's what they call luck or is luck just an excuse for not doing well enough. Probably it was the mix of two for the gunners this season, their loss to Liverpool was a quick highlight of the whole season. The brilliant spark which threatened to completely steam roll the opposition, A mistake causes the setback and then another one and all seems lost, then there is a glimmer of hope and some exceptional display, then it seems its won, but just when you think the battle is won, a chink in the armour is exposed and its all over. All that is left is hurt expectations and the feeling of what it could have been. If you haven't watched the match with Liverpool or not followed the Gunners all season you will probably find it difficult to relate to.

So what's next in store for the Gunners? well nothing for this season, though mathematically they can still win the league but that even Liverpool can. All they need to do is to win against Man U this Sunday, the for Chelsea and Man U to draw and then Man U and Chelsea to loose atleast one more match and then ..... and then.... but well but it can happen only in day dreams.

More to come....

Strong comeback by Gunners

2008-03-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Last few weeks have been a big disappointment for any Gunners fan, so many draws and then a loss against Romans trophy team and the trophy coach almost ended the season for the Gunners and gave the chance to the blues fans to poke fun, anyways every dog has its day. Yesterday the disappointment reached its limit when the gunners went 2-0 down and a man short and I gave up hope, switched off the telly and went for a stroll, only to return after an hour and find the Gunners have won it!!! believe me it was one of the most amazing result of the of probably the season.

So do I think the Gunners will win the title? nope I never thought so, in fact like most other fans I was myself surprised at the ascent of the team to the leadership position where they stayed most of the season. At the start of the season if some asked me who would win, it was a straight forward answer Manchester United or Liverpool, both had spent heavily, had stable managers (off course the Gunners too) and played good football. Liverpool like the previous many seasons fell apart and Manchester United are very much on their way to win the league.

The Gunners always have the quality but what they lacked all season and what actually will kill their season is the lack of depth in their ranks. They have some of the best players in the league, but not enough for each position, so if Kolo Toure or Gallas are out the defense struggles. I know it difficult to replace a player like Fabregas, Flamini or Hleb but you need some experienced players if one of them gets injured. Anyways if Gunners win the CL which will be difficult, considering the first match is against battle hardened Rafa's side, who if everyone remembers have knocked Chelsea out twice very recently, it will be a worthy price for the efforts and the quality of a young team.

The surprise package this season could be Chelsea ;) no they won't win the league but their luck is smiling in the Champions league, they were lucky to get a small team in round of 16 and again when they got the weakest or one of the weakest team of the last 8, lets see how long do they ride their luck.

Finally a win...

2008-03-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

Finally, Chelsea manage to win a match against a big team. And am I glad that it came against the perpetual whiners Arsenal. :-)

Arsene once again whined about the aerial play and sometimes I wonder if these teams and their fans expect all the teams to play their way. Strange!

I don't see Chelsea winning the league but we have returned the favour by dashing Arsenal's hopes of winning as they had dashed our hopes last time.

But, I have a feeling that they are gonna be crowned the European Champions. Yeah, I would loved to be proved wrong but I guess the the gunners are gonna rules Europe this time.

One down for Chelsea ;-)

2008-02-25T02:25:00.001-08:00

I myself often wondered what difference does a coach make if you provide him the best players in the world, any tom, dick and harry can pick up an eleven and win the game. But after watching the Carling cup final today, it was pretty much clear. While a Jose Mourinho would have guided Chelsea through the final with clinical, though often boring, efficiency. An Avam Grant couldn't bring it on in his team when it mattered the most, the football was same boring one, but the efficiency was missing when it mattered the most.

As for Spurs, the journey from the relegation zone at the start of the season to defeating Arsenal and then Chelsea has been phenomenal. The manager is what made the difference, while Martin Jol couldn't get his team win a game, Juande Ramos is doing wonders with almost the same team. It could be start of an special era for Spurs from now on and Ramos could prove to be the next special one.

Well done Liverpool!

2008-02-19T15:46:00.001-08:00

How often do you complain as to why did you agree to a dinner invitation specially when away from home, the prospect of lovely home cooked curry, well you do when you have a Champions League game to watch including Liverpool and Inter Milan. Frankly speaking Liverpool have been really poor in the last two seasons excluding their Champions league final appearance and this was something which has turned me off from watching their games in the recent past. But I had a hint that todays game might be one of those great Anfield nights and recorded the game to watch after dinner and boy Liverpool finally kept up the promise by playing a great game of football against one of the toughest opponents in Europe.

Well done Liverpool hope you give some great performances and help keep Rafa his job, After Mourinho and Wenger he is one of the most interesting manager in the league and it will be sad to see him go.

To add something for the Blues fans, their side as boring as it is got another boring draw. I wonder why Mourinho was fired, he too was doing exactly what Chelsea is doing right now winning 1-0 or getting 0-0 draws. Atleast he provided some great entertainment quite opposite of the Abramovich stooge who is one of the most boring managers in the league.

Arsenal disappoint again

2008-02-17T05:50:00.000-08:00

To say that it was a disappointing evening will be understatement, having known that Arsenal are playing a side weakened there was some apprehensiveness about how the match will turn up. But a 4-0 defeat came as a much bigger disappointment then the loss to Spurs few weeks back. I was pretty sure that the earlier loss was just a one off event and the gunners will be back in form after that, but having a pub full of Man U. supporters clapping at a great match(for them) makes it much harder to digest the defeat and I had to leave at half time.

One could see in the first 5 minutes itself that Man U. looked to be the better side but I expected the gunners to be in their rhythm soon, but it wasn't to be. Frankly speaking the worry now is that they might blow away the whole season if they have another couple of such games. The Premier League looks pretty much a two horse race and needs consistently good performance rather then depending on a single match and as such look pretty much in grasp of the gunner with todays winners as the only other real contenders. Chelsea fans will fume at this, but they should accept now that they winning the league can happen but only as a miracle.

The Champions league matches starting this are gonna put me in a tough spot as to decide which team support, but I will rather not watch those matches out. I still remember being booed out of a pub for celebrating AC Milan goals against Liverpool in last years final. Milan haven't been in the best of the forms this year, but as they say the class is permanent so can do wonders by winning the cup again. For now I'll my fingers crossed for a busy week ahead.

One Down...Three to Go :-)

2007-02-26T02:43:00.000-08:00

So, the Carling Cup is ours. Sad to see the brawl almost at the end of the game. It nearly robbed the sheen of a good win over a very good competitor in a Cup Final.

Arsenal dominated a better part of the game but luckily, playing experienced people in the final paid dividends for us. Also, the goal scoring machine Drogba clinched the match.

Overall, a satisfying win barring the fact that Terry had to be carried on a stretcher during the
match. Seriously hope that no one is added to our ever increasing injury list.

As per now, Chelsea might be the only team that can play a Injury XI instead of a Playing XI. :-)

Cheers,
HP

Thanks Henry!!

2007-01-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Henry,

Thanks. Heartfelt Thanks. I have never considered you as a great player and have always been against you while arguing with my friends. But , after your vital Sunday's goal against the Devils, I am just full of gratitude towards you. The moment your head butted the football into the net, I was jupping around with joy and glee and the jumping around doubled when my brother entered the room. :-)

So, please forgive me for all the things that I have said against you. This goal has redeemed you and from now on, I am not going to take anything said against you lying down. Yep, thats a promise :-)

You have kept alive the hopes of the fans of the Blues. And, we just hope that Jose gets over his sulking and gifts us the 3rd premiership title on the row.

Cheers,
HP

PS : Common, Chelsea, pull up your socks and gift us a treble this time. Common guys. You can do it.

Shevchenko can be the best ever, says Mourinho

2006-12-06T01:39:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

This post is for all those who believe that Shevechenko is 30 million pound waste. Shevi is slowly coming out of his shell and proving to the world that he is a match winner. Read on guys...

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes Andriy Shevchenko can establish himself as the most prolific striker in the history of European football.

Shevchenko scored his first European goal for Chelsea as his side clinched top spot in Champions League Group A with a 2-0 win against Levski Sofia at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian forward has endured a miserable time since his club record 30 million pounds move from AC Milan in pre-season, but his clinical finish against the Bulgarians was just reward for the kind of dynamic display that he has lacked for much of the campaign.

Shevchenko has now scored 57 goals in European football and Mourinho is convinced he can get to the top of the list before he retires.

"I am happy with Sheva. I think he has gone ahead of Eusebio in the top scorers in the history of European football and he is just behind Gerd Muller," Mourinho said.

For full story click here...

njoi,
Kurt

P.S. : This has been Cross-Posted @ Whatever!!!

Barca avoid Champions League knockout...

2006-12-06T00:36:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Yesterday was a crucial day for all the Barca fans, it was a do/die situation for their team. They(the fans) can now sit back and relax coz their team has been successful in qualifying for the KnockOut Stage. For more details read below:

Barcelona and AS Roma made their own entries into the history books of the Champions League on Tuesday, although it was the defending champions who penned the most interesting reading.

Frank Rijkaard's Spanish giants calmed the nerves of their anxious fans with a 2-0 victory over Werder Bremen at the Nou Camp which secured entry to the last 16 after a second place finish in Group A behind winners Chelsea.

Roma, missing talismanic skipper Francesco Totti, beat Group D winners Valencia 1-0 at home to finish second in their group and enter the knockout phase for the first time in its current format.

However Barcelona's win, for Champions League posterity, had a little more significance: it meant they avoided becoming the first defending champions to exit the competition at the group stages.

For a complete report: Click Here

njoi,
Kurt

P.S.: This post has been Cross-Posted @ Whatever!!!

Barca rulezzzz.... Once again!!!

2006-12-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

To be very frank just before the start of last nights match between Barcelona and Werder Bremen when my roommate asked me for a prediction, I was pretty quick in predicting "I think like all good things, Barca's good run is near to over". I am not the one to comment so easily on such things but after watching them play in the last few matches or almost of the matches I felt something was a miss. It wasn't the same Braca of last two years, The La liga and the European champs suddenly started looking beatable and after their last match against Levante, I was pretty sure that they are on their way out to play the UEFA cup.

I was proved wrong and I am so happy to be proved wrong, The first 45 minutes of the game was stunningly amazing. I could feel the punch, the energy in the game that Barca had been missing this year. The cheeky goal by the magician Ronaldinho was a proof that he is the best brain in football at the moment, coz it was less of an art and more of being smart considering the way he slid the ball below the wall as soon as they jumped. There was more to come, the second goal was more about speed from Giuly and lack of good defending from Bremen. For a moment it looked there would be many more but Barca missed some very good chances to score, anyways this was less about match analysis and more to express my happiness wih Barca qualifying to last 16.

Cannavaro wins European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or)

2006-11-28T02:29:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Finally Ronaldinho has been stripped off his title, which he held for 2 yrs consecutively. The guy who has done that truly deserves it.

Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro won recognition for his stunning World Cup performance as Italy skipper by winning the prestigious European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or) on Monday. The 33-year-old Neapolitan succeeds Barcelona star Ronaldinho, winner of last year's award, but who placed fourth this time largely as a result of his World Cup performance as Brazil crashed in the quarter-finals to France.

Cannavaro with 173 points took the honour ahead of Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (124) of Italy and Arsenal's French striker Thierry Henry (121).

France's Zinedine Zidane, who retired after reaching the World Cup finals, placed fifth with 71 points.

To read the complete story click here

This post has been Cross-Posted @ Whatever!!!

njoi,
Kurt

Clash of Titans...

2006-11-27T04:29:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

It was indeed Clash of Titans. Yesterday (i.e. 26th November), i along wid the millions of others worldwide saw two Premiership Gaints ManU & Chelsea, clash against eachother @ Old Trafford. Now ManU was in a bad mood after their loss against Celtic in UEFA Championship Group matches. Fergurson was quoted saying, "We'll avenge our Championship loss by defeating Chelsea @ home...". I know tht's a brave statement to make, but Alex is known to make such statements.

Abt the match:
It was a very well contested match, both the teams played some good football. ManU with backing of their home crowd started off with a bang & took Chelsea completely off gaurd. Ronaldo spear-headed ManU's attack, with his sheer speed he made A Cole life a living Hell. Chelsea managed to break most their attack even though they had some goof-ups in their defense. In the process they also took some shots @ ManU's goal. It was ManU who drew the first blood & it was none other than Luis Saha who found the back of the net. Just as he scored the entire stadium burst into a roar, all the ManU fans were shouting, jumping & cheering for their team. Soon it was half time & it looked as if ManU would run away with an easy win.

Second half was a complete different story.They had an early change, Robben was introduced into the attack. Chelsea had fire in their eyes which was missing in the first half (i wonder wht did Jose do in the changing room??). Suddenly one could see ManU on the backfoot, they had majority of their ppl in the defense. Chelsea kept the pressure on ManU and finally they succeded in scoring. It was a corner kick & the scorer this time was Caralvanho (the Portugal Defender). After the goal the stadium went dead silent, only the away fans were cheering this time around. ManU did try to come back but their attack was killed in the bud itself. Soon its was fulltime & the scoreline was ManU 1 - Chelsea 1.

After the match Jose Mourinho was quoted saying, "It's a fair result, ManU were best in the first half & Chelsea were best in the second half."

In all the match was a true entertainer. I felt the refree was a jackass coz he gave away a lot of unwanted fouls against Chelsea. It was indeed a high voltage game. Looking forward to see many more games like this...

This post has been Cross-Posted @ Whatever!!!

njoi,
Kurt

P.S.: This version is Chelsea friendly, if you want a ManU friendly version. Please go somewhere else.

Magnusson takes over West Ham

2006-11-22T01:42:00.000-08:00

So finally, West Ham is being taken over. Speculation was pretty much going on since the start of the season that West Ham might be taken over. It was just a matter of when and by whom.

And when the Argentine duo of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were signed by West Ham, various conspiracy theories were being espoused. The most interesting among them was that this move was just a trick to bring them into EPL and finally the duo or at least Tavez would be bought by Chelsea. It was also suggested that Roman Abramovich might eventually also buy West Ham.(Not sure, if the rules allow that). But, as of now those speculations can be put to rest. :-)

But, what will be the fate of Tavez and Javier? According to the article,

The futures of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano look less secure.

The Argentina internationals were brought to West Ham by Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian, who then led a takeover attempt that failed to lead to any offer for the club.

Tevez and Mascherano have played sporadically and their arrival has coincided with West Ham's recent slump.

Frankly, I haven't see either of them play really well or for that matter, even play for West Ham this season :-) I do like Tavez, so I hope he stays fit and plays for West Ham. But, with the new owners, probably they would be sold to bring in the cash and some footballers who will actually stay fit and play.

Also, West Ham has been one of the teams that I rooted for last season and it’s pretty disappointing to see them play this season. But, in the last match against Chelsea, they fought bravely and that augurs well for the rest of the season.

Although, earlier I had hoped that the speculations surrounding West Ham can be put to rest now but just one doubt in my mind. Is Roman Abramovich driving this deal??

Whatever, the scene is heating up! Watch Out!

Cheers,
HP

Explosion of the Arsenal!!!

2006-11-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

The biggest disappointment of this EPL season has been Liverpool, with a lineup of Gerrard, Alonso, Crouch, Bellamy, Kyut to name a few they were expected to fire and give a shot at the title. But that was not to be, their play not only lacks fire but quality too. It seems they just can't keep up the pace with anyone, finding difficult to hold on even to the second level teams. The irony is that they seem to have the problem only in the EPL, as they have played pretty well in the Champions league, with 10 points from 4 mathces they are sitting comfortably on top of their group. With talk of trouble between Gerrard and Rafa Benitez subsiding it was expected that better days might be here soon, But the talk of the club changing hands seems to bring in more uncertainity and it seems the troubled days are here to stay.

The other disappointment had been Arsenal, though their situation has not been as pitiful as Liverpool. They have had some great quality games as expected from a team of highest quality but their biggest trouble in the last couple of months has been their ability to score goals. They would play a beautiful game with perfect passing but would fail when it matters the most that is in scoring goals. So much was I frustrated with lack of Arsenal goals that I switched off midway in their last few games as I did last night. Thankfully that wait seems to be over, with hat-tricks in the matches against Liverpool and Hamburg they seem to be getting back their killer instincts. Though the gap at the top of the EPL is becoming pretty wide for them to be considered for the title, but they are still not out of contention and can surely turn the tables around.

Some Football Action

2006-11-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since I posted anything about football. And, with the EPL season well on its way, expect more football related posts from now on..Now, stop groaning...please...

Already, I am disappointed to read that Chelsea lost to Spurs in the league. This year, Chelsea have not had the dream run like last year and they have also been losing matches after taking a lead which is quite annoying, to say the least. Also, the fact that the big signings have not fired has not helped matters at all. And, I also think letting Gallas go was not the wisest thing that we did this season. I know Kurt does not agree with me but Gallas was a real good player for Chelsea. But, all said and done, Jose needs to get the players performing once again in the league. And, the fact that Man Utd have been playing like a dream in the league make matters worse for us. Here's hoping that we soon overcome whatever problems we have and strike fear in the rest of the EPL teams.

And hope, just hope that Frank fires...Chelsea's winning/losing a match mutch depends upon Terry and Lampard performing. So there....

Cheers,
HP

Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal

2006-06-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

aah...What a goal!!! What a goal!!

ok..U wanna wash away all your sins!! Just watch this video hundred, no make it a thousand times and your sins will be washed away :-) Really, I am not kidding!!!!!

For all u IE fans, the link is here.

And for Mozilla rockers, just watch the video below.

Just hope now that my team wins the World Cup and I get to wear the tee proudly :-)

God Bless Argentina!!!

Cheers,
HP

Predictions for the World Cup (contd.....)

2006-06-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

This is officially my first post @ Football Fever. (i somehow didnt like this name) :))))
Neways lets continue with the post/get.

World Cup/ Cup of Life/ La Copa de la Vida is just 2 days away and football enthusiasts(or shld i say the working football enthusiasts like me n my frenz) have already started making the plans for their weekends. Most of us are completely geared up & are ready for the action to begin. Ppl are buying new T.Vs, their fav teams jersey, booking their tickets @ local pubs to catch the action LIVE on the big screen,etc.....
Even women are into the action this time around, even they are cheering for their fav teams
in their Bustiers..... (read an article abt it recently)
Dont get excited boyz, those females are not in India.

Admist all this chaos there are 32 teams out there, who are under so much pressure to perform their Best @ the Biggest Platform. They all know that hopes of many ppl from all over the world is resting on their shoulders.My hope rests on the following teams.

The teams below stand the chance of creating history & making their country & countrymen proud.

1) Argentina
2) Italy
3) Portugal (I personally feel they shld win)
4) England (have an outside chance)

Lets see who wins in the end.
Am supporting all the other teams except for BRAZIL, coz i know there are hundreds/ thousands millions supporting them.

njoi,
Kurt

Foot Ball Fever.

2006-05-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

Indians cannot boast to be a football crazy country or of a great football past, we have nothing to boast of except that around half a century ago the Indian Football Team qualified for the World Cup finale's. They couldn't attend it though for one of the wierdest reasons, yeah they didn't have money to buy shoes and they were used to playing bare foot!!!. Isn't that amazing, just imagine if they could have afforded to buy shoes or someone would have sponsored that, we might have had a different foot ball history and culture.

Anyways, there's still a big bunch of enthusiasts who are crazily waiting for the World Cup to start. I don't qualify to be one of them, as it has been a very long time I left watching TV though I keep tabs on my favorite players and teams in some way or other. But when even a not so crazy football enthusiast agrees to buy in a new TV set with his room mate and best of all to buy a dozen football jerseys so that we can wear them throughout the World Cup!!!. Yes guys we decided that we would be buying enough jerseys so that we can wear them through the World Cup. The fever is certainly taking us over.

Apart from that, we have a shoot at sight order in place for all GLTian's during the world where we are supposed to shoot at everything that is round, made of leather and is of number 5, something like that and all. Add to this a host of other competitions and prizes, I hope they put put live matches on Friday evening on big screen instead of the usual movie.

The party pooper to all this is that the cable wallah's are threatening not to air ESPN/Star. Sure would kill a few if they do it, keeping my fingers crossed.

So guys what so crazy that you are planning to do this World Cup.

---Asif

Predictions for the World Cup

2006-05-26T03:41:00.000-07:00

Since, the world cup is just days away, it makes sense to pay favourite-favourite :-)

Yep, its that time of the year when you can make predictions and all. Also, you can lay bets on ur fav team. So, here I go.

For me, the below three teams have a wonderful chance of laying their hands on the trophy.

1) Brazil (Expected)
2) England (Best Team Till Date)
3) Argentina

More elaboration as to why I consider them the favourites to win will follow. Till then, keep kicking :-)

Cheers,
HP

Football and more of it.

2006-05-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

The League titles have been decided, Football fanatics have had their moments of elation, excitement, despair and doom as the fortunes of their favorite teams and players swayed across ends. While fans of Chelsea, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool had a great time with their teams winning their country leagues or other glories, The fans of Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid etc were not so lucky.

The three teams boast together some of the best players in the game, with half the Real's line up being star studded, but when it came to team play they didn't quite match up. United was almost thrashed by Chelsea, though it still has more starry line-up than its rival, Arsenal the loosers, though played well in the league final against Barca, never really looked like the champs that they were a couple a years ago, finishing fourth!!! in the league. The biggest disappointment was handed over to its fans was by Real, with players like Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo, Carlos, Robinho, Guti one could not expect anything less than titles, but none were to come.

The team that changed the rules of the games has been Chelsea, when they won the title last year, not many were still sure of their quality and persistence. But they have proved well enough that they are the kings and their last win wasn't a flash in the pan, the likes of Lampard, Drogba, Arjen may not yet be the stars of the likes of Ronaldo and Zidane but surely make up a team that has an incisive attack and rock solid defense. One more thing that they prove is that money does matter but, well used it can do wonders, So 90 million euros ($113.9 million) spent by Real madrid last year could get them only a second place in Spanish La Liga and Roman Abramovich's millions assured successive titles for Chelsea.

The football fanatics are eagerly waiting for the World Cup which promises to be the biggest sporting extravaganza on the face of the earth, mean while the player market is hotting up with deals falling in place one after other, one can only wait to see the composition of next year club lineups.

Barca Rulezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2006-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, the expected happened. Barca became the UEFA Champions. As the season progressed this time, it was becoming more and more apparent that Barca were the team to beat this year. And coming into the finals, Barcelona were poised to lift the Champions Trophy. But, one team Arsenal was determined to make history and promised an entertaining match to the fans.

I spent the better part of the night waiting for the match to start. Dad started getting a bit restless seeing me awake beyond midnight. And the old taunt of never staying late to study surfaced. But, yesterday everything was taken into the stride. Even gave a brief introduction of the Champions League to him. Finally, he slept murmurring something about 22 players fighting for a ball and all. But, I digress..

Anyways, coming to the match, Arsenal were aggressive right from the beginning which was not quite surprising actually. In the pre-match analysis, the pundits were discussing about the fact that Barca might just be wary of the Arsenal strikers. And in the first few minutes, Arsenal showed us just exactly why. Lehmann was looking quite confident while thwarting the stray strikes by the Barca strikers on the goal. But, then Lehmann tripped Eto just outside the box. (Hope Lehmann doesn't show such stupidity during the World Cup now that he is the first-choice goalkeeper for Germany). The tripping saw Lehmann being sent off and Pires being replaced by Manuel Almuni which in a way was very sad. The sight of Lehmann being sent off and Pires being replaced secretly made an Arsenal-baiter like me also pray for an Arsenal victory.

A free kick which should not have been given gave Arsenal a opening in the game. Campbell's header put Arsenal in the lead and Arsenal went into the break with their heads high after being 1 up with a 10 man team.
A lot is being made of the refreeing and I don't think Arsenal fans should be complaining much. IMHO, the free kick was just not on. But, the simulation worked and Arsenal striked. All this talk of biasedness should be taken with a bag of salt.

After the break also, the ball possession was more with Barcelona. But, their normal incisiveness was missing primarily because Ronaldinho was playing far below at its best, to put it mildly. Ronaldinho missed around 3 free-kicks which is very much unlike him. Things were just drifting with Arsenal content to defend and players diving left and right. Even Henry wasn't entirely free of guilt as he also got involved in delaying of the game with the constant scuffles and dives.

But, then Larsson was introduced in the game and that just changed the entire match. A first feed to Eto, which seemed like marginally off-side equalized the scores and there and then, Arsenal left the game. Within some minutes, Larsson provided Beletti a scoring oppurtunity and that sealed the match. The remaining minutes were just a countdown to Barca lifting the trophy.
Overall, the match was good. Definitely tense but yes, if Arsenal had 11 players on the ground, I suspect Arsenal would have been crowned the champions. Simplay, the way they started was heartening. But, anyways looking at the whole tournament, Barca were the deserved winners.

Hopefully, Chelsea bring the Champions Trophy back to England. Here's Cheers to that!!!

Cheers,
HP

First Post

2006-05-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Just created this blog for all the madness related to the most beautiful game on this planet 'FOOTBALL'.
I would like a variety of people to contribute to this blog and hence, as a first step would invite some of my blog friends to contribute on this blog.

So, I would not like to take much of blogger space and ask anyone free to contribute to this blog.

So, Let the ball roll!!

Cheers,
HP