Nemanja Vida... boy..man..monster

Now heres to the Best Defender 2008-2009 for Soccercrazee. Quite unanimous the man Nemanja Vidic. Aged 27, this boy has maturity that makes people think hes probably older or as old as his defensive partner Rio Ferdinand.. Starting his career at Red star Belgrade where most Serbians or Montengrans would be honoured to play for, he made his way in Spartak Moscow. He impressed and even captain Red Star at a young age and came of age when he played for the now defunct Serbia and Montenegro football team.Spotted by a man called Ferguson.. He was soon on his way to Man Utd who won the bidding was vs Liverpool for this boy. by 2 million pounds..

Who can forget the disasterous debut vs Blackburn? David Bentley wont.3-5 Blackburn. A certain Nemanja and Patrice looked terrible they say. They blamed them. A flop was expected. But den in the 70th minute. Nemanja Vidic put in 1 challange. A sliding challange of pure class. A time where no1 thought United needed defenders. Ferguson was spoiling the mix? Someone picked Nemanja Up.. But did he rise?


My oh my.. it wasnt until the 2005-2006 season proper did Vidic put his foot down on his poor start. He grew accustomed ot Manchester and he was ready. He and Vidic put on impressive shows in his first season. He won the BPL that season and scored his first goal. But he was hungey he wanted more.. Last season was probably the best in the Serb's life so far as he wont the Champions League and Premiere League in 1 season. But he outdid himself.The more this boy plays it seems the better he becomes. He learns from everything. Once upon a time Adebayor used to make him twist and turn and go crazy now he calmly handles him like a small hurdle in an Olympics hurdle event. He even made goals come easier with crucial ones in all leagues especially that goal v Inter Milan in the latter stages of the champions league. The season belongs to Vidic and though he has yet to reach the same class as Cannavaro in a world cup few years back, his style in different and I do believe his hard work and brilliant work ethic as well as his tackling ability and goals means he is way more effective and an asset.

He has paves the way for more Serbs in ManUtd like Tosic,Ljajic and a few more trialists that have come in and out of old trafford. The 1 season it takes to get accustomed to their new home seems a good investment for Ferguson. For Serbia, 39 appearances and 2 goals. He made his name in the "famous 4' defence that only conceded 1 at a world cup and he gives his 120% for country and club.. Red cards are in his game but who cares if he dares?

Kudos to Nemanja..

Vote on Crazeeeeeee.

Hmmm..Mixed signs and feelings

In my humble opinion, i think the best big game player Man Utd have at the moment is none other than the versatile and sometimes forgotten John O'Shea. Hes the man whos so versatile, he often is relied upon to get the team out of trouble by filling up any available position. Hes played and scored as striker, Goalkeeper (made a fine save too) and every other position you coudl think of. Last night, he once again did what 90 million dollars worth of striking power couldnt, that is to score and with such aplomb too. Reminscent of the match against Liverpool some time back where he popped out from the right side of the penalty box to score the winner just liek he did last night against Arsenal. Goals aside, hes also helped them keep the defence tight and his committment to the cause is nothing short of fantastic.

But to be frank, United did really well against an Arsenal that were lacking in flow and creativity. Attribute it to United's pressure or the jeering home crowd, it was really end to end stuff from Man Utd stopping every Arsenal attack and counter attacking so swiftly. No thanks to the horrible blind Dutch referee for being plain lousy and not awarding the proper freekicks.

Special mention to Giggs, Fletcher, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez for excellent contributions.

Chelsea vs Barcelona was a feat for Chelsea as they managed to hold the hottest team in the world to a stalemate away and one can only wonder if it will be an all English final. No comments from me there except that Cech had done fantastic to deny Barcelona the final touches to magical attacks.

Till the next week where it will be crunch time and advantage to the home side.

The Big Midweek Preview

The Big Champions League Showdown is about to begin. This season's Semi-Final clashes are proving to be mouth watering, showcasing the hottest team in the world and the quality of the English League. Let us take a look at which are the 4 teams left to fight it out to make it to the finals. Barcelona, red hot and spicy are thrilling even opposition fans all over the world with their rendition of heavenly football. Manchester United the comeback kids of the tournament, never failing to provide nail-biting moments. Young Arsenal are fast maturing and coming into a rich vein of form with Arsene Wenger looking to add the final punch to his already impressive CV. Chelsea, with their work horse attitudes and steel mettle have prioritised this competition ahead of domestic aspirations.

Chelsea vs Barcelone.

With the Dutch meastro Hiddink at Chelsea's helm, and the potent threat in a resurgent Drogba, Chelsea have the quality and strength to match free-flowing and free scoring Barcelone. Pundits have said that Drogba will be the key element that will cause Barcelone problems. Coupled with combative midfielders in Lampard and Essien, Barcelone would need the wiles and skills of Iniesta and the potent triumverate of Messi, Eto'o and Henry to finish off Chelsea. Truly this will be a clash of the titans, worthy of being a final in itself. Methinks that it will be a draw with the second leg the key decider. Advantage to the team who scores first and may that be the away team.

Man Utd vs Arsenal

The Old English rivals, Ferguson and Wenger, two managers sharing the longest managerial reigns in the current Premier League renew their old time rivalry that has been overshadowed in recent years by Chelsea and Liverpool's Mourinho and Benitez. It looks to be an old time clash with more at stake than Anglo-centric prizes. This is the continental prize, one that both managers are hungry for. Notice how this clash is more about the old geezers in the hot seats rather than the players? That is because both teams are in a bit of a defensive rut but boast quality players that like in a game of chess, can be used to win or lose a game. This is one mouth-watering clash between old time rivals with epic proportions. The prize at stake has never been so attractive. Expect pizza and soup wars, old men acting a tenth their age and fantastic talent on display. A single masterstroke could change the match so do keep your eyes peeled. Rooney, Berbatov and PFA winner Giggs would pose an immense threat to Arsenal. But Febregas and Nasri would be dishing out servings of danger if given the chance. Im getting so stoked.

Keep your fingers crossed and eyes peeled for one of the most exciting seasons in recent times and stay tuned for our post match comments.

Yours truly,

The Guru.

Come what...May

What the..Soemthinz not right with this pic.. Berbatov chose not to celebrate vs Spurs. but den again who does he celebrate against?

At the start of the season, many were saying that Liverpool are the come back team of the West Village. I agree. They top the lot when it comes to wins from the brink of defeat. Man Utd got the memo about that. They thought.. O well.. We'll give this 1 a go.

United are doing it the hard way this season. Going 2 goals down in a 5 minutes of madness where Rio and Rafael da Silva were the main culprits for gifting spurs 2 goals. Ronaldo had missed a wonderful chance before this and also tested Gomes on a freekick.All United fans,head down were thinking who to blame at halftime. They totally ignored the commentators reminder of the time United came from 3-0 down to win 3-5.Man Utd came out in the second half and only said 1 statement as they walked out on the 90th minute."This is Old Trafford".

Wayne Rooney always has a big game during the crunch period for Man Utd. He is your go to boy. Ronaldo scored 2 but Rooney was awesome. 2 goals and 2 assists. The 4-3-3 was working. Especially with Berbatov preferring to do a Scholes most of the time and sitting in an attacking mids role. Utd looked 4-4-1-1 at Halftime. Not Home team tactics. They say Howard Webb gave United the Victory when he gave them a penalty. They are Neutrals and Liverpool fans. Gomes got the player before ball and lets face it. We have seen them given. No point debating. United were still 2-1 down. 5-2 came from Rooney. The boy is class. Did he ever miss a cross. Did Ronaldo or Berbatov not oblige. It was Wayne's word in the second half. The words of a man who wants to ensure his hatred for a red Scouse team remains in his hands... A man on a mission..

Liverpool.. Well well well. For all the shit United took on a "Penalty that gave them 5 goals in a match". Mascherano wins an accolade that many Pool fans been pushing for Cristiano Ronaldo to win. Dive of the Season. A awful dive. Disgusting. A referee that never once blew in favour of Hull despite Hull's dominance den Alonso with a beauty. A red card Folan deserved but the scousers were pretty fortunate. Unlike ManUtd they were rubbish. Just like ManUtd were vs Sunderland recently when they won 2-1.Absolutely astonishing nobody even uttered a word about Javier "Aregentina's Captain" Mascherano's dive.

Arsenal gave out a footballing lesson to Middlesbrough. Fabregas marked his return since returning with a well taken brace. Probably the most all round performance of the top 4 this week. They deserve the kudos against a team that are fighting for their dear lives in the BPL. Fabregas back. They will be pumped up for their midweek tie vs Utd. Chelsea.1-0.Job done. Should have been more. But the biggest shock is for once. Drogba did not score! They looked like a team that had all but give up on the BPL.

WBA's 3-0 win thanks to the on fire Chris Brunt was enough to send them into a tussle with Hull,Boro,Newcastle,Sunderland and maybe not so much Blackburn for the relegation tussle. That has been producing more action than the top of the table.. Come what May.. The action only starts In MAY.

Match Previews

The end is drawing near with teams having approximately 5 games left to either win their championships, stay in the top flight, or just earn gate receipts.

Its pedal to the medal now if Man Utd or Liverpool want to win their Premiership crown. Not much in store for Fulham except to continue earining gate receipts for new players next season after a great performance in this one. They really imposed themselves this season. Shearer's Newcastle will have to do all they can in the next 5 matches to save their season though it'll be a really tough fight with lots of luck needed.

Man Utd take on red hot Tottenham tonight and after having beaten both Liverpool and Chelsea at home this season, they will definitely fancy their chances against a at-times-stumbling Man Utd who are playing like the Arsenal of old, creating plenty of chances but not converting them. They are sorely in need of a regular character up front, someone clinical to score goals in any way. 20 years of history stand in Tottenham's way but i fancy a United win at home. They have to if they want to go 6 points clear of the chasing on-fire-in-front-of-goal-but-with-a-woeful-defence Liverpool. Eyes on Ubnited's right side of defence. Will it be Rafael or Brown tonight?

Liverpool take on Hull City who have honestly been stuttering and showing their true potential. Its a long 38-game season to keep up big wins against the other Premier League Clubs. Its not the best league in the world for nothing. Liverpool however face a challenge in keeping their leaky defence shut tight so Hull may just unsettle them. Benitez would definitely be hoping for a win to keep the pressure up on United.

I'm definitely going to be looking forward to see how Arsenal do against Middlesbrough. With a Champions League semi-final away at Old Trafford slightly more than 48 hours later, it'll be interesting to see how Arsenal do, especially with a bit of an injury crisis. However Arshavin is in fine form and looking extremely sharp and considering being cup tied for the Champions League, we can expect him to feature and nick it for Arsenal. That is, if they can bolster their defence and not give away goals like they did against Liverpool in a match they should have won.

Poor poor Newcastle. They seem to be tugging on every neutral's heartstrings. Can they actually start their much desired turnaround and get a result for their fans? I really think that those really affected by all this are their fans. Such dedication but yet, such massive disappointments. They have lots to do against Portsmouth come Monday.

Plenty of other matches going on as well,

We see Bolton vs Villa, Man City take on Everton, Fulham host Stoke, WBA and Sunderland and West Ham take on Chelsea tonight.

Also playing tomorrow, Blackburn against Wigan.

Plenty of action at both ends of the table so do stay tuned for it and vote for your SoccerCrazee Best Defender of the year for they have been the men keeping the goals safe.

Baby Agbonlahor

Okok.. So its Gabby but this boy.. aged 22.. Is one of England's best attacking prospects since Wayne Rooney burst into the scene 5 years ago. Its been barren for England since then with only Walcott going close..

Gabriel "Gabby" Imuetinyan Agbonlahor has been at Aston Villa.. well forever.. Born in Erdington, this boy has had loan spells in clubs like Watford and Sheffield Wednesday. Both were unsuccessful. Many tipped big things about him and Luke Moore at Villa but Martin o'Neill must have been the key to his brilliance..

This season has been his best ever as he notched 13 goals in all competitions including 12 in the BPL! His returns rate on scoring may not be the best in the world averaging 0.29 goals per match. But He does get assists and also provides a lot of pace up front.

He has also thwarted the like of Man Utd and Arsenal with goals. He can be a big game player. The scary part is that he is not yet the end product as strikers usually peak at 25. Englang called him up this season though it has to be said that his criticism is his lack of fitness as he started to cool as the season went into its latter stages just like the rest of his small Villa team.This however is a key learning area for the lad.

he has mostly featured for England at u21 levels rather effectively but has yet to prove himself big enough for the senior team only gaining 2 caps with 0 dividence there. In his defence they were not easy games but lets hope for more from this boy next season in the international arena. He was also eligible to play for Nigeria and Scotland before this. Lets hope, much unlike players like James Beattie and Micheal Bridges he proves a big player for England

Kudos to Gabby..

BEST DEFENDER 2008-2009

Every time u think of a classic.. U think of the goals.. 4-3 thrillers..3-2 thrillers.. Den we forget the bore draws..0-0.. the 1-0 wins.. But the men behind these scorelines earn it.. the way strikers earn their money scoring goals.. Today Soccercrazee celebrates the almost forgotten men..

First things first.. We shall congratulate the winner of best youngster 2008-2009..

1st : G.Agbonlahor 41%
2nd : Denilson 25%
3rd : J.Evans 14%

Kudos to Gabby on a deserved victory.. You will hear more about him soon..

Now lets look at our nominees for best defender..

1) Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd) - One of the strongest and most feared defenders in the BPL this season. Ferdinand or Evans alongside, 1 of the main reasons for the Clean Sheet run ManUtd went on and how they kept notching up 1-0 wins. Had some blips but he deserves more youtube video clips...unless he slips..If Manutd Win the lot.. thank him for it.


2) John Terry (Chelsea)- A rock for Chelsea and one of their most crucial players once again this season. Be it Alex,Ivanovic or the more familiar Carvalho, this boy sticks to his job. Injuries have been his archilles' heel and also Scolari but we should not forget his contributions. Actim Index says so as well..

3) Jose Bosingwa( Chelsea) - A hardworker. Brilliant defender and has good attacking abilities. One hell of a signing by Chelsea this season he has outran himself on the Chelsea right flank. One of the more consistent performers be it Scolari or Hiddink in charge and very professional. Really a respectable player who gets you assists and hits mean shots


4) Joleon Lescott (Everton) - If we kept talking about the top four.. Den its no point having a BPL list. Everton have shown great defensive abilities. He has notched up a few goals even though the corner burden has been lifted of his..erm.. head since Fellaini came in and Cahill became fit. He sticks to his job well and the games against the big boys has never deterred him.Kudos.

5) Phil Jagielka (Everton) - A huge risk when Moyes brought him in last year. Then again he is the man who has made steals out of some Championship players like Lescott(Wolves),Cahill(Milwall) and now Jagielka who came from Sheffield United. Started the season shaky. Lacked pace and all. Now covers it up with beautiful defensive skills. Bicycle kicks and last ditched tackles and interceptions. He also spots a mean pass being an ex midfielder. He gets better by the game and is coming to terms with BPL life finalli. Kudos to him and Everton for having both Center backs in the list.

6) Brade Hangeland (Fulham) - A brilliant defender and Norway's finest continues to impress with big clubs hovering around him like vultures. Scored some remarkable goals (winner vs Arsenal etc..) and is a ROCK in Fulham's defence. Solving their previous woes and adapting to the BPL this season like it was a plate of Ice kacang on a Sunny afternoon in Singapore. Underrated and too Underappreciated. Soccercrazee salutes him.

7) A B Faye (Stoke) - He actually pipped the likes of Rio for this spot so that alone is an achievement. Actim index brought him here although it has to be said that he has operate in the DM role more den a centre back. However he does deserve mention especially for his performances at home and Away. Away when no other Stoke player turns up. He does. Has scored the most CRITICAL goals for Stoke this season and deserves a spot here in our book.Cheers.

8) Jamie Carragher (Liverpool) - How can he not be here? He has played almost every game for Liverpool this term and while Gerrard absorbs and masterbates on the plaudits, he continues to work tirelessly for his beloved Liverpool. Puts in trademark badass challanges and is 110% in his commitment to anywhere in Liverpool's backline. Also to note that he entered the top of the ACTIM boards with very little goals this season so a man who derserves his spot he is.

Shocked that Rio Ferdinand(Man Utd) is not here but his injuries meant that he played a lot less than our current list and we found that to be rather unfair on the rest. Also accepting plaudits would have been Laursen(Villa) and Toure(Arsenal) had they been playinf more. Also Ledley King(Spurs), Aaron Hughes(Fulham) and Glen Johnson (Pompey) would be disappointed to not make the cut. But overall the listing is statistically fair and Hughes omitted as he was there more for Hangeland's presence than anything else in our book. Vote on.. Crazee...

My oh My..Show me da money..

Yes,its been a while since Everton got silverware..

Looking at the team sheets for the FA cup semi finals I was very glad that Chelsea and Everton made it through. For 2 very different reasons..

Arsenal decided to leave out two first team regulars that would stroll into almost all the big sides. Nasri and Arshavin. Why? I felt that it was tactical.However this should not be to blame for the Gunner's demise. The main reasons came through. Denilson is not the player he is supposed to be. A centre midfielder who cannot handle big challanges. Was eaten up like a free sausage mcmuffin in the morning by Micheal Essien. The other blame goes to Eboue. His primary role to stop Malouda. I have never seen Malouda so free on the left Chelsea flank. It was as if he had bought that part of the Wembley field pre match and told Ebou to move out ASAP. He obliged. Should Fabianski shoulder the blame? I do not think so. He is young and Silvestre should have rubbed off his influence on him. Instead he left the boy exposed when it mattered most and Lukaz's dash to Drogba similar to that which got him plaudits midweek vs Villareal. The irony of football. Fabregas back from injury hasnt look the player he was. From a Chelsea point of view I do not know bout the golden goose but Micheal Essien is a Midfield magician. On his day the best in the world and I thoroughly enjoyed his maturity and positional knowledge.Together with a hungry Drogba, the carried Chelsea derservedly to the Final of one of the oldest Domestic cup competitions in the world. Kudos. While Arshavin and Nasri wonder..well why?

The end of Manchester United's 5 trophy quest. Deservedly so. Berbatov,Giggs,Scholes,Evra,Van Der Sar,Ronaldo,Rooney and Carrick visibly missing. Why? Well to br fair the young ones did brong them thus far and deserved their spots but the toffees are no pushovers and I was disappointed with Tevez and Berbatov who did not step up for Man Utd when it mattered. Berbatov is one mistake away from probaly being a flop. He has not been the player he was start of season for Man Utd. Carlos for all his influence was overshadowed by Macheda and Welback who seemed to prefer to bypass his influence. Fabio Da Silva ,to me, the only positive for Man Utd. So why did United deserve to lose? Hunger.Passion.And maturity. When it came dowwn to penalties you wouldnt have expected any other result. The only mature heads to take penalties were Rio,Vidic and Berbatov. Less the magnificent reborn Vidic, Rio and Berba proved non penalty takers with weak attempts. Especially Berbatov's arrogant and showy attempt which summed up Man Utd that day.Everton had Jagielka to thank for his awesome performance in a game where the art of defending shadowed attacking arts. He won everything and his bicycle kick clearance showed us how much he had grown fro the man who made plenty mistakes season start. Another looker was Jack Rodwell. I was impressed by the young gun when he came on and he looked very mature.. ok that is a bit easy considering the Utd team put in but still for a cup semi final he looked mentally prepared. Saha would have felt he could influence the game more and Fellaini the constant threat was a handful. I was proud of Evertons they proved justice and promised one thing Ferguson did not. A good, ol cup final that my oh my they really want. 2 big boys down.. Bring on Chelsea?

A new cause for Oversleeping and a Sunday remedy

Arsene stares down Chelsea. But are they intimidated?

The cause.. BPL Matches this week. SeriouslY! Can anyone imagine watching Stoke v Blackburn and going "WA!!!". All the games this BPL weekend have one thing in common. Everyone (except maybe West Ham) really needs to win. Coupled with less than impressive teams. They will surely cancel themselves out. Pure focus and mistakes will be punished. However the pressure isnt on full swing. A win today doesn mean that a draw next week will help.Every game changes things. The incentives will only become clearer in 2 weeks.

As the smaller teams like Stoke,Man City(Yup! Sheikh it boys! smalll...), and West Brom play BPL or wait for the big boys.. THE FA CUP gets dramatic

My O MY! The best cure for sleeping in all the BPL matches on Saturday..

CHELSEA v ARSENAL- Arsenal the cup side. As I said before in previous rounds this boys want the cup double and the forgotten giants clawed their way back initially and are now taking big strides. Doing magnificently on all cup fronts. They are the form team at the moment especially with their defensive problem childs finally coming on well. Chelsea the ever strong finishers. Through the years we have seen how CHelsea always end the season a different team from how they started. Why? I would say maybe new signings,manager changes,Drogba's love for Mourinho etc.. But they once again have the FA cup in sight and will be hungry for it.They have to solve their defensive frailties but attacking wise expect Drogba to be a handful and the midfield battle will have to be fought harder from this Chelsea team to win this.

MAN UTD v EVERTON- The toffees earned this spot. Beating Liverpool was no easy feat. Furthermore they are aching for something for Moyes to have his hands on. Luis Saha will be a good focal point for them. He is a great player when fit and expect Fellaini,Lescott and Timmy Cahill to exploit the shaky (as of recently) Utd defence. Rio will have to stabilize the back four for United and they will need to make their team work. Some rotations by Fergie this season have surprised while some have failed miserably. I expect Scholes to get a game and maybe Rafael may return.Berbatov will hold key as he has been having off days recently and will do well to come back strong here.Do not underestimate Everton because if they show hunger and desire ans ManUtd's players burn out. We could see an upset on the cards. The pressure is on United here. Quadruple? My o My.. What a lot of games..

This week will show us more clearly who are on form and who are not. Will the old Man Utd return? Will Arsenal finally crumble their unbeaten run? Will Chelsea stay strong and not succumb to their defensive lapses.. Only time will tell..

Chilli padi semi finals

BOOm goes the Dynamite.. Ronnie's back

Spicy..

Barcelona v Chelsea

Man Utd v Arsenal

Spicy..

BArcelona went into their game expecting to come out with 0 injuries. So i guess it was a good day for them. Respect to Pepster who stuck with first teamers as if to teach his team a lesson about football. Even when u are 4-0 up you can still lose it against any opposition. And we were talking Bayern. Good werk Ribery. Hope he joins Utd nekz season. Niice.. God noes wad happened 2 Tosic and Nani. Barca can only be stopped by 1 team so far. The team that beat em last season. But that said Eto'o is a tough nut to crack.

Chelsea have conceded 7 goals in 2 games. And yet they have been happy. Koz they scored 8. Liverpool shouldn be so happy as Cech was aweful.Reina made 1 mistake as well but Cech was on a Al Qaeda insipred suicide mission. I swear he came into stamford bridge with bombs. Koz he was the BOmb. Aurelio would agree. I wouldn. I wanted a Man Utd Pool final. Blooodeee hell u liverpudlians. Anyways same ol' Liverpool rubbish. get out of all competitions early n concentrate on 1(BPL). n still struggle to get there. They do not deserve champions status. Que finishing 5ht in BPl n winning CL. RUBBISH! Nice werk Chelsea. Surely screwed by Scolari. hard nut to crack emselves.

Arsenal the cup side eh?...3-0 Villareal. At home. Ok impressive. Now for the big test. W/O Arshavin. Man Utd. Can they do it? I dunch noe. But when Man Utd play Arsenal. It is without a doubt the best game of the season. Both play enjoyable football and i do care bout the other teams in rthe world when this 2 take the field. A classic. If only Giggs was 10 years younger.. eh Wenger?

Man Utd were the best story this CL week. 1st English team to win in Dragao. Biased English cock sucking commentator said it is koz finally a team HAD to win at Dragao. I say ferguson read the story last week. Bookmarked the best pages. Den editted it. Hulk,Gonzalez,Lucho taken care of. Lisandro threatened but he didn get the space he needed. Everyone but Berbo and Anderson (Back from long layoffs) had a good game. Rio also despite a layoff. Good to see Nani get a good few mins. he has been dwendling in a BBC documentary called "The forgotten souls of football". I respect his contributions last season. I hope for more to come..

Im feeling...messed up

"I have scored against you..you.. you.. and you.. you..and you.."-Lionel messi

During the press conference of Barca Bayern. 1 man asked Klinsmann.. (hey that actually rhymes man).. (Omg rhymed again).. who was this man who ran and ran(im on a roll here!).. He said "Im feeling Mess-ed up"

Lionel Messi.Van Bommel said that the only chance Munchen have of reachin the last 4 of the CL now is if Barca only field 8 players. I sure hope he doesn have to face that koz if Messi is in the 8 u may wonder if Barca can actually ..well still win it. He is the top scorer of the Champs League and for once he is having a relatively injury free season and has been the best player for this years UEFA CL. It was prolli his Pre season Pep talks. Yup. The talks with manager Pep Guardiola.

Liverpool,demolished 3-1 at home by a certain Ivanovic. A few people who said, " Wa lan! Ivanovic playign.. Ho seh la.. Chelsea sure kana swee swee!" got a lorry HEADed towards them at 80Km/Hr.Chelsea deadly in the air and Pool namely Alonso and the zonal marking contingent with Steven gerard and benayouns etc.. Are often left confused from corners.Chelsea on the contrary do look the most vulnerable when they are comfortable cue last weekend's 4-3. So I will NOT say this is a forgone conclusion. If you choose to miss this you may wake up with a headline like Liverpool defy the odds at the Bridge or cornier like " Chelsea Hiddink out of the UEFA CL". What I say is Liverpool have a tough time and Chelsea are not very impressive at the moment. I say Benitez shoudl give White heart lane a call before this but this is gonna be a CRACKING game.

Man Utd play porto. Fun and games. You see for the first time in 5 months. United have fallen back down to planet earth. Ronaldo facing the bench. Carrick realising he has problems scoring and Injuries ACTUALLY affecting the team and Evans no longer a Rio ferdinand in disguise. Rio maybe back. Porto do very well defensively at the Dragao. Atelico Madrid would say. I would put United a firm underdogs against an unfancied but severly underrated Porto side. Lucho and Hulk will prob be the show stealers. less Lethargic performance, Porto should be able to sneak one or 2 in. The qn is can United so goal shy( When did they last win 2-0 or more?? in the CL or BPL?) score at the dragon's lair or will the face the flames at the mouth of the dragao.

Arsenal-VIllareal. Both this teams are considered less illustrious. Boy oh Boy my friends yall are being lied to. Arsenal the cup side and Villareal English killers. BOth can play attractive football. Arsenal's so called sexy football condomised a long time ago but don tell their fans.. shh..they still dreaming. Villareal with the brilliant Santi Cazorla,M.Senna,G.Rossi, and the man who knows more bout arsenal den..well half of arsenal's first team.. Robert Pires. The play good football. The neglected Llorente.. Not the Nando type and may spring surprises. Their problem. Their defence. Even more leaky than Geylang Serai's resident rodents. I say lets have a goalfest unless we get to very cautios managers.

PFA player nominees are out

1) Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)
2) Steven Gerrard(Liverpool,i tink)
3) Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd I think)
4) Van der Sar..( Erm..hmm also Man Utd)
5) Nemanja Vidic ( Ahah..Nope still Manutd)
6) Ryan Giggs ( Ok who the hell decides this?)

Seriozli wherez Xabi Alonso,Jose Bossingwa,Robin Van Persie and even Mark Scharzer. The thwarter of so many. I only can imagine they voted when Utd were on a run. I do not disagree totally but what says you to variety?

Premier League Spices

Bang Bang Boom! The goals get knocking in. Wham Bham Alakazam. Lets hear it for Macheda and Manucho! M2M power!

One of the most exciting weekends with almost there amazing fight backs, tension, pure carnage and broken hearts. 8 matches played so far and 30 goals scored. Awesome made even more so with the goal replays flashing instead of text updates. Im finally getting my money's worth.

Liverpool swept aside a Blackburn side that was just all over the place with no direction and scoring 4 goals with ease. so much for all that talk about emulating Chelsea and exploiting defensive frailties. I think Liverpool's season has been great as a result of one thing, their delivery. Its something that just requires clinical finishing, hence the goals and last grasp winners. It all boiled down to supplying the tip of their attack. Torres just proved that Gerrard is not such an important cog in his scoring mechanics and that all that hype was just Liverpudians love for a dedicated player who wears his heart on his sleeve.

Bolton were brought to life after that realisation that they were 4 nil down and Andy O'Brien led a 70th minute fight back that was a tad too late. They shoudl have kept that tempo and pressure from the start instead of doing so after giving Chelsea a 4-0 lead. Drogba marked a return to action with his third goal in 2 games since the thumping of Liverpool. Final score, 4-3. Credit to Bolton for their hearty fightback.

Portsmouth drew 2-2 with West Brom with goals by Kaboul and Kranjcar. Greenig had earlier equalised for WBA and Brunt gave them a lead but they soon lost it.

Tottenham beat West ham 1-0 courtesy of a Roman Pavlyuchenko goal. The man is really proving his worth after a slow dismal start. Credit to Redknapp for his tactical brilliance. A team like Liverpool would do well to have such a brilliant manager instead of an eccentric spaniard.

And one of the most off form clubs found their form against an improving Man Utd whose manager just showed the rest of the league how much winning is all about having a united SQUAD instead of teams around a STAR. Its squads that win things, not a man. Soccer is a team with 11 players not 9 protecting one and supporting the other 1. Credit to Sunderland for giving United a hard fight in a match that saw Rooney hungry and Scholes magical. However, it took a special teenager to strike the final nail in the coffin and seal off the game. United however, should learn from Hiddink and hurt when they can, especially after scoring the first goal. In an interesting point in the match, Ronaldo was playing like a man, no whining, no nonsense, he just shut up and got on with the game. Though his impact and contributions were minimal.

Finally, more heartbreak for Newscastle as they put up another shabby performance. No doubt they had an injury ravaged squad, but from what i saw, Stoke were really giving them a hard time. However a 1-1 draw, fought back after goign down 1-0 early on would be a boost for greater things.

Did i forget Arsenal? Oh my.. Arsenal also fought back in emphatic style after going a goal down early to Wigan. Goals from Walcott, Silvestre, Arshavin and Billong won it for them 4-1. They really are in fine scoring form showing character. From boys to men? We shall wait and see.

Midweek brings us to the seconbd leg of the Champions League Quarter Finals and next weekend, FA Cup action.

Stay tuned to Soccer Crazee for the updates, commentary and analysis. Do remember to vote for your favourite young player of the season!

Big boys gone small..

Gerrard looks unsure when Benitez affectinately asks him if he can play tommorow.

As the season reaches the last 6-7 weeks we have reached a small calm for the Premier League big boys in the competition. The press seems more interested in developments in Europe and are not very much concerned about their abilities against the smaller clubs come this weekend. For our title chasers. Chelsea,Liverpool and Manutd have ties against Bolton,Blackburn and Sunderland. On paper Man Utd and Liverpool have the trickier of the ties. They have relegation battlers on their cards and with both teams showing awful home form midweek they will do their best to gain confidence from their ties.That said, Overconfidence can take a thing out of Chelsea and if Bolton do turn up and make their life difficult they could have a chance of getting points with Davies in hot form and Drogba probable to be rested.Gerrard injured,Rio Injured bla bla..But who cares about the big boys?.. Well I am sick of em especially for this week so lets look at the BIG GAMES THIS WEEK!

1) Aston Villa v Everton - How do you decide this? I have no idea. One team has not had a win in ages and are aching to start getting wins. The other is in a reasonable form guide but are hit by many injuries. I have identified the on fire Carew(Villa) to be the main weapon if the Villans one to nick it. Milner as well. However their defence needs to be shored up by players like Shorey as they have been leaking many goals as their wingbacks and wingers keep on attacking. Everton will be relying on Fellaini and Osman in attack to provide them with power but do not expect Villa to klie down and With no Arteta nor Cahill,Anichebe nor Howard. This could be very hard for them and I reckon Villa have got to win it. The prize.. A spot in Europe. This game is A CUP FINAL!

2) Middlesbrough v Hull - Psychiatrists all over the world have noticed that patients are using different images to identify to words. Firstly, when asked to express the term "impotent" , petients have been using the emblem of a certain Middlesbrough FC while they seem to relate to the term "welcome back to earth" to Hull City. Hull had a fairy tale start and by midseason someone(Man City) sounded the alarm and they had a wake up call and they have yet to brush their teeth while every other team are taking showers. Boro have a strike force that well.. hasnt got out of bes as yet. A must win for both so your guess is as good as mine. Expect the unexpected. Hopefully goals from Boro and Hull to show what they are made of. Tuncay(boro) and Zayatte(Hull) will have an interesting battle. Expect an encounter.

3)Stoke v Newcastle - Stoke are in my eyes the best home team in the premiership so far. only 3 losses all season and a certain James Beattie. Up step Alan Shearer. Injury ravaged Newcastle. Very confident Stoke. Both fighting for relegation. This game is 70% in favour of Stoke. Can Newcastle snatch at least 30% and nick a win with MR. Shearer. Watch to find out..

oooweeeeeeee..

Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui.. A journey begins

At age 21, this boy already has had 6 clubs. Most prominent at his club Standard de Liege in Belgium. He is part of the exceptional talents that have come from there in the past couple of years like Tom de Mul,Vertonghen,vanden Borre,dembele and from a place that has brough out players like the Mpenzas,Kompany and many more..


For Everton Fc this season, he has notched a cool 8 goals in all competitions and has been a popular figure amongst the bkue merseysiders. He became an instand favourite for answering the call by many Evertonians at season start to become a big signing and a boost to their squad when many were turning their backs. He also never shies away from challanges.Holding the current 2008-2009 season record for the most fouls committed by a player and most yellow cards. However, he understands that tackling is not one of his strengths and has maturely aplogized to his teamates publicly and vowed to correct his indiscipline.At 1.94m, he is joint fourth for tallest player in the premier league. A box to box player he is an asset with his high stamina and more importantly for using his height for an advantage on corners especially for a team like Everton reknowned for players deadly from set pieces and heading like Cahill and Lescott and master deliverer Arteta.

For Belgium this boy has a cool 15 caps under his name at such a young age,scoring twice and being part of a Belgian Olympic team in 2008 that went further than expected and showed their character. He was reknowned for his weird hairdo and did get sent off there but showed enough quality for the world to take notice. For Liege he has been a vital player for a few seasons before that and was very much 1 of those you could see one day running the club captaincy but alas it was not to be. It is important to note that he was initially allowed to play for Morrocco also but chose Belgium as he was born there. Kudos to that.

Accolades is wat makes a champions. Not goals,Not wins,Not draws and Not even ability. Its what you have inside of you that carries you forward. The Belgium League win by Liege was creditted to his wonderful performances in 2007/2008 and he did well to be a vital member for their Belgium league win and it would prove to be his best season to date and since then it has just gone uphill for the lad. He won the Belgium Ebony Shoe that year for being the best african-Belgium player. An accolade that some best African players have won including Amokachi(ex evertonian himself),Mido,Kompany,Mpenza Eric and Babayaro have had their hands on.

Come what may for this lad. He is one to truly look out for. Congrats to our 2008/2009 BEST BPL YOUNGSTER as crowned by the good people of Soccercrazee. God Bless. And remember he once did have normal hair. Before he became more n more successful so I guess we all now noe why?... or maybe not.. I mean..Nvm

Champions League Q-finals

Justice is served!

In the two quarter final fixtures just played, we've seen a turn around and football from the heavens. Amazing end to end stuff that really mad ethis season's Champions League Quarter Finals one of the most eventful in recent times. All the hopes, dreams, goals, heartbreaks and surprises. Really awesome stuff.

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Chelsea have avenged all Man Utd fans by dishing out a 3-1 thrashing of irritants Liverpool. All that hype about Gerrard and Torres and their magical partnership failed to save their sorry asses. Chelsea was on task to avenge past defeats and once again prove their mettle as well as mark their intentions to add the elusive Champions League trophy to their cabinet. An early goal by Torres seemed to jolt Chelsea's Ivanovic, (no, not the Russian tennis starlet but the defender!) into action and he was on hand to head in an equaliser and another goal to seal Liverpool's fate. The returning Drogba was also on the scoresheet for Chelsea. Liverpool now need to win by 3 goals in order to progress. But at Stamford Bridhe, its a dream they can only hope to chase. So much for that hype and credit to Terry's mind games.

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

A heavenly performance by Barecelona in the first half gave us a glimpse of what football must be like in the heavens. League leaders Barcelone were just brutal in the way they tore apart Bayern Munich and the goals just seemed to flow endlessly like their movement of the ball. It was just amazingly fast and Barcelone seemed to always be a step ahead of Bayern. Lionel Messi opened up the scoring in the 9th minute and again later on in the 38th min. Eto'o was there with Henry to each claim a goal which made them all smile and be happy. However, Henry's goal came amid a Van Bommel challenge on Messi which would have seen him sent off had Henry not scored. That characterised Bayern's night where they had to resort to overly physical challenges to stop the free flowing football Barcelona were playing and they had absolutely no chance of clawing their way back. Anyone fancy them winning their home leg by 5 goals? No chance in hell if Barcelone keep up their form. Definitely favourites to enter the finals.

With such drama and action in leg 1 of the Quarter Finals, we can only rub our hands in anticipation in the second leg which would see teams like Arsenal and Man Utd step up their game if are to have any chance of progressing to the next stage. This is especially so for Man Utd who were just awful and face an extremely tough trip to the Dragon's lair which is Porto's homeground where no English team has ever won at.

BEST YOUNG PLAYER 2008-2009(FLEDGLING!!)

An Honourable mention will be done for the winner/runner-ups of Our best new signing which are as follows:

1.M. Fellaini (EVERTON) - 38%
2.D.Berbatov(MAN UTD)-27%
3.J.Bosingwa(CHELSEA)-22%

Be sure to hear bout our winners during our awards grande finale..

Here are the criteria for best young player:

1. Must be below 23 years of age(23 does not qualify)
2. A Big feature for the team
3.Decent Actim index rating

Before I lost the nominees let me sympathize with those who almost made the cut. David Wheater(Middlesbrough) and Vincent Kompany(Man City) are the main 2 who may have done well but not good enough and find themselves part of flailing teams.Jo (Man City/Everton) has not had the desired impact in city but its changing at Everton but has been too inconsistent. A Big "watch out for them in the future" goes to the following, Junior Stanislas(West Ham)- a nice name..well at least better den Higginbotham.. and very special West Ham lad. You will see more soon. The Manchester United players of Macheda( only 1 game this season) and Rafael (not significant enough). Arsenal's Clichy missed out being 23 but watch out for Wilshire while Ramsey had torrid outings.Plessis and Insua all missed out for Liverpool for uneventful seasons as well and will do well to get into next year's. So here are the nomineess...


1) Ryan Shawcross(Stoke) - Very much a mainstay in the Stoke team. This young lad has done a decent job for Stoke especially his vital goals at home. The Manchester United reject has taken his job well and done brilliantly at the heart of a rather weak defence and for that he deserves to be here.



2) James Tomkins (West Ham) - Now I tell you this boy edged Jo out of this race with his superb performance last weekend and his brilliance since jumping out from the reserves in recent weeks. He has been a mainstay since West Ham confirmed safety and his actim index scores are off the hook!Big one for England. But Spain got Pique so Oh wells.. try harder young Englishmen.. But this boy could be a big one.


3) Gianni Zuiverloon (WBA) - He is here solely beacuse of his name.Ok fine, not really but thie dutch youngster has been a pacy and impactful winger down the WBA flanks. Among those who don derserve to be condemned to that club.oops. However, his newfound experience will make him valuable should better clubs come knocking or ringing WBA's doorbell IF WBA can afford a doorbell, that is.


4) Aaron Lennon(Tottenham Hotspurs) - One of the main reasons for the Spurs revival. his electrifying pace has given players like Evra,Clichy,Ashley Cole etc.. problems and they are decent defenders. Called up to Capello's squad and if he can improve his crossing, at 21, he could make a big money move to a big club.. O wait I forgot.. Spurs are not a selling club.. Carrick,Robbie Keane,Chimbonda etc.. were flops when they were sold?..right?.. Or could they just use him the Keane wat to earn more bux in 6 mths...hm..nvr noe..



5) Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) - He is a striker. He scores goal and looks constipated 24/7. When he misses he begins to feel like he has a bitta diarrhoea and tends to cringe koz of that. Nothing else. One of Actim's top ranked strikers this season so why not??Plus has popped goals vs Arsenal, ManUtd etc.. Big game player.Good lad.


6) M.Fellaini (Everton) - Was terrific last weekend and has quite a rep now in England. A clear front runner here after last week's win. Good big lad who can play upfront,Center mid and if you think bout it he may be a decent Defender(who gets booked a lot).I shall refrain from any hair jokes koz he has done enough to deserve respect from the soccer community and the Bird's nest growing fund.You are welcome Marouane.

7) Jonny Evans (Man Utd) - Very close fight with Jo for this berth but he gets in just because he became a part of history with a part to play in their remarkable clean sheet spree. Not entirely convinced though. Needs to improve his passing skills and as of recently, his clearing skills.But hey he is young. Best player in N.Ireland and their future captain no doubt.

8)Denilson (Arsenal) - When Flamini left, many thought Arsenal were finished. It sure looked that way. This boy however took the most out of even that slump. Not the most disciplined lads ina positional sense but hey neither are Steven Gerrard,Anderson,Ballack and Eric Djemba-Djemba.A clear favourite here and its apity I could not add more of this young Arsenal proteges. His Actim Rating makes him part of the elite midfielders and the best in Arsenal and the moment.Hm.. interesting for a lad so young..

Vote ON!!

Champions League Roundup

Heartbreak. That says it all for United fans as Man Utd drew 2-2 with Porto who were played down by the media that made us all underestimate them. They had threatened from the start and could have got more goals had it not been for improved defending from United and the heroics of Van de Saar.

Evra and Fletcher had been United's best performers all night and the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Carrick and Vidic were quiet. O'shea was quiet by his own standards as well. Early defensive errors had led to C. Rodriguez capping a fine Porto move that saw him draw first bloody in the 4th min. It was just the jolt United needed to put an end to their arrogance. Honestly Porto looked the better side all evening. A silly defensive error saw a back pass fall to rooney in the 15th minute and he made no mistake by putting calmly slotting it into the Porto goal after wrong footing the keeper.

Substitute Carlos Tevez looked all set to rumble and looked very sharp compared to a tired performance on Sunday. He linked up well and scored from Rooney's flick on from the byline to once again highlight his worth in the 85th min. That shining moment was one of the best from United and sent the crowd into relieved ecstacy as they had given it up to a draw. Another hero looked to be worshipped until a defiant Porto side oozing quality and constantly threatening equalised in extra time after capitalising on yet another defensive error by United and equalised through substitute Gonzalez.

United will now be licking their wounds as they face a tough away tie in Portugal. Heartbreak. Period.

Over in spain, Villarreal as expected, put up a spirited performance and led through a Senna goal early in the first half and dominated the match until a Adebayor equalised for Arsenal and scored his 3rd goal in 2 games since returning from injury. It was a hard fought result for Arsenal. The match eventually ended 1-1.

Tonight we'll see Chelsea take on Liverpool and Barecelona fight it out in fixtures that are good enough to be finals in their own right.

Champions League Quarter Finals Preview

Its Champion League action once again and we have the Big 4 English teams still in the tournament, as well as perrenial favourites Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. Porto and Villarreal make up the other two teams.

The fixtures are as follows:

Villarreal vs Arsenal

Man Utd vs Porto

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Barcelone vs Bayern

These matches sure look set to keep us at the edge of our seats and hope for comfortable wins for the teams we support.

Tonight's Preview:

Villarreal vs Arsenal

Villarreal would surely fancy their chances against a red hot Arsenal at home especially after experiencing a rocky weekend when key man Corzola came off injured with a broken leg in their la liga match. The mood is bullish despite having lost 3-0 to Almeria over the weekend and Corzola. But if there was any time to face an Arsenal side boosted by the return of captain Febregas and Adebayor from injury, it would be at home. Arsenal have shone in recent times with a 15 game unbeaten streak and Adebayor marking his return with two well taken goals as they beat Man City 2-0. It looks to be a battle of heart against form. The Beatles hit song Yellow Submarines would surely by playing in the background tonight in more than one household.

Man Utd vs Porto

On the back of a 3-2 comeback win where player of the year Ronaldo scoring a brace but did little else, the mood at Old Trafford has been revived. Confidence has been restored and boosted by the return of key men Scholes, Vidic and Rooney, Porto would have their work cut out for them against a Man Utd side looking to put their devils to rest and claim both the the Premier League and successive Champions League trophies. Although Porto won their 8th successive away win, and coach Ferreira promising that Porto will be no push-over, their fans would just be praying that they do not succumb to the red tide by too big a margin.

Playing Tomorrow:

Liverpool vs Chelsea

These two teams have met in this competition for the past 5 seasons in a row and as Chelsea skipper John Terry dreads the meeting of the two sides, we can imagine the mind games starting. Both teams have won their weekend games although Liverpool were very lucky to do so. The competition's top scorer Gerrard and his potent strike partnership with Torres bundled with the home crowd would probably give Liverpool a boost but i reckon that Dutch magican Hiddink has something up his sleeve. This fixture is surely good enough to count as a final.

Barcelona vs Bayern

This is another fixture worthy of a final as well. Spanish giants Barce are on top of the league but seem to be losing steam. Bayern would do well to capitalise on that too with the form of Franck Ribery and Lukas Podolski. Podolski and Messi both have 7 goals apiece. Definitely will be a great match where end to end stuff can be expected.

Look forward to the next Soccer Crazee poll as we await the tabulations of the votes for best new signing.

The Guru has spoken. Ohmmmmm...

The man they call Kiko

When you watch a movie, you see a story unfold,the plot thickens, and the movie gains direction but that all comes to waste if you do not have an ending to match..At the recent Asian Awards Ceremony celebrating the best in Asian cinema or the recent Oscars. Noone could have written a script like this. Which started 2 years ago in Rome.His name was Kiko as he is affectionately called.. and this is his story..

Manchester United. Fans could proudly say never lose two games at home in a row. That changed for 75 minutes yesterday night.The first half was Villa's. If they were playing at their beloved Villa Park they would have probably been 3-1 up at halftime. Milner, once upon a time the youngest ever goalscorer in the premiership passed the ball to Friedel. Friedel, like a man who was just thrown a lifebuoy at sea grabbed hold. It was a bait. Much like what they use for fish for a brutal terrorist attack on the top right hand corner of Friedel's net.Sometimes baits work better than fishing nets.Villa duly responded. The Ship's Carew went ballistic on Manchester. Poor ol' Captain Neville for Battleship Manchester missed a sight of him from the corner of his eye and Carew obliged with an "Arr".United's only other chance till the 75th minute would fall to Ronaldo who's header from Nani's freekick to close to keeper.Tevez like a fish out of water thrashing about but nowhere near the goalpost,his sea without which he ceases to do anything in games.Carrick looked Car sick. The only positive came from a John O'shea. Irish sailors know best ayeeee

" Mum, Dad.. It will be an opportunity for me of a lifetime. Sure i am just 15 but I want to and i believe its the way for me ".

Villa barraged. Ashley young told the story on how he became a left winger from a striker yesterday in detail when he showed his terrible finishing ability.But sometimes things are meant to be. An out of form Agbonlahor. 2 wrong offside decisions just before to say "Nope! not yet." until Aggie header home the second. The linesman said that's more like it. Commentator's words at the start on the out of form Aggie disolved. The story unfolds..

" Thanks Brandao! My first few games and I did it things are looking good for me eh?"

"Who knows maybe one day we will go somewhere. You came for Walsall and I from Rome.. haha.. We never know!"

No more decisions would go United's way. Aston Villa took a 180 degree turn and became a defensive team. Ronaldo not given another freekick. Giggs as well as Tevez. Mike Reilly said, "This just would not be a good movie". United fans beginning to lose faith. The fans did. Then a sudden pang in the stomachs of all United players. A desire. A hunger. A rage. Tevez off.. The plot thickens..

" So how does it feel to score a hatrick in such a game?", Asked the correspondant.

" I shocked. Thank my teammates all good crosses I just finish. We win 3-0 so it is important."

" I see. With so many strikers out and only Tevez and Welback ahead of you at the pecking order do you feel you have a chance here?" Asked the correspondant.

" We will see"

Substatution Manchester United Player number 17 for player number 41. A cheer from the side. Manchester United losing 2-1. A cheer from the side. A Man who not so long ago thought about his son's journey here. Now he was just happy to see his son play. He came on.He played.Ronaldo brilliant finishing bottom left of Friedel. 2-2. Out of nothing. It was a wake up call. Carrick recovered from Car sickness.Was the cure a striker?.United attacked. The gained direction. Mike Reily said lets show the world where this game si going. 5 minutes of added time. Pass run Pass INTERCEPT. WHo is going to win it. WHO!! What is going to happens? then suddenly..

" GOAL! I SCORE!! GOAL GOAL GOAL!!.. GOAL!... DAD!! LOOK AT ME!!"

Unbelievable. Would you believe it.. At Age 17..

" I Just take the ball I come to the game all i want to do is score"

Just play simple lad. You are a finisher. Keep it simple. I am sending you on koz we need you.

" Ill turn and curl. It is my day! I will score"

I am just grateful to him. Back after a few months. Probably my fault Carew got ahead of me. I am grateful to him. Kiko has done things in training you see it today.

"Greatest day of my life!"

We shall see bout that;>

Fredicio Macheda. A star is born

Elsewhere Fellaini struck gold for Everton. 3 assists and 1 goal as Everton showed their resillient play against an aimless Wigan side. Arteta and Cahill less they still have the reserves and are going to push Villa all the way to the end. Good to see him getting more votes probably because of that. Jo was brilliant as well in his finishing though easy as it was to score number 2. The MSI owned player did well and would surely want to make his stay in Merseyside wothwhile

The Movie has not ended yet. There's still a long way to go my friend. The ending must match.. the ending must match..

A New Beginning: Fergie's New Brood of Fledglings

It is time once again, the transition period in the great club that is Man Utd, where in the mighty reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, we see a change. More than a decade ago, he introduced to the world, the youngsters from the youth academy, dubbed his fledglings, Giggs, Scholes, The Neville brothers, Beckham and Butt formed the backbone of his sides that eventually captured the elusive treble. Now, as those players have aged and departed, we see the dawn of a new brood of Fergies Fledglings.

Players like the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio, Johnny Evans, Darron Gibson, Danny Welbeck and new cult hero Fredrico Macheda have been thrust out into the fray this season and have all impressed and have in some cases be integral to the current campaign where United are chasing for domestic and European glory. These youngsters are of age to go out there and make their mark on the game. Last night's match against Aston Villa saw the debut of latest teenage sensation, 17 year old Fredrico Macheda.

For the debut of a boy barely legal to consume liquor, he stood up tall and strong against a youthful and physical Villa side. Holding up the ball and running into space so well with skills and a maturity that belied his age, it made for an exciting nail biting moment. Any initial doubts from the lineup featuring Evans and the the introduction of Macheda and Welbeck towards the end of the match gave way to a fervent hope that the youthful energy and hunger of youth would be able to save the game and possibly the season for Man Utd. And our prayers were answered, they delivered! Welbeck had threatened from the moment he got the ball and was well denied by Brad Friedal. But it was the young man in Macheda that nailed it for United.

With the rest of the season heating up now, and the youngsters blooded, the future looks especially bright for Man Utd. And yes, there are more precocious talents waiting their chance of a break from the academy. Just you wait and see. We will give youth a chance, that is soccer the Man Utd way.

Glory Glory Man Utd!

And thank you to all our faithful followers of this blog as we have hit out 51st post. It wouldnt have been possible without your support!

The Gundu has spoken.

This Sums up the feelings of Man United, Fulham and Newcastle Fans

Saturday Night Roundup

What an exciting Saturday night of soccer action with heartbreak in Tyneside and Craven Cottage and lots of luck shared around.

Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea

Shearer couldnt do more than wach his team stumble to another lost against title contenders Chelsea. Having watched the match with the Romanticism of having a club legend on mission impossible try to glean a result off a very consistent Chelsea side, the result was a routine one with Lampard and Malouda capitalising on defensive errors. Harper was the busier of the two keepers and did well to keep Chelsea at bay.

Blackburn 2-1 Tottenham

As expected, Big Sam was able to put more distance between Rovers and 18th place with a well deserved win against an in-form Tottenham. A Palacios red card had allowed Blackburn back into the game with goals from Ooijer and McCarthy.

Arsenal 2-0 Man City

Red hot Arsenal were once again proving too hot for the monied City to handle with Adebayor notching two top quality strikes which oozed confidence and determination. Mark Huges will definitely need to dip his hands into the bank and do some serious work in post season. Robinho really should do more. The most costly player in the world is looking like the costliest flop ever.

Fulham 0-1 Liverpool

Liverpool once again came lucky against a resilient Fulham with a lucky 90th minute goal by Benayoun. Fulham were saved on 3 occasions by the goal which denied Alonso and Torres on more than one occasion. Really lucky for Pool and unlucky fo Fulham. They now find themselves top of the table unless Man Utd can do something against it.

Elsewhere, the results are as follows:

Bolton 4-1 Middlesbrough
Hull 0-0 Portsmouth
West Brom 0-2 Stoke City
West Ham 2-0 Sunderland

All eyes will be on tonight's match where Aston Villa take on Man Utd with both teams desperate to win the 3 points.

English Premier League Weekend Preview

After a fortnight of International Football action that left us here at Soccer Crazee in a depression, the Premier League is back on track with the title race heating up. Can Liverpool go top? More importantly, can Man Utd put the Villa test to rest and step up the race? All shall be revealed this coming weekend.

Tonight,

Newcastle vs Chelsea

Newcastle take on Chelsea with Alan "Saviour" Shearer in his first game in charge. With the mood in and around Tyneside lifted upon his return dubbed the "Shearer Factor", can he stage a miracle to save Newcastle's season and keep them in the top flight? For the sake of the talent there, and the passion of fans who really love the club, I sure am hoping for a win against Chelsea. Not that Chelsea will be easy push-overs, they will definitely be looking fo 19th league win of the season. Hiddink and Co will definitely make it happen.

Blackburn vs Tottenham

In form Spurs will be looking to cement their position in the top half of the table and keep extend their unbeaten run at Ewood Park to 5. That said, Rovers under Big Sam will be desperate to open up some breathing space between them and Newcastle who are but 2 points apart. Soccer Crazee worst player of the year, Bentley could just do enough to help Blackburn. We cant say for sure.

Fulham vs Liverpool

In what could be the most important game of the weekend, this season's Giant Slayers Fulham take on league challengers Liverpool. Can they repeat the feat of killing another Big 4 team? I sure hope so. Should they succeed, Liverpool will face a tougher run to the top and give United some breathing space. All eyes will be on the outcome where respect and credit is due to Roy Hodgeson and his men for coming this far. Both sets of United and Pool fans would be keeping their fingers crossed here.

Arsenal vs Man City

Arsenal are clicking into gear at the right moment but speculation over key man Febregas may affect team morale. Unless the Gulf Money circulationating in City an effect in galvanising the team and inspiring Robinho, they look likely to be gunned down.

Other games being played tonight are

Bolton Wanderers vs Middlesbrough
Hull City vs Portsmouth
West Bromwich Albion vs Stoke
West Ham vs Sunderland

Playing tomorrow (Sunday),

Everton vs Wigan

David Moyes will surely tell his side to go out all guns blazing and try to improve their position. Coming on the back of a 2-1 defeat by Portsmouth, the side will have to recover to maintain their position against a Wigan side still harbouring hopes of displacing Everton. Wigan have to decide if bad boy Amr Zaki will start following his late return from International Duty.

Man Utd vs Aston Villa

2 defeats in a row for United, a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool for Villa. Both teams will be going into the match desperate for a win to set the pace for the last leg of the season. United have an injury ravaged squad and with 3 key players out due to red cards, are lacking the services of Rooney, Vidic and Scholes. Ferdinand is in a race to shake off a groin strain while Berbatov joins the growing list of walking wounded with ankle injury that will sideline him for weeks. Ferguson's only available striker is the jet-lagged "emo" Carlos Tevez back from a Bolivian whipping.
The pressure is on United to pull through the slump and get back to winning ways. Villa should take their chances if they hope to come out of the Theatre of Dreams with anything.

An exciting weekend awaits. Till the post match reports, the Gundu has spoken.

The Worst New Signing of 2008/2009

And Soccer Crazee now presents the award to... David Bentley, for being the Worst New Signing in the current 08/09 Barclays Premier League Season.

Personal information

Full name: David Michael Bentley
Date of birth: 27 August 1984 (age 24)
Place of birth: Peterborough, England
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position: Right Winger, Second Striker (Pretty Lousy at it)

Club information

Current club: Tottenham Hotspur
Number: 5

Youth career

Wormley F.C.Arsenal

Senior career

Scored 16 goals in total for the clubs hes been at.

Norwich City (2)

Arsenal (0)

Blackburn (13)

Tottenham (1)

National team

England U21

England B

England

Statistically, quite a pathetic show from someone rated so highly and costing so much. We here think that he could do more to improve to justify his high salary and transfer fee.




Photo credit: rovers.uk.co
Info credit: David Bentley. (2009, March 30). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:36, April 2, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Bentley&oldid=280735285