And 1 point more...

With the derby against Manchester City emphatically taken care off as well as the trip down to the JJB Stadium, Manchester United need 1 point from their remaining two games to win the Premier league for the 11th time and the English First Division championship for the 18th time, equaling the record of rivals Liverpool in the process.

A convincing 2-0 win over City on Sunday and a come from behind 2-1 win against Steve Bruce's Wigan on Wednesday night, mean that United could be champions on Saturday with at least a draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford. If they were to achieve this it will only be the second time in all of their 11 BPL championships when they have won the league playing in front of their home fans. The last time they did this was in the record breaking season of '99. With this season looking to be a repeat of the Treble performance from '99, that feat looks set to be achieved again.

With Carlos Tevez being linked with a move away from United in the summer because of the Red Devils' apparent hesitancy to cough up around 30 million pounds to make his loan deal permanent, the two crucial goals he scored in these 2 games increases the pressure on Sir Alex Ferguson to keep this fan favourite at Old Trafford. If Tevez were to score another goal in Saturday's game against Arsenal, the striker's form might also pose Ferguson with a dilemma heading into the Champions League final at Rome on May 28th against Barcelona. Does he leave out record signing Dimitar Berbatov and deploy Tevez, the talismanic Wayne Rooney and the world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo up front? Or does he leave both Tevez and Berbatov out and go for a more conservative approach? At the end of this long winding season I'm just glad that its someone like Sir Alex who is at the helm to make such a crucial decision.

Arsenal game preview:

The two embarrassing defeats in the Champions League semis will still be fresh in the minds of the Arsenal players and fans. United should take advantage of the shell shocked Arsenal players who also lost at home to Chelsea last weekend. Ferguson would not also want his team to
loose their current rich vein of form ahead of the mouth watering clash against Barcelona in less than 2 weeks time. Wrapping up the championship against Arsenal also means that Ferguson will be able to rest all his stars at Hull next Sunday, 3 days ahead of the Champions League final. Given all this impetus plus the joy of winning in front of their home fans against old rivals Arsenal, I would expect United to go looking for a win and get just that!

Barcelona hit by injuries:

Already missing Daniel Alves and Abidal due to suspension and Gabby Milito and Rafael Marquez due to injury, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola got an added scare as Andres Iniesta, who scored the valuable goal deep into extra time against Chelsea in the 2nd leg of the semis, limped off with what appears to be a recurrence of an earlier thigh injury in the weekend game against Villareal. Iniesta and Thierry Henry, who picked up a ligament injury against Real Madrid a week earlier, both face a tough battle to be ready for the Champions League final. This could largely hamper Barcelona's challenge for the Champions League title.

If you're a Red Devil n u know it clap ur hands!

In my other posts on this blog I have tried to be as objective as possible... Not qriting biased one-sided passionate fan posts... But over the course of my studies on international journalism, I have come to understand that objectivity in reporting has never really existed... So what the hell... Unleashing the true Red Devil inside me...

3-1 Man United!... 4-1 on aggregate! As Gary Bloom (SBS commentator) put it, 'It was not men against boys, it was CHAMPIONS against boys'!... United's first ever win at the Emitates stadium and in what style... 2-0 up inside 10 minutes... 3-0 up after an awesome counter-attack early in the second half... If the only thing United did wrong at Old Trafford a week back was fail to take their chances, they definitely corrected that today!... The only tinge of regret... the only black mark, was the sending off of Darren Fletcher for a last man tackle on Cesc Fabregas, in which Fletcher clearly got to the ball first, yet got penalised. Van Persie scored from the penalty and got Arse-nal a thoruoghly undeserved consolation goal.

There was a lot of talk in the press from Wenger before the game about 'not leaving with any regrets'. Well... I guess Le Prof understood today just how far his kids have to 'mature' before they can step onto the pitch with United. For United though this performance away from home can very well be compared with that of the 7-1 drubbing of Roma two years back. The coreline may not be that emphatic but when you keep in mind that the entire game was played only with one striker on the pitch at any given point of time and that the game was at the Emirates against Arsenal, it throws into light the magnanimity of the acheivement. 

          

The atmosphere early on in the game wass terrific really with all those red and white Arsenal flags and shit... I guess most of those flags will remain in dumpsters in and around the ground as the poor idiots who support Arsenal try to forget this night for ever! But one thing is for certain... I'm not gonna let u forget it that easily!

Reviewing the player performances:

Almunia - Wenger made comments in the press after the first leg that Almunia is the best 'keeper in England! Come on!... The freekick of Ronaldo clearly showed that he is a mistake-prone at best, horrible at worst 'keeper! With Wenger saying Almunia should get English citizenship and get into the England team... am I glad that that won't happen...

Gibbs - In a facebook thread between Arsenal and Man U supporters that I'm a part of, some1 mentioned a 'dream' scenario in which Gibbs lands Ronaldo on his back, gallops forward and passes 2 Bendtner 2 score.... Well all I can say is Gibbs' butt and the Emirates turf have a unique understanding... one that let Park score the 1st goal of the game! :D

Djourou - Like in the 1st game Djourou must have though he was on the bench I guess... He sure did a looot of watching the game than doing anything about it!

Toure - Yaya Toure has recently come out and said he wants his bro at Barca... After this performance Arsenal will be glad to see him go...only prob would be that Barca won't take him! :P

Sagna - The only piece of skill Sagna showed in the match was when he caught the ball from falling to the ground over the touchline sometime in the first half. He then proceeded to throw it nicely as well... Maybe he should try cricket coz football is definitely not his cup of tea...

Song - Wenger this year called him the new Viera... Really Mr. Wenger??? are u tat dumb???... Viera at Song's age was helping Arsenal win the League and FA Cup double... Song trying to inspire this team 2 do that... no chance...

Nasri - The next Zinedine Zidane for some... Puhlease... don't disgrace Zidane... Nasri can't even wipe Zidane's butt... Nasri was so invisble in this game that I had to stop and think who was the 11th gunner on the pitch...

Fabregas - Other than being fouled by Fletcher for the penalty, Fabregas did absolutely nothing in the game... Clearly shows why Spain employ Senna behind him when he plays for them... Lads like Fabregas need someone with him to bully the other team's players away from him so that he can run into space and score one-on-one with the 'keeper!

Walcott - For all talks of the next big English thing and all Walcott sucked in both games! This leg clearly showed that for Walcott to dazzle he needs to put up against a far slower left back... Evra's pace easily put him in his place. Maybe Walcott needs to go play in the veteran's league where his pace can do him some good...

Van Persie - Scored the penalty. Took 2 freekicks. That was his total contribution. His coming back from injury made absolutely no difference!

Adebayor - Adi was ball boy and servant boy for United today. Everytime the ball would go out behind the United goal, Adi would run and fetch the ball and then place it on the 6 yard line for Van Der Sar to kick! He was terrific in those duties... But as a striker... Just as the rest of the team he was inefficient... invisible (even for some1 his height) for most parts!

United played a magnificent overall game. In the second half with the injection of Berbatov they even beat Arsenal at their own passing game... Park's shot that was saved by Almunia clearly shows how Utd ran circles around them.

I was predicting a 1-1 draw but I guess I was giving 2 much credit to the Gunners. Its been 5 years now since their trophyless run and 5 years of constant whinings of 'maturing side' by coach and fans alike... Well... deep down I guess everyone knows that this policy is gonna get them nowhere... They better go get some good players if they have the money! Earlier in the week their majority stakeholder increased his stakes to about 28%... how he must be wishing he hadn't done that now! :))

Anyway United through to the Champions League final in Rome. A repeat of the '99 treble is still on. Maybe I have taken biased reporting a bit 2 much in this post and then again maybe I've not... Who cares... I'm a true Red Devil at heart and I know it and I'm sure as well happy and clapping my hands! :D

Glory Glory Man United!

- BiBinhio.

1 down... 6 to go...

The Middlesborough game went as planned... 2-0 just as I had predicted. A smooth overall display capped with Giggs' goal less than a week after winning the PFA Player of the Year award. Hopefully the Welsh Wizard will land his 11th and Man United's 18th top flight championship trophy later this month. All that's needed now is 7 points from 4 games.

Later tonight is the Champions League return leg at Emirates against Arsenal with United taking a 1-0 lead into the game. That lead could and should have been a lot more emphatic based on the display they put up at Old Trafford 7 days back. This tie should definitely have been put to bed and unfortunately that's not the case. But on the flip-side it means that we are in for yet another exciting United vs Arsenal match today. Can't wait really!

Prediction: 1-1 draw (United progress 2-1 on aggregate).

2009 - Another Treble?

Wednesday 26th May, 1999...

A date forever etched in footballing and particularly Red Devils' folklore. The date when Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United capped off a fantastic season with winning the UEFA Champions League final at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. 10 years hence, a much changed side with the same manager at the helm is looking to repeat that performance come 27th May at the Stadio Olympico in Rome.

Yes there are a few differences. As opposed to '99 Man Utd are not in the finals of the FA cup having been knocked out on penalties by Everton. Yet in turn they have won the Carling Cup this time keeping the possibility of the treble alive. With the Red Devil's on top of the Barclay's Premier League by 3 points and with a game in hand on old rivals and 2nd placed Liverpool, and with just 4 games left in the season for Liverpool, the league title looks set to be staying at Old Trafford for the 3rd year in succession.

With a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of the Champions League semis against bitter rivals Arsenal, Man Utd should be able to get the job done in a weeks time at the Emirates stadium. After all the rich mix of experience and youth, individual talent and great squad players and the overall depth of the squad should come through against the young Gunners. If they do reach the final at Rome, a mouth watering tie against free-flowing Barcelona or Guus Hiddink's tactically astute Chelsea will be in store.

Yet after a season of early dominance on all fronts which prompted realistic hopes of a quintuple (including the FA Cup and the World Club Championship which they won in December) United have lost their game a bit over the last month. Conceding 15 goals in 9 games is hardly a catastrophe. But for a team that had gone on a record run without conceding a goal for 13 straight games just before this, the contrast makes for a bit of a worry. The fact is that without the central defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, United have looked a bit shaky at the back. This was evident when without Rio, United conceded two goals to F.C.Porto in the first leg of their quarterfinals at Old Trafford. But with Ferdinand back in the squad for the second leg they held on to a comfortable cleansheet at the Dragao stadium in Porto.

Can United be halted en-route the treble?

I don't see it happening but it is possible. In the BPL if Liverpool pick up 12 points from their remaining matches and manage to hang on to a better goal difference than United, the Red Devils will have to pick up 10 from their remaining 5 matches to win the league. These 5 matches include 2 against Middlesborough and Hull both of whom are fighting for survival in the top league of English football. These two teams will definitely not be lacking in motivation. The added danger is that United have to travel to both these clubs. Middlesborough at the Riverside is capable of upsetting any teams applecart. A last day match against Hull at the K.C. stadium with Hull needing to win to stay up, might provide anything. It would be wise to remember that Hull went to Old Trafford and scored 3 goals only to loose narrowly 4-3. Memories of when struggling Leeds United cost Arsenal the title back in 2002 come back to mind!

The last 5 games for United also include 2 big games against local rivals Manchester City and Arsenal. The 5th game is against former Red Devil Steve Bruce's Wigan Athletic who have done quite well in the league this year. Picking up 10 points from these 5 games? Should be possible with United's depth in squad. Wins away at 'Borough and Hull will be crucial. Wigan away again should not be a difficult proposition except for the fact that 3 days before they play City and 3 days later take on Arsenal. If the Red Devils' can continue to fight off attrition as well as they have done this season then the league title should be bagged easily.

The Champions League scene sees United up 1-0 against Arsenal after the first leg. Arsenal can easily overturn this deficit at the Emirates in front of their fans. United have never won at the Emirates yet. United should be looking to score early on in that game or otherwise there might be an upset on the cards.

If they do make it to the finals, they'l most likely meet Chelsea for the second time running. Chelsea went to the Nou Camp and just like United in exactly the same position last year, they held Barcelona to a 0-0 draw. Now it remains to be seen if Lampard or Ballack can step up and be Chelsea's Paul Scholes in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. But from a footballing purist's point of view I would love it if Barca made it through to face United; another meeting of arguably the 2 best and most consistent teams in Europe at the moment.

My take on results:

Middlesborough (A) 2nd May: 0-2 win
Arsenal (A) (CL) 5th May: 1-1 draw (United win on aggregate 2-1)
Man City (H) 10th May: 3-1 win
Wigan (A) 13th May: 0-2 win
Arsenal (H) 16th May: 2-1 win
Hull (A) 24th May: 3-0 win

Barca/Chelsea (Rome) 27th May:

Well how about this scenario...

Barcelona lead Man U 1-0 till the 87th minute. On comes super-subs Carlos Alessandro Tevez and Fredrico 'Kiko' Macheda. Tevez scores to equalize and then Macheda turns in a Ryan Giggs corner in injury time to do the treble (not counting the club world cup of course) for United 10 years on since '99! :D

As Ferguson said before the game in Porto, United are good at being the 'first' to do something. They were the first to win the EPL, land a treble, first English team to win at Porto and so on... It is only fitting that they'll be the first team to retain the Champions League!

- BiBinhio

A GRAND Sunday...

23rd March 2008: Sunday... And what a Sunday it proved to be. For 1 it was Easter...but that was not the reason why this particular Sunday rocked.

Grand Slam Sunday - that was the term ESPN gave to this special day. On this day champions and league leaders Manchester United were playing their greatest rival Liverpool and straight after this second placed Arsenal were playing London rivals and third placed Chelsea. The title race of the Barclays Premier League was quite easily the tightest in recent years, prior to this particular Sunday. But as expected the whole championship scenario just got a whole load more tight after it.

In the early kick off Man U faced archrival Liverpool at the Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford, Manchester. THe game was built up as the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Fernando Torres clash. Both these young superstars have taken the world by storm ever since moving to England from the nearby nations of Portugal and Spain respectively. Looking at the rich goal scoring form that these two had been showing in recent games, the media had a good point in building the game around these two players. But still the whole rivalry between the Red Devils and the Reds was never left out either.

I was feeling distraught by around 6 in the evening as the game was starting at 7 and i had a train to catch at 7 25. I was returning to Manipal from Trivandrum and there was no way i couldn't get on that train and yet i seriously contemplated it!!!... Finally on the train i was recieving updates from my sis-in-law. God when I got the msg saying manu-1 liv-0, i was over the moon. I sat and had my dinner and then waited and prayed. Finally the mobile starts vibrating again and i open the message rather apprehensively. But then i read: Man U 3 - Liv 0.... I read that 1 line over and over again for abt 5 times and then get up and punch the air (the chechimar sittin nxt 2 me must hav thought tat i was mad!!!)...

Chelsea also beat Arsenal 2-1 later on in the day, taking over second place in the league. Now they are 5 points behinh Man U and still have 2 play the Red Devils at their home ground of Stamford Bridge. But still my bet now (as it has always been) is on the exciting team of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Grand Slam Sunday was also a Grand Prix Sunday as the Malaysian Grand Prix was taking place at the Sepang International F1 Arena. The second race of the 2008 F1 calendar was emphatically won by another team in red - Ferrari. For the first time since the Belgium GP last year, the front row of the grid was all red as Felippe Massa took pole alongside his teammate and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen. In the end, Massa ended up spinning put mid-way through the race and Kimi won. A full 20 seconds ahead of Robert Kubica of BMW who finished second. Heikki Kovelainen of Maclaren took third while the young pretender to Raikkonen's throne and winner of the 1st race of the season, Lewis Hamilton, came home in 5th place.

All in all, for me Sunday was GRAND!... My favourite football team and F1 team racked up wins and I was also on my way back to Manipal with my new laptop. Especially coming after Friday on which day I broke up with my girlfriend (Yes I knw - the post 'Is it 2 young 2 fall in love' was actually abt me, I admit now!...), Sunday was fabulous. But now I have to say, the world seems a wider place than it used to seem........ I guess we broke up at somewhat the right time for both of us.

Anyway enough about that sorry episode...this post is suppossed to be about a GRAND Sunday... and that it sure was....

Ending with - Lets go Red Devils and Prancing Horse!...

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

- BiBinhio

Blowing with the wind of CHANGE...

'I follow the Moskva, down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night, soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in and did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future's in the air, i can feel it everywhere
and Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change'...

- Wind Of Change by Scorpions

The winds of change are defenitely blowing everywhere you look, the world over. From the United States' politics to the cricket action Down Under, change is the overwhelming constant that smiles down upon u like the large hoarding of Shane Warne that dominates the sight screens of all the cricket grounds in the Oz with his large cartoony smile...

While there is no use in writing abt the politics of the states (they are doomed neway:D) there always is other useful stuff 2 write abt, ain't there?... Hmmm... mayb not... One can argue that there never was ne point in just going
online and blogging about sports or my school or love or watever...but that didn't stop me then and it ain't gonna stop me now!... :D

To look at things in a broader perspective there couldn't have been a better time for me to get back onto the blogosphere. Yesterday night Man Utd thrashed their long time rivals Arsenal in the 5th round FA Cup tie held at Old Trafford, Manchester. While the term 'thrashed' has often been misused in relation to the world of sports, exaggeration is minimal this time around. 4-0 was the scoreline echoing in every Arsenal players' mind when a bruised, battered and 'red-carded' Gunners team took the long trip back to London from Manchester which suddenly must have seemed to them to have become abnormally cold (even 4 this time of the year), like the effect a couple of dementors would cause if they were swarming around the place. In all reality if you listened to the rantings of Arsene Wenger(manager of Arsenal) at the post match press conference, then one could be forgiven for calling in a baby-sitter for such were the manner of his complaints that he appered to be like a kid trying to play an adult in a game like Monopoly.

Liverpool fans were also rewarded for keeping faith in their 'LEGENDARY' manager Rafael Benitez, when they lost in their 5th round FA cup match to Championship side Barnsley. For those ardent fans who had guts enough to sit up and watch this game, the result might not have been such a big shock considering the last two rounds of the FA Cup that the Reds had played. The third round match against Luton that went to a replay and the next round match against non league side Havant and W in which they struggled at the beginning before finally winning 5-2 had both given enough signs for fans at Anfield to feel justifiably worried. Yet as a few of my friends tell me, 'Liverpool fans know football much
better than Man U fans', and I have to agree with them coz they are out of the FA cup and we are not. That sure is a great achievement to be rated alongside every one of their - don't b frightened now - 18 League titles!... I feel that I have said enough about Liverpool but one last thing u can be sure of is that whatever mediocrity the players (or managers) give they still dont have to worry bcoz - " You will never walk alone "...

Elsewhere in the world of sports, turning back a few pages, Novak Djokovic finally ended Roger Federer's streak at all Grand Slams minus the French Open. The lanky Serb got the better of the graceful Swizz Fed-Express at the new and blue courts of the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne during the inaugural grand slam of the year - The Australian Open. Finally!... The Swizz 'maestro' looked rather out of sorts during the whole tournament and as far as I am concerned he should have fallen earlier on to another Serb Janko Tipsarevic who stretched him to 5 sets and to 10-8 in the 5th set.

As I am blogging on a Sunday and as I am expecting a couple of calls, I keep glancing over to my mobile phone and yet it blatently refuses to ring. I guess the winds of change are blowing a bit too much in my life as well... Memories of what appears now to be a long time away when I was in school back home in Tvm come flooding back and i wonder what i am to make of all of it....The answer comes to me again in another second and that is that i will blog abt it 2.

My blog '4thebots' where i blog abt my school life has been redundant for a long time now. Guess its time to spark some life into it as well. College life here in Manipal seems rather dull compared to the devilry we used to get to back in school and yet unfortunately i hear from friends that the winds of change are blowing far too heavily against the fortress of fun and at times education, that is Loyola.

I have almost exhausted my capacity to sit in front of a computer and go on typing mindlessly without any specific objective in mind so i guess its time now to bid adieu... atleast until next time :D

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

- BiBinhio

Back for more.....

BiBinhio is back for more....

I do have this funny habit of blogging avidly and then dying off for a few months 2gether......I jst hope i dont do it again.....

I'm in Manipal now...Manipal Institute of Communication 2 b more precise....And life sure as hell is rockin....

Times change and I've also changed slightly.... I jst dont knw wat 2 blog on now!!!....

Neway sports is 4ever present.....

Manchester United are finally gettin there... the 4 match streak of 4 goals with a 2-2 draw against ARSEnal (which we shuld hav won) and then another 4 goals against Kiev, followed by a 2-0 win over high flyin Blackburn.....yes, The Red Devils are playin their best football of the season... rooney and Tevez are gettin on well but the 4 week injury layoff for Rooney is a bit of a worry.... Ronaldo is gettin back 2 his best...but i miss Scholes's presence on the pitch...But 1 last word on Man U....the way Giggs played against Blackburn was breathtaking......I love ya Giggsy....

The Baron Davis vs the Dallas Mavericks shootout I saw while I was back in tvm was 2 good....
All the shots that Baron was makin....shit man....and then Jason Terry, J-Stack and Dirk comiin back and doin the same....it was 2 good....

And finally.....Federer's foundations r beginning 2 shake....its abt time!!!!....Lets go Nalbandian and Djokovic and Ferrer and Nadal and Canas and Roddick and Davydenko and every1 else.....Stop the Swizz express....

So much 4 now.....

Jst abt had enuf....

b back soon...

BiBinhio.