a long sunday...

I've not written in ages - and when I do out of the blue, it usually means something bad has happened. As it happened, United got their a** thoroughly kicked today - and there was no one to blame but themselves. The only consolation is..er... I can't find any, really. United started the season so well but have been a shadow of themselves in the past couple of weeks. To be honest, I kind of expected a defeat today - but not to the extent of 1-6! The surprising thing is I'm not anywhere as upset as how I was last year when Madrid got manita-ed by Barca - perhaps I knew that RM were an amazing bunch of players not playing up to potential while United today were just lacking in potential on almost all fronts (except the GK position). In fact, Citeh didn't even put out their best 11 - they left Tevez, Dzeko and Nasri on the bench. On paper, I think they probably have the 3rd strongest team in Europe after Barca and RM. Some might argue that they are probably better than RM - but we shall find out in the Champs League, I suppose.

Even as a United fan, I've quite enjoyed watching Citeh play as they have so many technically gifted players (i.e., players I wish United had more of!) such as Silva and Kun, making their play really fluid and attractive to watch. While Mancini applied more defensive tactics last season, he has found the right combination of offensive and defensive players this season -> Citeh's results so far has been nothing short of stellar.

So what are the implications for United after the thumping today?

1) We're 5 points behind Citeh - and it'll be quite hard to close the gap as I don't expect Citeh to drop many points for the rest of the season (think Barca of EPL). IMHO, the EPL has now become a one-horse race - and unless Citeh capitulates, they will surely be the runaway league title winner this season - deservedly so.

2) United desperately needs to bounce back - quickly! Since we've never been beaten so badly in such a LONG time (the last time I personally recall was the 5-0 trashing by Newcastle back in the late 90s!), I've no idea whether the boys have the mental toughness or ability to overcome this hurdle. Of course, I should place my full faith in SAF (err...) but something tells me we won't be able to climb out of this slump immediately. I really hope Rooney can be the talisman of United, dragging the team out of this pit, similar to how Cristiano single-handedly pulled RM out of depression after the Barca fiasco last season (2-0 v Valencia -> what a match!). However, Rooney is no Ronaldo and unfortunately, we can't afford to drop any more points if we want to push Citeh til the end.

3) In a more positive sense, I think the results today was a good wake up call for the Gaffer -> HE SHOULD HAVE FREAKING SIGNED SNEIJDER IN SUMMER! Realistically, I don't see us adding any new players come January so we'll (sadly) need to make do with the current squad and pray that Cleverley comes good and plays a bigger part in the coming weeks. In an ideal world, the CMs I would absolutely LOVE to have in United are Schweini, Sneijder or Yaya. All are impossible-to-get targets (plus they are cup-tied anyway). United fans will need to accept that the 2011/12 (or perhaps a couple more) season will likely be an empty-handed one and that it will be mostly used to nurture our younger players for the future. Reading Gary Neville's and Paul Scholes' autobiography recently reminded me that United DID go through a couple of bad patches in the 90s and 00s. I guess the same thing is happening as I type...

4) Citeh aren't the only team to look out for. In fact, I think Chelski presents a strong (and surprisingly underestimated) threat to United. They were a bit unlucky to lose to QPR today - but on paper (and in recent weeks!), they definitely look a stronger squad than us and are playing very well. The addition of Meireles and Mata (plus an on-form Torres) has changed Chelski within weeks. I'm pretty sure they will be pushing us to the end of the season.

5) Bin Champs League and concentrate on the domestic league instead. I seriously can't see United going further than QFs this year (I did say the same thing last year though!). We'll likely end up 2nd in our Group, making us quite likely to draw one of the following teams: Inter, Bayern, RM, Barca. Tough draws and with the current squad, exit seems inevitable. Getting UCL out of the way would give us plenty of rest between matches and the green-light to use our better players more consistently for all of our league matches, instead of rotating players all the time. Squad rotation is good - but as can be seen from our woeful defence of late, it really ain't helping the team at all!

As pessimistic (or perhaps realistic!) as I may sound, things aren't so bad. We're still in the running for 4 titles and if we can get out of the current dip, we shouldn't do that badly. The biggest hit is to the ego, nothing else. All the players need to do is to work with humility and harder in order to overcome this difficult moment.

Now that I've finished ranting, I'll go back to hibernate 'til the next surprise springs up - I sure hope it won't be anytime soon! :)

P/S: Stupid Bayern lost today as well - but it's not so bad as they're still top of the table. To cut a long story short, having two of your favourite teams lose one after another AND having your mom text you all the way from Spain just to laugh at the United defeat made this day pretty unbearable. Thank God, Madrid had a good outing last night...

sometimes you feel like digging a hole...

Yeah I know I shouldn't feel so bad when I am quite likely catching MU for UCL finals. but to see RM losing like this pains me. It all kinda went awry from KO...and the final 2 goals at the end of the match was like a stab to the heart (after all the fake diving/red cards/etc etc). Ozil was poor - or maybe we just weren't playing like how we were meant to. Anyway, probably one of the rare entries for a while. It'll take a while for me to bounceback....

how is it possible...

...to be so happy....

..and sad at the same time?

Sigh. Seems like after "giving up" on Bayern this season, the next to fail is RM. It's also probably time for me to stop worrying and start enjoying matches from now on. My guess would be RM faltering at the QFs, MU probably losing to Chelski but at least a good chance of finally overtaking LFC's haul of PL titles!

At least the sun is shining brightly today... :)

:D

Enough said... :D

2 down...and barely surviving?

I'm filled with mixed feelings at the mo. Was too happy with MU getting through to QFs, but thoroughly upset with Bayern. Sigh. Looks like it's the end of a short winning cycle for Bay while for MU, we have been given another lifeline. I'm glad MU scraped through (HERNANDEZ!!) even without ANY of our veteran CBs. We desperately need Vida back soon. Also, I'm really worried that we have to rely on Scholes and Giggs in midfield.... I can't imagine the outcome if we were to play against the likes of Barca :S *yikes* On a positive note, Valencia is back!!!! And he played well today :D

A part of me is still in depression mode - but I think I need to cheer up. I'm still terribly disappointed with Bayern (and its lack of a proper defence). Perhaps losing everything this season (inc. a UCL spot) might put the team back to rebuilding it the proper way. With LvG leaving, perhaps things might get better from next season when there is no expectations of the team. Sigh again. Anyhow, tomorrow is another tough match. Might need to find a hole to hide for good after that so I'm apologising in advance IF I do go MIA for a while.

The news of Abidal having to undergo surgery to remove a tumour from his liver really came as a shock to me - and I feel saddened by the news - along with the other sad/tragic news happening in other parts of the world recently. Let's hope that tomorrow may be a better day...and that we, as humans, learn to cherish and love those that mean a lot to us much more than we do today...

*Listening to Coming Home by Diddy & Dirty Money*

do or die?

these 2 days would prove crucial for all 3 of my clubs. ARGH! anyway as a pre-warning, i may probably be too depressed for the coming months after tomorrow....

a consolation...

madrid won away (without cr7) + MFP was AWESOME! :D

at least there's something to cheer me up for the next couple of days... and this pic posted by Sergio on twitter ;)

the most comprehensive defeats...

one yesterday and another one in about 7 minutes from now. I have nothing to say except that the winners were a mile better than my teams.

i will definitely cry if madrid loses tonight...

uphill task...

As much as I love MU, I'm actually writing off the match tonight. I doubt we can beat them at home..and we haven't for the past 9 years I think. Sigh. Plus our squad this year (with all the injuries and roo being roo) is probably one of the worst in terms of quality that we have had in recent memory. Oh well.

such a sh*tty day :(

bayern lost and madrid drew. enough said.

i think i need a life.

cheated.

that's how i feel now. robbed. betrayed. sigh.

i knew i hate french people. >.<

finding a hole to hide...

Don't think I can bear to watch the match tonight. Can you believe that Madrid has not beaten lyon EVER (they've met each other SIX times)? Sigh. :(

Not only that, tomorrow might be quite bad as well. Giggs is out for the Marseilles away leg, and I am REALLY not sure what LvG is planning on his defence considering he substituted his CB for a CAM last week.

As much as I'm looking forward to the matches, I think I might end up in utter misery by the end of tomorrow...

*Listening to Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden*

hitting the panic button?

So that's what has been happening in the Barca camp - EVERYONE is saying how tired out they are, that they are losing it, bla, bla, bla. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is THE greatest and best team in history (ok, barre Milan of the early 90s...) - they will come roaring back in Camp Nou, mark my words. Anyway, it's quite nice to ruffle those haughty feathers. But why am I writing about my mortal enemy? Well, it's because I don't understand how people can flip opinions of this team in the matter of minutes. I still think they're the only team I would NOT want to face and even if I'd be ecstatic if they get eliminated from UCL (not a chance though), I would still rather face them and prove to the world that the manita was a one-off, that those 11 players on the pitch in Camp Nou on 30th Nov wasn't us. That we can beat them. Hard, and perhaps even impossible this season. But hopefully eventually.

On to important stuff. It seems like I'll be having an overload of matches to watch tomorrow - MU, BM and RM are ALL playing tomorrow evening. I'm already in a dilemma on whether to watch the Crawley Town match or Mainz instead - because both of the matches will be on TV!!!! Sigh, I think I will be switching to and fro between channels from 5pm onwards. And after that is the Levante match. Talk about busy.

*Listening to Whirring by The Joy Formidable*

kudos to arsenal!

Awesome match last night. Not sure why Barca didn't kill off the game in the first half and literally invited Arsenal back into the game. Nevertheless, I'm not gonna take away the plaudits due to Arsenal, they were working their hearts out and deserved the victory. Now, we're all set for a crackling match @ Camp Nou in two weeks -> I just can't wait! In the mean time, I see an uphill struggle for all 3 of my clubs next week. Oh well.

lesser of 2 evils?

After yesterday's snooze-feast of a match (OK, admittedly Spurs were the better and more deserving team as Milan were downright pathetic!!), I hope tonight offers a bit more excitement. The only upside of the match is that the result would be good either way from my point of view. If Arsenal knocks out Barca, I think it'd make the journey to the finals a bit easier for all of my teams. On the other hand, I have absolutely no problems (and I'm sure Barca won't as well) with Barca smashing Arsenal to pieces because I HATE that club. So yeah, either way is fine by me - I just hope for a crackling encounter!

Now I'm actually hoping for Spurs to reach the finals so that I can get my ticket sponsored by my brother! Yeah, I manage to wiggle it out of him just now since he's in a bright and optimistic mode about Spurs' chances (he did say unless it's a Spurs v MU finals, in which case he won't -> BOO KOP!!!). They sure are a big surprise factor in this competition....

*Listening to Time to Wander by Gypsy & the Cat*

random..

Not much to say - except that I've developed a strange fascination for David Luiz, who was by far the most offensive, defensive, creative, whatchamacalit player in the 0-0 draw last night (In case you were wondering, he is JT's new partner in crime now - yes, a CB!). I think it's the hair.

Oh yes, UCL KO rounds start today. I just can't wait!!!

*Listening to The Kids From Yesterday by My Chemical Romance*

happy v-day!

Am so happy after all my 3 teams won over the weekend! Esp Madrid, who did it by fighting tooth and nail since we were down to 10 men after San Iker got sent off in the 2nd minute! Roo had a wonderful winning goal and Bayern were back to their best with ROBBERY!!! Love them all to bits!!

No UCL action for my teams - but really looking forward to Spurs v Milan and Barcenal (or Arselona if you prefer) on Weds! :D

*Listening to Anna Sun by Walk the Moon*

this is too cute...

"Q: Does he resemble you?"

"A: Pfff. My mother and my sisters say no. Others who are close to me say yes but some also say no. But it’s alright, he’s 'guapo'."

Translation courtesy of Unamadridista (http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/)

This was what CR7 said in an interview when asked about his son - his reply was toooooooo cute! :D

Not going to write much today - I have a bad feeling about Real's away match this Sunday so I'll refrain from saying anything. Added to that is the Manc. derby tomorrow....sigh. Good thing is that I'm going to catch MCR in concert tomorrow night! It's my first concert of '11 - my last concert really does feel like a lifetime ago.....

Here's a pic to cheer ME up! :D

*Listening to Summertime by My Chemical Romance*

inconsolable.

such a crappy day.

enough said.

weekend is nearly here again!

Another weekend spent at home (obviously taking my usual seat in front of my fav TV). Bayern and MU play tomorrow (vs Koln and Wolves, respectively) and RM face Sociedad at home on Sunday. As always looking forward to all these matches - AND an extra Chelsea vs LFC showdown on Sunday! I've lost quite a lot of my energy describing matches nowadays - and am pretty much quietly enjoying watching them instead - esp O.Ozil (who was superb in our mid-week Sevilla clanger). Maybe I'll properly cheer up one day.

Next week is also international friendly week! Woohoo! Looking forward to seeing Germany playing Italy on Weds night (other relevant matches are Portugal vs Argentina, France vs Brazil and Spain vs Colombia) - it should be fairly interesting. It's been too long since Ozil wore his #8 jersey =)

To sign off this very short post, I couldn't stop laughing seeing this pic...

What's with the eyebrow, Carlo?!? (and Torres is adorable as usual :P)

*Listening to We've Got A Situation Here by The Damned Things*

The "little less" special one?

Lol! I couldn't stop laughing when I read a writer of a blog calling Mou that! Ok, so we might have been not been playing very well lately - but it's really not completely his fault though. Well, I always think that at the end of the day, it's the combination of tactics + players that makes a team win or lose. It's still funny though! As much as one can fault Mou, you can't fault him for backing his players at all times and for diverting the attention to him rather than to his players. I guess that's why his players are absolutely in love with him!

Roo scored a brace last night while Vidic became our backup CF when we routed the Villans 3-1. I missed the match unfortunately, but managed to catch the highlights. But it's not quite enough to judge whether we actually played well throughout the match or we were just producing patches of brilliant football? In any case, we're still 5 points ahead of everyone, and for that I'm glad! :D

Finally, Happy Chinese New Year! May the year of the wabbit bring lots of happiness to all of y'all! And with that, I'm hoping we'll get through to the finals of the Copa Del Rey tonight...and for Kaka to be less fat and shlow from now on!! =)

*Listening to The Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic! At the Disco*

rude awakening...

Sometimes I really can't understand how the outcome of one match could affect my mood that much for a few days. 2 out of 3 good results over the weekend isn't that bad. But the one that mattered the most caused me another bout of numbness ala el clasico (but to a lesser extent). Now that I've written off La Decima, I think I can start to relax again and watch RM like how I watch Bayern play. Zero expectations. Zero hope. Sigh.

Unfortunately, I'm gonna be missing the MU match tonight as it's a friend's birthday dinner - just as well since it's not on TV although I'll probably download the match to watch later.

On a wee happier note, I passed my Life in the UK test! But this also means I'll probably have to start on CFA...ARGHGHGH!!

*Listening to Changing by The Airbourne Toxic Event*

couldn't resist putting this up...

Credit goes to Unamadridista (http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/)

Jesus Navas is SOOO goodlooking! :D

Haven't written in a while...

..as have been so busy sorting out stuff. Anyway to cut a LONG story short:

1) MU are still undefeated! We staged an amazing comeback during the Blackpool game, coming back from a deservedly 2-0 BP lead. I'm not even joking at how terrible MU were in the 1st half...I almost thought it was el clasico again (with MU = RM, of course). But MU are probably made of sterner stuff than Madrid (AND Blackpool aren't quite a Barca :P), and so managed to bounce back to win the game 3-2 in the last 25 mins (25 mins because we had 10mins added time) thanks to a brace from Berbatop sandwiching an equaliser from Hernandez. Next up, FA cup vs Southampton tomorrow at 5.15pm! Let's hope we get through this one.....

2) Adebayor has come to be our new #9! Obviously would have preferred RvN but Hamburg refused our offer. I'm frankly quite neutral to this...and actually look forward to seeing him play. On other news, Benz has scored our winners in the last 2 matches and I hope he improves further! There's a whiff of tiredness seeping through the team - and this has caused Mou to rotate his squad a bit more now. But the sad thing is, there are some players who are simply "unrest-able" or "untouchable" as Mou would put it. The match against Mallorca last weekend showed that a team without Xabi and Ozil were pretty toothless against a formidable opponent. We were so rubbish in the 1st half (yes, kaka IS still fat and shlow! =.=") but improved greatly in the 2nd when our 2 heroes came on. Their presence added to the fluidity and speed of the team - the passing improved greatly and Benz came up with the winner in the 60th minute! :D Anyway moving on, we faced Sevilla away on Weds in the 1st semifinal leg of the copa del rey - and we held on to win 1-0! If things can't get any tougher, we will face Osasuna away on Sunday - they are a tough team at home and are undergoing a rough patch now so I don't quite know how we'll do against a team fighting to survive the Liga. Furthermore, our core players have been playing on average 2 matches per week so I expect this to be very low scoring... (strange how pessimistic I am all of a sudden!). Even though CR7 hasn't scored in only 2-3 matches, it does feel like a lifetime indeed...

3) Bayern plays Werder tomorrow @ 2.30pm. MvB has left for Milan so Lahm is officially Bayern's captain! :D Anyway, the addition of Robben has indeed added a lot of to the table - and Muller is finding his form again! :D Ribery is still out til Feb.... It'll be a fun match - it always is vs Werder anyway :) We're still trying to get to the 2nd spot (considering Dortmund has virtually WON the league) so let's hope we plough on :D

Okie dokies, busy weekend for me - but hopefully fun as well!

*Listening to Help Is On The Way by Rise Against*

We're through to the semis!

T'was a tame affair where Atletico came off even more toothless than last week. We didn't play particularly well - but managed to kill the game off via a single CR7 goal in the first half. So on aggregate, we went through with a 4-1 scoreline. Next up would be Sevilla - very tricky esp if they repeat their performance vs Villareal on Tuesday (3-0). Anyway I'll savour this small victory for now....

Here's something cute to laugh about! Can you identify all of them? Lol!

(Well in case you don't remember the La Roja members' numbers: Casillas, Torres, Puyol, Villa, Sergio Ramos, Piqué, Xavi Hernández, Iniesta, Silva, Xabi Alonso, Cesc)

*Listening to Welcome to the Breakdown by I Fight Dragons*

MIA...

OK - I'll be going into hiding in the next couple of days. Drawing all three matches over the weekend has definitely made me more depressed than I thought and I can't bring myself to write anything positive or negative of the matches. Admittedly, the MU match was a relief for me.

Anyway, I will write again when I become happy again =)

*Listening to My Happy Ending by Avril Lavigne*

more worrying thoughts...

I'm watching Inter vs Bologna right now - and Inter is looking really good. Leonardo seems to have positively affected the team, and they're playing to the usual standards again. With Bayern going backward, I think we won't be able to beat Inter if they continue to improve :S Gulp.

So much for my Bayern dreams for 10/11...

sheesh...

Stupid away draw. We conceded in the last 5 minutes of the game AND Lahm missed his PK. I'm so annoyed now - the only positive is that Robben is back and already showing a difference to the team. Bad is, Ribery has been taken off injured - I think it's pretty bad. Man, when can I have both Robbery playing in the same team at the same time? Is that too much to ask? Booo. :(

Another piece of *bad* news is Ozil is slightly injured i.e., he may not play tomorrow.

Looks like I'll be heading for a depressing weekend.....

Intended short post...

...that became pretty long before I knew it! So what has been going on:

• Dortmund is STILL invincible. They beat Bayer 3-1 last night - yes, even without Shinji Kagawa. Damn. I 'm getting so annoyed with how good they are - and at this rate, we'll never catch up. We have massive CB problems - at least Badstuber is back but his partnership with Breno is worrying - would you trust 2 20 year olds at the back? Seriously? Also, on other news, Kraft has been promoted above Butt! YAY!! Finally!! I don't know how good/bad Kraft is but what I do know is Butt does not give me ANY confidence in him. He's just not a good GK...maybe past his prime is a more apt description. Anyway, at this rate I just hope we do well in the UCL and qualify for UCL spot next year...

• RM's big rumour for today is that we are planning on getting RvN back on loan for 6 months! :D He's definitely a good choice. He's played for us before, is loved by us, experienced and I think he's more dangerous than Benz. Sorry, I know Benz has improved a lot over the past few games, but he's still so meek in front of the goal and his inability to convert SITTERS is REALLY annoying me. I've rewatched our past 2 games and I think what he is lacking is confidence. Some of his passes are sublime but it's as though he doesn't dare to take a shot when he's near the goal... :( The other rumoured strikers were Adebayor, Klose and Lukaku. Don't like any of them namely because the first is such a lazy a** (nothing wrong with his skills, but I just can't stand the sight of him in our jersey), the second although has very good telepathic-like linking with Ozil, is cup tied and never seems to perform as well for his clubs as opposed to di Mannschaft, and the third, a wee bit young (he's only 17!). Ruud would be great - and seems like he ain't too happy in Hamburg too! BUT he is 35.... :S. He was so amazing with MU, then continued his stellar form in RM (hmm very much like a certain cr7...). Anyway, I really like him so I hope we get him soon! =)

• I'm really worried about the MU match tomorrow, mainly because I've not much faith in our players. Very strange, isn't it? Somehow when people tell me "xxxx's been playing well", I really struggle to appreciate it - perhaps I'm too spoilt watching the La Liga of late and expect a lot more? BUT when I see Spurs play, I can see some really good technical abilities in the players. Modric and VdV are the 2 stand out players for me. Bale/Lennon are v. good too but...maybe a bit too predictable! Lol! I guess I appreciate Ozil-like players better than Bastos-like ones! :) Nonetheless I think we need to crowd out their midfield. Not sure how SAF will set this one up - having Park missing is a BIG set back for us in this one. I think he will bench Berb and crowd the midfield...anyway that's just my guess. It'll be a tough one and I really don't have much confidence, unfortunately. Esp how terribly we played vs LFC last week. :( My guess of the line up would be

VdS

Rafael - Ferd+Vidic - Evra

Carrick-Fletcher

Nani-Anderson-Giggs?

Roo

• The match against Almeria will be tricky - we somehow never manage to reproduce our stellar home form in away matches. Oh well - we just need to plough on as Barca will so whitewash Malaga (or more like Malaga lying down to be steam-rolled by Barca). It's slightly easier to guess RM's line up. Mou said in an interview the other day that there are some players that if benched, would decrease the quality of the team and these were: CR7 (duh), di Maria (my angelito :D) and O.Ozil (aka MFP)! But I think Mou will REALLY need to start rotating the squad soon esp if we intend to go far in all 3 competitions, otherwise we'll prob end up dead way before the end of the season. Kaka's experience will definitely help the young squad grow, but he IS really quite slow (I'm prob just SO used to our lightning pace counter-attacks lol!). We'll see - tomorrow could be either very fun or very frustrating. I hope it'll be the former. I am predicting the same line up as mid week - and subbing out Benz/Ozil/di Maria in the second half for Kaka/Leon/Granero if we're leading.

Okie dokies, don't have much to add. It'll be a fun weekend I'm sure - keeping my fingers and toes and whatever else crossed for all my 3 teams to win! :D Oohhh and another pic I that I like :D

*Listening to Dreaming People by Jay Smith*

My hero....

MFP (aka my favourite player) was brilliant last night in the el derbi. Wow, I was actually shocked that he was...

1) backtracking/pressing/pressuring defenders

2) pushing people (yes, I'm NOT kidding)

3) lasting 90 minutes at the SAME high energy pace (i.e., able to burst into runs even at the end!)

4) brilliantly assisting the 2nd goal and...

5) scoring the final one!

Other than De Gea being spectacularly brilliant (which pretty much explains the narrow margin! Note to SAF to sign him up!!!) and the ref being as cool as a cucumber, there's not much else to add as the game has left me beaming up til now! :D OK, to comment on the shortcomings of our game, obviously the poor defense that enabled them to score first (AND at the 7th minute...grrrr...Iker....). However, we definitely played at the right level of intensity that has been missing from our previous games and were clearly the better team. It's as though we've shifted gears or something overnight?!? A tough return/away leg awaits us next week...VERY tricky. Gulp.

Will write more about what's to come over the weekend later - probably tonight or tomorrow. In summ, Bundesliga season starts again (yay!) with Bayern vs Wolfsburg tomorrow - I can't wait to see Robben back on the field again!!! And MU & RM play on Sunday, the former with a VERY tricky opponent ahead (I'm actually trying to come to terms with potentially facing our first defeat of the season :S) and the latter, hopefully not too tired out, as we play away to Almeria in the evening.

I'll leave my fav pic from last night here.... :D :D :D

*Listening to Fix Me by 10 Years*

another derby and other stuffs.

So it's the 2nd time we're facing Atletico this season - so what do I think? Atletico was miserable against Hercules on Monday. I was really disappointed with De Gea as I expected him to save at least 2 out of the 4 goals that were scored by Hercules (yes, even given the crappy defence!). But I think that must have been a one-off bad performance (as I, of all people, would TOTALLY understand). Anyway, I expect them to go all out tonight so we'd better be alert! We have the home advantage for the first leg and hopefully we can take advantage of it (Please, no more Levante-esque performance....). At this point, I'm actually not sure who Mou will decide to put on. He has to rotate some members given we'll be facing Almeria on Sunday. I think Mou will play his usual front four and if we're winning, sub Ozil, Di Maria off in the 2nd half. He may also possibly pair Granero with Xabi? The back four should be Arbeloa - Ramos - Carvalho - Marcelo. Benz and CR7 are definite starters. Kaka should be playing in the 2nd half regardless of the score methinks. Exciting match for sure - and luckily it'll be on TV! :D Yay to no crappy streaming!!

On a separate game, I watched the Villareal vs Sevilla match yesterday..and boy, was it scrappy. Villareal was playing a lot better than Sevilla but somehow managed to let in 3 goals at the end for a draw. My recent crush (aka Jesus Navas) was not very effective in the game - standout player was Rossi. Damn, why did MU sell him....(and Pique, CR7, Forlan...) =(. Anyway this means it'll all boil down to the return leg with Sevilla having a huge away goal advantage. The Barca match was a waste of time - I can't believe how all the teams just lie down and die in front of them (OK, I know it's unfair given that they're such an amazing team but still!?!). I stopped watching after the first goal - and what did you know? Another manita for them >.<.

Arse*** were rubbish vs Ipswich - I hope they get knocked out in the return leg of the CC semis but I'm pretty sure they will come away with an easy win. And LFC - enough said.

Let's hope for an exciting derby duel tonight =D

*Listening to Issues by Escape the Fate*

happy sunday!

Ok the first match might have been a tad undeserved - but a win is still a win. And we're through to the 4th round of the FA cup where we face Southampton away in about 3 weeks time. Can't really say I was impressed with our play - there were bits of good moments (the one that involved Reina saving LFC's a** for the xxx-th time!) but the rest was fairly mundane. We controlled the match yet didn't manage to kill it off - this has been my greatest concern about the team and somehow, we haven't seemed to be able to address this. We're lucky to be where we are right now although sometimes I wonder when we'll have to REALLY start playing properly before our luck runs out on us....

The OTHER match was the total opposite. "End to end excitement" is an understatement, really. Villareal plays really good football and are a joy to watch. Their tiki taka play (ala Barca) is a lot more direct and they totally ruled us over the first 45 minutes. In fact, we had to come back from behind TWICE in the first half. After we let in the first goal in the 8th minute, I thought we'd be facing our 2nd defeat... there were 1001 pictures of *El Clasico Murder Part II* in the works of my mind. But thankfully some good footwork by Ozil and Benz + CR7 levelled us. We were still really scrappy and losing the midfield battle (think El Clasico) and so ended up letting in another goal. But CR7 saved the day (again!) when he headed in a FK coming from the left by Xabi... he is absolutely amazing - if one observes his positioning throughout the whole FK + goal scene, you see him first, flaffing about near Xabi and as Xabi kicks the ball, he somehow whisks his way through to head the ball in. Absolutely fantastic! That was actually the turning point, and we just improved from then on. Mou brought in Khedira for Lass - and shifted Ramos to CB (Albiol was poor as CB and couldn't cope with the speed of Ruben or Rossi). We started taking charge and it was all Blancos there on! =D I can probably go on about how the 2nd half was soo amazing yada yada, but I would sound like a broken record - so please watch the 2nd half for the comeback. Mou's tactical changes were brilliant - and as much controversy as the 3rd goal caused, cr7 was NOT offside. It was really awesome watching us play 4-1-4-1 when we were chasing the game (Marcelo, Carvalho, Ramos, Khedira) + Xabi + (Cr7, Kaka, Ozil, Di Maria) + Benz. Admittedly, it could have been a suicidal move, but I think Mou wanted nothing more than to win the game and it paid off. The final goal came from Kaka (cr7 assisted). Anyway, in the last few minutes Benz came off for Gago to tighten the defence. Wonderful football - from both sides and we deserved the win IMHO. =)

OK enough for now as I need to rush off - I doubt anyone really understood my ranting above but please, just watch the match!! =)

*Listening to Poltava by Stroke 9*

Oops..

Just realised Nilmar is out injured. Anyway, that doesn't make 'em any less dangerous!

By the way, I'm really liking this song by Atomic Tom - think it's gonna be an ear-worm for me for the next couple of weeks!!

If I was bold enough

I would follow you forever but

Darling please

Rescue me

Take me out

Some may say

It’s my fate

Am I just in time

Or am I late

If you can understand

Then take me out

I don’t start, I don’t end

I don’t change on my own

Take me out

I don’t lose, I don’t win

I don’t do well alone

Love is what we make it

Take my heart and break it

Take me out

I don’t want to stay home

You make me dread

You make me sweat

But can you make

Love mean something instead

Something real

Make me feel

Then take me out

I don’t start, I don’t end

I don’t change on my own

Take me out

I don’t lose, I don’t win

I don’t do well alone

Love is what we make it

Take my heart and break it

Take me out

I don’t want to stay home

I don’t want to stay here

I don’t wanna live half my life and disappear

So if you want to take chances

Take a chance on me

Then take me out

Take me out....

Second best?

Tomorrow is a pretty big day in terms of footie matches for my teams. MU takes on L'pool in the 3rd round of the FA cup while RM faces the Yellow Submarines - gulp. Dangerous matches that could go either way...and I'm truly worried.

Facing L'pool is never easy - I guess Hodgson's sacking didn't come at a better time. After getting the boot today, I'm pretty sure the players will finally *show up* for the MU game if you know what I mean. It's been a pretty sad 6 months for Hodgson - he never commanded the respect of his players and his tactics were sometimes truly terrible - never buying/subbing the right players and somehow, his team was always playing with a sense of inferiority... as though they had a point to prove (when there obviously wasn't). Anyhow, LFC ALWAYS chooses to show up when facing MU so I'm predicting a very closely contested yet exciting match tomorrow. SAF says he will field a strong squad and I think so too - I'm guessing the strong line-up would include VdS, Vidic, Evra, Rafael, Evra, Nani, Anderson, Giggs, Fletcher, Berba, Hernandez/Roo (not sure if he's recovered completely from his ankle injury though). In the past 2/3 matches, I've already begun sensing that we're REALLY missing Park :( - I really wished he didn't have to play for the stupid Asian cup. Sigh. (The only good thing about this Asian cup is that Shinji Kagawa will be unavailable for Dortmund, which bodes well for Bayern - lol!!!). A Berba hat-trick repeat would be great but probably to much to ask for!

The other match is even more nerve wrecking. RM takes on Villareal, who has been superb the whole season except for very few hiccups - they even gave Barca a run of their money earlier on in the season! Nilmar and Rossi are fantastique - and I'm not sure whether our defence is fast enough to cope with these two tricksters. Esp when Pepe (the faster one :( ) is out. Albiol is alright but sometimes seems a bit shaky at the back. Mou got a big flacking for losing our Levante match the other day - I don't blame him - the play was so poor and the players played like some old grannies on the field. It's no wonder why most of them aren't starters.... Anyway, our starting 11 for tomorrow has been announced: Benz, CR7, Ozil, di Maria, Xabi, Lass, Marcelo, Carvalho, Albiol, Ramos and Iker. Kaka will come on as a sub - hopefully NOT for Ozil :( I'm increasingly worried that I won't get to see Ozil playing much once Kaka recovers fully -it's really not fair given that he's been playing so well! :( :( :( On the team, we really need to start playing well again - we weren't good vs Getafe and were pathetic vs Levante. I really hate our extended El Clasico hangover...and I really hope we get out of it soon. As much as I don't want to put the blame on Benz, I have to admit that I wouldn't be half as worried if Pipita was around. I really miss his runs, his almost telepathic linking/play with di Maria and his infinitely higher work rate. Benz is so unthreatening and toothless on the field that it really frustrates the hell out of me at times... (OK, I must be patient...breathe in, breathe out...). It's gonna be tough tomorrow but I'm seriously praying for a win, ugly or otherwise! In the case that we lose/draw, I need to warn my friends NOT to talk to me for the next 24 hours....

Earlier on, I was watching (intermittently, admittedly) the Sociedad vs Sevilla match which was pretty good - Sevilla edged Sociedad 3-2. The ultimate upside is the presence of Jesus Navas, who has come back from injury - he is SOO CUTEE! I could just stare into those eyes all day...... :D

Barca are playing Depor right now - it's so gonna be a white wash.... Sheesh. I really can't stand the fact that ALL teams roll over for Barca...

Anyway, let's keep our fingers, toes, hands, legs crossed for tomorrow! =)

*Listening to Firework by Katy Perry*

pathetic display...

we're down 2-0, not that it matters but boy, are we playing sooooo badly....doubt we can find 2 equalisers in the next 6/7 minutes. Nevermind, we're already through to the next stage although this will be so bad for the team morale...

staring at the face of defeat no. 2?

This is so utterly frustrating as Levante just scored a penalty. Geez....and we're still playing like old grannies. I REALLY miss our forwards... =(

this is clearly...

...a second tier line up. It's the 2nd leg of Copa Del Rey (RM is up 8-0 vs Levante from the 1st leg) and a whole host of starters have been rested. This has left us with a rather subdued line up for today (Adan, Mateos, Garay, Carvalho, Arbeloa, Gago, Khedira, Granero, Canales, Leon, Benzema) - and I'm actually falling asleep watching them right now. We've created zero chances in the last 15 minutes and we're playing as slow as a snail - all those back passes are driving me nuts. Argh. Just bring in Kaka, please!?!?!!! I'm missing CR7, Ozil, Di Maria, Xabi, Marcelo already......

Anyway I hope we don't concede any goals today...this match seems to be heading for a snoozefest...

*Listening to Take Me Out by Atomic Tom*

I've concluded that...

..the team I dislike the most (other than Barca, obviously) is Arsenal. As I am sitting in front of the TV watching Arsenal vs Citeh, I find myself unknowingly rooting for Citeh to score instead! Well, to be honest, Arsenal has been playing heads and shoulders above Citeh and it's only a matter of time before they start scoring....

At the end of the 1st half, Chelski and L'pool are behind while Spurs is level with Everton.

Back to the TV as the 2nd half gets on the way.....

Back from hols!

It's been an awesome 2.5 weeks back home - I really wish it could have been longer! Not gonna write too much about it except that I've been happy (yes, a far cry from the situation last year!) and I'm hoping for a much better 2011 ahead! :D

In footie terms, my teams have been doing OK. RM's won all their matches since the disaster of El Clasico, MU's top of the table (yes, even with the rubbish football we've been playing courtesy of Chelski tripping over and some rather tricky competition in BPL this season!) and Bayern..ermm...well, they resume play on 15th Jan. As I don't have that much of hopes for them this season, I really look forward to the return of Robben and that things start looking brighter from here!

Will start writing more when I get back into the groove...only complaint from me so far is the unbearably cold weather! Oh, and that it's been pretty lonely without my housemates as they aren't back in London yet.... =(

*Listening to Make Your Move by The Product*