Will you support the LionsXII?

So, the FAS annouces the squad which will be taking part in the Malaysia League and Cup for the year 2012.
The representative club from Singapore will be called the LionsXII. I am not sure who coined up that name, apparently DDB designed the logo... but it certainly isn't the most memorable name. The XII is supposed to signify the fans as the 12th man on the team. I don't know if FAS in putting their intentions so obviously in the name is the right marketing strategy. The football should be the only thing that attracts the fans. Frankly, the Lions or plain ol' Singapore will do just fine. Maybe they are afraid it confuses the significance of the actual national team.

The squad looks quite good in my opinion, promising players, all of whom are local lads. Hariss Harun and Safuwan Bahrudin are the future of the Singapore national team, and they make up the core of the team. Alongside them is the experienced and current national team captain Sharil Ishak and also the tricky forward/winger Khairul Amri. There is also the inconsistent Agu Casmir who could provide the goals upfront for the team if he is in the mood.

Will the LionsXII provide more excitement for local fans next year? Surely, they must start to win matches and show the grit and passion their predecessors exhibited.

Sundram and Kadir Yahya are the new coaches, which will be ideal... considering there are few better candidates other than these two who clearly know what a Malaysia-Singapore rivalry stands for.

Sundram was a dazzler, lets hope he plays an attacking brand of football that will bring the fans in. Kadir is a no-nonsense defender in his playing years, he will bring the discipline and the tough love.

I hope the LionsXII will bring some cheer back to the local footballing scene, those who read my entries know quite clearly that I don't dig our S-League one bit, so its welcome relief that FAS decided to spare the local fans some misery and give us a sideshow, which could potentially become the main show. Its still too early to say if the fever could reach the dizzy heights of 1993 or 1994, but we could start somewhere.... I guess.

R.I.P Gary Speed

The editors of this blog will like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and closest friends of Gary Speed, the current Wales manager and ex- Newcastle, Leeds Utd and Bolton midfielder.

Speedo was, as those who sung his praises clearly testify, a true professional and a genuine nice man.

From the fans' point of view, his contributions on the field was that of a midfield general with a knack for scoring goals. He had a sweet left foot that made him the second highest capped footballer (and ranked first amongst outfield players) in Welsh history.

It is always unfortunate to say goodbye to a legend who has probably left too soon. The fans did not send him away quietly though, offering the highest respect with extended applause ringing out from  the stadiums at all the BPL matches played during the week.

Such honour can only be shown to a player who has left a lasting impression on the field.

Ideas for a new S-League

The S-League is in the doldrums, small crowds, poor publicity, little fanfare...

So I thought it will be interesting if we can contribute some ideas for the incoming CEO in 2012 since Mr Winston Lee is stepping down.

1.) Change the team names

Am I only the only one who think that the current names of Balestier Khalsa and Hougang United just don't pique the interest of the fans? I mean c'mon, how many of the fans are geographically biased in Singapore? We move around the country so much, we don't give a damn whether its Woodlands or Geylang... if the team I love is playing in Bedok and I stay in West Coast, I will drive that "long'" journey down to see them play... well then again, this example is pushing it a little too far.

My point here is... why not go for superfluos names that will make people sit up and take notice? Like Tokgong City, Gelek King FC, Kampongcastle, Ah Beng Ga Ga Chiong United.

C'mon, a little Singlish wouldn't hurt. It is our identity.

2.) Bring in local sponsors

For all the footballing fanfare, I am wondering why our local sponsors have not been tapped on in this huge market. If the league is marketed in an interesting manner, many sponsors will love to jump on the publicity bandwagon and have their logo and pictures plastered on our proud team jerseys.

Imagine the towkays from Breadtalk, Charles and Keith, Pastamania, Best Denki, Sheng Shiong, Han's, Jackson's Hokkien Mee, Blanco Court Kway Chap, Adam Road Prawn Mee, Ayer Rajah Indian Rojak, Al-Ameen Roti John....

That is a crap load of sponsorship money and a whole lot of delicious and practical freebies on matchday !!

3.) Kacang Putih and watery coke

Whatever happened to our Kacang Putih man and the coke that pretty much tastes like plain water (because the ice added is more than the coke put in)?

Ok, small point but still important anyway.

4.) Ownership of football teams

I love colorful football owners. Look at the Russian czar Roman Abramovich sitting atop of London's Chelsea, the Egyptian pharoah Al Fayed at Fulham and recently the Malaysian nutty businessman Tony Fernandes at QPR... they add color and character to the team.

Politically charged perhaps, but why not get a certain political party to take ownership of the team in their GRC? Perhaps the opposition leaders will never get a chance to whip the incumbent party at the polls, but could possibly hand out a thrashing on the football pitch... that will drive most Singaporeans delirious already.

5.) Change the mascots

Again, am I the only one who find animals as our team mascots extremely BORING ?!?! We don't need a rhinocerous or a bull to show the team's brand of football... we need attractive and attention grabbing mascots !!

May I suggest the following...

- Michelle Chong in any of her The Noose roles either as Babarella, the Chinese PRC or Leticia the maid. She can represent 3 teams if she likes.


- Gurmit Singh as Phua Chu Kang (he can represent any team from Yio Chu Kang or Choa Chu Kang)


- Fiona Xie as the irresistable genie


- Ris Low as herself, the proud Miss Singapore with her red bigini and zebra prince


- Patrick Kinghorn (with "Dracula" teeth as his props)

6.) Recruit famous coaches that the fans identify with.

Needless to say, the following names deserve to be full fledged coaches of S League teams:

1.) Fandi Ahmad, Sundramoorthy, Abbas Saad (need I say more?)
2.) Michael Vana (if we can find him...)
3.) Shebby Singh (yes John, absoutely John....) - we shall see if he is as good as he critiques
4.) Alexander Duric (at 41 and still Singapore's only good goalscorer, so he is a player manager obviously...)
5.) Alex Ferguson (cos he is as famous as it gets...)

7.) Hire me as the new marketing head.


Yours sincerely,
Fisheye

The Tevez farce

What a disgrace Tevez has been to the Champions League and his club by refusing to play when asked to do so at the Allianz Arena.

Goes to show that you can buy lots of talent, but you cannot buy team unity and a sense of commitment to the club and its fans.

Man City has loads of money evidently, they could purchase the most talented players in the world and create a team many of their fellow peers can only dream about.

When Mancini claimed he did not have enough players and they are mostly tired out after the recent spate of games, I thought the Italian must have gone cuckoo... afterall many managers in the world will love to have any player from his massive squad in their first eleven.

But for now, I probably get what Mancini is saying. He is desperate... not for player numbers but for passionate players who will die for the City cause. Obviously, it is easier said than done. Mancini has some blame to take, he was too quick to ship Wright Phillips and Michael Johnson away. These are players who are ardent City fans, they lived and breathed the cause but were deemed "not good enough" for his squad of mega stars. Even Craig Bellamy was a hard worker who is the ultimate professional when asked to do the job. Mancini chose to place his trust in a bunch of spoilt and unruly "superstars", notably Balotelli and now Carlos Tevez.  They had shown time and again they will rather not be at Man City, which means its only the financial rewards that have their greedy agents wanting to keep them on Man City's roster.

Mancini has a big problem to handle. Squad disunity is infectious. And when there is no obvious leader at the club, Mancini runs the risk of losing his dressing room to the sulkers like Carlos and Mario. Edin Dzeko throwing his weight around after being substituted speaks further volumes of how much respect the players have for the manager's decisions.

Man City has the hallmark of a ill disciplined group of super egos. No disrespect to Mancini, but Mourinho have at least on his Real Madrid squad a team of players that will stand behind him no matter what nonsensical stunts he throw, i.e. poking the eye of the Barca assistant coach or ignoring the press. Mourinho always has an upper hand because he always knew how to get the players to be on his side, sometimes to the extent of player and manager against club and board.

This could be just a start of Mancini stamping his authority. We will see Carlos condemned to the reserves for sure. Dzeko probably got a earful or a fine for his stupid protests after being substituted. We will see how Mancini deals with his boy star Balotelli when he steps out of line again.

Imagine Tevez pulling his weight at Man Utd. Then again, he will never be able to take it that far with Sir Alex at the fore.

Hargreaves haunting

The goalscoring return of Owen Hargreaves for Manchester City was the highlight of the day for most footballing fans.

It was good to see Hargreaves return to the big time after such a horrible time with injuries, but I don't think any Man Utd fan will have enjoyed that piece of news too well. Afterall, Hargreaves is a Man Utd fan and we know what he has done for the club when we were wildly successful in all tournaments in 2008.

There is no doubt Hargreaves's quality, the thing was we deemed him surplus to requirements with Pogba and a slew of talent, leaving him to join the bitter rivals and noisy neighbors that is Man City. Now if Hargreaves keeps his fitness without aggravating a dodgy knee, he is set to become one of the best comeback players ever.

Will Hargreaves come haunting Man Utd? Almost certainly, he will play no part in major games for Man City, but there is no doubt he could play a key role as a squad player for Man City in a widely expected tight race for the BPL title between the Manchester rivals.

Football Capital at Manchester?

Football capitals, I can think of a few... Barcelona will hold claim to that, being the most successful club in Eurpe in recent history. But there really is only one football club in Barca, so you cannot really claim that it is THE capital based on club rivalry. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid has a nice rivalry going on there, but Real is clearly seen as a bully in the La Liga these days, the wealth gap is so wide its offensive to even watch them play. So Madrid is out for me too.

Milan has two huge clubs, Inter and AC Milan. Both are competitive clubs at domestic and European level. But the Italian Serie A has been plagued with scandals, protests and crowd trouble, taking the lustre off the Milan clubs.

Rome? Rome can boast the fiercest rivalry in football. It is rooted in genuine hatred and politics. Lazio and Roma fans are passionate, Lazio often associated with the left wing extremists, and Roma often linked to the establishment.

London maybe? Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham have seemingly fallen off the charts haven't they? Chelsea in a still in a draggy period of transition from post Mourinho and a rookie manager AVB at the helm when it comes to the BPL, Arsenal's problems seem to mount every few weeks with injuries, low morale and loss of form, Tottenham's coffers are drying up now and they have little to spend on new players given that their own star players want to leave. Not good signs for London.

We need not then speak about Ligue 1 or the mega-oil rich Russian League, none of which has produced a European Champion nor capture the imagination of fans. The German League has only 2 teams, Dortmund and Munich so it isn't a world of difference from the La Liga either.

So that leaves us with the most exciting rivalry that is sure to fill the entire season with action and passion. The Manchester rivalry. The Reds are obviously the proven champions having won the Premier League a record 19 times, and you have the Sky Blues (the pretenders of sorts). But City fans have a huge backer in Qatari royalty, they have money to burn and a cool customer of a manager in Mancini who is bent on success.

Manchester is the new capital of football, the way both sides dismiss opponents these days spark nighmarish fears in opposing defences. It seems a match cannot end with either side putting at least 3-4 goals past the opposition. With a stellar cast of superstars and budding talent on both sides, the Manchester rivalry promise to lift Manchester into the upper echelons of footballing history.

Arsenal on the decline...

Its almost like a perfect storm, when anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

I always hesitate to write a  negative post on Arsene Wenger. I have a lot of respect for the French manager who has brought to football fans an attacking brand of football that has inspired coaches all over the world. Its pretty football, easy on the eyes but not always effective enough.

But recent developments have left Arsenal fans exasperated. It is too early in the season to predict if they will finish out of the top four (an unthinkable prospect since Wenger took over) but the signs are ominous. Arsene surely must take the blame for some poor managment decisions.

1.) No Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy... the latter two lost to Man City (closest competitors these days), Fabregas a crybaby demanding a Catalan reunion which smacks of childishness in my opinion. Wenger should have seen it coming, he should have sought replacements early in the window, he hesitated, Arsenal become the big losers, Barcelona and Man City got themselves fair bargains.

2.) Arteta, Benayoun, Mertesacker, Gervinho and Santos are not the typical A-listers Arsenal fans are looking for. For Arsenal, a morale boost was required, a big signing could have given this team a much needed lift... Arsene could have done well to sign a Eden Hazard or Gary Cahill.

3.) Arsenal just lost their best defender Vermaelen to surgery. Bad luck maybe but Arsene should have strengthened the backline a whole lot better. It is obvious Koscielny, Djourou and Squillaci are not BPL-standard central defenders. The 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford was a kind reminder by his old "friend"... Alex Ferguson.

4.) An inexperienced and paper thin squad. He failed to add even though it was plain obvious to everyone else that the team was uninspiring. The youth policy was meant to bed youngsters, but throwing them onto the field with no leader, no brute (i.e Tony Adams, Martin Keown) meant the team was bound to cut up by a rampant Man Utd.

5.) Money not reinvested meant fans will never be appeased. Losing the club captain and charismatic playmaker are big blows to the fan. It will have helped the fans to accpet the loss by spending on a star in the making like Eden Hazard or Marvin Martin, Arsene held back, the opportunity is lost to turn a crisis into a victory.

I hope Arsene Wenger could turn this around. He has never been tested on such a scale before, I hope he gets through it unscathed.

Fergie's new fledgings

Could this be true?

A second era of fledgings since the Beckham, Giggs, Scholes, Neville era?

The hot topic in the new season is all about the new crop of youngsters who combined to thrash Arsenal 8-2, the biggest loss inflicted on any Arsenal side since from long ago.

Such promising talent that Sir Alex could afford to ignore the likelihood of signing Weslet Sneijder, a world class talent in football.

I am excited to see the season pan out, and while many are quick to point out that teams don't win championships with kids, Man Utd is NOT a team of kids... its a team of kids and evergreens like Giggsy. Experience and youthful exuberance is a potent mix in football and when the chemistry is right, you get the Arsenal performance at Old Trafford.

Glory Glory Man Utd.

Reliving glory days of 1994?

In what must be good news to most Singapore fans, we are heading back to the Malaysia Super League.

While the rest of Singapore celebrates the announcement, here is one camper who is not entirely convinced.

To be brutally honest, Singapore going back to the Malaysia Cup is like a desperate attempt to revive interest in local football again. FAS must have realised that the S League has reached a point so low, we need to return to where we ended it off. And the truth is, any move to revive the football scene will yield something. We are so low on crowd attendance in our stadiums, even the local "getai" at our neighborhoods draw larger crowds.

A Singapore Under 23 team with possibly 3 foreigners and 5 full internationals... perhaps we can relive the days of Fandi and Abbas. Maybe we can ignite the passion of our local footballers again, that they will think about playing and impressing in front of big crowds again.

Maybe the competitive rivalry that stems between our neighboring states will bring about the passionate Kallang Roar we sorely miss.

Can we relive the glory days of 1994? I am not sure we can ever revive that old magic. I just know we can go no lower than what we have now, so why do we care where we go?

When you have no idea where to go and have nowhere to go, any road will lead you somewhere.

We are proud of you Singapore Cubs !!

A big congratulations to CR Flamengo for having won the 23rd Lion City Cup. Deservedly crowned champions, the Flamengo team was always the favourites, having come all the way from the land of joga bonito. Nearly every kid on the streets and beaches of Brazil play football by the way, so it wasn't a surprise to see the Flamengo players dance and play football with such comfort and style amongst their fellow peers from Singapore, England and Italy.

But the biggest winners of this tournament must be Singapore. We have witnessed entertaining football on our shores, not least coming from our very own Singapore cubs. After watching the Singapore cubs clinich 3rd place at the last Youth Olympics, I was frankly not the most excited of Singaporeans. I refuse to be carried away by the media attention. The Lion City Cup has however revealed that we have a future in football, yes... Singapore has a future in football, our young boys can play football. If they are given a chance, and if they are coached properly.

We might not have won the tournament, but the Under 16s and the Under 15s clinched 2nd and 3rd spots respectively, no mean feat considering the opposition of Juventus, Everton and Newcastle. What has impressed me most is that our boys played positive football, attacking and inventive football. Most notably, we had young boys who are skilful and determined i.e. Hanafi Akbar and Adam Swandi and we also had strong and steady players who work extremely hard for their teammates, i.e. Dhukilan, Aaravin and almost everyone else on the team roster.

Well done Singapore Cubs, you've shown that you are worthy of wearing the national colors on your jersey. You've taught the Singapore fans (a hard bunch to please by the way) that you are worthy of their support, that you can be something more than your seniors. While this might be a loss today, let it spur you on to be even better players. Who is to say we cannot beat the Brazilians. We nearly did today.

So FAS, please continue your good work with the Cubs, pour resources into these teams, send them overseas for trials, expose them to European and South American football, build a Singapore team that is going to do Singapore proud in 5 years time. Perhaps we could have a go at the World Cup then, but instead of cubs, we will see the Lions roar.

There is only one Scholesy

He scores goals galore,

He scores goals,

He scores goals galore,

He scores goals.

He scores goals galore

He scores goals.

Paul Scholes,

He scores goals

Paul Scholes Chant

The little playmaker of Man Utd's midfield for the past ten years. Man Utd will miss him the most of all recent retirements. There is no one quite like Paul Scholes. He is the genuis that ran the show at every game.

So long Scholesy, the midfield legend of Manchester.

Barcelona was better than Winning Eleven.

For a Man Utd fan, you would think that it is extremely hard for any fan to swallow defeat, especially at the biggest stage in European football, and even more so at Wembley.

But when you witness greatness, you have to acknowledge it and give due credit when you are privileged enought to witness it. To wallow in sorrow will be doing injustice to undoubtedly one of the best team displays ever on a footballing pitch.

Man Utd were quite simply put in their place. There was no evidence of a lack in effort, just an overwhelming difference in quality. At the end of the day, Barcelona has set the bar far higher than what any team will be able to attain to. They have cemented their place in history as the team with the most outrageous possessional control and the perfect final pass in football; those and coupled with the masterful art of zonal pressing when they don't actually have the football at their feet. Gawd, this team is definitely better as a team than the one that tore Man Utd apart in 2009.

When you have Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Villa playing in such perfect tandem, you can only sit and defend (hopefully spring the counter attack), and that is exactly what Man Utd did. *While some might argue that Man Utd could have done better with an extra man in midfield, I doubt it will have changed the result especially when Barca was playing with such poise. Afterall, Man Utd wanted to attack and you've got to applaud their effort to do so.

Unfortunately, Barca rarely if ever make a stray pass, Man Utd was just chasing shadows the whole night. You almost feel sorry for the Man Utd eleven who were on the receiving end of a footballing lesson by Pep Guardiola and his team of artisans. Barca's third goal courtesy of Villa capped a magical night for purists of joga bonito.

Barca was better than Winning Eleven, those fortunate enought to witness it; knew it was unreal. There is no shame Man Utd.

Patrick Kinghorn bites co-host

Hannibal Kinghorn !! Maybe Patrick should consider having his own action figure if he loses his job at Singtel.

What kind of a full-grown man bites another in the face?

Apparently, Kinghorn (with the tie) bit his co host (red polo-tee) in the face... He must have taken the challenge "What're you gonna do? Bite me?" too seriously...

Poor Kui Jien, I hope he is not disfigured too badly, he is afterall the cute commentator on TV. Not too sure if the bite mark Kinghorn left on his face will quite add to that pretty face now.

To Singtel Mio, may I please suggest keeping Patrick Kinghorn around on local TV? I mean seriously, we NEED Patrick to be around. He is so "different" from the rest of the boring, boring entertainers we have on TV these days...

....unlike Patrick Kinghorn, the others just lack bite.

Man Utd on the brink of creating history

While the Premier League has not officially crowned its champions yet, many are already predicting without too much guesswork involved that Man Utd will be crowned English champions for the 19th time in modern history. Mathematically speaking, Man Utd only requires a single point to claim the trophy.

Never had any of the Man Utd fans thought the day will be possible to witness the club claim history as the best club in English football. That honour has rightly been attained by the dominant force in European football in the 80s that is Liverpool.

We tip our hats off to Liverpool for their dominance of football in the 80s but its time to crown Man Utd's era of footballing success. This era has been built on the dedication of legends such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Eric Cantona, Ole Solskjaer, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Peter Schmeichel, Rio Ferdinand, Nemadja Vidic, Edwin Van Der Sar, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Denis Irwin, Andrew Cole and many others from many great teams built over the years by a single man, Alex Ferguson. The key point of continual success is Man Utd's ability to renew themselves and build successful teams consistently.

As surely as the era was started, it might very well end in the next instant. Man Utd will still need to look into rejuvenating its ranks with new talent and future world beaters. Its most difficult task of course will be to replace the manager himself.

But until we think hard about the future of the club, a toast to another twenty years of success !!

Fastest Hat Trick In The Premier League: Robbie Fowler

Robbie Fowler has left Liverpool for about 4 years now. He went on to carve a career for himself in Australia only to find himself back in England, currently serving as Assistant Manager at MK Dons (currently 5th in the English League One).

Well, I began to do a little search for more information about the "God" of KOP and found out that he still holds the record for scoring the fastest hat trick in the English Premier League. Fowler managed this at Anfield on the 28th of August, 1994, during a game against Arsenal.

I look forward to seeing this little feat repeated or beaten and maybe it would be done by one of his disciples at MK Dons.

The White Pele

I saw my mate the other day,

He said he'd seen the white Pele

So I asked "Who is he?"

He goes by the name of Wayne Rooney,

Wayne Rooney, Wayne Rooney,

He goes by the name of Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney, Wayne Rooney,

He goes by the name of Wayne Rooney.

Man Utd "Rooney" Chant

Wayne Rooney might be loud and abrasive but there is no doubt who is the most talented English player.

Quench the fire, and Wayne Rooney is no more who he is. So... get off his back for once.

"Don't 'messi' with me !!" 9 year-old Japanese boy wonder.

Have you seen the next boy wonder of football? The next Lionel Messi?

In the midst of sorrow and loss in Japan, its good to know the Land of the Rising Sun has loads of talent, not least in the department of football.

Don't messi with me !!

Penalties changed the game.

On Saturday evening, we saw Liverpool and Manchester United experience vast differences in their feelings towards penalties. Liverpool was one goal up in the 50th minute and looked to continue their revival, only to have their game thwarted by two penalties in the 62nd and 88th minute. Both penalties were taken by Chris Brunt and they ended Liverpool's run of success in the Premier League. Separated from Manchester City (currently 4th place) by a mere 8 points but with a game down, Liverpool will have to work hard on the rest of their games to put up a challenge for the last Champions League spot. But considering all that has happened with Liverpool this season, we should be glad they are where they are today. It could have been much worse. Manchester United on the other hand were shockingly 2-0 down at Upton Park during Halftime and a 2nd half revival by Wayne Rooney changed the game for them. Rooney's outburst levelled the score by the 73rd minute and a 79th minute penalty gave them the upper hand. They eventually ended winning 2-4 but honestly, I was secretly rooting West Ham at half time when I saw the scoreline at 2-0. Too bad they weren't good enough to defend their lead and to extend it further. I suppose this is what Manchester United is about, what Champions can do even when they are 2-0 down. Two great teams, playing on the same night, but with very different scores and very different feelings at the end of the game, all because of penalties.

Fukushima 50: A Tribute.

To every one of the Fukushima 50: "Never......Was so much owed by so many to so few." - Winston Churchill.

The devastating earthquake in Sendai Japan, has brought upon a sense of reality. The fragility of life is something that we can never ignore no matter how hard we try to defy the odds.

The earthquake itself did not deal much damage but it was the aftermath of it, the tsunami that followed which literally wiped out thousands of lives and progress worth billions. The negligence of a company has sentenced the 200 odd employees, still working hard at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, to certain death.

Though facing insurmountable odds and almost certain death, the valiant group known as the Fukushima 50 have volunteered their lives in exchange for the safety of Japan and the world. While they could have simply lamented about their fate, these brave men and women continued with their cause. Such is the making of heroes. The Japanese have always been known for their Samurai Spirit, which encompasses sacrifice for a cause for which they believe strongly in. While it may have been misused during the past wars, this spirit lives on through the Fukushima 50 who continue to display such perseverance.

I extend my admiration to the Fukushima 50, whose decision to stay on to fight has touched me. I pray for the families of these men and women. My deepest condolences to everyone in Sendai, Fukushima and to Japan. The Japanese speak most about honour and the Fukushima 50 have displayed honour of the highest degree.

Stay strong and fight on. You have the world behind you. Editors at TST truly wish everyone in Japan the very best as you look to bounce back from this setback.

A Father's Goodbye to his family: "Please continue to live well. I cannot be home for a while". Such is the sacrifice and such is the pain. To the family, spouse and children of the Fukushima 50, stand proud as your close one is nothing short of a Hero, nothing short of being the reason why we must live well to honour their efforts and sacrifice.

Silvio Berlusconi on trial for underage prostitution

Italian politics is entertaining, more so than its football actually. With a figure like Silvio Berlusconi as president, Italy has always drawn attention.

Filthy rich, owns a footballing icon in AC Milan, Hugh Hefner-style playboy (this old man actually has a mansion where he keeps his female friends with benefits), powerful... Berlusconi is the idol of many a Italian man, the Italian stallion if you will.

But the president is increasingly losing his allure and power, and sure enough, many analysts will think that this shall mark the beginning of his end.

We all know Silvio probably did have paid sex with the prostitute above (who probably did not tell him she was underage), and he probably did it in a muddle-headed sorta way, unknowingly and stupidly without thinking of consequences. But, isn't that what you will expect from the most powerful man in Italy. I bet he didn't think twice about it... unfortunately

So, its a case of finding something as lame as a sex escapade to bring down one of the most successful presidents of Italy. The same thing we saw with Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, the likelihood we will see a change of power in Italy, except Berlusconi will go out with a whim.

Berlusconi wouldn't have got anything better from his football team either, seeing them crash 0-1 to Tottenham at home. Go Spurs !

Ngog happy to see Torres leave?

I would have thought that the sale of Torres might have been celebrated by David Ngog who have been at Liverpool since 2008 and have struggled to make the first team at Liverpool despite being given many chances to prove himself.

Ngog is a strong, quick and with his agility, has the potential to cause problems for defenders. However, Ngog seems to lack composure in front of the goal and have a poor first touch. More importantly, despite the many opportunities given during Torres absence due to injury, Ngog has failed to impress with a lack of goals to be awarded as a first choice striker at Liverpool. He was benched under Benitez and continued to be regarded as second string during the short stint with Hodsgon.

The sale of Torres could have been the best news for Ngog as he might have enjoyed an automatic promotion to first string under Dalglish. Never did he expect the arrival of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, which may have pushed him down further the pecking order at Liverpool.

Being 21 years of age, Ngog has probably another 2 years to prove himself at Liverpool. Work hard Ngog. Push yourself harder to be a better player. He probably needs some pyschological help and mediation to help him compose himself better when he is most needed, in front of the goal. Replicate your proudest moment during the 2-0 win over Manchester United (2009) in every game you play. Do that and you may enjoy the status of "Legend" at the KOP.

I'm interested to see if Ngog will have what it takes to establish himself at Liverpool. Only time (though not much) will tell.

Manchester is Red.

So much for Man City's striking prowness and cash rich owners, Manchester United still owns Manchester. Man City might have a case for being the better team, but at Old Trafford today, it was Man Utd tops again after yet another stunning derby win.

The Theatre of Dreams has yet another spectacular goal to add to its collection, courtesy of Wayne Rooney's fantastic overhead kick into the top corner. Fitting for a derby winner.

The magic of Manchester United is alive and well.

Unfortunately for the neighbors, Manchester is still red. We are Manchester.

Torres loses

Fernando Torres was non-existent.

Chelski lost despite playing at home and a three pronged attack featuring Anelka, Drogba and Torres.

Liverpool seems to have picked up a dogged revival, most likely influenced by their manager Daglish.

A new goalscoring hero emerges in Raul Meireles.

Chelsea have lost their title bid.

Ancelotti I think will lose his job at the end of the season, and I suspect strongly that there will be a big clearout at Stamford Bridge.

Dizzy end to the transfer window

Desperation drives people to do desperate things.

January's transfer window is always full of melodrama and this season's proved the same.

The biggest involved the 50 million pound transfer of Liverpool's Fernando Torres to Chelsea and the ridiculous (in my opinion) 35 million pound replacement Liverpool bought in Andy Carroll.

Paling in comparison, even though they are huge sums of money too, are the deals in excess of 20 million pounds each for Luis Suarez to Liverpool and David Luiz to Chelsea.

This signals the intent of Chelsea and Liverpool, who are not having the best of seasons.

Well, this is football. Roman Abramovich is starting to throw his weight around again, while Liverpool's owners are sadly just desperate.

Chelsea bought themselves a crocked Fernando Torres really. I don't think he is as good as when he first came to the BPL. I too can't see how you can pair Anelka or Drogba with Torres.

Liverpool bought an unproven striker in Carroll... yes, he scored a few goals this season, but I don't think he is worth more than Berbatov or Darren Bent who moved for 24 million to Aston Villa, for the matter. He is too raw to be worth that much money. Newcastle got themselves a fantastic deal in my opinion, but will they get relegated due to a lack of goals for the rest of the season and wanting money instead? We shall see.

Well, this makes for great entertainment. We will see how it all pans out. But too much stupid money going around for now.

Purpose, not passion

Many a time, you hear the all-too-common and implied phrase "You never get anywhere without passion."

While that is a statement true to a good extent, it is, at least in my opinion overused and misinterpreted.

I prefer to see things from another angle, another perspective, from that of a more significant "p" if you like. I tend to think, "You never get anywhere without purpose."

While obviously passion is a major force, it tends to have little direction unless shaped by purpose.

Maradona has great passion, and boy did the little Argetinian had talent. But all that passion and precocious talent never quite achieved its intended success did it? If you follow Maradona's career, you would most likely have thought "what if"... what if he did not get himself involved with drugs, or perhaps another talented left foot like George Best (above), arguably the most talented British winger... what if he did not fall under the spell of alcohol? They could have had a more fulfilling career, a more... purposeful one perhaps.

I see on mass media too often; the strings attached to passion being used way too rampantly. Young people are told to follow their passions with abandon, to pursue their entrepreneurial spirits with passion and attain success. While it is hard to argue against "doing what you like", I seldom think it is passion that drives someone to success, at least from what I observe, it is purpose, not passion.

Why Liverpool is in danger of losing everything.

Poor management.

And I don't mean the manager, I mean the people in charge in the boardroom.

How does allowing Roy Hodgson to leave at such an early stage in the season do anything to help the cause?

You think Kenny Daglish is going to change anything in the short term?

The problems inherent at Liverpool is that the team is simply not good enough, they are not a great team whereas Tottenham and Man City are building great teams. Secondly, they are way too thin on reserves, other than Torres and Gerrard and maybe Kuyt and Reina, the squad is lacking quality.

So, sacking the manager is NOT going to help. The Liverpool fans are not going to be appeased this season, no way should they be expecting a rousing finish. It is going to be a long rebuilding process, since the days of Rafa Benitez's era of overspending on poor players. No youth players coming up, injuries along the season, impatient and over-eager fanbase, this is a nightmare scenario for King Kenny. He could be fighting a potential relegation battle. We all know how things go in a downward spiral way too quickly.

One of the biggest mistakes made when Newcastle got relegated was releasing Sam Allardyce, and thought that a cult hero in Alan Shearer will lift the spirits of the club.

A club like Liverpool needs stability at the top, and I thought Roy Hodgson was unfairly and prematurely denied his time to do things his way, the Kop didn't allow him and I feel the Kop got it wrong.

FAS axes the whole National Team ?!?!

Excuse me, are you kidding me?

In what is a thinly veiled desperate attempt to "resuscitate" the FAS's reputation and maybe save a few "rice bowls", the FAS has decided to drop ALL current National Team players a.k.a the Lions...

I think this is the lamest piece of news I have ever seen in local football, other than of course the unveiling of the pathetic animal mascots they use for the S-League.

If the FAS think that making a publicity act of and shaming the now ex-Lions will save them the wrath of the Singapore fans, they are sadly mistaken...

For all the bad publicity about lax discipline and true to a good extent; poor performances from the Lions, I don't think the players are all to blame. I mean its been a whole year of dismal results in 2010, surely the man who picked the team Mr Raddy Avramovic and his coaches must take some blame? Surely, the FAS which did not "plan" ahead for the Suzuki Cup, thus leaving us with a bunch of oldies for the tournament should deserve a smacking too?

Anyway, Singapore fans, no matter how die-hard they may be are really just fans of Man Utd, Liverpool and what have you... we are part time Singaporeans when it comes to football. And that is a sad fact; but one that just reflects the dismal state of local football since the days of Fandi Ahmad, Abbas Saad and Sundramoorthy...