Bleacher Report - Articles by Felix Tang

Beijing Olympics: The Fuss About The Boycott

Felix Tang — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:46:44 -0400

The year 2008 is a massive year in terms of sports, in addition to the Euro Championships, the Olympics will return in Beijing at August 8, 2008.

Being Chinese and living in Hong Kong, I sincerely hope this will be the chance for China to show itself to the world, not only as a sporting powerhouse, but also a country that can embrace the Olympics values of liberty and freedom.

Many say that politics don't mix with sports. However, we have seen politics, particularly in China's case, can have a great influence over subsequent actions. One of the hottest topics in the media recently is whether the Beijing Olympics should be boycotted.

Yes, China is a developing a country, and developing very fast. Since Deng's "open door policy" in 1979, China has opened the door to deals of importing and exporting goods in and out of China. Yet, China's Communist system to this day has not changed, although now the leash on the people has loosened a bit.

Critics have said the Chinese Communist Party values simply do not match to the values of the Olympics. Since the turn of the year, China has adapted a bit to the "Olympic way," allowing a wider media coverage (not only the Xinhua News Agency), and respecting more human rights of people.

A big hurdle China must jump over before the Olympics commences is the issue of the Tibetans. They have rioted, looted, and killed several, causing chaos around Tibet, and also making the world think China is not listening to the Tibetans' woes.

The exiled spiritual and to some extent, political leader of Tibet, Dai Lai Lama says they do not want independence, but autonomy. This is a great vision of the Dai Lai Lama as Tibet simply could not survive when given full independence, as the economy could not be sustained without the help of China.

While much of the older generation of Tibetans do listen and follow the leaders' ideals, much of the younger generation are tired of the 50 year wait, and instead come up with more violent reactions.

Tibet is an issue that requires more time to solve. Many countries in the West have been sympathetic to the cause, which can be understood as they support democratic ideals. French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has recently stated that France might consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which is a big gesture of disrespect.

I hope other countries will not follow in France's lead and boycott the Olympics. In my opinion, it would be unwise to do so as that could strain or even worsen relations with China, a emerging superpower in the world.

I sincerely hope the Beijing Olympics will be a good one. I am sure the world will get together and realize the Olympics should not be too political, after all it is a major sporting event, not an election.

English Premier League Predictions Vol. 2: A Quick Look at the Mid-Table Dwelllers

Felix Tang — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:01:41 -0500

After covering the five bottom teams last time around, it is now time for the next set of five teams.

While none of these teams face immediate threat of relegation, neither are they in serious contention of the UEFA Cup.

15. Bolton

Bolton has gone through a lot this season.

Losing Big Sam in the close season was damaging enough. Of course 'Small Sam' Sammy Lee stepped up, but he could not produce the results that the board expected, and so was replaced with current boss Gary Megson.

They sit now at 15th place, and although they seem quite safe from the drop zone, they are actually, points-wise, level with the three teams below them: Birmingham, Wigan, and Sunderland.

With Nicolas Anelka making the big money move to Chelsea, Megson and his team must utilize that cash flow to fill in the attacking void. Recent tabloids have suggested the former Liverpool Djibril Cisse as a possible replacement. I hope Bolton can pull off better performances in their remaining 16 games, and rebuild their squad next season.

14. Middlesbrough

It's Gareth Southgate's second season in charge, and making mid-table ranks is not too bad for Boro. Last weekend they joined a host of teams to force Liverpool, unexpectedly, to drop two points. If it were not for Fernando Torres's dazzling equalizer, Boro would be on to their winning ways.

Their recent form suggests they are a team with potential, but potential is not always enough. With experienced players such as skipper George Boateng, keeper Mark Schwarzer, and Luke Young, combined with pacy left winger Stewart Downing, they have quite a complete squad in all three departments.

Middlesbrough will be looking at a top-half finish and maybe a glimpse at qualifying for Europe. But they should not be too ambitious yet, as they still must secure the 40-point safety mark.

13. Reading

Reading's match of this season so far would be defeating Liverpool 3-1 at home, marking the first victory at one of the Big Four clubs. Apart from this fantastic performance, however, the team provides little news worth writing home about.

Reading fared well as debutants last season and finished at a promising eighth, one point and one place shy of qualification for the UEFA cup.

Their current squad does not boast any big names, but my personal favorite would be Nicky Shorey who, based on his performances, deserves to be at a bigger club.

Their sophomore season has not shown great improvement in form, but they would be pushing for another top-half finish. Relegation should not worry them much.

If they want to match last season's performance, they have to drastically improve their away form by bagging their first win.

12. Tottenham Hotspur

The Spurs had a bad start to the season, but new boss Juande Ramos is turning things around for the team.

After Martin Jol's departure, the team is slowly climbing back up to where they should be. However, in the last two seasons they have finished 5th and there is a lot to do in the remaining 16 games in order to push for a place in Europe.

Needless to say, the attacking partnership between in-form Robbie Keane and star hitman Dimitar Berbatov is terrorizing for defenders. They have combined to score 18 of Spurs's 30 goals, proving they are of great value.

Their recent draw with North London rival Arsenal was evidence that they can only get better.

If they continue to improve their form, this team has the potential to make a push for Europe.

11. Newcastle United

Newcastle is in deep trouble. With Big Sam gone packing, the new caretaker manager Nigel Pearson has not pleased the board—they were given a six goal hammering by league leaders Manchester United.

The Newcastle defense was in pieces—the summer recruit from Lyon, Claudio Cacapa, has been very disappointing. Michael Owen has just recovered from an injury and Obafemi Martins is representing his country. The squad is in pieces.

So what is next for the Toons?

Mike Ashley better find a permanent manager soon. Clubs like Chelsea and Bolton have suffered drawbacks as their managers have left mid-season. This affects the morale of the players, fans, and everyone connected with the club.

There's no denying that the Magpies have one of the best squads outside the Big Four, but good players won't necessarily bring in good results. It is about teamwork, chemistry—and they are lacking in these areas.

There is promise for Newcastle, but whether promise turns to improvement is another matter.

This is my take on the current situation of these five teams. Whether you agree or disagree, voice your opinions.

Tomorrow I will present the third article in this mini-series, which will deal with the next 5 teams in the Premiership. Don't miss out!

You can look back at my first article here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/6281-Birmingham_City-Derby_County-Fulham-Sunderland-Premiership_Predictions_I_A_Peek_at_the_Relegation_Fighters-110108

EPL Title Race: Manchester United Back on Top

Felix Tang — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 23:27:35 -0500

Manchester United returned to the top of the Premiership after a 6 goal demolition of Newcastle United. With Arsenal not being able to make the best out of an Adebayor goal, United are back on top—but only on superior goal difference.

This season we have seen one of the hottest title contests since the establishment of Premiership. Arsenal have emerged as strong title contenders, while Manchester United have kept most of their form from last season and are continuing to have a consistent run.

For most part of this season so far, we've seen Arsenal lead Manchester United on the chase, and finally, as a United fan, we have regained the status of league leaders.

When I was looking at this weekend's fixtures, I thought Arsenal would have no chance to slip up—especially against a team like Birmingham.

But this was not the case.

The Gunners arguably had one of their most uncharacteristic performances, not being able to dominate the game, and showing their vulnerability in set pieces. Although Adebayor executed a controversial penalty to give a half time lead, it just lasted another six minutes after the interval. Gary O' Connor unexpectedly lifted himself to head home an unexpected header. Birmingham did a great job fighting for their dear lives, clearing every ball that went in the box, and they unexpectedly fended off streams of attack from the Arsenal strikeforce. The full time whistle blew, Arsenal wasted their chances to consolidate their position in the Premier League.

As for Manchester United, no one could have guessed they could pull off a six goal rout.

While managerless Newcastle did a pretty good job in stopping United in the first half, the immense firepower came to United after the interval.

The first goal came when Alan Smith kicked his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the toe, resulting in a free kick that was well executed by Ronny as he bulleted the shot under the wall and past the net, although Shay Given had a slight touch.

The stalemate broke. The floodgates opened. The goals just kept coming.

The second goal came when Ryan Giggs was able to make use of a horrible defensive mistake—Shay Given cleared the ball, only to hit Claudio Cacapa and end up in Giggs' feet. Giggs calmly passed a cutting ground pass to Tevez, with the Argentine finishing it with ease.

The third was the goal of the match, in my opinion. The attacking trio—Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez combined extremely well to setup Ronaldo for one of the most exquisite finishes I've seen in all time.

By now, Newcastle was done, but United had just finished half of the business.

The next three goals showed Newcastle's faltering defence, and showed the Champions' attacking flair. Ferdinand was able to tap in a volley from a tight angle which was followed by two late finishes from Ronaldo and Tevez, with the Portuguese getting his first ever hat-trick in United.

With Harry Redknapp rejecting to be the gaffer of the Magpies, they have to find a quality manager that can pick up the pieces, or else they would rule themselves out for any European football next season.

With Manchester United level with Arsenal on points, both Wenger and Ferguson would mark April 12 in their diaries as the North London side visit Old Trafford. This, potentially could be a title decider.

With Chelsea lurking not far behind, the Premiership title race will continue to be wide open for the rest of the season.

EPL Predictions Vol. 1: Handicapping the Relegation Fight

Felix Tang — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:42:16 -0500

Halfway through the Premier League season, we have a pretty good idea which teams will end up where.

Here's my take on the fate of the five bottom-feeders...

20. Derby County

Derby, still on single-digit points, look bound for the Championship after just one season.

The big question is whether Paul Jewell and his backroom staff can turn it around. As it stands, Derby are eight points adrift of 19th-place Fulham—and a long, long way from the 40-point safety landmark.

To their credit, Derby have brought in some experienced players, namely ex-England international Danny Mills, former Newcastle winger Laurent Robert, and Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage. They also continue to be linked with players such as Spurs' Hossam Ghaly and Rangers' goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

Robert has public stated he expects to be playing in the Championship next season. Can these acquisitions pull a miracle?

19. Fulham

This is Fulham's eighth year in the Premiership. Is this the season the run finally comes to a halt?

Fulham have been underperforming this year. They normally sit comfortably at mid-table—but they haven't improved since last season, when manager Lawrie Sanchez avoided relegation.

I personally really like this team, especially the American presence of Kasey Keller, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, and Brian McBride. Fulham have a better chance than Derby—let's hope's the new gaffer can get the job done.

18. Sunderland

Sunderland had a pretty good start to the season.

But the Black Cats, led by Roy Keane, have since dropped back down the relegation zone with 17 points, tied with 16th-place Wigan, although with an inferior goal-difference.

Boasting many former Red Devil players including Dwight Yorke, Kieran Richardson, Paul McShane, and most recently Johnny Evans, the club look like a good bet to escape relegation.

17. Wigan

Most football fans will remember that Wigan's debut season in the Premiership saw them climb as high as second, and produced a respectable top-10 finish.

Well, one-and-a-half seasons later, things have been changed.

With the departure of Paul Jewell, Wigan seem to have lost "it."

Wigan do in fact have the talent—skipper Mario Melchiot, and vice-captains Emile Heskey and Kevin Kilbane. In addition, they have the pacey winger Antonio Valencia to provide depth.

The club's form has shown improvement in recent games. Whether they have the ability to stay up is another matter.

16. Birmingham

The Blues sit two points ahead of Wigan, and at this stage are still not very safe from relegation.

This club has drawn my special attention, as a businessman from my native Hong Kong, Carson Yeung, has the controlling stake in Birmingham.

All told, Birmingham are decent team. They showed their solid defence when United barely scraped a 1-0 win against them. It was quite a nervy final 10 minutes for United fans, as we saw U-21 Dutch winger Daniel De Ridder run down the flanks and pose a constant threat.

With Djourou rejoining Arsenal, Birmingham have a diminished defense that needs some shoring up. In my opinion, they won't ride the "relegation elevator" this season.

This is the first part of a four part series of articles that will provide insight on every team in the Premiership. Although the standings will change over the weekend, I'll pick up with the next five teams on the table.

Chelsea FC: Nicolas Anelka Comes to Stamford Bridge

Felix Tang — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:34:16 -0500

Nicolas Anelka has been the subject of transfer speculation and has been constantly linked with a move away from Bolton.

After Chelsea's bid of £11m pounds was initially rejected, the club revealed Anelka was signed for a sum of £15m on a 4 and a half year contract. The 28-year old French hitman is no stranger to the Premier League. Having played for the top clubs like Arsenal, on loan at Liverpool and now at Chelsea; he also had stints at Manchester City and most recently, Bolton Wanderers.

Anelka will be seen a crucial cover in the attacking line, and will have probably make his debut at the home game against the Spurs. He will be a direct replacement for Didier Drogba, who has left the squad to join up with the Ivory Coast National Team in preparations for the upcoming African Nation's Cup. With Shevchenko injured, Anelka will look to partner Claudio Pizzaro for the upcoming games.

Enough description said. Why has Anelka made the move?

The reasons are very simple. Anelka wants to move his career up to a new level, and that new level will be Chelsea. With Champions League football as the biggest lure, and with higher wages, many players would like to move to the Premiership's biggest clubs.

However, along with his new striker partner Claudio Pizarro, they will not be guaranteed regular playing time. When Pizarro made Bosman from Bayern Munich in the summer, he knew he would not get any more play time than he did in Munich, but Chelsea was a far more attractive outfit, in my opinion. Anelka has proven his worth in Bolton, but to surpass the Drogba and Shevchenko in the starting line up, will take sometime.

With Drogba highly tipped to making the exit this summer, Anelka will hope to advance in the pecking order.

As for Bolton, although they profited a sum of £7m from this transaction, their attacking force will be largely diminished. The club has depended on Anelka in terms of scoring for the past one and a half seasons, scoring the most crucial goals at times. As a Manchester United fan, we cannot forget his winning goal that brought down the Red Devils earlier this season. In my opinion, the Trotters will need to find a new striker partner to Kevin Davies if they want to guarantee a top-half finish.

It will be interesting how Nicolas Anelka will develop in his new club. Best of luck to him.

Please feel free to express your thoughts on this high profile transfer.

Can Manchester United Win the Premiership?

Felix Tang — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 02:40:25 -0500

One of the happiest moments in my life was seeing Manchester United regain the domestic title last year, after a four-year absence.

However, this season has not been an easy ride for United supporters. Our defence for the crown has been up in the clouds, as Arsenal have posed a major—and I mean major—threat.

As a lifelong dedicated United fan, I hope they can achieve the extremely hard task of defending the Premiership, recently done by Chelsea from 2004 to 2006.

This year, Arsenal have just been amazing. Their consistent form, both at home and away, is just unstoppable. I don't see anything that can impede the youngest side in the Premiership. Arsene Wenger is definitely one of the best managers in the EPL and Europe, aand is a mastermind tactician.

But with Arsenal two points ahead of Man U, the title race is wide open.

Unlike last season, when United were ahead for the large part of the season, Arsenal seem to be holding on as table-toppers in a close race very well. I must admit I envy Arsenal's quick, free-flowing passing style, with teamwork evidently the key factor for its success.

After the departure of Henry, a legend at Emirates, most people logically would tip Arsenal to be an offensively weakened side. But even with the departure of such a inspirational figure, the side did not go down the drain.

Eduardo, the new recruit of last summer, deserves much praise. Although not a first-team player, his performances in the cups and sometimes in the league have shown he is of important value to the side. A traditional box to box striker, his style of play was what Arsenal needed.

Adebayor, a similar player, has also developed significantly. Along with the attacking flair and pace brought from Hleb, Rosicky, Van Persie, and the youngster Walcott, look to seriously disrupt Manchester United's dreams of repeating.

And of course, I have reserved a section just for a special Arsenal player: Cesc Fabregas. His development in the past two seasons have been significant. Last season saw him mature well, and suggested he could be a replacement for Patrick Vieira.

This season, he developed a great scoring touch. Only at the young age of 20, his prime years are yet to come, and I'm sure he will develop into one of the world's greatest midfielders.

Reading up to this point, you might think I am a Gunners fan. But I'm not. I am just giving worthy praise to a side who have changed and up the game so much this season. But now it is time to analyze United's performance this half-season.

A simple way to describe my evaluation of United's performance so far would be "good—but not good enough". If the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea stayed at the same level like last season, United would be well in front. But obviously these things don't happen in English football. The top teams especially strive to improve every year. Arsenal's unlikely development has raised the bar for the title contenders.

With Liverpool virtually out of contention, and Chelsea lagging a bit behind, the top two will be fighting to their death to be top in England.

In my opinion, the slow start to United's season was one of the main factors why we are underperforming. My heart sunk as I saw result after result where United dropped unnecessary points.

Secondly, as I have stressed in my previous articles, United have lost their goal-scoring power. Other fans might think this is nonsense, but United need another scoring machine to replace Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

While Rooney and Tevez are similar players, who like to tuck in behind a bit and dribble at the attacking third, they are not the type of players that traditionally produce a lot of goals.

Louis Saha, a more likely option, is more of a 'supersub,' and Fergie has said he will use him to change games. Although Ronaldo is arguably the new scoring machine—having scored 23 goals last season—they are widely different players.

In addition, the long absence of key players such as Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves have rocked the defensive stability of the side. Just looking at the statistics, United have the best defence, as they have conceded the fewest goals.

Although the Ferdinand-Vidic partnership is the best we've seen in years since Johnsen and Stam, when they tend to get a little nervous when under intense pressure.

But when Hargreaves is there, he does his defensive duties, and protects the back four very well. He will sorely be missed until his day of return.

Manchester United need to patch up many problems, and heading into the later stages of the season, they will need to cope with Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup matches simultaneously.

This will be a test of endurance, determination and unity, and as our club names suggests, we must 'United' in one cause to defend the Premiership!