US Open Men’s Preview
Andy Murray, Scotland
Strengths:
• Killer double-handed back-hand. Best in the game right now
• Beat Federer and Nadal en route to winning the recently concluded ATP tournament at Montreal.
• Youngest among the quartet (Rafa, Del Po, Djokovic and himself), so there is a sense of less pressure on him. He is just about at the right age to start winning slams, he is young but has enough experience.
• In the form of his life. The way he beat Federer (in straight sets) in the Montreal Masters was astounding.
• Playing on hard-courts, that’s his favorite surface. He likes hard-courts more than grass surprisingly.
• Does not need to rely on his serve. His all-round game is not based around his service. Even if he is serving bad, he can make for it
Weaknesses
• Never won a Grand Slam before. Came twice in the final against Federer in US Open 2008 and Aus Open 2010 and lost in straight sets
• British media, British History, expectations. The last decent British player, Tim Henman was so hyped by the media that he could not handle it. They named a ‘Henman Hill’, kept on reminding him when the last British player won a major and how he has a chance to make history. The stupid British media will not shut up and Murray will have to live with it.
• Bad first-serve percentage. Even in the win over Federer in the Montreal masters, he was serving something like 55% on his first serves.
Rafa Nadal, Spain
Strengths:
• Ability to grind down opponents,
• Tremendous mental strength,
• Chasing down every ball without giving up,
• Heavy top-spin from his specially designed Babalot racquet are some obvious strengths of Nadal.
Weaknesses
• Does not like hard-courts. His technique is not as smooth as Federer and thus he exerts lot of pressure on his knees and ankles. Hard-courts can be very unforgiving on those joints making him injury-prone on this surface. This very thought (of getting injured) would mean he may not come out with his A-game.
• Reducing “lefty factor”. When he burst onto the scene, immortals like Federer did not know how to handle the heavy top-spin from the left handed-forehand onto their back-hand, especially on clay courts.
• Never won the US Open before. Has won all the other slams, including the Aus Open.
Roger Federer, Switzerland
Strengths:
• Been there, done it before, five times at the US Open and sixteen times otherwise
• Huge hit. He is always the crowd favorite wherever he goes. Federer’s opponents will have to live with that
• Change of style. As evident from the Montreal Masters and the Cincinnati open, Federer has started using chip n charge more often than he used to. With awesome hands at the net, he could be a handful.
Weaknesses
• Weak back-hand. As awesome and elegant it looks, there is no doubt that his back-hand is his weakness.
• Weak back-hand means he also has a weak return of serve when compared to the other top players.
• At 29, you get a feeling that he has achieved so much that there might a sense of , dare I say, complacency and lack of hunger as compared to say a Murray or a Nadal.
Roddick, USA
Strengths:
• Awesome serve. Best serve in the Men’s circuit. A-Rod needs to forget about first serve percentages and go flat-out. If he goes flat-out and gets 60% first serves in, that is better than him going conservatively and getting 70 -75 % first serves.
• Home ground, home support.
• Been there done it before. Not often can you say that about A-Rod, but the US Open 2003 is the only slam he has won in his career so far.
• Reducing expectations. There were such high expectations immediately after he won the US Open 2003, that one gets the feeling it got to him. Now, no one expects him to win the US. Can he do a Goran’01?
Weaknesses
• Over-reliance on serve. If he does not serve well, he is in hot-water.
• Conservative shot-making. Built like and ox, some of his shots are put-it-back-into-play shots. Needs to go for broke more often.
• Inexplicable losses of concentration, leading to loss of confidence. His loss to Mardy Fish at Cincinnati was unbelievable. He was up 5-2 in the second set and all-over Fish. Lost concentration and the set. Lost confidence and the match. (losing the final set 6-1)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Win by a no-ball
Cricket in the 80s and 90s seems to be so much more interesting than what it is today......
Here is an interesting story:
"I remembered Norman Gifford's no ball which made india win madras test in 1973 !!:)
India had to struggle to get the 86 runs to win. Both Engineer and Chauhan, who opened, as Gavaskar was nursing a finger injury, were back for 11 runs. Wadekar edged Old for a knee high catch to Greig in the slips but as umpire Mamsa did not at once uphold the appeal, there was some unseemly demonstration by some of the fieldsmen when Lewis showed a firm hand. The umpire, apparently unsighted by Old cutting across in his follow-through, upheld the appeal after consulting his colleague. Thirty-two for two at stumps, India hit off the runs about half-an-hour before lunch on the next day through a no-ball delivered by Gifford. Pocock, bowling into the same end as Prasanna on the previous evening, caused a fright but hard-hitting by Durani, who slammed two timely 6's, and firm batting by Pataudi saw India home."
sources....G.Nadarajan
Here is the scorecard..............makes for an interesting reading
http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/33/33050.html
Here is an interesting story:
"I remembered Norman Gifford's no ball which made india win madras test in 1973 !!:)
India had to struggle to get the 86 runs to win. Both Engineer and Chauhan, who opened, as Gavaskar was nursing a finger injury, were back for 11 runs. Wadekar edged Old for a knee high catch to Greig in the slips but as umpire Mamsa did not at once uphold the appeal, there was some unseemly demonstration by some of the fieldsmen when Lewis showed a firm hand. The umpire, apparently unsighted by Old cutting across in his follow-through, upheld the appeal after consulting his colleague. Thirty-two for two at stumps, India hit off the runs about half-an-hour before lunch on the next day through a no-ball delivered by Gifford. Pocock, bowling into the same end as Prasanna on the previous evening, caused a fright but hard-hitting by Durani, who slammed two timely 6's, and firm batting by Pataudi saw India home."
sources....G.Nadarajan
Here is the scorecard..............makes for an interesting reading
http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/33/33050.html
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The good.........the bad and..... the ugly
The good.........the bad and..... the ugly
1)
good.....
1996 Titan cup, Hyderabad - SA post 260 odd runs. India are 160 odd for 4 and in the hunt, when Ganguly is called back by cronje after he collided with the
Big old 'Fanie'. The South Africans do run him out, but Hansie(who is disliked by many, not so much by me) calls him back.
I think this is the one. The commentary is as funny as the incident itself
2)
bad
In the same series, the next match, India are in trouble chasing Australia's 210. Jadeja and Sachin help India recover from 47/4 and with the score around
120, the same thing happens to Jadeja which happened to Dada in the previous match. Steve Waugh though took the bails out and Mark Taylor had no intention of
calling back Jadeja. Considering some of the much more worse stuff that the OZs do, this one was more like a trailer to a 3-hr hindi movie. This is the same
match in which Kumble and Srinath put on 60 odd runs for the 9th wicket to help India to victory.
3)
good
Vettori, one of the most under rated captain and player according to me, called back Collingwood after he wandered out of his crease and Mccullum hit the
stumps down.
4)
bad
And that was after Collingwood refused to call back Grant Elliot after this incident. Vettori, you are awesome. Collingwood?.......hmmmm.......I wont berate
him for this but.......
5) ......the ugly
srilanka india sehwag. The Randiv incident was ugly. He landed is front foot at the place where he normally would land his back-foot. He may be a 'nice lad',
''no malice guy'. But it would take a lot of convicing to prove this one was not deliberate.
But the funny thing is that, the balls faced by him increased by 1 for
having faced the no-ball, but he does not get the runs. That, to me,
is a flaw, in the rules and something for ICC to look at.
6) .....ugly
This was one of the most ridiculous ones......Slater caught Dravid on the half-volley, with the ball clearly bouncing off the pitch. Not only does he
celebrate, he then asks Dravid to walk, and when the 3rd umpire gives him not-out, he goes on an 'oz sledging mission' with dravid.......And to top it off,
he is now a commentator and comes on air and talks bout how people should not sledge.......Anyway, Slater gets away with it, with probably 10percent 'match
fee'. And when Gambhir sticks his elbow out to Watson, he gets a one match ban..........
7)......bad
This one is from the famous India Australia Sydney test in Jan 2008. Watch out for 4:01 and 4:56 in this
What is ridiculous about this is that umpire asks Ponting and Ponting says its out.......and the umpire gives him out.....WHAT THE @#$%!!
8) I remember a similar incident when Graeme Hick caught Rathore in India's 96 tour of England. Darrel Hair asks Hick, he says its out and the umpire gives
him out. I cant recall an incident where the umpire asks and Indian or a Pakistani if he took the catch.
1)
good.....
1996 Titan cup, Hyderabad - SA post 260 odd runs. India are 160 odd for 4 and in the hunt, when Ganguly is called back by cronje after he collided with the
Big old 'Fanie'. The South Africans do run him out, but Hansie(who is disliked by many, not so much by me) calls him back.
I think this is the one. The commentary is as funny as the incident itself
2)
bad
In the same series, the next match, India are in trouble chasing Australia's 210. Jadeja and Sachin help India recover from 47/4 and with the score around
120, the same thing happens to Jadeja which happened to Dada in the previous match. Steve Waugh though took the bails out and Mark Taylor had no intention of
calling back Jadeja. Considering some of the much more worse stuff that the OZs do, this one was more like a trailer to a 3-hr hindi movie. This is the same
match in which Kumble and Srinath put on 60 odd runs for the 9th wicket to help India to victory.
3)
good
Vettori, one of the most under rated captain and player according to me, called back Collingwood after he wandered out of his crease and Mccullum hit the
stumps down.
4)
bad
And that was after Collingwood refused to call back Grant Elliot after this incident. Vettori, you are awesome. Collingwood?.......hmmmm.......I wont berate
him for this but.......
5) ......the ugly
srilanka india sehwag. The Randiv incident was ugly. He landed is front foot at the place where he normally would land his back-foot. He may be a 'nice lad',
''no malice guy'. But it would take a lot of convicing to prove this one was not deliberate.
But the funny thing is that, the balls faced by him increased by 1 for
having faced the no-ball, but he does not get the runs. That, to me,
is a flaw, in the rules and something for ICC to look at.
6) .....ugly
This was one of the most ridiculous ones......Slater caught Dravid on the half-volley, with the ball clearly bouncing off the pitch. Not only does he
celebrate, he then asks Dravid to walk, and when the 3rd umpire gives him not-out, he goes on an 'oz sledging mission' with dravid.......And to top it off,
he is now a commentator and comes on air and talks bout how people should not sledge.......Anyway, Slater gets away with it, with probably 10percent 'match
fee'. And when Gambhir sticks his elbow out to Watson, he gets a one match ban..........
7)......bad
This one is from the famous India Australia Sydney test in Jan 2008. Watch out for 4:01 and 4:56 in this
What is ridiculous about this is that umpire asks Ponting and Ponting says its out.......and the umpire gives him out.....WHAT THE @#$%!!
8) I remember a similar incident when Graeme Hick caught Rathore in India's 96 tour of England. Darrel Hair asks Hick, he says its out and the umpire gives
him out. I cant recall an incident where the umpire asks and Indian or a Pakistani if he took the catch.
The good.........the bad and..... the ugly
1)
good.....
1996 Titan cup, Hyderabad - SA post 260 odd runs. India are 160 odd for 4 and in the hunt, when Ganguly is called back by cronje after he collided with the
Big old 'Fanie'. The South Africans do run him out, but Hansie(who is disliked by many, not so much by me) calls him back.
I think this is the one. The commentary is as funny as the incident itself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCqkD-8FU6s
2)
bad
In the same series, the next match, India are in trouble chasing Australia's 210. Jadeja and Sachin help India recover from 47/4 and with the score around
120, the same thing happens to Jadeja which happened to Dada in the previous match. Steve Waugh though took the bails out and Mark Taylor had no intention of
calling back Jadeja. Considering some of the much more worse stuff that the OZs do, this one was more like a trailer to a 3-hr hindi movie. This is the same
match in which Kumble and Srinath put on 60 odd runs for the 9th wicket to help India to victory.
3)
good
Vettori, one of the most under rated captain and player according to me, called back Collingwood after he wandered out of his crease and Mccullum hit the
stumps down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsznuSW-1Ug
4)
bad
And that was after Collingwood refused to call back Grant Elliot after this incident. Vettori, you are awesome. Collingwood?.......hmmmm.......I wont berate
him for this but.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87m2d6cV4F0&feature=related
5) ......the ugly
srilanka india sehwag. The Randiv incident was ugly. He landed is front foot at the place where he normally would land his back-foot. He may be a 'nice lad',
''no malice guy'. But it would take a lot of convicing to prove this one was not deliberate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SayybzYkzcs
But the funny thing is that, the balls faced by him increased by 1 for
having faced the no-ball, but he does not get the runs. That, to me,
is a flaw, in the rules and something for ICC to look at.
6) .....ugly
This was one of the most ridiculous ones......Slater caught Dravid on the half-volley, with the ball clearly bouncing off the pitch. Not only does he
celebrate, he then asks Dravid to walk, and when the 3rd umpire gives him not-out, he goes on an 'oz sledging mission' with dravid.......And to top it off,
he is now a commentator and comes on air and talks bout how people should not sledge.......Anyway, Slater gets away with it, with probably 10percent 'match
fee'. And when Gambhir sticks his elbow out to Watson, he gets a one match ban..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrEbYhwBb50
7)......bad
This one is from the famous India Australia Sydney test in Jan 2008. Watch out for 4:01 and 4:56 in this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PeQiT1HnU..........
What is ridiculous about this is that umpire asks Ponting and Ponting says its out.......and the umpire gives him out.....WHAT THE @#$%!!
8) I remember a similar incident when Graeme Hick caught Rathore in India's 96 tour of England. Darrel Hair asks Hick, he says its out and the umpire gives
him out. I cant recall an incident where the umpire asks and Indian or a Pakistani if he took the catch.
good.....
1996 Titan cup, Hyderabad - SA post 260 odd runs. India are 160 odd for 4 and in the hunt, when Ganguly is called back by cronje after he collided with the
Big old 'Fanie'. The South Africans do run him out, but Hansie(who is disliked by many, not so much by me) calls him back.
I think this is the one. The commentary is as funny as the incident itself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCqkD-8FU6s
2)
bad
In the same series, the next match, India are in trouble chasing Australia's 210. Jadeja and Sachin help India recover from 47/4 and with the score around
120, the same thing happens to Jadeja which happened to Dada in the previous match. Steve Waugh though took the bails out and Mark Taylor had no intention of
calling back Jadeja. Considering some of the much more worse stuff that the OZs do, this one was more like a trailer to a 3-hr hindi movie. This is the same
match in which Kumble and Srinath put on 60 odd runs for the 9th wicket to help India to victory.
3)
good
Vettori, one of the most under rated captain and player according to me, called back Collingwood after he wandered out of his crease and Mccullum hit the
stumps down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsznuSW-1Ug
4)
bad
And that was after Collingwood refused to call back Grant Elliot after this incident. Vettori, you are awesome. Collingwood?.......hmmmm.......I wont berate
him for this but.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87m2d6cV4F0&feature=related
5) ......the ugly
srilanka india sehwag. The Randiv incident was ugly. He landed is front foot at the place where he normally would land his back-foot. He may be a 'nice lad',
''no malice guy'. But it would take a lot of convicing to prove this one was not deliberate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SayybzYkzcs
But the funny thing is that, the balls faced by him increased by 1 for
having faced the no-ball, but he does not get the runs. That, to me,
is a flaw, in the rules and something for ICC to look at.
6) .....ugly
This was one of the most ridiculous ones......Slater caught Dravid on the half-volley, with the ball clearly bouncing off the pitch. Not only does he
celebrate, he then asks Dravid to walk, and when the 3rd umpire gives him not-out, he goes on an 'oz sledging mission' with dravid.......And to top it off,
he is now a commentator and comes on air and talks bout how people should not sledge.......Anyway, Slater gets away with it, with probably 10percent 'match
fee'. And when Gambhir sticks his elbow out to Watson, he gets a one match ban..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrEbYhwBb50
7)......bad
This one is from the famous India Australia Sydney test in Jan 2008. Watch out for 4:01 and 4:56 in this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0PeQiT1HnU..........
What is ridiculous about this is that umpire asks Ponting and Ponting says its out.......and the umpire gives him out.....WHAT THE @#$%!!
8) I remember a similar incident when Graeme Hick caught Rathore in India's 96 tour of England. Darrel Hair asks Hick, he says its out and the umpire gives
him out. I cant recall an incident where the umpire asks and Indian or a Pakistani if he took the catch.
Friday, August 13, 2010
No no no.......please ......no
Fabianski says he wants to be number 1. He may become the number 1 in the world but please, I cant take him at Arsenal anymore. Almunia, Manone, Scheczezezezny.....I can have have these but not that Pole. He may be a nice lad, he might be ambitious, but if he starts against Liverpool on Sunday, oh buoy.....It will leave me in an al-too-familiar position where I hate a player, want him to do badly and yet I want the team to win......which is what I used to do when Mongia was our wicket-keeper, which is what I think when Ravindra Jadeja plays right now....How awesome would it be........howler from Fabianski Liv 1-0 Ars......oh he has missed another sitter Liv 2-0 Ars......and we come back in the Pires-Henry-Bergkamp style!......or maybe a hattrick for Koscielny.........
All those players 'linked' with Arsenal have one-by-one started coming out and said they are going to stay with their respective clubs. First it was Everton defender Jagielka, then the Fulham Golie Schwarzer. It is funny how, no one linked us with Koscielny, Vermaelen last year, and they were signed. I hope Wenger is on another one of those French Pilligrimage for a 'goalie hunt' and introduces someone before Aug 31 transfer deadline.........
Meanwhile, there has been a suggestion from Martin Crowe to have a test championship on a yearly basis. I would lovvvvvve to see that. He goes on to say that there are only 2 forms of cricket in the future and bye bye to ODIs. He has even said no to split-innings ODIs, which is going to be tested in the domestic cricket in Australia. Test championship does give an added edge to the tests and incentive for more people to watch cricket. Cricket fans/organizers have to accept that test cricket cannot be taken to newer shores/countries. But for the passionate cricket-followers this would be an awesome spectacle. The 8 test playing nations will quarters, semis and then finals. Total of 7 matches. The first 4 played simultaneuosly, then the 2 semis again and then the final. We are looking at most about a month of cricket, which is really not bad.
By the way......some Toronto (ATP) results.........cant see Roddick :(
N Djokovic 6 6 - - -
V Hanescu 3 4 - - -
J Chardy 6 6 - - -
N Davydenko 3 2 - - -
R Federer 7 6 - - -
M Llodra 6 3 - - -
T Berdych 6 6 6 - -
A Dolgopolov 3 7 4 - -
D Nalbandian 4 6 6 - -
R Söderling 6 4 1 - -
A Murray 6 0 6 - -
G Monfils 2 6 3 - -
P Kohlschreiber 6 7 6 - -
Y Lu 7 5 0 - -
R Nadal 6 7 - - -
K Anderson 2 6 - -
All those players 'linked' with Arsenal have one-by-one started coming out and said they are going to stay with their respective clubs. First it was Everton defender Jagielka, then the Fulham Golie Schwarzer. It is funny how, no one linked us with Koscielny, Vermaelen last year, and they were signed. I hope Wenger is on another one of those French Pilligrimage for a 'goalie hunt' and introduces someone before Aug 31 transfer deadline.........
Meanwhile, there has been a suggestion from Martin Crowe to have a test championship on a yearly basis. I would lovvvvvve to see that. He goes on to say that there are only 2 forms of cricket in the future and bye bye to ODIs. He has even said no to split-innings ODIs, which is going to be tested in the domestic cricket in Australia. Test championship does give an added edge to the tests and incentive for more people to watch cricket. Cricket fans/organizers have to accept that test cricket cannot be taken to newer shores/countries. But for the passionate cricket-followers this would be an awesome spectacle. The 8 test playing nations will quarters, semis and then finals. Total of 7 matches. The first 4 played simultaneuosly, then the 2 semis again and then the final. We are looking at most about a month of cricket, which is really not bad.
By the way......some Toronto (ATP) results.........cant see Roddick :(
N Djokovic 6 6 - - -
V Hanescu 3 4 - - -
J Chardy 6 6 - - -
N Davydenko 3 2 - - -
R Federer 7 6 - - -
M Llodra 6 3 - - -
T Berdych 6 6 6 - -
A Dolgopolov 3 7 4 - -
D Nalbandian 4 6 6 - -
R Söderling 6 4 1 - -
A Murray 6 0 6 - -
G Monfils 2 6 3 - -
P Kohlschreiber 6 7 6 - -
Y Lu 7 5 0 - -
R Nadal 6 7 - - -
K Anderson 2 6 - -
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Football Transfers
This season the transfer market has been relatively quiet. There has almost been only name, which has been going arround in the transfer market. You know who! Our skipper FABREGAS.
Anyway, following are some transfers, which you might have missed
Arsenal.
In: Chamakh, Koscielny
Out: Dudu, Gallas, Sol, Silvestre, Senderos, Merida
On the attacking front we've strengthened. Chamakh, with his aerial ability, strength and neat finishing is definitely a much batter player right now when compared to the low-on-confidence Eduardo. Merida's absence will not be felt as he played only a handful of games last season.
In the defense, there is definitely a net loss. Gallas, Sol and Silvestre may not be the best defenders arround. But the fact that we lost 3 of them and we bought only one instead is a cause for concern for the Arsenal fans. Djorou is coming back from a major injury, so we cant really count on him as a reliable backup.
ManU
In: Chicharito (little green bean), Smalling
Out: Foster, Tosic
Sounds like quiet transfer season for the gum-chewer and the Red Devils so far. But Chicharito has had a really good start to his Man U career. He had a good world cup and has been scoring for them in the International club-friendlies. I have never got a chance to watch Smalling. But I know that he was chased by Wenger and Fergie one time. So he must be good.
Chelsea
In: Kakuta, Benayoun, Ramires
Out: Ballack, Joe Cole
This is a "Net Gain" for Chelsea. I personally like Joe Cole more than Benyoun. But the English mid-fielder has had his share of problems at Chelsea (injuries, coach problems etc). But consiering that they also have Kakuta now, that makes them really strong on the wing. This Kakuta is the same guy for which there was that supposed "2 year ban" on Chelsea. I was delighted at that time. But I should have realized that it is Chelsea, and they would do anything to lift that ban. The ageing Ballack will be replaced by Ramires. Ramires is as strong as the German, and he also has the added ability to counter attack after breaking the opponents play.
Liverpool
In: Aurelio, Joe Cole, Jovanovic, Hodgeson
Out: Benayoun, Riera, Rafa
There is a net positive in the defence and probably a net zero in the attack for Liverpool. They also probably have a net positive in the staff, with the new coach. If I were a Liverpool supporter, I would be really concerned on the attacking front. There is too much reliance on few players. Injuries to any one of Gerrard, Torres or Cole (The last 2 being very susceptible to injuries) and pool could be in big trouble. If fit, then these 3 could be a major force.
Citeh
In: Kolarov, David Silva, Yaya, Jerome Boateng,
Out: Martin Petrov
Almost in: Mario Balloteli
Almost out: Adebayor
Both the "almost"s are buffons. So there is a net zero over there. I hear that Ballotelli is almost as egoistic and greedy as the Togolese striker. So, those are not good signs for City fans as Manciini looks to sell Adebayor (Inter Milan is in the running for him. No wonder its that stupid Rafa Benitiz over there).
David Silva and Boateng looked good in the world cup. Yaya has come to Citeh on such a big prize tag, more out of his name and the club for which he played than his ability. Never heard of Kolarov before.
Despite the amount of money invested by them, there have not really been any major net gains for Manci(ty)(ni).
Anyway, following are some transfers, which you might have missed
Arsenal.
In: Chamakh, Koscielny
Out: Dudu, Gallas, Sol, Silvestre, Senderos, Merida
On the attacking front we've strengthened. Chamakh, with his aerial ability, strength and neat finishing is definitely a much batter player right now when compared to the low-on-confidence Eduardo. Merida's absence will not be felt as he played only a handful of games last season.
In the defense, there is definitely a net loss. Gallas, Sol and Silvestre may not be the best defenders arround. But the fact that we lost 3 of them and we bought only one instead is a cause for concern for the Arsenal fans. Djorou is coming back from a major injury, so we cant really count on him as a reliable backup.
ManU
In: Chicharito (little green bean), Smalling
Out: Foster, Tosic
Sounds like quiet transfer season for the gum-chewer and the Red Devils so far. But Chicharito has had a really good start to his Man U career. He had a good world cup and has been scoring for them in the International club-friendlies. I have never got a chance to watch Smalling. But I know that he was chased by Wenger and Fergie one time. So he must be good.
Chelsea
In: Kakuta, Benayoun, Ramires
Out: Ballack, Joe Cole
This is a "Net Gain" for Chelsea. I personally like Joe Cole more than Benyoun. But the English mid-fielder has had his share of problems at Chelsea (injuries, coach problems etc). But consiering that they also have Kakuta now, that makes them really strong on the wing. This Kakuta is the same guy for which there was that supposed "2 year ban" on Chelsea. I was delighted at that time. But I should have realized that it is Chelsea, and they would do anything to lift that ban. The ageing Ballack will be replaced by Ramires. Ramires is as strong as the German, and he also has the added ability to counter attack after breaking the opponents play.
Liverpool
In: Aurelio, Joe Cole, Jovanovic, Hodgeson
Out: Benayoun, Riera, Rafa
There is a net positive in the defence and probably a net zero in the attack for Liverpool. They also probably have a net positive in the staff, with the new coach. If I were a Liverpool supporter, I would be really concerned on the attacking front. There is too much reliance on few players. Injuries to any one of Gerrard, Torres or Cole (The last 2 being very susceptible to injuries) and pool could be in big trouble. If fit, then these 3 could be a major force.
Citeh
In: Kolarov, David Silva, Yaya, Jerome Boateng,
Out: Martin Petrov
Almost in: Mario Balloteli
Almost out: Adebayor
Both the "almost"s are buffons. So there is a net zero over there. I hear that Ballotelli is almost as egoistic and greedy as the Togolese striker. So, those are not good signs for City fans as Manciini looks to sell Adebayor (Inter Milan is in the running for him. No wonder its that stupid Rafa Benitiz over there).
David Silva and Boateng looked good in the world cup. Yaya has come to Citeh on such a big prize tag, more out of his name and the club for which he played than his ability. Never heard of Kolarov before.
Despite the amount of money invested by them, there have not really been any major net gains for Manci(ty)(ni).
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sol goes, Djorou injured, Koscielny looks good
Sol Campbell singed for the Magpies. Not the worst thing for us, though he would have been a good backup. In the new 25-man squad rule, we need to make sure that most, if not all players are fit to play through out the season. Djorou injured himself playing in one of the Emirates cup matches. That leaves us woefully short of defesive options. Koscielny looks a 'class act' according to Verminator but hell we need a couple of decent back-ups and we dont even have one. We dont want Song to drop back if either one of our centre backs donot play.
By the way, we won the Emirates Cup, drawing 1-1 with Milan and beating Celtic 3-2. Koscielny and Vermaelen looked really good, but the goal was conceded to a set piece and that too to the 'little duck' Pato. While the Lorent man and the Belgian look solid for most part, their height(or the lack of it) must be a concern for Wenger. Both are less than 6 feet and surely a beastly defender (maybe someone like Kyrgiakos who is cheap and not too intelligent) is the order of the day. Chamakh got off the mark with a nicely tucked finish and Vela also looked good, along with Arshavin. So, yet again I say....a back-up defender and a goalie is all we need.......
Dhoni lost the seventh toss in a row as India were put to field yet again on a terrible Sri Lankan summer day. Mind you, no day is good in SriLanka, with those trumpets blowing in the background. Worse than Vuvuzelas! Ishant Sharma put in a much better performance for us as he got rid of one of the Lankan openers in the first half hour. Dilshan hit and missed his way to 50 before he was run out, a sharp piece of fielding by Vijay at silly point. Between this, Raina dived in front of Laxman just as the Hyderbad man was about to gulp a sitter and grassed it. The batter was Sanga and the bowler was Mithun. On these placid Lankan tracks, losing the toss, hot first day, it is CRIMINAL to drop, and that too Sanga. Srilanka ended up on 293/4. Despite an improved bowling performace, Sri Lanka sit pretty at the end of the first day.
By the way, we won the Emirates Cup, drawing 1-1 with Milan and beating Celtic 3-2. Koscielny and Vermaelen looked really good, but the goal was conceded to a set piece and that too to the 'little duck' Pato. While the Lorent man and the Belgian look solid for most part, their height(or the lack of it) must be a concern for Wenger. Both are less than 6 feet and surely a beastly defender (maybe someone like Kyrgiakos who is cheap and not too intelligent) is the order of the day. Chamakh got off the mark with a nicely tucked finish and Vela also looked good, along with Arshavin. So, yet again I say....a back-up defender and a goalie is all we need.......
Dhoni lost the seventh toss in a row as India were put to field yet again on a terrible Sri Lankan summer day. Mind you, no day is good in SriLanka, with those trumpets blowing in the background. Worse than Vuvuzelas! Ishant Sharma put in a much better performance for us as he got rid of one of the Lankan openers in the first half hour. Dilshan hit and missed his way to 50 before he was run out, a sharp piece of fielding by Vijay at silly point. Between this, Raina dived in front of Laxman just as the Hyderbad man was about to gulp a sitter and grassed it. The batter was Sanga and the bowler was Mithun. On these placid Lankan tracks, losing the toss, hot first day, it is CRIMINAL to drop, and that too Sanga. Srilanka ended up on 293/4. Despite an improved bowling performace, Sri Lanka sit pretty at the end of the first day.
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