Corner flag (vol 2.8) - Italy's finest hour

The group phase is over and now its time for tears at the end of every game.

And indeed there were tears at the end of the best game of the World Cup so far - when Italy went out to Slovakia. The defending champions finished last and were booted out. It was quite interesting right from the beginning as the Italians went down a goal early and the Slovaks attacked the pretty heavy legged Italians right through the game.

But in the second half of the second half, the Italians came alive to put together a passionate performance that I haven't quite seen before. So much so that I was hoping they score the requisite number of goals to go through. It was driven by the desperation of the situation that the Italians found themselves having to play out of their shorts to get something - fantastic goal by Quagliarella and they should have had couple more; but time ran out and saw Captain Cannavaro shepherding his players back to the dressing room in a hurry. A bit of irony in all of this - the most ineffective Italian team was by the far the most entertaining Italian side I have seen in a long while. Their finest hour in my opinion.

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Game 1 of Uruguay vs South Korea just finished and Uruguay have won. Which was my prediction. Seriously.

Rest of the games are:
1) USA vs Ghana
Ghana to win 1 nil

2) Germany vs England
Germany through hopefully, though Beckenbaur is shooting his mouth as always and thats not a good sign for the Germans

3) Argentina vs Mexico
Though I have just had a fabulous Mexican meal and been hearing all things bright and beautiful about Mexico, Argentina should win quite comfortably

4) Netherlands vs Slovakia
2 - 1 to Netherlands

5) Brazil vs Chile
Brazil to scrape through

6) Paraguay vs Japan
Paraguay 1 nil

7) Spain vs Portugal
Spain to go through. This will ensure the Year of the Tiger shortlist down to 3.

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If everything works as expected, we could see Netherlands vs Brazil quarters. Which will be quite a game I think.

After the most dramatic game, here goes another stalwart - before he catches the flight to the Middle East and work on his pension fund.

Picture from the Guardian: Fabio Cannavaro wipes away the tears as he leaves the pitch. This could well be his last match. What a stinker

                                                             

Corner flag (vol 2.7) - World Cups and the Year of the Tiger

                                     
1. A funny forward that I received this morning:

From an English guy: "This World Cup is like WWII. The French surrendered early, the USA arrive at the last minute and we're left to fight the Germans, ahahaha"


2.  My "welcome" moment to the city that I live in, happened a few hours before the Italy - France final four years ago. Where I realised the rather scientifc Chinese love for astrology. I call it analysing patterns, which is the eternal truth of life: its all about cycles.

Hypothesis: Extrapolating the theory, a quick run through of World Cup winners in the Year of the Tiger and the following emerges:
1998: France
1986: Argentina
1974: West Germany
1962: Brazil
1950: Uruguay
1938: Italy

Conclusion: there has never been a repeat winner during the Year of the Tiger World Cups.

Inference: Looking at the elite 9, this means 4 possible winners: England, Portugal, Spain and Holland.

Action point: To the lucky few who manage to read this, one should use this path breaking finding at the time of the semi-finals when deciding on whom to bet. 

My view: its got 2 of the names I dont want anywhere near the semi-finals, 1 where I didn't think there is any reserve fuel in the radiator and finally the one that I would like to win. So far so good. Lets see how it all develops.


3. Moving 2 dimensions forward into the world of club football and Arsenal Football Club, there is a pretty interesting article on BBC on how Arsenal is well poised at the moment to move ahead of its peers - with the focus on finances. Which is crucial at this time when the Western European economies have got to get used to tighter bank balance sheets.

The article refers to recent Deloitte and Forbes reports on Football clubs, which highlight the uptrend in the financial fortunes of Arsenal - backed by of core footballing business strategy and prudent spending by the manager through the last 6 years or so. Any reader who would like a copy of the Deloitte report can drop his/her email id in the comments section.

Which only leads me to strengthen my belief that the next decade is going to be Arsenal's.Though much work needs to be done this summer: keeping Fabregas, replenishing the defence + goalkeeper smartly and some fresh thinking on the coaching bench.

_________________________________________________________

Another chap thats done for World Cups and European club football as well. Good night and good luck.

                                                     

Corner flag (vol 2.6) - France vs England

Before I get to my thoughts on the teams that will make it through to the next round, the most captivating development over the 10 days has been the turmoil at the English and French camps.

Hilarious stuff, especially when Richard Williams writes about how John Terry was right to bring up his issues with Fabio Capello publicly and also when he talks about his immense joy at seeing the French cower in mediocrity. Complete SOB this Williams dick - most English scribes have suddenly forgotten how efficient Capello was in disciplining the team and in driving the team to win all their qualifying games. Oops, who cares about that any more, when English passion (epitomised by the holy cunt John Terry) is at stake? The last I heard, some fucking random English journalist was complaining about cutting the WAGs from the squad.Where is Sven they ask.

It is true that the French have been guilty of revolting against their manager in a manner that only they can (refused to train, some one sniched on the other and got him sent off) and it is also true that English have been rather pathetic as a football team. Fucking idiots is all I can say, once again.

Since I dont read French newspapers, I admit I might not be best representing the case of "Who is the bigger twit?": French journalists vs English journalists & English footballers vs French footballers. Such is life.

Moral of the story: there is no difference between the 2 teams. Twits.

________________________________________________________________________

1 final game to go for each team in the first round, and the winners from each group will be:

1) Group A: Uruguay, Mexico
Will be the end of France and the last we should have hopefully seen of Domenech: a twit beyond redemption. 

2) Group B: Argentina, Korea to scrape through
Argentina have been coming together on the pitch and then they do look pretty unbeatable. Until they meet quality opposition I would think, which will be soon. Likely to make it to the semis.

3) Group C: USA, England
Unfortunate, but I hope I am wrong on this one i.e. England should get kicked out

4) Group D: Germany, Serbia
Tough call, as Ghana leads the group as of now - but one has to remain loyal to the initial Serbia call.

5) Group E: Netherlands, Denmark
Pretty scrapy games from the Dutch so far, but being able to grind results without losing their heads is good news. So far. The Danes I believe will have enough to sort the Japs out. Would be interesting how they develop through this tournament, and, of course, much would depend on the availability of Prince Bendtner.

6) Group F: Paraguay, Italy
Must admit that the big surprise was watching the Italians. None of the Armani model look alikes strutting around, but some very lean, balding, young players that want to play football. Clearly they do have the potential to surprise later in the tournament. But their strikers are still quite ugly - footballistically I mean.

7) Group G: Brazil, Portugal
Friday's game should be interesting - will let us know if I was wrong in ruling them out. The Portugal left back has clearly been the player thats caught my eye so far - Fabio Coentrao. And so has

8) Group H: Chile, Spain
Real tough one after the early surprise win for the Swiss against the Spaniards. Nice to see the Spaniards sweat, but should make it through with a win against Chile. Dont think the Swiss will beat Honduras. Their captain however Zokhan Inler has been quite solid at central midfield.
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I think one has finally seen the end of this chap's World Cup career. Adios.

                                       

Corner flag (vol 2.5)

Carrying on from four years ago, listing down my take on what this world cup is likely to offer. I realise that setting targets of this sort is a game of 'analysis' vs 'hope' - and therefore each comment will be qualified as either one of them (A or H).

As I write, its Day 3 already, and have the hindsight of a few games - of which I must admit the England - USA result was reassuring and in line with expectations. Its a nil-nil draw at the Ghana Serbia game at the moment. 

1. Favourites to win the World Cup:  Brazil (H)
Not the usual flamboyant boys, but its the Dunga boys that will do the job. Dogged and quite solid. There is worry about Luis Fabiano scoring goals, but I reckon Kaka will be ready for this; having had a quiet season at Madrid, he is going to be key behind any success for Brazil. 

2. Footballer of the tournament: Kaka (H)
Tough one, considering all the talent that exists in the Spanish side. 

3. Teams among the elite lot that look good and that could win: Argentina (H) & Holland  (H)
Elite set being Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France, England, Portugal and Holland. Obviously Brazil & Spain are universally recognised as the favourites, which I kind of agree with. But its 2 of the others that I am going to have my eye on - Argentina and Holland.

Despite being led by Maradona, Argentina have a crew of top dog, experienced footballers. Will be interesting to watch their progress and a lot would depend on how much the players want to play for each other.

Which has historically been the problem with the Dutch as well, but I think they have an understated coach and team of former hot heads who have matured over the last couple of years. Questions about defence exists, but quality midfield and forward line.

Portugal - they have been awfully quiet all the way to the finals. To quote Jacques Kallis, do they have some reserve fuel in the radiator to surprise? I don't think so.

4. Teams that wont do well: Spain (H) & England (H)
Nothing much to say over here.

5. Teams from the non-Elite lot that will do well: Serbia (H)
Purely intuitive - ok this is how it goes: Croatia did well in 1998, the Czechs did well in Euro 2004, so one of the teams from that region is likely to do well some time soon. Intuition of the Times of India kind I suppose.

Serbia finds itself in a tough group and its the 66/1 odds that make it interesting. Though I have just learnt that the super, talented striker Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina plays for Montenegro and not Serbia - which was one of the reasons behind my Serbia pick much before the tournament began.

That incidentally just shows the level of analysis thats gone behind this -  as any astute reader would have already picked up.

(Ghana just scored - so already getting fucked)

7. Source of likely fuck up for me : Not rating the African teams at all (A)

_______________________________________

Since the first round is well under way, I shall update my picks of teams that are likely to progress by Wednesday.

Though I am loyal to no particular team in such competitions, its going to be the Dutch that I'll be following closely this world cup. Heres to hoping that they win.

                                       

A world champion

Its not often I can say that we have a world champion amongst us. Infact, Viswanathan Anand just retained his World Championship title in chess. Who would have known he was a World Champion already? Lalit Modi and the fake IPL blogger wouldn't. So wouldn't Arundhati Roy for that matter. And why should anyone expect Shah Rukh Khan and his best friend Yuvraj Singh to do so? It may also be due to the fact that one is so far away from Rajdeep Sardesai these days. Maybe I am full of shit, just like the others.

And it all came about, by this innocous link that I saw right at the bottom of the Times of India web page today. A fascinating write up by one Hari Hara Nandan ensured that I managed to read a ToI article from start to finish. Which is a first, I think. Got to reproduce the best bits from this exciting article on the 12th game from Sofia, Bulgaria.


There is a saying in chess that if black is hell bent on going for a draw (of course, in top-flight competition), there is nothing white can do about it. The Bulgarian found a determined black in Anand, who was solid as a rock in defence. A draw was looming ever since Anand made his second move going for the extra-solid Queen's Gambit Declined, which has hundreds of lines analysed deep into the endgames.

But there was a dramatic turnaround in around move 30 when Topalov stretched the position by going all out.

With black, Anand did not want to do anything special, except bore Topalov to death. The Bulgarian, known for his attacking chess and also for scoring points in the last rounds when it mattered the most, tried to break through the Lasker Defence put up by Anand, a line that has been played time and again for a century. Expectedly, the players reeled off the first moves quite fast and then on move 16, Anand followed a road less travelled by posting the knight in the sixth rank. It was time for Topalov to take a break and analyse the position. Whether it surprised him or not, it was clear that Topalov was not completely comfortable with his preparation anymore.
                             

Corner flag (vol 2.4)

Its been days since I've checked football websites, blogs, news. Its the feeling of guilt. Of shame. Of disgust.

Its the final stretch of the season and we, Arsenal fans, are left holding our nuts in full public view. Its that familiar territory of failure that I am staring at - after a horrendous come back defeat to Wigan right after our first loss to the neighbours in over 10 years.

Balls they could become bigger players - the self-destructive ability, which has happened before even with the famous players in the side, has demonstrated yet again the lack of consistency that continues to plague the team. All the Wenger baiters are out in full force - for not having a team that wins things. A valid point I admit. The heat, rightly, should be turned on and the manager made amply aware that not all supporters believe that he is the right person to manage the club.

On such situations in the past, I have had discussions with fellow Arsenal supporters on the reasons behind our frustration. We go through all the well compiled reasons: not spending enough and therefore not having enough experienced players, lots of guys who do not deserve to be part of this team, injuries etc.. yawn. But it does boil down to Arsene Wenger. Doesnt it? Yes. So I then ask the question: do you want a new manager?

Some say yes, while most are agnostic. I belong to the "Wenger should continue" camp (though I am not one to claim something as twitty as "In Arsene We Trust"). But, as I have admitted before, I am a part-time twit and as a general principle of twits, I believe that all focus should be on the "means" and that the "end" will eventually take care of itself. I do realise that it sounds highly wankish but what to do, that's the way it is.

The fact that we have a strong club in terms of ownership, finances and structure is a considerable achievement - especially at a time when the rest of the big 3 are being weighed down by humongous debt. But no one gives a fart about achievements of that sort - as winning is the only thing. Just as building more homes in the US was the only thing a few years ago. Of course, winning is important, but the gumption to chart a different path is way more appealing and with the hope that it will eventually come together. Mr. Wenger has embarked on a path (of some sort of neanderthal philosophical belief - which I completely connect with) that may only be successful in winning sweet fuckall before he leaves or is asked to leave. But then, such is life, such is football and such are the travails of having general principles.
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Third ball has left this planet and that should be the last we've heard from the little fucker. So its back to square one for me and more monkey business.
                                  

Corner flag (vol 2.3)

It eventually was one of the most exciting games that I have ever witnessed. Out played for significant periods of time, to come back and equalise in the manner they did, was just fucking fantastic. Yes, we lost Fabregas and Arshavin for rest of the season, but the final 30 minutes was just fucking brilliant - a bit emotional for the monkey over here and for scores of other monkeys around the world.

Its only half-way though the QF and with our 2 best players out, its going to be a bigger ask away at Nou Camp. But its all there to play for as Petit declares over here. With our squad decimated, its pointless to analyse our chances in the Champions league and the Premier league. Its down to the 12-14 players that remain to become bigger players (in height, skills and mental ability) - one way that can happen, is to plug into the Matrix.

In other words, I don't expect them to win anything - but have every opportunity to become bigger players by putting on a show - for the club, for us monkeys and for themselves. Its time to hope and only hope - which is not a bad thing honestly.

                       

Corner flag (vol 2.2)

In a few hours, one of the most anticipated games of the season kicks off in North London. Arsenal vs Barcelona Champions league QF. Much has been written of the 2 stylish teams - but they couldn't have been more different - one a champion of all silverware last year and the other, a young, naive lot who have won nothing.

It is going to be tough for Arsenal no doubt. Wenger has, as always before big games, challenged his team to beat the odds and their more accomplished opponents. As I have been saying on Corner flag before, its all down to the mental ability of the team to deliver a balanced performance. Calmness in attacking, defending tightly when not in possession and keeping shape at all times. I continue to think that the ingredients, in terms of players, are there and have developed even further this season. It pretty much boils down to being alive for 90 minutes and not getting excited. Its about learning from the quite a few fuckups that have occurred this year.

Will they do it? We have faced this question a few times before. I remember Feb 2007 Carling Cup finals against Chelsea - there were similar expectations; "could this be the win thats going to kick-start a secular championship winning run?" I remember thinking then:  "Could this be the silverware that is going to infuse that mental ability, that confidence, to be feared, to be champions". Balls happened (and a few red cards), as we now know. Following year it was the league that was promising - captain & an ankle exploded and all confidence quickly vanished. Last year, the expectations never really took off - but this year, its all holding together. Strangely.

But, can they beat Barcelona - over 2 legs and do the impossible? I think they will. But I am a monkey, so the fact that I do think Arsenal will beat the greatest club in the world shouldn't surprise you.

The manager has toned down his "public" expectations of his team and has on a few occasions admitted his frustration with the team and shortcomings in crucial games. I am beginning to wonder just as the team has started to mature, he too has evolved i.e. being more open about the weaknesses that persist and "facing it". In a subconscious sort of a way, I think its basically handing over control to his players.

Though, we all know that one day things will click - but the interim period has been terribly painful. Will nothing change this 2 leg clash? Fuck knows.

----------------------------------

Must direct all to this wonderful interview with the greatest legend. For some one who had said when he retired that he will never return to a football pitch, he seems to be revelling in his role at the Ajax youth academy. Its wonderful to come across his thoughts, as he seldom is heard in public. And more importantly for me, it was interesting to read his objective look at Wenger's philosophy and the absolute defence of his old coach's beliefs. For monkeys like me, reassurance is required from time to time. And this has been long overdue.

Corner flag (vol 2.1)

Yes, the Third Ball has been in touch and I have been rather busy, therefore unable to communicate his views in time. I obviously didn't know that the team would run into this patch and things would look so good - but lets listen to the third ball now:

1. "I told you it would yo-yo. And it will still do so. But we will win. Premier league it will be."

Third ball then admitted that if it doesnt happen, he is more than happy to go missing forever.  And I would take over. Thats what I am, the third ball.

2. "Champions league - not to worry, we will get through the 4th round and do more damage".

Didn't quite know it will be so easy against Porto. But the team has come together, like the season they did when Flamini was at Emirates and (ironically) before the Eduardo incident, since the Stoke City win.

The quiet hero of all this has been Gael Clichy. When the captain Fabregas and the "new" leader Sol Campbell were busy holding their heads at the ungainly sight of a, yet another, crooked ankle, it was Clichy that caught hold of his team mates and said, 'Lets go do this'. He obviously remembers the story at St. Andrews and took the opportunity to be the real leader. And quietly. Beautiful.

I am possibly a greater twit than the third ball. But then such is the life of a football fan.

3. "And yes, we will be playing Inter Milan some time soon - quarters or even later."

Though Wenger has a funny feeling that its going to be an English team next.

4. More records tumbled in this Champions league campaign. Apparently, its the first time in over 30 years where we reversed a first leg loss to win a tie. First Ronald Koeman, then this and next it will be Jose Mourinho the special cunt. And after that it could be the Champions league itself. But that strangely Third Ball was non-committal about.

The view from a pint (vol 1.1)

Amidst all the world changing developments of the last few weeks, the most critical, in my opinion, sitting where I do - i.e. on a pint - was the filing for bankruptcy by Japan Airlines Corp. Japan's largest non-financial bankruptcy ever. Critical because one would have never expected the Japanese, with their heightened sense of pride led insecurity, to allow loss of face of this scale.

Its common knowledge that the land of the rising sun has an enormous task of pulling themselves out of the ever-ballooning debt problem & deadly deflation. Regressive policy making, corrupt politicians are the obvious culprits and nothing seems to have changed with the defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party. But pain, or truth, cannot be postponed for ever and thats precisely where JAL's bankruptcy can play a key role - in demolishing the cosy relationship between the corporate world & spineless politicians/bureaucrats. And while at it, it could also inspire a thought revolution amongst the people (Ahem! I could well be in a bar in Calcutta now).

Have always felt that in many aspects, Japan leads the world. The problems in Japan, which became quite evident in the early 90s, of slowing birth rates, aging population, general discomfort with immigration, huge public debt : are all quite common now in a number of western, developed nations. So its time for a Jake Sully to enter the scene - a person from another land to rescue a society that is falling apart. And what happens in Japan, like it or not, will hopefully help rest of the developed world to figure out their path to survival.

Heres a link to the story on the bankruptcy filing by WSJ's Tokyo correspondents.

Gekiga san

The 74 yr old man walked up to the table laid out for him and sat down facing us, who were waiting to hear him. He was alone as his minders were busy getting ready. In those few minutes he spoke in English - precisely 4 words - "I happy in Singapore". Or something like that.

Then the others, his minders, joined him at the table. One of them being Eric Khoo. Probably Singapore's most well recognised film director (not that I have seen any of his movies). Anyways, Mr Khoo's latest project is to make an animated film out of Yoshihiro Tatsumi's (the 74 yr old) autobiographical graphic novel - A Drifting Life.

So then the questions began: the origins of Gekiga? his feelings about the movie thats being made? his relationship with Adrian Tomine, the fellow responsible for giving him a second lease of life? his inspiration to become a mangaka? and why the Japanese, who are big animated film makers themselves, never approached him to make a film based on his novels?

He answered all of them in great detail and humour. And laced with all the graciousness that one would have expected. Tatsumi was overt in conveying his deep gratitude to Adrian Tomine for taking him global and also towards "Eric san" for taking on the challenge to take his characters onto the big screen. It emerged that he felt unappreciated in Japan - "In Japan, people always feel that only the new things are good"; "I was told that I am too old". Age was also a constant theme in his views: "You are fortunate that you are still young - draw your stories when you are young, at my age I get tired before I begin". He also spoke of the writers block: "When you hit a block, take a break and look around you and bring all thats around you into your work". Ahem. Right at the end, to a query on the city of Hiroshima's influence on his stories, he got quite emotional as he spoke about the bombs and the destruction.

And when the questions were done, and he stood up to do a sketch, it was quite clear that its spontaneity that inspires Yoshihiro Tatsumi.

Corner flag (vol 1.5)

As promised, the third ball has been in contact - right after the Villa game. And he had the following to say:

1. Continues to believe that we would win our first piece of silverware in years this season. He did mention that the confidence in the squad would continue to yo-yo until the end of the season, but the steady development of belief within the setup will culminate in a trophy. So "not to give up" was the key message

2. Very difficult to predict which particular trophy amongst the 3 it will be. {May comment next by Feb end to provide a status update. I think its too late as we would have done our 3 major games by end Jan, making it easier to make predictions at that point}

3. Is very confident that Arsene Wenger will add to the squad in this window. Believes it could be a total of 3 players: couple of them who are 'Full HD' and one 'HD Ready' type. It will be a striker, defensive cover and someone else

4. The third ball also had a strange comment to make: Its been a historic season (in a strange and arbid manner) for Arsene Wenger, because he finally won against a Ronald Koeman team, which he has never managed to do. TB now believes that Inter Milan will take out Chelsea in the first knock out round and then will be drawn against the Gunners - who the Gunners will beat convincingly over 2 legs. Could be the QF or SF - not sure yet.

This third ball is a strange, but brave fellow. Lets see, how it all pans out.

Jailed abroad

Came across this series on National Geographic channel. A series of true stories of people who were jailed in a foreign country - most of these individuals are not professional criminals, but idiots like you and me who embraced spontaneity and then lived to regret the foolishness. Its narrated in first person, brilliantly reconstructed by some high quality acting and production, making it one hell of a watch.

Heres the link to the official web page of the series.

And heres a preview to one of the episodes that I watched : a young English fella in Kuwait gets arrested for peddling hashish and just when he reconciles to spend 5 years in the Kuwait Central Jail in the middle of some desert, help comes calling from an unlikely source.

Corner flag (vol 1.4)

A crucial win on Sunday at Anfield and strangely enough there was an incident at half-time that echoed, in a small way, what was said in vol 1.2. The skipper's statements this week also mirrored the view that it is not necessary to have Big players to win the league.

Incident at half-time

Small sides can be successful: Fabregas

Corner Flag (vol 1.3)

Ten reasons why England shouldn't win the World Cup via The Independent

There are probably 10 more very valid reasons, but this is a start. Its not that I support a particular team and therefore I wish England doesn't win - its just the overtly jingoistic English media + a few players in the team - for example, the ones featured at 1 and 8 in the above link.

         

Corner flag (vol 1.2)

1. Disastrous London derby
It was the third humiliation that we have had to suffer in the last 7 odd months. And oddly enough, all 3 took place at the Emirates - 2 against Chelsea and the CL semi-final against Manchester United. Absolutely horrendous experience to see ourselves, yet again, shoved aside so easily.

The statistics were familiar:
- at the outset, we begin with injuries to key personnel which somehow has a major psychological impact on the playing 11;
- majority of pretty possession;
- manage only a couple of attempts at goal;
- lack of alternate attacking strategy against a packed defence;
- and the enemy scores with the handful of chances that comes their way.

The last point underscores what I believe is our key weakness: the inability to organise defensively as a team and its not just about the back 4. Must highlight once again, strength in defence has never been a characteristic of Arsene Wenger's teams since the famous back 4 hung up their boots. To me, this chronic problem is called "inability", and not "inexperience" and the responsibility rests squarely with the manager.

I don't believe that the lack of physical players being the reason for our inability to compete for the league / silverware or against teams like Chelsea and other big clubs. Yes, its always good to have few more world class players in a squad - but there is a deeper issue that needs to be fixed first: the need for a stronger team ethic / attitude when it comes to protecting the ball. In other words, a better balance between attack and defence - which was demonstrated brilliantly by Barcelona last season. Development of this understanding can be built and drilled into the entire team on the training ground. Just going out and buying 6'3" X, Y, Z will not solve the problem.

I totally believe that this team with its existing squad can compete and win silverware this season (the third ball, as promised, will separately communicate late December after the Villa game). Which, however, can only happen if the squad is honest enough to admit that a lot more work needs to be done collectively to protect the ball. And that I believe begins with the Manager, rather than the odd 'back-to-reality' utterances from Arshavin / Fabregas after a weekend like last.

Wenger has for years been very careful of shielding his players during his interaction with the media. That strategy, especially over the last few years, in my opinion has been destructive and regressive with regards to the development of the squad. This is regardless of the fact that he maybe a lot more forthright with the squad behind closed doors. Persistent public deflection of the team's inadequacies infuses a false sense of security that results in the players not taking enough responsibility. He has to say what he sees - which means being publicly critical of his players when the situation demands.

And as a last point, Eduardo can certainly play against the likes of Terry and Carvalho. Am 100% certain we will see him play an important role during rest of the season.


2. Hand of God episode II
The whole Thierry Henry fiasco that erupted a couple of weeks ago appears to be fading away, rather slowly. My initial reaction was that it clearly was a case of cheating and hypocritical of a man who has positioned himself as a philosopher on many an occasion. While this opinion still holds, the rabid response to the incident by the British press (savagely dismissed over here) was way over the top and is yet another exhibition of the heightened levels of hypocrisy by the British media (an issue previously raised over here).

3. Hiddink's failure
Another related development that caught my attention was the failure of Russia to qualify for the World Cup. I don't give a shit about Russia qualifying or not, but it was the English media's lack of criticism of Guus Hiddink that caught my eye - a few months ago he was being heralded by the English media as the greatest footballing mind of modern times by turning around Chelsea's season and replaying his conquests with the Australian/Korean national teams ad nauseum. Now he has spectacularly failed to take the 2008 Euro finalists to the WC finals and there isn't a word of ridicule from the likes of Richard Williams or Kevin McCarra. Well...



           

The house of durians

Will the real "Slim" shady please stand up

Corner flag (vol 1.1)

1. English media and their footballers
It doesn't help anyone shed their rather biased opinion about English footballers when the captain comes out and says shit like this. When the reality is something like this. My biased opinion of English players has just been reinforced: that they are a bunch of deluded pricks.

Prior to these comments from the stalwarts of English football, it was the English media that dived into the Eduardo incident. It all adds up when one realises that their next WC qualifier is against Croatia - and a win away from booking their place in the finals.

The similarity between the Indian media and English counterparts is quite evident - both are substantially loud and often more ruthless than the most extreme capitalist. "The dark side of free speech" - but thats for another time all together.

2. The presence of a third ball
That's me I am talking about: as I believe Arsenal will win something this season. It could well be the league. Imagine how it would be if its the Champions League. Yes, its very early and we have seen things disintegrating in no time before so one shouldn't get carried by the start to the season. And lets not forget the mistakes that cost us 3 points last weekend against the champions - classic immature brain failure. But thats where the third ball comes into the picture - its the third eye, its the gut instinct that has metamorphosed into a physical organ that takes responsibility for such opinions. It sees a different season all together where there will be silverware. The third ball is expected to communicate next in December.

The Intolerance of Tolerance

In an attempt to get things right, we are steadily losing the plot and as a result shedding our individuality. The recent burqa episode is possibly the best example. It always seemed a rather impolite gesture on the part of anyone to consider banning Muslim women from wearing burqas. But its happened now and that too a brainwave from a mainstream political leader of the developed world.

The human race is already on its way to losing any sense of humanity to the tentacling ways of technology. Acts of such intolerance are only going to hasten the process.

Heres, Sarkozy figuring how to be tolerant. Wag the Dog time.