GET WELL SOON TITO VILANOVA!

Another terrible news before Christmas. Hope that Vilanova can come back as soon as possible. You are a great coach!

Rise and Fall of RDM

It's official.  Roberto Di Matteo has been sacked! Staying in the club for about hmmm... 8 months, today, he's out.  Let's take a mini look back at one of his shortest career ever, Chelsea FC.

After Chelsea defeat against West Brom in March 2012, Chelsea announced the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, who is now Tottenham Hotspur manager, Boas' then manager took the position.  Roberto Di Matteo improved Chelsea in several ways.  He picked Chelsea up from hell, making Chelsea won against Napoli to allow the club to survive in the Champions League.  Chelsea performed well in the league, most of the time winning.  Another highlight was how he dig Torres to score consistently in the league.  Well, maybe.

Chelsea performed so well that they actually made their way to the FA Cup final.  They beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Wembley Stadium.  A club that had no future about two months ago, came back to twist and won the national cup.

However, winning the FA Cup wasn't the highlight of his career.  It was the performance in the Champions League.  Out of four teams, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea, the Londoners considered as the underdog.  Chelsea received a probably the hardest mission of the season, they had to face Barcelona the semi-final.  With Di Matteo's "BUS" strategy, Chelsea was able to pick up a 1-0 win in Stamford Bridge.  In Camp Nou, Di Matteo's men also made big surprise and twists in the game with Torres scoring the last-minute goal, knocking the Blaugrana out of the Champions League.  Chelsea became one of the two team to play in the Final in Munich in May 2012.

After the finished with 6th in the league, Chelsea must win the Champions League Final in order to participate in UEFA glorious competition the following year.  Playing in Allianz Area, Bayern Munich's home, the chance was like impossible for Chelsea to win against the host, and also the home team.  Surprisingly, Drogba scored a header in the 88th minute to bring Chelsea levelled against the host.  Chelsea won against Bayern in the penalty kick out and also won their FIRST UEFA Champions League title.  History has been made, the Londoners will be participating in the 2012/13 Champions League.

Chelsea spent huge heck of money on 8 different superstars, hoping to have another amazing season.  Overall, Chelsea spent 89 million pounds on Eden Hazard (35mil), Thorgan Hazard (0.8mil), Marko Marin (7mil), Oscar (28mil), Cesar Azpilicueta (7mil), and Victor Moses (10mil).  With that amount, Di Matteo knew that he cannot screw up his damn great team.

Chelsea started the new season campaign brilliantly.  Throughout 2 months, Chelsea captured all wins and only one drew.  Hazard and Oscar performed fantastically.  However, here comes the dip...

On October 29th, Chelsea faced their first "controversial" defeat agains their arch-rival, Manchester United in Stamford Bridge.  The undefeated streak ended by Sir Alex Ferguson's men.  Chelsea also performed poorly in the Champions League despite the 5-0 win at FC Nordjylland.  After their first defeat in the league, Di Matteo's men was not able to pick themselves up resulting in 2 draws and the latest defeat at West Brom.

With news surrounding Di Matteo's position, the Italian led his men to Juventus on November 20th 2012.  Chelsea came out with an epic 3-0 defeat against the Italian Champions.  A day later, the club announced his departure from the club.  That escalated quickly... From a Champions League winner, now a jobless manager.

So who will be the next manager of the Blues? Guardiola? Benitez? All I can say is bye bye Di Matteo, I don't like you that much, but good luck with your future.  For this coming week, we cannot get our eyes of Chelsea news.

Good luck and have fun.

Photo Credit: Mirror Football, The Offside, NYTimes, Dailymail, Eurosport, Chelsea FC

Chelsea 2-3 Man United: That was one hell of a game!

If you meet any football fans walking around today, you'll probably ask that person "did you watch the game last night?", most of them will probably say that he/she did watch the game, unless that person happens to be either a dude with no-tv at home or a guy who doesn't give a shit about that game.  However, this is where all the fun starts, the reaction after the answer.  If you happens to talk to a Chelsea fan, that person will probably say a lot of negative things about referee decisions or some might even go deep to "cheat" from the United side.  Anyway, here's my opinion on this game.

First of all, the game is very fun.  Full of excitement and you can't really take off your eyes for any minute.  Man United were sharp in the first 15 minutes, 2 goals.  Both goals were contribute by Robin Van Persie, although the first one was an own goal from David Luiz.  I think nobody can really argue that United were very sharp and played very well.  Chelsea received a freekick just before the half-time, which Juan Mata just curve it in.  Epic goal!

The fun part started when Ramires scores an equalizer for Chelsea in the middle of the second half.  That was when Chelsea really shows that United's defence is still a pile of crap.  2-2 was the score.  Then at one point, Ashley Young broke through Chelsea defence which made Ivanovic sprint to reach Young.  Young fell down and Ivanovic shown red.  Well, that was not cool.  Personally, I think that that shouldn't have been a red.  Yes, Young was the last person but that light touch isn't that much.  And as always, Young overacted.  But okay, decision can't be changed (unless you happened to play against Juventus).  So thats one red for Chelsea.  At that point, I thought to myself that United HAS TO WIN because one defensive wall has been eliminated from the game.

Not long after, Torres got a chance to break through and goes down in flash.  The ref walked to him and Torres was the second player to be shown red in the same night.  Well, this one is hard since Torres already had one yellow.  But like Sir Alex said, he could go through and score but he chose to fall down.  I do not that Evans deserved a foul, but a yellow to Torres?  That was kind of harsh.  But too bad, you can't dive or overact (unless you happened to play for... nevermind).  So by the 70th minute, its 9 against 11.  United kept attacking until they received their reward in the 75th minute when Javier Hernandez scored.  That was an offside goal, but I do not want to comment on that.  Done.  Chelsea tried hard but failed to score an equalizer.  United defeat Chelsea at the Bridge for the first time in 11 years (Premier League only).

During the match, I also read Twitter feeds and Facebook pages.  Most of their posts were about how United bribed their referee (Mark Clattenburg).  Personally, I don't think there were any bribe or cheat, but most decisions were going against United's opponent and it seems really awkward nowadays.  Just think about it, in the past two years, most of United's big games, there were always controversies and most of the time concerning referee decisions.  I can list some off my head now.

1. Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool [FA CUP 2011] - Gerrard sent off and undeserved penalty. (Howard Webb)
2. Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United [FA CUP 2012] - Kompany sent off and United handball in the box.  (Chris Foy)
3. Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United [PREMIER LEAGUE 2012-13] - Shelvey sent off and controversial penalty.  (Mark Halsey)
4. Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United [PREMIER LEAGUE 2012-13] - Ivanovic and Torres sent off and United's offside goal.  (Mark Clattenburg)

Although I believe there were no bribery, it will nice if FA are willing to investigate the issue, just for the sakes of angry fans.  Honestly, Chelsea happened to be the team that is stronger last night, but because of De Gea, United are still safe.  The gap in the Premier League now is just 1 point, this is going to be real damn fun.  I'm going to end my post here.  Just watch, United is going play Chelsea again this midweek.  Let's hope for a peaceful and fair game. 

Good Luck Everyone!

Image Credit: Zimbio, Guardian, and BreakingNews

Season Analysis so far... [Oct 2012]

Hi again.  Didn't update this blog for quite a long time, due to my works and other stuff.  So a quater of the season has passed, and we are the top of the league (hoo-ray).  But the sad thing is, its JUST a quater of the season, another 7 months to go.  8 points lead [against Madrid] isn't an easy thing.  So here, I'll analyze and criticize everything that happened so far this season.

We started the campaign very sharp.  We won 6 matches straight.  We drew our first game in the El Clasico (Oct 7th).  This is a big contrast to our arch-rival, they started the campaign very poor.  That's how we are still 8 points above Real Madrid.  However, it seems to be that 22 points we gained from our 8 matches, its damn hard.  Harder than its suppose to be.  We won each games, usually in a goal margin of 1.  And how many games that we need to comeback or score in the last minute of the match. It's not right for the so-called "best team in the world".  We conceded TOO MUCH.  But it is still understandable since 3 of our main defenders are injured.  And yeah, putting Alex Song in the back was not a wise decision.  And goalkeeper?  No comments.  Although I do wish him to return to his top-from in a very near time.  A lot of goals conceded came from shitty mistakes, but okay, we still need you, so don't give up.

About our attack, this year, Messi seems to participate more in all goals.  Not just scoring, but also provide beautiful assists and mind-blowing passes.  He is currently the top scorer, 11 goals.  However, the problem is, who is the best to play with Messi.  Villa?  He's good, but pretty slow and pretty out of form as well.  Pedro?  This kid is inconsistent, but is still crucial to the team.  A sharp scorer.  Alexis?  Oh man, this guy is seriously out of form.  Tello? Now we're talking.  This guy provides good assist and is improving match-by-match.  Sometimes, you can even put Cesc or Iniesta in such position, if we really need to. What Tito is doing is very clever, rotating players every matches.  This is a brilliant way to test the abilities of each players and improve the form.  Just think about it, have you ever seen Messi being benched?  Well yeah, it happens during Tito's time.

Overall, I just wanted to say that I'm really proud of FC Barcelona and looking like the 2012-13 should be a good one for us.  But still are still struggling in many ways.  I hope that when our crucial players are back from injuries and forms, Tito will find a way for us to be an invincible team once again.  Good luck to everyone!

Visca el Barça!

Photo Credit: Zimbio

After the Spanish Super Copa Result...

So there you go, Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Copa 2012 over Barcelona.  Congratulations to Real Madrid.  However, as a Barca fan, I do not feel disappointed at all (party because I really expected this result).  The 2-legged games was amazing, full of action and goals.  Many people are saying that "this is the end of Barca's age," I disagree.  The score of 4-4 isn't an ugly score at all, in fact, both team really have a hard time beating up each other.  Madrid didn't OWN Barca, and vise-versa.  Madrid won through away goals, which personally, doesn't prove me that they are better than us, neither we are better than them.  8 goals equally shared, epic.

Liga campaign just started.  Barcelona has 6 points out of possible hmmmm... 6.  While Madrid only has 1, which is kind of awkward.  But its just the starting of the season, so we shouldn't judge any team.  However I find that Madrid are struggling with their past two games, which Mourinho claims that it is all the problem with defence.  Barcelona opened their campaign with a 4-1 win against Sociedad at home, with a goal from David Villa (yay!).  Barcelona struggled their second game against Osasuna, but still flicked the result and beat the home team with the score of 2-1.  Osasuna is pretty tough, we lost 2-3 last year.

I have a feeling that this year (2012-13) will be a very fun and exciting season of Spanish Liga BBVA. Unlike last year where Madrid thrash Barcelona 9 points by the end of the season.  I expect to see some twists and unbelievable results coming.

Visca el Barça!

Sorry for a quick post today.  See you again later.

Tito's First Exam

So tonight is the El Clasico!

A lot of changes occurred for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, mostly Barca though. After Barcelona's failure last season, the Catalan bought in 2 players whom I consider as superstars. Jordi Alba and Alex Song. Alba will fulfill the left-back of Barcelona's 11 due to Abidal's condition (get well soon, Abi!). Although I have to say that having Abidal as a left-back was one of the factor for Barcelona victory over Real Madrid, I still believe Alba can fulfill both attacking and defending Barcelona play like Abi.

I doubt that Song will start tonight though, he might come as a sub later. This is the first exam for Tito, quite a tough one huh? If Tito's men loses tonight, it still won't prove that Barcelona will fail this season. Madrid lost the 2-legged Super Copa last year, they still won the Liga. But in the same time, this will give you a guide toward Tito's squad management and tactics. So it is still very important.

Honestly I wouldn't really call it an "exam", instead, I would consider it as a "pre-exam". As a manager, this is his first Clasico, so we need to give him a chance. If we lose tonight, then Tito must find new tactics to fight with the White King in the next Clasicos. And that would be his "Real" exam. You can always fail your first test, but you need to learn from your mistakes, and improve your score in the next tests.

Good Luck Barça!

Barca Season Preview 2012

Alright, after almost 3 months of league football break, the La Liga and Premier League is going to start this weekend. As a Barca fan, let me express my opinion on various topics about FC Barcelona, that will play their first match against Real Sociedad this Sunday night.


Tito Vilanova

When Pep Guardiola announced a step-down as a coach of Barcelona, there were fan poll asking who should be the next FCB coach. I voted Vilanova without looking at any other choices. Yes, Tito is the one (and probably the only one) I trust to be the next Barca coach. Barcelona played a very unique style of football, which is very rare in other leagues. In order to continue the beautiful style, we need someone who fully understands the style of Tikki-Taka. Vilanova has been Pep's assistant since his first year at Barcelona. Throughout the 4 years of success, he must've learned and understand the style of the team, fully. Tito is the coach that was nominated by Guardiola, which means Pep must put a lot of trust in him. I don't want any other coaches to change and ruin our football. I believe Tito can lead Barca to a successful year once again, but who knows, only time will tell. As of now, "In Tito, We Trust."


Alex Song

Last season, I watched about 80% of Arsenal matches, and I can say that Alexander Song is a very young and talented player. His style will fit with Barca's easily. No wonder why there are so many rumors about his transfer for the past week. Although Song is a very good player, I think buying him might not be a good idea after all. Firstly, just look at our midfield, they are considerably perfect. Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Busquets, and Thiago are perfect. Even B player like Sergei Roberto can also play with the team easily. So frankly, there will be no space for Alex Song. He'll have to spend most of his time on the bench, which wouldn't be a nice thing. Unless if he's okay with that, then welcome. I love to see more about Alex Song, he should prove himself this season that he can play in Barca without problems. And next year, when Xavi is getting very old, we might turn our faces to him once again. Anyhow, I'm not the manager of the club, so I'm not the one who makes the decision. Although I think he'll spend most time on the bench, I'd still be happy if I wake up tomorrow and see a headline confirm that Song is coming to Barca.


The Barca Strike Force

Guess what! Villa is back. This is a really happy news for all Barca fan. I have to admit that part of last season's lack of league title came from Villa's injury. Let me just wrap this, if Villa can return his form like when he newly arrived Barcelona, joining with Messi and Alexis, it will be a nightmare to all the defenders. I also hope that Pedro and Afellay will also be a good substitute for Barca's goal tally. Although I have to admit that I was pretty upset with Pedro's performance during preseason games. And Messi? No answers needed, he will surely score the sh*t out of his record once again. I hope that we can make a new generation of 3 strikers like "Messi-Eto'o-Henry" or "Messi-Villa-Pedro" once again.

Anyway, Barca will start their league this Sunday night. Follow by Joan Gamper Trophy against Sampdoria on Tuesday. Then the first of the Spanish Super Copa on Thursday against Real Madrid. By that time, we should be able to see the starting of Vilanova's performance and the ability of the Strike Force.

Visca el Barça!

Photo Credit: FC Barcelona Media, talkSPORT, and BBC

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Video Collections: Man City won the Premiership 2011-12

Isn't it a shock for Man City to score two glorious goals in the stoppage time to seal the title away from their forever neighbor-enemy, Manchester United.  Here are bunch of videos I found on YouTube which are the reactions of Man City first Premier League trophy in 44 years.  Truly dramatic!

#1: The Moment Manchester City won the Premier League Title.

Channel: TheComedy4cast
Courtesy of Video: Barclays Premier League, BBC, and ESPN

Probably the most hit video about the Blues' victory.  It was about the live reaction of Man United fans and players at the Stadium of Light when they heard the news about Man City's dramatic victory.

#2: Reaction at SOL at news of Man City winning the Premiership 2011/12

Channel: harry25782

The reaction of Sunderland fans when the news of Man City victory over QPR came to the Stadium of Light.  See the change in the mood of fans between the beginning and the end of video?

#3: City's winner

Channel: Smeddie1980

Even though QPR lost against Manchester City, but their fans still celebrate for the victory of the Blue side of Manchester.  Man United... Forever Alone....

#4: Paul Merson Reacts to Sergio Aguero's Winner vs QPR

Channel: PakiArsenal
Courtesy of Video: Sky Sports

Paul Mersion gone crazy when Aguero scored the winner for Manchester City.

#5: Best Man City and Man United fan reactions to Aguero's title winning goal

Channel: talkSPORTmagazine

And now, a compilation of Man City and United fans who were watching Aguero's glorious goal at home  either with their friends or family members.  Pretty funny :P

Thanks to YouTube and my Facebook friends :)

Transfer Window 2012 Preview

Wow, what a season! I guess that's everyone first reaction after all the European football leagues finished. A lot of dramas and twists occurred in the 2011-12 season.  Sadly, all leagues finished pretty fast this year, compare to previous years.  However, there is still a big competition coming in June, the UEFA Euro 2012.  Plus, the Champions League Final is this weekend.  Anyway, let's get back to the topic.  Every time when a season finishes, people will always look forward for new players and players who are moving out of the team.  Often, there are shocking transfers and some that are very dramatic.  As a result of that, I believe this Summer Transfer will involve a lot of dramas and amazing deals between clubs.
Although we might be able to see who's the champion of each league since the end of April or the beginning of May, exclude the English league.  However this season, I see that none of the champions were actually at the constant form, which sometimes led to the excitement and the nervousness of the fans.  Unlike the 2010-11 season, look at the Spanish league, after Barcelona victory over Real Madrid, Barcelona stayed on the top until the season finished.  Same to AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Manchester United which were very mighty.  Since that's the reason, every teams will need to buy in some players to make the perfect team.  Some teams might need to reconstruct their teams, totally.

Big competition that is coming in June like the Euro 2012, will play a lot of roles in this transfer period.  Every players will perform their best, in order to impress another teams.  You can look at the World Cup 2010, for example.  This competition will increase or even decrease the prices of players that will participate in this mega event.

Let's look at some big names that might find a new house after this summer.  First of all, Shinji Kagawa, who played brilliantly at Dortmund this season.  Coaches for big teams went to the watch the DFB Pokal Final last weekend to watch this amazing Japanese star.  A lot of rumors also say that Kagawa will not extend his contract in the German champion, and might find a new place to play.  Interesting...

Another player is the Gunners' captain, Robin Van Persie.  Van Persie strikes 30 goals this season in the English Premier League.  A lot of teams are placing an eye on him such as; Manchester United, City, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.  More to that, Van Persie has yet to renew his contract, which makes it even more interesting for the movement of the captain this summer.

In the end, I just want to say that the 2011-12 season was amazing.  Although my favorite didn't win the league, but all the dramas and the twists made me love this sport even more.  Thank you all footballers and supporters.  See you again next season.  Now, let's focus on the upcoming international games and Euro 2012. :)

Photo Credit: Zimbio, Yahoo!, and UEFA

FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Liverpool PROMO

Please watch in 720p [HD]

Enjoy the game tonight! :)

Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid: Reaction

First of all, as a Barca fan, do I want to blame anyone for this defeat? The answer is yes. However, as a lot of Barça fans are totally put their anger toward Pep Guardiola, I do not think the same. About one hour before the match time, the official line-up was released to public. My first reaction to this was: "Oh Sh*t". Barça line-up has shown that the concentration of the team was put toward Champions League game more than the El Clasico, which was pretty wrong. It is true that Barcelona had just lost to Chelsea in a midweek game, but we still need to focus on La Liga, even though it is very hard. On the other side, Madrid put on their best squad. They put all the big names and does not seem to concern about the upcoming Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

Here, I'll just brief about the game. The Blaugrana started the game pretty strong, with a lot of attacks and active performance especially for the right-wing back, Daniel Alves. We had several chances, but still unable to shoot on target. Until the 16th minute, when Madrid had the corner, Di Maria (or either Ozil, can't remember) crossed in. Pepe headed the ball which only allowed Valdes to push the ball away. The ball was on Puyol's feet, until Khedira took the chance and scored. From then, Barcelona controlled most of the game. Several close attempt from Xavi and Thiago, while Messi has been very quiet. First half ended with the score of 1-0 to Real Madrid.

Second half started with Barcelona put all their pressure on Real Madrid. With strong defenses, Barça still had no great attempt against the White Kings. However, there were about 2-3 great chances for Cristian Tello, a young winger, to equalize but failed.  To be honest, some of those chances were unforgivable. What made more angry was that 60th minute passed, Pep still has not will to change his tactics or any substitution. Until the 69th minute, Pep decided to take Xavi, who was having a poor game, out and put in half-fitted Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez made miracle when he scored just a minute right after he was subbed in. Hopes back as Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid. Sh*t happened again when Ozil made a brilliant pass to Ronaldo, then dribble tricking Valdes and scored a stunning goal. Just about 15 minutes, fouls and yellow cards started to appear often in the stadium, like usual Clasicos. Barcelona tried a lot of good chances but still failed to make a miracle. Match ended, Barcelona unexpectedly lost to Real Madrid which means the White King have another step to be crown as a Liga 2011-12 winner with 7 points ahead of Barça. :/

I went to several Facebook and Twitter pages after the game, most of the fans reaction were pretty negative, which was expected. Most of the reactions were shocked by this defeat which they were so confident of otherwise before the match started. As one of them, tries to convince squad to focus the upcoming Champions League game now.  A lot of fans also want Guardiola to get out, which I think that it's pretty stupid.  3 years of glory and a match of defeat does not put me into a situation to lose trust and hope in him. Sure, we need to find new tactics and new players, especially left-wing back. Tello is a good player, but I still think that he shouldn't start in a big game like this, Pedro should. Overall, last night performance was pretty poor for both team, however, for Barcelona, it was EXTRA poor. All I can say now is "FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS on Chelsea game this week.". Let's hope to have a fun season again next year, congratulations Real Madrid.



El Clasíco (21.4.2012)

FC Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid CF

ps. I really miss David Villa :(

Image Source: Real Madrid, Eurosport, Yahoo Sports, Goal.com

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Get Well Soon Muamba!

Just some compilation of pictures I made today...

GET WELL SOON FABRICE MUAMBA!!!!

Credit: Zimbio, The Mirror, The Telegraph, Dailymail

Apple Keynote is TONIGHT!

1 AM Thailand Time... DO NOT MISS THIS!

Good Bye AVB!

I was working on my homework, then suddenly, my friend message me which contains "Lol dude avb sacked".  I was surprised to see the message, but in the same time, I knew that it was going to happen.  Personally, I am a fan of Andre Villas-Boas since he was the manager of Porto.  I think Boas is a really talented man.  When he was appointed as the manager of Academica, the team was in the bottom of the table without a win.  In that same season, he managed to get Academica to finish 11th in the 2009-10 Primeira Liga season.  A year after, he managed to get Porto to win treble; the Primeira Liga, the Portugese Cup, and the UEFA Europa League, making him the youngest coach to win treble in a single season.  With these achievements, I can see that Andre Villas-Boas will have a bright future.

In June 2011, after the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti (the manager who made history for Chelsea), Chelsea FC announce Andre Villas-Boas as their official manager.  I was happy, but in the same, I thought this is not a really good idea.  I know that Boas has a lot of talent but I still think that he needs a lot of time and experience before entering the English Premier League which is considerably the most challenging league in Europe.  Well, I can't change anything, I'll just watch and give support to Boas to have a success season.

The first game, Stoke City 0-0 Chelsea. Okay, its just the first game, give him sometime.  A week after the draw, Chelsea won all 3 matches; West Brom, Norwich, and Sunderland.  Although the result might turn to be positive, but I think of all 3 matches, Chelsea still can't perform their full potential, instead, they had a hard time.  Not surprisingly, Villas-Boas faced his first defeat in Old Trafford.  Chelsea still gain 3 points 3 weeks in a row; against Swansea, Bolton, and Everton.  Happily, in those three matches, Chelsea  played an easier game.  Looks like, this man is going to shine in the Premier League.

Chelsea started to face draws and defeats, and people were starting to question him.  He answered everyone with the victory against the unstoppable Manchester City in December 2011.  Right after an epic win against the top, Chelsea come back to the struggling mode with 3 draws.  Rumors on AVB's sacking start to emerged as Chelsea surprise their fans with a 1-3 defeat to Aston Villa on the New Year's Eve.  In 2012, Chelsea only managed to get 6 wins out of 12 games.  They are also struggling in the Champions League, which is the only title that Chelsea still have a chance to win this season.  Right after the defeat to West Brom on March 3rd, Roman Abramovich decided to sack Andre off the Chelsea manager position.

During the two months of 2012, there were a lot of rumors on his position as a manager.  There were also news involving controversies with some of his senior players such as Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole. For a team to become success, the players must trust the manager and fellow teammates.  Due to Abramovich's habit of sacking coaches, players feel that they are powerful, even more powerful than the coach.  With this feeling, players might start to act against the manager and not listen to the manager's word.  If the players keeps on acting like this, the manager will struggle with his position.

As mentioned, Andre Villas-Boas needs time to adjust to the English league.  He's a young man working with the old players, well most of them.  I think Boas have the ability to form the next generation of Chelsea, but that process will need a lot of time.  Chelsea is not a right team for Boas.  When Boas enters Chelsea, he doesn't really have a chance to make his own squad.  Instead, he had to work with players whom he doesn't really like such as Alex, Anelka, or even Lampard.  Oh yeah, and don't forget Torres.

So what's next?  With a new age mind, I don't think that Boas will be job-free for long.  Inter might fit him, just saying.  How about Chelsea?  There are currently a lot of rumors involving Pep Guardiola or Barcelona, Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid, Rafa Benitez and Fabio Cappello whom are jobless.  As of now, Chelsea will continue with their former caretaker coach, Roberto Di Matteo, to finish the rest of the season for Chelsea.

From all of the above, I just want to say: Good Luck Andre Villas-Boas.  Your brilliantness won't make you jobless for long.  Instead, you should be happy because you don't need to carry all of the Chelsea problems now and gained a lot of money.  And Abramovich, I just have no comment for you.  *sigh*

Good Luck, AVB!

Photo Credit: Zimbio and The Sun

Barça Analysis: Transfer Thought

10 points behind, right.  Falling behind the arch-rival 10 points isn't an easy thing.  As a result, the Blaugrana fans started asking for new signings, big ones.  During the past months, there were so much rumors on transfer signings.  Out of all, the two most possible big signings are Neymar (Santos) and Thiago Silva (AC Milan).

Let's start with Neymar.  A great young rising star from Brazil, whom everyone has been putting an eye on.  I have a feeling that we really don't need another forward.  Currently, we have Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro and the other two youngsters from Barca B; Isaac Cuenca and Cristian Tello.  Plus, we still Ibrahim Affelay and David Villa who are still in the recovery progress.  Cuenca and Tello also showed us that they are able to play in the first team easily.  With 7 forwards in the current squad, do we still need Neymar?  Unless if we decides to sell someone out, which is very unlikely, then the Neymar talks will return.  However, if Barca are able to get Neymar then I think this Santos boy should fit with Barca style easily.  So let's just keep an eye on him for now.

Now, I think this is a guy that we need, Thiago Silva.  Poor defenses and injuries had cost us a lot of points this year.  I know Pique is a world-class defender, but somehow, he just can't hold his standard consistent form this season.  Puyol, he's a great man, but due to his age, El Tarzan was not able to play a lot of matches.  Mascherano?  Ok, he's on improving progress but we still need more from him.  While Abidal and Alves, good on them, but we still need center-back.  Thiago Silva made a significant season with Milan yet.  With his strong defensive skill, I think it would be really nice, if get can get him.  If Silva rejects our offers, then I think we still need to depend on our backs and maybe we can test some youngsters who will be officially promoted from Barca B next year.

I know transfers is not the only key for our success.  This year, we made a lot of mistakes and I won't blame Pep.  We are currently in the period of testing the next generation, and they needs sometime.  But we should learn from out mistake, and I think if we can still playing the Barca style, perfect teamwork, harmful strategies, and no underestimation to any of our opponents, we will be back to our Golden Age.

Visca el Barça!

เป็นต่อตอนสุดท้าย...

ก่อนอื่น วันนี้ผมไม่โพสต์เรื่องฟุตบอลละกันครับ บางคนที่ติดตาม Twitter ของผมอาจจะทราบว่า ผมเป็นแฟนซิทคอมละครเป็นต่ออย่างแรง ผมติดตามมาตั้งแต่ประมาณปีที่สองของซีรี่ส์ ติดตามทุกอาทิตย์ จนมันกลายเป็นหนึ่งอย่างของชีวิตประจำสัปดาห์ของผมแล้ว จนกระทั่งเมื่อประมาณกลางปีที่แล้ว ก็มีข่าวออกมาว่า "ช่อง3" จะปลดละครซิทคอม "เป็นต่อ" ออกจากผัง ผมก็ค่อนข้างตกใจและแปลกใจ เหตุผลดูไม่ค่อยเคลียร์เท่าไหร่ (ได้ยินมาว่าเขาจะปลดเพราะเรทติ้งไม่ดีขึ้น) ผมก็เฝ้ารอและติดตามทุกอาทิตย์จนกระทั่งมาถึงตอนอวสาน (9 ก.พ.)

ผมติดตามทุกอาทิตย์เพื่อจะรอดูว่าซิทคอมตำนานชุดนี้จะมีอะไรคืบหน้าไหม ดูไปดูมา ก็ไม่เห็นมีอะไรคืบหน้า ยกเว้นเรื่องของเป็นต่อกับทิพย์ที่ก็ดูจะไม่เคลียร์ซักเท่าไหร่ จนกระทั่งผมได่มาดูรายการตีสิบที่เขาสัมภาษณ์นักแสดงทุกคน พี่นกจิรศักดิ์ โยจิ้ว (ผู้กำกับ) ได้เกริ่นไว้ว่า "แต่ผมเชื่อว่า ถ้าทุกคนดู ก็คงจะด่าผมแหละ" ผมก็เลยคิดว่า ถ้าทาง Exact จะนำตอนจบแบบ "ทุเรศ" อีกแน่ๆ หลังจากที่ผมเคยผิดหวังมากกับตอนจบของ "นารีสโมสร" ที่ขอบอกว่าจบได้ ... มาก อย่างไรก็เหอะ การที่พี่นกพูดอย่างนั้นไว้ ผมก็เลยเตรียมทำใจไว้เลย  


พอมาถึงเป็นต่อตอนสุดท้าย ผมฏ้อยากจะสนุกและเคลิ้มไปกับเรื่อง แต่มันก็ทำไม่ได้ เพราะว่าใจผมมันก็บอกอยู่แล้วว่า "นี่คือตอนจบ" ทำให้ผมดูไป ขำไป เศร้าไป เรื่องก็เริ่มได้อย่างดุเดือดเมื่อพี่ยมโมโห ว็อกและก็พี่อู๊ด ที่ตัดสินใจไม่ย้ายไปอยู่กับพี่หมอนในบริษัทใหม่ เรื่องที่สองก็เป็นการเข้าใจผิด[อัคติ] ของพี่กอล์ฟต่อคุณนุ แล้วก็ไปเล่าเรื่องผิดๆให้กับพอใจ ส่วนเรื่องสุดท้าย ที่ดูว่าจะใหญ่สุดก็คือเรื่องที่เป็นต่อขอคืนดีกับทิพย์

ดูไปดูมา หลายเรื่องก็มีพลิกล็อคอย่างสุดขั้ว ไม่ว่าจะเป็น นุขอแต่งงานพอใจ และก็แฟนของทิพย์ (ถกลเกียรติ ปะวะ??!!!) และก็จบทิ้งท้ายไปแบบรางๆเศร้าๆเหงาๆ ของการแยกทางของพนักงาน BKL เมื่อดูจบแล้ว ผมก็ไม่ได้รู้สึกอะไร [อาจเป็นเพราะว่าทำใจไว้แล้ว] ผมก็ได้แต่ยิ้มแล้วก็รู้สึกอยากขอบคุณ ทีมงานคนสร้างและนักแสดงทุกคนเป็นอย่างมาก ที่ทำให้ผมมีความสุขตลอดหลายๆปีที่ผ่านมา

ผมเชื่อว่าหลายๆคน (รวมถึงผมด้วย) ก็ยังคงสงสัยว่า "ชายเสื้อดำ" หรือแฟนของทิพย์นั้นเป็นใคร ผมว่าไม่มีใครตอบได้หรอก แต่ก็ไม่น่าจะเป็นใครที่พิเศษนัก เพราะพอเป็นต่อเห็น เป็นต่อก็ไม่ได้ว่าอะไร แต่มันก็เป็นไปได้อีกว่า อาจจะเป็นแฟนปลอมๆที่ทิพย์จ้างมา o.O อย่างไรก็เหอะ เรื่องนี่ก็แสดงให้เห็นว่า เรื่องบางเรื่องก็ไม่ควรปล่อยไว้นาน มิฉะนั้นอาจจะสายเกินไปก็ได้ จริงๆก็สงสารเป็นต่อนะ แต่เจ้าตัวก็เป็นคนผิดเอง...

อีกเรื่องหนึ่งที่ผมคิดว่าน่าสงสัยมากกว่าคือ "ใคร" ที่แอบได้เห็นพี่ยมจู๋จี๋กับเจ๊มิ๊นท์ หลายคนในบอร์ดบอกว่าเป็น "จวบ" ซึ่งก็เป็นไปได้ เพราะจวบเป็นคนเดียวที่สามารถมาห้องเจ๊มิ๊นท์ได้ ผมว่าคงไม่ใช่พวกว็อกหรือพี่อู๊ดแน่ๆ เพราะตอนเจอกันก่อนจบ ไม่มีอะไรผิดสังเกตุระหว่างพี่ยมและเพื่อนๆ

เฮ้อ... เสียดายครับ ซิทคอมดีๆที่ผมชอบเรื่องหนึ่งก็ลาจอจนได้ แต่การจบครั้งนี้ ก็เป็นการจบแบบทิ้งปริศนาไว้เยอะ ไม่ว่าจะเป็น

1. เป็นต่อจะใช้ชีวิตอย่างไรต่อไป
2. บริษัทใหม่ของพี่หมอนจะรอดไหม
3. พอใจตกลงยอมแต่งงานกับนุจริงหรือเปล่า
4. พี่ยมกับเจ๊มิ๊นท์ละ จะปกปิดอย่างนี้ตลอดไปหรอ

ทั้งหมดนี้ สามารถเอามาสร้างต่อได้แน่นอน แต่ผมก็ไม่รู้ว่าจะมีวันที่เราจะได้เห็นเป็นต่อกลับมาฉายในทีวีอีกหรือเปล่า (หวังว่าจะกลับมานะ) ตอนนี้ ผมก็ขอฝาหความหวังให้กับ "เป็นข่าว" ก็ละกัน เพื่อที่จะได้ทำให้ผมมีความสุขทุกคืนวันพฤหัสฯอีกครั้ง... 

อย่างไรก็ตาม ผมก็ขอขอบคุณทีมงานและนักแสดงทุกคนอีกครั้ง และหวังว่าจะได้กลับมาเจอในจอทีวีกันอีก นอนาคต

ผมขอทิ้งท้าย บทพูดสุดท้ายของเป็นต่อละกันครับ... 

"เราไม่มีทางรู้เลย ตราบใดที่ยังมีลมหายใจ ชีวิตมันก็เป็นต่อ...ไปอย่างนี้"

- เป็นต่อ

*** ขอขอบคุณ Freek10 แห่งบอร์ดพันทิพย์ด้วยครับ สำหรับบทพูดสุดท้ายของเป็นต่อ

FIFA BALLON D'OR TONIGHT! [UPDATED]

2011 Best Player in the World:

• Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ARGENTINA)
• Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona, SPAIN)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, PORTUGAL)

2011 Best Coach in the World:

• Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
• Josep "Pep" Guardiola (Barcelona)
• Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid)

2011 Best Woman Player in the World:

• Marta (Western New York Flash, BRAZIL)
• Homare Sawa (INAC Kobe Leonessa, JAPAN)
• Abby Wambech (MagicJack, USA)

2011 Best Coach for Women's Team in the World:

• Bruno Bini (France)
• Norio Sasaki (Japan)
• Pia Sundhage (USA) [Sundhage is Swedish]

FIFA Puskas Award (Best Goal of the Year):

• Lionel Messi (Goal against Arsenal)
• Neymar (Goal against Flamengo)
• Wayne Rooney (Goal against Man City)

FIFA/FIFPro First XI

Team Formation : 4-3-3

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Dani Alves (Barcelona)

Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

FIFA Presidential Award - Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United Coach)

FIFA Fair Play Award - Japan National Football Team 

Cheers!

FA Cup 3rd Round: Manchester Derby!!! (8.1.2012)

Pre-Game 

Greeting the new year with a big match, probably one of England's biggest match.  Manchester City will play Manchester United in the Etihad Stadium tonight!  This is an important match since it's only one round, unless if the match ends up with a draw.  United will be looking for a win to gain back their form after the two defeats and to wash out their humiliation after the disaster in Old Trafford on Sunday 23rd 2011 when City burned the 10-man United team with a score of 6-1 victory.  While City will also want to beat up Sir Alex's team again in order to continue their quest on winning the FA Cup once again.

I looked at the predicted line-up and I see that Man City are more ready for this match, partly because very few players are injured.  On the other side, United will struggling with uncountable injuries they have to deal with, which is a factor that will make United to have a hard game tonight.  Although City might not be on their top form, but they should be able to grab a win against their rival, as they shown that they are still strong by beating Liverpool last week.  United should also use the lesson they learn from the last defeat to overcome the blue giant.  I believe that Sir Alex mind has the ability to overcome Mancini's team, but I don't know if United team actually has the ability to follow Sir Alex's plan.

This should be one great match that you should not miss.  Another great thing about this match is they play 20:00 in Thai time which is not so late unlike usual big games.  I still believe City will be able to grab the victory tonight, but I'm sure too that it won't be easy as the last one.

Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Manchester United


After Match


Well, I guess that my result was pretty off.  Well played, United, although there were a lot of ref's decisions that just looked really odd.  This is still a very fun game, it showed that 10-man City can still be close to the level of Man United's 11.  Paul Scholes' come back was actually epic, for a moment, but still showed that getting a retired midfield isn't a good idea.  But for this emergency situation, getting Scholes back might be a good idea.

Chris Foy, the referee, made a lot of epic actions last night which I, personally, seen that many decisions were just "bullsh*t".  Kompany's red card and Jones' handball (not foul against United) seem to be the two that were the most controversial.  I bet that Chelsea and Tottenham fans still not forget the legacy of Chris Foy, right?  Apart from the referee's part, I think United played very well on their counter-attack, which was brilliant.  Rooney's goal surprise me a lot since it was United's first attempt and it came from counter-attack.  Welbeck's goal was also brilliant and also Rooney's header after he missed the penalty.

It seemed that Mancini might have too much confident against United (maybe because of the '1-6' match), that's why he decided to drop a lot of players and even their magical goalkeeper, Joe Hart.  You should know by heart that against United, you really need a big team.  I doubt that testing younglings in such a big match should have been a good idea.  While Man United's players' confident brought them to the victory, congrats.  Anyhow, both team played really well and should received a high amount of applauses.

Final Score: Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United 


Goalscorers:


Manchester City
Aleksandar Kolarov 48' (Freekick)
Sergio Aguero 64' (James Milner Assisted)


Manchester United
Wayne Rooney 10' (Antonio Valencia Assisted)
Danny Welbeck 30'
Wayne Rooney 40'

Important Notice


Vincent Kompany (MC) sent off 11'

Manchester United: WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM?

The best team ever in England?  Yeah I guess so, they won the most Premiership and FA Cup.  One of the strongest in Europe?  Probably, they reached in pretty far every season and won 3 times.  A team full of superstars?  Yeah of course, they got a lot of world-class players.  Team with one of the best coach?  Ah yes, Sir Alex Ferguson is a legend for MU fans.

Manchester United has been dominating the English Premier League throughout 20 to 30 years and even now.  Last year marked them as the team that won the most Premiership in England, in the order word, best team in England yet.  Before the season started, everyone expected them to be the favorite for the 2011-12 season.  Man United won all the friendlies during the pre-season and even an amazing comeback against their local rival in the Community Shield (3-2).  They started off the season fresh, beating Tottenham (3-0), Arsenal (8-2), Bolton (5-0), Chelsea (3-1) and many other big teams.  Sir Alex's test of younglings in the team does showed him that it worked out pretty well.  Wayne Rooney was a scoring machine whom once a top scorers and several hattricks.  Throughout the season, Man United has shown that they are one dominant team in England.

Everything started to change when they draw the first game with Stoke.  It was an unnecessary draw, but it still happened.  That was time when a stock of players starting to get injured including a lot of rising stars, playmakers, and defenders.  Man United didn't perform that well after the draw, but they still gain victories although without a massive score line.  Situation showed the poor quality of team when they were defeated by Manchester City in Old Trafford is a surprising score of 1-6.  As Man City were taking the top, United struggled with both league and European games.  Man United performed poorly in the UEFA Champions League with only 2 win, 3 close-shaved draws, and one loss.  The poor performance cost them the qualification and made them playing in the Europa League instead.  Pretty surprising right?  A team that went to the Champions League final last year ended up in the Europa League this year.  Man United were really unstable lately. Some matches they won by like 5 goals but were defeated in their recent two matches.

I think this is a serious problem for the league champion, although Sir Alex deny it.  Injuries play some role in Man United's drop in form but I think the mentality and encouragement has the bigger role.  By going to Europa League, this might hurt the players' esteem and feeling since this is a real surprise.  A lot of players retired earlier this season which forced Sir Alex to play the younglings.  With a lot of injuries, Sir Alex has to fix the team by putting in new players and manage the new type of formation and play style.  I think that by putting Rooney and Jones as a midfield is a big mistake for Man United.  Alex Ferguson should set up a new permanent play style for his squad and start winning like before.  As the form of the team becomes stable, this will give more encouragement to the team.  I don't think buying new superstars will help the team that much when there are no permanent style of play.  If you watch Man United playing, you will notice that their playing style are "messy" lately.  This problem should be fix as soon as possible.

Anyway, this Sunday, Manchester United will have a chance to revenge their local rival after their humiliate defeat.  Although I really believe that Manchester City will win, but it should be another fun and a must-watch FA Cup match of the season.

SUNDAY MEGA-FOOTBALL
FA Cup 3rd Round
Manchester City vs Manchester United
20:00 (Thai Time)

Photo Credit: Zimbio