LFC won the Carling Cup 2012

That little man in the middle will feature in the Liverpool FC squad in less than 5 years. - Reuters

Was it entertaining to the highest degree? May be. Perhaps because the match had to be settled via penalty shoot-out. Or was it the score line shows as if Cardiff is a force to be reckoned with, soon to be enlisted in the Premier League? Or did the match only show how fragile we are when ever we play "smaller teams''. No offence but on the way to final, Liverpool beat Manchester City, a really really BIG MONEY team!

My summary would be simple. Cardiff City did a really good job in studying the earlier matches where teams such as Swansea, Stoke and 7 more clubs managed to stop Liverpool from free-scoring. How did they do this? Parked a double-decker in front of the goal post. Then strike on a measured counter-attacked. If you read the match statistic, Cardiff's player did very well in achieving the target of this hideous football tactic. 

Steven Gerrard's appetite for Cardiff destruction

Gerrard is mocking Craig Bellamy's fight club gesture? - Photo AFP

Just now I saw the memorable photo of Gerrard in 2003. A bit thin and that military hair style back then, really bolster his menacing look. Nine years later, this captain of ours has matured but if any of our nemesis thought that he has become mellowed, they are dead wrong. He still deadly as he was in 2003, and the most important of all, he still has that huge appetite for destruction. That's why I think the final game of the Carling Cup this Sunday is not so much on Craig Bellamy or Luis Suarez but our mercurial captain.

Rest assure Suarez of LFC's loyalty

Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Peter Brezovan, second right, saves a penalty from Liverpool's Luis Suarez, second left, during the English FA Cup fifth round match at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Sunday Feb. 19, 2012. (AP Photo)

WHEN asked by the reporters after the match, Kenny Dalglish nonchalantly replied that he picked Luis Suarez to kick the penalty shot ''due to sentiments''. As we all know, Suarez squandered the chance and somehow made the Brighton goalie, Mr Brezovan something to smile even though the loss was 6-1 and 3 of it was registered in the History Channel as OWN GOALS.

Sentiments or not, we can appreciate what is Dalglish trying to do for Suarez. In my spontaneous tweet, I wrote : ``When Kenny Dalglish signalled for @luis16suarez to take the penalty, that is also a signal The King is protecting his LFC knight of Uruguay'' (follow me at @johardyibrahim). 

Jonjo Shelvey must start against Brighton

Liverpool's English midfielder Jonjo Shelvey (L) scores next to his teammate English midfielder Steven Gerrard (C) during the FA Cup football match between Liverpool and Oldham Athletic at Anfield in Liverpool, north-west England, on January 6, 2012. Liverpool won the match 5-1. - AFP

Brighton beat Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup in 1983 and drew there in 1991. It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine the ninth-place Championship side to knock off the seventh-place EPL team, but while this game should be close, the best they will likely do will be a draw.

Those possibilities would be materialised, if and when the Liverpool FC played as lousy as they did in the match against Manchester United last week. 

Fabio Capello resigned in the name of John Terry

Fabio Capello with his adopted son. - REUTERS

I must say it is a bit weird that Fabio Capello resigned as manager of England on Wednesday following the Football Association’s decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy. The Italian ego must be as huge as the Costa Concordia ship that eventually capsized at Giglio island.

Wayne Rooney : THE ULTIMATE MORON

Wayne Rooney had to dig deep to find his lonely tune.

We know now that Wayne Rooney watch our game intensely, as he seems to be very interested to comment on Luis Suarez. Together with another scum, Gary Neville, both of them gave their 2 cents thoughts that is tantamount to prejudice and inciting the FA to take action on Suarez, albeit belatedly. 

Luis Suarez to start against Spurs

Luis Suarez himself doesn't know when would Dalglish play him in the match against Tottenham Hotspur at 4am Malaysia time 7 February 2012. 

It's 8pm now.  About 8 hours to go before the dawn match against Tottenham Hotspur to start at 4 am Malaysia time. It's just about to day light in UK, snowy I supposed. Hopefully in Liverpool, the weather is not that bad, because we really don't want the game to be postponed.

Facebook bernilai RM300 bilion Oleh Johardy Ibrahim Mingguan Malaysia 5 Februari 2012

Mark Zuckerberg - Photo REUTERS

TIDAK pasti bagaimana anda rasa mengenai penggunaan Facebook sejak perubahan dibuat, saya secara peribadi merasakan perubahan (misalnya Timeline) telah ‘membina jurang’.

Pada paparan dinding akaun anda, ia hanya menunjukkan rakan-rakan yang kerap berhubungan atau mengepos pernyataan yang sama tajuk.

Jadi sekiranya anda lebih 1,000 rakan, kadar kebarangkalian untuk 30 peratus daripada mereka terlepas pandang kepada pernyataan kita adalah tinggi. Atas sebab itu, bilangan yang menekan like dan memberi reaksi, kelihatan menyusut berbanding tahun lalu. Apa erti mengepos pernyataan jika tidak dibaca oleh rakan-rakan?

Namun apa pun rungutan kita, Facebook memiliki alasan khusus membuat perubahan seumpamanya. Perubahan yang dibuat ini adalah antara senarai utama kritikan terhadap Facebook.

Safee Sali : PSSI ordered to stop breakaway league

Safee Sali had a long hair when he was the in the heavy metal band in Sarawak.

KUALA LUMPUR 5 Feb. : Asian football's governing body has said Indonesia must put a stop to a breakaway league by March 22 or face suspension from world football, an official said Sunday.

Indonesian football was plunged into disarray in November when the breakaway league, Liga Super, was revived, triggering a row with the official Liga Prima.

Alex Soosay, general secretary of the Malaysian-headquartered Asian Football Confederation (AFC), said the sport's world governing body FIFA had given Indonesia's football association until March 22 "to put their house in order."

Safee Sali :Even Indonesia's naturalized players are worried

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Victor Chukwuekezie Igbonefo, born & bred in Nigeria, now  a citizen of Indonesia.

Many of us Malaysian don't really understand what is actually happening in the football arena in Indonesia. I have no intention to meddle in the issue what so ever. But since the weird fiasco involved our striker, Safee Sali who against all the advises and criticism chose Pelita Jaya even though the league is banned by the world football governing body FIFA, I feel there is an urgent need for us to learn a bit more. 

Yesterday (Saturday), I found this article in the Jakarta Post. Highlighting the concerned of an African player who made a massive decision of his life by switching his Nigerian citizenship and become an Indonesian.

Has Safee Sali made a right decision to play in Indonesia?

The David Beckham of Malaysia?

For the last couple of days, Malaysia has been buzzing on Safee Sali's becoming the first Malaysian millionaire footballer, and also the other related issues: the FIFA's ban on Persatuan Sepak Bola Seluruh Indonesia (PSSI)  that some parties, in particular our own FAM (Persatuan Bolasepak Malaysia) seems prefer not to take the issue seriously enough.

To refresh our memory, let me take you into the historical fact that made PSSI in such a quandary state. Like in any other country, including our dearest Malaysia, having a seat in the football board is very much similar to contesting for public office. Many wants it. It spells power. And wealth. Personally, I don't mind if the football association is handled by former players or some one that has massive experience in world of football. Since I am writing on PSSI, do not think I am excluding FAM in this subject. We're talking about football's politic. We saw with horror the havoc in the world governing body of FIFA when they sacked Mohamed bin Hammam. 

Safee Sali: The 1st Malaysian Millionaire Footballer

Safee Sali with his No.10 jersey after signing contract for another 2 years for Indonesian club,  Pelita Jaya FC in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Wednesday. - fotoBERNAMA

PERSONALLY, I wasn't into domestic football as much as I was a decade ago or so. During my school days in Sarawak, I was a proud fan of the Ngap Sayot squad, led by the flamboyant coach, Awang Mahyan Awang Mohamad. Historically speaking, the Ngap Sayot era was a short one. 

It was between 1988 to 1990 but the legacy lingers in me and most of my generation. It was when you would come to the stadium as early as 4pm, when the matches only started at 8.45pm. So what do you do for 4 hours? Smoke the Indonesian cigarettes, Djarum Super til you lose your breath and drink as many alcohol you could consumed before entering the venue. By the time the game started, you're all fired up. Since it was a home match, the target for the worst explicit words were meant not only to the opposition team but also match official. Those were fun. Those were the glory days. I didn't replicate it when I was in Anfield, though. LOL

A breath of relief to beat Wolves

what A RELIEF! and oh what a FEELING! It as if Andy Carroll needed to  be `threaten' to get a sack for him to score.

All the fear was swiftly put aside with that brilliant performances by the Liverpool FC squad in securing the much-wanted 3 points against Wolverhampton Wanderers last night. There were no hangover, no deja vu, no stupid after-the-big-match-must-lose syndrome. In fact, what's on show was completely opposite. It was a continuity from the crazee double whammy against the two Manchester team last week as the three goal proves.