Happy Chinese New Year!

I wish my all Chinese friends celebrating out there a Happy Chinese New Year. “Gong Xi Fa Cai!“

Humour

DAFUQ AI Keepers?!

I was happily playing FM 2007/08 to kill my time and this is the first time I see this! Everton pulled level twice and we were not prepared of what was to come!

In the second half of extra time. (Note: Contains generated players)

Football

Manchester City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur

I missed City’ and Tottenham’s first three goals but I witnessed Balotelli’s stamping attempt on Scott Parker’s face! He clearly deserves a red card but the referee missed it. Late in injury-time, I was swearing at Ledley King for fouling the Italian in the box. Brad Friedel could not reach the ball placed on the bottom right of the keeper.

Arsenal 1-2 Manchester United

Moments after the final whistle, my sister read this Twitter feed out loud, “I 8-2 be Arsenal fan right now. Makes me 1-2 cry…” I totally did not see that coming. It was a tale of two halves but Manchester United took the initiative to put the ball into the net twice. Robin van Persie missed a golden opportunity to take the lead when he shot wide with two defenders in goal. I would have put my money on him to score. We have new injury worry for Phil Jones who twisted his ankle while back pedalling in the first half. Looks like he will be out for two weeks, at least.

Gaming

After about a month of disruption, KENJI139 is back online and fir_nev is planning to come back soon for ‘BATTLEFIELD 3′.

DUST 514

We brothers are thinking about acquiring this game. Looks good in the trailer. What is your take on this?

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My Quietest Hero

In life, I have lots of heroes whom I look up to. They normally come from the world of football and that has not changed still.

Here, I present you, my silent goalscorer, Gaizka Mendieta. A Spaniard who drove his team forward at any level. I first saw him playing for Valencia in 2000. He is the complete opposite of former United skipper, Roy Keane. Despite the silence, his presence can be felt on the pitch. I noticed only two players who stood out in the past Valencia squad. Him and the colourful Santiago Canizares.

I was really happy seeing Mendieta play for Middlesbrough then. I finally got a chance to see one of my favourites play against the best after an unfortunate spell in Lazio. I even watched Boro win the League Cup against Bolton Wanderers in 2004. That is how he can push the team forward.

Gaizka Mendieta strutting his stuff

Two of my heroes talking

P.S. I really need to catch ‘REAL STEEL‘.

Germany’s Chances In EURO 2012

I think they have a very good chance to go into the knock-out stages provided they survive the possible Group of Death if I heard correctly on Eurosportsnews.

Manuel Neuer still tops my list for the type of goalkeeper Manchester United should get. We must still cheer on for David de Gea and have faith in the youngster since Sir Alex Ferguson made his decision to acquire him.

David de Gea Caught Stealing At TESCO

Barely a day I penned my thoughts on the young Spanish keeper, he is on the news again. Just like a ballad currently belted by an Indonesian singer, I cringed reading the news he was caught stealing a doughnut from Krispy Kreme cabinet in TESCO. He is being mischievous but I still am shaking my head.

This came after news that Rio Ferdinand loses a court case. After years supporting Manchester United, I am truly disappointed.

Hopefully, the the highly paid younger lads can set better examples on and off the pitch to us all.

My Thoughts On David de Gea

I think David de Gea will do well at United. Despite my initial sceptics, he showed that he can develop at the highest level in years to come. Watching him getting peppered against Stokes and Anders Lindegaard against Benfica, I still feel the Spaniard has something ahead of the Dane. I cannot put a finger on it but something to do with presence. He may be too quiet to command his penalty area but he somehow exudes confidence to his defence.

I do not put him highly as Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar yet but he will be up there in the future.

David de Gea (ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images)

Latest update: United 3-3 Basel. He is unable to do much as The Red Devils went on gung-ho mentality leaving so much gaps at the back.

I Still Miss Gary :’(

I always stayed glued to the television screen whenever Gary ran up and down the right flank since 1999. I really miss Gary Neville.

Who Would You Sign For Manchester United? – Goalkeepers

You may also place your honest opinions in the poll.

Barcelona 3 – 1 Manchester United

I woke up at 0230hrs for, what could be the last, Champions League Final in Wembley between Barcelona and Manchester United. I last watched the two play back in 2009 when the Catalan giants won 2-0 in Rome.

Looking at the line-up, I thought United might have a chance to attack Mascherano who was partnering, former United player, Gerard Pique. They indeed made their intent known for the first ten minutes pressing the Spaniards high into their own half.

That was not the case as once Barcelona have settled. Iniesta and Xavi were exchanging passes to Messi, Pedro, Villa and Dani Alves causing my heart to race at every complete pass. When Pedro side-footed the ball wide, I breathed a sigh of relief. First goal for Barca would destroy any chance of United winning Europe’s most coveted trophy.

Xavi disguised his pass perfectly as he guided the ball to Pedro who was unmarked by Vidic. van der Sar was on the wrong foot and Nemanja Vidic’s desperate slide was too late as the net rippled. My shoulders dropped but Rooney scored from Giggs, who was deemed offside, assist got me to believe that the Red Devils are back in the game.

Valencia had a terrible night. He committed four to five fouls before being shown the yellow and I thought he was favourite to be substituted first. To my surprise, NO! Lionel Messi’s fantastic season continued as he scored from twenty yards as Vidic failed to close him down. David Villa’s tireless effort finally paid off as he curled one beyond van der Sar’s reach to score Barcelona’s third.

3-1 the scoreline and I went to bed immediately after the final whistle. I do admit Barcelona is the best side which can outplay and out-pass any team in Europe. They will continue on like this for the next three to five seasons or so. As Pep Guardiola said, “Winning titles is hard. Defending them is harder.” But I have no doubt with the current squad he has at his disposal.

Question is, “How do we stop them?“

Javier Hernandez VS Luis Suarez

I was browsing YOUTUBE when I saw this:

I must applaud to the people who put effort into this video. Superb.

Well, Manchester United will be meeting Schalke! I am so happy after they have dumped Chelsea out of the European Cup.

Xabi Alonso In Our Family

My father is blessed with footballing skills which almost got him to play for Singapore Reserves back in the 70′s. He can play in every position on the field despite standing at 1.6m tall. I was turned inside-out once by him when I was eleven.

I was never a good footballer. I have been lucky, able to play for good teams and win championships. I can never match the attributes of my father on the field. You can imagine Jordi Cruyff who always been playing in his father’s shadow even during his stint in Manchester United. I had to work hard playing as a defender with heart on my sleeve.

I first watched my sister play football and she was incredible. For a girl, her passing is amazing. I was blown away when she assisted her forwards with such precision. She was just a fourteen-year-old who never played competitively on the pitch before and to see her supplying her teammates during the girls’ tournament got me in awe. I found out that I was not alone. A Home United ladies’ team coach wanted her to train and play with his team badly only to be fiercely rebutted by my mother.

Back then, I did not know how to describe the way she play until the arrival of Xabi Alonso. So long yet so accurate.

Below is the compilation of the Spaniard last season.