Life’s too short to stay sober

Wow. Eduardo (courtesy of Kaboul) got our 48th goal in the league this season. And then Nasri the 49th, hot Aaron Ramsey with the 50th, and Song, the only song you'll have, with the 51st. His desire going forward to grab a goal to send a message of love home is priceless.

You only have one Song.

If today was a parting gift before he left for the ACN, then it was a real good one.

The 4-1 victory was a repeat scoreline of the earlier corresponding fixture played in August.

Fabregas has been confirmed to be out for 2 weeks so the team knew beforehand that they will be without their captain. Not that the team really needed him today. Diaby started well and played well the entire game but was fading as the game wore on. He sure does look like he has the one-half syndrome. Lol.

So, Ramsey filled in for Fabregas and Denilson. He did well generally and got a goal for himself. His goal with Song's means 2 more for central midfield. So, what would you give to have the two players in front of you out of contention through injury for a place in the first team?

Same question directed at Armand Traore.

Who too, was excellent. This time though, he was really good going forward and if you lined up all 3 of our left backs, Traore is one gifted with the most pace and probably the more purpose going forward. Between Gibbs and Traore, there honestly isn't much difference except that sprint tests puts Armand faster than Gibbs. Clichy would be the more defensively sound option with the most experience but we have a lot of quality in the trio.

The odds of injury to the 2 front runners are always pretty slim but when you're talking about Arsenal, it's possible.

Pompey did put up a fight but we proved too much for them. Arshavin didn't need to show up for the game either but put in a decent enough shift. Nasri was excellent once more and he did really well to win the ball a few times in opposition area. The lads did a good job and enjoyed their football.

This probably isn't the highlight of the game but my highlight is Rosicky coming on. He miraculously returned from injury faster than anyone else. I am amazed. Hence my personal highlight. Now, we cross our fingers he doesn't crock his groin or hamstring or any part of him before the next game. Or the next.

So, Alex Ferguson delved deep and came up with several of his 'wise' words, declaring the league yet another 'two-horse race' between his team and Chelsea, completely writing Arsenal off. It pisses me off, but with Arsenal, you have to thank every lucky star out there they're still in it right now. It wasn't this way when the new year approached on a few occasions now. We can't count our chickens before they hatch. We get through one game at a time and I'll wait till we win the corresponding fixture before I diss people like Ferguson. It's sorta like a mind game too, by not taking Arsenal seriously. The only way to triumph is to prove him wrong and I hope that's on the cards.

For now, I'm going to enjoy this win and our league position and the endless possibilities. The most desired one being us winning the league in May.

P.S. Bolton have parted ways with Gary Megson. It could swing in our favour when we play them twice in 2 weeks in January.

Labels: Aaron Ramsey, Alex Ferguson, Alex Song, Armand Traore, portsmouth

A Little Drunken Madness @ 5:44 AM

Arsene Wenger said that we'll get news on Fabregas on Monday. Heeeey. It's Tuesday in London already.

And the websites out there are all reporting the same shit, twisting Wenger's words from the post match interview on Sunday. That's old news ya know? We want the latest!

I think most certainly though, we will be without Fab for Portsmouth.

This is a tricky tie. When Portsmouth visited the Emirates we dismantled them. Now, under new boss Avram Grant, they have beaten Liverpool and will look to take at least a point of us too. I think we may be too much for them but there's still a lot of football to be played so we can only hope.

Statistics wise, during Grant's tenure at Chelsea, Arsene Wenger has never beaten him. Things might be different though, because it's not Chelsea we're facing. Somehow or another, Grant probably got his formula right on those occasions with Chelsea and we should be in for a tough game.

The lads know that they have to fight on, even in the absence of Van Persie and Fabregas. It will be down to Arshavin to carry the weight of the team.

By some twist of fate, Clichy and Gibbs are both out meaning Traore has had an unprecedented run in the first team and will make the trip to Fratton Park, where he went on loan there last season.

When is Clichy coming back? He seems to be out for an awfully long time. We haven't been talking about him because his deputies have been putting in good shifts. Gibbs took over for a couple of games before getting injured and Traore is doing a pretty decent job for us now. What remains is Bendtner's return. We do need his height and physicality so I hope he's close.

Portsmouth will be the last game of 2009. The transfer window then opens but I don't think we'll sign anyone until it is closing. We like to haggle a lot I think.

Here's to a win. And all those suffering from gastic flu I hope we all get well soon. It's the Cesc Fabregas fever. He sent all of us into raptures and we injured our digestive system in the process.

Labels: Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, portsmouth

A Little Drunken Madness @ 10:20 PM

First and foremost, Carlton Palmer is a douche.

And then, thank you Cesc Fabregas.

So, I waited till now to celebrate an earlier result, from last night.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA CHELSEA.

You see, if we didn't beat Villa, it would be pointless to be happy about Chelsea drawing.

But we have. I am proud of the boys.

Villa has taken the scalp of Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool (at this point, I don't think we need to bother about them). They don't have Arsenal's. That's a really good thing.

Villa matched us pretty well after the first 5 minutes where the boys started well. As the game wore on, they got tired. The lads trained over Christmas and were focused, and that's all down to how Arsene Wenger operates. Then Cesc came on and the team stepped up a gear and Villa simply couldn't cope.

Finally, a sign of a top top team that can challenge for the title.

I thought Wenger has became a lot less patient with his subs. Before, he would give the players on the pitch more time to make something happen. Sometimes, that proved a little too late to really change the game. So thank you for putting players on early, players that have the flair to create something magical. It was 28 minutes of magic, enough for the man of the match award I reckon.

And then there's Diaby. We've all asked for a little more consistency and he really showed up. Outstanding. Even in the absence of Cesc, he was the man driving the team forward and Denilson and Song supported him nicely. The midfield trio are really gelling together and you have another 3 goals to credit the centre of midfield for.

Thank you for the sweet Christmas present Arsenal.

I hope Cesc didn't aggravate his injury and the team gets pumped for Portsmouth.

Labels: Abou Diaby, Cesc Fabregas

A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:26 PM

The lads will be spending Christmas day training in the morning and then the rest of the day with their families.

Awesome stuff.

So maybe I should spend my day buried in my books.

Besides the part where I already slept half of Christmas away, by waking up at noon. I hope I'm not the only one who enjoys getting a little more sleep during the festive season.

I'm not eager to go paint the town red and all. Turned down attending an event today. I just want to be lazy at home. Besides, got a Christmas dinner tomorrow night. So-called. And if you knew me, I only agreed to it because Arsenal's playing on Sunday instead of boxing day itself. So happens this year it's on a Saturday so it's like a normal match weekend. It actually was more drama if it fell midweek. It would seriously test the players' commitment levels. I only remember drawing with Portsmouth on more than one occasion. Those were bummers.

So, Villa on Sunday. They have grown quite a bit, maintaining their consistency from last season. Their consistent start to the season at least. Not sure when they will all crumble due to their small squad but they've been good so far. They're done pretty well in the games against the big 4, beating Chelsea and United. I'm sure they would want to add our scalp to their conquests.

Diaby, oh frustrating Diaby, came back from injury strongly. That was unexpected. Hopefully he will have his first good run of form in his career instead of simply displaying glimmers of quality. He has an eye for goal for sure and a little consistency would be nice.

Next year will arrive in exactly a week. 2010. Does anyone remember goal 2010? Hehehehe.

Can't even reach the finals of the Asian Cup.

Merry Christmas you guys. There are less and less Hallmark moments for me.

Labels: Abou Diaby, Aston Villa

A Little Drunken Madness @ 12:24 PM

Robin Van Persie has undergone a successful surgery and will be back in April, the soonest. And when the season is reaching it's end, it doesn't make much sense to rush the player back so Wenger already knows ahead of the January transfer window that he has to plan the rest of the season without his star striker.

In the Christmas mood, Van Persie is like a present. Not a present you can open. But a present that could potentially surprise you, if he is fit earlier than expected. So we'll just assume he's out till May and then if he's able to make a comeback then we'll celebrate like there's no tomorrow, or something.

Hmm.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. The Emirates in snow again. This time, the sky makes a different sort of backdrop. Last season's was pretty darn awesome. With the amazing snow and the clear night sky as the backdrop, Andrei Arshavin arrived and gave his first interview.

This time, the sky's a lot gloomier.

What is a whole lot exciting is, who will be giving his first interview in January in the snow?

There's a long list of names but I suspect, the one who makes it to Arsenal isn't on the list everyone expects Arsene Wenger to possess. I think we'll snag a relative unknown or an unpolished gem ready to shine on the Premier League stage. You saw the magic of Arshavin. You're still watching the magic of Arshavin.

And while all the Christmas events were cancelled at the Emirates, the webchat with the boss still went on and boy, did he answer some really good questions. We're really in the market for a striker and even if he is cup-tied for the Champion's league, he's still someone we'll go for. We all saw the impact Arshavin made. He helped us to a top 4 finish. This time though, it could be a whole lot different. If we keep up at the top of the table (esp by beating Villa on Sunday), come the new year, the new recruit could actually help us challenge for the title. That sure is a better looking prospect than Arshavin coming over to simply aid Champion's League qualification. What better than to sign for a club and then win the league in your first season?

It has got to be a exciting prospect for anyone who's interested in coming. That much said, we need to beat Villa at the weekend. If we lose or just scratch a point, then we'll be behind again. We got to keep snapping at Chelsea's heels and apply genuine pressure in order to be considered contenders. It's been a roller coaster ride this season and we started it well, just to stumble when Robin got injured. Some days we were in the title race, other days we were simply written off.

Whoever comes in January would have a big influence on the rest of our season.

It rarely gets this exciting when it comes to Arsene Wenger and the transfer window but this time, we can expect something to happen. Not sure if it'll be like Arshavin where it was ding-dong the entire month right up till the end, when the snow managed to extend the window a little bit longer. That is simply hilarious yet painful from a fan's point of view. I remember following BBC's minute-by-minute coverage on the last day.

In team news, Samir Nasri has escaped a 3-match ban for the stamp. That's good news because we need all hands on deck right now. He is feisty to say the least. You can't discount a player's passion for the game but he needs to be a little smarter because such actions may have gotten him sent off and condemning your team to 10 men doesn't help their game at all.

Junichi out.

Labels: Andrei Arshavin, Arsene Wenger, Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri

A Little Drunken Madness @ 10:23 AM

Wolves beat Burnley at the weekend to further justify fielding an under strength side against Manchester United.

Arsene Wenger is simply the professor. You could quote him all day long forever and ever and it wouldn't be enough.

"We will have to compete with Manchester United over 37 games instead of 38"

Such brilliance.

If you'd recall, Wolves fielded a full strength side against Arsenal and matched up to us pretty well until, well, it all crumbled. But they started well and if they had gone all the way they would have been able to squeeze out a result. We worked hard to get that 4-1 win while at United, it was practically a walk over.

He didn't consider the long list of injuries United had and perhaps, their heavy 3-0 defeat at Fulham would be indication enough that had they chosen to fight the same way they did when Arsenal visited, they would have had more than 3 points at the end of last week.

That said, I have a new found respect for Burnley who do not lay themselves out to be shot but went for it, and they beat United at the beginning of the season and fought successfully for a point when we visited. Frustrating as it was for us to drop points at Turf Moor, for the neutrals, that is the way the league should be. No game should be a walkover.

When United visit Wolves for the reverse fixture, I don't think there'll be any more to it then United coming away with all the points once more. By then, it'll be 36 games instead of 37.

I don't know the extent of these decisions have mentally on players but it does give them reasons not to step up and show up for the game when they're up against opposition they perceive to be stronger. They can just throw that game and work hard for others against lesser or more similar opponents when they feel like. Being a footballer and wearing the shirt means so much more. You got to strive to outdo yourself every single time otherwise, there isn't a point is it?

If I were a Wolves player I won't put my life in the hands of Mick McCarthy. I would sure as hell put mine in Arsene Wenger. That's what our players do. You so got to get a copy of Sagna's interview in the December issue of Arsenal magazine. Sagna speaks about the boss and how he trusts his players to deal with their trying times. We saw how he allowed Almunia to handle his own personal issues at the beginning of the season. Sagna is pretty endearing. There's pretty much nothing to hate about him. He gets his head down and plays his heart out for the team.

We all saw how Arshavin ran to celebrate with the boss after his goal. We have seen Henry do it too. Fabregas did it at Milan. I'm sure there are more. This is what a manager is. Plus, he makes such witty remarks it's difficult not to jump on his bandwagon.

I tried to imagine him blasting the players in the Anfield dressing room and it made me LOL so hard.

Oh Arsene.

P.S. If Wilshere does go on loan to Burnley under Owen Coyle, it's actually a good thing. I think Coyle is a decent manager and it'll do good for Wilshere's footballing education. It would be some feat if lil Jack played a part in helping them stay up, a team that deserves every moment they have in the top flight.

Labels: Arsene Wenger, Burnley, Man Utd, Wolverhampton Wanderers

A Little Drunken Madness @ 4:54 PM

After whining about the Burnley draw, it seems that Chelsea and Man Utd heard my cry.

We amassed 7 points out of 9 in the last 3 games, away to Liverpool and Burnley, and at home to Hull.

Not a bad result, considering how Chelsea and United have stumbled. We're within 2 points of United and 6 of Chelsea, with a game in hand.

Things are looking good, except that this weekend, we face an in-form Villa. The only good thing is that we will be playing at home and hopefully, Cesc would be fit by then.

I didn't manage to catch the Hull game because I got delayed by fucking Jetstar in Bangkok. My flight landed almost 7 hours late. Just because it's a budget flight they think they can treat their passengers like shit. We weren't aware of the flight delays at all because there was no announcement. The timing on the departure board just changed and we had to keep checking and even then, it took forever and ever for the plane to arrive to take me home. And mind you, my ticket cost $300 and my psycho family decided to book it without my knowledge, while they took SQ. $300 to fly to Bangkok is insane. I'd rather had not gone and watch both the Burnley and Hull games. Besides, the shopping in Bangkok sucks unless you want low quality stuff that do not last. And the things aren't exactly cheap either, with the entire population out to con tourists, especially their taxi drivers.

It's been 5 years since I visited and clearly, nothing has changed. Their Taxis may be of a difference make and model (vios) but their drivers are still untrained and are simply out to con you. Basic things like transportation is such an issue and there is no regulation. Tons of taxis are out on the roads and all they create are jams. And while in a Jam, they're so ready to offload their passengers at the nearest BTS station after running the meter till they're satisfied, completely not taking us to our destination.

If I never have to visit Bangkok again in my life, I'll be a happier person. Going there just exposes me to the ugly side of human beings. Being surrounded by Singaporeans is enough. We irritate one another but it's because it is innate, by possessing no logic at all, not to deliberately hurt another. If you need an example it would be not allowing people to come out of the lift before squeezing their asses in, same for the MRT. And the jumping of queues. How about boarding the aircraft when their row isn't called? The list goes on. Yup. We irritate one another. People with no logic. But we are kind-hearted and do not seek to cheat one another. It doesn't have to be a dog-eat-dog world everywhere.

That's it for my Bangkok rant.

It's Christmas week. Don't have a lot planned, save for a family Christmas party. I'm totally not in the mood to soak up the festivities because Christmas gets less and less significant as I grow older and further away from Christianity.

And then it's Villa for an early kick off on Sunday.
Mark Hughes is long gone. Heh. No sympathy here. Pride always comes before a fall. He was never a big enough name for City and boasting about a record number of draws is something not worth bragging about.

RIP Brittany Murphy. Cardiac arrest at 32.

Labels: one of my many theories, what kind of fuckery is this

A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:03 AM

I can't seem to get into blogger new post on my zune and that sucks.

So. I think we're all still ecstatic from the win at the weekend which isn't too long ago. I saw some dude in a Gerrard shirt and I'm quite positively sure he has brain damage. Anyone who likes Gerrard has brain damage and a set of screwed up morals.

Games are now flying in thick and fast. Burnley at Turf Moor is next and we know what to expect, given the manner they knocked us out of the Carling Cup on their grounds last season. With the current number of injuries we have it will be yet another tough game. The lads have to build on the Liverpool win and not do a Liverpool. I mean, they beat Man Utd and went on to lose the next game, making it quite pointless. Burnley pose a stern test and may well have an advantage mentally, having virtually nothing to lose and the last time they faced Arsenal they played very very well.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there is very little time to ponder these things as they travel to that Godforsaken cold spit of a stadium for the game.

There aren't a lot of good news in the treatment room. I think the one closest to a return probably is Bendtner and that's been earmarked for the new year. One more injury and we'll be more screwed than we know it. I don't know how this very thin squad is going to make it through Christmas and still be in the title race come new years.

This is me, being utterly negative but it you'd imagine, an injury to one of Vermaelen or Gallas, or Cesc, or Arshavin and it's the end. Nasri's picking up with more playing time and I'd hope for something similar with Theo but this season he's just not up to the standard we all expect him to be at. His running at defenders has to improve. No one can rely solely on pace to get in behind and score/create goals. Technique is as important and at the moment, it is not showing. He's been touted countless times to play at centre forward but has never been deployed there long enough for judgments to be passed.

Once again, I think we'll have to rely on the flair of Arshavin to carry the team through. Denilson is stepping it up too, probably under the influence of one Alex Song. They were both crap before, but Song has since elevated his status and is doing extremely well and it should push Denilson as well, although it still drives me absolutely nuts when he chooses to pass sideways or back. The goal's on the other side dude.

January could be a very interesting month but we have December to get through first.

Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.

I'm going to bangkok for a couple of days. Kinda don't want to go but it's yet another family trip. I mean, who goes and books the damn tickets without your consent? Evidently, I'm not a big fan of Thailand. And what bums me the most is missing the next 2 games.

Labels: Burnley, Liverpool, oh God please no

A Little Drunken Madness @ 5:08 PM

AWESOME STUFF AT ANFIELD.

Captain Fabulous and the Verminator gave the post match interview and finally, Arsene Wenger threw the fit we all know he is capable of.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY because it worked.

The first half was piss-poor. As the boss put it, we weren't winning the 50-50s and the commitment level wasn't there for a big game like this. He quite rightly blasted the dudes and they woke up at half time.

I'm just wondering about the thickness of the walls of the Anfield dressing room. Did Glen Johnson get frightened into submission?

Heh.

That own goal came out of no where but it's down to the pressing and getting in behind the defence. Walcott put good pressure on the defence and I think he might prosper better as the lone front man instead of on the wings. The defenders would be more aware to his presence and that might result in openings for the rest of the attack.

Or an own goal by his fellow Englishman. It's kinda funny when you look at it from a different angle. Walcott plays on the English right wing while Johnson at right back. Aren't they supposed to link up well? They did good today. Fabio will only be proud of one though.

After that it was all Arsenal. Wenger got through to them and they pushed on with more purpose while Liverpool simply wore away. Must have been trying to show Xabi Alonso how much they missed him while he yawned away.

When Diaby came on I thought we might throw it away but it didn't happen. Somehow. Him being tall and being able to exert a physical presence isn't really significant to me because he is Diaby. Yup. And now, since returning from injury, he's going to slot right back into the midfield won't he? And our weak link is back. Boo.

Song and Vermaelen did fantastic today. I have no higher praise. Song was there to nullify any Liverpool attack and got stuck in really well. he didn't make lame challenges like Mascherano just for the sake of breaking our rhythm. He wanted the balls to jam start our attack and that's pure commitment. Mascherano had a good game though, right until he got a yellow card and then he gets a little more cautious. Of course, Denilson gave him a kick in the butt cheek. That must have been painful. Removing Mascherano helped us on quite a bit since there isn't that little prick to frustrate our attack.

Between Song and Mascherano, I'd take Song any day.

The Verminator took responsibility for every set piece, as at Stoke last weekend. He took it upon himself to clear the damn ball from danger and did really well. I couldn't count how many balls he got to and kept out. Another showing of pure commitment.

He must have realised that he can't trust the one behind him to come out to punch any shit without looking for protection from referees that aren't always given. Damn you Almunia.

Traore did really well today as well. He dealt well when up against Torres and held his ground. Starting to make that left back slot his own now when the front two are out. He's an asset to the team and is taking his chances well. Clichy coming back will be a boost too, and knowing that there are capable players who are fighting for that spot should make him a better player.

You have no idea how much I miss Jens Lehmann. He made Almunia work for that no. 1 shirt. It is no coincidence that his best season happened with Jens piling the pressure.

Damn you Almunia again. He gets shittier and shittier with every damn game.

So, all in all, a great win. I honestly didn't think we would turn it around. To be fair, Liverpool made it easy. Finally, a win against a big 4 team. After losing to Man Utd and Chelsea, we needed to beat Liverpool. The implications of a loss today would have been massive. We would be further from the league leaders and not making the most out of slips from Chelsea and Man Utd.

And Arshavin. He does love scoring at Anfield. What a goal to win the game. I'd imagine him enjoying this one better than last season's 4 because we won. That's a team player for you. I love how he left Reina rooted while his shot went in with power. Amazing stuff.

Arsene Wenger lost his temper at the right time.

Labels: Abou Diaby, Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Liverpool, Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen

A Little Drunken Madness @ 2:07 AM

My internet is shittin slow. Man.

Anyway. I caught the game last night, at least the first half. It was torture to watch because I was dead sleepy by the time the kick off came, and then the lads didn't make it any easier.

I know it was a young team being put out there but with the way they started, the expectations simply mounted and I was just looking for a great show where the youngsters beat the Greeks but it was all not meant to be.

The lads did a good job at emulating their senior players in the style in which they jink the ball around and their movement was fantastic.

The bad part is, like the senior team, without a proper target man leading the line in a 4-3-3, it's the same old story all over again. A lot of possession, but no goals to show for it.

We all love that smooth attacking football the team plays but last night just reminded me of why we simply can't win a game dirty and other teams can. We keep possession really well but when it doesn't translate into goals due to the final balls being shit or the opposing team crowding the attack out, there are genuine problems over there.

Possession doesn't win things. Goals do. This is precisely how we can lose to teams who have one shot on target and one goal. They take their chances. We don't always do and it's been costing us.

I know I'm being too overly negative over last night since it was rather meaningless but yeah, it just brought out all the frustrations that have bottled up over the seasons.

The positive side of things were that the lads never gave up and kept fighting. They were punished by a goal that was pretty soft and basically how people play when they're up against us. They play 11 men behind the damn ball and we struggle to create chances and when someone squanders possession in dangerous areas the opponent counter attacks and gets the goal with their first shot on target.

Yep. The story of Arsenal.

So the Champion's league moves on to the last 16 and the draw will be taking place next Friday. Obviously, thanks to Singtel, I won't be able to watch the draw. Unless of course, I just remembered, I'll be in Bangkok next week where Singtel is out of bounds from. That makes me happy.

The teams we would possible face are a mix of the peeps we want to avoid and those others that look a little more manageable. This time though, since we've topped the group, we wouldn't get to whine if we got someone more challenging. Last season's draw was pretty dangerous but we managed. It's all down to luck, this one.

Anyway yeah. The possible teams are Bayern Munich, Ac Milan, Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lyon, Porto and Stuttgart. Every team presents a challenge. Bayern seems to be on the rise now while the two Milans are best avoided. A trip to Moscow may not be at our best interests considering our past records in that freezing wasteland. Karim Benzema is no longer at Lyon and Porto we've already played many times. Stuttgart would be pretty interesting.

And I can't help but notice Liverpool missing out on all the action. They might go on and win the first ever Europa League you know.

Hah.

No football till Sunday. I have survived the entire day with 2 hours of sleep. I'm going to burn out very soon.

Labels: Champion's League, Liverpool

A Little Drunken Madness @ 10:05 PM

I caught the first half of the Sp*rs game. And then the beginning of the second half, up until the point where Defoe scored to make it 1-0.

And then I switched to watching Private Practice.

And went to bed without checking the score.

So I just did. And Everton came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2, with Defoe, the league's top scorer thanks to that fluke game with Wigan, missed a penalty. I mean, this has got to be the weekend of missed penalties. Cesc was probably the one who started it off and then Chelsea and now Sp*rs. What's funny is, Cesc's penalty miss did not result in points loss. In Chelsea's case it could have made a difference. In Sp*rs case, they lost 2 points. What should hurt more is that they missed the chance to overtake Arsenal once more in the league and stay 4th.

TWO NIL AND YOU FUCKED IT UP.

This has totally made my day. I mean, after watching Adebayor at the weekend and how he decided to become a defender as well and then scored an own goal. It's like Vermaelen for us. He's been a top top top defender who has goals in his Arsenal. So Adebayor, wanted to prove that he can do both as well. Of course, it's a one-match thing. He only steps up a gear when he plays the bigger teams. Oh how hardworking he is. He did create City's equaliser and City went on to win but no one's complaining since it's Chelsea. I don't know anyone in the world in the right mind who would root for Chelsea if you are a neutral supporter. Of course, being neutral means not being emotionally involved but that is hardly possible in football.

Just like how watching Sp*rs fuck it up totally sends glee through my veins.

No more Monday blues for me.

I wore my white kit out yesterday, the one dedicated to Arshavin. Should flaunt it a little more, that expensive thing. I met a Sp*rs fan. How often do you meet weird people like that, when you don't live in North London. Anyway ahahaha, it makes me so glad to know how he's feeling a lot of shit right now. It's priceless when this happens to the spuds. Why do they even bother.

So, there isn't any updates regarding the injuries suffered at Stoke. Man Utd is having a ball of a time with their extremely makeshift defence. Our problems probably lie in attack but that's where we have the greatest depth in. That's got to start showing soon. The lads would be getting a good rest while the youngsters take the field. Hopefully the senior players will play in the same way they did against Stoke, in addition to better finishing and no missed penalty. heh.

We've lost to both Chelsea and Man Utd already. We need to take the Liverpool game at least. Man Utd have shown last season that you don't have to take maximum points from the big boys to win the league but this season may not be the case with Chelsea taking lots of points from the rest of the title challengers. We need to keep on winning.

Labels: Chelsea, Emmanuel Adebayor, headless fans, Sp*rs

A Little Drunken Madness @ 10:34 AM

I am all about vulgarities. And I've had complaints. Oh bother.

This time though, it's vulgar for a good cause.

FUCK ME, ARSENAL KEPT A FUCKING CLEAN SHEET.

In my previous post it was rather gloomy. But yay, I was right. Desire. Desire is all it takes. Nevermind the height disadvantage. Desire. It gets you there.

Rory Delap came at us at every opportunity with ling throws to get balls into the box. If the boys learnt well from last season's game at the Britannia Stadium, it was to always go for the first ball. The way Stoke gets the ball into the net is built on a Stoke player winning the first ball and then flicking it anywhere in the sea of players for another teammate to stab it in.

And everyone all back defending that nasty throw-in went for it.

DESIRE. THAT'S ALL IT TAKES.

We took 3 points. That's all that matters now. Wenger has been talking up Arshavin and trying to get him focused on Arsenal instead of him missing out at the world cup and what a response that was. Eduardo suffered a set back just before the game, and it allowed Arshavin to slot into that lone striker role and he has done immensely well today. Who knew, that Robin's replacement, wasn't another striker but Arshavin. I don't quite know what he is. An attacking midfielder? He's just brilliant running at defenders. He has the pace and the intelligence and he had several chances for one-on-ones with the keeper, only to be denied by his first touch or his delaying of the shot.

When he didn't screw it up though, it resulted in a goal. That chance that became the goal was arguably the hardest of all the chances that were presented to him all night. He once again exhibited his zero backlift to fire the shot into the bottom corner. Brilliant.

Thomas Sorenson did pretty well in goal but was pretty powerless to avoid defeat. With Robin out, it sure looks like we've lost a penalty taker as well. Kudos to Cesc though. A penalty miss like that could destroy a person's confidence but he still manage to carry the team and get stronger and stronger. He never gave up and neither did the team and the second goal duly arrived, save for us who should have been 3-0 up at half time.

Vela came on for Rosicky and I hope it wasn't for an injury because I would most seriously flip. Vela did really well and when Fuller came on for Stoke, he was causing some problems and at one point, Traore looked to have too much on his plate and Vela came right back and swooped in a brilliant tackle to take the ball and then get back on his feat. Lovely.

Ramsey came on for Eboue who was struggling a bit and to be honest, I didn't think he would have featured as much if Eboue could continue. If we do lose Eboue though, it'll be a great shame. He was doing a really good job and is maturing a lot as a player. He was good going forward and provided good cover at the back too, providing support to Sagna, who too had a good game. I can't help but think that Eboue and Sagna link up really well, probably from their off-field relationship.

Ramsey stole the night at the end with his very well taken goal. He's always looking to score and he has and it was a fantastic strike to say the least. He's such a hottie.

If Rosicky, Eboue and Traore have injury concerns, this probably sucks a lot. Gallas looked to be struggling too. I hope the official site didn't put a hex on Rosa and Gallas by announcing that their contract extensions are imminent.

Midweek, it's Olympiacos and since we're all but assured top spot, it should be a Carling Cup team out there. They've got much to prove, especially after the defeat to Man City. Last chance for first team action before they get shipped out on loan.

All in all, a good shift put in by the boys. Desire beats the lack in height. Brilliance over brute force.

Labels: Aaron Ramsey, Andrei Arshavin, Carlos Vela, Emmanuel Eboue

A Little Drunken Madness @ 1:00 AM

As we all know, the defeat at City was the 2nd 3-0 in a row, also the 3rd defeat too.

There isn't much cause for alarm given the fact that the Carling Cup is a competition to blood the youngsters who definitely aren't world beaters. As it is now, even the non-injured first teamers aren't world beaters either.

I don't know if it would have made a difference if a first team were put out there, to be honest.

I only managed to wake up for the last 10 minutes and I'm not the kind who turns off the TV before the game ends, even when they're being humiliated. Watch them lose I did. And I caught the 3rd goal which was no more than a sucker punch really.

I saw Alex Song get cautioned and hence missing the next game which is the visit of Stoke City.

I think it's going to get very nervy everytime they get a throw-in in our half of the pitch. We've got the bunch of shorties out there and now even Theo's injured.

Clichy, Bendtner and Diaby are probably 2 weeks away from a return.

People think we lack height and blah blah blah, but look at Bendtner and Diaby. They, the 2 people who have scored own goals from set pieces when they were supposed to defend it. The irony. Vermaelen isn't the tallest of central defenders yet when he has the willingness to go for the ball, he can put off even Peter Crouch. Sometimes it isn't about height but desire.

That's probably something the boss would be preaching. He is going through a rough time now staring at the defeats and Mark Hughes making a big hoo-ha about the handshake snub. He handed us our 3rd defeat in a row. He probably has to look back at why Wenger shook Steve Bruce's and Carlo Ancelotti's after those games yet denied him one.

A win has to start tomorrow and hopefully it does. I'm pretty sick of watching the team lose and post match, it's always the same excuses. The players have to take responsibility for it and want to make a difference otherwise, the road downhill is going to continue.

City have drawn United in the semis and that's just super funny. It's like United is going to be the one who'll destroy Hughes again after he thinks he has won something.

And we, Singaporeans, can totally just say screw you Starhub, we don't care about Carling Cup coverage.

Labels: Man City, Starhub the loser

A Little Drunken Madness @ 6:01 PM

The lads travel to the City of Manchester Stadium again.

Carling Cup tonight, which will be interesting. Man City will be looking to bounce back from their record 7 draws in a row. We really got rid of that hex by selling them Toure and Adebayor.

Now, we're simply losing. If you look at it though, we've lost 6 points over 2 games and if we start winning again, it's fine.

On the other hand, to throw away 14 points over 7 games is just retarded.

Both teams need to get wins to at least gain some momentum for the league games to come and I foresee the winner taking it all.

Lazy Adebayor will once again be fired up to play against his former club, the only games of the season he decides to not be lazy because there is a huge need to bite the hand that fed you, or made you who you are today, minus the lazy part. He has the potential to cause problems (when un-lazy) so whoever's playing at centreback should be watching him closely. The laziness in him will wait for a free header so the only way to frustrate him is to mark him for 90 minutes + extra time and I believe the likes of Senderos, who should be putting in a shift tonight, is capable.

Youngsters like Ramsey, Wilshere, Vela and co. will play. Nasri has just spoken about his happiness at the club after making his 50th club appearance last weekend. He hopes to hit 300 or 400 because he simply loves it here. I mean, when all the shorties are out on the pitch, the team is incredibly hot. The girls would love to believe that Arsene Wenger hires on looks.

Imagine a team with Nasri, Vela, Walcott, Fabregas, Ramsey, Wilshere (DIMPLES). Oh, I forgot Arshavin. The shorties have looks. Ramsey drives me crazy with his lack of screentime.

I didn't include giant Bendtner who constantly hurts his groin.

So, I got the email from Arsenal Singapore, which contained the response from Starhub regarding Carling Cup match coverage. Riggghhhht. I saw the part where negotiations reached a standstill and I just rolled my eyes. Trust Starhub to hit a glitch in "negotiations". Have they looked at Singtel's football coverage prices? That's a big boy who knows how to play the game. There is no need for basic groups and all you need to pay is a freakin $25/month to watch every fucking thing, including tennis and F1. This season sucks because I don't have UEFA Champion's League coverage. When FA Cup season kicks off we'll know if we have that too. Consumers are always the last to be informed but the first to be charged.

Singtel's doing an awfully good job at winning us over. Low prices are key. It's the part where they win our trust that scares me. That's when we get screwed.

No game to watch tonight. I don't think anyone's surprised.

Come end May 2010, I'm throwing my set top box back at Starhub. Suck that. I can't believe I got a Starhub mobile phone plan just to get the hub club discount. So going to dump that when it's over too. If Singtel could charge us so much less, why was there a need to constantly increase the subscription prices over the years when Starhub had the rights?

Switching to Singtel is like getting a 50% discount. In Singapore terms, that's absolutely fucking worth the trouble to switch. And I doubt we'll get shit like "negotiations hit a standstill" or the fucking broadcaster selecting which matches not to broadcast just so that the football fans get the notice like the fucking day before the game. Oh yes. Sunderland away of last season.

Football fans don't forget.

Labels: Aaron Ramsey, bump Singtel, Emmanuel Adebayor, Man City, Starhub the loser

A Little Drunken Madness @ 11:05 AM