Monday, December 27, 2010
What now for Malaysian Football?
Last Sunday, the Malaysian national team won a match against Indonesia in the Suzuki Cup Final 1st leg. It's a massive feat considering that the Indonesians are considered superior to us. To win itself is a massive achievement but to win 3-0 is impressive. But, one advice to all Malaysian, lets not get carried away. Yes, to be in a cup final and to have 1 hand already on the trophy is a proud feeling for any Malaysian, but lets get back to reality and face it people, this Competition is nothing more then a mickey mouse competition compared to others and why does a cup final needs to be a two legged affair is beyond my thinking. Anyway, back to the main topic, by analyzing the performances of the team in this competition it shows that our football has progressed and our future looks bright. If we do eventually win the competition and I hope we do, we can use it as a steeping stone to further develop our football. What impresses me the most not the fact that Malaysia are in the final of a competition nor that they are close to winning it but actually that the team that has Malaysians talking is that the team itself is made out of youngsters. The average age of the team is 23 to 24 years of age. Praises must go out to the manager Raja Gobal and his coaches for developing a young team that is well disciplined mentally, physically, tactically and also for changing their character from a lazy bunch of buggers to individuals who works hard for the team. That means that something is going right somewhere and please don't let politics get involved in this. It will only make thing worse for ourselves. One thing that I am worried about is that these youngsters might get big headed and think that they are already superstars regardless of what happens. If they do then we will be right back where we started, it has always been that way in Malaysian football, we take one step forward and then two steps back.All the hard work done will go down the drain. As for the Suzuki Cup, one advise to the players, It's not over yet! you still have to go to Indonesia and perform. You guys still have 90 minutes to play and I do hope you give it all the best and make us proud by bringing back the Cup.If you do win, congratulations! Enjoy it while you can but there's a lot more work to be done.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Manchester City VS Manchester City
Things are looking bright for the blue half of Manchester, they are the wealthiest football club in the world, they sit 3rd in the league with two points adrift of the leaders and they have already progressed into the knockout stages of the Europa Cup. Who can stop them now from dominating world football? Because the makings are there for them to do so. As I look at it, no one could stop them from sweeping every competition that they enter in but them selves. They could buy any football player at any price, the manager is practically given a blank checkbook by Mr Sheikh Mansour who is the owner of Manchester City and is worth an estimated 20 billion Pounds. So you see, money is not an object here. They will entice players with lucrative contract that any football player anywhere on earth will have trouble refusing.
As it's shown in the past, money isn't the answer. Don't get me wrong, an injection of funds into a clubs will help immensely. As a club, you wish to create success rather then buy it. That is the opposite of what Manchester City is doing. For them, buying success is the best option because they want results and titles quick but if you have been a student of the game and have been studying it for a long time, you will know that success doesn't come overnight as the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day" and that my friends is true.
But some people don't get it, players need to gel together and create a calm and friendly atmosphere. They need to have a feeling of togetherness and a feeling of mutual respect for each other and also to have a feeling of love for everything connected to the club. Saying all this, Manchester City does not show any of this as they have demonstrated in recent weeks. Lets take and example of Mario Balotelli, a young and talented footballer with promise but with mush anger in his heart. Since he has signed for the club, he has cause nothing but trouble from being sent off in his first league game to having a training ground bust up with a team mate. Balotelli is not the only problem faced by the manager, their captain Carlos Tevez is another trouble maker, everyone knew the reason he left Manchester United to their bitter rivals was for the cash. Even though his performances on the pitch has been good and being handed the armband by his manager, with that type of aggression and attitude in the dressing room, the club can only go so far. This guy has been holding the club ransom for the pass week declaring that he wants out of the club for family reason and stating that his relationship breakdown with certain club executives is also one of the reasons for him to want to leave Manchester City,which i think is bullshit. But here is the funny thing,Manchester City are insisting of holding on to him. They just down get it, if a player wants to leave then just allow him to leave because if they don't, the player will only sulk and won't preform for the club and it will cause dressing room unrest and this will only lead to bad results on the pitch. The two players that I have mentioned are not the only one's with over sized egos, there are a few more in that dressing room, believe me.
I would like to give an advise to Manchester City, please learn from Real Madrid's mistakes when they went through the "Galaticos" era where they struggled to get world class individuals to preform with each other and went on to only win a handful of titles.You guys should follow the path of Barcelona FC and create talent rather then splashing cash for overrated ones. Get rid of players with bad attitudes that could disrupt the squad's harmony. If you insist in buying talent, buy player with good attitude and respect for everyone in and around the club.
When this is done, then you will slowly but surely start to reap the rewards of you success. If not, you will not progress and internal problems will still exist.
As it's shown in the past, money isn't the answer. Don't get me wrong, an injection of funds into a clubs will help immensely. As a club, you wish to create success rather then buy it. That is the opposite of what Manchester City is doing. For them, buying success is the best option because they want results and titles quick but if you have been a student of the game and have been studying it for a long time, you will know that success doesn't come overnight as the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day" and that my friends is true.
But some people don't get it, players need to gel together and create a calm and friendly atmosphere. They need to have a feeling of togetherness and a feeling of mutual respect for each other and also to have a feeling of love for everything connected to the club. Saying all this, Manchester City does not show any of this as they have demonstrated in recent weeks. Lets take and example of Mario Balotelli, a young and talented footballer with promise but with mush anger in his heart. Since he has signed for the club, he has cause nothing but trouble from being sent off in his first league game to having a training ground bust up with a team mate. Balotelli is not the only problem faced by the manager, their captain Carlos Tevez is another trouble maker, everyone knew the reason he left Manchester United to their bitter rivals was for the cash. Even though his performances on the pitch has been good and being handed the armband by his manager, with that type of aggression and attitude in the dressing room, the club can only go so far. This guy has been holding the club ransom for the pass week declaring that he wants out of the club for family reason and stating that his relationship breakdown with certain club executives is also one of the reasons for him to want to leave Manchester City,which i think is bullshit. But here is the funny thing,Manchester City are insisting of holding on to him. They just down get it, if a player wants to leave then just allow him to leave because if they don't, the player will only sulk and won't preform for the club and it will cause dressing room unrest and this will only lead to bad results on the pitch. The two players that I have mentioned are not the only one's with over sized egos, there are a few more in that dressing room, believe me.
I would like to give an advise to Manchester City, please learn from Real Madrid's mistakes when they went through the "Galaticos" era where they struggled to get world class individuals to preform with each other and went on to only win a handful of titles.You guys should follow the path of Barcelona FC and create talent rather then splashing cash for overrated ones. Get rid of players with bad attitudes that could disrupt the squad's harmony. If you insist in buying talent, buy player with good attitude and respect for everyone in and around the club.
When this is done, then you will slowly but surely start to reap the rewards of you success. If not, you will not progress and internal problems will still exist.
Monday, December 13, 2010
A letter to Roy Hodgson
Dear Mr Hodgson, we the Livepool fans ask if you would please quit your post as the Liverpool Manager. If you would retire all together it would be even better for the game of football. You should kick back and relax on an island somewhere because you are old and have no passion for the game anymore. What was the Liverpool board(at that time) thinking of when they hired you as successor to Rafa Benitez? who knows. Here's what I think went down, they just sacked Rafa,and Rick Parry turned to Tom Hicks n George Gillet and said, "All right, that's done,what now?" Tom Hick came out with a suggestion "how about we put random names into a hat and pull one out, whoever's name is pulled out will be our manager", Rick then says"I haven't heard a more brilliant idea in my life, lets do it, George, go get me a hat".George then says, "yeah I know". After the hat was given to them, they then continued to insert random names into the hat.Names including from the kitchen chef to the groundsmen right up to the club's janitor. Tom Hick then said:"we need to put one real manager in there, just to make up the numbers in the hat. Lets put Fulham's Roy Hodgson in to the mix because he has experience.He managed many clubs across Europe and he even took Fulham to the Europa Cup Final, He mush be the best top class manager and a candidate for the hat, if he is the lucky draw winner, he will surely bring the glory days back at Liverpool, right guys?" . Rick and George than nodded as approval of that idea. The lucky draw was then conducted and the winner was actually Mr.Roy Hodgson.Congratulations!!!
Then the process of bull shitting him into taking the job at Liverpool began with promises of unlimited funds available. With that kind of guaranty, any manager would be a fool to turn it down. Ultimately Hodgson agreed and was handed the job at Liverpool.Everyone at Anfield was excited as the knew with the appointment of Hodgson that the glory day will surely come back, But the fans were not fooled, particularly me, a life long Liverpool fan which saw Roy Evan come and go, which saw Gerard Houllier come, had a heart attack and then au revoir and even saw Rafa Benitez come and vamosed to Inter Milan. When I heard that Roy Hodgon was appointed, I wasn't convinced. He was well short from the type of manager that could change a club that is in turmoil. What happened was that the previous owners of the club knew that someone else will eventually buy the club and they appointed Roy Hodgson as a parting gift to the Liverpool fans so we could endure the misery that Hodgson would bring to the club. Have we progressed since his appointment? certainly not! we are actually going backward..Even though last season was a disaster, at least we made it into Europe. But, with this current playing style and form we would be lucky not to be relegated from the league. I say this with sadness in my heart when I mention Liverpool with relegation. If it does happen, I will be sad but I won't be surprised.
I know saying Liverpool could be relegated is harsh, but considering the way they are playing at the moment, it could happen, any one remember Leeds United? whom were playing in the Champions League semi final back in 2001 and was even challenging for the league title. That was only 9 years ago and where are they now after they went through the same thing that Liverpool are currently going through? they are now playing their trade in the second tier of English football. For Liverpool to be relegated would be a long shot,but it could happen.
It's easy to blame the manager for the players poor form, but its the manager who picks the team, it's the manager who rallies the players, it's the manager who sets tactics for a match and it's the manager who will give the motivational team talk before, during and after a game. Those are the simple things that could win or lose a football match. Football players are not an intelligent bunch of people but they do appreciate a little pat on the back and a little motivational talk to put fire in their bellies for them to have more impetuous to go out and win the game for the fan and especially for you, the Manager.Ian Holloway is an excellent example, a Manager of a club from a small little town by the seaside called Blackpool.How could a small team like that go to Anfield and win? and go to other places and win as well? because they play with passion for the Club, Manager and their fans. Ian Holloway is the type of person who commands respect from the players in the dressing room and all around the club, that is plain to see in his character and his players duly oblige. I don't think Mr Hodgson offers any thing as such because if any of you get chance to see a football match involving Liverpool, when the camera switches to Roy Hodgson, you will not see him walking up and down the touch line barking orders to players when they are not performing. You will not see him giving instructions to the player to change the their tactics when things are not going well. He will just sit on his chair and bite his nails thinking what pie the misses had cooked up at home for him to eat. He shows no passion, no desire, no hunger and no belief for the the Football Club. These sort of thing tend to rub of on the players as I am witnessing with the current crop of players in every match. I give one advise for all the Liverpool Fans out there, here's a stat for you, Roy Hodgson has only won 1 game away from home in 28 attempts. Well, that is just embarrassing really, if you are ever planning to sleep late at night(here in Asia) to watch a Liverpool away match, please think again, You will just waste you time and energy. Kenny Dalglish came out recently and said that we all have to be patient with the manager and give him more time. Well King Kenny, if we do, I think that the Club will be in much more trouble then it already is.
It sad to see my beloved Liverpool being conducted in this way by an old dull Manager who doesn't have a clue on what he should do and he actually doesn't have a good CV to begin with. If the new owners want to improve things at Anfield, they will have to get rid of Roy Hodgson now. Things will only be worst with him still around. Get in a fresh face that will turn things around in the dressing room. Get someone who will get the players playing again because under Hodgson, It's clear in the players body language that they are not enjoying their football at the moment, full stop.Might I suggest Louis Van Gaal!? Anyone!?
Then the process of bull shitting him into taking the job at Liverpool began with promises of unlimited funds available. With that kind of guaranty, any manager would be a fool to turn it down. Ultimately Hodgson agreed and was handed the job at Liverpool.Everyone at Anfield was excited as the knew with the appointment of Hodgson that the glory day will surely come back, But the fans were not fooled, particularly me, a life long Liverpool fan which saw Roy Evan come and go, which saw Gerard Houllier come, had a heart attack and then au revoir and even saw Rafa Benitez come and vamosed to Inter Milan. When I heard that Roy Hodgon was appointed, I wasn't convinced. He was well short from the type of manager that could change a club that is in turmoil. What happened was that the previous owners of the club knew that someone else will eventually buy the club and they appointed Roy Hodgson as a parting gift to the Liverpool fans so we could endure the misery that Hodgson would bring to the club. Have we progressed since his appointment? certainly not! we are actually going backward..Even though last season was a disaster, at least we made it into Europe. But, with this current playing style and form we would be lucky not to be relegated from the league. I say this with sadness in my heart when I mention Liverpool with relegation. If it does happen, I will be sad but I won't be surprised.
I know saying Liverpool could be relegated is harsh, but considering the way they are playing at the moment, it could happen, any one remember Leeds United? whom were playing in the Champions League semi final back in 2001 and was even challenging for the league title. That was only 9 years ago and where are they now after they went through the same thing that Liverpool are currently going through? they are now playing their trade in the second tier of English football. For Liverpool to be relegated would be a long shot,but it could happen.
It's easy to blame the manager for the players poor form, but its the manager who picks the team, it's the manager who rallies the players, it's the manager who sets tactics for a match and it's the manager who will give the motivational team talk before, during and after a game. Those are the simple things that could win or lose a football match. Football players are not an intelligent bunch of people but they do appreciate a little pat on the back and a little motivational talk to put fire in their bellies for them to have more impetuous to go out and win the game for the fan and especially for you, the Manager.Ian Holloway is an excellent example, a Manager of a club from a small little town by the seaside called Blackpool.How could a small team like that go to Anfield and win? and go to other places and win as well? because they play with passion for the Club, Manager and their fans. Ian Holloway is the type of person who commands respect from the players in the dressing room and all around the club, that is plain to see in his character and his players duly oblige. I don't think Mr Hodgson offers any thing as such because if any of you get chance to see a football match involving Liverpool, when the camera switches to Roy Hodgson, you will not see him walking up and down the touch line barking orders to players when they are not performing. You will not see him giving instructions to the player to change the their tactics when things are not going well. He will just sit on his chair and bite his nails thinking what pie the misses had cooked up at home for him to eat. He shows no passion, no desire, no hunger and no belief for the the Football Club. These sort of thing tend to rub of on the players as I am witnessing with the current crop of players in every match. I give one advise for all the Liverpool Fans out there, here's a stat for you, Roy Hodgson has only won 1 game away from home in 28 attempts. Well, that is just embarrassing really, if you are ever planning to sleep late at night(here in Asia) to watch a Liverpool away match, please think again, You will just waste you time and energy. Kenny Dalglish came out recently and said that we all have to be patient with the manager and give him more time. Well King Kenny, if we do, I think that the Club will be in much more trouble then it already is.
It sad to see my beloved Liverpool being conducted in this way by an old dull Manager who doesn't have a clue on what he should do and he actually doesn't have a good CV to begin with. If the new owners want to improve things at Anfield, they will have to get rid of Roy Hodgson now. Things will only be worst with him still around. Get in a fresh face that will turn things around in the dressing room. Get someone who will get the players playing again because under Hodgson, It's clear in the players body language that they are not enjoying their football at the moment, full stop.Might I suggest Louis Van Gaal!? Anyone!?
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Ballon d'Or
Well, the time of year has come to name the best football player on earth. The 3 shortlisted for the award is Lionel Messi (not surprising), Andres Iniesta & Xavi. Also not surprising is that all 3 shortlisted players are from Barcelona's Football Club. What's also amazing is that all 3 players are also from Barcelona's youth academy. This is why I respect this football club, they nurture talent from a young age rather than buy it and aspect them to win thing right away(pun attended Real Madrid).
Don't get me wrong, Barca has the money to compete with any rich club in Europe or in the world for that matter, they can attract any big name to their club without even being interested in the player, but why they dont' follow in their rival's footsteps and just by talent? for one, to cut cost which is the obvious. Second, Barca knows that a team can't be built in a day and a team can win titles in overnight. Footballers are humans after all. We need to adapt to our surroundings, get to know your staff and other players and everyone knows that that can't happen right away. Barcelona has set this in motion behind close doors without anyone knowing what was about to come. Then suddenly with out warning, in 2009 they we unleashed. Winning a Treble of titles under Pep Guardiola in his first season as manager, a beloved son of Barcelona FC. Footballers at Barcelona are not just players, they are family, they would die for each other and this shows with every football match. The team spirit at that football club is second to none. If there is one bad apple among the group of player with could ruin the team spirit, that bad apple will be shifted out and there are a few in recent years.
When we talk about these 3 shortlisted players for the FIFA Player of the Year Award coming through the youth ranks with in Barcelona, we are not talking about only these 3 players , 7 players out of a possible 11 came trough their youth ranks. These same 7 also went on to represent their National team at the 2010 World Cup and won it after years of under achievements.Going back to Barca's youth academy, I believe that there are many more to come as we all witnessed when Barcelona put out a second string starting 11 in the Champions League last week. All 11 players we from the Club's youth academy and actually won the match convincingly. I do believe that this second string players will also one day be known to the world as magnificent football players, trust me.
I don't have any connections to the club nor do I support it, but by what their philosophies are and sticking to what they believe in is what makes me respect this football club.Owh yeah! and the style of football they play is not bad at all and is a joy to watch. Magnifico!!
Don't get me wrong, Barca has the money to compete with any rich club in Europe or in the world for that matter, they can attract any big name to their club without even being interested in the player, but why they dont' follow in their rival's footsteps and just by talent? for one, to cut cost which is the obvious. Second, Barca knows that a team can't be built in a day and a team can win titles in overnight. Footballers are humans after all. We need to adapt to our surroundings, get to know your staff and other players and everyone knows that that can't happen right away. Barcelona has set this in motion behind close doors without anyone knowing what was about to come. Then suddenly with out warning, in 2009 they we unleashed. Winning a Treble of titles under Pep Guardiola in his first season as manager, a beloved son of Barcelona FC. Footballers at Barcelona are not just players, they are family, they would die for each other and this shows with every football match. The team spirit at that football club is second to none. If there is one bad apple among the group of player with could ruin the team spirit, that bad apple will be shifted out and there are a few in recent years.
When we talk about these 3 shortlisted players for the FIFA Player of the Year Award coming through the youth ranks with in Barcelona, we are not talking about only these 3 players , 7 players out of a possible 11 came trough their youth ranks. These same 7 also went on to represent their National team at the 2010 World Cup and won it after years of under achievements.Going back to Barca's youth academy, I believe that there are many more to come as we all witnessed when Barcelona put out a second string starting 11 in the Champions League last week. All 11 players we from the Club's youth academy and actually won the match convincingly. I do believe that this second string players will also one day be known to the world as magnificent football players, trust me.
I don't have any connections to the club nor do I support it, but by what their philosophies are and sticking to what they believe in is what makes me respect this football club.Owh yeah! and the style of football they play is not bad at all and is a joy to watch. Magnifico!!
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