Final Posting

After almost three and a half years and 343 posts, I have decided to call it quits. I have no reason to do so but I feel it is time to move on.

I don’t think I have many regular readers; my guess is two maybe three loyal readers, so this is not a loss that will shake the world of blogging.

Seeing that this is my final posting, I might as well write a very long post. That is if I can find anything to write about.

On Movies and Songs

I enjoy watching movies but I hardly go to the cinema. I prefer to lie in bed and watch pirated DVDs. I’m not supporting the pirated DVD industry but they do serve a purpose and at a lower cost. The taxman may differ but I think economically, the industry does have its benefits. Another reason for choosing DVDs over cinema is the censorship; we sometimes are overzealous in cutting up dialogues and scenes. Most moviegoers are matured adults, let’s treat them as such.

Another reason why I don’t quite like going to the movies is because it takes a lot of effort and I am the lazy type. At home I can watch movies lying down topless in my boxers. I can pause if I need to take a pee. I can adjust the temperature. I don’t have to spend hours looking for parking and queuing for tickets and popcorn. At home I can doze off immediately after the movie ends.

I love gangster movies. The Godfather trilogy is at the top of my list followed by Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas. I’m also into comedy, especially spoofs like Naked Gun. Johnny English is my favourite partly because of Rowan Atkinson and Austin Powers is, well simply powerfully funny. Hot Fuzz and Paul are two Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movies I love; you have to understand British humour to enjoy his movies though.

I don’t really have a favourite actress although I like Anne Hathaway because she is hot. My favourite actors are in no particular order; Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia (only in Godfather 3), Jason Statham, Samuel L Jackson and Simon Pegg. Notice most of them are specialised gangster actors.

I’m a self proclaimed mat rock. I grew up listening to Iron Maiden, Twisted Sisters, Search, Lefthanded, Wings, Metallica, Guns N Roses, Van Halen and the like. My favourite songs are by the rock bands form the 70s and early 80s; Africa and Rosanna by Toto, Open Arms by Journey, I Want To Know What Love Is and Waiting for A girl Like You by Foreigner and Big Love by Fleetwood Mac. My all time favourite song is Rock Me Amadeus by Falco. Falco who? Google him up, he is probably the most popular German musician in America since Bach.

I stopped following Malay music since Search and Lefthanded retired. I do enjoy some Indonesian songs but have never actually bought any. Nowadays I listen to almost everything played on the radio.

On Love

Love is a beautiful thing. Everyone wants to love and be loved but some are confused between loving and being in love. I believe they are two different things. One can love many people but will usually be in love with only one person.

Marriage is a beautiful thing. Love for another person, of the opposite sex will naturally lead to marriage. But do we know why we are getting married? Is it because of love or because we are getting older?

Is it because of love or because the other party proposed and we don not know how to say no or not yet?

Is it because of love or because our younger siblings and cousins are all married with children?

Is it because of love or because our parents wants us to?

Is it because of love or because we pity the other party and his/her family?

These are all very damaging questions so I shall stop asking.   

Weddings are a beautiful occasion. Everyone wants the perfect wedding. People will go on a strict diet so they won’t look fat in their wedding photos. People spend truckloads of money on fresh flowers for the pelamin, designer wedding gowns, made in Indonesia wedding cards, table gifts and not to mention trays upon trays of hantaran. Why? Because they want their wedding to be the most beautiful ever. Some people however forget; a beautiful wedding is not an indication of a beautiful marriage. Ask Yusry and Erra. I want a beautiful marriage more than a beautiful wedding. I don’t care if my wedding photos suck as long as I can have beautiful family photos for the rest of my life. A beautiful marriage doesn’t mean there are no hiccups; there will be fights and disagreements but they can be sorted out and laid to rest.

I’m the type who falls in love with the brains before I fall in love with the looks. I’m not saying looks don’t matter but it is after all in the eye of the beholder. Or the beer-holder, depending on the situation. I believe we all have differing taste; a hot mama in my eyes would probably be a plain Jane in some other guys’ eyes. What attracts me to a girl is how she can engage in a conversation with me, how she can make me say “wow, I didn’t know that”! I want someone who is aware of what is going on in the world and not just in the mall or movie theatres or gossip pages. I want someone who can teach me stuff. I want someone like that because if I decide to bring her home, I want her to impress my parents. The last thing I want is for my parents to look down or have a low opinion of my chosen partner. I want my parents to be proud of her as much as I am. And also, my grandmother must like her.  That is a lot of boxes to tick.

On Politics

I am into politics, I like to talk about politics and have radical views on Malaysian politics and I somehow think I have the stomach for active, fulltime life as a politician. However, skeletons in my closet may prevent me from entering the public domain so I’ll just remain as I am now, an armchair critic. Maybe a more appropriate term would be a “keyboard critic”.

It is obvious from my writings that I am aligned to the other side. Yes, I am a PR supporter, more specifically a PAS supporter. PAS is no longer the party for ustazs, no longer seen as backward and overly focussed on the afterlife. PAS is now filled with professionals, even Dr Mahathir acknowledged that many medical doctors opt to join or support PAS.

The thing I do not like about Malaysian politics is its obsession with sexual scandals. This is a legacy of our fourth PM Mahathir. Sexual politics is also a strategy employed by UMNO when they find themselves in trouble.

I’m tired of Malaysian politics because of people like the racist Ibrahim Ali, Hassan Ali who talks about the religion but does nothing, and the sex crazed Ummi Halfida. I’m tired of Malaysian politics because UMNO thinks they own everything from the media to the EPF to the police and the judiciary. 

On Cars

Like most men, I love cars. I cannot afford most of them but I love them nonetheless. One of the things that make me angry with the government is the tax policy on cars. I hate the fact that we are still protecting Proton and Perodua after all these years. I hate the fact that I had to buy a Proton not because I wanted to but because that is all I could afford. I couldn’t afford other makes not because of my financial limitations but because the taxes imposed on the other cars makes it impossible for me (then) to afford anything other than a Proton. I’m sure all the other car lovers share the exact same sentiment.

BMWs are my favourite. The first BMW I fell in love with was the 2002, I still love it but now the 02 has to share my love with the E60 5 series, the E24 6 series, E9 coupes and the E21 3 series. I have been driving the E90 for the past four years or so but I would trade it for any of the above BMs. When I was younger, I used to like the boxy Volvos, my parents used to have the P1800 and even now, I’d pick that car over the E-Type. Their S60 was sexy back in 2001 but the second generation S60 is even sexier.

No one can say they don’t like a Ferrari. I can’t and I won’t because I really really like them. When I was studying in the UK, we used to go to the local Ferrari dealership and ogle at the cars. The mat salleh salesmen were even nice enough to let us sit in some of the cars, albeit only the cars in the used car section but hey, a Ferrari is a Ferrari.

I wish the taxes on cars will be lowered in my lifetime. I’m tired of being envious of the people in Europe who can afford to change cars of their choice as often as they choose, even if they are not earning obscene salaries. Maybe a change in government could lead to a positive change in the policy.

On Racism

I don’t know if I’m a racist but as I stand, I’m a Muslim first, a Malaysian second and a Malay third.  If Ibrahim Ali hears this, he will call for my citizenship to be revoked.

To be a Malay in Malaysia is very easy, Article 160 of the Federal Constitution says;

“Malay" means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom and -

(a) was before Merdeka Day born in the Federation or in Singapore or born of parents one of whom was born in the Federation or in Singapore, or was on that day domiciled in the Federation or in Singapore; or

(b) is the issue of such a person;

Because of Article 160, the Syeds whose roots are in Arabian peninsular are considered Malays. The Mamaks who speak Tamil at home and came by boat from India are also Malays. Another new addition to the Malay fraternity is the Muslim converts; notice how Malay Ridhuan Tee is? I don’t mean to sound racist but aren’t those facts?

Let’s face it; most of us have Jawa, Bugis, Minang, Chinese, Indian, Siamese or Patani roots. Mixed marriages are very common nowadays, it is about time we cut down on the racial championing and start recognising each other as Malaysians.

On Sports

Despite being able to play many sports, I’m not good in any of them. The only person I can beat at table tennis is Lyn. My average bowling score is 238, on the Galaxy Tab. Heck; Lyn once even beat me at bowling! I’m terrible at sports but that doesn’t stop me from being a sports fan.

For someone growing up in the 1980s, Liverpool FC is the club we all want to be associated with. I’m still a fan although it hurts to be one for the past 20 years. I have been to Anfield and would love to go again. My three boys are also ardent supporters to which my dad (an MU fan) accuses me of forcing it on them.

I have a slipped disc between C5 and C6 and as a result my golf suffered. Not that I was any good at it before but after changing to left handed clubs, a drive of 200 yards is a norm. I used to play a lot of snooker, I wasn’t a hustler but most people would have to get to the brown ball to defeat me.  I still until recently played some football with the old boys. We had a couple of friendly matches last year, beating Cochrane 5-2 and losing 2-7 to a very young La Salle PJ team. I have however until now refused invitations to join my neighbours in their Friday nite futsal sessions.

Wish List

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Maybe I should change the subtitle to ‘to do list’. I am the king of procrastination so my ‘to do’ list doesn’t really mean anything. On the top of my list would be to stop smoking. I tried a few times, on one occasion it lasted for almost a year. I also want to start getting my self active in sports; an advancing age requires exercise to keep it in one piece.

And yes, I want to take Sharlyza to the Klang wet market in Jalan Meru. That would be something to blog about!

The End

So this is the end of my blogging journey. I hope I have not offended anyone with my postings. If I did, please accept my utmost sincere apologies. I also hope some of my posting gave a positive impact. Whatever it is; thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments.

Thank you

Liverpool FC 2011/12 Squad – A Review

This season is by far the worst season LFC has had since I started following them in 1984. No doubt we have had worst seasons like in 1993/94 and 2009/10 but given the massive expectations and financial outlay, this season is worse than those two.

Where do we put the blame? I won’t blame the manager or the coach. Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke have had many successes before and are proven to be capable football administrators so I can’t really put all the blame on them. Some maybe, but not all.

I think most of the blame should be shouldered by the players, mainly the strikers, especially Andy Carroll. Having said that, I shall put forth my views on how the players performed and who should leave.

Liverpool fc 2012 – sam speaks

I, like most Liverpool fans were hoping 2011/12 would be a better year but it turns out (so far) it has been relatively similar to the past 10 – 20 years, save for a few good seasons in between.

Yes, we won the Carling Cup, our first trophy in six years but the Carling Cup despite offering a Europa league spot is not a Cup taken very seriously by most of the top teams. It is more of an exposure tournament for their younger players. No disrespect but two Championship teams got into the semi finals and that says a lot.

What is wrong with LFC? Spending 100 million on players doesn’t guarantee success, especially if you can only get expensive second choices.

When to Fall in Love

Apparently, falling in love is best done when one is ready and not when one is lonely; according to my sister la but then again what does she know?

I fell in love the first time I saw her on the billboard, it was on the NKVE, KL bound. I’m still in love with her today, eight years after I first saw her. I cannot afford her yet but one day, one fine day I’ll get my E60 525i.

I knew I was in love when I cried. It was a terrible loss, we were going great and the double was within grasp. It was a simple miss and we lost. Wimbledon FC never got any significant success after beating Liverpool in the 1988 cup final and Liverpool went downhill from the 90s on but I never lost my love for the Reds.

Btw, an hour ago Liverpool dumped Man U out of the 2011/12 FA Cup!

England’s Greatest Football Club

I am a Liverpool fan. I have been a supporter since I was 12 when Kenny Dalglish was still a player. I must admit Liverpool was not the first English league team I supported; that honour goes to Tottenham Hotspurs. Supporting Spurs had nothing to do with their playing style, players or history; as a ten year old, the name ‘Spurs’ was kinda cool plus they had a cool looking Steve Archibald playing for them and that was enough reason to be a fan.

The 70s and 80s belonged to Liverpool. Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Everton and Arsenal managed to sneak a title or two in between Liverpool’s run of championships but there was never a single club that constantly challenged the Reds’ dominance.

In 1991, Dalglish left the club. His successors failed where he succeeded the most – winning.

In 1990, Alex Ferguson broke his four year trophy duck. He’s won everything ever since.

Well, almost everything; Dalglish took Blackburn Rovers to the title in 1995 and pushed United all the way with Newcastle a few years later but no other team really bugged United during the 90s. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal won the double in 1998 and a few titles and FA cups in between but other than that, it was all MU.

Then came Roman and Jose. Abramovich’s money and Mourinho’s tactical brilliance gave Ferguson and MU a big fight. Chelsea is now a serious challenger and the noughties is theirs as much as the 90s were United’s. Chelsea however can only claim to be a great team of the moment, they have yet to acquire the right to be in the same group as the greatest team of all time.

I am a hard core Liverpool fan. But I’ll humbly admit that the greatest English football club is no longer the Reds of Merseyside, it is now the Reds of somewhere near Moss Side. It is without doubt Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager of all time in the English league. Shankly, Clough, Busby, Paisley and Robson were great managers but Ferguson brought continuous success to MU, year after year, without major downswings.

All this wouldn’t have happened if the United Board hadn’t given Ferguson time. If there was a good decision, retaining Ferguson despite his horrible record during the first 3 years was definitely the best.

All of MU’s success is attributed to Ferguson. He is ruthless, rude, arrogant, vengeful and scores of other bad things. I can’t think of anything nice about him. He plays football on the field as well in the mind. His confrontations with Keegan and Wenger are well documented. His contempt for match officials is a well known fact. Despite the many negatives, Ferguson knows how to win games. He knows how to buy players. He often gets who he wants (the United brand does play a part too).

I’m still a Liverpool fan and will be for a long time but I’ll take my hats off to Manchester United and Alex Ferguson. They have earned the title of the greatest club in England and the most successful manager ever in English football.

Having said that, King Kenny is back. The glory days are coming back to Merseyside and United’s 20 year reign may soon come to an end.

Good Buy, Good Bye

Fernando Torres is without doubt a great striker, a proven goalscorer and given the inflated absurd transfer fees of late, is also probably worth the 50 million pounds Roman Abramovich paid for him.

The question is; was he a good buy?

Being a Liverpool fan, I say Chelsea paid at least 20 million pounds too much for him and I say that without an iota of bitterness. As a Liverpool fan, I want to say thank you to Mr. Roman; especially after watching Suarez play, how he ignites games, twisting and turning around defenders and swerving in accurate freekicks. Liverpool paid less than half the price and got a more complete player. Sir Alex and Carlo Ancelotti are probably kicking themselves in their groins for not buying him. Torres was a goalscorer, full stop. Suarez is a goalmaker as well as a goal scorer; two qualities for half the price. That is definitely what I’ll call a good buy. Having said that, I’m sure Torres will eventually settle in and start scoring again. He will also prove to be a good buy for Chelsea, just not at a good price.

If Torres is overpriced at 50 million, did Liverpool over paid for Andy Carroll? Kenny Dalglish is no stranger to record breaking purchases having broken the record in 1987 paying £1.9 million for Peter Beardsley and he paid £3.3 million for Alan Shearer in 1992. Seven years ago, MU paid £27 million for the young and inexperienced Wayne Rooney; I don’t see why people should question Carroll’s £35 million price tag given that he is a more complete player than Rooney was back then.

From the business perspective, the Torres for Suarez-Carroll deal seem a good one, Liverpool got more than sufficient replacement of superior quality and quantity for a mere £8 million.

Roman Abra-more-rich

Roman Abramovich is worth over £11billion. That is two ones and nine zeros. How do I know that? I read it on the internet of course, Yahoo news I think it was.

Apparently, in order to stand for election in Russia, one has to declare his/her wealth and since Roman aspires to be a parliamentary deputy (I’m guessing that’s the Russian wakil rakyat), he has to declare what he owns.


Our 13th General Elections is coming soon and I propose the Election Commission implement similar rules.

According to the web, Abramovich is Russia’s fourth richest man but according to his spokesman the declared numbers may not show the full extent of his wealth.




John Mann (the spokesman-n) says the numbers may not show the full extent of his wealth because it only shows the interest income on his bank deposits and not his full income. Wow!

Apart from the extensive list of residences in several countries, Abramovich's taste in cars may seem less opulent than expected. The most luxurious of the vehicles declared is a Mercedes S500L, but a four-year-old Volkswagen Golf fills out his garage. Abramovich's more majestic purchases, such as his four super-yachts and collection of private jets and helicopters, were however not disclosed in the report.

The declaration is unlikely to interest the residents and voters from Chukotka, where the average income is estimated at £11,000 a year.

Abramovich's fortune is mostly held in companies including Millhouse Capital, Eucla Investments Limited, Primerod International Limited and Chelsea Limited, which owns the Premier League club.

Some highlights of Abramovich's December 2010 declaration of wealth include:

Properties

Seven in Britain, two in the United States, three in France, four in Russia, and one in the Caribbean. Estimated total value of property: £300m

Cars

Seven, notably Mercedes S500L (2010), BMW 760Li (2010), VW Golf (2007). Estimated total value of car collection: £650,000

Cash and shares

£71.78m across 22 separate bank accounts, £25.48m tied up in shares

Ownership

100% of Chelsea Limited (football club estimated worth of £402.19 million), 100% of Lowndes Square Management Company Limited, 100% of Croe France Chateau de la Croe and Eucla Investments Limited, 25% of Primerod International Limited, 100% of Wotton Overseas Holdings Limited, and 100% of Camberley International Investments Limited.

graphic "courtesy" of soccerlens.com

Good Riddance or Good Piece of Business?

He wanted to leave because he wants to be part of a team that is capable of winning trophies. He wasn't interested to prove that he can be the man to bring trophies to the club, he would rather the club buy him team mates who can help him win. To top it all, this comes from a man who has Steven Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina and half a dozen internationals who played at the recent world cup, as team mates. Fernando Torres certainly redefines arrogance not to mention greed, seeing that his move to Chelsea made him a 185,000 pounds a week man. Pounds sterling that is.

History has not been kind to Liverpool's top striker leaving the club. Thirty goals a season Ian Rush only managed single figures in Juventus before coming back to Anfield to find his scoring boots. Micheal Owen left Anfield to warm the bench at the Bernabeu. Robbie Fowler was no longer 'God' after leaving Anfield Road for Elland Road. His departure however was reportedly reluctant and resultant from not seeing eye to eye with Houllier and Thompson.

Personally I think LFC is better off without Torres. The club made 100% profit and got rid of a whining player. On top of that, LFC got two new young strikers who are capable of scoring many goals.

I guess thats what you would call a good piece of business!

New Yanks from New England

Liverpool FC have new owners from the same old country. New England Sports Ventures also owns the Boston Red Sox, who like LFC, has never won the baseball equivalent of the BPL for dog years until NESV came. The Red Sox tried for almost 100 years, which makes LFC's 20 year title drought nothing to whine about.

The former owners however have not yet given up the fight. They claimed to have spent GBP140mio and want it back. The players and coaches are relieved, the off field problems are affecting the on-field performance and now they can go back to playing football. 

Sports is now a big business. There is so much money involved in sports, it is dictating how sports is played. Back in the day, games in the English 1st Division (now known as the Premier League) were all played at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. There were limited, if any, live television coverage. We either had to go to the stadium (which was always full, unless you're a supporter of Man City) or listen to the game on radio. Failing both, we'll gather around the TV at 4.45pm waiting for the result. 'Darlington ... one ... Huddersfield ... two; Swindon Town ... nil ... Port Vale ... nil;' I was watching the result show in 2009 and realised that its the same voice I was listening to back in '92. Maybe the job requirement is you must sound like the guy before ...

Nowadays, big games hardly clash. TV wants to maximise the viewership because more viewers means more revenue so we can now watch Man U play Arsenal at 8pm, Liverpool play Chelsea at 11pm and end the football marathon watching Spurs lose to West Ham at 1am. The old system not only creates suspense but makes match fixing slightly more difficult. The new system opens the door to possible match fixing because after knowing result for the MU - Arsenal game, the bookies can attempt to manipulate the Liverpool game. 

Most top players are now paid obscene salaries. At an average of fifty thousand pounds a week,  each player on the pitch makes as much as two spectators in the stands earns in a year. When clubs pay that kind of salaries, they expect the players to put the club first before the country. Uli Hoeness, the Bayern President was so upset that Marc Van Bommel came back from the international duty with an injury, he told the player to remember who his employers are. At the end of the day, the national team suffers.

Money makes the world go round, thats why the Fed* is printing money all the time. Money may not be able to buy you happiness but it can buy you things (or people) that makes you happy. Everything is about money nowadays, everything is measured in monetary terms, which is quite sad really because I believe money is good, but its not God.

*Federal Reserve = Central Bank of USA

Letter to My Boss

Dear Tan Sri 'X',

You don't know me but I know you. I know you because I work for you. I'm sure you saw me at the open house we had last week, I'm the tall-ish guy with the goatee dressed in the blue Johor-style baju Melayu. 

In case you're wondering why I'm writing you this letter, let me reassure you that I'm not asking for a raise. Not that I don't want a raise, a raise would be good and while you're at it why not throw in a promotion as well. I would love to know how it feels to be an M2. Heck, why stop at M2, make me an M1 or a SM5 even, with a Camry thrown in. 

I digress. Any right thinking judge could see there was mens rea in my digression.

I digress. Again.

My real reason for writing this letter is to humbly request for a loan from you. I know you have a lot of cash lying around. Especially after you sold that company to the Singaporeans. I know you spent a bit of the sales proceeds on some stuff in the land of our former colonialist (yeah boss, show the gwailos who is boss!) but if my maths is right you still have a few truck loads of cash stuffed somewhere. 

Now that we have established that you have lotsa moola, can you spare me some loose change? I initially wanted to ask for three hundred million quid but that stockbroker guy from Singapore decided to spoil the party and come in with a 320 million bid so I need at least 330, maybe 350, tops. 

I was told you're a fan of Islamic banking so I would like to thank you in advance for granting this qardhul hassan loan to me. May you become richer and richer, especially after you buy that company and merges it with the company you already own.

You must be asking now why do I need so much money? Like you, I'm also a sports fan. maybe our sports differ but we share the same passion - sports. I'm sure you heard of the predicament faced by my beloved football club, Liverpool. If we don't pay RBS by the end of this week, they will put LFC under administration. How ironic! Wasn't RBS almost under administration a few years back? They needed the British taxpayers to bail them out. It's a funny world we live in eh, Tan Sri? 

With your money, LFC's debt will be wiped out and I will be appointed Chairman of the Board. If you're interested to sit on the Board with me, just tell me and you'll have a seat. We'll then go shopping for players and build a beautiful new stadium. I'll let you choose the contractor but you'll must promise to let me design the stadium. 

We don't really need that many players but we'll buy a partner for Torres, I'm thinking of Darren Bent or maybe Adebayor, since he hasn't got much to do at City. We need a good left-back and center-back, maybe Warnock, Kjaer or Hummels. The midfield needs some beef and flair, I like to see Marek Hamsik in our team.  

Until we get those players in January, this is the team I'll play (if I'm the manager, I have nothing against Uncle Woy):

4-4-2

Reina; 
RB - Johnson, CB - Carragher, CB - Skrtel, LB - Konchesky;

LM - Cole, CM - Gerrard, CM - Meireles, RM - Kuyt;

CF - Torres, CF - Jovanovic;

Subs:

Agger, Poulsen, Babel, Lucas, Jones (GK)

Please bank in the money into my account in Cayman Island. Your secretary knows my account number.

Thank you sir. God bless! 

LFC The Movie?

Apparently Mike Myers and Samuel L Jackson are Liverpool FC fans and apparently they plan to make a movie about LFC. That is if you believe The Daily Mail. 

I did some googling and found some interesting LFC derived movie names. For the benefit of the less informed, I've included some background/explanation.

Dudek Where's My Car

Jerzy Dudek was the European Cup final hero in 2005 when Liverpool beat AC Milan on penalties.

Dude Where's My Car is a film starring Ashton Kucher and Jennifer Garner.

Anfield of Dreams

LFC's home stadium is Anfield Rd Stadium

Field of Dreams is a Kevin Costner film about dead baseball players.

The Kuyt Runner

Dirk Kuyt is the Liverpool striker from Holland

The Kite Runner is a movie about an Afghanistan boy, good movie.

Beverly Hills Kop

The Kop is name of the stands behind the goal at Anfield. it's named after 'Spion Kop', it's some Boer War thing where Liverpool born soldiers fought. Or something like that.

Eddy Murphy. No need to elaborate la kan? 

Rush Hour

Ian Rush is probably the greatest ever Liverpool striker. 

Rush Hour is a that cop movie starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

Reina Man

Pepe Reina is the current Liverpool number 1 shot stopper. He wears number 25 though.

Rain Man is an 80s movie. Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman are the only two names I recognise from the film.

ShawShanks Redemption

Bill Shankly is LFC's legendary manager. His nickname is Shanks

Shawshank Redemption is a movie about prisoners and prison and how to dig a hole.  

Number of the Beast

Six seems to be the number of choice in the BPL so far this season. 

On the first day, Chelsea put six past West Brom and the performance was repeated last weekend with another six nil thumping, this time at the expense of Wigan. Interestingly, both Wigan's Chris Kirkland & WBA's Scott Carson are ex Liverpool keepers. Thank God they left Anfield. 

Last weekend saw two more six goal thrillers; Arsenal hammering Blackpool and Newcastle demolishing Villa. After being gifted a free point the previous weekend, the Gunners showed what they are capable of - against a newly promoted, via the playoffs team. Aston Villa, after losing their talismatic manager and their best player is kinda expected to lose ... but six-nil? 

This is going to be an interesting season. 

World Champions

Please read this 

Biggest Losers

A few hours ago Portugal trounced North Korea 7 - 0. I was wrong to expect a repeat of the 1966 classic when the Koreans led the Portuguese 3-0 before succumbing to a Eusebio led fightback to lose 5 - 3. Anyway, that seven goal hammering by Ronaldo and company is not good enough to top the records. The World Cup biggest loser is El Salvador who were trashed 10 - 1 by Hungary in Espana 1982. The rest of the biggest losers are;

Zaire 0 - 9 Yugoslavia (1974)
South Korea 0 - 9 Hungary (1954)

Saudi Arabia 0 - 8 Germany (2002)
Cuba 0 - 8 Sweden (1938)

South Korea 0 - 7 Turkey (1954)
Scotland 0 - 7 Uruguay (1954)
Haiti 0 - 7 Poland (1974)

Let's hope for more goals in the coming games ... starting with Spain's game against Honduras :)

Cup of Upsets

First it was Italy, and then Spain followed by Germany and finally Italy again. Everyday the punters lose money and the bookies make more money. This edition of the Copa Mundial keeps true to its tradition of springing surprises not unlike 1982 when Algeria defeated the mighty West Germans only to be cheated out of a place in the second round.

I (and probably the rest of the world) predicted Germany, Italy and Spain to ease through the group matches and I (and probably the rest of the world) have been proven wrong. I must admit I hardly support the underdogs, and was quite frustrated with the heroics of the Kiwis against the Italians and the Swiss against the Spaniards. Parking the bus in the box has always been the game killer, and I often accuse (with proof) the smaller teams for packing the box with 9 players but then again how else would you contain attack after attack, without sending everyone back to defend the goal?  

I have nothing against the Kiwis or the North Koreans but they are ranked 78^th and 105^th respectively by FIFA so I wonder if their participation is justified when teams like Croatia (10^th) and Russia (11^th) are watching the tournament on TV. Whatever it is, the system has brought them to South Africa and they have proven their capability of holding their own in the company of the world’s top teams, its only fair to congratulate them for making the show more interesting.

Despite the upsets and especially the unconvincing display by the Spaniards, my money is still on them. Given the current state of affairs, I won’t be at all surprised if Italy, France and maybe even England get dumped at the group stages.

Reds Hot Seat

It is not a complete surprise that LFC and Rafa Benitez have finally parted company. Having said that, I don’t think Rafa’s six years at Anfield was a complete disaster; he brought in 2 major trophies, got into 2 CL finals and came in second in the league in 2009. In fact his record for the last 6 years is better than Arsene Wenger who has not won anything since 2005’s FA Cup.

Every LFC manager since Bill Shankly has won at least one trophy during their tenure. Even Roy Evans’ short stint saw him bring the League Cup to Anfield. Graeme Souness may have dismantled Dalglish’s winning team but Liverpool won the 1992 FA cup under his guidance. All in all, Rafa did better than Souness and Evans.

Now that Benitez is an ex-manager, who should take his seat? Sammy Lee was never in contention, so we can count the ‘boot room boys’ out. Apart from King Kenny, no other ex-player has the credentials, maybe Phil Thompson comes close but his name is not mentioned. Gary Ablett is short of top flight experience and Paul Ince didn’t impress at Blackburn Rovers.

A club of LFC’s stature need a high profile manager and I don’t think Roy Hodgson is high profile enough. With all due respect, Roy is a good manager but I don’t think he is a big club manager. He can (and has) work wonders with a small-ish club like Fulham but I can’t see him doing the same at Liverpool. If he is appointed, I seriously hope I’m very wrong about him.

Guus Hiddink has firmly said no (for now) and there is no way David Moyes is crossing Stanley Park to Anfield. Martin O’Neill’s name comes up all the time but he’s having a good time at Villa (or so the paper says), so we can count him out too. Marcello Lippi is an interesting name; he is a very successful coach but has never managed a team outside Italy. Juergen Klinsmann like Lippi has never coached outside Germany but he has played (well) in almost every league in Europe giving him a slight advantage over the other prospective candidates.  Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler somehow thinks Harry Redknapp is the man for the job.

I personally would like to see Kenny Dalglish (thats him in the black and white photo) back as manager. Failing that, Klinsmann would be my second choice.

2010 FIFA World Cup Champion

My money is on Spain to win the 2010 World Cup. En-route to the finals, Torres, Villa, Casillas et al will top Group H, beat Portugal in the second round, demolish Italy in the quarters and end Germany’s campaign in the semis. In the final, Dunga’s boys will be conquered by the Spanish Armada.

My other predictions:

• England will lose to France in the second round.
• Mechanical Germany will beat Argentina in the second round
• Only four African teams will make it to the second round and all will lose in the second round
• No Asian team will progress beyond the group stages
• Fernando Torres will be the tournament’s top scorer

I will pay for my Mini Cooper on July 12^th …

Sports Loyalty

I have come to the conclusion that sports fans and sportsmen have different definitions of loyalty. I mean it is without doubt success breeds loyalty but the problem with success is that can only be one winner. But not being champions doesn’t make the runners up and those below bad. Unless of course if you’re in last place. I’m talking specifically about the English premier League, and the predicament faced by my team, the red half of Merseyside.

It is becoming more apparent now that Liverpool is a two, maybe three man team. Without Torres and Gerrard and possibly Reina, the team is deemed doomed. Every team has their own talisman, key player and Liverpool is no different. Arsenal had Viera and now Fabregas. Man United had Keane, Ronaldo, Schmeichel and now Rooney, Ferdinand. But the difference between Liverpool and them is that their teams had more depth. Other than those three and perhaps Mascherano, Kuyt and Johnson, LFC do not have any other players who could carry the team. To effective survive in the EPL and Cup competitions; a team needs at least 16 players who can play in the first 11. From the looks of it, LFC has only 8-9 who can play in the first 11, the rest are effectively back-up players.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, loyalty amongst most supporters is difficult to shake. This is evident from the fact that teams like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday are still able to attract large crowds despite playing in the lower divisions. Supporters, once affiliated, are willing to risk all for their teams. The incidence of supporters deserting their teams, I’m guessing, is probably low.

On the other hand, players do not seem to have the same sense of loyalty. No doubt, everyone wants to play in a winning team but making threats like ‘I’ll ask for a transfer if the team doesn’t make it to the champion’s league’ or a get out clause if the team gets relegated is an obvious sign of disloyalty.

Let’s take Michael Owen for example. When he left for the Barnabeu, he must have thought that it increased his chances of winning the Champion’s league. The very next season, Liverpool was crowned champions of Europe. He came back and played occasionally at Newcastle but (I’m guessing) if he had stayed on Merseyside, he could have helped Liverpool become champions of England for the 19th time, seeing how impressive they were last season. His skills and goals could have helped especially in the absence of Torres.

Good players like Gerrard should display some form of loyalty to the club that nurtured him and to the supporters who have backed him for so long. Instead of deserting the team if it is not strong enough to challenge for honours, he should say “I’ll stay and make sure the team wins honours”.

That’s loyalty.