Well, the season's started for the Gooners.
Carzola offered creativity albeit in flashes. New strikers are trying hard but not off the mark yet. And yes, considering we have not scored a single goal this campaign, the doom-sayers of anti-Arsenal are not as incessant as it was last year.
Sure, we didnt score goals, but we sure made many problems for Sunderland. Against Stoke though, there was a bit of reservedness in the way we play so we created crap in my opinion. We didnt deserve to win at Stoke but we should have at sunderland. A point to note though is that the MFs take more responsibility defending as a team now so our clean sheets so far are not just down to pure luck. At set-pieces, i rarely felt we were threatened! Imagine against Stoke and Sunderland i am saying this! Kudos Steve Bould and team.
Enough! Go on and on about this then you would qualify like those sports pundit nannies on The New Paper and in England who doom Arsenal anyways.
Lets look ahead. Next game Liverpool on a resurgence. No doubt, this is a revolution with Liverpool this year. It isnt just about the manager, its the players. Can we pass this test. As it is away, the bare minimum to get is a point. But given we are Arsenal, the boys will want to continue to put one over them at Anfield again.
WIN - The media can finally hint at our continued era without RVP has a chance. (Who are newspaper critics to be trusted anyway?)
DRAW - Depends how we played to get the draw, it still is positives as we would have cast aside 3 difficult games and focused our minds on the needful winning streak thereafter in Sep onwards.
LOSE - It will feel psychologically a blow to the confidence to the team on the whole. YES, even if we played well at Anfield and lost, the team may feel it is not as sweet rosy as they thought. The newcomers will feel even more added pressure to get on scoresheets straightaway.
In short, unite together and put on your fav jersey and shout COYG this coming Sunday!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
HOPE, HEART & HOPE
Having NOT PAID ATTENTION AT ALL to Lee Hsien Loong's heartful Rally Speech recently, i must admit i dont have the entire gist of his momentus speech.
But i was prompted by speaking to a fellow professional at work who asked me about his speech. I felt it important then to find out more.
After reading the highlights of his speech, i have to firstly admit, the government finally listens. But before the skeptical ones blast me, i emphasize; "They finally listen to some of our hardships and try to offer solutions." Some, not all of course as it is beyond any civilized government to be able to understand and solve a nation's hardships and underlying problems.
On a brighter note, even the staunchest anti-ruling party person has to admit it! When was the last time you ever heard of the men-in-white ever expound on a "Soft-serve style" and emotionally-catching rally message? Never heard of.
It is the new trend in the management of the expectations of a nation, whom i am proud to be part of; who now believe that we cannot progress without "opening our eyes" to the political and economical problems we face as a nation.
For too long, our peers, fellow Singaporeans in their own right, have slept in political hibernation. Finally now you can see the tension from the raised costs of living, high HDB affordability and even our issue of "greying" as a nation with foreign influx to balance the productivity cycle on a national level.
"I do not know how the above problems can be solved but do have my expectations on how the proposed solutions would affect my standard of living".
I make this statement from the start in order for you to know, i am just like any of you. I have no fixed answers and am no expert.
PM Lee had mentioned that there were the needs for Heart - of which only a small section of his speech focused on the contested topic of foreign talent. In itself, i hate to admit, we cannot do without FT. BUT it is clear to me that we long should have been more selective in our requirements for them to be integrated into our society. To date, many of them still don't want to change to our ways as Singaporeans. that's the real issue i believe. Even our Chinese papers are now "corrected" to print and read in the "China" way. No more Teh but "Cha Jia Nai" - Gosh!
Like some may know, the fact we guys had sweated out NS for our pride of our nation, we are more liable for certain jobs in certain industries to be non-prefered over foreign talent. They have porecedence as the FT wont have Reservist disruptions.
It is a harsh reality of Singapore employers. I do hope that we can change this mindset. I had read in Yahoo response, that someone mentioned that we Singaporeans should reward Singaporeans, not the opposite.
It is a never-ending debate. Too many problems, too much to digest for the average lad in Singapore. But nonetheless, i agree with a reader's article on Yahoo on the missing "H" - Happiness.
Yes indeed, Hope, Heart and home are all good. But internally, we have to re-adjust our expectations. Happiness has always been a choice. It comes from within. So fellow Singaporeans, speak less harshly on these topics, skip net-flaming and get your heart out of the negativity couch. Choose Happiness. Be contented and work hard coz bloody hell, you know we're gonna need to to survive the Modern Reality that is Singapore our home.
James Chan
A concerned Singaporean who grew up in clearly different circumstances to experience the change from "My friend is from Malaysia. Thats pretty normal. They work and live here. To the new; "I am the minority now when i am in the MRT train." Just take a good look around next you sit in MRT.
It is no wonder we feel strained having grew up here to see faces we never grew up with working as fellows!
Stand tall and be proud for who your parents were and will always be, trust the home we knew and shape it in the many choices you have. Be happy, be proudly Singaporean.
But i was prompted by speaking to a fellow professional at work who asked me about his speech. I felt it important then to find out more.
After reading the highlights of his speech, i have to firstly admit, the government finally listens. But before the skeptical ones blast me, i emphasize; "They finally listen to some of our hardships and try to offer solutions." Some, not all of course as it is beyond any civilized government to be able to understand and solve a nation's hardships and underlying problems.
On a brighter note, even the staunchest anti-ruling party person has to admit it! When was the last time you ever heard of the men-in-white ever expound on a "Soft-serve style" and emotionally-catching rally message? Never heard of.
It is the new trend in the management of the expectations of a nation, whom i am proud to be part of; who now believe that we cannot progress without "opening our eyes" to the political and economical problems we face as a nation.
For too long, our peers, fellow Singaporeans in their own right, have slept in political hibernation. Finally now you can see the tension from the raised costs of living, high HDB affordability and even our issue of "greying" as a nation with foreign influx to balance the productivity cycle on a national level.
"I do not know how the above problems can be solved but do have my expectations on how the proposed solutions would affect my standard of living".
I make this statement from the start in order for you to know, i am just like any of you. I have no fixed answers and am no expert.
PM Lee had mentioned that there were the needs for Heart - of which only a small section of his speech focused on the contested topic of foreign talent. In itself, i hate to admit, we cannot do without FT. BUT it is clear to me that we long should have been more selective in our requirements for them to be integrated into our society. To date, many of them still don't want to change to our ways as Singaporeans. that's the real issue i believe. Even our Chinese papers are now "corrected" to print and read in the "China" way. No more Teh but "Cha Jia Nai" - Gosh!
Like some may know, the fact we guys had sweated out NS for our pride of our nation, we are more liable for certain jobs in certain industries to be non-prefered over foreign talent. They have porecedence as the FT wont have Reservist disruptions.
It is a harsh reality of Singapore employers. I do hope that we can change this mindset. I had read in Yahoo response, that someone mentioned that we Singaporeans should reward Singaporeans, not the opposite.
It is a never-ending debate. Too many problems, too much to digest for the average lad in Singapore. But nonetheless, i agree with a reader's article on Yahoo on the missing "H" - Happiness.
Yes indeed, Hope, Heart and home are all good. But internally, we have to re-adjust our expectations. Happiness has always been a choice. It comes from within. So fellow Singaporeans, speak less harshly on these topics, skip net-flaming and get your heart out of the negativity couch. Choose Happiness. Be contented and work hard coz bloody hell, you know we're gonna need to to survive the Modern Reality that is Singapore our home.
James Chan
A concerned Singaporean who grew up in clearly different circumstances to experience the change from "My friend is from Malaysia. Thats pretty normal. They work and live here. To the new; "I am the minority now when i am in the MRT train." Just take a good look around next you sit in MRT.
It is no wonder we feel strained having grew up here to see faces we never grew up with working as fellows!
Stand tall and be proud for who your parents were and will always be, trust the home we knew and shape it in the many choices you have. Be happy, be proudly Singaporean.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Sleeping with the Devil's Wife and Selling her to DEBT
WARNING: ARTICLE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED MAN UTD FANS AND IS IN NO WAY INDICATIVE OF ANY SITUATION AT THE CLUB. ALL VIEWS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN AND OPEN TO DISCUSSION. PLEASE TAKE THE WHOLE SHAKER FULL OF SALT AND HELP YOURSELF MATE!
I think it is fair to say that Man Utd has had the most successful manager in modern times and is lucky indeed to still have him at the helm. In this day and age of credit, debt and unpayable wages; the large behemoth of a corporation that is now Man Utd is finally starting to show its tears in the armour.
YES. They have won the Premier League many of times in recent years. YES. They are likel ypoised to win again this year. BUT mark my words, the huge war machine of an entity that Man Utd is under the Glazers is huffing ever so slightly. The only reason that their world hadnt gone topsy-turvy is due mainly to two things.
The first reason is due to one of the grandest players to grace the fields of the "Theatre of Dreams". A Mr. C. Ronaldo. There is no doubt that that Financial Year when he was sold, Man Utd were at the crux of unrest, with Man Utd Supporters Trust (MUST) pressing the club and the Glazers takeover in disgust.
Indeed, his transaction fee alone heaved the Man Utd books from heavy RED to be in the Black. How much of it was the Man Utd players own desire to leave is uncertain. I think it is fair to say Man Utd would rather keep him then to sell him as i have to admit even as an Arsenal fan that he would have promised more trophies thereafter.
Secondly, continued success of the "Wily old fox" Sir Alex Ferguson who was so close to being sacked in his early days of his career when Man Utd dropped a division. But my word has he taken the British League by storm. To sum it up, success is like the good old plaster that papers over the cracks at the club.
Well, it had been reported that the Glazers had tried to float shares on the financial bourses in Singapore - Failed, Shanghai - Failed and even in New York - Failed (Their council had advised against flotation as the economic activity and outlook uncertain this year).
BUT YET, the Glazers are so desperate they are going to float 10% of the Man utd shares anyway. And guess what? The monies estimated at 200 million pounds are not all to reduce debt. At present how much is their debt? 437 million pounds all in loans. In case you didnt know, when you set aside 100 million pounds to a debt like 437 million pounds, the remaining debt is only reduced by estimate 65 million pounds due to double-on interests on tax.
Where does the other 100 million pounds go? Let me remind you of the global entity that is the Glazers. They are running several sports clubs as businesses. Baseball, Hockey, American Football and now Soccer they all have a stake in these clubs. That needs some financial muscle a.k.a. CASH to run and set aside for. It is no wonder the MUST is upset. They have not only further diluted the ownership of Man Utd to "Fans" in the New York Stock Exchange who dont really care much about the club other than a bet on making money. They have also not significanlty reduced the debt any much more.
I cant help but see it like the Glazers had taken over the Red Devil's nest back in 2005 and slept with the Devil's Wife (The Shares of the club). Not only that, as the takeover was done primarily in debt, they forced the Wife to sell her body to other willing buyers for their pleasure. To make matters worse now, they had sold off a family member (The 10% share they so willingly sacrificed for more cash injections) of the wife to pain her even more so. And all this without reducing much the debt of which the wife so painfully sells her pleasure away in this warped "Theatre of dreams".
Lets pray for English football sake and also for Man Utd that success doesnt desert them in the next 10 years. Or by the time i age grey hair all over, the "Theatre of dreams" would really be all just that.
Another page in history of one of the most illustrious clubs in the world.
I think it is fair to say that Man Utd has had the most successful manager in modern times and is lucky indeed to still have him at the helm. In this day and age of credit, debt and unpayable wages; the large behemoth of a corporation that is now Man Utd is finally starting to show its tears in the armour.
YES. They have won the Premier League many of times in recent years. YES. They are likel ypoised to win again this year. BUT mark my words, the huge war machine of an entity that Man Utd is under the Glazers is huffing ever so slightly. The only reason that their world hadnt gone topsy-turvy is due mainly to two things.
The first reason is due to one of the grandest players to grace the fields of the "Theatre of Dreams". A Mr. C. Ronaldo. There is no doubt that that Financial Year when he was sold, Man Utd were at the crux of unrest, with Man Utd Supporters Trust (MUST) pressing the club and the Glazers takeover in disgust.
Indeed, his transaction fee alone heaved the Man Utd books from heavy RED to be in the Black. How much of it was the Man Utd players own desire to leave is uncertain. I think it is fair to say Man Utd would rather keep him then to sell him as i have to admit even as an Arsenal fan that he would have promised more trophies thereafter.
Secondly, continued success of the "Wily old fox" Sir Alex Ferguson who was so close to being sacked in his early days of his career when Man Utd dropped a division. But my word has he taken the British League by storm. To sum it up, success is like the good old plaster that papers over the cracks at the club.
Well, it had been reported that the Glazers had tried to float shares on the financial bourses in Singapore - Failed, Shanghai - Failed and even in New York - Failed (Their council had advised against flotation as the economic activity and outlook uncertain this year).
BUT YET, the Glazers are so desperate they are going to float 10% of the Man utd shares anyway. And guess what? The monies estimated at 200 million pounds are not all to reduce debt. At present how much is their debt? 437 million pounds all in loans. In case you didnt know, when you set aside 100 million pounds to a debt like 437 million pounds, the remaining debt is only reduced by estimate 65 million pounds due to double-on interests on tax.
Where does the other 100 million pounds go? Let me remind you of the global entity that is the Glazers. They are running several sports clubs as businesses. Baseball, Hockey, American Football and now Soccer they all have a stake in these clubs. That needs some financial muscle a.k.a. CASH to run and set aside for. It is no wonder the MUST is upset. They have not only further diluted the ownership of Man Utd to "Fans" in the New York Stock Exchange who dont really care much about the club other than a bet on making money. They have also not significanlty reduced the debt any much more.
I cant help but see it like the Glazers had taken over the Red Devil's nest back in 2005 and slept with the Devil's Wife (The Shares of the club). Not only that, as the takeover was done primarily in debt, they forced the Wife to sell her body to other willing buyers for their pleasure. To make matters worse now, they had sold off a family member (The 10% share they so willingly sacrificed for more cash injections) of the wife to pain her even more so. And all this without reducing much the debt of which the wife so painfully sells her pleasure away in this warped "Theatre of dreams".
Lets pray for English football sake and also for Man Utd that success doesnt desert them in the next 10 years. Or by the time i age grey hair all over, the "Theatre of dreams" would really be all just that.
Another page in history of one of the most illustrious clubs in the world.
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