The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

If i am going to see papers/headlines/people saying 'Manchester United got a glorious win in the match against Arsenal', it will be clear to me that the world is coming to the end in a couple of years. For godsake, Manchester United sucked at playing football tonight. It was very much evident. Arsenal played far below the level that was set by them in the first half, after they conceded the penalty. I think that this team doesn't like going a goal or two down. That's good but, you need to be able to cope with such circumstances if we were going to win a title this year. If we cannot put up a comeback, we should atleast make use of all the opportunities that are thrown at us at he other end. That didn't happen. We missed quiet a few sitters, especially in the first half and one in the second which was made and then wasted by Diaby.

I am not totally disappointed but, this was a game that Arsenal could have won quite easily. That's why I am pissed! The refereeing was average. But, no complaints on that, except for the penalty shout by Arshavin. I think that it would have been a penalty in most cases. Arshavin pulled the ball back before he was run over by Fletcher/Carrick. If he would have been going forward that would have been more dramatic and would have resulted in a penalty and a sending off, maybe. But, I would blame it on our players, who didn't finish the game when there were many chances to do it! An Arshavin low cross was met by Van Persie and was cleared off the legs of Foster. I thought that VnP could have been more clinical in his finishing. Every Arsenal player played well, i thought. Luck has deserted us in the right moments. Van Persie hit the post from a wonderful free kick and that could have wrapped up the mach if it has gone in. I should admit that the team lacked creativity in the center of the park though they were brilliant on the wings. Manuel Almunia is looking like he's gonna make a mistake every game that will eventually result in a goal and make it a blunder. He had a touch on Rooney, who was waiting to go down, and gave away a penalty. Anyway we go into the international break now, for two weeks. Hope the lads do well for their countries and return without any new injuries! Put this game in a sack and throw it into the ocean. Gun for Glory!

THE GOOD

Arshavin had a penalty shout turned down by the ref. He could have scored even before the was tackled was made. He had that much space. But, it didn't go as planned. Within minutes he got the ball on the left hand side from Denilson. Vidic didn't close him down and he showed why he is considered such a dangerous player. He blasted the ball into the top corner, to the right side of Foster who got fingers on the ball but, it wasn't enough to stop the cannon unleased by the little Russian.

THE BAD

Some one played a through ball into the Arsenal box. Rooney was right behind it. Almunia called and was charging at the ball. He made a dive, only to find the feet of Rooney, who immediatly went down and took the penalty.

AND THE UGLY!

It was a free kick to Giggs. Some 35-45 yards out. A ball was played into the box. It didn't look dangerous. The next moment, the ball was in the back of the net. I would have liked to see a United player's name on the scoresheet then, but unfortunately it was Abou Diaby. He was having a good game and suddenly this happened. It wasn't dangerous, he wasn't under pressure by any player but he made a blunder that had cost us the match. He tried to cover up his fault, but he couldn't put the ball in the back of the net from the space which he had created for himself. I thought that Wenger would sub him after the incident, there are two sides for every coin and he stuck with Diaby who was trying hard to make amends.

Later then!
Atleast U have a goodnight's sleep!
(Publishing this late coz the server was down)

Look whoz on the Google Maps...

I was just stumbling though my blog traffic monitor this morning and decided to have a look at my home town.

I tracked down my school(Siddhartha Public School). The following image gives an aerial view of it.


Interestingly, I also found a fork and a spoon beside Nalanda Vidyanikethan. Are you thinking that I'm crazy. No, its' the symbol for a restaurant or diner or hotel. It is unnamed. But, anyone living in Vijayawada will know that it's SSS Cool Drinks, a small idly serving hotel, yet largely popular, in Vijayawada. It is my grand father's establishment. :P


Cheers!

UEFA Champion's League Club Logos

It's like living in a jungle. There are bats, frogs, birds and all kinds of insects entering my room.

UEFA Champion's League Groups

Group A:

Bayern Munich
Juventus
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa

Group B:

Manchester United
CSKA Moscow
Besiktas
Wolfsburg

Group C:

AC Milan
Real Madrid
Marseille
Zurich

Group D:

Chelsea
Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL

Group E:

Liverpool
Lyon
Fiorentina
Debrecen

Group F:

Barcelona
Inter
Dynamo Kyiv
Rubin Kazan

Group G:

Sevilla
Rangers
Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni

Group H:

Arsenal
AZ
Olympiacos
Standard Liege

:X

It is disgusting to see people leaning on(sometimes sleeping on) the counter in front of them, waiting for their food to arrive in SAC, or any other public place/bank. What kind of a person does that when there are people lining up behind him?


Next time, stand straight! Unless you are required to!
:P

Big 5 Clash No.1

Well, i have decided to include Manchester City in the race for top four spots, but it's just for the sake of contention. It may be Tottenham Hotspur who might give the big 4 a run for their money, if they keep up their good form. But, I seriously doubt that.

***I am currently facing difficulties trying to login to the Fantasy Premier League site. So, I couldn't think of anything else but write this post.***

I has been a good week of prediction for me. Many of the outcomes were very obvious. Manchester City's mere 1-0 win over wolves and United's unexpected 5-0 win over Wigan may be misplaced score lines in my prediction book. We had to share the T.V in the common room, 15 minutes Arsenal game and 15mins ManU's. Didn't watch it the way I wanted to but, we've seen a lot of goals. The goals that I liked were those of Diaby(1st goal, nice work by Eduardo), Ramsey(finishing a good through ball from Van Persie), Owen(i liked the neat finish but Nani made the goal possible, he was shouting for Owen to make the run he wanted!) and that of Berbatov. In all fairness, I thought that Wigan were threatening at times. I would have liked to see them finish with a couple in the back of the net, but the goal keeper ruined all efforts.

Update: I've got 28 points and 5 players are due to play tomorrow. Song was subbed out for Carr and I'm lucky to get his 6 points. :)

Well, this only means one thing. The build up for the match next week between Arsenal and Man United is very good. Both teams are in scoring form. So, we could expect a fast paced, "both teams scored" match the coming weekend. Or, it will end up as a disappointing 0-0. I will be satisfied with a draw at Old Trafford but, I am predicting the score to be 2-1, in favour of the Arsenal.

Your predictions can be posted in the comments.

The day of the Underdogs!

Well, I am loving this premier league. It's going to be a lot tougher than anything I've seen for some time. Game week 2 is finally over and the results are as follows:

Sunderland 1 - 3 Chelsea
Wigan 0 - 1 Wolves
Birmingham 1 - 0 Portsmouth
Burnley 1 - 0 Man Utd
Hull City 1 - 5 Tottenham
Liverpool 4 - 0 Stoke City

Firstly, Chelsea did not impress me when they conceded in the first half. I had fielded Ashley Cole and Mikel in my fantasy league and Cole came up with two bonus points but, I would have also liked to have the 4 for a clean sheet as well. Mikel, has lost his starting place now. I only bought him because he is only 5 million and the manager made the following quote on his deal extension:

"I have a lot of trust in Mikel, I think he can be the playmaker of this team. He is a young player, but has great quality, both technical and tactical. For the present and for the future he is a very important player for us. We are very happy he has signed a new contract and I hope that he stays at Chelsea for a lot of years."

Apparently, I now believe that it was only said to facilitate the deal and he was playing only in the first halves for the last two games. And now he will be confined to the bench.


Birmingham won over Pompy at home. I kind of predicted the result correctly before the match. Though it was only a late late goal, the win was deserving. Wolves and Burnley picked up wins against Wigan and Manchester United respectively. I have a feeling that MU's hopes of retaining the title might be all but over by the end of this month. An away game against Wigan, then the two tough fixtures at home against Arsenal and Manchester City might be the time when United fans go into a state of shock and Alex will be looking for answers from the transfer market. They might be fighting for Champion's League qualification from then on! But, lets not draw too many conclusions from the so little we have seen here. But, I would love the prospect of them trying to hang on to the Champion's league spot. (:P)


Liverpool won comfortably at home to stoke city. While Defoe and Tottenham blasted Hull away 1-5. I will not be drawing too many conclusions here but, I think it would be very unlikely that, they would be maintaining this kind of form through out the season and will be a fiercely competing for the fourth spot.

That's it for now! 35 points from game-week 2. Not disappointed!
Cheers!

Aaaaaahhhhh

No, it's not about the 1-0 score line that Arsenal are enjoying at half time, at Celtic park. It's for the matter that I could not watch the game, live. We have a f**king problem here. Hello! Anybody listening? Firstly, there is no 10Sports on the TV. Amazingly, there is Zee Sports which is telecasting live footage of the Sporting- Florentina game. After zapping through all the channels, which is very annoying when you have a broken remote and shattered buttons on the TV panel, I return to the room and am now watching the game(text only commentary) on the network.

H.Rep Sandy, why don't we get a new TV for our hostel or as a matter of a fact a new remote would be fair enough for the time being.

End of Gameweek1

The end of game week 1 and i have 49 57 points in my first ever fantasy premier league game week.

Sorensen and Rooney top scored for me with '9' points each :P while Carragher finished at 0.

What a waste!

Hoping to do well in the next game week.
Good night.

Jumping with Joy!

The Arsenal vs Everton match was just concluded. The score line reads 6-1. And I guess that, it would be enough to shut some people up. After all the non sense in papers and on the internet, Arsenal have finally replied. And boy, didn't they do it in style.

I think that the 4-3-3 is working for us. Credit to Mr.Wenger for putting it to use. And, what will be a formation, without the players that actually make it up. The boys showed great spirit. Yeah, it's clearly evident in their body language. Bendtner running back to support the defense was an indication. He has really matured as a player. Though he played only 60 minutes, it was enough to impress me. He almost opened the scoring with a cracker of a shot. But, it just missed the target. He and Cesc then, set up Denilson for the first goal of the match. I haven't seen most of the other games, but it's definetly going to be the goal of the week.

I wasn't so sure to put up Denilson in my fantasy league team, thinking that he might not start but the injuries to Walcott and Diaby have given him a chance and he did make full use of it.The goal was an absolute screeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaamer. He has also cleared a dangerous ball from an Everton corner from our goal line. Song was really impressive. He showed great composure. Won several challenges and was in the right places to clear the ball away when needed. His passing was solid and he never really gave away the ball.


Vermaelen and Gallas scored the 2nd and 3rd goals respectively, from well taken set pieces. Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie get the assists. It showed that the team are working well on several weaker aspects of our game. Vermaelen was absolutely superb in defense. He made several crucial tackles and was always attacking the arial ball against the giant Fellaini.


At Half Time: Arsenal 3-0 Everton

Arshavin was a bit off his game today but still showed hints of his magical touch, when he started the play that led to the 4th goal. Actually, it was Fabregas who triggered the run of Van Persie, who returned the ball back to the sprinting Fabregas to make it 4-0. Fabregas made it 5, with a coolly taken shot from 25 yards. The goalkeeper Howard had no chance. He dedicated the goal to Espanyol captain Dani Jarque who passed away recently. It was a nice gesture from the 22 year old. He and VnP were later subbed and Ramsey and Eduardo were brought in to join Eboue who was brought in in place of Bendtner earlier.

Arshavin almost scored when he tried to place a shot from close range. But, the post was able to deny it. Unfortunately for Everton, the ball landed at the feet of Eduardo who had the easiest goal of the match.

In injury time, a little error from the defense enabled Luis Saha to score. But, he knew it was pointless and didn't celebrated.


My Man of the Match: Captain Fantastic Cesc Fabregas
2nd: Van Persie
3rd: Vermaelen/ Song

In the post match press conference, the captain made some valuable points. You can read them here.

I believe that the lads are determined to win something this season. But, the team needs to be together and I would not like to see any more transfers out of the club. With this emphatic victory, I guess that it wouldn't be a surprise if AW will not make any more signings before the deadline.

FPL

Hello everyone,

If you are a Barclay's Premier League fan, join the Barclay's Fantasy Premier League and test your managerial skills.

Here's the link.

Gameweek1 is kicking off right away and here is my team:


It would be nice if enough Bitsians sign up. We can make a private league and compare our scores with one another.

Hoping that the guys do well :P

The Final Verdict before Kickoff!

Well, well, well, the big moment is finally here. It's the kickoff for the Barclays' Premier League Season tomorrow and I am thrilled about it. Most Arsenal fans are in total disbelief before the start of the season but, I differ with them. I think this might be the season, in which our trophy drought will finally end. Nothing wrong in being a bit optimistic/realistic. I know that many have thought the same way before the start of our four previous campaigns, and were saddened to see the team not win anything at the end. I do not think that Cesc will be leaving the club this month. All the lads are really motivated and also have just the right amount of experience they need to prove the bookies wrong. Some things that will slow us down and have been doing so for some time now will be the injuries and the lack of an experienced bench.

Well, anyway here is my final verdict;

Chelsea look the strongest team on paper and a lot of depth in their squad, and this might be sufficient to win them the premier league, unless they goof up. There is no major improvement in the standard of the team with minimal activity in the transfer market. But, the advantage they have is that the rest of the BIG3 have supposedly been weakened by the departure of their star players.

Liverpool did well the previous season. But, they are a team that relies majorly on two key players, namely Torres and Gerrard. They cannot afford a injury to any of them.They also have a very poor defense. The loss of Xabi Alonso will add to this. Their key defenders are recovering from injuries and are doubtful for the first one or two games. If they lose points in these games, i do not see them competing for the honors at the end of it.

Manchester United will not win the title for sure. Rooney will be their key player and we may also expect him to pick up a couple of reds, unable to control his anger/rage on the pitch. They will not loose sight of the 1st place but, I do not see them winning. They still have their defense in tact and the major worries would be the injuries to Van Der Sar and Vidic at the start of the season. They have the easiest first 3 fixtures and this might save them from losing precious points.

Arsenal have the toughest start to the season with fixtures involving Everton, Manchester United and City(all AWAY fixtures) in the first 5 weeks. They also have their Champion's League qualifier against Celtic in between. It's a worrying start but, it can be crucial. If the team manages to get the most out of these fixtures, it will definitely boost their confidence and we could be gunning for glory. If we falter, we would have to fight out for the fourth Champion's League place against City or Liverpool.

I "feel"(it's a lot different from "think", if you know what i'm saying) that this would be the final league table(with the current teams and injuries out of cosideration )

1.Arsenal. Arshavin and Van Persie will break down defenses.
2.Liverpool. Will power prevails.
3.Chelsea. The slightly older team.
4.Manchester United. It will be close.
5.Everton. Not City, because of their relatively weak midfield and defense.

In the champion's league final however, I would like to see Barcelona and Real Madrid fight it out for the title. I don't think any other club can stop these Spanish Giants.

Will the BIG 4 really get toppled?

This the big question on every Barclays' Premier League fan. If yes is your answer, who will be the team that will break into the top 4? Will it be the heavy spenders Manchester City? Or, will it be one of Everton or Villa?


As I see it, Manchester City is the only club with a chance to break into the top 4. But, not with the team they have now. They would need a couple of good signings to reinforce their defense and also an excellent winger if they are going to play a 4-3-3. Another reason why I would fancy Manchester City to do this is because, they do not have any other major commitments, except the league, this season. Everton and Villa have a chance to battle it out for the Europa League.

It's going to be sensational season and i can't wait for it to get started. Will bring you more on my predictions for this season tomorrow.

The Over hyped USA!

This has nothing to do with my opinion on USA as a country. It's developed and also a beautiful country. The topic of discussion in this post is about the attitude of Indians(especially those from Andhra Pradesh) involved in trying to pursue a higher degree/ a post graduate degree. The only choice that is visible to most is, writing the GRE and applying for an American based university/college. There is no comparative study between both the possible options. Most of us, just go by the fact that everyone around us is doing it, so why don't we try and do it. Even the parents have a fixed mindset. I only urge you to think carefully before taking any major decision in life.


Why am I talking about all this? Recently, I saw a section in a local newspaper offering condolences to an eminent person. Some of the people in the list of relatives had their name given in the following format,

Quickgun Murugan, USA

What the hell is USA there for? I guess it isn't necessary for anything else other than hype. Gone are the days when people used to follow up a name with their educational qualifications like MBBS, MBA, BS, MS, etc. I guess that the future name plates, hanging in front of homes, would carry names that are similar to the one that is mentioned below:

Coltrane Carter, USA, England, Spain, France.

And when names like these become a usual thing in the society, it will be...

Mr.XXX, Moon,Mars.

Cheers!

The Suffering!

Well, all's not well in the start of the new and final semester at college for me and a few of my friends too, i guess. The major problems that we are facing now is are

1. Constant and unscheduled power cuts throughout the day.
2. LAN and Server problems.
3. And more importantly, the decrease in the number of companies that are actually coming to the campus for offering jobs to students.

One thing the power cuts are good for is that they eliminate the need for the use of an alarm. The power goes out at 7:15 in the morning and it is almost impossible to continue sleeping, with sweat pouring down the skin and the bed getting soaked up with it. This has exponentially increased the number of people who are going to the mess to have their morning breakfast. The good things stop there. People are dying with the anxiety of waiting for the power to turn back on. We never know when the power will go out again, in between. By the time it's 4pm, it's time for ROUND 2. It's blazing hot outside and very sweaty inside the room. With nothing else to do, we are going out into the blazing sun and having a game of cricket. I actually hope that the power goes out in this time because no one seems to interested in playing if the lights are still on!

There seems to be a problem with the server in our hostel, but i do not find it that irritating. After all, without electricity in our rooms, what's the matter in having a power backup to your server.

The burning problems discussed above are because of the heat this summer. They maybe gone after a month or two. But, the real burning problem is the fact that campus placements are not going to be happening at the same pace as they have been a year back. Hoping that everyone and that includes me get a job offer this semester, if they really want to do a job.

***Edit*** There were also no mentionable games, that released during the summer, to play now and have a break from this Suffering. I think that's a good thing that happened. Otherwise, my hope for getting a job offer would be gone. Just kidding. :P

That's it for today. Take Care.

181 Posts, last published on May 5, 2009

It's time to break the silence. Hehe, funny isn't it.I will not be able to make any noise by typing from my computer. Anyway, it's been a torrid, uncomfortable and a sweaty summer vacation for me. There is no way one can go out when the sun is out. And, for that matter, it's blazing hot from 8am to 6:30 pm. That's the reason why my hometown is called B(l)ezawada. I haven't done anything remarkably useful during my summer vacation. Played a lot of PES on my playstation and after getting back to college now, i find FIFA09 to be a bit crappy. Well, there is no such thing like perfect in the world of games or movies, is there?

I watched the closing stages of the IPL to start of with. I felt some sadistic happieness on seeing the Delhi Daredevils knocked out of the tournament by Deccan Chargers. This was primarily due to the fact that a bunch of my friends who were DD supporters, hated my favourite team, the Chennai Super Kings. So, it was mutual hate of the other's team, and nothing much. But, the happieness hadn't last long because CSK were knocked out in the match against the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Ironically, the two teams that finished last in the inaugural IPL beat the teams that finished 1st and 2nd in the league this year to seal a place in the final. Eventually, the Deccan Chargers won the tournament and were crowned champions. This made all of us happy as we belong to the Deccan region.


Immediately, the world cup followed in a summer of non-stop T20 action. It was a disappointing campaign for India. Most people haven't expected such kind of collapse. The Indian's so called 'weakness' to short pitch deliveries was exploited by West Indies and there was not way that we would make a reversal of the situation, we were in. There was a major attitude problem in the players, who were defending their Championship. To be champions, we have to play like champions. After the debacle, the media pointed fingers at the mangement and Dhoni. Dhoni rightfully apologized to the fans after the team's dismal performance in England.


Then it was immediatly off to the Carribean to hear some Calypso beats. West Indies is a struggling side internally, but are always dangerous to deal with. Yuvraj was continuing his brilliant run of form while captain fantastic Mahendra Sing Dhoni single handedly led a fight which ended up in vain in the 2nd ODI. The third ODI was rain struck and ultimately saw a dramatic finish. 11 runs were needed of the last over and Dhoni hit a six off Taylor to take a lead in the series. 2-1. The West Indies were dying to level the series in the final ODI but the rain gods had other plans. The match was abandoned and India salvaged some pride. What's interesting is the fact that it was only the 2nd series win for India in the West Indies.


Guess what, Baichung Bhutia's prediction(and mine too) was right. Barcelona eased past Manchester United in the champions league final. Chelsea came back from a goal down to lift the FA Cup, against Everton. And the transfer season, till now has been absolutely fantastic. I say this because, it's looking like it's going to be tough BPL season for all the top 4 teams. I still don't feel that ManCity will be able to clallenge any of the Top 4. They have players who have a lot of ego problems and they never really strengthened their defense. The mid field too is isn't good enough to break their way into the top4. Arsenal sign Thomas Vermaelen to fill in the problematic Left back role. I would have also loved to see Felip Melo at the club but he is now with Juventus. Wenger says that he is interested in signing Brede Hangeland and Chamack before the transfer window closes. Those will be good additions to an injury prone team like ours. I would say with 92% certainity that Manchester United will not be winning the league this season. Hope all goes well for the Gooners, this time. Arshavin my hero.


This is the fianl semester on-campus. We should have been busy with placement preparations and interviews, but the bad news is that the Recession hasn't really slowed down. There are only 10-15 companies coming out to the campus.

So, that's it for now. Have a great sunday!