BACK AGAIN!

Am Back!

Hmmm…*clears throats* yeah! It’s me back again after 1 year, 29 days absence! Waoh! How I’ve missed my blog. I must at this moment register my thanks to all (Dave, Chris, Omo, T-Boy, Soj…to mention but a few) who kept pushing me to get back to writing. Sometimes you never know you’ll miss something until you really miss it.

Okay…back to business. Where do I start? Before I figure that out, let me release a secret that Arsenal’s disappointing display contributed to my reluctance to get back. I knew I’ll always be talking about them…and for the wrong reasons most times. I nearly vowed that my next post will come after they win a trophy. But I said “Come off it! That may be in the next century”*just kidding*

Good! I know where to start….I think it will just be so nice to do a recap of the football year (2013). Let’s remind ourselves of some of the Dramas, Thrills and Shrills and this year that’s rolling out. If you permit me, I’ll say this has been one of the most eventful years I’ve witnessed. I guess you’ll agree with me when I round up.

2012/13 Champions

Ok rushing through the last roller-coaster season, we saw as I predicted that Manchester United with Old Alex and ruthless Van Persie won the league comfortably, much to my envy though. We saw on the last day when Arsenal scaled through into the Champions league spot through the teeth…and how annoying it was to see the whole team celebrate jubilantly as if they just won the Champions league. They only got into that position (4^th) owing to the poor run that Tottenham later had. But on a flip side, I must state here that the Gunners actually woke up at the end of the season…owning a record which shows that they would have topped the table if the league was from only January to May…but like we all know, it’s a marathon.

Inside last season we saw Swansea under the guidance of influential Landrup and Michu lifting the Carling Cup; with Wigan surprisingly winning the FA Cup, and Chelsea picking up their 2^nd European Cup in 12 months by winning the Europa league. I must say Benitez really tried to make a statement that he can still hit it in the top league, and was rewarded…not with a contract extension, but with a job at enterprising Napoli. Benitez returns to Italy- that would be another movie for another day.

It was this same year that another Roberto, this time Macini was waved aside by the Arab billionaire at City. His fault? He could deliver in European front, was already losing the dressing room…and an Engineer was brought to replace him- Manuel Pellegrini.

Am Done...

And then came the biggest one! On May 8, Mighty Alex Ferguson dropped the bomb shell…he retires after 27 successful years at Manchester United. What a better time to bow out, after giving United their 21st title. A peep into his career carries a luggage of 49 trophies (38 for Manchester United) – 13 Premier league, 5 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 10 Charity/Community Shield, 2 Champion league, 1 European Cup Winners’ Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, and 1 Fifa Club World Cup. *sighs* what more can I say….he’s the Greatest ever liveth in English football; the Mohammed Ali of football….we can on and on eulogizing the great man, and words will not be enough. Simply put, he came, he saw, he conquered and bowed out a Champ!

The world knew football was taking a twist…a new premier league without Sir Alex Ferguson! Something I haven’t seen in my Long life time. And for all the stick I gave to this man….he’s someone I respect! But chicky Everton nearly ruined his final match in a 5-5 draw…I know we won’t forget that in a hurry too.

It suddenly became a year of bowing outs…Beckham quickly joined his ‘father’ in waving goodbye to professional football. Liverpool’s military defender, Jamie Carragher also joined the farewell train after 737 matches for the REDS. Phil Neville also didn’t miss the party as he hung his boot after his stint at Everton. Michael Owen took this moment as one he won’t miss also, as he ended his injury plague career at Stoke. And talking about Stoke, they also parted with their manager Tony Pulis, as became the tenth manger to lose his job in the 2012/13 season.

We also remember how poor QPR crashed out of the top league after spilling millions over average and tired players. That must be a lesson to many in future.

How come we haven’t mentioned the surprises of the Champions League? First, Arsenal’s revival this year stated in their victory at the Allianz Arena, when they defeated Bayern Munich, but were a goal short from progressing to the next stage. Barcelona and Real Madrid were unceremoniously flushed out of the completion by two German clubs - Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich- setting the stage for an all-German final. Bayern Munich showed their usual superiority by beating Dortmund in the finals, ending a year with a fantastic treble. This notwithstanding saw the resignation of the influential coach – Jupp Heynckes . This gave way for Guadiola to come in from his One year break.

Chewing Suarez

And how can we recap this year without mentioning Cannibal Suarez, who nearly churned off Ivanovic’s hand in a match that earned him a 10-game ban; this eventually ended his season and would spill into the next one.

This was a year that also saw a certain Gareth Bale sweep all the personal awards at the end of last season, having ended the season with an amazing 21 goals. This set the stage for his whopping big money transfer to Real Madrid.

A year that saw Frank Lampard register his named as a legend, by becoming the club all-time record scorer with 203 goals from MIDFIELD! Can you believe that!

Ozil...a Gunner

Then comes the transfers…Arsenal knew that the youth policy won’t take them far. The fans were baring their teeth…frustration flowed…jeers overflowed. At the beginning of the transfers, Wenger promised breaking the bank as long as he sees the right player. I must confess here that I never believed him…’coz this is what we’ve heard all these fruitless years. The window opened, and Wenger rushed at a teenage Sanogo, then swept in free Flamini. After that he went to sleep…and I thought that was it. But he shocked me! He pulled out an amazing £42m to buy spectacular Ozil…that day twitter went crazy, no, it nearly shut down. He broke his transfer record over three times….he bought the second most expensive player in British football…second only to £50m Torres. As far as am concerned that was the highpoint of the transfers. It soothed the screams of fans, of aggrieved players like Sagna who were already looking outside. It made a statement to all that Arsenal meant business. Even though they lost in their pursuit of Higuain and Suarez…most persons were calmed by this step.

Other spectacular moves were those of world record Gareth Bale who moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid for a whooping £86m. I feared how he’ll manage this big-money transfer….but so far, he’s settled in very well. We’ll do further analysis of his performance at the end of the season.

Tottenham went crazy with Money earned from Bale’s sale…and went into the market drunk, and spent an amazing £121m on average players. Chadli (£8m), Capoue (£10m), Soldado (£30m), Paulihno (£20m), Lamela (£30m), Eriksen (£13m), Chiriches (10m). These players have still struggled to find their feet in English football, leading to a poor start that cumulated in the ultimate sack of Villa Boas.

Chelsea announced the second coming of the Special One, who later added to his title as the ‘happy one’…Jose Morinhno. His coming was greeted by many as the coming of the savior…but some, like me expressed reservations. He also visited the transfer market, but with caution, as his major addition were just his reunion with Samuel Eto and hijacking Williams from the grasp of Tottenham.

Man United replaced the legend Ferguson with his fellow Scot, David Moyes. Those shoes are really big to fill…and so have been the story of the season so far. He has struggled to get the results and the confidence of the players and fans. My take on this is, he MAY get it right if given more time. But they will struggle. He was cautious not to upset the team he met in place and made only 2 additions to the Champion’s squad - Valera and Fellani.

At the other end of Manchester, the new coach Pellegrini, made his mark by, shaking up the squad. He let go of Tevez, brought in Fernadihno, Negredo, Navas, Jovetic and Demichellis. Liverpool greatest transfer pull-off was the fight to retain Suarez, who has gone a long way to define their season with sporadic goal scoring shows.

At other parts of Europe, Barcelona brought in Neymar as they let go of Villa. Madrid’s major acquisitions were Bale and Isco.

In Italy, the arrival of Tevez at Jevantus; Higuain, Callejon and Pepe Reina at Napoli, and Gervinho at Roma, marked some of the big movements.

In Germany, Guadiola resumed office at Bayern Munich, and took along Thaigo Alcantara. Kevin Prince Boateng also arrived Schalke from AC Milan.

In France, Monaco had millions to spend as they set the stage for competition with fellow big-spender PSG. They brought in Falcao for 60m…as this rivaled the arrival of Canvani to PSG for 64m.

The Man...Madiba leaves

A bit outside football was when a great man that waved a final goodbye to the world, a sport lover, an Ambassador to many football Clubs, the mentor of many footballers….the Great Nelson Mandela. The world misses you, Madiba!

How can I end this year review without mentioning the controversial book released by Alex Ferguson. This man stamped his footprint all over year. The book which is an autobiography of his career raised a lot of issues. Top most was his big decision to let go of Roy Keane when he felt he became too big for the club. He also mentioned Rooney’s failure to absorb new training ideas; and publicly confessed his admiration for Ronaldo. He didn’t keep mute on his altercation with Beckham which led to the cut on the player’s forehead. He also took swipe at Mancini over Tevez’s issue, and gave a peep into his relationship with Wenger, one that started as bitter rivals and later improved as they aged. He also made statements on his relationship with Benitez and Mourihno. *am looking for this book to read…sending it to me as a gift won’t be a bad idea*

Waoh…I have written so much – or too long-….can we still call this a summary? Or is it that the year was too big to be summarized…I’ll leave that judgment to y’all.

I’ll like to take my finger off the keyboard by reminding all that Arsenal ended the year on top of the table with a point above Man City. Weather this is because of Ozil’s inclusion, or a spill-over from their perfect run from the 2^nd half of last season, that remains a curious question. As a new transfer window approaches, I’ll advice Wenger that he needs a 2nd striker, Giroud is over-laboured and getting tired…that is if he want to end the 8-year trophy drought.

I hope I didn’t bore you with this my brief summary…catch y’all soon. Am not gonna leave that long no more…I’ll try not to.

Don’t forget to drop your comment…

Arsene's time may be up

I know a lot has happened since the last time...Roberto Di Matteo's shocking dismissal being the high point of all. I'll let all that sweep pass, as Abramovic is quickly biting his fingernails on that waohing decision. Benitez cannot be relied on, on any condition. He used his silly rotation policy to run Liverpool into trouble, repeated same feat at Inter, and I heard similar sermon from him this morning. That man never learns. The fans can't forgive him, he can't get the results to buy the fans... his minutes are numbered!
A 3-1 lose to Westham will show all that the man at the helm presently won't bring Torres' magic back, neither will he take them to any fantasized Barca-like glory!

Lost Wenger

Enough said on Chelsea, Arsenal got my fingers twitching this evening. Coming from a stuttering run, Monsieur Wenger promised(lied to) all the fans that this December is the club's glory month, as he expects a flawless run over sides he term as minors. But after this evening's fatal humiliation by Swansea, he will be holding his head in his palm in rethink. The fact remains.....Times have changed. The team lack confidence, and are repeatedly punished. Wenger has pulled out the nucleus of the team that should have sustained its confidence and values; and have replaced these with players that now use the club as a passage to limelight and bigger clubs.
Am waiting patiently to hear Wenger's defense at the end of the season when Arsenal finishes trophyless and outside the top-four ( which is his only bragging right presently). The Tottenham team which was the last we defeated has continued their impressive run. They have stubbornly held on to their main players like Defoe and Bale, and have even strengthen the side with premiership gurus in the likes of Demsey and Dembele. I even heard from a reliable source that the much-talked-about capped wages of Arsenal is higher than that of Tottenham who had a decent run last season, and also finished in the top-four.
My humble submission after the horrendous defeat is: Wenger should resign honorably, now that he still has some reputation left...the ovation is dieing down.

Cruising Van

I must not finish breaking the stick on Wenger's back only. The greedy Arsenal board must take a chunk of the blame too. When they sold Van Persie, they told us it was for football reasons,not their fat pockets. Now we can see the reason, with the player bagging 10 goals in 13 premier league starts, need we ask more questions? Man U now sit comfortably at the top of the league that Wenger dreamt of catching up with by the end of December. Real football reasons!
What about the lazy headed players? They must also receive a part of the stroke. I wonder were pride has gone in football. Big transfer money has blurred the vision of many players, and they play only to be recognized and move to so-called Big clubs. The present crop of Arsenal players must go home and put their heads in their butts. When I sit to watch an Arsenal game these days, all I see is scared players running about. The possession game Arsenal used to hold as solace is gone. They don't kick the ball around brilliantly any more. The play is now so flat and unconvincing.
I can go on and on on this issue, but the bottomline is: Wenger should either make a U-turn and spend on quality players; or, stick to his guns and resign!

The Premier League

Sorry Art...

It was another weekend of grotesque show of football. Arsenal keep appearing on football news headlines...for the wrong reasons. This weekend they repeated their midweek stunt by giving away another two-goal lead. they went in front courtesy goals from Giroud and Podolski, but were quickly pegged back by replies from Bebartov and Kacaniklic before halftime. Fulham gained the lead in the second half through another Bebartov's  goal, before Giroud managed to head Arsenal level again. Mikel Arteta wasted a last minute opportunity to win the game as he missed a penalty. As I have always stressed, the team lack self-confidence, conviction and fighting spirit.
Contrastingly, Manchester United continued in  their burst of unbelievable confidence, carrying out a spree of comebacks that is unprecedented in the history of the premier league. They had another comeback at Villa Park, where they came from two goals down to WIN the game 3-2. Chicharito has upped his game and the team is benefiting greatly.

Flying Pea

In other results, Chelsea drew 1-1 with hard fighting Liverpool, in a game which saw the first goal coming from their inspiring captain, Terry, who was having his first game after his four-game ban. But Suarez had other plans as he pegged Chelsea back with a nicked-in goal.
Tottenham gave away their lead to lose with a 2-1 scoreline to the defending champions, Man city.Goals from Aguero and super sub Dzeko, made sure that Man city remain the only unbeaten side in the league this season.
 These results live Man U topping the table with 27 points after playing 11 games, Man City has leapfrogged Chelsea into the second position with 25 points. Chelsea are third with 24 points, while Everton are the surprising occupant of the fourth position, after enjoying a rare blissful start to their season. Arsenal find themselves languishing in the 8th position, having had a stuttering start.
Generally, Man U have proven to be the team to beat to the title. They have started the race like wounded lions, having lost the title last season to bitter rivals by goal difference. Chelsea can also have a say in the race, especially if they are able to keep their focus and make sure their triads- Oscar, Mata and Hazard- stay out of injuries. Arsenal still lack conviction, and may see themselves finishing out of the top four....unless something drastic is done to remedy their present situation.
Drop your comments, lets know how you feel about your team.

Arsenal: the other side of the coin

We are headed towards another weekend of football, after last week’s treat of delightful football both in the premier league and the Uefa Championships league. 

Cracking Guns?

Last weekend in the league, we saw Arsenal continue their woeful run against Manchester United were they lost 2-1, and in the Champions league were they threw away a two-goal lead to end the game in a 2-all draw at Schakle. This weekend the gunners face a free scoring Fulham side, who are presently enjoying a four-game unbeaten run. They are also boosted by the one year contract extension handed to their manager, Martin Jol. That match will really be a test to the North London club.

Let me spend a few paragraphs to assess this Arsenal stuttering condition. One question that many have asked is…”What actually is wrong with this club that usually exhume venom and professionalism in the game of football”? Did the man who earned himself the title le Prof, due to his know-how in the game, turn bad overnight? Is the problem really with substandard players? Well, in my own humble opinion, I do strongly believe that Wenger is still a good coach, if you doubt me, loose him now, and the club will bleed shortly. Overall the players themselves do not lack quality. I know many will be quick to counter this view, but let me point out something to buttress my point. We must agree that Arsenal is NOT in the class of clubs that should buy world class players into every position, and even in the bench. I stand to be corrected, but I see only two clubs always trying to do that…Barcelona and Real Madrid- even Barca have their own substandard in the shape Valdes. Man City are trying to fall into this group, but have not been consistent enough to be ranked at par with the aforementioned clubs. If we take critical look at most of the teams up there like Man U, Chelsea, Ac Milan, Bayern Munich etc, it’s not that they have world class players in every position that make them winners. What they have that Arsenal presently lack is simply…..WINNING MENTALITY and DRIVE. They know the taste of victory and want more.

Champ

Most persons have criticised Wenger that he has not bought enough players to challenge for a title…I do not agree with this idea totally. Let’s take for instance a player that Arsenal have failed to buy and have had success in moving to another club; Mata quickly comes to my mind. Arsenal were at the brink of buying Juan Mata, before Chelsea high-jacked the deal and he moved to the blue side of London. In the year of his arrival, he won the champions league, and is rated today as an excellent buy by Chelsea. I dare to say that even if Mata had joined Arsenal, it wouldn’t have change our present position or situation. But because he joined a team with a winning history and spirit, he gelled, and now termed a winner. Let’s look contrastly at another player that was in Arsenal’s radar- Nuri Sahin. Although the Turkish international isn’t a bad player generally, his move to the premier league has not grace the news headlines every weekend as expected. This is simply because he joined a team that has forgotten how it feels to be at the top, therefore, his arrival has made little or no difference to the Liverpool team. But had he gone to a side like Man U or Chelsea, his contributions would have made more sense and may have been classed as a top player.

In a nutshell, all am trying to prove is that Arsenal players and not all together a bad group, they just lack a winning mentality and drive. Once they can taste victory, you will see how players like Carzola, Walcott, Arteta, Vemarleen, etc will be rated. Arsenal needs a Psychologist, someone who have that psyche qualities of Mourinho. Wenger should get a very good psycho who will spur the boys on while he concentrate on the technical aspect of the team, and we will see a different Arsenal side.

As they go into this weekend’s game, the morale in the team is not at the top level, but they will need their all to pull out with maximum points. Wilshere will be out of the game serving his one-match ban for the red card he picked up in the Man U game.

The Van

Lest I forget, United have proven to have made the best buy of the last transfer window in the person of Van Persie. At the beginning of the season many applauded the inclusion of Carzola to the Arsenal squad, but over the last 2-3 weeks, he has failed to replicate consistency. On the other hand, RVP has brought in a lot of competition and positive drive to the team. We cannot say enough how much he has contributed already to Fergie’s team. Will he had made a difference if he stayed back at Arsenal? I doubt…he would have continued in individual display of brilliance, but the lack of winning drive of the team would still had pegged the gunner back.

The league Clatters On...

Hey…I missed everyone. For those that called, pinged and twitted… thanks for the love. Am back!

Football is rolling…and it’s getting hotter. The struggle for position rages on. Over the last few weeks, there has been the recurring issue of RACISM. Like I’ve always said, this is an over-flogged issue that keeps rearing its ugly head in this beautiful game. But give it a break, the more we whip this shit, the more it becomes an unbecoming issue. We were just coming out of the John Terry/ Anton Ferdinand’s unpleasant clash that has earned the former Three Lions skipper not only an untimely retirement from international football, but also a £ 220,000 fine and a four-game ban. These events are still fresh in our minds when Clattenburg (the referee that was in charge of the Chelsea vs Man U match) was again accused of making racist/xenophobic comments against Mikel and Mata.

Under-pressure Clattenburg

It remains to be proven if these allegations were true…but like the saying goes …”there is no smoke without fire”. Clattenburg has already been asked to step down from handling match until the investigations prove him innocent.

The allegation has come as a further twist to the already eventful game between both fierce rivals. A lot had been on everyone mind coming into the game. Alex Ferguson has failed to win at the Bridge in the last TEN years; therefore, in a game that he controversially won with a 3-2 scoreline, aided by 2 red cards (Ivanovic and Torres) and an offside goal from Hernandez…many were easy to conclude that Alex has employed one of his famous old trick of influencing the game from the touchline, and having referees make decisions that are to his favour. No matter how long we thrash the issue, Man U won the game, and have ended Chelsea unbeaten league run of the season, setting up an intriguing battle for the title.

Arteta Celebrates Arsenal's lone goal

Unto some other matches that were played over the weekend, Arsenal painstakingly scrapped out a 1-0 win over struggling QPR. This result came to end a tumultuous week which saw the players suffer back to back defeat from the league(Norwich) and Champions league (Schalke),coupled with an anger-filled AGM were fans showed their discontentment in the way the board has ran the club in the past 7 years that has been responsible for the their trophyless run. The win pushed Arsenal to the 6^th position on the table.

Another dramatic encounter worth mentioning was the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool that ended 2-2. The highpoint of the game was a Suarez’ satirical dive in front of Everton’s manager, after he scored the opener. Many see this celebration as a response from the Uruguayan to David Moyes who made comments that tagged Suarez as a diver in the field of play.

Tottenham also continue their impressive run after a stuttering start, with a 2-1 win at Southampton, and has shot them to 4^th position on the table. Villas Boas is a happy man at the moment and seem to be making his point that he can succeed in the Premier league. But it remains to be seen if he can at least remain in that position come May.

As it stands, after nine league games Chelsea top the table, next to Man Utd, followed by Man City, Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal respectively.

Ok! Let’s update ourselves of the goings on…

Super Champions

Behind the events was the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, and Mourinho famously pulled the strings again to secure his first win of the season. The game that ended 2-1 in favour of Real Madrid saw the league Champions lift the super cup trophy as they were at advantage, courtesy the two away goals they scored in Nou Camp. Goals from Ronaldo and Higuain made sure that the team lifts its first trophy of the season, getting an edge over their arch rivals. The game saw the introduction of the two newbies in both teams. While Barca introduced Song, Madrid also gave Modric a run out in the closing mins of the game. It was a sight to behold as Modric lifted his first trophy just barely 40 hours after he joined the Spanish side.

In other hot stories, the transfer deadline day also coincided with the Uefa Super Cup which was between Chelsea (Champion League winners) and Atletico Madrid (Europa Cup winners). Now, it’s difficult to tell which was more captivating; because as an Arsenal fan, I mourned throughout the day till the last minute of the transfer window, as my team failed to sign any player, despite Wenger’s promise of bringing one or two new faces. My cries and that of millions of Arsenal fans all over twitter fell on deaf ears. We watched painfully as our rivals Tottenham recruited the services of Dembele, Demsey, Hugo Lloris…amongst others. Below are some major moves made:

Berbatov (Man U-Fulham)

Charlie Adams (Liverpool-Stoke)

Adam Johnson/Danny Rose (Tottenham-Sunderland)

Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea- West ham)

Andy Carroll (Liverpool-West ham)

Maicon (Inter Milan-Man City)

Scott Sinclair (Swansea- Man City)

Michael Essien (Chelsea-Real Madrid)

Then after the close of the English transfer window, some other major deals that went through were:

Raul Merieles (Chelsea-Fernabache)

Hulk (Porto-Zenith St. Petersburg)

Michael Owen (Man U-Stoke)

We must not also forget that QPR were so active in the transfer market that they recruited an astonishing 12 players (a full team and one extra player). The players included the likes of Park Ji Sung, Fabio, Estaban Granero, Julio Ceasar, Bosingwa, Robert Green and many others. Ok, amidst all these movements, Arsenal were quiet, after their earlier aquisation of Carzola, Giroud and Podolski.

Falcao Falls Chelsea

Moving over to the Uefa Supercup, Falcao’s hatrick shredded Chelsea’s defence as they won convincingly with a 4-1 score line. Cahill got the consolation goal for Chelsea. I knew that if it weren’t too late, Abramovic would have bought Falcao that night. The Chelsea team looked like a reserve side with the absence of their inspirational captain, John Terry. The defence was easily ripped apart, and the attacking prowess of the midfield was found wanting. Hazard and Torres could not deliver the team when it mattered most….and that reminds me of Mata whose crickety runs were useless in the encounter.

Pol celebrates first arsenal goal

That slides us to the weekend of EPL matches. Arsenal’s coach stunned most doubters by putting out a team that produced a world class performance in a 2-0 win over Liverpool at ANFIELD. It was same team and venue, were the defending Champions struggled and were happy to get a 2-2 draw just a week earlier. Podolski opened the scoring as another new signing Saniti carzola doubled the lead at second half. Arsenal were in total control of the game which saw long-term-injury returnee, Diaby, turnout a man-of-the-match performance. It must also be recognised that the gunners are yet to concede a goal this season- after three games; at this time last season they had conceded an amazing 10 goals which included the famous 8-2 drubbing by Man U.

In other results, Man city comfortably brushed aside QPR with a 3-1 score line as Tevez, Yaya Toura and Dzeko found their names on the score sheet. Everton suffer their first defeat of the season in the hands of Westbrom in a match that ended 2-0. Tottenham coach AVB, has still failed to deliver a win this season, undermining his transfer exploits. An 85^th min goal cancelled Dembele’s debut goal, to end the game 1-1. I said it earlier that AVB and Rogers are going to struggle to fit into their new jobs this season. The reason is simple- the shoes they are filling are looking too big for their experience. Time will tell how long they’ll last.

Hat trick Hero

The scare of the weekend would have been Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1000^th league match in charge at United, which was against newly promoted Southampton. The match should have been an easy ride in the park for the Red Devils, but the Saints had different plans. As at 86 mins Southampton were leading 2-1, and it took a Van Persie’s hatrick (two goal in the last three mins) to secure a hard-fought victory for the 19-times EPL Champions. That game would have been Van Persie first experience of Fergie’s hair-dryer system, as the Dutchman toyed with a penalty that could have made them even earlier in the match. He tried to chip the ball like he did last season against Wolves, but this time it failed as the keeper parried the ball. This result also revealed that Sir may have given too much attention to his attacking positions to the detriment of his midfield and defence, as these departments were found wanting in the course of the game

On to Spain, Barca secured a controversial 1-0 win against Valencia with a stunning goal from Adriano. Valencia seemed to have had an equaliser, but was ruled offside by the assistant referee. This leaves Barca sitting comfortably at the top of the table with 9 points out of three games.

On the other side, Real Madrid secured their first league win in the match against Grenada; the game ended 3-0 and saw Ronaldo score twice. But at the end of the match, Ronaldo who did not celebrate either of his goals dropped one of the season’s controversial issues by stating that he is not happy, and that the club are aware of the cause of his sadness.

This has left pundits scrambling for reasons why the Portuguese will be sad at Madrid. Some speculated that he is angling for a more lucrative deal; others said he was sad ‘cause he hasn’t received enough support from Madrid in his race to win the Ballon d’or, as Cassilas has been given more thumbs up; still others proffered that he is unhappy because of the increase in his tax rate over the last few months; while another school postulated that he is sad because of the way Calvarho and Kaka has been side-lined from the team. Overall, if you ask me, Ronaldo is just been unnecessarily dramatic. He has no reason to be sad and come out publicly to pronounce it. Since he said it was a professional issue, he should have handled it more professionally-behind closed doors. I wonder how much he wants to achieve with this approach. We are waiting

Waoh….another loooonnnnng post. Never meant to…I hope we’ll make it shorter next time.*broad smiles*