Hantubola Ghost

I was in a good mood after another great performance, so here you go...I decided to make a Hantubola button which you guys could put on your blogs (only if you want to, of course). Remember kids, never mind what the pros say...Microsoft Paint is a vey powderful program!

5 Things I Hate About Wayne Rooney

1. He looks like Shrek.
He seems to be one of those players with the kind of very punchable face that invites you to just give him a good knock. (Examples of other such players are van Horse Face, Gary Neville, Didier Drogba, etc) Although I think that if I really tried punching him, he'd kill me in 5 seconds because he always looks like he just ate ten buses. And his upper body looks like a potato stacked on top of a far larger potato!

2. He is overrated.
I know it's not his fault that he's English and the English have this tendency to 'blow their own trumpet' and make their players sound like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread, and then berating them once they get into a slump. He may have the potential to become the next Gazza and the next Best and everything, but if I were in his position, I would rather people give me the chance and space to grow naturally as a footballer instead of being told how I can become as great as so-and-so, both of whose career, by the way, was ruined because of their obsession with alcohol. So maybe it's not such a compliment after all. But if Wayne Rooney scores, the rest of the world acts as if no one has ever scored before.

3. He stole all of Michael Owen's records.
Now I really don't get this "Youngest Goalscorer Ever", "Youngest Goalscorer in The Last Millennium" or "Youngest Goalscorer in The Last 16 Months" crap. I just don't get it. If you play a player at a VERY young age and he's a striker, eventually he will score, RIGHT? Who's to say that the previous youngest goalscorer wouldn't have scored even earlier IF he got a chance to play at a younger age? I hate these stupid stats, so deceiving, and not very applicable as well because more and more and more clubs seem to be fielding younger and younger players because they either have no choice or are trying to inject something fresh into the team or are hoping that these players will score against some big team like Wayne Rooney did as well (and then become their saviour, and then leave for a bigger club). And it's so exclusive and 'elitist' as well, because hey, aren't goalkeepers important players too? But since they're perpetually stuck in their goalpost unless they think they're David James, there is NO WAY they can get a record like that. And come to think of it, how come they don't have a "Youngest Goalkeeper to Keep a Clean Sheet" record too? Or what about "Youngest Player to Get An Assist" because assists lead to goals, right?

4. "Once a Blue, Always a Blue"
I'm not bitter at all - I'm a LIVERPOOL fan - but players should NEVER ever make silly claims in the vein of "ONCE A BLUE, ALWAYS A BLUE", because, especially if they're quite highly rated, chances are they'll get lured away to the evil, darker side no matter how loyal they claim they are. Ironically enough though, when Rooney was around, Everton were battling with relegation. Then after he left, they beat Liverpool to the last Champions League place. Oh and Man United has suffered from their worst ever campaign in the Champions League this season. Strangely enough, Wayne Rooney has been instrumental in this Man United team.

5. He has a gf who is far too good looking for him
Actually, I don't think she's pretty at all. But all she does is demand money from him and then go out shopping with Gerrard's fiancee, Alex Curran, and then they compete to see who wears the ugliest outfits! What a parasite! And apparently she only feeds him salad because contrary to what the whole world thinks, Wayne Rooney is NOT "a fatty who only eats burgers. He LOVES eating salad". Apparently, he only ever eats salads. Maybe I should tell Rafa to start feeding the Liverpool players salad instead of pasta.

The Hantu Bola Watch Bola Together-gether

OKOK, I know it's really last minute, and I know it's gonna be a SUNDAY NIGHT, but...

Calling all four of you Hantu Bola readers out there. Anyone wanna go out to watch

CHELSEA vs ARSENAL

at

SOULED OUT, SRI HARTAMAS
SUNDAY 11pm

Vincent, Lyn and I are going to be there definitely. Anyone else who wants to join is welcome to. Tigerjoe? Sashi? Anyone else?

To make it easier to spot us, EVERYONE wear a football jersey. Don't care if Valencia or Man Utd not playing at the time lar. just pakai sajalar. Me, I'll be wearing an orange Valencia away jersey. Can't miss it. :D

What? Work on Monday? What's that?

Champions League Draw

The Gods have a sense of humour.

CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Benfica v LIVERPOOL

You can just imagine the Barca players chomping at the bits to get to Chelski, who have the disadvantage of playing the second leg at the Nou Camp. Hell, Rijkaard doesn't even need to motivate his players - they'd be fired up for revenge. On the other hand, this could be exactly what Chelsea need to fire up for the final stretch of the season - the domestic race hasn't been much of a challenge for them, and a blistering set of matches against the top Spanish team of the moment could be just what the doctor ordered. Stop Ronaldinho and you'll have a chance, although that's easier said than done.
My prediction: Barcelona's attack is brilliant, but I suspect Chelsea's defensive strength and Mourinho's tactical mind might sneak a win.

The Gunners against Real? Arsenal did so admirably well against Inter Milan a couple of seasons ago, but can they pull of an upset - and Arsenal are the underdogs here - against a Real side that could well find themselves under new management by the time this game comes around? No Vieira this time, of course, but that seems to have only been a problem for Arsenal in matches against very physical, rugged teams - certainly not a description applicable to Real Madrid. To me, though, much will depend on how many of Real's galacticos will be available and on-form for the match. Real's defence will have no chance against Henry, so it's up to the midfield and attack to stamp their class. Arsenal's defence is not as strong as during their 'invincible' season, and their midfield might have problems with Real's ball wizards. An on-song Henry could swing events their way, but this over-dependence on one man could be their downfall.
My prediction: I think Real could sneak this by a whisker - but even if I'm wrong, the second leg at Highbury looks to be a potential blockbuster nevertheless.

Benfica could be tricky. While they did beat Man Utd, let's not kid oursleves by pretending that they actually knocked the Red Devils out - MU were undone with their results in other matches. What I see happening here would be a typical European knockout performance from Rafa's men - a defensive approach away and attack like hell at home. Worked against Chelsea last season - disputed goal and all.
My prediction: No surprise here - Liverpool to thrash Benfica 15-0 in aggregate, with Crouch, Cisse, Stevie G, Garcia and Alonso scoring hat-tricks. Sounds about right, doncha think? :P

Merry Xmas, Mr Crouch

This is the season for miracles, indeed.

Peter Crouch took God-knows-how-long to score this season, then had his first goal taken away, and now, not only does he score twice against Deportivo Saprissa, the Dubious Goals Panel have decided to give him that disputed first goal against Wigan.

So our lanky hero goes from zero to err... quattro.

BTW, in case no one noticed, today is the 10th anniversary of the biggest event in recent football history - the Bosman ruling. (And typically, UEFA still aren't happy with it.) Oh, how things have changed since then...

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Announcement by Eyeris:

In case you're wondering why your comments don't appear and are tempted to post them again... DON'T.

It's another testing period at Hantu Bola. I turned on the 'Moderate Comments' option, just to see how much of a hassle it would be. hehe.

And Sashi, I have no idea why I always choose YOUR posts to make these announcements either. hahaha.

Bitch Fest 1/5: David Beckham

Now this is a 5-part bitch fest of short posts in lieu of my obedience to EYERIS who has asked me to post up 5 players that I dislike. In view of recent times (and posts), I will try my best to refrain from using the word 'fuck' or its derivatives... just so it'd be a challenge.

It is just impossible not to dislike David Beckham. As a full-blooded woman, I think Beckham is SIZZLING HOT (I've provided a picture for all the detractors!) but from a football point of view it has become really un-PC to like David Beckham.

Especially if you are a woman. I, however, have reasons... kononlah. Heh.

I know people who have transferred over their lack of support from Manchester United over to Real Madrid. He is THAT powerful.

Beckham was obviously drafted into Real Madrid as a marketing prop . Nothing more. As a football player, my opinion is that he can be considered above average but man, the kind of teeny-bopper mania that he inspires is just simply nauseating.

This just dilutes the fame and recognition that he would have got as a good football player and somehow, he didn't. I actually have to REMIND myself sometimes that the dude plays football.

To make matters worse, he goes further to perpetuate his 'diva' status by getting caught in an affair with his nanny. I completely lost my respect for him then.

More reasons to dislike David Beckham here.

sexy football

Before the rise of the Roman Empire; when Arsene Wenger was still coaching in Japan and David Beckham was still single, Chelsea FC were one of the very first cosmopolitan football clubs in the English Premier League. We played sexy football back then, and even if it didn't always win us matches the entertainment value was top class.

I present for your viewing pleasure a selection of goals from the sexy football era. All gems by Gullit, Petrescu, Wise, Di Matteo, Poyet, Zola et al. The video clip is 26 Mb (about 8 minutes long); let it finish loading before you sit back and enjoy.



You can also watch the same video clip here.

These days, Chelsea FC play effective football which can't really be compared to the style of the mid and late 90s. Then again, who needs sexy when there are trophies to look forward to at the end of the season?

All your trophies are belong to us. *mwahahahahahaha*

Toodles.

Still A Long Way To Go, My Fellow Koppites

NOTE: I originally wrote this on my blog, but Eyeris ordered me to 'taruh' this here, because he feels this blog is turning into a "Man Utd Fan whining site" (his words, not mine). :P

Look, let me tell ya something - if there’s one thing I’ve learned being a Liverpool supporter for all these years, it’s that you don’t count the chickens before they hatch. Not even if you hear little chirps coming from inside the eggs. Not until all the chickens are out and grown-up and ready to be fried do you start counting them.

So we won the Champions League last season, and are now on a great run of wins and clean sheets. We are in the FIFA World Club Championship and considered favourites to win the tournament. This is truly an exciting time to be a Liverpool supporter.

But let’s not get carried away. We’ve won only one thing this season - the UEFA Super Cup. We’re out of the Carling Cup, and although, as Anfield legend Alan Hansen says, we have a better team this season than last, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’re capable of retaining the Champions League title or overtake Chelsea for the Premiership.

Chelsea are still the benchmark team in the league, and are capable of adding more to the squad in the January transfer window. Clubs like Barcelona and Juventus are stronger this season than they were last season, and are going great guns both in their domestic and European campaigns.

So the worst thing we can do right now is to delude ourselves that we’re better than every other team out there.

The rebuilding of Liverpool FC hasn’t finished. It’s still in its early stages. But we’re getting there, of course, and we shouldn’t get ahead of the process by claiming victory and taunting other supporters of so-called crisis dramas and all that.

We still need a central defender - Hyppia maybe doing great right now with Carragher, but he is already nearing the end of his time at Anfield. Anybody who comes in - whether it be in January or in the summer - will have to slowly inducted into the Rafa Benitez school of defending.

A right-sided winger is essential. Garcia’s an attacking midfielder who loves playing in the hole between the attack and midfield. This is the reason why Rafa is keeping Gerrard mostly on the right, due to his running and crossing ability. Obviously we’d prefer Stevie G to play where he is best at - central midfield - Rafa’s reasoning is understandable considering our deficiencies on the right. Rumour has it that Benfica’s Simao Sabrosa is being lined up for a transfer during the January transfer window, but considering Benfica’s success in qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League and that Simao will be cup-tied if he did move to Liverpool (he’s also injured and will be out of action till next month), it’s unlikely any move will take place until the summer. Fingers crossed, though…

Harry Kewell has made some improvements in the last few games. I’m honestly surprised at this. He is certainly not the same lazy petulant player of last season, although he is still far of his best form. Perhaps Rafa is on to something with this Aussie dude…

Getting a 20-goal striker is essential. Cisse is almost certainly on his way out, and Crouch, despite his likeability and ability to keep possession upfront, is not the regular goal-getter we seek. Morientes seems to be past his prime. I don’t honestly know whether Michael Owen will ever return to Anfield, and it’d be ridiculous to pin our hopes on that. Rafa’s a smart man, and he would already have targeted a striker to arrive in the summer at the earliest.

All in all, while we have a solid team this season, we’re still some players short of a great team. So let us not get ahead of ourselves and start dreaming of silverware just yet - let us just enjoy the strong defensive resilience of our back four marshalled by Mr Liverpool, the driving runs of Captain Stevie G, the assured passing of Xabi Alonso, the trickery of Luis Garcia, and Crouch’s continued attempts at scoring.

But most of all, let us appreciate the fine work being done by the Anfield management team, and understand that while we’re running really well right now, the finish line is still a long, long way away.

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PS by Eyeris: I've disabled anonymous comments on this blog for a while, as a test run to see what happens. Why? Because frankly, some comments just haven't been about football...

You'se are all fucking idiots

Those were Fergie's exact words when some dumbassed journalist tried to ask him about Seba Veron. I am inclined to agree with him. There are loads of signings he could be blamed for (Kleberson and Djemba-djemba) but Seba Veron was a totally freakish piece of bad luck.

When he signed Veron along with Van Nistelrooy, Veron was one of the best players in the world. He was, along with Vieri the key player in the Lazio team that won the scudetto a couple of season before that. Anybody back then who said Italian football was boring clearly didn't watch Italian football at all (and listened to the evil hype by the British press).

He was nothing short of awesome. He was, along with Van Nistelrooy one of the top players the fans wanted to see in Manyoo. When he signed for us, the press went on about how we were going to win the league with 'The Little Witch'. What happened after that is anybody's guess. Maybe he lost his form. Maybe he never adapted to England. Whatever it is, he had his occasional spell of brilliance but he never became the player he once was.

Fergie's fault? Fuck you. Its just shitty luck. He was a fucking awesome player who lost his form after he came. How would Fergie know unless he was a fortune teller? It would be like signing Ronaldinho today, and for some freakish reason, he loses his form tomorrow. That's football, you idiots. You can't blame anybody for this shit.

And the difference is....??

I hate the British press. The tabloids are so full of shit, the exaggerate every damn thing for the sake of a story. They are the reason I don't support England in football, rugby and cricket. They are so stinking biased it is ridiculous at times. That, and the fact that they are based in London and are biased towards the London teams.

I remember watching a game in a pub in Nottingham where I used to study, and that was the time when Arsenal were in the middle of their GREAT UNBEATEN RUN. The previous record was held by none other than Nottingham Forest (44 games I think). The guy, a local was furious over the hype that they were giving Arsenal who were at the time 40 games unbeaten. He was saying that when Forest were going on their unbeaten run, the press never made such a big hoo-hah about it the same way they made the fuss about Arsenal's.

Now, I seriously wonder what the fuck is the difference between Arsenal and Manyoo, and Wenger and Fergie. Arsenal have been great in Europe but shit in the league. Manyoo have been the other way around. Both haven't been playing anywhere near their best and not to their capabilities. Both have had ridiculous injury problems. Yet, it seems that Manyoo are in DEEP CRISIS but Arsenal aren't. Manyoo were ripped apart by the press (and Roy Keane) after Middlesborough cut them to shreds, but there wasn't such a furore over Arsenal's defeat to Bolton.

All of a sudden, it seems that Fergie is losing the plot. His supposed inability to replace our legendary midfield (and Roy Keane) was well documented. Supposedly, he made a lot of shitty signings and people aren't pleased with it. People say he's lost it. But if you look at Wenger, he has had problems replacing Arsenal's backline. We all know Pascal Cygan is not a footballer, and Kolo Toure (who incidentally started off no better than Cygan) has improved, but he is no Martin Keown, nevermind Tony Adams. Lauren is no where near Lee Dixon's quality in any case.

The press seems to laud Wenger over his supposed ability to buy unknowns and turn them into awesome players. Somehow, they also find it necessary to pick on Fergie for his supposed horrible signings. People seem to forget, both of them have had their fair share of good signings as well as poor judgement. For every Vieira, Van Persie and Ljungberg, there is also Stephanovs, Lhuzny and Grimandi. Similarly with Fergie, people seem to forget that besides Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson and Bosnich, there was also Schmeichel, Irwin and Cantona.

The problem with both teams now?

They are filled with players who are too young to have enough experience and players who are too old to do anymore running. Probably the only player in Arsenal who is the top of his game is Henry. Manyoo's situation is in that sense a little worse. We have players who are too young and players who are too old. Nobody is 27-28 years old except Van Nistelrooy, but he has been off form. Both teams are relying on boys to do a man's job.

Both teams are screwed at the moment. Crisis, no. Trouble, yes. The thing people fail to realise is that both teams have a VERY secure future.

Probably the most irritating thing out of all this is the armchair fans who have no idea how the game is played and how the game is run, and end up following the views of the biased English press. For an example, please refer to the comments section of the last few posts.

The Gunners' Achilles Heel?

Two Premiership defeats back-to-back for Arsenal is an unfamiliar event, more so considering the class of their opponents. That's also 3 games Arsenal have gone without scoring a goal, including the goalless draw against Ajax.

Not crisis stuff, of course, but given Chelsea's relentless march on the title and Liverpool's continuing resurgence, Arsenal need to get back to winning ways quickly if they don't want to be left behind by the top three.

The main problem for Wenger to contemplate - besides wondering which other striker can step up if Henry gets injured or suspended - is how to deal with teams who get physical on the pitch.

Both Bolton and Newcastle used every ounce of their players' strengths to out-muscle the Gunners, and while the Magpies were lucky not to have half their players sent off for their robust approach to the match in the second half, Bolton used their physical advantage to completely outplay Arsenal and fully deserved their win.

Other lower ranked teams watching would think this is the way to beating Arsenal - go toe-to-toe with the players, fight for every blade of grass, forget about the passing game, just fight their way towards goal.

Players like Pires, for example, have a well-known aversion to tackling back, while the other creative types prefer to run away from defenders into space as opposed to battling it out.

In games such as these, the lack of midfield steel epitomised by Patrick Vieira is so glaringly obvious.

Wenger urgently needs another midfield general to revitalise Arsenal. Trouble is, not too many of them are out there and available at the moment.

The January transfer window could be very interesting for Arsenal supporters....

On an unrelated note, Liverpool notched up 10 successive clean sheets yesterday, equalling the club record set in 1987/88. For the younger of you Liverpool supporters, the 1987/88 season was a spectacularly great season, brilliant attack, brilliant defence, and if not for the unfortunate upset in the FA Cup Final, would have been a second double-winning season for us.

Meanwhile, let us all look forward to seeing Liverpool becoming World Champions, shall we?

Manager of the Month

I'm glad his effort has been noted - but I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a kiss of death...

Bring on Boro!

The Stepover King Crybaby

It's no secret that I HATE Christiano Ronaldo, and Vincent doesn't like him much either. While Vincent's reasons are more to do with the fact that he doesn't contribute much to the Mau Utd play besides his stepovers and diving, that is actually NOT the reason I don't like him (after all, any player that can fuck up MAn Utd's gameplay gets a plus point in MY book).

No, my reasons are much more superficial.

• I don't like him because his face is annoying. (Yes, I'm THAT shallow)
• I don't like his earrings.
• I don't like his hairstyle.
• I don't like the way he falls over everytime a defender comes near him IN the penalty box.
• I don't like him because he steps over the ball more than he kicks it (it's called FOOTball, you idiot, not AIRball).
• And most of all, I don't like him because he looks like he's gonna cry everytime he is fouled.

Which is why I found this quote from Guardian's The Fiver newsletter so hilarious:


Having played like a sickly child who'd been given the opportunity to line out for the Rowdies by the Make A Wish foundation, the young Portugeezer reacted to defeat by giving ecstatic Benfica fans the finger.

"There was nothing to justify the way the crowd treated me," whined the man the Rowdies bought from Benfica's arch-rivals Sporting Lisbon, as he packed his ball away and stormed home to tell his mum.

And how about this one from the same newsletter but the Letters section:

Hats off to Cristiano Ronaldo. He might have run around like a headless chicken last night, but I don't think I've ever seen a better example of someone giving-the-bird-but-pretending-to-scratch-their-head than the one he aimed at the Benfica fans as he was substituted

GYAHAHAHAAHA!

Fuck the world and everything in it

FUCK YOU ALL LA you stupid scouse monkeys. You fuckers are only in the Champions League due to a fucking technicality and bloody politics la.

FUCK YOU ALL LA you stupid gooners. A few seasons ago, you played well in the league but couldn't play in Europe for shits. Same fucking thing rite?

FUCK YOU ALL LA you stupid journo fucks who don't know shit about football. Crisis? What fucking crisis? We are second in the league above Arse and Pool. Have you even watched our last few games? Total football. One touch and attractive like hell. Just like our football didn't suit the European game, Liverpool's football didn't suit the English game up till recently. WHAT FUCKING CRISIS?

FUCK YOU ALL LA you plastic manc fans. Don't fucking embarass the rest of us by giving your shit assed opinion about the game when you didn't even wake up to watch it. Ronaldo had a shit game you dick head, and Fletcher didn't play. Personally, I prefer Fletcher in a crunch game like this for the simple reason that idiot doesn't try to show off and doesn't lose the ball as often.

FUCK YOU you cheebai Ronaldo. You lazy showoff bastard who can't play when the team needs you. Only can play when winning like how you helped us destroy Milwall and on Saturday, bloody Portsmouth. All your fucking step-overs and trying to bloody juggle the ball in your own half for fucks ar?

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To be fair, we didn't deserve to qualify. Not based on our two performances against Lille and last night, we didn't deserve to do anything. Van Nistelrooy is never a captain material, which is why it was great that Neville got it. O' Shea is a useless dick and Ronaldo is a fucking prick. Luck only helps a team that helps themselves. Manyoo did NOT help themselves last night.

On the bright side, we are still second in the league and playing AWESOME football in the league...

FUCK YOU ALL LA......

che wah che wah

There seems to be a fair bit of jubilation over ManYoo getting knocked out of the Champion's League. My instincts tell me that it's mostly scousers who are celebrating. *tsk tsk tsk*

I tell you what though; as a Chelsea fan I would have preferred to have ManYoo go past the group stage, simply to increase our chances of avoiding an Italian or Spanish club in the round of 16. Fear is not the reason, but rather, it's all about timing. The round of 16 is going to be played at a time when the Italian and Spanish clubs are coming out of their winter break (i.e. nicely rested), whilst all English clubs would have just gone through an exhausting festive period fixture list. So you see, having the Glazer Gimps around increases the possibility of Chelsea dealing with Lyon in the first knockout round, which would be ideal for us, everything considered.

Of course, scousers don't care about such things as they have no country protection in the competition, and could still end up being drawn against Real Madrid followed by Barcelona. How do you like that, scousers?

Oh well, I guess us Chelsea fans should keep our fingers crossed. Not being too arrogant may sway karma to smile kindly on us, and give us Lyon as our next opponents. Let us pray for that.

Toodles

[photo of the losing manager and his assistant taken from Yahoo! news report]