Maradona the gaffer?

Seems that Argentina have PANICKED and have made the seemingly BAFFLING decision to appoint one Diego Maradona as the new head coach of the national team. Yup, the same Maradona who single-HANDedly won the 1986 World Cup for his country, and the same one that ballooned into a cocaine-addicted ikan buntal after his retirement (and we always thought that drug addicts were all skin and bones!). He has almost ZERO EXPERIENCE as a coach, but at least he would have Carlos Bilardo, the man in charge of that 1986 triumph, as his right hand man. So expect most of the more important decisions to come from Bilardo, then.

Some may argue that Argentina are full of great individuals, you can put any Tom, Dick or Juan in charge and they'll still come out winners. Well just take a look at England then, 10 Englishmen started the 2008 Champions' League Final, but with a muppet like McLaren in charge of the national side, they still managed to fail to even qualify for EURO 2008. And look at them now under the guidance of Fabio Capello - their best EVER start to World Cup qualifying with 4 wins out of 4, including 2 tricky away games.

But then, Argentina haven't done too well themselves in their own qualifying campaign so far. I guess all they needed was some sort of inspiration, some sort of MIRACLE. And to most Argentines, Maradona IS God, so all fair to them for turning to him. But I do secretly hope that it all goes balls-up and Argentina fail to qualify for World Cup 2010, as this would mean that Carlos Tevez would have a proper rest before the 2010-11 season - provided he's still with us!

In-ger-landd!!!!

None gave them a chance. Justifiably so, given they lost both ties last time round. And with the miserable performances under Capello so far, some even hint that they just should've stuck with McLaren and saved a lot of money in the process. Even Bilic, the Croatia coach, was critical of England's struggle to a 2-0 win over part-timers Andorra on Saturday, and was confident of his own team's success. I wouldn't blame him, after all, they are unbeaten at home FOREVER (well since they were formed in 1990), and have let in a measly ONE goal in their last 10 home games. For England, merely getting a draw would be a huge achievement, and noone really took Capello seriously when he said he wanted to go for the win.

It was a convincing 4-1 MAULING of Croatia.

Forget Beckham, forget Wright-Phillips. With his awesome display in Croatia, Theo Walcott has made the right-side of midfield his own. Yes, his crossing may not yet match the best in the business. But then Walcott's business is scoring, and he's someone who has a real chance of hitting the target when he gets a chance in the area. But despite his hattrick, it's not all Walcott. Rooney, under heavy fire so far early in the season for his lack of scoring, ran Walcott close to be the man-of-the-match. His 2 assists and 1 goal showed they you do not neccessarly need to score in every game to be a great striker. Lampard showed his club form, and it's not a mere coincidence that every time Gerrard does not play, Lampard excels. In fact, the first 11 is the most balanced and settled England have been in quite a while. Ideally a naturally left-footed player is needed on the left, but with the inconsistent Downing the only contender, swashbuckling Joe Cole would do for now, though I would prefer him more as a supersub, which he has proven with devastating effect with his 3 goals in the previous 2 games.

England now have to build on this win, and hope that in the time to the next qualifying game, they don't get too over-confident and cocky. They haven't won the World Cup yet. Problem for Capello ultimately is how to fit Gerrard into the first 11. I say, if both Lamps and Barry are fit, the balance of the team should not be upset, and Stevie G can provide some company to Defoe, Downing, et al on the bench.

Anyway, this win is Capello's "Munich" moment. Munich here referring to the famous 5-1 AWAY win over Germany in Munich in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers that marked the start of the Sven-Goran Eriksson era. I just hope and pray that the Capello era ends on the highest note for England.

England til I die!
I'm England til I die!
I know I am, I'm sure I am,
I'm England til I die!

Fergie gets a Bulgarian

So, there ends the summer transfer window. And after a day of high drama (Spurs accepting a higher offer from Man City), United finally sealed the deal for Berbatov at the very last minute before the window shut. Going out the other way were Saha to Everton (how on Earth did he pass his medical test?), Silvestre swapping the United reserves for the Arsenal reserves, and Frazier Campbell going on loan to Spurs.

Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov. Now THAT'S a strikeforce to be reckoned with. Can't wait for the chants from the Stretford End, though I honestly can't think of anything that rhymes with Berbatov! And the Bulgarian has the perfect opportunity to make himself an instant legend with the Old Trafford faithful in his very first game - Liverpool at Anfield. With both Gerrard and Torres out of the game, I'm really really looking forward to 13th September.

For now, I just hope that Berbatov doesn't get crocked in this week's World Cup qualifiers. Speaking of which... COME ON IN-GER-LAND!!!!!!

Premier Fantasies

FINALLY, the new season is upon us! For some less succesful teams (Arsenal and Liverpool) you could say their season starts tonight with the Champs League qualifiers.

Anyway, I've joined the OFFICIAL fantasy league at http://fantasy.premierleague.com and set up my team for the season. Hopefully you can join me there, with just a few simple steps:

1. Register a team (it's FREE!!) at http://fantasy.premierleague.com
2. Choose your players - make sure to just choose all the stars as you have to stick within a certain "budget"
3. Join my league - my league ID is 568355-171013

That's it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Staying put - for now

Well, well. Who would've known. Seems that the Ronaldo-Madrid transfer saga has ended - at least for now. And seems that he's staying at Old Trafford - at least for now. The full transcript of his interview with a Portuguese paper can be found at Guardian's football site.

Short of a press conference with Fergie by his side, the interview is the closest you can get to a concrete statement from Ronnie on his future. He says all the right things, that he takes full responsibility for wanting to move, that he didn't want to move because of money, how he's "grateful" to United (reason why he sees a potential world-record transfer fee as his "gift" to the club), and his denial of his support of Blatter's slavery comments (though it was said during a TV interview), bla bla bla bla bla.

Personally, I still don't forgive him for the way he has handled this. To be fair, I accept and understand his reasons for leaving, as I've pointed out in an earlier post. What I CAN'T accept is the timing of him letting us know of his intentions - on the triumphal night of United's Euro win in Moscow itself. The whole summer (or at least the couple weeks after Moscow), the backpages of newspapers worldwide should be filled with praises, analyses and reports of United's unprecendented double triumph. However what we get are "will he or won't he?" articles on Ronaldo. So much so that - together with the Euro tourney - people have all but forgotten the TEAM'S achievements. The least Ronnie could do was to wait until the Euro started, better still AFTER Portugal were kicked out. You get this feeling that the transfer saga even affected his own performance at the tournament.

In the meantime, even if he is staying - say it with me, at least for now - he's still crocked until October, and United have an injury crisis for the first few games of the season. Nani's still banned for that stupid red card last season, Rooney and Carrick both have a "mysterious" African virus, Hargreaves, Saha and Park are all injured (what's new?), and Anderson's at the Olympics. And it's been quiet on the transfer front with United and Spurs stil not agreeing on a price for Berbatov. Oh well, at least we're only playing unlucky Newcastle at home on the first day - my outside bet for relegation this season.

Wake me up before you go go!

So is Ronaldo going? Or to be more precise, do I care? On one hand, he’s been United’s ayam tambatan the past couple of seasons, breaking so many goalscoring records (made all the more impressive considering he starts most matches on the wing), and sweeping all awards before him. I remember during the couple of times I was lucky enough to see him play at Old Trafford, each time he had possession of the ball, you can hear the noise made by 74,000 seats as everyone stood up in anticipation of something great. And if he has a good Euro 2008 (based on Portugal’s matches so far, it indeed looks likely), I honestly can’t see anyone else getting this year’s European and World Player of the Year Awards.

BUT on the other hand though, there are his OTT spoilt-little-girl theatrics. To be fair, he has to a certain extent cut down on his diving, and has survived the post-World Cup 2006 jeering all the better. But you just can’t help feeling that this is a boy who really really loves himself, and each time he misses a shot or is fouled, he makes all these facial expressions that would make Jim Carrey envious, knowing too well that the cameras are all trained on him. Hey, even when United were presented with the Premiership Trophy for their 2006/07 triumph, apparently the squad were held back in the dressing room for some time as they had to wait for Ronaldo to gel his hair! What I personally don’t like about him though is his high propensity to MOAN and SULK every time he is fouled, or at least every time he THINKS he is fouled. Just get up and get on with it, boy! Rooney might blast a four-letter tirade to the referee, but he would only do so once play is stopped. Even Giggsy in his younger days would just get up and get on with it, and I’ve never recalled seeing him once pound his fists into the ground, like some 5-year-old who is forced to eat his veggies, something that you would expect at least 3 times from Ronaldo in EVERY SINGLE GAME. It’s mainly because of this that, despite his many wonderful and important goals and assists, I’ve never considered him a favourite of mine. Honestly, if he played for Chelsea or the Scousers, he would probably be the player I hate the most.

Saying all this, I would prefer him staying at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future. But if it’s true that his heart is set on leaving for Madrid, then all the best to him, as long as United get paid considerably for his signature. After all, he’s already achieved everything in England, and for someone hailing from Portugal the sunnier skies in Madrid would be more than a welcome change to the perpetual rain in Northwest England. Plus, I don’t blame someone for changing careers for a better pay, regardless of whether or not the “job” at his new employers would be any better.

So how would it affect United? Well I’d be lying if I said that Ronaldo’s goals and skills would not be missed. On more than one occasion he single-handedly gave us crucial victories. He did miss his penalty in Moscow, but remember that he gave us the lead in the 1st half with that thunderous header. But then, the 60 to 75 million pounds that Madrid are rumoured to offer for him would surely go a long way. Fergie’s targets like Berbatov and Benzema whom were seemingly priced out of the market are now much more viable, with lots of change to spare for a decent winger. Ribery, Simao, Ben Arfa? Kaka and Messi might seem improbable, but any substantial bid would surely be tempting for their current clubs. There’s the cheaper option of David Bentley, who’s itching for a move away from Ewood Park. Don’t forget that United still have other attacking midfielders on their books - Nani and Park Ji-Sung (who was preferred to Giggsy in Fergie’s first XI in the final weeks of the last season). No t to mention good 'ol Hargreaves, whose both goals last season were exquisitely taken freekicks, proving that not only Ronaldo can score them.

At the end of the day, in this day and age of player power, it is ultimately up to Ronaldo himself to decide. If (and when) he formally says that he wants to leave, then in everyone’s interests he should. As long as United get properly compensated with a world-record fee, and any deal is done early enough to give United ample time to use the money wisely, then I’m happy.

An England & United fan's dilemma

Ever since that black day in November when England were cruelly (if deservedly?) denied a place in Euro 2008, one thing has been on my mind – whom to support in the absence of Rooney, Rio, Hargreaves et al. Naturally for me, it would have to be a team that contains one or more of the recent double-winning players. Here’s a brief look at the relevant countries:

Portugal

United players : Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani
The obvious choice to some, but not really. True, in Ronaldo Portugal have probably the most exciting United player since a young Giggsy burst onto the scene, but chances are Ronaldo would not still be a Red for too much longer. Nani too in his first season has not really made himself a hero with the Old Trafford faithful yet, and that red card against West Ham certainly puts him in my bad books.
The Portuguese under Scolari are a pretty decent bet to win Euro2 008 though, and despite the passing of the Golden Generation of Luis Figo, Rui Costa and co, they still have a very well-rounded squad. It’ll be ironic if I choose Portugal though, as they knocked out England in the last two major tournaments!

The Netherlands

United player : Edwin van der Sar
They say that politics and sports don’t mix. Not so in this case. Due to the recent controversy involving a Dutch director and the Quran, I’m still boycotting all things Dutch.

France

United players : Patrice Evra, Luis Saha. Mikael Silvestre
Evra’s struggling to get a place in the starting 11, while Silvestre and Saha are not even there. A certain no-no for United supporters. Unless that is, we can snag that boy Benzema before the tournament ends (with some of the Ronaldo money, perhaps?).

Serbia

United player: Nemanja Vidic
The Dolph Lundgren look-a-like is fast becoming one of my favourites, but again politics means that I don’t see myself cheering for Serbia.

So that’s it then. Ironic then, that with the recent controversy surrounding the abundance of foreign players in the Premier League, the best club in England and Europe relies heavily on British and Irish players. Take them out, and the squad does look a bit threadbare.

Who to support then? Really hard choice based on the above. All depends on Ronaldo though, which at writing does not look good at all. Compared to previous World Cups and Euros, where I become a “neutral” after the quarterfinal stage, looks like this time round I just have to be a neutral from day one. Bring on August!