EPL- Roshomon Effect!

With eight games to go (9 in Chelsea’s case) and this being the closest league finish in many many years. It presents endless opportunities for the dreamer in me to fantasize – A la Roshomon .

Presenting two of such tales with four crucial fixtures(chapters) taken as the crux.

Dated:10th may 2010.

Wenger’s Cut:



Chapter 1:The stalemate at Trafford:(Man Utd vs Chelsea)

In What was a crucial encounter with much at stake, neither side managed to record any significant gains with the match ending 1-1.

The first goal was so typical of UTD this season

a)Valencia taps past and crosses from the right.

b)Cech and terry vie for ball yelling “mine” “mine” not realizing the approaching rooney who says “mine” and promptly slots past em into the net.

The all important late equalizer did arrive from Drogba, who otherwise was totally offcolour throughout nay absent. Yeah he did hit the post a coupla times but I fail to see how it counts at all!

Chapter 2: Same old story again(Man Utd vs Liverpool)

Vidic after being "Torrer"ised for most of the first half suffers a nervous breakdown and decides its good for his health if he gets sent off and so picks up a routine red card from the ref. El nino unsurprisingly scores. And even less surprisingly- continuing in the footsteps of such illustrious predecessors like Ngog , Dossena -kyrgiakos(AKA the greek dude) scores off a volley!

Chapter 3: This is 'Mancini Time'(Mancity vs Man Utd):

In a match that was a marred by an atrocious tackle on Adebayor by that Anti-footballer (Though I dint see it clearly –Adebayor was stretchered off fearing worst) 10 men UTD try their might to keep off city until they enter the unfamiliar zone of “Mancini time” , where hold on... off all ppl Tevez does the “owen” deep into the injury time(reckon bout 6mins) and celebrates by unveiling a tee underneath that reads “Bienvenido a Manchester” with obvious translation.

Chapter 4: Revenge is sweet especially when it comes with a leg break:(Arsenal vs Man City)

Adebayor who by now cleared to play the next week against Arsenal though still in pain(as the knock was no more than a bruise) , found it hard to shrug of old habits with the sight of a returning RVP proving irresistible. He grossly mistimed a malicious two footed kungfu lunge on the now very wary RVP(who has finally learnt to dodge) leading to a dreaded fall and leg break(Aaron like) He was stretchered off (This time very very serious) however rather ignominously with a red card for the challenge to his name! RVP now completes a fine victory to record a comeback, poetic justice as one may say.

As you might have concluded the win gives us a title after 5 long yrs vindicating my belief in this side’s character, Qualiteeee, mental strength and drive. Yeah!This one’s for Aaron and all the believing fans.

Dated:10th may 2010

SAF cut:



Chapter 1:The facile win at Trafford:(Man Utd vs Chelsea)

We needed a scheme to Batter the blues that’s right batter em. So we got this plan-simple and effective with a rehersal done at Carrington.

It unfurled perfectly-Rooney had to whisper “Vanessa” twice on JT’s ears timing it with Valencia’s crosses to ‘nick ‘two facile goals .Game over.

Chapter 2: off their CL perch:(Man Utd vs Liverpool)

Of course besides leading UTD to a double its no secret that my next coveted objective was to see Liverpool off their CL perch and we had a terrific opportunity to achieve that.

Who better to nail the coffin than Gary “Nemesis” Neville. The lad laid an absolute divine cross(divine retribution )beckamesque perhaps for our costliest bulgarian to get a goal off head something which he has failed to do with regularity this season.

Chapter 3: Mercenaries vs Master class:(Mancity vs Man Utd)

The match proved a valuable lesson to differentiate what money can and cannot buy. Fittingly it was Berba who scored the opener resulting from a Scholes-Park one two. Personally I have always believed Tevez is not worth 25 million , the man despite being a surprising success this season just couldn’t get it past Vidic while an inspired Gary (that’s “right” Middlefinger) Neville kept out Bellamy just as he did with Ronaldinho. Now When the Second goal arrived in the form of Valencia our other signing it proved extremely gratifying and more than made my point and day.


Chapter 4: The Turning Point:(Chelsea vs Aston Villa)

Much as we had the league in our own hands and by our own terms, We cannot discount the effect a draw at the bridge by the villains had on the ultimate outcome of the league as well as psychologically on our game against the blues at the Bridge.

Continuing their good showing against the top four this season Villa played a peach of a game(no long balls) to hold onto a goalless draw, Drog’s antics notwithstanding.

The rest is a fourth straight Title sans Ronaldo which is remarkable!

And So which of these stories will prove closer to reality ??
Wait till 10th may.

Until then ?
keep dreaming and write your own stories…..

Oh to be an Young gunner!!

Looooooooong Hiatus is not Quite the word that ll fit the bill when it comes to describing my close-to-two-year absence from this space,Lets assume its a second innings of sorts

something in the manner of a Lance armstrong??!![:)]

These are very exciting times to be a gooner ,especially since it pleases a great deal to c  all ur potentials coming of age in a big way..But ever related to a young gunner??ever felt wat a young 

gunner feels at the moment coz thats precisely wat i feel.Lets contemplate for a second the circumstances that led to the "decisive"switch of a walcott,a nasri or a ramsey we all know they are immensely talented and there could have been a hajar places they could have gone but y arsenal? Firstly coz arsenal play "real" football,secondly the absence of a billionaire owner coupled with a trusting manager at the helm will mean u ll b thrust in with greater responsibility something ur peers can only dream of-but with such responsibility comes the risk of overexposure and the weight of enormous expectation and constant pressure something u mus be willing to tackle and Finally money should never be your motivation ,if u manage to put ur hands down and c  off the initial phase u are bound to reap huge benefits in the aftermath -Think of a fabregas who earns close to a handsome £100,000 a week, but more importantly cesc has learnt the trade expertly and is now a completely developed footballer..It remains to be seen whether a walcott,nasri,or ramsey will emulate fabregas ,they have already done the difficult part which i reckon is the 'choosing' and mus now realize they are on course for bigger things if they keep up the path..

I for one certainly realize that -as my scenario at EMC is more or less similar..These are exciting times after all!! (isn't it??!)

GUNNERS GAINING

Gunners r gainin in every way..almost all their players save flamini,diaby and Hleb r playin the wc finals and tis experience would stand them in good stead when they return..Arsene Wenger mus b wonderin y on earth did he confine van persie to the bench 4 much of the champ league and latter part of epl tis season..Van persie gets into good positions quickly,has great skills and pace , his raspin free-kick against CIV speaks volume of his talent and proves his hittin the bar last week in one of the friendlies is not one-off...Wenger sure has the best eye among contemporary european coaches to quickly spot talents..While most managers r contented wid ropin in established stars..Wenger likes to mould potentials into star..Certainly Henry was no star when he was signed from Juventus in '99 and remember it was wenger who transformed him from a winger(a position he donned in France'98) into a striker..Rosicky will no doubt comfortably step into pires's shoes in central mid-field,he has been regular wid Dortmund capped more than 150 times hence has a wealth of experience behind him but his goal scorin record there has been not all tat impressive..He has peaked at the right moment and will b lookin to make amends when arsenal kick off their season at Emirates stadium.. Arsenal r truly a globalised team now wat wid players spread across diff parts of the globe this means Gooners hav the luxury of relatin to and support any side they wish say France,Germany, Brazil,Spain,Holland,Ivory Coast, Togo,Switzerland,Sweden , England and Czech now...The current team has some excellent talent in the makin lehmann has already made a name for himself edgin out Kahn as Germany's numero uno keeper.. Senderos Toure,Eboue r now among the very best defenders in the world..wid fabregas ,van persie and Rosicky in the mid-field and the precocious walcott aptly guided by Henry and Ljunberg upfront should make for a dominant force to reckon with and it'll b no surprise if they go all the way next season and a Epl or a champ league title looks very much achievable.

MIT- a la BEST

"He can't kick a ball with his left foot,cant head caant dribble apart from tat he is ok"-were the words of BEST on beckham..now tat it is councellin time ppl keep askin me about MIT from where i hail and these words come to my mind immediately "No infrastructure,substandard hostels and absurd culturals apart it is ok"..now beckham def has some talent and MIT has its advantages..but certainly beckham enjoys a reputation tat is far greater than wat he merits and MIT's case is no different..

Caught in the middle of English channel?!

As the d-day beckons nearer and nearer,am faced in tis dilemma of my own which is routin whom at the WC.Traditionally my support has always been wid the les bleus which still has not waned with their performances..Though am not sort of a vacillating kind..4 the last coupla yrs watchin english players from close quarters has brought them even closer to my heart..this sudden change has even surprised me since not long ago i remember clearly cheerin the french all the way in 2-1 win over the English inspired by zizou heroics in the dyin moments of Euro '04 game.., i must say though am followin the intl friendlies of both nations with equal fervour only an encounter between the two at some stage of the finals will settle beyond doubt who has the edge coz i ll be forced to take sides..currently though it looks as if am caught in a storm in the middle of English Channel in a boat tat can sail either way as it subsides and things become apparent again (def its not goin to capsize!!)
The signs r ominous as regards italian football,a cloud of controversy is hangin over ready to explode once the WC ends ,FIFA and UEFA hav no doubt wid intentions of savin the tournament decided to keep a low profile of the issue tat threatens to rock very structure of the game..for long the chiefs of italian clubs hav been accused of buyin and threatenin referees,fixin matches and each time they've been brought under the scanner they ve come out unscathed one such recent houdini act bein staged by Juventus in the light of the drug allegation tat had such prominent names as del piero involved..u can as well equate the italian heads to modern mafia dons..the recent fixing charges only highlights their flagrant turpitude...if finally some justice and fair-play mark the UEFA hearin that has hitherto been absent then the 3 leadin clubs of italy in milan,inter and juventus may well b relegated and a quick procession of stars leavin will b inevitable .. i suspect the move of shevchenko to chelsea has more to it than a mere 'lookin for challenge' remark..its only the tip of the iceberg tat has been revealed and we r likely to see and hear more in the followin months..it doesn't augur well for the future of football at all.

ITS A CATCH22!

its a catch22 scenario really tat Arsenal find themselves in now,coz they'll need to win the champ league to keep hold of thier peerless striker in Henry..bcoz champ league is one title which Henry's list of honours lacks and after seven years of fruitless toil here for the ultimate glory Henry will b forced to consider other options, most likely the rising power in Barca who r reportedly interested in him,no matter to wat lengths wenger or the fans persuade him to stay. This is the best chance Arsenal have got in ages to get hold of the illustrious european cup,and all thier hopes rest on one man thier skipper Henry to do wat he does best against Barca next week,but this is a typical catch22 situation coz Henry will hav to play his heart out against a rejuvenated Barca to keep himself at Arsenal and if he fails he'll leave to Barca!!so the match will not only showcase the battle between the Gunners and barca, but will also be an exhibition of Henry's interests(ie his battle to stay or not). one is reminded of a similar situation tat liverpool experienced last year when Gerrard was influential in winning them the champ league trophy,amid speculations tat he would leave if liverpool dont win..

we can only pray tat Henry emulates Gerrard

now coming to the second issue: the selection of Arsenal's Theo Walcott into the provisional squad released by sven 'quarterfinal' Erikkson last week,Walcott as u may know has not yet made his debut in the arsenal senior squad,but he is widely tipped to be the next boy-wonder after Rooney.. i think the move is really another of sven's frivolous gamble tat has an increasing possibility of backfiring than not,even as prodigiously talented tat Walcott is ,he still lacks one key ingredient in "experience" which def is the formula 4 success in any international tournament leave alone the wc...Erikkson would do well to remember tat the other teenage wc success stories includin pele, owen and rooney in Euro'04 had some good first division experience bfore steppin out into the big arena,further y would u want to pick a rookie as ur first choice striker when such proven performers in Jenas and Bent r waitin in the wings?

But then y should sven listen coz quarterfinal has always been his destination.. we dont want the script to turn really awry for Theo and England atleast tis time round coz as even Henry acknowledges "they really deserve to win" except tat Sven has other ideas