Peaceful Easy Feeling

Qatar mein hain hum...2026

2011-01-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

Has FIFA lost it completely ?
I understand that most of the Eurozone countries like Portugal/ Spain, Netherlands/ Belgium are cash-strapped and England, well nobody at FIFA and UEFA( read Platini) likes them, and Russia with all its oil and gas have enough liquid cash to host a World Cup, but why on god`s (or Allah`s) name did they give it to Qatar ? World Cup! In June!.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Platini get a life! and if you manage to get one, get one for Sepp Blatter too.
Blatter is safe since by the time the Qatar 2022 thing comes around he will be past the peraly gates.
But footballers will be there and I can imagine them running around the spanking new stadiums kicking beach-balls( progenies of Jabulani) and pouring buckets of water over their head.
Its a disgrace that a bunch of moneybags have changed the rules of the game AFTER the kick-off.
Its like asking for normal BTG packages after the bids for a Super-critical BTG package has been opened. Bidders who lost out technically have a cause to feel agrieved. And that exactly what FIFA has done. After awarding the games to Qatar for a June cup, they are suddenly ok with the timings being shifted to January.
Well losers are complaining, but then again they are losers. Tcaah....losers.
A shift to January means local leagues of Europe and Latin America getting affected, but its FIFA, they make the rules.

And finally old Crumpet Sepp is talking about WC in India in 2026.A country that gets its posterior whipped by the football teams of Qatar, Kuwait and Oman( each about the size of delh NCR) with alarming regularity and whose best representation at top-level football has been one Bhaichung Bhutia at Bury FC ( not even english 2nd division ) and a Sunil Chhetri at Kansas City Wizards( MLS), a team which got a pummelling from Manchester United reserve team four odd months back.
Instead, take the game to Latin America, take it to Australia, take it Japan and China again, maybe to Egypt/ Morocco and then then Qatar and Oman and Iraq( that will rebuild the nation once more) instead of ruining the spirit by awarding it to India...
India 2026...I am sure Messers Kalmadi and Bhanot and Mahendroo are licking thier lips in anticipation.... if one city could give them 35000 crores, imagine a World Cup football, pan-India...
( fadeout to the tunes of Tu paisa paisa karti hai, phir paise pe kyun marti hain ? )

Dilli meri jaan

2010-12-30T11:58:00.000-08:00

Managed to land in Delhi exactly 1 hr behind ETA....and this was Indigo...I am sure other airlines would have landed on time( in Jaipur) :-)...
now safely tucked inside a thick lep( cant find a better translation of this typically bengali contraption against the cold...a thick jacket of cotton/ silk stuffed with compressed raw cotton, dunno how better I can explain it) and daring the famed Delhi cold with a bottle of OLD MONK and cold water. Thats dinner and beverage.
Already feel a warm glow inside.
Jai Ho...Old Monk rocks.
Hope to have a kickass party tomorrow with Gee, Rara and the gang.
WHEN YOU ARE FREEZING, OLD MONK WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE!

Hyan Bhai, shei toh

2010-12-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

Sitting in a nice small boutique hotel at Koregaon Park is not exactly my idea of a perfect Christmas Eve, but then again cant have it all.
Have a footlong Italian from Subway, half a bottle of Old Monk rum with what dear pal Sumo would call "Thansapp" and lots of munchies and two superb pastries from the Sweet Chariot Cafe down the road. And have CCR on the latptop. So its not entirely painful. Lonely quite, painful in parts.

Entirely unconnected list:
1. Hottest Indian Actress- Chitrangada( if she didnt marry that 18-hole man ) , Vidya Balan( kono kotha hobey naah)
2. Best Indian sportsperson- Saina Nehwal...she has taken on the Chinese and the Indonesians and the Taiwanese and beaten them at their game. Kudos lady.Love your Tiranga-coded hair clips and your deft placements.
3. Car i want to buy right now- Ford Fiesta S. fully loaded Aquirius Blue. and tank it up and drive to Goa. With Kanchan. And Gee...and CCR & Led Zep on the stereo. No Arka anywer. As a rule.
4. Band for all seasons -CCR.
5. Bengali singer I love- George-da.
6. Greatest football club in the world- Manchester United.
7. Old Monk rocks.
8. I am drunk.

..............................................( mumbling sounds....)

Day 1

2010-10-21T11:14:00.001-07:00

0400 hrs- 2 slices of bread.
0930 hrs- 3 small sized Dorbesh
1345 hrs- 200 gms probiotic curd
1645 hrs- 200 ml cardamom falvoured milk.
2030 hrs- 1 scoop of Coffee n nuts ice-cream from Baskin Robins
2200 hrs- 2 bowls of daal, 2 small helpings of cabbage curry,2 small helpings of lady`s finger curry,2 small chapatis,bowl of curd, bowl of papaya ( approx 75 gms).

Well begun ,except for the ice-cream.

Facebook: random

2010-09-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

I don’t drink Coffee( Dark/filter/ machine-made whatever), have barely watched any of the great films of Kieslowski, Tarkovsky,Bertolucci and inspite of my best efforts haven’t been able to add any value to any of the discussions regarding the tomes of Derrida/ Kafka/ Hosseini/ Murakami etc. I can’t take a decent photograph to save my ass/ balls and don’t even have a proper Nikon D5000 with Sigma and such-alike Bazooka shaped lenses.

In short, I am not exactly someone who qualifies as the “Cool Intellectual Thinking Man”.

Did I miss laid-back and tremendously successful and with a dark sardonic sense of humor?

Hell! Bollocks!

Am I still allowed to be in Facebook ?

London Dreams: Potla

2010-09-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Met him at the Euphoria concert way back in 2002 and the discussion turned to where we might be in 10 odd years.
I was techinally an engg student and he was in MCA course somewhere in the moffusils.
Glad he took my advice, re-appeared for the ISI, Delhi entrance and well....today he calls me to let me know he is getting posted to London...
happiness knows no bounds.
After all, Abhrajit and I have known each other for the last 25 years and 8 odd months.

Rains

2010-09-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

The rains in Delhi ( The Commonwealth City) are seeing to it that the final (or are they the semi-final ) touches to the venues can be given only after Diwali.
Amen

Totally random

2010-09-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

1.My University library sends a daily update to the students titled " XXXXXXX University in the news:".
Why ? Does the Univ need to be on the papers every day ? its not exactly Manchester United for god`sake!

2.Some shit-heads don't wipe their fingers before swiping the Biometric touch pad in office.
Result.
Poorer shitheads get a message in a sing-song mechanical voice flatly forbidding them from going home for another 5 minutes.

3. Our GM - Resource Mob passed away three odd months back.Very sad.We lost a fine gentleman and a very sharp finance guy. Sadder is the fact that his successor is seeing to it the dept ceases to exist in the next six months.

4.Most auto-drivers in Chennai ( Madras to me) will take a long look at you,and say "50 rupees Saar" for a distance approximately equal to that between my bedroom and the loo.

5.Delhi suffers from the classic case of the City coming to the villages.And then actually paying the villagers the equivalent of Chad`s GDP to build malls and Cyber-cities and pointless monstrosities in the middle of nowhere.Net result.
Mutton-headed lumps of lards running around the NCR in SUVs the size of Parliament house,neons glowing, million watt music systems blaring out the latest Imran Hashmi tracks, and generally proclaiming their parentage by unique-to-NCR stickers like" Gujjar Boy" and "Jatt Rulz". Common guys, we totally get it.The stickers are superfluous.

6.Me and my Very Large Friend ( referred to as God elsewhere in the blog) walked into a Maruti Suzuki dealership in Bangalore on a lazy Sunday afternoon and spent twenty minutes checking out the features of an A-Star, Ritz,Alto K10 and Estillo in a very leisurely manner without any Customer Care/ Marketing executive bothering us even once. Considering the fact that I was there to ACTUALLY finalise my car-buying decision, its sad. No wonder they are losing market-share.Or probably they had "Fey" or sixth sense and envisioned me driving a Rolls Royce one day.

7. I am yet to decide on what car to buy even after intense R & D for over three years.

AMEN.

CL First Round

2009-09-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Nani seems to be playing for Doncaster Rovers or maybe Plymouth Argyle!
What exactly is he trying to achieve by NOT looking up while running, his passes are going everywhere and hitting everything everything except the goal-net.
And
Mike Phelan needs to go.
Seriuosly.
I just think he is the real( No Pun Intended) reason behind our rather laborious displays in the last one and half season. At times the team selection has been bizzare and completely baflling.
As long as Carlos Quiroz was the Coach,we did reasonably well on the tactical front.
But these days, somehow i feel the "extra bit" is not working for United.
Old Man is perfect as far as Man-Management is concerned. He can write a book on that,but European football has moved from my being " won cause of the half-time hairdryer" to becoming rather cagy,tactical battles where Mike Phelan`s john bull type football wont help.
What is needed is someone like Gus Poyet who will provide the tactical onus without being too intrusive and will be plotting and strategising the whole thing.
Last seasons CL final with Barca proved beyond doubt that we are lacking the extra edge in the tactics and stategies dept. Need stacking up there.
Then again, with Portugal`s current form the World Cup qualifiers, it seems Carlos Quirox will be back very soon.

Team Formation: Real Madrid

2009-09-11T02:48:00.000-07:00

Scene 1:Real Vs ABC Club
Venue: Santiago Bernebue
Players: So Boss, whats the strategy and formation ?
Coach Manuel Pelegrini: err...well today we shall
Fierentino Perez:( thrusting his face into the frame) : { snarling and grinning, imagine a cross between the Joker from Dark Knight and Col Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds} : Who gives a fuck,you are the blood best players in your position in the world, just go out and play!!! while i go check the jersey sales counter...
Manuel Pelegrini gapes and grimaces and looks up to see a familiar bald figure sniggering back at him...

Footie:Tevez( Long overdue for posting

2009-09-10T02:58:00.000-07:00

And Mr Carlos Tevez for all hs running and hsssling and bull-fighting instincts is never worth $25 Million. For far lesser money one can buy a proper attack-breaker and passer like the out-of-favor Mahamoddou Diarra from Real Madrid and Diarra will give any team the height, the legs and the steel very few players can ever hope to match.
And

He called the Gaffer an old fool and a vain man.
No wonder Argentina doesnt win anything with this guy as their main striker.

Teams: formations rather!

2009-09-10T01:22:00.000-07:00

After the hullaboo about That Boy being sold to the White Castle and the consequential impact on the formation of United,one thing is very clear, no way we can play 4-4-2 and win in Europe.I say this with conviction cause the more successful teams in Europe( read Chelsea and Barca) are all playing a very fluid system wherein the midfield adjusts and breaks up into different formations depending on the opposition and the sad consequences of playing a ridig 4-4-2 when we dont have a creative world-class Central Attacking medio like Diego or Kaka is there for people to see. Even Michael Carrick for all the praise heaped on him by Sir Alex is no Pirlo and lately Carrick has developed a habit of fading and getting lost in big crunch matches.
Furthemore, we dont have 2 out and out strong Centre Forwards like Zlatan-Henry at Barca or the Raul-Ronaldo- Kaka trinity at Real.
Plus Sir Alex is in a building and consolidating mode right now and he has more than 3 promising wingers at his disposal and it is a criminal waste of resources to keep the likes of Tosic,Nani and Anderson on the bench since the formation is all wrong for them to play.
So we need to basically follow a fluid 4-2-3-1 system wherein the front 3 behind the main striker goes into attack every time and atleast one or two of them falls back to support the deep-lying sweepers.
The backline at United sort of selects itself with Rio and Vidic the first choices for the Centre-back spots and Wes Brown and Johhny Evans being rotated regularly.
Ever since arraving from Monaco in Jan 2006, Patrice Evra has slowly but steadily made the left-back spot his own and now is the first-choice for France ahead of the brilliant but error-prone Eric Abidal at Barca.
At right-back we have a long-term problem since Captain United Gary Neville has suddenly become very injury-prone and John O`Shea at best is a stop-gap. For all his heart-bursting efforts O`Shea is a good sweeper-Libero at best and in the right-back role his passing leaves a lot to be desired. What we need is someone like Glen Johnson or Maicon to run and pull back or put in a cross for the attacking players to head-in/ tap in.
In the centre of the park, Hargreaves and Fletcher form the holding and attack-breaking midfield two and they will be also pushing up the line when required.
The 3 players just behind the main strikers is the main area where United will have all the action and the combinations being worked out.
In the centre we have Carrick in an advanced attacking role and Scholes coming on for the big matches.Nani and Park can be the two wide options with Valencia slowly adapting to life at United and Tosic to be used to European matches against light-weight but skilled continental teams.
For premier league, Park and Valencia will be the best options on the wings and even Obertan can have a go once he is fit and running.
Up front we have Ronney who is the main striker or maybe Berbatov as the main striker with Rooney just behind him with the two attacking wingers for home games and Park and Valencia for away fixtures. For away european fixtures we need to have Micaeal Owen coming in around 70 mins when the defenders are tired and also since Owen has been out of Europe both in club and England matches many of the defenders havent ever played him or are not sure of his current form and role.

So basically for home matches.
Ben Foster( TK )-Evra-Vidic( Evans )- Rio( Brown) - Neville- Hargo-Fletcher- Carrick( Scholes/Giggs/ Rooney) - Nani( Park) - Valencia( Tosic)-Berbatov.
For Away matches
Ben Foster( TK )- Evra- Vidic-Rio-O`Shea( Rafael)-Hargo-Fletcher- Carrick- Park- Valencia-Berbatov( Owen).
This will give us the fluidity and dynamic movement and also the extra yard of pace in Counter-attacks we seems to have lost after Ronaldo left. But with so many skillful and fast players like Rooney,Valencia. Obertan,Nani and Tosic in the ranks, speed and skill in attacking and converting wont ever be a problem for United.

The Saga of "That Boy"

2009-06-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

He wanted to leave.
He didnt want to leave.
We wanted him to leave.
We wanted him to achieve greater glory for the Red shirt.we hated his antics.We loved his flicks and step-overs dummies.
In the end That Boy has been sold to the merry circus over at Madrid who cant produce even a single half-decent player from the academy but desperately tries to get all the best talent from around the world to re-create the halycon days of the 50s and 60s.But what Messers Perez and his cronies forget is that those glorious years were possible because Madrid were mostly playing home-grown players who loved the jersey and were ready to shed blood and sweat for it.
The neo-Galacticos like Kaka and That Boy and Villa are extablished stars who have won everything they could have as a club-level footballer and are now looking forward to a nice retirement with high pension in Madrid.I dont think Madrid will manage to reach even the semis of the Champions League this coming season inspite of having Villa,Kaka and That Boy in their ranks. This is because of one single reason. Inspite of scoring goals all throughout Madrid has alwyas had a suspect defence which conceded more than what the attackers could score. To win big tournaments you need a solid if not spectacular defence and this is one area where Messers Perez has nothing new to show for all thier buying spree.

Now that Ronnie has been sold lets look at what we can do with $ 121 million.
Options:
1.Antonio Valencia of Wigan- he will be perfect if not the most spectacular replacement for Ronnie. Solid and skillful with premiership experience and at 23 he can only get better.Asking price 14 Mill lbs.
2. Rafael Van der Waart- this Dutch master needs a good coach and a good set of attackers to unlash his full skill set.Unfortunately over at Madrid settling into a team is something they cant and usually dont afford. So inspite of being a proven campaigner in the Bundesliga,he is ready to be sold. Asking price - $ 12-14 Mil.

Sad but True

2009-04-21T03:34:00.000-07:00

Its Sad that we lost an FA Cup final. our very first loss in 26 semi-finals. It does hurt. what hurts more is something else. It hurts me to see $ 65 million worth of assets walking around the park doing precious little. What hurts even more is that we paid all this money to Spurs for two players who in my opinion dont add any value to the system at United.
Who on earth paid $ 17 million for a dud named Michael Carrick. He is just not good enough for that amount of money. $ 5.5 Million yes. $ 17 Million- absolute lunacy. For all the good money we get a guy who is never ever going to be first team for England, cant dictate the pace of a good European game and cant just drive the team forward. And to top it all, he is not any good in dead-ball situations. So for all the show what we get are couple of chancy goals against a hapless Roma and the occassional flashed shots against the relegation-threatened clubs. I cant recollect one match where he has driven forward, taken the game by the scruff of its neck and have made a lasting impression the minds of the viewers. People might say he is not the Keano-types but we DONT need a Keano, we already have one in the shape of the fast-improving Darren Fletcher. He wont ever have it and cant ever be first-choice for England. The fact that he is still first-choice for United tells us the Gibsons and Andersons and Tosics are not yet 110 % ready.

Nani is one more player about whom i have very mixed feelings. someone who was once touted to be the next Ronaldo is sadly relegated to the bench at United. The fact he didnt get a start at the Wembley on sunday points to just one thing. This is going to be his last season at United . For all his flicks and tricks and step-overs he just cant fit into the United system of trying for every ball till the last moment. Nani as a rule,never looks up before passing and is generally very poor in tracking back. he barely gets involved in the scrapes in the attacking third and are mostly interested in show-boating and taking the occassional pot-shots at the rival goal. Ok agreed he has had some spectacular goals against Spurs and Liverpool but we need a player who has better vision and is a team-man. With the arrival of Tosic, a full International with Serbia and having european league experience, it seems Nanis` day at United are seriously numbered.
Now we come to the LazBoy aka Berba.
Him.$ 31 Million...who..wer... what...how ?
I know the recession set only in Sept 08 and we bough him in July but even then money is not that cheap. he doesnt belong to United.Ball-holding at the attacking third..hah...pooh...
for that money we could have got Roque Santa Cruz( full International too ) who wont have sulked about sitting on the bench and also made Tevez` loan permanent. Instead what we have is a sulky Bulgar ambling around the pitch looking lost...lost at probably the speed of things happening around him,perhaps enjoying the sites and sounds of english countryside along Old Lanc Road, but we DIDNT buy him to do that. We bought him to add some much needed goal-scoring prowess to the United attack and instead what we have is zero penetration in counter-attacks cause Berba cant match the pace of Rooney and Ronnie and thus the pace of the counter-attacks are gone. Cant recollect a single sweeping United move in the last 6 months and all because of the " New Dimension" - a sulky Zebra who is not good enough to be part of the system. He may be good enough for Spurs and Werder Bremen but not good enough for top-flight european football.

With so much of wasted resources i wont be suprised if DONT manage win anything more this season.

Conversations with GOD:3

2009-03-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Me: Dear God, how were your college days ?

GOD: My college days were all about Sex,Drugs and Rock n Roll...

NO sex,
little bit of drugs
lotsa Rock n Roll!

RIP...

Conversations with God:2

2009-03-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

Me: Am sitting in office and listening to CCR and Rolling Stones...n i cant listen to Iron Maiden and Metallica and such alike loud bands anymore...
God: well, it means you are growing old...

( am turning into a fat old Fart...bald too )

P.S: Chakraborty..so long and thankks for all the fish( Munierre).

Some More random

2009-03-27T04:33:00.000-07:00

" And I met a girl who sang the Blues"...

Fotus: Random

2009-03-25T22:45:00.001-07:00

Baganbaari: One day in the woods...with a lil bit of fluid dynamics thrown in.

the Original Sin: If you ever see a very fat Speedy Gonsalves-waanabe wheezing past you, you know somewhere this sin has been committted.

Flight of the Pigeons: CP...New Delhi...somehow i have started liking the city...

From a bygone era:I had heard the same from my Dad but this was the first time i have actually seen an ad...

The Poet- he takes the path less travelled

Walk of Life: Somewhere in the Middle Himalayas...am trying to cross a dry river bed...the "Bridge" is barely a feet wide and sways from side to side.

Conversations with God:1

2009-03-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

Me: How on earth did you manage to fuck up your voice? Where you chatting with Sir Alex without the benefit of a phone! Anyway am so down. Seems like United is the most hated club in town. my pals are drinking Carlsberg and poking fun at me
GOD: Tell `em that a real man drinks vodka. Not some stupid danish beer! And don't bother.Everyone hates a winner.Let em have their moment.We`ll have the last laugh . And the best laugh.Chin up.Sir Alex would not expect this behavior from a Manchester United fan! Whats the fun if we win too easy! Lets give the others a chance to smile for a few moments ! Just a few moments. Then we hit em so hard they`ll say
" Did you get the license plate of that truck?".

As strange as it gets!!!

2009-01-29T01:16:00.000-08:00

A month back, Liverpool was at the top of the league, they had everything going perfect for them and United was far awayin distant Japan trying to win a trophy nobody in England gives a Rat`s Ass to.

And then, 2 days prior to the Red Devils` very difficult home game against Chelsea when United as on the verge of dropping out of the race if they lost, and Villa and Everton on a roll, Rafa suddenly loses it.He loses it with a rant against the oldest of the Old Foxes – the king of the Mind Game Sir Alex.

Next Day Liverpool draws a perfectly winnable game at home: The very next day United put three past a very unpredictable Chelsea and suddenly faithfuls were reminded of the now legendary “ We love it when we win against them” of Kevin Keegan which cost the Magpies their title.

After that the Merseysiders have gone from being runaway League leaders to being the laughing stock of the league with their draws against Everton in the Derby and drawing a game against Wigan.

And instead of pulling his act together, this is what Rafa Benitez declared: "We had control of the game in the first half and didn’t kill it off. In the second half it was a crazy game.

"When you don’t control crazy games you don’t win points. I don’t know what is happening.

"Actually I do know, but I can’t say anything about it. It is just crazy.

"You can’t control what you can’t change. It could be like this for years.

"Alex Ferguson has been here for 22 years and you can see what it means when you have been here for so long. The past three games have something in common I don’t like."

So what exactly is bothering him? That Sir Alex instead of ranting like a Old Fart just got his Lads to put 3 past Chelsea, scrape results past the championship sides in the League Cup and FA Cup ?

Is it that inspite of the Pre-season and early season hype, his team of “ Horses for Courses” men cant get the results they need ?

I think it has all to do with the fact that Rafa suddenly sees his motley crew unable to keep up with the blistering pace of the League. also Rafa has assembled a team which doesn’t have much of Home Country representation, so the significance of Derbies are lost on them.( Sir Alex had Ryan Giggs- Wales and Darren Fletcher- Scotland manning the middle of the park for the Chelsea game) .Then Stevie G is not the same force he used to be and they don’t have anyone of the same presence in the midfield area to give them a much needed stability. When Liverpool is good, they are very good. But somehow they are having mostly bad days and Rafa you need MEN to get past the opposition on a bad day.

The magical night at Celtic Park.

2008-11-05T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Bhoys probed, hassled us, chased every ball,didn`t give any quarter and showed that a TEAM which keeps it shape,manages to clear the line and is not afraid to throw bodies in the line of fire can hold back better,more talented and maybe slightly more experienced team at home,but thats all.
The Celtics wont ever win any major trophy if they play like this, but they do give all the big teams a scare and for United,well it was a good wake up call and a test of their character....

If only Berba managed to keep his balance and tap in the very last pass...only If

Bemoaning English talent

2008-10-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Watching the Red Devils toy with the Bhoys at home, just one thing struck in my mind, the lack of young home-grown English or british talent driving the team forward.ok it can be argued that of the back four or rather five if you count in the sub Wes Brown, we have 5 defenders who are all part of the English football academy setup. Gary Neville, Johnny Evans , Wes Brown & John O`shea are all products of the United academy and Rio comes from West Ham United academy.

But that’s where it all ends.we have the Scottish Captain Darren Fletcher in the middle of the park, but he is barely a regular at this position. Rooney is a talent who cant and should not be considered part of the Academy setup. He is one of those stars who are born with IT.

My main concern is that of the current young batch only Johnny Evans is good to get a start. We haven’t managed to bring up lads of the caliber of the class of 95. Maybe I am looking too far back, but then again, when these kids come to the the United Academy, they need to be good enough to fill in the big boots of being a United player. We have tried developing obvious English talents like Phil Bardsley ( he started positively with stints at Royal Antwerp and Rangers and was at one period the Right- Back of choice for Martin O`Neil at Aston Villa but once back in United, he just failed to play his natural game. Now hopefully at Sunderland, under the tutelage of Roy Keane he might just be steeled into a better player. That’s what he needs, lots of games and hard gmeas at that to make his United training worthwhile.
Next comes Chris Eagles.this is one player on whom the Gaffer had a lot of faith and hope and gave him a lot of Champions League starts,but in the last 18 months it became painfully obvious that he was just not being able to make the jump into the rigours of first team football at United. Life at the top became too hard for him. So he is banished to plying his trade for Barnsley, down in the Championship.

United faithfuls will remember Jonathan Spector , the American Defender who really shone in his loan spell at Charlon Athletic during 2005-2006.i vividly a match against Liverpool where playing at Centre Back, he made life miserable for the great Stevie G and like any true United fan, I thought we had someone in our ranks who could fill the boots of Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister and Ronny Johnsen, but an injury at the end of the season just before the World Cup killed all his hopes of making it to the US team . Now he is at Villa park where he continues to put it in a lot of solid performances either in the backline or as a CDM.

Adam Eckersley –now at the Dutch first division.

Another great United mystery is Kieran Richardson. He used to be a regular for England under-21s and even played for the Senior English squad under Sven-Goran Ericsson and Steve Maclaren. But his lazy and pompous ways earned him the moniker of “ Lord Snooty” from the Stretford End faithfuls and a subsequent transfer to Sunderland under Keano.

Lee Martin- nothing much is coming out of this talented Winger.He is there but not quite. Am sure he will sold to Charlton or Fulham or maybe even QPR.

The only guy who is making any sort of a mark in Premier league matches is a certain Fraizer Campbell who after a scintillating performance with Hull City where he scored consistently and superbly is being sent out on a loan to Spurs as a counterbalance for Berbatov.

Judging by the way Messers Ramos and Poyet are handling their wards, its wishful thinking that any talent, far alone English talent will get a chance to do anything to save the Lilywhites from going down. At best, they will finish in the lower top-half of the table, where all their precious Continentals like Luka Modric ,Vidran Corluka & Roman Pavluchenko wont even be eligible for an Inter-Toto Cup berth.
So much for being an English c;ub with English talent.

So all we have is one Johnny Evans and one Fraizer Campell who are good enough to play first team for United. For others we will be looking at the small clubs of Brazil and Spain and Central Europe.Alas.

Berbatov-

2008-10-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

31 Mil pounds and the jury is still out on the latest signing from Spurs.Some say he is the next Cantona,to others he is just too slow and lazy to adapt to the United speed,for me he is just a Poor Sod who plied his trade for a bunch of Loosers .
At United, we DONT need and like our Strikers to backtrack and defensive, we pay them to entertain Stretford End.

So Berba, get your fancy 31mil ass in the line of fire, latch onto the balls sprayed to you by That Boy, Evra or Carrick and just score the goals, we have enough people to hold fort at the back.

Updates on the TEAM Medical Ward

2008-10-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Carrick has damaged his ankle ligaments again...he seems to be sidelined till Nov...or if the Gaffer pushes it,he will probably be ready to play sometime end October.
Scholsey faced a nasty lunging wrap-around the knees tackle in Aalborg. Suspected Knee ligament damage- out till Dec mid.With his age, hopefully he will be on the bench by Christmas.
Ben Foster- now this poor bugger seems to be injured even if he is just walking to the loo...Suspected ankle and knee ligament damage and he just came back from a Cartilage damage.
Rooney- Out with Ankle ligament damage courtesy some vigorous hard Danish tackling and also due to the fact he runs at people like the Household Cavalry.
Rodrigo Possebon-lucky to have his leg in one piece after Emmanuel Pogatetz ploughed into him like the Virar Galloping from Churchgate.

Add to this list the fact that we Ronnie & Park just in from Long term surgery and Gary Neville trying to turn back the magic to 2004 and we have a Medical Ward IX good enough to take on the first team.

Also we have a Van der Saar who seems to have a bad knee ( chronic ) and Owen Hargreaves` tendinitis flaring up all the time.These are people we are not even talking about.

Latest Transfers

2008-07-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Confirmed and accepted moves...
1.Deco-moves to Chelsea...from Barca...for about $8 mil.
2.Ludovic Guily- Moves to Paris St Germain...from AS Roma.
3.Claude Makalele- moves to Paris St Germain from Chelsea.
4.Ronaldinho- Moves to AC Milan...from Barca...for about $19 mil.
5.Pablo Aimar- Moves to Porto...from Real Zaragosa.

Offers and Targets
1. Rafael Van Der Waart...to Athletico Madrid...from Hamburg...for about $ 10 mil...anyway he has a release clause in his contract...hence he can leave next year for a fee of just $ 1 mil...so Stuttgart will sell him for the current price offered.
2.Robinho- Chelsea have offered around $ 48 mil for him..he is very unhappy at Real and wants to leave...doesnt want to be any part of a swap involving C.Ronaldo.
3. Kaka- Chelsea has offered $ 150 mil for him...from AC Milan. After buying Ronaldinho and also because of their bad financial shape, AC might just release Kaka and increase their cash flow.
4.Dimitar Berbatov-to Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur.Right now, United has offered $ 20 mil and is ready to wait till Spurs break down and relent.Its a waiting game out there.

Plain speculations,hypes and rubbish published by Marca...
1. C.Ron-from Manchester United to Real Madrid...for anything between $ 80 mil and the crown jewels of England.
2.Klas Jan Huntelaar- to Manchester United from Ajax Amsterdam.He admires United, bit united will move only if they miss out on Berbatov.

This is for the Shahguidog...anyone else reading it will find it very strange perhaps...
Gee- try and learn the nuances of the game h0n...

The Gaffer`s Dilemma

2008-07-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

LAST SUMMER, when Dimitar Berbatov learnt that Tottenham were to rebuff attempts by Manchester United to sign him, he was tearful. Spurs were on tour in sunny South Africa but clouds settled over their striker. Should Berbatov be back in South Africa six weeks from now the skies will be brighter. United play exhibition games there between July 19 and 26 and Sir Alex Ferguson is considering trying to get Berbatov in a red shirt by then.

Ferguson offered £25m for the Bulgarian a year ago and a similar sum may be sufficient now to prise him from White Hart Lane. Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s chairman, would strike a hard bargain, but Berbatov has just two years remaining on his contract and has indicated he will reject an extension, worth £70,000 a week, mooted by his employers. AC Milan are interested and Berbatov likes the idea of playing in Spain, but United are a long-held dream. Ferguson, having done background checks, is not put off by doubts about his temperament.

A move for Berbatov is one of the things Ferguson is pondering on holiday in France. Another is what to do about Cristiano Ronaldo. He is able to keep the two questions separate and that, rather, is the point about the far-from-terrible position in which he finds himself. He does not want to sell Ronaldo and there is no pressure on him to do so. There is money available to sign Berbatov or an alternative striker, and cash to bring in further players - whether or not Real Madrid pay the £50m-£80m they have talked at various times about offering for Ronaldo.

Someone familiar with the thoughts of the Glazer family, who own United, said: “As far as the Glazers are concerned, Ronaldo’s not for sale. It doesn’t get any simpler. If there’s an issue, it’s to be resolved by the player and the manager.”

Title...

2008-06-03T05:25:00.001-07:00

That`s the way you do it...you play the game at Lukhniki...and you play it with Honor,dignity and Pride...glory glory United!!!

Giggse, Patsy,That Boy,Vida,Carrick and Rio celebrate the penalty save by VDS...

And all this on the 40th Anniversary of the first win and 50 yrs of rememebering the Busby Babes.

Quijj...or something like it

2008-05-26T01:47:00.000-07:00

never felt so happy not qualifying for the finals of a quiz which can rightfully claim to the big daddy ( age n content-wise ) of all Quizzes in India, for that any quiz.
The whole qualifying process was a sham, solely intent on gimmickry,show-boating and at times Bahuut bheg...
reminded me of the times when certain gentlemen P & B where the sole school Quiz- masters of Kolkata.

My team operates on simple funda"If we qualify,Good...if we dont...VERY GOOD".

By the time we reached the seventh question in the prelims, i knew it will be very good.

Banker buddy and the SonneKinde tried gamely ,but we just didn`t deserve to be on stage for the finals. As simple as that.
Fellow quizzers from next table, veterans of many such battles and much wiser than us ( they had a sense of deja Vu,circa 2004), just walked away,vowing to fight another day.

Only If

2008-05-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

We manage to win at that Pig-sty called Luzhniki stadium, i swear i will run along GT Road in my " Lend-leased" Violet/ Purple hapoo...

Points to Ponder

2008-05-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

This Company runs on

1. Bluster.
2.Bullshit.
3.Bravado
4.Brow-beating.

R.I.P.

Footie: Republic OF Mancunia...

2008-04-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

We Are Going to Moscow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i just dont care whether we face the Scousers or the Chelskits...we are ready for anyone...

Glory Glory United.

Of a nite long past...

2008-04-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

i swear that night Bruce Willis and Sean Penn were with us...only Harper`s Bazar & Esquire didn`t allow me to print those pics...hence you poor sods get to see their Armani shirts and CK jeans...

" and miles to go before we sleep'

In the striking zone...

2008-04-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

I stared at the screen blankly…angry…very angry…a lump forming in my throat…as the Blues celebrated their win…(Rio celebrated by kicking a stewardess)…for a second the old foto of JT holding aloft the EPL trophy flashed in front of my eyes and I was back to my usual self.

We lack strikers. Quality finishers inside the box who can hold the ball in Middle third and let the wingers and withdrawn striker run into the box. We probable need a Berbatov, a Heitinga or maybe a Kun Aguero.our ball-holding capability in the final third can be written on the back side of postage stamp with room to spare. Instead of 1 tall strong striker pulling atleast 2 defenders (preferably also their CDM) towards him, we have Rooney( Mutton-headed lump of lard), a Misplaced Dhakai bangal( Saha) and a specialist withdrawn forward ( Tevez ) in the team.

By now,it’s a well-known and well-documented fact that Rooney is useless against proper holding defences of Spain or Italy. At best, he bulldozes into massed wall of 2^nd grade African talents ( no Thuram/ Essien/ Yaya Toure/ Mahamadou Diarra those ) or cheap East European imports who gets overawed by the AIG logo, not by Rooney`s ball skills.Rooney is more suited for the Rugby Unions leagues and less for the intricacies of European football.Old Man,sell him while you still can get some money for him!

Saha…ahahahahahahahahha…even I am fitter than him. Any world-class ( ! ) striker who gets injured while warming up for matches should just take Buladi`s advice and stick to playing Ludo…Sell him…to Sunderland. Keano will wipe the floor with his ass, and then Saha might be fit to play.

Tevez is more of a ball-winner, someone in the terrier mold, one who will keep on running at the Left back and the central defenders till they commit a mistake, a small error in judgement and Tevez wil score…a real 110% guy on the field, he ranks right up there with Fletch, Sheasy and Wes Brown. Not spectacular, but his work rate will put any winger/ Attacking Medio to shame.

Options for Old Man;

1. Kun Aguero- his form for Athletico Madrid has already been earning him rave reviews from pundit s and opposition coaches,so much so that Chelsea is already lining up a $35 Mil bid for him to be their 7th striker( another Steve Sidwell).If we can get him,nothing like it.Poacher.Period.

Pros : Poacher, can conjure goals from anywhere in the box, UCL/ UEFA Cup experience.

Cons: lack of consistency, unproven in EPL.

2. Dimitar Berbatov : the tall Bulgarian with the Superb ball skills has been one of the reasons Spurs managed to win the League Cup. A fantastic season with Werder Bremen and EPL clubs were at his doorstep with the proverbial blank cheques. Sad he chose a group of perpetual also-rans like Spurs (did he mistook the United Millions to be in Dollars???). Face it, Spurs might have their days but a team that can’t defeat Livorno at home has no future in Europe. Sad because a Berbatov in the Number 10 jersey would have been a dream for the Reds in Europe where his holding, composed football and crackling single-touch passing would open up many a defence for that Boy to torment.

Pros: Proven EPL record, stint with Werder Bremen gives him Bundesliga toughness.

Cons: very expensive. Perceived to be slow and not suited for the fast united Game,bit moody and brooding, not a perfect team man.

3.Wesley Sneijder: If we manage to pry away this gifted Dutchman from Real Madrid, which wont be very difficult( they overhaul things every March..a la Tom Ford at Gucci ), we can have a first rate attacking medio who can take proper chipped freekicks from 35-40 yards out in the right,( That Boy manages the left ) will run at defences and also run box-to-box to break up attacks .

Pros: big team temperament, awesome stamina.

Cons: too expensive, where will Carrick and Anderson go ?