England vs Kazakstan (not interested...)

Aside from the World Cup Finals, other games that involved England national football team... be it WC Qualifying games or Euro or friendly - I'm not really interested anymore. I got a call from a friend asking me about the schedule of the game just now, but I couldn't answer it clearly. I read in the newspaper the game is tomorrow (Sunday midnight... Monday actually) but I wasn't sure because I wasn't really bothered.

Though LFC is represented by Steven Gerrard, I have learned the hard way not to be obsessed with England, like I do with Liverpool FC. Supporting England have caused me many anguished and frustration, even some monies too. I was a loyal supporter during Michael Owen and Emile Heskey's double act era. Now...? I am shifting my attention to the Spanish team. Do you know LFC is represented most in the Spanish team? They are 5 players in it, of course led by our own lethal striker, Fernando Torres.

Some of England's critics accused the whole funfair was caused by the media. It was more on publicity than actual chances. More nonsense about Beckhams. WAGS... and the managers too. Personally, I follow England is simply because England is the only team that I recognised and could name the first 11 players on the pitch and those on the bench, even up to the supporting staffs. It is because I watch EPL. That's why I know them all. How do you expect me to support other team, whom I know may be the most 5 players only (like Spain... hahaha...).

I think none of us have the right to declare our support to any particular team based on its reputation. Remember during the World Cup. Go ask anyone (including the ladies), the easy reply would be BRASIL! or GERMAN! But on what basis did they chose those teams? Zilt. It is simply because Brasil has been the world champion many many times. Brasil has the most talented players in their ranks... in particular Ronaldinho. However, many people tend to forget that Ronaldinho alone won't win Brasil the championship. That's what happened to Brasil eventually.

So I am more familiar with England. I know their weaknesses and strength. Unfortunately, based on my own analysis, England is so poor in the forward line-up. Wayne Rooney needs to be fed with beautiful crosses. Perhaps, the richness in midfield could do justice to Rooney though Lampard and Gerrard are well-known scorers themselves.

errr... enough of that. I have decided not to watch the game. May be next time, when England go against a much better team like German, France, Italy or Spain.

Not Kazakstan. hmmm....

Welcome Mike Bell to our family

Mike has left a new comment on my post "THE END OF FASTING MONTH, TIME TO CELEBRATE AIDILF...":

Greetings to you. I found your blog when I was doing a google search on Kuching.
I am fellow Liverpool fan and was born just 5km away from Anfield! Although I am from UK my wife is from Sarawak (Serian)- We live in Dubai now.

Let's hope The Reds finally pick up the Premiership trophy this year -We've definitely made a good start.

Best Wishes Mike
mikebell@myjaring.net

p/s I supposed to post Mike's message a week ago. But post-Eid Mubarak, my mind was not focused as yet and didn't have proper time to really rearrange the blog. Mike, keep on posting and I'm sure all the buddies here would love to know how is it like to be a Liverpudlian, married to a Malaysian, staying in Dubai. You're an international citizen in your own right. Keep on posting, syeikh Mike !

By the way, I hope you're not confuse of my whereabouts. Just like Bob From Kuching, we're both are permanent residents here in Kuala Lumpur. Isn't it, Bob?

Rizal Hashim .... how do you fancy this E 230? Not that expensive maaa... close to RM400k only. Sorry didn't have the opportunity to hitch you guys... hahaha

Welcome Sir Stanley Wu to our family

Below is a note written by Stanley Wu to me on Oct 10 (1 day ago) :

Stanley Wu has left a new comment on your post "I am a trucker...":

Ya...man...YNWA...Nice blog...u should be the LSCM supporter as well right?

Well, if possible, do visit my blog as well !!http://zernel.blogspot.com/
Let shoot down Wigan next week !!

Guys,

I have walk not alone into Stanley's blog. He has the same template with me (must I change now?... hihihi) and wowseeee... he has some interesting memorabilia on Liverpool. And he offers it for sale to the highest bidder, I presumed.
Also some KFC items. hmmm... that part, I would have to study more. I think Stanley is turning his blog into semi-eBay. Good idea, man. In fact you do have some cool stuff.

Anyway, we welcome Stanley into our domain. Slowly but definitely we are gaining momentum in our Liverpool FC blogging. Let the music rolls...! (I'm listening to the Deep Purple and Gary Moore now... my God, I spend RM100 just to get the PLATINUM COLLECTION of Gary Moore a week before raya... speaking of recession and yet I spend like no tomorrow...)

But I supposed, it was more like a reminiscent of my teenage years. You and I grew with this songs. I never hide or shy by admitting one of the bands that I listen closely was SEARCH. Especially, mentari merah di ufuk timur. That song is a killer. The screaming, the high note, all were captured by its lead singer, Amy who is now a millionaire after successfully won the suit against his former record company (RM2 mil).

Gary Moore was introduced to me by my cousin, who just bought the cassette entitled errr.. I don't remember but the very album consisted the ultimate song of his, STILL GOT THE BLUES. I listen to the song night and day for 3 days, until my cousin left. Darned I didn't have sufficient money to buy the tape. My pocket money in the 1980's was RM5 per week. The cassette (pirated) is RM5. I have to save 3 weeks to ensure that I won't go starving in the school and yet still managed to own the album. My dad is a bit conservative. He'll allow me to listen to the bands that he already vetted. Unfortunately, Gary Moore is not in that category (don't ask me why as I never ask him why). So now you'll understand why I couldn't care a penny to purchase those expensive Cd's. Even the Deep Purple album is a CBU version, direct from USA and of course, it cost me RM99. But I know, the quality both of my collection will remain till the day I die or til one of my off springs wishes to hear (they might termed them as THE OLDIES...) In fact, I get pretty annoyed when some of my staffs mentioned `you're from the old school' when they heard some 1980's music in my truck. That was U2 and The QUEENS. Am I that old? Yaaa Freddy Mercury died but Bono is the ambassador of THE UN.

For all of you out there : THE CHILDREN OF THE 80's .... like me (hahaha...) we must cherish and shall never discard our glory days when Kylie Minogue was the hottest chick on MTV with her locomotion... when Milli Vanili (is the spelling correct?) was thought as a genuine act, when MEN AT WORK introduced us the down-under joke, when the Iron Maiden innovated the Churchill speech within their song... WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER... (Madonna was still a virgin...and Michael Jackson was still black) and Rick Astley... wow I remember all of my buddies trying hard to emulate his hairstyle...

p/s I stole this from the net...

A MUST WATCH DVD

I got this DVD while I was on Eid Mubarak holiday in Kuching. Apparently my old city has a new shopping mall called THE SPRING. Well, I must say... it really mirrors KL's shopping mall, in particular the boutiques brand it has inside. One of it, SPEEDY ... so I bought the LFC season review 2007/ 2008 DVD.

I turned it on in front of my whole clan and of course, it attracted lots of admirers from the same camp of LFC fans and non-fans. It has 2 important segments. First, it shows EVERY game from the start (and I had to watch it twice... as I had to stop when suddenly some family members came for a raya visit). The 2nd segment is the best and the most popular in my house. It shows only Torres's 33 goals. wowsiee... what a spectacle actually. All were beautifully executed. As everyone agrees, Torres is not the traditional striker who only taps in the goal. He received the balls, run it through the defenders and fooled the goalkeeper. And that is a clear sign of a marvellous striker in Torres.

The DVD only cost RM19.90 and the picture quality is good. Go find it in your local store. Don't buy pirate version. Not worth it. The original one you can keep for a long time as a collection.

Rafa IS HERE TO STAY...

According to The Daily Mail today :

Rafa Benitez wants to bring some stability to Liverpool by committing his long-term future to the club.
The Liverpool manager has yet to hear from co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett about a new contract, despite his current one having only about 20 months to run. He is already being mentioned in Italy as a successor to Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri.
Benitez said: 'The problem in England now is that everyone wants to be successful too soon. It is a part of the game I don't like and I would prefer to have a long-term contract so I can have a long-term plan.'
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel aims to be playing again by Christmas after being assured that his knee ligament injury does not need surgery.

.

After Houllier who brought us the Ecstasy of 2001/02 season with the treble win, Rafa is also celebrated by world wide fan of Liverpool after securing our 6th European Championship in 2005 and the F.A in 2006. Even 2007 is not that bad regardless the pain of losing to the same opponent in Istanbul might incur a backlash from some quarters. In short, Rafa has been a successful manager for Liverpool. Critics and pundits might from time to time accused him of being too calculative by changing his first 11 almost every game. So that's his style. Sometimes it work, sometimes not. Most of us would condemned Rafa if he failed to play Torres when the team failed to secure a win. That's normal.

So there's a nauseating news about a team in Italy who wishes to acquire his services. It's just a wish. A media statement. To check the water temperature as some might say. I think Rafa won't be affected, not when everything is going positively at the moment. Rafa has no direct interference from the Americans. The team is on a winning streak. Not many injuries in the team, so the momentum can be sustained and maintained, at least til the game against Chelsea on the 26th October. So Rafa is happy. Even his statement was quoted as a statement of intent. He wants to stay. And we - the fans - welcome his intention.

Skrtel go for a rest, Agger will come back furiously

Skrtel is injured. Bad news. Good news is that we have he’s position well-covered. Well, it is just like the wheel. As they said, sometimes you’re on the top, the next time you’re under. Skrtel was brought in to cover for Agger who had a serious injury, thus enable him to play the whole last season. Now, Skrtel is out… may be in a shorter period than Agger. So now Agger should get more playing time. In fact, this is a good timing for him to regain his position in the team. He’s ability was never doubted by anybody, not even the fans world wide. It’s just the circumstances forbid Rafa to switch Skrtel just like that. Not when Skrtel has been showing his true standing as the rock, together with Carra.

In the meantime, there’s some sickening news emanating from Spain. According to one report, Real Madrid admitted that Agger was one of the target in the summer. If not because of Robinho saga, the deal could have been struck for Real to attain him. So the story goes.

To me, having the likes of Skrtel and Agger is highly important in determining the future of Liverpool Football Club. Bear in mind, our veteran fullbacks, Hyppia and Carra are already in their 30’s. Obviously, Skrtel and Agger is the replacement in-waiting. We understand and are trying as hard as we could to do so. We understand why for a multi-talented player like Agger wish to leave as he complained about his lack of playing time. But time will tell, how Agger is pretty important for Liverpool to achieve its dream this season and hopefully, Agger would appreciate how deep is the fondness addressed to him by all the fans, be it in Liverpool or at international level fan base. Of course, Agger himself have since denied the reports. When it involves Real, everything would be `not true’ initially, then suddenly, the respective player is already theirs. So how can we not believe the report? Hahaha….

SQUAD PHOTO SEASON 2008/09

Guess who won't be here on February 1st, 2009....

Man. City 2 - LFC 3 (we have to do it the hard way... like always...)

Torres, the savior. Some TV commentators and columnist (UK based) pointed out that LFC is relying too heavily on Fernando Torres to win a match. If not Torres, the same is said about Gerrard. According to them, in the event both players sustain injury or were banned, LFC will be doomed. It has a ring of truth there... a bit.

But my reply is : in the first place, the very reason LFC forked out nearly 20 million pounds plus Luis Garcia to get Torres is simply for Torres to score and win the match for LFC. So for me, the question whether LFC overtly relying on him or not - is not relevant. In some games, Torres doesn't even have to score to help LFC win. It's just simply him running around the defenders, thus enabling other players to roam freely in and near the penalty box to give it a shot. He didn't score in the PSV Eindhoven game but he assisted (Keane's goal) and stir away the defenders (Kuyt's goal).

Torres is indeed has returned to his best. Over 2 games, he scored 4 goals. That is magnificent stats by any standard. Unfortunately, the international break forces everyone to divert their attention for a while this week. I hope his momentum will carry on. The crunch game against Chelsea is on Oct.26th. A must watch. Beat the Blues, and we'll go above them.

As for Kuyt, he scored at last. Though it cannot help the disappointment I feel with his poor form. In the 1st half, he should have converted the pass from Reira. The whole game could have been different and Man. City could never have scored at all. Kuyt did gets the bulk of the opportunity. He squandered one after another chances inside the penalty box. If he failed to convert the winning goal, I would be joining kajang-today in condemning Kuyt game.

Actually, the 1st half can be considered the most weird spectacle. Even Masherano and Gerrard played as if they have their minds somewhere else. The passing was lousy. When they lose the ball, there's no conviction shown by them to regain it. It was very un-Liverpool of them in the 1st half.

The whole ``new'' players came aboard in the 2nd half. Mind you, there was no changes until the 70th minutes. But they play with more determination. Gerrard looks like he just arrived and orchestrated the 1st goal by way of neat passing to Arbeloa who swing it to the centre of the goalmouth for Torres to convert it. Phew...

My verdict : This is not a beautiful match at all. People might buzzing claiming that LFC was repeating the Istanbul's memory. My argument is : LFC shouldn't have to do it the hard way. Evidently, Man City's fullbacks - marshaled by Mr Dunne is not China's Great Wall. They were easily beaten by Torres, Reira and later, Benayoun. We gave undue respect to the so-called the most expensive player in the world, Mr Robinho. I have said that Robinho is nothing special. Carra didn't have any problem in stopping him. The menace of Skrtel terrified not only Robinho but the whole of Man City's forwards. But how in the world, LFC conceded the 2 goals? It is unacceptable.

It may be still a long way to go before we can dream of becoming the Premier League Champion but with the ever-efficient Torres and the whole world-class midfielder in the team, that dream still looming beautifully in front of us. However, if we continue having such blunders and allowing the opposition to score... the dream will only be a mere dream. We must not concede such easy and stupid goals anymore.

BACK FROM RAYA IN KUCHING, BACK TO REALITY

As you know about my Internet predicament back home, thus unable me to blog freely and as frequent as I would like to. So I think it's already outdated if I were to comment on the Eindhoven win last Thursday.

Because today we should be focusing on Man. City. A supposedly idle team and the only attraction to watch them is because Didi Hamman. But come the Arabs and the whole football landscape in Manchester changed dramatically. Suddenly they have one Brazilian who had plead and plead to his former club, Real Madrid to release him so he can join not Man. City but Chelsea... then. And now, he made a quick diversion away from Heathrow and instead landed at Manchester's airport. Strange but it was obvious. Robinho was lured by money and only money speak louder than having a highly skilled and talented team... like Chelsea (hahaha.... this is a cynical remark...Ok!)

Me and my family landed in KLIA at about 1.15 pm today. Didn't realise it was a bit exhaustive trip. We woke up quite early... 7am (by my standard that is DAWN) but sunrise in Kuching is about 6.15am. Here in KL the sunrise is about 7am. Within half an hour I have to return to KLIA... to fetch my Indonesian maid whom I send for a 10-days raya holiday to her family in West Java. ALL EXPENSES ARE PAID FOR BY ME. No one can claimed me as a bad employer. Well, the verbal agreement between me and my helper is that : you take care of my children, I shall take care of you (thus the free tickets RM900++ plus raya bonus). Why do I include this here? My mind can't focus on tonight's game as I have to get ready to start my truck in 10 mins. Got to go. Luckily the game tonight is at 10pm and not 7.40pm. If its 7.40pm like last week, surely my wife would be force to fetch her alone... hahaha

Ok guys. We're still in the month of Shawal and SELAMAT HARI RAYA still to all of you. Business as usual now for me... (start working next Tuesday).

PSV EINDHOVEN : be very afraid...

I am in my hometown in Kuching now, celebrating Aidilfitri with my clan... And as I said, we don't have Internet connection at my folks house. Well, 2 elderly people... what do they need Internet for, when telephone is more efficient? So tonight, I hang around at my elder sister's house. Luckily, not only she subscribe to ESPN but has a WIFI. phew.... now I can blog! But of all the things that I carried along tonight, I forgot to bring along the wires. Now my VAIO batteries is working on a very thin line, in fact there's an X mark on the battery icon. Scary. Hopefully, I can save this posting soon.

So, like most of you, I am waiting for 2.40am, the start of the Eindhoven game. Can't really elaborate much (bcoz of the lousy battery level) and I see you tomorrow or in a few days after I get reconnected with the Internet. I'm leaving in a city, not much an issue of infrastructure. More like an issue of priorities here. As I said, my folks is not Internet literate. To come to my sister's place is not a luxury to me, when you don't have sufficient automobile to move around... all my 5 siblings congregate here for raya but we only have 2 cars available! hehehe...

Thanks for all the raya wishes. I welcome our friend all the way from Dubai. Your spouse is from Serian. That's not that far from Kuching city. I believe Dubai is very much like Malaysia. All are Liverpool mad... especially with the ongoing take-or-not-over saga of Liverpool.
Bro Mike, please come back with more of your posting. Salute!

As for Rizal, you are not supposed to give your comment on my automotive write-up in this Liverpool blog. hahahaha... and another thing, the 407 article was not written by me! Check out D-Max Hi Def this Saturday. I LOVE TRUCKS!


utusanLFC