George Best - A true legend. Thank you.
"George Best was the outstanding British footballer of his generation and that, many would argue, is a gross understatement, for he had plausible claims to be considered the greatest of any generation."
 

so the great george best is knocking frantically at death's door. boo hoo. my mum's a fan, she was recalling how she used to adore the man, along with kevin keegan. i'm astonished at my dear mother's ability to churn out footballers' names other than the rapist christiano ronaldo. i'm even more astonished at the ethics of his consulant. handing out predictions of his death in public. dear me. he said he wouldn't survive the last 24 hours, but mr best did. now he's come out and say mr best wouldn't survive the next few hours. and if he does? then what? would the consultant expedite mr best's death himself to save himself some face? goodness. give that man a break.

in a very cynically/sadistic morbid way, manchester united has already lost a "legend" - roy keane. and it's potentially losing another - george best. next will be sir alex. then the theater of dreams will be devoid of it's main actors. boo hoo.

update

that was quick. a moment of silence for the great george best. won't lie that i've seen him that often in videos, but he must be one heck of a player for my mum to remember him. rest in peace.

English Premier League - Team of the Week

The very entertaining www.soccernet.com - Team of the Week threw in a couple of surprise players for this week's edition. (not being the least bit sacarstic, of course)

At the defence - Titus Bramble performed with trademark composure and discipline in Newcastle's 3-0 defeat at the hands of champions Chelsea, and was desperately unlucky to finish on the losing side.
For how much longer can Sven Goran Eriksson ignore Bramble's international claims? Certainly, Bramble's reliable and thoughtful distribution would go a long way to helping England triumph in Germany next summer.

In attack - Up front, we've picked out two strikers currently performing at the peak of their powers.
James Beattie (£6 million) and Peter Crouch (£7 million) may have commanded high transfer fees when they moved to Everton and Liverpool respectively, but their managers can certainly claim they got value for money from their purchases.

Beattie, unlucky not to have added to his four England caps, battled away manfully in his side's unfortunate defeat to West Brom, at one point coming close to forcing Baggies keeper Tomasz Kuszczak in to a save.

And although Crotch might currently have his critics for a lack of goals, but he can at least claim an assist on Bolo Zenden's first goal, cleverly missing his penalty to allow the Dutch midfielder the luxury of an easy rebound.

Congratulations, everyone!

what has liverpool winning the champions league final and australia's dramatic win over uruguay to book their berth in germany 2006 have in common? two words - harry kewell. match winner extraordinaire. his substitution in instanbul instigated a winning performance from liverpool, and his botched shot at goal provided a timely assist for bresciano to score the all important goal in sydney. and he plays for liverpool. the kop should be proud.

the kop should be prouder that welsh and winning eleven uncle all star legend ian rush has this to say about our potentially new investors.....anfield should be renamed kraft stadium, i wouldn't mind that.

innocent boys and girls should be spared by offering the rapist christiano ronaldo some fodder in the form of ian rush and harry kewell.

Keane going nowhere

After 12 and a half years at Old Trafford, the 34-year-old Manchester United captain Roy Keane has officially left his club by mutual consent. The best midfielder player in the world of his generation, he is already one of the greatest figures in the club's illustrious history.
"Whilst it is a sad day for me to leave such a great club and manager I believe that the time has now come for me to move on."
Reports suggested that Keane left because after he had previously critisized the players at Old Trafford through MUTV, there was bad feeling between him and the other players as well as the staff especially sir Alex Ferguson.
His next destination might be Republic of Ireland's vacant manager's role. But who is to succeed him at Old Trafford? Possible candidate: Michael Ballack, Thomas Gravesen, Gennaro Gattuso, Didier Zakora, Maniche, Steven Gerrard and Mahamadou Diarra.

Pure Class - El Hadji (Liverpool's best player in 30 years) Diouf has been fined �500 and ordered to pay the same amount in costs after pleading guilty to a charge of reckless behaviour, stemming from a spitting incident with an 11-year-old fan. 11 years old ? This really takes the cake ..
 

ESPN Kick Off!

This might interest you... if you can be in Singapore on those dates.

----------

Hi friends,

I'm Melissa from The Moving Visuals Co. We are currently doing an EPL quiz show for ESPN, and we're looking for teams of 2 contestants to appear on our show. We're looking for football fanatics who know their EPL games and history.

We would also like your help in passing the word along about this show, as well as recommending some hardcore fans of EPL clubs.

Here's some information about the show, Kick Off!


ABOUT THE SHOW
ESPN Kick Off! is a simple, relaxed, yet exciting quiz show, which sees Asia's most knowledgeable football fans pitting their wits and their loyalties against each other.

Participating teams not only represent their country, but also fly the flag for their favourite club sides.

Each team is led by one of two `resident' captains. Larger than life characters, both of these former EPL stars will add glamour, expertise and humour to each episode.

With spectacular soccer action and Asia's self-confessed `super fans' battling it out for major prizes on every show ESPN Kick Off! will make for compulsive viewing.


BE A PARTICIPANT!
We are looking for teams of 2 from all over Asia. Each team must be football fanatics, well-versed in EPL history as well as have a deep knowledge of the EPL club they support.

The team must be available to come down to Singapore in January 2006, between the 11th and 19th. Flight and accommodation will be provided for. Singapore-based participants must be available to take part in the recordings during the above stated date.

To apply for the programme, please email you and your buddy's full name, age, nationality, current country of residence and contact numbers to
kickoff@movingvisuals.com . Don't forget to tell us which EPL club you both support! Please send us a photo of yourselves too. We will contact you shortly.

Closing date is 28 November 2005.

Best regards,

Melissa Sim / MCM '05

Production Assistant
[O]+65 6333 3051
[M]+65 9620 2694
[E] melissa@movingvisuals.com

www.movingvisuals.com

What Your Team Says About You ..

Manchester United :

Glory hunter? Far from it. Aligning yourself with the only genuinely poncey team in the North of England is only for individuals who thrive in an atmosphere of simmering resentment and constant, violent abuse. Rarely will a day pass without accusations of a dispassionate, shallow affection for the club. Or of being a corporate bitch to a ruthless capitalist empire (a charge that’s difficult to deny when you own all four of that season’s replica away shirts).

A choice to follow Manchester United is akin to joining a sinister religious cult. Everyone you encounter will regard you with distrust and disdain, and feel that they have the right to voice their concerns loudly and angrily to your face.

If you win a match people will sneer and accuse you of devious KGB style conspiracy and intimidation. Your abusers will point to the fact that only a Paul Scholes tackle and a Rio Ferdinand urine sample arrive later than the final whistle at Old Trafford when United are a goal down.

Analysis:
A United fan enjoys a social challenge and thrives in a hostile environment. All the trophies in the world are no compensation for having your underpants stuffed with stinging nettles by a gang of bitter, 14-year-old, Nottingham Forest fans.


Arsenal :

The team of choice for the classic victims of ‘Only Child Syndrome.' Ask yourself this: As a youngster did your parents furnish you with the full collection of ‘Thundercats’ action figures including both versions of Mum-Ra? Did you strangely never get punished at school despite being less than well behaved? Was this because your dad was actually a school Governor? Are you grossly offended and hugely indignant at these accusations? Congratulations my friend, you’re an Arsenal fan.

Whereas the Man United fan knows that he/she has committed a moral crime and is forced to take the abuse on the chin (and usually to the face and groin as well) the Arsenal fan refuses to believe they have done anything wrong. No accusation can be levelled at a Gunner without them being willing to defend it to the death.

Even though they would sooner complete an unbroken sequence of thirty-five back-heeled passes in the opposition penalty box than score a goal, the Arsenal fan will only see their commitment to entertaining football. If anyone from Arsenal’s extensive catalogue of vicious bruisers scythes someone down with a throat high tackle, the Gunner will praise his side’s water-tight defence. You say: ‘Arsenal rely too much on Henry.’ An Arsenal fan will reply: ‘Does Christianity rely too much on Jesus?’ You can’t win with these people, don’t even try.

What Arsenal people tend not to take too well is criticism. They are sensitive souls and are easily wounded or angered. Beat one in a game of Pro-Evolution and be prepared to soon be wearing a Domino’s Mighty Meat as a cheesy bandana.

To be fair to them, some popular criticism of the Arsenal provokes justified annoyance in the typical Gunner. For example, how anyone can accuse Arsene Wenger of being a voyeur I don’t know. The man apparently hasn’t seen a single incident in a football match since 1997. He hasn’t even noticed Robert Pires’ ridiculous little beard otherwise he never would have let a man with such obvious comic tendencies take the team’s penalties. Didn’t Wenger actually used to wear glasses when he first arrived at Highbury? Maybe he lost them seven seasons ago but was too embarrassed to tell anyone?

Analysis:
Likes: Special Treatment. Unqualified praise. Escaping punishment. Throwing a tantrum.

Dislikes: ‘Being constantly victimised and persecuted just because we play brilliant football! We only play so many games on a Sunday because we are David Dein’s holy children and therefore the chosen people of the Football Association.’ =)


Chelsea:

Again to understand the mentality of the ‘Blue’ we must examine his childhood. This is the time in which the choice to follow a particular team is made. While your dad may have the authority to give you your name, that power thankfully doesn’t extend to his instructing you who to support. For anyone out there named Elvis, Buddy or Englebert this would have been an immense relief. Therefore that choice is yours alone to make and thus says a great deal about the kind of child you were and the kind of adult you will be.

To consider the character of the modern Chelsea fan we must cast our minds back to the rite of passage that is the childhood water fight. These epic bouts of organised combat were usually fought with water-balloons and not-quite-emptied washing up liquid bottles (a cunning tactic to blind your opponent with lemon scented suds). Sometimes someone would use a cheap plastic water pistol that emitted a pathetic squirt but could always be thrown as an effective grenade when it inevitably seized up. Others would invest in the latest Super Soaker, and while they would dominate the fight for as long as it was full, as soon as it was empty they would be subjected to universal bombardment.

Then there was the classic ‘Chelsea’ mentality. Some ruthless joker would produce the hosepipe. Faced with the prospect of an unstoppable range and unlimited ammunition, all the others could do was to skulk further and further away until effectively the game had dwindled out, or carried on elsewhere between the less-well-armed participants. Thus the Chelsea ‘piper was technically victorious but had alienated himself from the fun of the sport. Sound familiar?

Analysis:
People who like to get the actual sport and competition bit out of the way as quickly as possible so they can get on with the serious business of being triumphant. To be fair though, who’d say no to a Russian Billionaire, who’s third favourite yacht is bigger than your entire stadium? Grumble all you want, if Ivan Moneybagski came knocking at your club you’d stick two fingers up to the match itself and just watch the points column add up on Teletext.

Liverpool :

The classic Liverpool fan has lived a life full of surprise. Sometimes the surprise has been good. Sometimes less so. They are the children who would ask for a Sega Megadrive at Christmas and end up with a hairdryer. Similarly they may ask for a bag of cough candy twist at the sweet shop and be given the contents of the till. In short they never got what they expected as a child. Nothing was ever straightforward in the formative years of the ‘Pool fan.

Therefore following the Reds as an adult is the only realistic option. They brace themselves for a season of mediocrity in the league and wind up dusting off their best shell suits and dancing along the Mersey with the European Cup. They invest heavily in boxes of eggs and Google maps to the Chelsea training ground, only for Stevie G to decide that guaranteed glory and fabulous wealth just aren’t his cup of tea.

On the flip side though they must contend with the fact that when a big money England striker arrived at Anfield this summer it was Peter Crouch. While there is undoubtedly more to the big lad’s game than just his ‘Go-Go Gadget’ limbs, Michael Owen’s return may have been welcomed a touch more cheerily. Owen himself is the classic example of the Liverpool fan. One day he’s off to Real Madrid, feeding off the incisive precision and artistry of Zidane and Ronaldo. The next he’s hoping Shola Ameobi won’t clatter into him as they both go up for another big hoof from Titus Bramble. =)

Analysis:
The Liverpool fan is drawn to the peaks and troughs of life. They favour unpredictability and unexplained phenomena over the safety and certainty in life. As long as the club continues to consider bizarre facial hair to be a desirable quality in a £14 million forward, their thirst for chaos is likely to remain satisfied.


Enjoy boys and girls, courtesy of Goal.com .. http://www.goal.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=100223&idSez=12

Numbers

19 years in charge

1 UEFA Champions League Title

8 English Premier League Titles

1 Euro Cup-Winners Cup

5 FA Cups

1 Intercontinental Cup

1 UEFA Super Cup

1 FA League Cup

5 FA Charity/Community Shields (1 shared)

1 goal to mark the 19th anniversary; 1 result to make Chelski pause for thought

1 man

Only one United

Cheers, Sir Alex

Drawing from sportscartoons.co.uk

Keane

In response to Adrian's article, I would disagree with Keane going public and condemning United. It's true when I read his comments about United I was impressed with his straight forward assessment. However, having seen Nistelrooy say that he will come out and lead United's revival, I now think Keane is quite shit.

True he cares for the club, if he really does then why is he leaving. As a captain you can lambast your players but not suggesting to let go some of the players. That is just not good for morale at all. It will only cause unrest amongst the United players. On the other hand, Ruud said, "We shall all stick together."

As important as Keane is, I wouldn't want him in the United squad anymore. If given a choice between Ruud and Keane, who would you pick now to lead United's revival? I think the choice is pretty obvious. Keane is so slow nowadays that United has to change their style of play to suit the old man.

Do you think if Keane had played he would have made a HUGE difference in the Middlesbrough and Lille game? I think not. I would rather have Hienze back than Keane.

On the rest of Adrian's article like Ferguson switching tactics and idiot Smith playing in midfield I strongly agree.

However, I still think Ferguson is the man to lead United. Faith and loyalty. For the success he has brought us, I think we should give Sir Alex all the time he needs. Screw Keane.

There is only one Roy Keane ..

Only Roy Keane is capable of doing what he does AND doing it best. Cutting through the crap and bullshit and delivering a damning and very accurate verdict on the recent demise of the Manchester United squad..
After Roy Keane's huge tirade against the current squad was barred off the television by Sir Alex himself, many questions were raised about the Manchester United Football Club.
Are they in crisis ? Is Sir Alex leaving ? Are the Glazers giving $$$ for the January transfer window? (doubt it)

I got myself thinking about the recent happenings and how it all started.

Effectively, Sir Alex Ferguson killed his golden goose. After the glorious, glorious TREBLE of '99 (unlike the Mickey Mouse 'treble' won by Liverpool FC), United were undoubtedbly one of the very best in European football. They always got close but after winning it in 1999, the squad had it all.. experience, maturity, a right balance of youth and senior players and most importantly an abundance in attacking options. United could score at will and were afraid of no one. This mentality delivered the Premiership year after year.. The mentality of we'll concede 2 and score 4 more excited the footballing world (take the Spurs Vs Man Utd match, 0-3 United trailing at half-time, 5-3 the final score).

But unfortunately, losing in the European Cup 2000 semifinals to eventual winners Real Madrid (thanx to that unforgettable back-heel by Redondo to set-up Raul) made Sir Alex decide on buying 1 player who would change United forever - welcome Seba Veron. Having Juan Sebastian Veron in the squad meant Sir Alex had to ditch the very, very entertaining 4-4-2 formation for the 4-1-4-1 formation to accomodate Veron, Kene and Scholes in the line-up. While Veron (Kleberson and Djemba-Djemba have all gone, thank God) the formation stayed. United basically, never recovered from that.

Many formations were tried and tested, the latest, and the very, very hated 4-3-2-1 formation seems to stiffle United and with players like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud Van Nistelrooy, this formation has got to be the stupidest thing since releasing Jaap Stam to Lazio. (and buying Laurent Blanc)
A few clubs can prosper with this 4-3-2-1 formation (? Bolton, Chelsea) Taking the latter, the midfield trio in Chelsea are spectacular as much as I would hate to admit it.
Frank Lampard has got to be one of the best midfielders in Europe at the moment. And comparing Uniteds' midfield of Keane who no longer has the legs for box-box running, Paul Scholes who has lost ALOT of form and goals, Ryan Giggs whose role in the United midfield is limited to the Carling Cup and Darren Fletcher (alot of promise, but not yet the finished article), Alan 'Eminem-look-a-like' Smith (who is a bloody striker for God's sake) United will NEVER win the Premier League with this midfield options let alone the UEFA Champions League.
United need a Keane replacement (someone with leadership and the ability to score goals and take games by the scruff of its neck and win games for United) [ Michael Ballack (somehow doubt he'll come), Javier Mascherano (still unproven in Europe).. ]

Other reasons why United are suffering - Carlos Quieroz is running the show now ..training, tactics and formation.. what does Sir Alex do now ?
Continuous tinkering with the formation (4-3-2-1, 4-4-1-1, 4-4-2.. ) does not help the squad.

Roy Keane has NEVER shirked from his responsibility, as a captain, as a football player and most importantly as a fan of Man United, he's always honest about his performances and others. His words during the interview of "Just because you earn $120,000 a week does NOT make you a superstar". Step up please, Mr Rio Ferdinand. To be honest I was hurt the way he held the club to ransom. A club that stood by him when he was stupid, who never criticized him and yet he waited for more $$$ when the transfer talks came. Nobody is bigger than the football club, never will be.

Roy Keane has been known to Sir Alex's voice both on and off the pitch and is one of the most talismatic and influential captains United have had for the past decade. Ferguson has said publically many times how much he saw a mirror image of himself in the United skipper.

Why has it all gone so horribly wrong ?
Keane's values - the remorseless pursuit of excellence at all costs; the bristling intolerance of the bullshit and excuses of modern sport - have not changed. Ferguson's have. Sir Alex has become resigned to and tolerant of a mediocrity that Keane cannot countenance.

This is not about a lack of respect or gratitude towards Sir Alex Ferguson. What he has done for United will be unforgettable for the rest of many fans' lives. He delivered the Premiership after so many years and the European Cup after more than 30 years. But lets not kid ourselves, with the performances in the last 4 seasons, United have got just progressively worse. (in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League definately) Maybe Sir Alex might not be the one to lead United into the next season after all. Afterall, a great manager knows how to get the best out of his team week in, week out and to bring the team together after a morale sapping loss, but judging from the way United performed in Lille, I'm not sure if Sir Alex has it anymore. Reputation and gratitude alone in this game are just not enough.

The next couple of months will be exciting times for United.. the transition will be interesting, whether Sir Alex is there to lead United into another glorious chapter of our rich footballing history, remains to be seen ...

Free-Kick Specialist

After seeing Juninho Pernambucano score yet another free-kick against Olympiakos, I recalled a recent article in the May 2005 edition of World Soccer. So I went looking for the magazine.

1. Juninho Pernambucano (as if you guys don't already know)

2. Ugur Yildirim (Club: Herenveen, Country: Holland)
"After all, he won the first Free Kick Master tournament in Marbella last December."
He beat Zidane although Beckham was not present. They duelled to beat Spain keeper Canizarez from 18, 21 and 25 metres.

3. Marcos Assuncao (Club: Betis, Country: Brazil)

4. Andrea Pirlo

5. Rogerio Ceni (Club: Sao Paulo, Country: Brazil)
"With 33 successful attempts, former Brazilian international Rogerio Ceni has now scored more free-kicks than any other goalkeeper in history."

6. Nastja Ceh (Club: Club Brugge, Country: Slovenia)

Mr. Loo please control yourself when you see this picture. Don't cum over your laptop. Yucks...

Arsene Vs Jose III

Wenger: "Chelsea's self-belief seems to have taken a knock after the draw with bottom club Everton and a LOSS to Charlton in penalties, regardless of what Mourinho said."

The Special One: "There are some guys, who, when they are at home, have this big telescope to see what happens in other families. He must be one of them. Being a voyeur is a sickness."

The Special One again: "Arsene seems obsessed with Chelsea Football Club and coveting my job as Chelsea manager and I can see why."

Wenger: "Mourinho was 'out of order, disconnected with reality and disrespectful'. When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not more intelligent."


They should have a pay-per-view Arsene Vs Jose LIVE on TV.
Odds are :
Arsene Wenger by KO - 20/ 1
Jose by cheating - 2/ 1

Gilles Grimandi....Arsenal's Unsung Hero

Gilles Grimandi was hailed by Wenger as one of his best signings. True indeed.
Nothing flashy, but he does his job well. Similar to Ray Parlour.

Anyway check this out, this guy has his own website. click on the title of this post...it'll bring you there
http://www.icons.com/grimandi/