Bleacher Report - Articles by raam shanker

Liverpool's Champions' League Exodus: The Aftermath and the Road Ahead

raam shanker — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:11:59 -0500

From this juncture, one of two things can happen. Liverpool can either go down in the dumps and lose morale, their manager and their key players, wandering aimlessly for a couple of seasons before they regroup; or they can use this as a spring-board, focus solely on The Premiership, and get a Top-Four finish. If not better.

After Tuesday’s cataclysmic defeat emotions are likely running high in the Liverpool camp. However, great teams respond, they don’t react. Liverpool’s situation has the potential to rock the Top-Four boat yet again this season. There are, however, a number of variables in the Liverpool equation, which need to be solved sooner rather than later.

Ryan Babel’s outcry about lack of opportunities and the fact that he is looking for a new club might be a reflection of an ongoing civil war in a dressing room full of disgruntled players. Is Babel the only one, or are there potential departures waiting for the New Year?

Speaking of departures I am sure Benitez would love to offload some underachievers; however, will he be able to get a good price for them? The fact that they’re enduring a difficult domestic season combined with their exit from Europe is likely to put doubts in the minds of potential suitors as to whether the players are worth Liverpool’s evaluation. The players’ frustration and eagerness to move is likely to add to Benitez’s misery over sale proceeds.

Step into the Liverpool board-room and it was not so long ago when Hicks and Gillett had the huge public fall-out. Relations have become “better”, but it appears to be more of a media-centric gesture than genuine warmth.

There have also been rumors of potential buyers for Liverpool for the last few seasons. If Hicks and Gillett want to get rid of 50 percent of the club to a new buyer for a good price, it’s imperative that they show a unified stand and smile for the public. The emergence of a new owner brings another factor into play. How much money will Benitez get to spend on new talent?

That question, however, will only matter if Benitez is still retained at the helm. For a few years now the fans have been frustrated. When he came in as Houllier’s replacement in 2004-05 he won the Champions’ League with a stylish second half comeback in Istanbul. It was a great season for Liverpool, who were on the verge of being relegated to UEFA Cup.

Since then they have won The FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and The Community Shield. One trophy that has dodged Liverpool for a painfully long period is The Premiership. Despite having 18 titles to their credit, they’re yet to win the rebranded first division, which has been dominated by their bitter rivals Manchester United. For Liverpool players and fans alike, this has become the equivalent of The Holy Grail.

Their best chance came last season when they got 14 out of a possible 18 points against fellow Top-Four finishers, and won the double-header against United and Chelsea in convincing fashion. They were the only team in the Top Four who did not lose to the other three. Despite being in top shape for most of the season, they bottled it when it mattered most, and lost to United by four points. Could the title win last season have ensured a smoother state of play this season?

So, looking back at Rafael Benitez’s time at Liverpool I am tempted to say he had his best chance last season and did not take it. Whether he gets another opportunity, let alone such a golden one, is yet to be seen. Despite assurances of job safety, his future at Merseyside remains in question.

The FIFA World Cup: An Exploitation of Human Emotion ?

raam shanker — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:00:46 -0500

Every four years we’re treated to a sporting reality show in which 32 football teams, each representing a country compete for the “ultimate prize” in football—The World Cup.

In retrospection what made football the beautiful game are its simplicity, easy to remember rules and subliminal skills. What made it a global sensation is the advent of technology and emergence of new media over time.

In the good old days people used to walk to the local grounds to see their favoured teams, have a few pints, relish the little joys in life, shake hands at the end of it all and go back home to reality. What started as a means of entertainment for factory workers and miners became a full time source of income for a lot of people as the decades progressed.

Today however we have witnessed a change in the way the sport is perceived. Even though the basic premise of the game has not changed, what has drastically changed is its image. It is no more a working man’s game and bears no resemblance to its humble roots. The biggest reason is technology.

The growth in technology has changed the way we see the game. Firstly the radio and then the television have changed the way we see football. Today cameras placed strategically all over the stadium beam images on to a satellite spinning a few miles above us that relays images back to us sitting at home with our beers.

This global reach has opened up new avenues for generating revenue. For starters, the players themselves get paid a king’s ransom. Add to it, the endorsements, sponsorship deals, media appearances, jersey sales, merchandising etc, you see a human advertisement hoarding banking on world-wide viewership.

Viewership in layman terms means the amount of people watching the event. So it’s obvious that bigger stars attract a larger audience. Larger audience means wider reach and hence more selling opportunities. The rest is statistics. If you have more opportunities to sell, the probability of selling is greater and so is the potential to make money.

Question: How do I get more people to watch the event? It’s a no brainer; as long as I ensure famous players playing for famous teams are playing in the global event, I am guaranteed a good viewership. This in turn is linked not just with advertising revenue, but also player based revenue, which is a result of the passion, love and affection displayed by the fans all over.

Now having said all this, let’s face the truth; we’re humans. We have emotions and we’re passionate about certain things ranging from our favourite pint of beer to the football teams and players we love and support.

More importantly it is this love of this beautiful game that drives us to commit actions that display our love and affection. We buy those products endorsed by our favourite players because deep down in our sub-conscious mind we feel a bond forming between us and our idols. On a superficial level it relates thus; they win, we’re happy, they lose we’re sad.

Day-to-day life would be too monotonous if it weren’t for these little feelings, the heart stopping moments that make us laugh and cry and the memories of such moments spent with our loved ones that we cherish. That’s probably why we’re not bothered about the exploitation of our emotions. Come to think of it, emotions make us who we are, they make us human.

Manchester Derby: Owen Powers United Home But the Season Starts Tomorrow

raam shanker — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:39:15 -0400

It was an unusually sunny day in Manchester as the clock started counting down towards kick-off on one of the most eagerly awaited Derbies in recent times.

On the one side, you had United gunning for a fourth consecutive title and on the other hand you had City who’d just recently discovered Ali Baba’s treasure, literally.

The derby was always full of intensity, passion, and tension. There was one thing more important then points that was at stake; pride. To add to the sense of occasion was Tevez, returning to Old Trafford after making his move across Manchester.

When Rooney struck in the second minute score to make it six goals for him in as many games, I thought this was going to be a rout. But then the match swung in City’s favour when Barry scored off a Tevez set-up following school boy errors by Ben Foster and Rio Ferdinand.

Last season, United’s strongest area was the defence which set a record for minutes played without conceding anything. It was the foundation on which United built their bid for a third successive title. This season however there is still work to be done in this department.

An error like that was not acceptable for at least three reasons; This is professional football and you’re not allowed to make schoolboy errors, Tevez was prowling in the area and being witness to Tevez’s work rate as a teammate in the last two seasons, Foster and Ferdinand should have known what to expect and should’ve dealt with the situation proactively.

I am inquisitive by nature and that might explain my engineering oriented career and my various hobbies. However these days what triggers my curiosity is what goes on in the United dressing room at half time. It must have been a motivating talk or a blunt dressing down by Sir Alex because when United returned to the pitch for the second period, they looked possessed.

Soon enough the possession (pun intended) was rewarded as Fletcher headed home from Ryan Giggs’ cross. Lead restored and the crowd erupted in joy and relief. However this was short lived as Bellamy soon restored parity with a screamer. This time it was the sheer brilliance of Bellamy and the fact that O‘Shea failed to cover him that left the red crowd stunned in silence.

At this stage, Hughes may have made a tactical error by pushing Bellamy to a central role and moving Ireland wide. Suddenly United opened up and began to butcher the City midfield. If it were not for Shay Given’s shot stopping abilities, United would have gone maybe two or three more ahead in this period of twenty-five or so minutes when they squeezed the life out of City.

This was also the period when Valencia was introduced in to the fray. His sheer pace was enough to give grief to Wayne Bridge. On the left wing it was Giggs’ vision and ability, reminding us of his former self and the semi-finals goal of the 1999 FA Cup. The last time United had mounted any consistent and significant attacks on the opposition from either wing was when Beckham and Giggs were in their prime.

All the attacking finally paid off. Darren Fletcher, who I lavishly praised in my last article, stepped up again to head another Giggs cross into the net making it 3-2 to United, ten minutes from time. A wave of relief swept over the faithful and probably for the first time during the whole game they’d have expected to enjoy the remaining 10 or so minutes in peace.

It was not to be the case, for it was Rio Ferdinand again who played a lazy flick and Martin Petrov picked the ball up and passed to Bellamy who ran and ran till he deftly put the ball into Foster’s net making it 3-3 in stoppage time. Minutes before United’s third Michael Owen was brought on to replace Berbatov, who had an unlucky stint in front of goal with two superb headers stopped by Given.

Four minutes of added time were shown and United faithful were contemplating a solitary point. But as time rolled on, O’Shea won a free kick in the attacking area. It didn’t matter much but Ryan Giggs pounced on to the loose ball and slid it through to Owen, who scored a typical poacher’s effort to restore United’s lead and bring home all three points.

At the beginning of every season for the last four or five years people say the same thing about Giggs “he is another year older now and is not likely to be influential”. But time and again he has proved them wrong. He set up the last three United goals today and made some amazing age-defying runs. His presence and influence are very much needed in these times as United look to rebuild after the departure of two more influential stars during the summer.

This was a great entertaining game from a neutral perspective; however both sides have few issues to iron out, especially United:

· Defensive errors, despite being individual mistakes need to be addressed. One needs a repeat of last seasons’ defensive performance along with the attacking style displayed so far.

· Over-dependence on the ageing legs of Giggs and Scholes is a worrying factor. Either Nani needs to be moulded to take Giggs’ place or the hunt needs to begin for a fresh pair of legs for the future.

· Errors like today's against Chelsea or Liverpool may not be as forgiving as City. Like I had mentioned earlier, City lack balance and if it weren’t for Shay Given, a lot more would have gone in. Such is not the case with either the Londoners or the Merseysiders.

· Chelsea and Liverpool have settled into a good rhythm and playing style unlike City who are still in their forming stage with influx of a lot of new players. So United are yet to face their toughest tests.

Four goals and three points are fair enough but they do little justice to how far and how much City pushed United. In the end it may have been that stroke of fortune in the form of the final whistle that may have handed United this memorable derby day win. That’s why the season starts tomorrow.

Will Manchester United Rewrite History And Make It Four In A Row?

raam shanker — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:12:31 -0400

When Arsenal won the title in 2002, there was a statement from them that roughly said that the era of Manchester United’s dominance was over and it was Arsenal’s turn. Since then Arsenal have topped the table just once, whilst United have been crowned champions four times.

Five league games into the season and apart from the little hiccup at Turf Moor, Manchester United are looking good near the top of the table on their way to an unprecedented fourth consecutive title. If all goes to plan this could well be United’s most important season till date.

Going back to the last three years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been United’s talisman, a responsibility that now falls on Rooney’s shoulders. His contribution was more than what numbers can justify and departure to the Spanish capital has been amongst the most talked about signings in recent times.

Talking about most talked about signings, one cannot ignore Michael Owen. Whilst the Ronaldo move was inevitable, not many saw Owen coming. This could be a masterstroke in a lot of ways. England have qualified for the world cup and Capello is known to pick players who have regular first team football at a competitive level.

With two more qualifiers and a few friendlies left, Capello may reconsider. Capello’s attention and one more shot at the world cup will be definitely motivating for Owen. If Sir Alex can channel this motivation and convert it to goals, that could play very well into United’s hands.

The young guns, Macheda and Wellbeck have shown last season that when called upon they are more than capable of handling the pressure that comes with being a United player. However the key issue up front is to mould an effective partnership between Rooney and Berbatov.

In his first season at United Dimitar Berbatov got nine goals in 31 games prior to which he got 15 goals in 26 starts for Spurs. He is stylish, has the knack to be in the right places at the right time and the ability. When he scores he is a joy to watch. But when he fluffs sitters his style sticks out like a sore thumb making him appear lazy on the pitch.

Tevez’s departure should remove any insecurity and instil self-confidence in him. However, the more I start thinking of Tevez, the more I start to question Sir Alex’s judgement. Was sacrificing Tevez for Berbatov a risk worth taking? This question is likely to be answered towards the end of this season.

Creativity in the midfield will be needed more than before from Anderson and Nani. Valencia has the pace and delivery but he needs to do more than that to justify his signing. This leaves us with Tosic, Nani and Obertan. With Nani likely to feature in the league and Europe, Tosic and Obertan may find places in the cup.

Darren Fletcher’s importance in the United midfield these days has grown in leaps and bounds; perhaps to the extent that his absence may have played a big part in the loss to Barcelona at Rome. Barcelona passed United to death in that game and his absence was never felt more.

The way I have seen his rise to significance in recent years, I am tempted to call him the new Keane. The Scottish skipper is every bit the tough tackling midfielder that Keano was. And he is only 25. Hargreaves’ absence has also fallen beautifully into his hands. All he needs to do is stay out of trouble and do what he does best.

Ben Foster has grown up as a player over the last few months and the fact that Sir Alex has chosen him over Tomasz Kuszczak sums it all up. The back four should not be much of a worry, except for injuries at least for now. It can only get better with Van Der Sar’s return.

Come Champions’ League one is up against the best teams across the continent. As you get towards the business end of the season, the fixture list is crammed with important games everywhere. Here is where squad depth comes into play.

The league, Europe, the cup and the league cup go up to more than 65 games if United make it to the finals where possible. The return of Owen Hargreaves from injury will be a great boost not just due to his exceptional work rate and experience, but also because of the mindset that accompanies career threatening injuries. Add the motivation of a potential England world cup spot and there is a lot to play for.

An important element that is likely to play in United’s favour is balance. Teams like City or Real Madrid are loaded with attacking options but are frail at the back. However unless you defend your backyard well you cannot conquer new territories.

However it could all go horribly wrong. In the league United cannot afford to drop points, especially against the big six. I am not leaving Manchester City and Spurs out of the equation just yet. Last season United got only five out of a possible 18, against the big four losing to Liverpool twice, drawing and losing with Arsenal and drawing and winning against Chelsea.

They still went on to win the league because the other teams lost important games too. It is imperative for United not to depend on their opponents’ results. To be in such a position they have to win their games and win convincingly, especially against the fellow biggies.

With talks of his successor springing up everywhere, Sir Alex will want retire at the top, domestically and on the continent. Managers have risen and fallen around him and players have come and gone but for over two decades he has been solid as a rock and working tirelessly like a clock, winning everything in his wake. He will want his final seasons at the helm to be the most memorable in his career and in United’s history and ultimately it is Sir Alex who will make the biggest difference.

Formula One is Not a Sport But Entertainment: What Do You Think?

raam shanker — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:04:21 -0400

Before I write anything, I think you should look at this news article in a leading publication and the video that goes along with it:

Here's the news item and here's the video.

The ministry is quoted to have said something along the lines of F1 is not a sport, but entertainment. It has apparently added that F1 does not contribute to the development of sports in India but it is merely a commercial initiative by the proposed organisers.

The full details of the Ministry’s statements are available for you to read on the first link.

What I am doing here is questioning the integrity of this Ministry and its opinion of what constitutes sport and what constitutes entertainment.

Let me begin with India’s “national sport” cricket. I agree test-match cricket is definitely a test of skill and human endeavour.

One-day cricket is to an extent acceptable in the sense, it’s not an easy task fielding for half a day under Indian conditions and one needs stamina just to stand there out in the sun.

Now Twenty-twenty, that’s a totally different kettle of fish. Men in coloured outfits pouncing around for four hours and doing nothing at all. How does that classify as sport?

Also, was not the Indian Premier League a huge money-making venture jointly plotted by BCCI and its cronies? How can a government call a micro-version of cricket a sport yet instead deem the highest form of mechanical engineering just entertainment?

I am not contesting the fact that F1 is called entertainment. Come to think of it, every form of sport is a form of entertainment.

The way I see it, the people at the helm of national affairs seem spineless and belong to the days of the 1857 war of independence. Their ability to think seems restricted to their limited vision of everything except self-preservation.

No matter how much money one pumps into the Indian sports fraternity, almost all of it will go to the BCCI’s coffers and what remains goes where? Everyone knows.

After seeing an Indian F1 driver and an Indian team, the dream of India to see a race on its soil seems shattered by the red-tape and bureaucracy.

God save the Indian F1 fan!

Memories Of A Day On Which A 3 Decade Old Score Was Settled

raam shanker — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:45:51 -0400

As Usain Bolt bolted his way into the 200 metres finals (which he has now won in record time), I was fighting what appeared to be a losing battle against the cross-trainer.

However as Eric Lidle says in Chariots of Fire, “the strength comes from within”. Just as I was thinking about it I felt he surge of adrenaline as if someone had connected me to Manchester’s main power supply system.

Then it dawned on me. The feeling of an impending obliteration that had been flying high was the reason. The Champions were in unfamiliar territory, Turf Moor at Burnley, around thirty-five miles north. Now that would explain why they got lost.

Time for a little history. The last time Burnley were in top flight was way back in 1976, when I was not even conceived. They lost at home by a goal to nil to Manchester United and eventually got relegated, never to see the light of day again.

Then a new day dawned on them at Wembley, when they beat Sheffield United in the playoffs to come back to top flight. Tonight was their biggest night by far in a long time.

Last season, Arsenal and Liverpool lost to Burnley at Turf Moor. So does it have something to do with the place, the atmosphere and the local crowd support? Maybe, maybe not, but we shall see.

Now coming back to the night, it was only 1-0 to Burnley, but come to think of it, last season ten out of 28 wins were 1-0 for United, which adds up to around 35 percent. They also have started this season on the same score line at home against Birmingham City.

The way I saw it, Giggs was the star for United. On the other end it was Jensen. A flurry of missed opportunities summed United’s night up. They now sit in 10^th spot behind Birmingham City. The only reassurance, if any is that they’ve been in a similar situation before.

Last season they did not move up to the top of the table till January. It is still early days and there is a lot more to come. However the form of close competition is a definite worry.

This brings me to Liverpool and Ra-fail.

Rafa Silenced His Critics

His entry into England could not have been scripted better. Comes in, sells Owen and wins Champions’ League ten months down the line. A dream start and maybe the resurgence of the old war horse. I was so overcome by joy that despite being a United fan, I committed sacrilege by buying a Liverpool jersey when I was visiting family back in New Delhi, India.

Anyways from there it all went downhill, for Rafa, I mean. Somewhere down the line he lost the script, then lost the plot and I suppose slowly it got to him. Then he could take it no more and had a dig at Sir Alex Ferguson midway last season.

It was a good laugh, but when the day came, he had the last laugh. Liverpool defeated United twice in the season only to lose the title race by four points, despite scoring nine more goals.

Now Rafa did it again. After the opening day loss to Spurs in sunny London, he unleashed his venom at the referee. Then what happened? A 4-0 drubbing of Stoke followed earlier today. By the looks of it, Liverpool seem to have found a new hope in the form of Glen Johnson.

Gerrard was not on the score sheet but did enough damage to set goals up. If you’re wondering it was only Stoke City, just a reminder that last season, this fixture ended 0-0. Rafa believes that this was a big reason that cost Liverpool the title.

Just like I am looking forward to how United cope without Ronaldo and Tevez, I want to see how Alonso’s void is dealt with in Merseyside. Now, the opening day loss to Spurs may sound like a minor pothole on their motorway to the title, until we see what happened at Kingston-Upon-Hull.

Defoe was The Foe for Hull City

Harry Redknapp signalled his arrival at White Hart Lane with a 4-4 against Arsenal. He took an ailing Spurs team to the top half of the table last season. Now he is out to prove a point, maybe. Top half to the very top. If Arsenal had a dream start, this is a dreamier start.

I am wondering how it makes Phil Brown feel after a great start last season. They got the better of Arsenal at The Emirates and were also the only other team to score three or more goals against United—Am I glad I included Jermaine Defoe in my Fantasy League team! A hat-trick, the first by anyone this season did me a lot of good.

The highly one sided game also saw goals from Palacios and Robbie Keane, but the real star of the night was Defoe. With the World Cup just a few months away and with limited places in Capello’s line up, Defoe’s performance was definitely a signal of intent. It maybe a bit too early to say, he is one to watch out for this season.

Hull City had a better start last season compared to what would have been expected of them. But then they started to slide and somehow managed to stay afloat at the cost of Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Again, this season they got the lead against Chelsea but the Londoners left it till very late to claim all three points.

Hull are now up against Bolton and Wolves in the league. They lost to Bolton last year by a goal to nil. Wolves were still down in the Championship. Phil Brown cannot afford four defeats out of four and needs to step his game up. I still remember the half time lecture he gave the team on the pitch last season when they got battered by Manchester City.

EPL Matchday One: 10 Games, 10 Winners

raam shanker — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:46:10 -0400

As the referee blows the final whistle at White Hart Lane signalling a 2-1 win for Spurs over Liverpool, I realise that this is the first time in five seasons when the opening day has not seen a drawn game.

The table evenly split between the 10 winners and 10 losers. Other significant top-table results include 1-0 win for Man United over Birmingham, Villa's loss to Wigan, Man City's win against Rovers, Everton's huge crash against Arsenal, and Chelsea's escape against Hull.

Let me start with the champions and my favourite team, Manchester United. If one goal is all it takes to secure those points, we'll settle for it. This probably sums up most of United's last season.

Now, for the first time in six years they were starting without their old No. 7, who just like his predecessor had moved to Real Madrid. Also missing from the squad was Carlos Tevez, who jumped across to Man City.

Michael Owen was the surprise signing and could be Sir Alex's masterstroke. Despite the lack of missing faces, the United machine looked well oiled and in good condition to plod on for another 10 months.

Rooney's first half effort was the only goal of the game, but Fletcher and Owen fluffed good chances and Valencia fluffed half a chance. Other than that, it was a good opening day at Old Trafford, much better than the last two seasons at least.

Having said that, United have gone on to prove in the last two seasons that it's not the first day, but it's the last day of the season that matters most. Will they get their fourth title and go one ahead of Liverpool? Only time will tell.

I am shifting focus on to United's main adversaries last season, Liverpool. Last season was by far their best in the premiership. Not only did they lead for most of it, but also did the double against United.

But key performances against Villa and Spurs saw United snatch the title away from Liverpool and Chelsea. However the summer saw a some transfer activity at Anfield. Departure of Alonso, arrival of Aquilani, and Torres' decision to stay were the highlights.

Opening day loss has been the first one for Liverpool in the last five seasons. How it affects their morale, given the fact that Gerrard started today's game, will be interesting.

Aston Villa, the most successful team from The West Midlands were amongst the preseason favorites for a top four finish. Gareth Barry's move to Man City and Martin "No-Deal" O Neill's lack of signings probably did not go down well with the supporters.

It was definitely bound to hamper Villa's chances but a 2-0 loss to Wigan at home was not expected. With Liverpool, Fulham, Birmingham, and Portsmouth being their next four opponents (West Ham game being postponed), it will be an interesting turn of events.

Whenever I think of Chelsea, I cant stop thinking of Ranieri and his hardwork and the way he was abandoned for Mourinho. They started the season against last year's surprise package, Phil Brown's Hull City.

The biggest news at Chelsea this season was the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, the man who tasted a lot of success at AC Milan. With his arrival came the expectations of seeing Andrea Pirlo and Alexandre Pato in blue.

Ancelotti claimed he will attack and his team will play in the diamond formation. All said and done, they beat United to win the least significant piece of sheet metal work called Community Shield. Come the big day, they conceded an early lead to Hull, who seemed to have started the way they did last season.

But then Drogba equalised. Chelsea, however, left it till the dying moments to secure the win and pocket three points.

In the last few months that saw us suffer through recession, credit crunch, and unemployment, they made headlines for all the wrong reasons. They first said they'd pay a ridiculous amount for Kaka, who rightly snubbed them and went to Real Madrid. Come summer, they splashed out close to a hundred million pounds on Barry, Tevez, Adebayor, and Toure.

Now they want Lescott. However their performance on Saturday was more shaky than Sheikhy. I mentioned Ranieri earlier because I can see a trend emerging. If City do not win silverware this season, I fear Hughes maybe sacked after two seasons as manager.

Given their resources and challenge to be a huge club, their performance was below par. Hiring midfielders and strikers is good for the media eye, but what about the defence? Going by the trend, I think FIFA could take a cue from FIA and impose restrictions on annual spending by teams and probably even go one step further and place a cap on player transfer fees and wages.

More on that later, anyways but for now, I would like to see how City's new found riches match up against the tradition, experience and heritage built by Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and the likes.

By far, Arsenal have got the most explosive start of all teams. A 6-1 drubbing of Everton at Goodison Park raises serious questions. How did it happen? Is it a flash in the pan or are they good enough to continue for a title fight? How must Adebayor and Toure be feeling?

Equally importantly how must David Moyes be feeing? So Arsenal sold Adebayor and Toure to Man City.

Almunia went to the extent of saying Toure was unhappy. Barcelona are making an alleged move for Fabregas. The way I see it, Arsenal's fortunes fell with the departure of David Dein, their former Vice President who was also responsible for bringing Arsene Wenger to the club.

But Wenger's profeciency as a manager cannot be doubted but maybe he lacks the shrewdness of Sir Alex. If Arsenal put all the rumours and media speculations behind them, they have a realistic chance. However they could do without results like the 4-4 against Spurs last season.

This now brings me to Everton. David Moyes has for long been amongst the contenders for top job at Man United. A result like this not only does his reputation a lot of harm but also reduces his chances, where he is likely to face competition from the likes of

Mourinho. What goes for Moyes is with the limited availability of funds and hence talent, he has managed to keep Everton in the top ten all but twice during his reign. He has not finished lower than sixth most of the time, which is a Europe spot. I am hoping this defeat is just a minor stumble and Everton bounce back into contention sooner than later.

At this point, I owe an explanation to those few who've supported me so far on BR and to the BR team. I've now sorted a few minor personal issues and am hoping to be back in gear with more analysis, viewpoints, discussions, and predictions in the coming weeks. Thanks a lot for the support ladies and gents, it was, is, and will be truly appreciated.

This Should Have Been the Final: UEFA Champions League

raam shanker — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:23:42 -0400

Over the last few years The UEFA Champions League has grown in stature as a highly competitive and unpredictable tournament. The fact that no team has successfully defended their title after the rebranding speaks for the level of competition and the present position of Manchester United and Liverpool after the first round of quarter-finals illustrate its unpredictability. In its short existence, it has turned out to be a fantastic remedy for mid-week boredom with some volatile matches in which genius players with subliminal skills have portrayed football as a highly refined art form. Very often, they've gone on to become worthy champions and held the coveted "Big Ears" high. Every now and then in the knockout stages there has been a "clash of titans" involving two powerhouses of European football. As soon as you've seen the draws you get this familiar but funny feeling. Then there has also been what can be termed as football's equivalent of David v Goliath, played over an exhilarating or excruciating 180 minutes, depending on which side you are supporting. Now as you're watching these matches happen before your eyes, you get this feeling once again. The feeling I am talking about is "This Should Have Been The Final" Here are a few such fixtures from the last five completed seasons (2003-04 to 2007-08) that have invoked that feeling in me. I have filtered the list to matches that either, turned the championship around or made history or simply brought two giants together in an unpredictable plot.

Begin Slideshow

Manchester United and the Payback Season

raam shanker — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:12:12 -0400

I am talking here of a few landmark clashes that have redefined some old rivalries, sparked a few new rivalries, and make tomorrow a day to remember for the Stretford End faithfuls...So, presenting "Manchester United and the Payback Season"...

Liverpool vs. Manchester United / Benitez vs. Ferguson

In more ways than one, this season has been a payback season for many teams. I'll start with Liverpool. Starting from 2004-05 leading upto this season's clash at Anfield, Manchester United had been superior over Liverpool, winning seven of a possible eight games and drawing once. However, Liverpool trounced United 2-1 after conceding the lead early on. The game was marked by Nemanja Vidic's sending off.

In the early days of 2009, Rafa Benitez had a go at Sir Alex Ferguson, which was widely publicised everywhere and some even believed that Rafa had lost it. In the return fixture at Old Trafford however, Rafael Benitez's men pulverised United to win 4-1. Call it an uncanny coincidence, but Vidic was again sent off.

This is also Rafa's first double over Sir Alex, since he took over in 2004-05, that memorable season when Liverpool became Champions of Europe again. In a way this was Liverpool's and Rafa Benitez's time to extract a sweet revenge.

Mourinho vs. Ferguson

Claudio Ranieri was a fading star in the Chelsea galaxy, until that crucial quarter-final fixture at Highbury. Thanks to Wayne Bridge, his career seemed resurrected, until they came against Didier Deschamps' AS Monaco.

However, this is not about Ranieri or Deschamps, but of a man who had made headlines in England by sprinting along the Old Trafford touchline as FC Porto overcame Manchester United in the round of sixteen.He would also go ahead to lift the European Cup.

This was the first of many clashes between Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, who eventually took over Ranieri's post at Stamford Bridge. In 11 clashes against United, Mourinho lost only once. An impeccable record, given his short tenure in England.

When the second round ties were announced, a lot of us winced in pain as United were drawn against the unstoppable Nerazzuri, Inter Milan, managed by none other than the self proclaimed "Special One." Thankfully the first leg was at San Siro, or in Inter's terms, Guiseppe Meazza stadium.

The Inter defence sustained wave after wave of United's attack till the end. The return leg sound like a dreadful one. "What if Inter got a goal" was one of many uncomfortable what ifs that lingered on in United minds. However at the end of 90 minutes, it was Sir Alex having the last laugh, having beaten Mourinho's Inter 2-0 and securing a berth in the quarter-finals.

FC Porto vs. United

This tale of love and hate in a way relates to the Mourinho-Fergie marriage. Mourinho arrived in the English scene, sprinting along the Old Trafford touchline and in the process, smashing a million delicate United hearts.

After the first leg, United were sitting pretty with an away goal, despite the defeat at Porto. Things looked OK till the last minute as United were leading by a fragile 1-0 scoreline, despite having a goal denied wrongly.

However, it all went wrong in the very dying moments of the game. Costinha struck a lovely free kick past Tim Howard to fire Porto into the next round and introduce Jose Mourinho to England.

Tomorrow's quarterfinal clash will certainly bring back memories 2004 to Sir Alex and to the United players who played that night. So if the trend looks set to continue, maybe true to the payback philosophy, United will go through.

Man-of-the-Match Macheda's Magic Misplaces Merseysiders

raam shanker — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:56:12 -0400

After Liverpool's exploits on Saturday at Craven Cottage, it was always going to be a tough ask for United to get back on top. This was not easy with Chelsea snapping at their heels. To magnify their misery, United were without Ferdinand, Vidic, Scholes, Rooney, and Berbatov.

All these fears were put to rest when Ronaldo scored off a lovely free kick from within the box after James Milner's back pass to Friedel, sending the partisan crowd to raptures. This probably led to United relaxing a little bit and even being a bit slack at times.

The inevitable followed soon with Carew heading past Van Der Sar. Villa equalised. United miss a few chances here and there, but the scores remained level at the break. Much of the second half remained to Villa, who started to grow stronger with every passing minute.

All the attacking paid off with Agbonlahor's header, giving them a rare 2-1 lead at Old Trafford. The only other team to have led and won at Old Trafford this season are Liverpool. A statistic that would encourage the United faithful. Another statistic that also would matter is the last time Villa won at Old Trafford was in 1983.

Just after the hour mark, Nani was replaced by 17 year old Federico Macheda; a name unknown beyond the walls of Old Trafford. 20 minutes later, Ronaldo scores at the bottom corner off his wrong foot. 2-2. The noise at Old Trafford is fantastic. That goal seemed to have given United the much needed impetus to push for a winner.

All along there was talk of Liverpool's performance against FUlham and their fortuitous win. Two minutes from time, entered Danny Welbeck into the action. When five minutes of stoppage time was announced, the crowd erupted in joy, maybe they sensed a goal.

Danny Welbeck's shot was well stopped, and it looked poised for a draw till it happened.

In a cluster of Villa defenders, Macheda with his back to the goal demanded the ball, received it from Giggs, turned on his left leg and curled one past Brad Friedel; all within a few seconds! A magnificient goal on debut; one that put United back on top of the game and more importantly the league table.

As I am writing this, I am watching the post match interviews and Gary Neville says he is grateful to Macheda. That proves the magnitude of his goal.

This United provides a lot of answers to the fans who've been worried with the performance against Liverpool (1-4) and Fulham (2-1).

Q>Do United have it in them to push for the title after two defeats?
A>Yes.

Q>Can United cope with the loss of five first teamers and keep their cool?
A>Just about yes, but nevertheless, yes they can. The secret lies in United's squad depth and Sir Alex's eye for spotting talent.

Q>What about Ronaldo's future at United?
A>Two goals from Ronaldo, one to give them the lead, another to put them on level terms provided the stage for Macheda to perform. United's dependence on Ronaldo in the absence of other big guns was very evident here. United need him, or someone of his caliber. Ribery perhaps? you never know.

Q>Will Carlos Tevez stay at United?
A>Tevez has reiterated his intentions to stay at United. But then there is United's strike force comprising of Rooney, Berbatov, Manucho, Welbeck and now Macheda. How Sir Alex will justify Tevez presence still remains to be seen, but one thing I've noticed about Tevez is even if he does not get the goals, he gives a good work rate.

He runs back for defence, he is there tackling, challenging, fighting for the ball and creating chances. He is pure value for money in terms of his tenacity, character and discipline (only two yellow cards out of 22 games).

Q>Will United complete the quintuple?
A>That is one question I will not answer, because, I have no access to a crystal ball, the competitions are very dynamic in nature and quite unpredictable. Let's wait and watch.

Malaysian GP and a Few Thoughts That Followed

raam shanker — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 10:30:33 -0400

The Malaysian GP ended up like an abandoned cricket match. Conditions leading to close of race were wet and dark. Wet, because of the rain, dark because of the time at which the race was held.

In an effort to woo the European audience, Bernie and Max decided to have the race towards the evening instead of the usual afternoon. Please note the fact that I have a lot of admiration for the two of them, but their decisions in the last few months have made me question their intentions.

On the one side, they want to expand the F1 season to go all over the world, to places like China, India, Bahrain, Dubai and so forth. On the other hand they want the races to be hosted at a time convenient for European audiences.

We see a contradiction here. The season opening Australian GP was held in the evening. One big disadvantage in hosting races in the evening or early morning is the position of the sun. The sun is directly hitting on your face and makes it difficult to view the track ahead.

Driving at 30 miles an hour, I have problems looking at the road ahead, into the sun; these lads are driving in excess of 150 miles an hour at least.

So what is the logic in talking about safety, expanding the race to other parts of the world but still favouring the European audiences while sacrificing interest from the rest of the world?

Why not make them night races, under floodlights or simply revert to normal, mid afternoon race starts? With the mid afternoon starts, even if it pours and there is a red flag, there will be enough time to decide whether or not to restart the race once the downpour stops.

We could hear Sebastian Bouradis saying on the radio that it was too difficult to see and the race needs to be stopped. In addition to this, the dipping evening temperatures make it difficult for tyres to do their job.

So, I’d like to conclude this section by saying we’re better off having mid day race starts or night races.

Now coming back on to the technical regulations, which I’ve been harping on about, in the last few weeks, I am going to focus on the rear wings and slicks. The idea was reduced aerodynamic grip and increased road grip under dry conditions.

I am sorry if I sound too technical in the next few lines.

The downforce depends to a certain extent on the wingspan or the width of the wings and is proportional to the square of velocity (speed). Now effectively by reducing the rear wingspan the downforce has been brought down significantly.

To compensate for that, The FIA have reintroduced slicks, which is an effort to increase the tyre grip.

However from the looks of it, the increase in tyre grip does not fully make up for the decrease in aerodynamic grip. Else we wouldn’t have those changes in place. But then this is good in dry weather conditions. However when it is raining or if the track is damp or wet, we have a problem.

The tyre grip gets greatly reduced, as the teams are not using slicks for fear of aquaplaning. Added to this, the cars are likely to run a lot slower due to the wet conditions, hence the aerodynamic grip also goes down to a great extent because of the velocity.

So where or how does it make cars any safer by reducing their aerodynamic grip and tyre grip? I fail to understand.

Mighty Brawn: Nimble Brain

raam shanker — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:01:07 -0400

The much expected Formula One season kicked off to a phenomenal start this weekend in Melbourne. Now a little trip down memory lane to my childhood when my parents once told me, “Mighty brawn is no match for nimble brain”. Back in the days, brawn referred to muscle power. However after the qualifying, I am tempted to ring my parents and tell them “Mighty Brawn is the nimble brain”.

Full marks to the subtlety with which he has pulled a fast one on his former employers, much to their chagrin. It appears he has once again engineered an “invincible” car with the potential to re-inject life into this quasi-comatose team, formerly known as Honda.

I am all excited and want to sing praises of Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello and Ross Brawn for pulling off a coup and upstaging the favourites. The questionable point is the fact that it is still earliest of days and the race has not even started. The saying in the paddock has always been “to finish first, first you have to finish”.

To give credit to the so called mid-range teams of Williams, Toyota, BMW and Red Bull, they’ve joined hands with Brawn to put Ferrari in P7(Massa) and P9 (Raikkonen) respectively. The World Champion is a measly P15, one behind his team mate Kovalainen. That is the extent of damage inflicted by Brawn with his accomplices named above.

We have always known Brawn to be an excellent strategist. Some of his memorable decisions were back in Hungary 1998, whilst guiding Schumacher to victory with three stops, guiding Schumacher to his third career title in Japan 2000 and again taking Schumacher to the chequered flag in France 2004 after an incredible four stops. What else can go right for Brawn is the stepping back of Ron Dennis as Mclaren Chief and Jean Todt leaving Ferrari. This could play right into Ross Brawn’s hands psychologically.

The purpose of a spectacular qualifying can be defeated if the car does not make it past the first bend. The secret to success in this sport is not a function of how fast you can go (top speed) or how fast you can get there (acceleration) but of can you sustain the pace till the end (reliability). What could go wrong apart from the potential reliability issues is the ability and speed of Ferrari and Mclaren to redesign their cars and jump right back into the fray.

It remains to be seen if Brawn has yet again ushered in a new era in Formula One and that will only be determined in the weeks to follow. Like I mentioned earlier, it is still the earliest of days, however I am all excited because of all the obvious reasons. The only one thing that needs to be seen is whether or not I wake up in six hours time to catch the race, which means I will have to hit the shut down button ( I am not referring to Jenson here) right now.

Bernie and Max, Are You Listening?

raam shanker — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:50:15 -0400

We’re on the threshold of the 2009 season. We’ve all seen the new cars, which are the result of a new set of rule changes. Shorter and higher rear wings, wider and lower front wings, reintroduction of slicks (tyres without grooves) and regenerative breaking.

Rule changes and what do they mean? The way it was perceived, rule changes due to Ferrari’s dominance were first introduced as people saw F1 as boring because no one could beat Ferrari.

This meant diminishing interest in the sport and hence loss of Revenue for Bernie and Max. Let’s face it, that’s the truth. 2005 saw Schumacher and Ferrari overpowered by Renault and McLaren.

It was mentioned somewhere that Bernie said, “Only Schumacher winning is bad, but Schumacher not winning is worse”, Bernie may have said that, he may not. That statement however holds a lot of truth.

However does the logic behind the action hold any sense? It is true we need a level playing field, we need to see dog fights and we need races going down to the wire. Are we right in telling a team to down the bar to let other teams play catch-up?

By cutting costs, and enforcing rule changes, they effectively told Ferrari, mediocrity is the name of the game, others aren’t as good as you’re so you have to be as bad as the others to have some form of uniformity.

Then I believe Bernie and Max had another genius idea, change rules aimed at cutting costs! Now why would they do that and spoil the exclusivity of Formula One?

If they aim to cut costs, they can encourage more teams to participate, which means more money for themselves and maybe more people seeing the races worldwide. Apparently they want the sport to be more accessible to other less rich teams and make it a level playing field.

Now let me talk about what I do not want to see and what I’d like to see.

I don’t want to see the playing field bulldozed in the name of levelling by introducing cost cutting, engine freezes, hampering aerodynamic development and monopolisation of equipment supply.

Ever since Karl Benz made the first working petrol engine, based on the Otto cycle, they’ve evolved and become more and more refined, thanks to technological development. Most automotive manufacturers have a sporting history, where they build and test their engines and refine them to perfection.

No place other than a sporting arena offers the engines a tougher testing ground for performance, reliability, efficiency and effectiveness. Engine freezes inhibit technological advancement.

Aerodynamics have played a key role in making race cars go faster, whilst making road cars go more efficient in terms of fuel consumption, tyre wear and component life.

Yes, it’s understandable that the exact shape or profile of an F1 car cannot be used on a road car; however, the underlying physics and mathematics can be incorporated into alternate designs for road cars.

By monopolising equipment supply again, they’re limiting ideas for growth and development. More heads put together, with an assurance of reward will work better than one head.

Now the section on what I want to see. Before you read this, I want to ask you this question: “Would we have seen monocoque designs and carbon fibre composites in F1 if we’d had “rules” back then”? Now that you’ve read the question, please think about it for around 10 seconds.

If Bernie and Max are so obsessed about cutting costs, they should cap drivers’ wages. This will not only stop teams splurging on top drivers but will actually level the playing field by giving not-so-good teams an opportunity to lure the good drivers. I’d like to see technological development being encouraged with regard to engines.

I will not be surprised if we saw diesel engines with a percentage of bio-diesels replacing petrol engines, maybe five years down the line. One way to do this is by making rules which will ensure teams declassify their research after two seasons from when we’ve seen something new, something innovative.

As far as equipment supply goes, it’d be wise to see a consortium of suppliers putting their heads together and inventing new gizmos and gadgets. If I am not asking for too much, it would be healthy to have an opinion poll asking audience to vote on proposed rule changes.

With the technological alternatives available, like Internet, phoning, texting, this should not be too much of an ask. This will be good for the sport, the suppliers, the viewers and everyone. You listening, Bernie and Max?

As usual feedback, criticism and discussion always welcome as long as we do not offend others’ opinions and views. There is enough mess in the world as it is, let’s keep it peaceful and healthy on here.

Crowd Behaviour: Inspiring and Intimidating

raam shanker — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:27:00 -0400

My latest rant comes in the wake of England fans booing Ashley Cole at Wembley on Saturday. I am forced to write about crowd behaviours that I have come across in the past.

Personally, I don't give a toss when England play. I was a huge fan of England until the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I was not up for any more heartbreaks with a team of world-class players that wouldn't play as a world-class team. Coming back to the point, I did not see the England game.

This morning I read in the papers that England fans booed Ashley Cole after he bottled a pass and "Borat" scored the equaliser to make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan. Yes, I agree, fans pay to watch and if their team does not perform it is a gut-wrenching feeling.

First of all, because it is your national team and most importantly because you've paid a heavy price for the ticket (trust me ticket prices in England are stupidly high, that's why I don't watch games in the stadium).

However do any of these reasons justify your act of booing someone who is wearing your national colours and acting as an ambassador for your country and all it represents. Do you—as an England supporter—want to portray yourself as an irresponsible, inebriated imbecile, who will thwart and intimidate his national team so much that they're scared to play on home turf?

Certainly qualifies as intimidating.

Being an Indian, it is blasphemous not to follow cricket. As a teenager I used to follow the sport with a certain degree of interest. The highlight of it all was the 1996 Cricket World Cup where we made it to the semifinals. Yes the match that is the issue of debate here.

The game was played in Kolkata, which believe it or not, is the football capital of India. India won the toss and chose to field and had the Sri Lankans tattering with the early dismissals of Jayasurya and Kaluwitharana. Then came D'Silva, who guided the Lankans to a safe total.

When India came to bat, the wicket was turning big time and soon we were looking like a bunch of archaeologists, buried in ruins, when the first artefact landed on the field. A bottle thrown by an angry "football fan" who accidentally was watching a cricket match. This was followed by a few more missiles forcing the match referee to hand the game over to Sri Lanka, who went on to be World Champions.

Crowd behaviour—Appalling.

Of all cricket rivalries I've seen, India against Pakistan stands out for a lot of reasons that I'll not get into. In 1999 Pakistan were on a two test tour of India. The second test in Chennai was a closely fought one and Tendulkar took India to the point where we needed under 20 runs with 3-4 wickets in hand.

Needless to say we lost! However what I remember most about that game was around 50,000 cricket followers in Chennai, bonafide Indians giving Pakistan a standing ovation for a job well done! I've never come across such a response from an opposing crowd during any game!

Crowd behaviour—Exemplary!!!

The Agony And Ecstasy Of A Football Crazy Nation

raam shanker — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:56:21 -0400

Before you read any further, I must tell you that I wrote this article over two years ago when the FIFA World Cup was upon us.

The story goes back a few decades in time, to 1946 when Brazil had a constitutional government for the first time after a decade of dictatorship. This was cemented by the fact that they had secured the right to host the next FIFA World Cup, which would be held fours years later in 1950 after a twelve year gap.

A major reason why the World Cup was moved to South America was the fact that most of Europe was still in all sorts of problems even though the war was over. However, it was celebration time all over Brazil.

Come 1950 and Brazil got its shot at glory as the hosts of the greatest show on earth, next to the Olympic Games. This was also a landmark World Cup in more ways than one, for the following reasons:

1. England's maiden World Cup appearance.

2. USA defeating England 1-0 and the British tabloids, foolishly confident, reported that England has won 10-0 against the US!

3. An Asian country, which until recently was under foreign oppression had gained independence and managed to qualify for the championship. However, they were not allowed to participate as their players wanted to play bare foot. That country was none other than India! The only World Cup India managed to qualify for.

Coming back to Brazil, a rejuvenated Brazil went about the task of building the world’s biggest stadium of the time—The Maracana Stadium, with an estimated capacity of around 183,000.

When the big tournament arrived, the groups looked a little awkward. Two groups of four teams each, one of three teams and the last group of only two teams. One of the two teams was former world champion Uruguay, who took full advantage of its position to make it to the final group stage. Incidentally, this was the only World Cup not to have a final.

The first championship of the new era could not have had a more fitting decider match than to have Brazil and Uruguay pitted against each other in the still-under-construction Maracana Stadium. In fact, the capacity that day exceeded 200,000.

Brazil needed only a draw to lift the cup while Uruguay had to get an outright win to regain the title. The first half ended goalless. However, a minute into the second half, Brazil scored through Friaca to send the stadium into ecstasy.

Brazil were poised to turn their dream into reality. But in the 66th minute Uruguay equalized. Though Brazil continued to attack, Ghiggia struck for Uruguay with just 11 minutes until the final whistle to instantly stun the 200,000 spectators into silence.

Ten minutes later, Uruguay ascended the throne. The World Cup was handed over to captain Obdulio Varela by FIFA chairman Jules Rimet—the man in whose honour the trophy has since been rechristened.

For Brazil, it was the end of a dream. It was a loss that caused many Brazilians in losing their mental equilibrium. Many were crying inconsolably while a few took their lives, unable to cope with the defeat.

The match lasted only 90 minutes, but the wounds inflicted by the game scarred the nation and greatly influenced the way it plays its football.

As mentioned earlier, this defeat to Uruguay inflicted deep wounds into the minds of the Brazilian people. Its influence must be so strong that, young footballers are bred with this hard hitting truth which has perhaps led to Brazil producing players of great quality, who understand the value of playing for their country.

When you see a Brazilian team on the pitch, you can feel it; they don't play for money or fame, but only for national honour and pride. Brazil have won it five times since, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002.

There is a message to the rest of the world, a message that says: "You need to be special to play football for Brazil." Their games are an attempt to erase the scars of 1950, but I wish those scars never go, for if the scars disappeared I am left wondering, whether we will get to see the beautiful game ever!

Indian Football: 58 Years and a Nation Struggles to Rise

raam shanker — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:10:18 -0400

They need motivation...but where does it come from? It comes if we, the fans, loyally follow our national team's progress through wins and losses, through ups and downs...just the way we follow cricket.

Imagine, we have the third-oldest football tournament in the world, the Durand Cup. The oldest is the FA Cup, and the second-oldest is the Scottish FA Cup.

However, have the seeds been sown? With India securing a place in the AFC Asian Championship, Asia's equivalent of the Euros, will we see a resurgence in the number of football fans in the country?

I mean, we have no lack of supporters for United, Arsenal and Chelsea? However, when the national team plays, we see empty stands. Why is this?

Then again, perhaps it has nothing to do with football at all. What do I mean? Allow me to explain, please. As most of us in the subcontinent and other cricketing nations know, cricket is a religion in India, and cricketers are gods. No two ways about it.

However, when the local state teams play in what is called Ranji Trophy, India's equivalent of the County Championships, how many ardent viewers do we have, glued to the TVs, going to see the games? Not many. However, let the national team take to stage, the atmosphere is festive and at times chaotic.

I used to live in Sheffield till the end of June, 2007, around the corner from Bramall Lane. I still remember when Sheffield United were relegated; I was sitting in a pub across the stadium, with my friends.

The final whistle blew, and when the people were coming out, I could see 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds crying because the Blades were relegated, their fathers convincing them that another day will come when they will be back in the premiership.

Though I was not a Blades follower, those scenes moved my heart...trust me...that's passion...that's following...that's loyalty...that's what we need to develop in ourselves...

I mean, for people here, football is not about a World Cup or a once-in-four-years feast; it's week-in, week-out passion....That's what we need; that's how we need to start...we have to start somewhere...in India, football needs to be given its due status.

I am attributing this to what we called situational patriotism. We Indians, as a nation, are only ready to back our success stories. We are not ready to resurrect our fallen angels.

"If you are a loser, sod off; if you are a winner, our doors are open," is what our message is to sporting teams.

What needs to change here is the attitude and mentality of our people. A billion people and not being able to produce a reasonably good football team is a shame, and I am not ashamed to admit it.

A Night of Missed Opportunities

raam shanker — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:11:00 -0400

A night of missed opportunities.

I cannot think of a better way to sum up United's opening match of their title defence at home to Villarreal, the same team that took home a solitary point back in 2005 and went on to the semifinals.

As a hardcore United fan, I had hoped that after the agonising defeat at Anfield, the lads would bounce back and give Villarreal a walloping in front of the home fans. There were moments of brilliance, great overlapping play, and even a few screamers, but there was no real penetration from United.

They did not look as sharp as they should have. I hope this night is not a template for the rest of the season.

To be fair United have usually had miserable starts to their season in the past and then gone on to win silverware. This season looks like another one of those, well we've made a hopeless start at least. I hope we capitalise on it, in the months to come.

I am not sure how true it is, but I do believe that preseason does set the mood for the days ahead. This has been one of the most uncertain and unpredictable pre-seasons I've ever witnessed, in which all that did not happen gained more publicity than what did.

Ronnie did not go to Madrid, nor did Ronaldinho arrive at Man City. Robinho spurned Chelsea for Man City, and Ronaldinho went to Milan. United reported Real Madrid to FIFA, Spurs reported United to the FA, and Real Madrid reported Chelsea.

Anil Ambani did not buy Newcastle, and then the Toon saga, that still drags after Mike Ashley made a mess of his club.

Nevertheless we thought pre-season was over and the real action would prove United to be a formidable force. Ah aah...not to be.

The number of shots on target United got against Villarreal was phenomenal, but the only real chance came off Tevez, deep into the second half, but Villareal's resolute defending did enough to protect the goal.

On the other end, we saw some magic that reminded me of Argentina's goal against Serbia and Montenegro, scored by Esteban Cambiasso.

The night, however, was ruined by some of the worst refereeing in recent times. Fouls overlooked, cards not shown when needed and we witnessed a level of mediocrity in which the officials seemed to revel.

On the positive side, Ronaldo got a great welcome from the Mancunian crowds and hopefully our fortunes should improve against Chelsea. Oh, let me not get started on the John Terry saga and how his ban was overturned, as I am planning to have a peaceful sleep tonight and looking forward to a busy day at work tomorrow.

This is me signing off with a promise that I shall try to be more regular in the days to come, because I love my sport!

Germany-Austria Euro 2008 Match a 90-Minute Waste of Your Life

raam shanker — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:28:07 -0400

As usual, I start with a little insight into how my day was and what I did. Makes me more involved in what I am writing.

I go out of work early after a difficult day. Anyways, that's my worry for tomorrow. After venting my frustration on the treadmill and the machines, I cooked my dinner, ready to devour it.

Now where's the remote? Ahh, there it is!

Right, just in time for the national anthems but, still no Schweinsteiger in the staring line up due to suspension.

That gave me a hint that the Germans were out for a draw, nothing much, as they wanted to preserve their energy and tactics for the Portuguese. But, if they were to get a win, they wouldn't mind it.

We kick off with the hosts in possession and five minutes into the game, Gomes bottles a sitter.

Question time again: Why did Klose cross and not shoot? He had a good angle and gained a fraction of a second. Four more minutes later, Fritz sends one from the right, after beating Pogatetz.

Now another question: where were Klose and Gomes? There was no one to poach it.

Half way into the first half, Ballack passes to Podolski and the shot is parried by the goal keeper. Half an hour into the game, Gomes wins another corner. Four minutes later, another corner, Klose miscues. Towards the last ten or so minutes of the first half, Austria looked more lively, more creative and looked more likely to score and even won a corner.

Then, the first and only piece of drama both managers sent off by the officials.

End of the first half, and a dull performance by the Germans, for which mediocrity would be a compliment.

At this point, a little philosophy, after four successive tournaments: Never trust the pre tournament favourites.

2002 World Cup—Argentina

Euro 2004—France, Holland

2006 World Cup—England

Euro 2008—Germany?

Well in fact, I should correct myself and say, never trust the pre-tournament favorites to win.

Four minutes into the second half and Ballack roars to life. A screamer from the German captain, the Michael Ballack of Chelsea!

Looks like another captain's day out! Yesterday it was sensational Nihat, today it was rejuvenated Ballack! What next?

Now, it looks like someone has injected a tank of red bull into the game. Suddenly we see action at both ends, with the Germans trying to double their advantage, and the Austrians to neutralise it! Game on!

Well, at least that is what I thought. There were no more mentionable chances, and by the time Oliver Neuville missed his, we were well into stoppage time. Germany had managed to limp through to face Portugal.

Since I did not have the misfortune of watching France and Romania's ninety-minute friendly, for me this was the dullest game I'd seen in the tournament so far.

However, thinking from Joachim Lowe's perspective, the mission was simple—to qualify for the quarterfinals.

They did it. Mission accomplished. That's what matters, end of ninety minutes.

Turkey-Czech Republic: Scripted by Hitchcock, Played to Perfection!

raam shanker — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:09:00 -0400

By far this is the most intriguing and edge-of-the-seat game of the European Championships until now. This game had the possibility of history being created, because if the game were drawn, we'd head to a shootout to decide the winner.

The first twist or rather thrill in the plot came when Jan Koller stamped his authority on the game with a superb header, just after half an hour. The game did not have much until Plasil made a steaming run and popped a peach to double the Czech's advantage, around the hour mark.

This is when the Turks came to life. Suddenly we could see movement on the right flank, with Colin Kazim-Richards making those incisive runs with Tuncay, Aurelio and Altintop and the transformation was a treat to the eye.

Here comes the first twist in the tale. Turkey pulled one back through Arda Turan and Cech can do nothing about it. The timing of this was what got me stunned. Only moments before this goal did we hear the Turkish fans go silent, losing all hopes.

Well there's more to it. What should have been a routine punch was messed up by Cech as he tried to catch a slippery ball from Altintop's cross and Nihat pounced on that little mistake to draw Turkey level, three minutes before time.

The situation was similar to the way we started. Turkey and Czech Republic were level on goals scored, conceded and goal difference and also level on points. This meant that if the game ended this way we would see a shootout to decide the winner.

Suited me just fine as I'd just prepared another cuppa tea. The fourth official indicates a minimum of four minutes added time. Twist in the plot again. Turkey break loose, Tuncay to Nihat and he surls the ball past Czech and into the back of the net! Turkey 3, Czech Republic 2!

The drama is not over yet. The Czechs come to life again and the Turks somehow get the ball away after a mix up between Volcan and Servet. And then, Volcan gets sent off, for pushing Koller to the ground.

Replays confirmed the decision and we will have Rustu Recber in the QF clash with Croatia, looks like it. Now Tuncay dons the gloves as Turkey have used up all their substitutions. However there are no more chills, thrills or spills in this game and Turkey romp home to a memorable win.

As far as thrill and excitement go, this ranks number one for me in the Championships so far.

I'd like to go back earlier in the game to recollect Koller and Polak's misses and I cant help thinking how significant they proved to be!

As of now, I am off to catch a good night's sleep after a fantastic match that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud any day, as I have a long week ahead.

Ciao!

Poles and Germans—What a Weekend !

raam shanker — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:23:00 -0400

Just over twenty four hours after Lewis Hamilton snatched a spectacular pole from Robert Kubica, the Pole took full advantage of Hamilton's shunt into Raikkonen by not only gathering the first win of his so far impressive career, but also going ahead in the drivers' championship.

The circuit has not been Ferrari's favourite in recent times going by their impressive record. In the last ten seasons, 1999-2008, they've managed pole only thrice, in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and have won only four times, in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. So statistically the odds were heavily stacked up against them to qualify or to win.

Also none of these qualifying or race results has been with the new regulations. This Saturday was no different from the recent past for the prancing horses. They could only manage third and sixth after we witnessed Robert Kubica taking pole from Hamilton who stole it again in the dying moments of qualifying.

Another variable in the equation this time was the track, which has started to break and give way especially at the hairpin. Drivers were given firm instructions to watch it at the apex of the hairpin. On race day Bernie Ecclestone's response was on the lines of it's the same for all drivers like rain or fog. No driver has any advantage.

Fair enough, it was time for red lights to go out again. Hamilton got off to a fantastic start with Kubica hot on his trail, but the biggest beneficiary of the start was Nico Rosberg, who surged ahead at the expense of Alonso.

As the race began to unfold, Adrian Sutil, the most unfortunate driver of the season so far had to bring his car to a standstill after what looked like brake discs overheating, (later revealed as loss of gears). Safety car came in and tossed Hamilton's advantage out of the window. Pitlane was closed and uncertainty prevailed everywhere.

How much fuel does each one have? When will they pit? Now? Next lap? Three laps from now? There were questions cropping up all over the place. Once the safety car exitted, the pitlane became a hub of activity as the top three, Hamilton, Kubica and Raikkonen came in.

Now what happened here changed the whole course of the race. Kubica and Raikkonen got out of their respective bay and accelerated towards the pitlane exit, coming to a stop waiting for the red light to go green. But Hamilton bolted out of his bay seconds later and ploughed straight into Raikkonen's back, taking himself and the World Champion out of the race.

Rightly to his name "Iceman" Raikkonen calmly pointed the red lights (now green) to Hamilton. For the first time in more than three seasons we now find Rubens Barrichello in the lead!

He should have however taken a comfortable fourth but for his spin on lap 59. Adding to his worries however was fantastic Felipe, who did a double overtaking on him and Kovalainen to take fifth. Further ahead, another veteran, David Coulthard took his maiden podium in I can't remember how many seasons. A good result for him, on his one stop strategy.

Now before I proceed further about this race, I'd like to post a few lines from my season preview posted before the season even began. Here goes... "BMW Sauber is one team that has been consistent all along in recent years. They’ve been oscillating between fourth and sixth till they came second in 2007, courtesy of Mclaren being stripped off all their points. In Dr. Mario Thiessen, they have a veteran engineer, who has the technical and managerial mindset to guide them to the top. I like the resilience and consistency they’ve shown season after season and that too without any glitz or glamour. You don’t notice them coming till they’ve arrived. My personal favourite to take the fight to Ferrari and Mclaren this season."

It was a year ago, when Robert Kubica had his horrific accident, that almost threatened his career. Who would have thought that a year on, he would redeem himself in such a memorable fashion. A strong qualifying put him on the front row of the grid. When asked about a maiden win, he coolly played down his chances. But with a little red intervention, he was able to score his first career victory, take the lead in the drivers' championship and also lead a BMW Sauber 1-2.

Dr Mario Thiessen earlier had mentioned that his aim for this season was to score their maiden win. But to score a 1-2 and have his leader at the top of drivers title and team only three points adrift of top spot in the constructors' title was something he could have never imagined.

Wishing Dr. Thiessen and the entire BMW Sauber team a hearty congratulations (anyone hearing) and all the best! If on one of my favourite sports, a Pole driving for a German-Swiss team had made it a memorable day for them, in another of my favourite sports, a Polish born young man scored two goals for Germany against his country of birth in a tournament cohosted by Switzerland. Now that's what I call coincidence.

Lukas Podolski, assisted by fellow Polish born Miroslav Klose gave Germany an early lead, in a match dominated by them as Joachim Low's team had a great outing. He followed it with a second after Klose's mis-hit shot and climbed into the leaderboard for goals scored in Euro 2008.

The worrying concern for me was Germany's defence. Except Philip Lahm and later Thomas Hitzlsperger, the defence lacked substance. More about it and the Italy Netherlands game, when I am in the mood to write. Time to get some sleep now, long day at office tomorrow.

Ciao!