Saturday, February 16, 2008
Manchester United Wipe Old Trafford Turf With Arsenal-without Ronaldo
Manchester United overwhelmed (and that’s understating it) Arsenal at Old Trafford with a thumping 4-0 win in the 5th round of the FA Cup. It was a comprehensive win with Manchester United clearly dominating from start to finish. The game brought back memories of Fulham and Roma from last season, and had Rooney put his finishing boots on (although it’s hard to fault the man after his efforts in the game), it could have been much more humiliating for Arsenal.
Manchester United dominated so completely that it’s hard to know where to start praising them - Nani for his assists (and the best finish of the game), Anderson for his midfield dominance (where was Fabregas?), Rooney for his tireless running, Carrick for his pin-point passing, Park and Fletcher for their 150% effort, Evra for his bombing runs, Brown for his crunching and timely tackles, the Wall that is Rio and Vidic…even Edwin van der Sar had his moment, although it was for making the Old Trafford faithful laugh with his quick thinking instead of any memorable saves.
Arsenal were under-strength, and we’d already had Arsenal fans getting their excuses in (I’m kidding David ) but the manner of their defeat and the way they got overrun was surprising. Wenger is one of the best managers and he’ll need everything he has to get his players focused and ready for Milan next week - not to mention to ensure that their Premier League title challenge isn’t derailed by the loss of momentum suffered in this loss.
A word for Armand Traore - Arsenal have a gem of a player on their hands; good in attack, (relatively) solid in defence and a great temperament. He’ll do well for Arsenal in the long run, and I hope that Wenger gives him more games this season and the next.
As for United - Ronaldo and Giggs will return for the Lyon fixture but tonight, it’s all about the young boys, the expensive buys Fergie has made in the last 4 years following his policy of buying the best kids - Rooney, Nani and Anderson, take a bow, you’ve done your fans proud.
United have rallied in the best possible way after losing to Manchester City at home, and to do it against their main rivals for the Premier League title, and to batter them on the pitch (figuratively speaking) so comprehensively for the full 90 minutes would have done wonders for the team’s morale.
Manchester United vs Arsenal
FA Cup (Round 5), Saturday February 16
Manchester United and Arsenal meet in the FA Cup for the 4th time in a decade on Saturday. Widely considered to among the best the Premier League has to offer, the two European giants are in a neck-to-neck battle for the Prem title this year, which sets up the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford for an almighty battle indeed. Red Devils and Gunners fans alike are salivating in anticipation for this showdown, which promises much entertainment even for the neutral fan.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Manchester Unted Munich Kit
Recently Manchester United and Manchester City hooked up in a Premier League game that would pay tribute to the Air Munich disaster. Well over at EPLTalk, our friend The Gaffer did a wonderful representation on the kits worn by both teams. However here I will focus on Man U as they were technically the ones in mourning.
Going with a retro kit is always a great idea. When it comes to this particular date in history I think playing in the same kit (with today’s technology) is a great choice. Solid red with a white V-neck collar. What else can you ask for. Simplicity was not a fashion statement in the older days, it was the cheapest way to have a kit and represent your team. I like it and wish other clubs would go back to the simplicity, but with kit manufacturers and sponsors that will never happen. Unless it is a tribute to the fallen or history. 4 out of 5 stars for me…classic kit for a classic occassion.
The most expensive text message in the world
All of us must be wondering what Cristiano Ronaldo will do with all the money he got from Manchester United? Well, Ronaldo did splash out on a new car in fact he splashed out on Ł875.000 worth of a new car, custom made Bugatti Veyron. Unfortunately when you do buy such a set off wheels there is a waiting list and not even being Cristiano Ronaldo will shorten the 12 months waiting period.
But Ronaldo has also been splashing out on texts. It seems he is prone to texting during training and Ferguson is not pleased. Fergie introduced a Ł2000 on-the-spot penalty for anyone caught texting during the training sessions and Ronaldo got caught 4 times already. Ł8000 in fines! In one day! Now we know he has plenty of money, but still if anything will cure him off this habit Ł2000 a pop will.
Premier League Look Abroad
Clubs set to play additional match overseas
The 20 Premier League clubs are reported to have agreed in principle to a radical plan that would see each team playing an extra match a season abroad.
Under the proposal, matches between two Premier League sides could be staged in the Far East, Australia and the USA.
The League have called a news conference for this afternoon where it is expected they will confirm they are to explore the proposal of playing games in some of the world's largest cities.
A meeting of the 20 clubs are said to have agreed in principle to the plan. It is understood that the proposed overseas matches would not be the final fixtures of the season.
The idea would be to cash in on existing interest in the Premier League around the world, and the extra money generated from TV would be split equally among the 20 clubs.
The details of how the system would work have yet to be finalised but it would mean each club playing 39 games, with a draw to pick out each side's overseas match.
There would be a sporting criteria, such as league position, to decide which clubs play each other.
And under the proposal, points earned in the overseas game would count towards the final league position.
The 20 Premier League clubs are reported to have agreed in principle to a radical plan that would see each team playing an extra match a season abroad.
Under the proposal, matches between two Premier League sides could be staged in the Far East, Australia and the USA.
The League have called a news conference for this afternoon where it is expected they will confirm they are to explore the proposal of playing games in some of the world's largest cities.
A meeting of the 20 clubs are said to have agreed in principle to the plan. It is understood that the proposed overseas matches would not be the final fixtures of the season.
The idea would be to cash in on existing interest in the Premier League around the world, and the extra money generated from TV would be split equally among the 20 clubs.
The details of how the system would work have yet to be finalised but it would mean each club playing 39 games, with a draw to pick out each side's overseas match.
There would be a sporting criteria, such as league position, to decide which clubs play each other.
And under the proposal, points earned in the overseas game would count towards the final league position.
Ronaldo's career virtually over......
Bad luck just seems to never end for Ronaldo. The first reports, released by SkySports just after the game, seem to suggest the Brazilian striker’s left knee suffered a crack in the rotulean tendon, something which at the age of 31, may put Ronaldo’s career seriously at risk (Gazzetta is talking about 9-12 months recovery time). At the end of the day it’s the piece of news that really stands out, making Livorno’s very good performance (and the draw obtained at the San Siro that comes with it) seem much less important.
Ronaldo’s diagnosis is very clear. Milan’s head of medicine Jean-Pierre Meersseman revealed: “After Ronaldo’s injury we decided at once to transfer the player to the Galeazzi hospital in Milan [one of the best orthopaedic hospitals in Europe]. There’s little to say about the seriousness of the injury - unfortunately they confirmed that it was a rupture to the tendons of his left knee. He will definitely need surgery. We are all distraught at what’s happened“. Recovery times for an injury like this span from 9 to 12 months.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
England 2008-10 Away kit
Well after much anticipation the newest Away kit for England has been unveiled…wow…this is not what I was expecting at all. With all the hype surrounding the kit I thought it would be more of a classic looking kit and less of a train wreck.
Let’s start with what I like about the kit. Having the “Three Lions” crest in the center is a shot back to the older days. It’s a nice touch, and sticking with the solid red has become a staple for England’s away kits. Aside from those I could not find much that I liked with it.
On the other hand I did find a few things I did not like about the kit. With the crest in the center of the kit, why did they leave the Championship star on the left by itself? It looks horrible and out of place over there. Add the blue and white markings and it looks like Umbro didn’t even try with this kit. To me this is a horrible excuse for a kit, and I hate the fact that we must look at this for 2 years before they release the next away kit. 2 out of 5…I am at a loss for words
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Nike's mercurial vapor IV
Nike’s Mercurial Vapor IV shoes are supposed to be one of the lightest pairs of football boots ever made - but do they really help players run faster?
Last month, Cristiano Ronaldo recorded his first Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle, scoring all three goals in the span of 40 minutes in Manchester United’s six-goal second half.
Nearly three weeks later, he scored two goals in four minutes against Portsmouth, the second coming on a free kick that Sir Alex Ferguson said was the best free kick he’d ever seen in the Premier League.
Not that he needed anything to make him even better, but it may well be the shoes.
The boots in question are Nike’s new Mercurial Vapors IV, one of the lightest pairs of boots they’ve ever made. By now, you’ve probably seen highlights of his barrage of goals over the last month many times, and you may have also seen the footage of him in the shoes racing a Bugatti Veyron, one of the fastest cars in the world.
And two days before Ronaldo’s hat trick against Newcastle - which came the first time he wore the shoes in a match (guess he needed a half to get used to them), two of the fastest players in the Premier League, and two of England’s brightest talents, tested out the shoes in a test of speed and skill, as Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon and Aston Villa attacker Gabriel Agbonlahor faced off on a 45-meter track to see who was fastest to the ball and with the ball.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
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