Veni Vidi Vici: September 2007

Yet another disastrous weekend for Spurs. Things does not look to be improving in particularly the defence. At the same time it’s unfair to criticize Spurs for defence in that match, cause the Gooners ain’t great either. If it wasn’t for Berbatov, Bent and Keane's host of chances, they would have made them(Arse-nal) look bad. I had enough of blogging about Spurs already this season and i promise you that this will be my very last post bout’ the team as long as Jol, the manager is in charge.

The premier league seems to be extremely entertaining this season, especially with so many teams capable of challenging for a place in Europe, for instance Everton, Blackburn, Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham and of course Tottenham. But the team that impresses me the most is Man City. Definitely the surprise package this season, considering the problems they encountered during the takeover bid from, Thaksin Shinawatra(Current club owner). There’s even protest after he’s takeover regarding human rights abuse. Allegations that he participated in media suppression and presided over extrajudicial killings clouded the capture of the club.

As controversial as the takeover bid is the appointment of Sven-Goran Eriksson as the new club manager. To some people, he is one of the top "conman artist". Well, I’m not making a statement but rather it’s amazing that he is the highest paid manager in world football during he’s stint as the manager of England yet he did not achieve anything significant. Initially, I really doubt that he can do much with the Man City squad but he has involved heavily in the transfer market, bringing in no more than 8 players with more to arrive, I believe.

However, after 6 games in the English Premier League, sitting 2nd on the table, proudly above their local rivals Man Utd. After watching most of their matches, I was in awe of their work-man like performance and with touches of flair here and there. They are definitely building a great team with good depth, covering each positions well with similar back-up players.

One of the main reason why they are doing so well is their defence; rock solid marshaled by Richards and Dunne with Corluka and Garrido as fullbacks. Hamann their most experienced player and also the oldest has been employed as an anchorman to sit in front of the defence and although he is pretty slow but he has done a superb job breaking opponents attack and allowing the attacking players to do their job.

Other notable key players in the team are Petrov on the left wing and Elano, playing just behind a target man. Elano has been awesome in almost every match, with he’s superb passes and vision. It’s a pity that Bojinov is out injured for quite some time else he would have taken on the right wing place I believe. Their target man Bianchi looks superb too, very mobile and capable of holding the ball well.

Elano & Barry challenging for the ball

With the presence of the foreign players, the team is well balance with a blend of youth players in the mould of Michael Johnson, dubbed as the new Frank Lampard. Looking as he’s winning goal yesterday against Villa, very similar I would say. Other youth players in the team worth mentioning are the keeper, Kasper Schmeichel( 4 clean sheets already), Nedhum Onuoha, Stephen Ireland and Micah Richards obviously.

Michael Johnson on the left in the picture

The Citizens are such a fun team to watch this season and they have only lost narrowly to Arsenal and Blackburn. In both occasion I believe they could have gotten something out of the game. Let’s not forget about their sweet victory over Man Utd. Personally I do think, they will be pushing hard for a place in Europe considering the way the approach their game and the array of talents that they possess. Not bad for a “Con-man” eh.

p/s if the is any City fans who would like to follow up please do so. But I highly doubt so, since in M’sia people only support the so called big four; Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arse-nal.

EJ

The first few steps i took onto the pitch is already like having fresh air. As the play kicks-off, i exchanged a pass, made a run forward, received a through-pass and it's a GOALLLL!!!!!

Yeapz, i'm talkin' bout futsal, it's been a while since the last time i've played. I wouldn't wanna remember my last game as i suffered a bad injury on my ankle and since then it's just road to recovery. Thanks to Kean & Duncan for inviting me to join their gang for a game. I actually thought i would sux badly since i'm sort of short of match fitness but it turned out great i guess still managed to cope with the game although in the end still suffered some cramps as a result of pushing to the limits as usual. Football is life man!! It's even better than..... well anything you can think of that makes you feel great, yeah it's better than that! :P

Unfortunately, my body, hips down is so sore, too much walking and thanks to the deadlifts that i did the other day too...

Have a pleasant day guyz~!

EJ
Sept 8th 2007 : Italy Vs France
Forza Italia