rabbit is never in the hat

A letter to Carlo Ancelotti

2011-01-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hello Carlo Sir,

I think it is safe to admit that it is officially a crises at Chelsea. In this letter I want to discuss with you the reasons for this crises. Let me say this upfront that I normally don’t like to blame managers for defeats but this time around you have to shoulder a lot of blame. According to me there are the 3 pivotal reasons for our downfall this season:

Squad Management.
Last summer we let lot of experienced (old) players go and did not sign enough. We had a squad of just 19 senior players. I thought this was done to promote youngsters. It was more than obvious that we don’t have enough strength in depth. But I (like most Chelsea fans) was still fine with it. I knew that few injuries might do us in. But there was still that incentive of watching young players come through the rank. I don’t mind having one trophy-less season if it means some good young players make the successful first team transition and become first team regulars. But that has just not happened. Yes, lot of young players now train with the first team (which is a great thing) and are often on the bench, but they have not played nearly enough games to gain any confidence. The likes of Kakuta, Sturrige, VanHolt, Bruma, McEachran etc have hardly started any games. This means that Drogba, Malouda, ACole, JT etc have to play day in and day out and are visibly fatigued. So right now we are neither here nor there. We are not winning any games due to tired and fatigued first team players. And we are not promoting youngsters either. I was dejected as a wet hen when I saw Ferreria playing as CB against Sunderland with Bruma on bench. And to add to my fury we are thinking of signing some big name players this Jan. That just puts our whole summer initiative of promoting youngsters into dumpster. Sir, I am really sorry to say this but you have got your squad management horribly wrong !! You had more than an year with all the youngsters. You should have known if they are ready to start some first team games and prove as able backups. And if you did not have confidence in the youngsters then you should have signed in summer itself. Signing big name players now just underlines the lack of planning you had for the squad.

Flexibility.
When you started your stint at Chelsea, you tried to bring in your diamond formation from AC Milan and played Lampard at the tip of the diamond. Just after a few games you saw that the formation is not really working for this set of players and you changed it back to 4-3-3, the favored formation at Chelsea. I was very impressed with that. To have a manager who sees what he is doing wrong and corrects himself is an absolute asset to have. But why are you not showing that same flexibility now? You refuse to change the 4-3-3 formation when it is clearly not working right now. Mikel is not in any kind of form and Essien is just not a natural CDM. So to have that extra defensive cover is, to some extent, curbing our attacking play and we still continue to make defensive errors. So that CDM is becoming a liability because we don’t have the right player in that position right now. One option you have is to go with a good old 4-4-2 or something of that sorts. Have Lampard, Essien, Malouda, Kakuta/Kalou in midfield (Malouda and Kalou/Kakuta as wingers) and have 2 up front. To me, one thing that has stuck out like a sore thumb in recent games is the lack of players in the box to attack crosses. Lot of times our getaway attacking strategy is to give ball wide to the likes of Bosingwa, Malouda, ACole and have them put in a cross. I don’t mind that at all. But almost every time we only have one and at the most 2 players in the box to attack those crosses. That is just not good enough when you are trying to win games coming from behind. So 4-4-2 like formation will give us that extra man in the box which might make a difference when crosses come in. These are some really simple football strategies and I am surprised that we are not working on them. I am really disappointed with the lack of flexibility you have shown this season.

Luck is a not an angel.
One place where you cannot do much is the luck factor. We have had some absolutely horrible luck in the last few games. If this was earlier in the season then we would definitely have won against Birmingham, NewCastle, Spurs, Villa, Wolves (netting us 12 points more and taking us to the top of the table). But as much as we are playing badly, luck is also not going our way at all. Considering the ball possession and total shots we had, we really should have got better results in these games. But I am a strong believer in Murphy’s law for a reason. Only when players lose form and have injuries, you will have the worst luck of the season.

It is quite clear that title dreams are now all but over. More important is finishing in the top 4 which is by no means is a given. Over next month or so we will get some of our injured players back and hopefully that will spur things up. I hope you show a little more flexibility and that combined with better luck (which I believe will change from the next game) things will be back on track, I am sure!

Regards,
A hopeful Blue!

The not so obvious reasons why Spain won the final!

2010-07-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Apart from the obvious brilliance of Iniesta and Casillas and the Howard Webb factor and the ill shooting of Robben, there were several nuggets of play which helped Spain cross the final hurdle. Here are some points that I observed which helped Spain overcome the Oranje brigade:

Defend from front: Due to the outstanding skills which Spain midfielders and attackers possess, it is often forgotten how hard they work for the team. One reason why the Dutch were not able to build up any attacks is because Spain always had at least 3 forwards marking the Dutch defenders! So the Dutch defenders never got time to pass the ball between themselves and they build the attack through Sneijder and vanBommel. Spain forwards were always under their nose due to which they had to either clear the ball or play a long ball instead of building up the attack. Playing long balls is not exactly what Dutch’s forte with vanPersie, Robben and Kyut upfront. This was the reason why Dutch were never really able to bring Sneijder into play and dominate the proceedings at any stage. All credit to such top stars to not mind doing the dirty work.

Capdevila was not too bad: Before the game I was discussing with my friend that a possible weak link in Spanish defense is the LB Capdevila. With Robben at their disposal I was quite sure that the Dutch would bombard the right flank. That is exactly what happened. But for most of the game, Capdevila stood his ground well against the trickery of the Glass Man. Also the tactics from DelB to stop Robben were spot on. When attacking from the flank, Robben was never one-on-one with Capdevila. Also, normally Robben takes on 2 defenders on the flank and cuts past both of them. But there always was Puyol or Pique to stop that cut which Robben normally uses so effectively. Ideally this should have given more space to vanPersie, Kyut etc. But since Robben was blocked so well, he was not able to find his team mates on most of the occasions.

The Master Stroke of Navas: I have been thoroughly impressed with the substitutions which DelB has used throughout the WC. At the start of the 2nd half, Dutch were starting to look more and more dangerous and threatened to dominate the proceedings while Spain were not able to build up much. A lesser coach would have just put in Fabregas and hoped for the best. Instead, DelB changed the shape of the team. He put on Navas in place of the brilliant Pedro. That changed the game completely. With his dazzling pace and crossing ability, Navas exploited the lack of pace and energy of vanBronckhorst to the fullest. After that sub, for next 30 mins or so, almost all the Spanish attacks came from the right flank and they looked dangerous. That was a master stroke from DelB.

The Ultimate Art: Winning so many games 1-0 is an absolute art. I believe that if a team can consistently win games 1-0 then they might not look that attractive, but will be mighty effective. To get so many 1-0 victories, you have to be mentally very strong. And all credit goes to DelB here. He mainly had players from Barca and RMad who are not used to the 1-0 scorelines. But I believe he instilled the mental fortitude in the players to win 1-0 even when you are not at your best. Kudos to DelB!

Where was the Plan B: I was very disappointed with the Dutch tactics going forward. After seeing that their primary tactic, letting Robben run wild on the right flank, fail, vanMarwijk should have tried something different. In fact the Spanish defense was opened up on the 2 occasions when Robben was more central than on the flank. VanMarwijk could have brought on Huntelaar or someone like that and tried to play more centrally. He did bring on vanDerVaart but that was never going to make any difference if they continued their right flank strategy. They did not seem to have plan B which is detrimental in such huge games.

Was that marking a joke: It was nothing short of a miracle that Spain did not score from a set piece. Let’s put things into perspective. Spain has 3 main target men for the set-pieces. Puyol, Pique and Ramos. All 3 are big strong and great headers of the ball. Dutch had gone with man-to-man marking which was the right thing to do. But as a coach I would have put my 3 best heads to mark these 3 men. However, on several set pieces I saw vanPersie marking Puyol. Calling this a mismatch is a huge understatement. With this match, Puyol is going to keep winning headers all day long. This was the reason why they looked dangerous on almost all the set pieces and were quite unfortunate not to score on one.

Far Post please: Dutch got several free kicks and I feel that they had a good plan in place for all of them. For several indirect free kicks they had 2 or 3 men unmarked at the far post. It was a shame to see all the free kicks being under hit. Had they got some of those free kicks to the far post, I am sure they would have nicked one.

After all, it’s all in the mind: Almost all the Spanish players know very well what it is to play in big finals. All of them have played in either CL finals or Euro finals etc. So they know how to calm their nerves and stick to their style of football in big games. That cannot be said about the Dutch. A very few Dutch players have really experienced the atmosphere of playing in a final. So it was no surprise that Spain looked the more relaxed team. That goes a long way as far as dominating a game is concerned. A short pass in a normal game becomes a long ball in big finals due to the nerves which makes you lose the possession. This was pretty much the story of the final for Dutch.

So apart from the obvious on the field heroes, huge credit must also go to DelB. For me, he was the real star!

Useless Benitez's woeful transfer record!

2010-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

Rafa has forced me to come out of my blogging hibernation after his constant rants about lack of investments taking the club down.
Everyone knows that Liverpool is in a financial pickle right now. As an ardent football fan, I sincerely hope that they recover from the current financial crises. English and European football needs a strong Liverpool team.
I also sincerely hope that Liverpool kick out Rafa Benitez, currently sharing the honors of worst manager in EPL with Phil Brown (in my books anyways). Being a huge Chelsea fan I should be happy if Rafa stays on (which would soon take Liverpool to Coca Cola Championship). But seriously, Benetiz just gets on my nerves. And his recent cribbing that the club is not doing well due to lack of investments is such a piece of bullshit. He is just trying to ride on the Liverpool's financial crises wave. The fact of the matter is Benitez's brainless transfers is one of the reasons why Liverpool are in such situation. Following are some facts about his transfer records (Benitez’s style :) ):

Fact: Benitez has spent an impressive £229m pounds in his Liverpool career so far and got in 76 players.
Fact: Out of those 76, 47 players bought were between £0-£5m. This means he has invested a huge amount of money on a large amount of mediocre players. You need big players to win big. Instead of spending 188m on such a huge number of mediocre players, he could have gone signed some big players who actually could have made a difference. Such big number of mediocre players has reduced Liverpool to a mediocre club.
Fact: Out of these 47 players, only 3 players (Insua, Arbeloa, Aurelio) were able to establish them in the first team.
Fact: Benitez has spent around £180m from 2006, almost equal to the "big-spending" Chelsea
(Don't forget that Chelsea was at inception of being a European Power house at that point and hence had to spend big. Liverpool was already established.)
Fact: From what I can tell, the only player he had to sell against his will is Alonso (for which he actually got a brilliant deal). So there was no real pressure on him to sell either.
Fact: Out of the 76 players that he has signed, only 5 players have really turned out to be stars (Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Reina, Benayoun and Kuyt). Out of the remaining, more than 70% has been money down the drain.
Fact: He has signed a number of players who have been big flops at Liverpool but have been big hits before/after their Liverpool stint. Some of these include Crouch, Bellamy, Sissoko, Morientes, Keane.
Fact: Robbie Keane!! (Do I need to say more?)

I can go on and on but I guess you get the point. I have a feeling that Benitez is really afraid to bring in big name players. That's because if a big name player fails then manager ends up taking all the blame. So instead, he brings in a number of mediocre players so his mistakes won't be glorified. But as a European power, you just have to gamble on big players to stay in the race. ManU got their Berba move woefully wrong but they got their money more than worth in Rooney. For Chelsea, Sheva and SWP were disasters but Drog and Essien have been absolute superstars. You just have to gamble. I could have understood had Benitez been very wily in bringing in really good unknown players for low fees some of whom turned into superstars there by giving Liverpool huge profits (ala Steve Bruce), but that has not happened either. So essentially what has happened is that Benitez has spent a large amount of money, has not got a very few players who can actually make a difference, and has thereby turned Liverpool into a mediocre club.

And this was just what he has done off the field. If you add to that the numerous daft strategies he has implemented and the unbelievably brainless substitutions he has done on the pitch then that would make you realize how incapable he is of managing a big club. At this point all the Benitez lickers will throw the Champions League victory in my face. No doubt that Liverpool was outstanding in that campaign. But is it really worth having just one good tournament in 6 years, and that at a cost of suffering in the league, financial woes, unstable players, unhappy fans, disgruntled board etc. I don’t think so.
So for the sake of Liverpool Football Club, for the sake of Liverpool fans, for the sake of football in general, SACK BENITEZ!

That all started with The Big Bang !

2009-03-06T13:01:00.000-08:00

“Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,
That all started with The Big Bang!”

I have started watching The Big Bang Theory since last few days. I am so hooked onto this show. I finished the 1st season in 2 days and now am in the middle of the 2nd one. The show is sitcom where 4 nerds and a blonde form the main star cast. The basic theme is like any other sitcom where the humor is mainly based upon the interactions between the friends and the idiosyncrasies of their characters. The difference is that unlike most of the shows, all the friends are big time nerds and their idiosyncrasies are absolutely unique (not similar to any other characters on any other sitcoms. But, I always see a bit of Ross in these guys). The 5 main characters are:

Sheldon: The most brilliant guy amongst the 4. He literally thinks that he is the most brilliant man to have ever born.

Leonard: The most sensible of the 4 nerds, but a nerd nevertheless. He is head over heels for Penny, the blonde.

Penny: The blonde who stays across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard. A typical, real-life blonde who is a part time actress and waitress. A normal human being, unlike Sheldon and Leonard. A bit like Rachel in early Friends seasons.

Howard: My favorite character. He thinks he is the coolest of all guys and always has some lines for the girls. His pick up lines for Penny and Penny’s reaction to those lines are like gold.

Raj: An Indian nerd who cannot talk to women.

All I will say is that if you are not watching this show already then please start right away. It is freaking hilarious!

Casting for the "Mahabharat"

2009-03-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday night, 4 friends, Mexican restaurant, mojitos on the table ... a perfect setup for some crazy talk. This time around, we had a very deep and intense discussion on the topic of casting for the movie "Mahabharat" (Bollywood and Hollywood versions).

The casting was made taking into consideration the chemistry between the actors more than their star status. Onkar, Amit, Tushar and myself were part of this exercise.
Here is what we came up with:

Bollywood Version:

Yudhisthir: Ajay Devgan
Bhim: Sunny Deol
Arjun: Akshay Kumar
Nakul: Sharman Joshi
Sehedav: Tusshar Kapor
Dropadi: Priyanka Chopra
Krishna: Govinda
Duryodhan: Sanjay Dutt
Karna: Salman Khan
Dushyashan: Imraan Hashmi
Shakuni: Paresh Rawal
Kunti: Jaya Bachhan
Gandhari: Reema Laago
Dhrutrarashtrya: Alok Naath
Bhishma: Amithab Bachhan
Drona: Vinod Khanna

Hollywood Version:

Yudhisthir: Tom Hanks
Bhim: Sylvester Stallone
Arjun: Leonardo DiCaprio
Nakul: Ashton Kutcher
Sehedav: Seann William Scott
Dropadi: Kate Winslet
Krishna: Geroge Clooney
Duryodhan: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Karna: Matt Deamon
Dushyashan: Imraan Hashmi (Just can’t think of anyone better equipped to do this role than this man. So he will be casted in the Hollywood version as well.)
Shakuni: Anthony Hopkins
Kunti: Meryl Streep
Gandhari: Helen Mirren
Dhrutrarashtrya: Morgan Freeman
Bhishma: AlPacino
Drona: Robert Denero

The hollywood version look much more appealing to me.

1st leg report card, 2nd leg predictions.

2009-02-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Apart from Bayern V Sporting tie, all the others are wide open. One goal on either side can turn it around. Here is my take on the 1st leg and a prediction for 2nd.

InterVManU: The game was story of 2 halves. 1st belonged to ManU and 2nd to Inter. But overall, ManU quite easily was more dominant side. Young Johnny Evans is already looking a world class defender and the fact that they did not even miss Vidic, currently the best defender in Europe, is a huge compliment to their strength in depth. However, in spite of all the domination they failed to score. If it would have been any other side then ManU would have scored 2 goals in 2nd half and the tie would have been dead. But, this is why Mourinho is rated the one of the best. He read the game wonderfully and slowed the pace down in the 2nd half. At the end Jose will be very happy with a 0-0 draw.
My prediction for 2nd leg is that it will be another 0-0 draw over 90 minutes. The game will go to extra time and then to penalties and ManU will win the penalty shootout. I am predicting a penalty shootout because I just don’t see any of these stellar defenses conceding.

ArsenalVRoma: A typical Arsenal game where they dominated the whole game but did not create nearly enough chances. They really should have put this game to bed but their policy of not shooting till you are 2 yards away from goal is hurting them badly. Roma were quite average but the tie is not over by a long way. Roma is a dangerous team at home, they have already shown that Chelsea.
My prediction for 2nd leg is a 1-1 draw and Arsenal qualifying. This is because Roma will have to go on attack to get that goal and that will give Arsenal a perfect chance to use their pacy players to play a counter attacking game.

LyonVBarca: A side is termed “great” if it has a knack to get good results even when it plays ordinary football. That’s what Barca is at the moment. They had a very average game but still ended up getting an away goal and a fairly decent result. Lyon is a dangerous team and played a good attacking game and probably deserved to win the game. But now they have their task cut out at Camp Nuo.
My prediction for 2nd leg is a 3-1 victory to Barca. Lyon should get a goal considering the defensive frailties that Barca has shown in recent weeks. But eventually Barca should be able to overcome a determined Lyon side.

AtleticoVPorto: Now this result was a surprise to me. You look at the team sheets and think that it should be an easy draw for Atletico. But they have made life difficult for themselfs by conceding 2 away goals. Overall, Porto deserved the 2-2 draw and now has a huge advantage going in the 2nd leg.
My prediction for the 2nd leg is a 1-2 victory for Atletico. Even though Porto has a huge advantage going in the 2nd leg, I feel that eventually the quality in Atleticoside will sway the result in their favor.

ChelseaVJuve: Drogba the drama queen had done it. A huge victory for Chelsea and a big advantage going in the 2nd leg. It was a really cagy affair all 90 mins and overall I think Chelsea deserved the 1-0 victory. After a long time I have seen 2 Chelsea matches where our defense has looked rock solid. This match and the match at Villa Park reminded me so much of the Mourinho era where we were by no means flamboyant but were mighty effective.
My prediction for the 2nd leg is a 1-2 victory for the Blues. I am basing this on the way we have played in last 2 matches. Juve will have to go on attack which will leave gaps open for us to score. We should qualify without any drama.

RealVLiverpool: What a result for Rafa! With title hopes crashing like a plane without fuel and being already ousted of FA cup, CL represents the only chance of silverware for Liverpool. Real too are in exact same situation. The match was again a cagy affair, much like Chelsea v Juve. I can’t really say that Liverpool deserved to win it but what matters is that they got a goal that will go a long way in them qualifying for the next round.
My prediction for 2nd leg is a 2-1 victory to Liverpool. Looks like Gerrad and Torres will be fit and back for the 2nd leg and that will make a huge difference. Real will surely go on attack but to come to Anfield and get a victory in a CL knockout round is probably the most difficult thing to do in Europe.

VillarrealVPanathinaikos: Villarreal were the heavy favorites but ended up conciding an away goal which makes the 2nd leg very interesting. Did not really follow this game at all so can’t comment on it any more.
My prediction for 2nd leg is a 1-2 victory for Villarreal.

SportingVBayern: Well ….

Problems with 4-3-3

2009-02-17T15:56:00.000-08:00

For last few matches, the hottest topic amongst Chelsea supporters is the formation we are playing with. The result of changing the formation from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 was quite evident at Watford. But we have played with 4-3-3 for almost 5 years now and with a lot of success. So what has changed suddenly that we all are pressing for a 4-4-2? Here is my take on why 4-3-3 is not working anymore.

“Makalele role”: The holding midfield role is called the “Makalele” role for a reason. Claude Makalele mopped up every loose ball and thwarted every counter attack. But his most important quality was that he was the best reader of the game. Now we have Mikel who is quite a good holding midfielder but is still nowhere near Makalele. He is strong and tackled very well this season. But he is not the best reader of the game. As a holding midfielder you have to the best reader of the game in your team. Also we should not forget that he has played almost every game this season and has looked very jaded in last few games.

Drogba Power: To play a successful 4-3-3, you have to have a powerful man up front who will win 80% of the balls in air and will hold up the ball. Anelka is anything but this kind of a player. Put him in the box and he will get you a bagful of goals. But don’t expect him to win anything in air or hold up the ball for other midfielders to make runs. We have a perfect man to do this job in Drogba. But he has been injured, out of form and totally non-committed this season. So I can’t really blame Scolari not playing Drogba as a lone man up front. Also with the kind of start Anelka had this season, we just had to play him. This quandary meant that we had to play Anelka as a lone man upfront in most of our matches and that proved a royal failure as the season progressed.

The other Central Midfielder: Lampard has quite easily been our best player this season. But the other central midfielder has been a cause of concern to say the least. In a 4-3-3, you need your 2 CMs to make late runs in the box and find some defense opening passes. For most of the matches it has been either Deco or Ballack to partner Lamps. Ballack is playing the worst football in his life. He is not winning any tackles, not scoring any headed goals, not giving any defense breaking passes and basically doing nothing. Deco, who made an excellent start in EPL, soon realized that the games are played too fast for his liking. We see flashes of brilliance from him but he has hardly hit his best and most of the times he is just a passenger in the game. With the 2nd CM being such a failure, 4-3-3 is always going to struggle. We are badly missing Essien.

The support strikers: With a 4-3-3, the 2 players supporting the lone man upfront have to be the most skillful players in the squad. They should be fast, able to dribble past defenders, and should always have a trick up their sleeves. The technical abilities of these players compensates for the lack of width in this formation. The players we use for this role are JCole, Malouda, Kalou and at times Deco. JCole is the perfect player to play in this role but injures continue to mar what can be an excellent career. Kalou is brilliant on some days but very ordinary on others and is too inconsistent to make a difference over a period of time. I term Malouda as the worst left winger in premiership. The man doesn’t have pace, cannot dribble past anyone, doesn’t make any runs, hardly hits any good long range shots, cannot read the game and is basically a waste of time space and money. Deco in this role is never going to work because he doesn’t have any pace.

So in short, the reason why 4-3-3 is not working is because of the personnel we currently have and the form they are currently in. So the only option is to go back to the good old 4-4-2. My ideal starting lineup will be:

---------------Drogba--Anelka

---Quaresma----Lampard--Deco------Stoch/Kalou

---ACole-------Terry----Carvalho--Bosingwa

-------------------Cech

First test for the "Yes Man"

2009-02-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

Ray Wilkins, the ultimate "Yes Man" of Chelsea Football Club, will be in charge of the first team for the first and probably the last time. Fortunately for him we are playing against a Watford team which is fighting relegation in Championship. Another good thing is that we are playing away from home. Its good because there will be less "boo boys" travelling and the team will not have to face the embarrassment of being booed by their own fans. Though we have a tendency to slip over such banana skins, I predict a fairly comfortable victory and progress to next round. Its a win-win situation for Ray in that, no one will judge him if the team performs badly and he will be given a lot of credit if the team destroys the lowly Watford. Although, frankly speaking, I don't think Ray will have anything to do with the result. We will win because of the quality, or lake of it, of the opponents. We should win against Watford even if we are coached by "Geoff Boycott's Mum". The only thing I am interested in seeing is if Ray has the guts to start the game with some youngsters. Me thinks, giving DiSanto and Stoch a complete game is long overdue. I predict a 0-2 victory for the men in Blue.

Elsewhere, it will be quite interesting to see if Derby give ManU another run for their money. Arsenal should progress comfortably. The biggest game is quite easily Everton Vs AstonVilla. It is extremely hard to predict a winner in this one because both the teams are flying high at the moment. But I am going to stick my neck out and say that if Cahill and Arteta are fit to play then Everton will get one over Villa.

Going back Grandpa Guus's statement of "Chelsea can win the title" .... well this is something which he had to say but almost all of us now know that it has to be a miracle (something of the order of sacking SAF) for us to win the title. What Grandpa meant was that we are mathematically still in the race and will fight till the end but you all already know whats going to happen. God, how cynical have I become !!

Celebrate like these guys !

2009-02-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Some awesome goal celebrations. Check out the one at 1:32.

Mission impossible for Grandpa Guus

2009-02-10T11:28:00.000-08:00

It looks like Chelsea are going to appoint another 62 year old national team coach with a liking towards attacking flavor of football as a stop gap arrangement. For me, its a wrong wrong move. Explain to me how a Dutchman, who is coach of national team of Russia, and who is by no means a fluent English speaker, come in for last few months and inspire a team full of people who either know English or know only Portuguese!! Its just not logical. It looks like a Mission Impossible to me. And considering the squad that he is going to inherit, a squad full of players who might be in their early 30s but are playing like they are in their early 40s, I very much doubt his success.

If it was up to me then I would have seriously thought about some one like Alan Curbishly for the stop gap arrangement. The guy knows English Football inside out, won't have any problems communicating to majority of the squad and would surely bring some discipline in the squad. He could have been the ideal candidate for the stop gap arrangement. But it looks like we are yet again going for a "big name" instead of an "effective name".

If this trend continues then we are soon going to turn into a Real Madrid, only without the glorious history and without Robben.

Restart....

2009-02-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

After a long long time I am planning to blog again. This time around, I am planning to dedicate this blog to the sports I love ... sOCCER and cRICKET. Lets see if I show any kind of continuity this time around.

Analyzing England: Eriksson got it all wrong, yet again.

2006-06-11T03:40:00.000-07:00

Group Match 1: England vs Paraguay

In spite of their woeful opening match record, England were strong favorites against a modest Paraguay side. After all, never before have England had such a strong and all round side. With in form Crouch, goal poaching abilities of Owen, the best midfield in competition, a very strong defense and a reliable goal keeper one would have expected them to pack off Paraguay without much of trouble.
Yes, England won but their over all performance was certainly found wanting.

A precision marked Beckham free kick got England off to the best possible start. But after that the match fizzed out into a very boring affair. Apart from a couple of long range shots from Lampard and Beckham and just one attack of any real purpose from Paraguay, there was nothing much worth noticing. The second half was a similar story with England able to produce just 2-3 attacks of any real threat.

So why did this highly rated England attack failed sparkle against Paraguay? The answers is simple, Eriksson got it all wrong, yet again. Here are some of his tactical blunders which made England look a very mediocre side:
- Long ball to Crouch is not the only way to play!
9 out of 10 England attacks were in the form of long ball played from deep mid field aimed at Crouch with Owen running into space to collect the header. Though on paper this looks to be a very good strategy, time and again I have seen that such an obvious strategy works very rarely. I have seen it with Liverpool, I have seen it with Chelsea and now I saw it with England. The Paraguayn defense was covering Crouch and Owen quite well and whenever Crouch actually won the header, the referee used to call it a free kick against England. After seeing this strategy fail, Eriksson should really changed things around a bit and should have tried to play a more passing kind of a game. We saw that whenever Joe Cole, Lampard and Beckham got the ball in Paraguayn half, England looked threatening. But there were very few attacks through the services of Cole, Lampard and Beckham. In fact, in the second half, Beckham hardly ever touched the ball. Wake up Sven.

- When you bring on a left side winger, he needs a striker to cross the ball to!
England’s first substitute was a young talented Middlesboro star, Stuart Downing. I have no problems with Downing coming on but the person he replaced was Michel Owen. Now that was inexplicable. Downing is known for taking on defenders on the left flank and putting quality crosses. But when there is no striker in the box then those crosses serve no purpose. You just cannot play Crouch as a lone striker. He is good as a second striker but just lacks the goal poaching abilities. We saw on 3 or 4 occasions in second half that England midfielders had put in some real quality crosses into the box but there was no one to get on the end of it. Are u listening Sven.

- Hargreevs is a very mediocre player and does not deserve a place in England side!
The second England sub was Owen Hargreevs in place of Joe Cole with
15 mins to go. What was Eriksson thinking over here is beyond me. Hargreevs is a player who gives you nothing going forward and who is not a solid defensive
midfielder either. He is in the side just because the manager likes him. That’s not a good enough reason for me. From the substitution it was obvious that Eriksson had decided to defend for last 15 mins and settle for 1-0 victory. I have no problem with that thinking. The problem I have is with Hargreevs. When you have a person like Michel Carrick on the bench who is an outstanding defensive midfielder, why would you bring on a hapless and hopeless Hargreevs. He hardly got to touch the ball in last 15 mins. Are u thinking at all Sven.

I have nothing personal against Eriksson but it’s far too often that I have seen England side under achieve just because of their un-imaginative manager.

Individually speaking, Beckham after a dream start did not do much at all. Lampard hit 2-3 of his trade mark long drives but just did not see enough of the ball. Same applies to Joe Cole too. Owen did not look sharp at all and was time and again let down by his first touch. Crouch’s afternoon was spoiled because of some poor refereeing decisions. My Man of the Match was Steven Gerrad who controlled his urge of going forward and did an outstanding job in his defensive midfielder role. The biggest positive for England was their defense which was as solid as ever.

I still have a lot of belief in this England side and I think they have what it takes to go all the way. I just hope that Eriksson learns from his mistake.

Some of my recent reads ….

2006-05-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

In the last 2 months or so I have read like never before. Here are some of the books I have read with ratings.

* Poor
* * Mediocre
* * * Good
* * * * Outstanding
* * * * * Un-put-downable

The Bourne Identity
By: Robert Ludlum
Rating: * *

The Poet
By: Michael Connelly
Rating: * * * *

The World is Flat
By: Thomas Friedman
Rating: *

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
By: Douglas Adams
Rating: * * * *

Deception Point
By:Dan Brown
Rating: * * * * *

Coma
By: Robin Cook
Rating: * * *

Jeeves in the offing
By: P G Woodhouse
Rating: * * * *

Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less
By: Jeffrey Archer
Rating: * * *

Angels & Demons
By: Dan Brown
Rating: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *.....

In progress....
The Odessa File (Frederick Forsyth)

A season of under-achievements.

2006-04-26T00:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday saw Chelsea getting knocked out of FA cup by a spirited Liverpool side. This meant that Chelsea will have to be content with only the EPL title this season. The way I see it, this is a huge under-achievement.

Before the start of the season I had thought that if there is any team who can win a quadruple then it has to be this Chelsea side. We had got Crespo back, Essien deal had gone through, Robben was fully fit, SWP was added etc etc. At the start of the season this Chelsea side was looking good to get the quadruple, but alas !!

First we were knocked out of Carling Cup. This was the biggest shock of the season for me. At that stage we were going great guns and no one would have predicted a Charlton side to oust us. But to everyone’s surprise and my rage, it happened and followed a mini slip of Chelsea which culminated in a defeat at Old Trafford in the league.

Then it was the Champions League. In the league stages, we had done nothing outstanding but were quite decent. We did face a defeat at hands of Real Betis and we were held by Liverpool to 2 goalless draws but in spite of that we qualified quite easily. But then when the draws were made I was left a bit anxious and scared. It was Barca again and this time they were looking better than the last season. And what I feared the most, happened! Barca were successful to take the revenge. However, I must say that Chelsea was very unfortunate the way the first leg had panned out. Some horrible refereeing decisions meant that they had to play Braca with 10 men for almost an hour. It proved to be a too difficult task even for the mighty Blues and the nightmare came true in Neu Camp where we were not able to get the 2 goals.

Then came the FA Cup disaster. It is quite staggering the way we thrash Liverpool in the league every time but when it comes to knock out tournaments, we end up second best. I attribute this defeat to Mr Mourinho’s arrogance. The kind of team he had put on field was inexplicable. 3 of our most creative players, Cole, Duff and Robben, were kept on the bench. Paulo Ferriera was playing as a right winger. We did not have any left winger.
I am a big fan Mourinho but I have no clue what he was trying to prove by starting with such a side. His mistake was highlighted by the way game changed when Cole, Duff and Robben were brought on. But Liverpool are a very good defensive side and its not easy to get back when u are 2 goals down.

Now it’s just the EPL. Though we are not in the best of forms right now, I expect us to get the one point required to become the England Champions again. But for the amount we spent, we have to win atleast 2 or 3 sliver wears. Also, I have one advice for Jose .... Mr Mourinho, you have to start accepting defeats more gracefully, sometimes it is we who don’t perform to the mark and not the referee.

Reservations reservations ….. May God save India!

2006-04-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was watching a TV show called 'We The People' on NDTV. The topic of debate was “Reservations in educational Institutes”. There were about 80% against the reservations and 20% for it (thank got there were no neutrals here). This percentage obviously cannot be generalized. In reality there may be around 50% opposing the “Reservations” and 50% for it. I belong to the former 50%.

Yes. I oppose any kinds of “Reservations” in any sector, leave alone the educational Institutes. I oppose the “Reservations” not just because I am from general category; not just because I have more than suffered the cruelties of it. Though these are small factors contributing to it, the reason why I am against “Reservations” is because I am a sensible human being; because I can see it crystal clear that “Reservations” are going to take India deeper into the hole it is trying to come out for last 50 odd years; because I can see that “Reservations” are going to bring anything but sense of equality in our society.

For me, the reason for the “Reservations” is as mind boggling as the reservations themselves. The reason why government is going to reserve even more seats is because n number of decades ago, people from so called Lower Caste were subject to atrocities committed by the people from so called Higher Caste. It seems now they are following the principle of “Injustice for injustice”. So, logically speaking, after some years the people from general category may get “Reservations” because they are subject to some serious injustice now. And the cycle will continue. What is going to suffer most in this is the development of India. In fact, I feel that “Reservations” one of the major reason why we are still a “developing nation”.

I just hope that people reading this are sane enough to understand that I am not against any particular Caste. What I am against is the whole principle of “Caste”. What I am against is way these politicians exploit this issue. I mean, the British invented the principle of Divide and Rule and our politicians are perfecting it. You don’t need to be a student of rocket science to understand that this is an ugly political game which is being played just before elections for obvious reasons. Guys, we have to be rational about this. There is a reason why so many big shots from industry are coming out and speaking against “Reservations”. Reservation in IITs and IIMs, 2 of the most prestigious institutions in India, is nothing but a crime.

If it is up to me then I will abolish this whole concept of “Caste”. In my society, there will be no BCs, no OBCs, no Bramhins ... there will be only Indians. In my society there will be only one category “Economically Disadvantaged”. These people will receive incentives like scholarships etc. But there will surely be no reservations of a single seat. But sadly we don’t live in ideal world :(

To end with I will say this ... I have heard that miracles do happen, and that is exactly what it will take for India to become a “developed” country if we don’t do away with this whole “Reservations” business.

Jai Hind.

Team to beat .....

2006-04-05T03:50:00.000-07:00

Team to beat in One Day International Cricket (based entirely on current form).

1. Michael Hussey
2. Marcus Trescothick
3. Ricky Ponting(C)
4. Yuvraj Singh
5. Andrew Flintoff
6. Andrew Symonds
7. Irfan Pathan
8. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
9. Brett Lee's
10. Makaya Ntini
11. Muthai muralitharan

Coach: Greg Chappell

12th man: Hershall Gibbs

Team to beat in EPL (again, based entirely on current form).

1. Petr Cech (Gk)
2. Gary Neville (RB)
3. John Terry (LCB) (C)
4. Jamie Carragher (RCB)
5. Asier Del Horno (LB)
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (RM)
7. Cesc Fabregas (CRM)
8. Frank Lampard (CLM)
9. Arjen Robben (LM)
10. Thierry Henry (Sk)
11. Wayne Rooney (Sk)

Manager : Jose Mourinho

Substitutes:
Edwin van der Sar
William Gallas
Steven Gerrard
Claude Makelele
Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Boring Cyrus!

2006-03-29T01:23:00.000-08:00

Believe me ... this movie is an absolute drag. I don’t have a clue as to why this movie has got such rave reviews and has been acclaimed by the critics. Frankly speaking, I will suggest don’t even read this review. The movie is not worth watching and anything related to it is just not worth going through. But if u still want to venture ...

The setup is quite like this ... There is a Parsi family. Nasser and Boman Irani are brothers. Nasser used to be a very high profile pottery man but now is a drunkard. He lives in Panchgani. Boman lives in Bombay and is a real cheapskate with a much young wife (Simon Singh). Boman and Naseer’s father lives with Boman and is treated very badly by Boman. Dimple is Nasser’s wife who has an affair with almost every other guy in the movie. Cyrus (Saif) comes to Nasser to learn pottery and obviously ends up having affair with Dimple.

The story is quite like this ... Though Dimple has many affairs, her real affair is with Boman. So with help of Saif, she plans to kill Boman’s father and his wife. Then she plans to double cross Saif where in Boman will kill Saif showing that he as done it for self-protection. And as it is Nasser is a drunkard so he is never a problem. So if her plan is successful then she and Boman can live happily ever after. But there is a twist in the tail. Saif has not come to Naseer just to learn the pottery …. there are some other hidden intentions >:). He also knows about the double cross which Dimple has planned. So at the end he not just executes Dimple’s plans but does a bit more. A mystery unfolds which I am not revealing here.

Performance wise, Boman and Dimple have over acted to its limit. Simon and Saif are decent. Nasser’s performance is the only saving grace.

Though it is a 90 min movie it seems never ending. The story just doesn’t movie ahead nor does it move behind or side ways. It is just stagnant. And as Douglas Adams would have said ... Nothing happens in the first half. Then, in the second half, nothing continues to happen.

From me, it’s a strict no-no for watching this movie. If u want to watch something good, then go and watch Malamal Weekly. A real entertainer, it really is.

I deserve a medal for what I did last week ....

2006-02-26T23:45:00.000-08:00

Some people could have suffered mental illness, some could have suffered a permanent depression, some might have undergone serious mental or even physical damages but I came out of it without any serious harm done to myself. No I did not climb Mount Everest, no I did not witness any horrific crime. I did something even more demanding than that. I watched “Fight Club” and “Taxi No 9 1 22” within a span of 2 days.

Fight Club:
It was Wednesday night. There was a huge soccer game coming on ESPN (Chelsea vs Barca) at 1:30 am. So I had to do some TP till that time. Got hold of a friend and forced him to come to a movie. Options available were “Fight Club” and “Chingari”. I did not want anything heavy on the brains before the match so I chose “Fight Club”. Also, it was a long time since I have watched an out and out Hindi action movie. I had heard very bad reviews abt this movie but I did not care abt the story. Only thing I had gone to watch was some serious action. I was hugely disappointed though. The action in the movie is more of a comedy. And incidentally, the comedy in the movie is more of a tragedy. The movie has people like Suneeil Sheety and Sohail Khan in it, so I think that will tell you abt the story. Overall, it is a typical hopeless Bollywood flick.

Taxi No 9 2 11:
I am a huge fan of Nana Patekar and after having seen Apharan and BluffMaster, I had very high hopes from Taxi No 9 1 22. There was also an added attraction of Sameera Reddy, my favorite item girl. But Alas :(( . The movie did start off with some promise but then fizzed out without any impression. The story, copied from some Hollywood flick, was different but not appealing. Acting wise everyone was decent but it doesn’t really make a difference when the story is so weak. For me, the best part of the movie was the song at the start by Bappi Lahari .... “bambai nagaria”. However, I will say here that this is the kind of movies that either u will love it or hate it, I did not love it.

One thing I must say is that even though both were really disappointing movies, the music in both of them was better than average.

So to end my review I will say that if you have got any extra money with you then do some charity with it but don’t watch these movies.

Sachin and his last 25 tests …… time has surely come for the inevitable

2006-02-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

Here are Sachin’s stats in the last 25 tests which he has played.
Matches : 25
Innings : 40
Runs : 1616
HS : 248*
BatAv : 47.52
100s : 4
50s : 6

Overall these look to be impressive stats. However, when you dig deep, you will find that these stats are a huge deception. Below I have listed the scores which Sachin scored in last 25 matches and also the match situation when he came in.
Some of the crucial facts are:

• It has happened 24 times that Sachin has come in when India were in trouble. He has played well only thrice out of these 24 occasions. The 3 occasions are:
Sachin scores 55 when India were 2/14 against Aussies in 2004-05
Sachin scores 52 when India were 2/23 against Pakistan in 2004-05
Sachin scores 109 when India were 2/56 against Sri Lanka 2005-06

• 3 out of the 4 hundreds he scored where when he came in with India already being in a great position.

• On 24/40 occasions he has been out with a score less than 25.

• His average is boosted by his 2 not out double hundreds and one not out 194. One double was against Bangladesh, one against Australia when India were 2/128 and the 194* was against Pak when he came in at 2/173.

Is he still a great batter? Does he deserve a place in Indian middle order with people like Kaif, Raina etc on the bench? I guess the stats answer the questions.
Here I would like to mention that I am not against Tendulkar at all and I will be the happiest man if he gets his old form back. But being a true and ardent supporter of Team India, I had to bring this thing up.

Thanks to cricinfo.com, following are the stats.

Match: India in New Zealand, 2002/03, 2nd Test, December 2002
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/11
Sachin scores: 9
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/8
Sachin scores: 32
Result:
New Zealand won by 4 wickets

Match: New Zealand in India, 2003-04, 1st Test, October 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/107
Sachin scores: 8
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/97
Sachin scores: 7
Result: Match drawn

Match: New Zealand in India, 2003-04, 2nd Test, October 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/208
Sachin scores: 55
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/12
Sachin scores: 1
Result: Match drawn

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 1st Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/62
Sachin scores: 0
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: - DNB
Result: Match drawn

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 2nd Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/81
Sachin scores: 1
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/79
Sachin scores: 37
Result: India won by 4 wickets

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 3rd Test, December 2003
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/278
Sachin scores: 0
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/19
Sachin scores: 44
Result: Australia won by 9 wickets

Match: Australia v India, 2003-04, 4th Test, January 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/128
Sachin scores: 241
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/73
Sachin scores: 44
Result: Match drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 1st Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/173
Sachin scores: 194
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 52 runs

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 2nd Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/69
Sachin scores: 2
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/15
Sachin scores: 8
Result: Pakistan won by 9 wickets

Match: India in Pakistan, 2003/04, 3rd Test, April 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/129
Sachin scores: 1
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 131 runs

Match: India v Australia, 2004-05, 3rd Test, October 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/34
Sachin scores: 8
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/9
Sachin scores: 2
Result: Australia won by 342 runs

Match: India v Australia, 2004-05, 4th Test, November 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/11
Sachin scores: 5
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/14
Sachin scores: 55
Result: India won by 13 runs

Match: South Africa in India, 2004-05, 1st Test, November 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/294
Sachin scores: 3
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: South Africa in India, 2004-05, 2nd Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/144
Sachin scores: 20
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/60
Sachin scores: 32*
Result: India won by 8 wickets

Match: India in Bangladesh, 2004-05, 1st Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/24
Sachin scores: 248
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 140 runs

Match: India in Bangladesh, 2004-05, 2nd Test, December 2004
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/273
Sachin scores: 36
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: India won by an innings and 83 runs

Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 1st Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/216
Sachin scores: 94
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match drawn

Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 2nd Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/156
Sachin scores: 52
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/23
Sachin scores: 52
Result: India won by 195 runs

Match: Pakistan in India, 2004-05, 3rd Test, March 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/172
Sachin scores: 41
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/108
Sachin scores: 16
Result: Pakistan won by 168 runs

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 1st Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/45
Sachin scores: 22
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: DNB
Sachin scores: DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 2nd Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/56
Sachin scores: 109
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/42
Sachin scores: 16
Result: India won by 188 runs

Match: Sri Lanka in India, 2005-06, 3rd Test, December 2005
1st innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/52
Sachin scores: 23
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/9
Sachin scores: 19
Result: India won by 259 runs

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 1st Test, January 2006
1st innings:
DNB
2nd innings:
DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 2nd Test, January 2006
1st innings:
DNB
2nd innings:
DNB
Result: Match Drawn

Match: India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 3rd Test, January 2006
1st innings: Sachin comes in when India are: 2/14
Sachin scores: 23
2nd innings:
Sachin comes in when India are: 2/8
Sachin scores: 26
Result: Pakistan won by 341 runs

Its time to wake up guys …

2006-01-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

When you are in goa on a vacation of just 4 days, spending 3+1 hours in watching a Bollywood flick is not really worth. But then again, when the movie is Rang de Basanti, those 3+1 hours become as good as the time spent on the beaches. This statement in itself tells my feelings about this movie. Simply put, RDB is one of the best if not the best patriotic movies I have ever watched.

The whole story is about 5 guys living life the way it comes, not bothered about future, just hanging out all the time; one incident changes their life and they sacrifice their life for the good of the country. So it seems like any normal patriotic movie. Why is this movie so special? The reason why this movie is special is because of just one man. No, I am not talking about Aamir Khan. I am talking about the director of this movie; Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who, I believe, is the real hero of RDB. He was writing script of this movie for around 3 years. And the hard work he has put in has paid off in a big way. Each and every seen of the movie is so well thought out. The scenes where the characters from the history (Bhagat Sing, Azad etc) are interlinked with the life story of the 5 guys is a real master piece. Reheman has given his typical music where in you don’t really like the songs at first time but as u hear them more u start loving them. Also, the way the songs are integrated with the movie is also worth praising. It is worth noting that no character actually sings any song. All songs are kind off background songs and add to the whole feel of the movie. Another plus point of the movie is the way Aamir Khan’s character is handled. When someone of stature of Aamir is in the movie, it can very easily happen that all the focus goes on his character. This has not happened in RDB. Aamir is just one of the 5 guys. Again, the credit for this must go to the director. Speaking abt the performances, all the actors have given a top notch performance. Mr Perfectionist, Aamir Khan, has lived up to his reputation and has given another flawless performance.

But this is not all. While watching the movie I was actually getting the patriotic vibes. I felt like life should be more meaningful than sitting in front of the computer and coding the whole day. This is a huge thing since there are very few movies which have managed to make me think about what I am doing. The feeling you get after coming out of the theater is something which cannot be put into words.

So those who have not seen the movie, please go, watch it, get impressed, THINK and WAKE UP.

Always remember that “Koi Desh perfect nahi hota, hume use perfect banana padta hai”(No country is perfect by itself. We have to make it perfect.)

Jai Hind.

Zinda hu mai ….. I wonder how?

2006-01-19T01:23:00.000-08:00

The start was decent, till interval it did grip, after interval I felt like killing myself. This was the experience of watching the movie Zinda. How this movie got a 4* ranking in Sunday Times is a mystery. I don’t think I will write anything more about the story. I don’t want to relive any of those moments. I just wanted to alert you people before you even think of watching this movie.

I must confess that I was expecting entertainment from this movie. After all it was directed by Sanjay Gupta, the legendary director of films like Kaate and Musafir. He is the guy who makes the kind of movies which make u laugh ur pants off .... sorry let me rephrase it ... he is the guy who makes the kind of movies on which u laugh ur pants off. But anyways what matters is u laugh and when u go in a group, these can be real entertainers. Zinda was nothing like that though. It was such a depressing movie with such a gloomy feel to it.

In last few weeks itself I have watched Neal N Nikki, Sikhar, Ek Khladi Ek Hasina, Garam Masala, Dewaane Huve Pagal, BluffMaster and Zinda (There are few more which I don’t remember). Apart from BluffMaster all the rest have been more or less disasters. People might think that I am just a crazy guy who doesn’t know how to spend the money but that would be wrong thing to think. I have changed my strategy of movie watching. Instead of choosing the movies wisely, I have started to choose the theaters wisely. I watched most of these movies either at WestEnd (50 bucks balcony) or at Neelayam(40 bucks balcony). So if you want to do some time pass but don’t want to spend much then this is a good way to do that. Moreover, you always get the tickets. No advance booking, no standing in queue.

Coming back to the movie .... well lets not do that. Let me just stop by saying that watch Zinda if u feel that u r at the lowest point of ur life. After watching the movie u will realize that that point was not so low after all.

Its all about Shoaib ….. Pakraman-2

2006-01-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

if(inform == shoaibAkthar)
{
bPakistan = bGetsAdvantage;
}
else
{
_tcscpy(tszIndia,_T(“Series Winners”));
}

People might think that the above made C statement is highly irrational and unthought-of. But I believe that in upcoming indo-pak war, it cannot be truer. I saw the Pak-Eng series and the kind of form Shoaib was in is frightening from India’s perspective. He always was a lethal bowler on paper but the commitment he showed against England has made him a real threat. Facts don’t lie. He bowled more number of overs than he has ever bowled in one series. Credit must go to Bob Woolmer for giving Shoiab’s aggression a perfect direction. I really hope that he returns to his old wayward self in this series or else it will be a hard fought battle for the supposed best batting lineup in world.

In series against England, Kaneria proved to be another star performer. However, I feel that if we tackled Murli with relative ease, Kaneria should not pose a major threat. Others like Rana Naveed and Sami are good bowlers and can be perfect second fiddle to Rawalpindi Express. But I don’t really see these guys winning matches single handedly.

As far as the batting threats are concerned, I feel there are 3 guys we should be really worried about. One is the big man Inzi. In outstanding form as a player and as a captain, he is one of the top 3 batters at this stage in the world. Second is Mohomad Yousuf. He is another class act and if he gets in then the we will not be able to win anything …. draw is what we will have to play for. The 3rd I feel is Salman Butt. His kinds of players have always troubled Indians. Last time it was Yaseer Hamid this time the un-exposing Salman. He is the kind of guy who just plays through line and for some reason we always face trouble to get these people out. On top of it he is a leftie and traditionally we have been poor against the lefties.

To end with, here is a food for thought for India’s batting. Sunil Gavaskar brought this up and I feel this is very sensible. Don’t pick Ganguly. Don’t Pick UV. Pick 3 openers instead. Jaffer, Ghambir and Sehewag will be our top 3 ….. worth a try for the first match at least !

Paheli !!! … a real paheli.

2005-10-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

Being a big fan of SRK, I don’t normally criticize his movies however bad the movie may be. When Paheli got released I really wanted to watch it and I forced few other guys to join me. The movie, however, was a huge disappointment and I had to be on the receiving end of highly obscene language from my friends. Credit to SRK and Amol Palekar though for trying something different but, at least in my books, this effort failed miserably.

So when I heard that it was Indian nomination for the Oscars, I was shocked. Specially because of the fact that the kind of movies it had shrugged off. I have not seen ‘Parineeta’ but I have heard some rave reports about it. I can understand why ‘Black’ did not get a vote. It is basically a very western movie and even though it was new and novel for us, it might have been routine for them.
But for me, ‘Swades’ should have been home and dry. I mean, it has got everything. An Indian feel, story line is unlike Hollywood movies, outstanding performances and it is a real movie of substance.

Moreover it had huge chance of winning Oscars because of its theme. It shows that an Indian working in US comes back to India. If this movie was nominated then the US government itself would have promoted the movie in the hope that at least some Indians get inspired by this and return to India. :)

But I still hope against the ‘Paheli’ reaches somewhere and does not bow out in the first round itself.

Look, there is a road between those potholes!

2005-09-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is almost the third month running in which my bike has suffered the misery of its life. It is crying out loud for a break. The Pune roads are killing it and I can do nothing.
During my college days, I have experienced something similar and I had to cremate my bike after 4 years. At that time I thought that one of the major advantages of getting out of the college is that I and my new bike will never suffer from roads which are not roads at all. But now it has got even worse. When in college, only a single patch of my drive-way fell in the category of non-roads. Now the patch extends roughly from my home to office, which is 11Kms.

The hike in petrol prices could not have come at a better time and along with the Pune’s non-roads (which are making the mechanic near my house richer by minute) it form a perfect recipe for making me bankrupt. The major problem however comes when there is a female driver in front of u. With the god-gifted skills of driving and the pot-holes in front of them, they can frustrate the hell out of even the most patient guy on earth.

Now that I think about it, there is a valid reason for why the government is not making really good roads which will not be swept away with a rainy season. If they do this then they will face so much difficulty in doing one work which they do … digging the roads.

On a bit of serious note, these roads are making Pune lose some serious business. This Forbes guy has written an almost perfect letter summarizing the appalling state of the non-roads.

Then there are guys who say that you should protest against such things. There are 2 points which I have against this. One : Do such kind of protests really help. I have never seen such protests really solving any issues. If there has to be a protest then it has to be across the whole city. Two : Why do we always have to protest to get such basic things. The problem has to be addressed at its root and one way of doing is making government people responsible for stuff.

Stand up and applaud the British brigade.

2005-09-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

At lunch on the final day of ashes, English supporters might have feared for the worst. With McGrath and Warne with their tails up, even the most ardent of English supporters would have had their heart skipping several beats. But then came Pieterson. There are not enough adjectives to describe the innings he played. One might have forgotten the fact this is his first ashes series and he would have never experienced this kind of pressure in his life before. This was one of the best counter-attacking innings you will ever see. To tame the best fast bowler in the world and the best spinner which cricket has ever seen, specially when they are on fire takes not only great skills but also a huge heart.

Also not to forget the role played by Giles. There is no doubt in my mind that he is in this England side more for his lower order batting than his ‘help yourself’ spin bowling. I am not a big fan of Giles but I have to say that that man is full of resolve. He has played such kind of innings number of times for England but even he will say that this was the most important innings of his life.

The great leggie again was the pick of the lot and picket up six wickets. However, the catch he dropped of Pieterson when he was only on 15, I am sure, will haunt him for quite a sometime.

Man of the series was divided between the Freddie and Warne and rightly so. England would not have won the ashes without the phenomenal Freddie and the series itself would not have been so exciting without the living legend Warne.

Has England now become the best side in the world? All the English supporters sure would think so. On current form they well might be. But I still feel that there is still some way to go before they become number one. I will term them as number one side when they conquer the subcontinent.

This series has surely proved to be an eye-opener for the aussies and if they don’t find worthy replacements for McGrath and Warne then the number one tag will soon be a thing of past.

And for the final time, hats of to Vaughn’s men who have pulled of nothing short of an absolute blinder.

As good as it gets.

2005-08-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening saw another nerve jangling finale to the 4th ashes test. It is quite hard to believe the way this ashes edition has panned out. I have never witnessed such a series where the margin for winning or losing is nothing more than skin of the teeth. After taking a hammering at Lords, the way England has bounced back is quite commendable to say the least. It indeed would have been painstakingly unfair if they would have not won the 4th test after putting in such a spectacular performance for most part of 4 days. Australia, on the other hand, will have to show what they are made of and, simply, have to win the last test.

After Lords test, many people, self-included, started to right off England’s chances in this edition. I had said in one of my earlier blogs that if England don’t learn to play Warne then they will lose 5-0. Though it is virtually impossible to completely master the bowling of the great leggie, in the last 3 tests, English batters have played Warne with great authority. This I believe is one of the major reason of their triumph. Another major factor is absence of McGrath. McGrath was England’s nemesis in the first test. Without McGrath, the Australian attack is looking, not toothless but surely much less potent. This just emphasizes the enormity of Australia’s dependency on McGrath. Also with Gillespie coming to tail end of his career and seriously struggling for form, they should start to find a worthy replacement for McGrath. Apart from that, the woeful form of Hayden, Martin and Gilchrist has contributed to Australian misery in a big way. I don’t remember a single series in which Gilchrist has failed this miserably.

On positives for England, the form of their openers seems to be getting better with every match. Ian Bell has started to use the thing called as bat in much authoritative manner. From nowhere, Giles has started to turn the ball. Peiterson has not disappointed his fans and has been a real positive influence on the whole England side. When swing is in the air, Hoggard is always a handful. And then there is Freddie. The boy has become a man. The way he has played in this series exhausts the superlatives. Hats off to the big Freddie.

However, England should look out because the wounded Aussies will hit back with full vengeance in the last test. Australia has always been my second favorite side (after India ofcourse). But in spite of that I will say that it will be absolutely heart-breaking if England don’t win this ashes series.

And to wrap it up, I will say that if there is any one out there who has not enjoyed this ashes series then he better not watch cricket at all. This simply is as good as it can get.

O yes, this officially is the worst movie I have ever seen !

2005-07-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Note : When I say worst movie, I only consider the movies from which I expected at least sense. So most of the Salman Khan and those kind of movies don’t count. These movies form a completely different league.

Before Sunday I thought “Raincoat” was the worst movie I have ever seen. Then I saw “Pulp Fiction” and I suddenly started to feel that Raincoat was not such a bad movie after all.

Pulp Fiction was released in mid 90s and I had heard quite a few good things for sometime now.
When I got the CD of this film I was really excited. I wanted to watch it for a long time and finally my wish was gonna come true. One of the main reasons why I was so excited abt this movie was because of its star cast (like Indian Cricket team, awesome on paper).
The movie started of very well with a dialog between Travolta and SL Jackson. At that stage I thought this is going to be one heck of a movie. However, what followed after that left me completely dumbstruck ! I am not sure about the thing I watched being a movie at all. I cannot tell you anything about the story because there was none. The only thing different in the movie was that the sequence of scene was haphazard. Infact I feel that this a an interesting way of presenting the movie. But this, as I said, was not a movie at all. It was a nightmare, a disaster, an absolute shocker. I can understand if someone like Parag Sarfare or Manoj Arya like it (because these are weird people when it comes to liking a movie) but why anyone else would like it and more than that, why this movie was nominated for 7 Oscars is absolutely and completely beyond me.

So if anybody gets a chance to watch this movie, for good god’s sake, skip it !!

Learn to play Warne or lose 5-0.

2005-07-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

No surprises that Aussies stream-rolled England in the first test. All the hype that the English media had created, about this England side giving Aussies a run for their money, has gone to the cleaners.

To their credit, England bowlers did manage to take 20 wickets, but they should have restricted the Aussies well below 380 in second innings. But then if u drop 6 catches against Australia then there is no way that u can even put up a fight. For me that is not the problem area because I don’t expect England to repeat their poor performance in the field. The major concern for England is their batting. It was abysmal to say the least. No team can face McGrath on a pitch like the one lords had panned out this time around. But my gut feel is that on a better track English batsmen will be able to him. They showed glimpses of the same in their second innings.

The biggest problem which they have is facing Mr Shane Warne. None of the English batsmen had any clue what Warne was bowling. I have seen the great leggie trouble batsmen in the past but the way he troubled English players was something different. I thought that England will do their homework on Warne but it seems that they neglected Warne completely in their team meetings. There was no plan whatsoever on how to face the man. They were just not able to pick the straight delivery. The only man who stood out of was the debutant Pieterson. May be because of his Hampshire experience but he was the only one who was actually picking the straight delivery.

So in spite of the fact that Lee and McGrath pose great threat, if the English players don’t find a way to tackle Warne then there is no way they can even draw a match leave alone winning it.

Also why Michel Vaughan is in the English side is a mystery to me. He is worse than Ganguly !!

Just the one glitch !

2005-07-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

The new rules in one day cricket have indeed come as a breath of fresh air. The pattern of play was really getting predictable with slam bam action in the first 15 and last 10 overs and a lull in the middle period. Also with the 20-20 cricket getting international status, time had come for ICC to make some changes to keep general public’s interest in the one day version alive.

The 2 main changes made are really interesting. The power-play will make the game less predictable and captain will have to be on his toes for full 50 overs. The idea of substitution will also most welcome. In spite of the fact that the recently concluded series between Aussies and England did not show the magic of the changes in the format in its full colors, the changes will surely make the game more interesting.

The rule of having 3 power-plays seems to be absolutely fine. The idea of the rule of substitution is also perfect, however there is a major glitch in this rule the way it has been implemented. According to this rule, the team has to give their playing 11 and the 12th man before the toss. Here is where the problem dwells. Instead of making the game more square, it gives an added advantage for the team winning the toss. For instance suppose that a track is perfect for batting first. England have Simon Jones as substitute who will replace say Solanki after the innings change. Aussies have Brad Hogg as substitute who will replace say Hayden after the innings change. Now if England wins the toss then their substitution will work perfectly fine but for Aussies the substitute will be absolutely futile since replacing Hayden before he bats will be a more than just a gamble (that is if Aussie bowling is in trouble). This is exactly what happened in the last match of the 3-match series with England being the sufferers. The solution to this problem is quite simple. The teams should name a 12 member squad before the toss and name the player who will be the substitute only after the toss. Due to this both the teams will be able to use their substitutes to the fullest.

Hope that ICC makes this one change after 10 months of trial period.

Pune … the city of aliens

2005-06-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

(from 1st of July)

The date is 1st of July when Pune will start looking a very funny city. Everyone knows that Pune is one of the leading cities as far as number of two wheelers are concerned. I cannot stop picturing Pune after 1st of July. 100s and 1000s of people on two wheelers with their heads under the helmet. The fact that even the people on the rear seat have to wear the helmet makes it even more funnier. It would look like a city of aliens. The most unfortunate part is that I will be one of the aliens.

Just imagine, a couple going for some function. The guy has wore some kind of a kurta and the lady has wore a traditional Maharashtrian sari. And both of them are under helmet :) . Man, its going to make a great fashion statement.

On bit of a serious note, I fail to understand why this kind of a decision is taken. As far as safety is concerned, let everyone be concerned about their own. And even if that is the reason, I don’t think that helmet is the solution at all. First they should concentrate on improving the road conditions and then think of bringing this kind of stupid obligation. The only reason I can figure out is getting commission for each helmet sold. All this is going to do is increase the cynicism of the public in politics (if it has not maxed out yet).
Apart from that I have tried out putting that thing on for a week or so. And in this week I got a new hairstyle. I mean your hair become like a bear … all over the place.

I know the fact that people from ShivSena, RSS etc protest against absolutely anything and everything new which gets introduced but as far as this protest is concerned, I fully back them. Meri duvaae unke saath hai !

England to win Ashes …. not really !

2005-06-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

The long build up to this most awaited Ashes has begun and as per the pundits, this England team has better chance of winning the tournament than any other England side ever had. I would like to gainsay this statement. I think, “this England side has better chance of winning a non-dead rubber match than any other England side ever had” would be an apt statement. The reason why the cricketing air is filled with the hype of ‘England winning’ is because of two reasons. Firstly, at this stage, this England side acquires an undisputed number two spot in the cricketing world. So we can say that Australia is by far the number one side, England is number two by some distance and then the rest follow. I don’t think that any other England side has ever been at an emphatic number two position just before the Ashes series. However, the matter of fact is that the gap between the two sides is still huge. It is surely less than other that on occasions but it is huge nevertheless. Secondly, this edition will be played on English soil and home advantage is always a factor. However, the side which can come to India and win in India, obviously, is not affected much by what happens in the stands.
Another important factor which makes me believe that England don’t have a chance of winning this one is the number of match winners. In Australia, without exaggerating at all, there are 11 match winners (I don’t think anyone will dare to disagree with this). In England there are 2 or at the most 3. Flintoff and Harmison are the 2 guys which can win matches single-handedly. Apart from them I feel that the young guy Strauss is a gem of a player. But apart from these three one cannot say that there are any other ‘match-winners’. There are lots of good players but one can’t really say that people like Vaughan or Thorpe are going to win matches against a fully fit Australian attack.
So I personally think that England can pull of a surprise by winning a non-dead rubber match but in a series consisting of 5 matches England are always going to end second best to the mighty Aussies. If this would have been a one off match or a 3 match series then I might have given England a chance but in a 5 match series, the strongest team will emerge as the champion and one doesn’t need to know rocket science to tell which is stronger of the two sides.

.NET on Longhorn

2005-06-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

Most of the neutrals are scared about the working of .NET on Longhorn. For people who want to know more, check this baby out ...

http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/04/coming-net-world-im-scared.html

... is it microsoft's strategy or a loophole.

Samay from se7en !

2005-05-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Sometime back there was a movie titled Samay (one with Sushmita Sen). It was one of the rare hindi thrillers I had liked. I had raved about the movie no ends and was absolutely flabbergasted that it had not done well on the BO. Last Sunday I saw a movie called “se7en” (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) and all the love for Samay was thrown out of the window. One of my most liked Bollywood thriller is a clear cut COPY !!. The whole story line and the plot is picked up shamelessly from se7en. If I had watched Samay after watching se7en then I would, at the most, made fun of the film and then forgotten about it. It would never have reached my top 10 Bollywood movies list. But now that I have come to know that it was nothing but another case of robbery of thoughts, it has not only lost its place in the top 10 list but I am feeling sad and sick about the fact that I had liked the movie so much.

Come on Bollywood people, is there nothing which originates from ur god damn brain !!

Postmortem of Mourinho’s Men ...

2005-05-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here is an in depth analysis of Chelsea players in this record breaking season for the Blues. The rating given is on the scale of 1 to 10. The ratings and comments mentioned below are based on a thorough study of each player’s performance this season.

Petr Cech ….. 9.5
Simply, the best goalkeeper not just in England but in whole Europe. Outstanding reactions, great positioning sense and terrific handling. Though Chelsea has got one of the best defenses in league, whenever this man has called upon, he has responded wonderfully well.
Things to improve : In this season, apart from the one goal conceded against Birmingham City, has not put a foot wrong. The biggest test will be to take this form into next season.

Paulo Ferreira …. 7
He is a surprise package. Disciplined at back and, for me, second best right back after Gary Neville. Injuries have hampered what was turning out to be a really good season him.
Things to improve : I feel his wing play is a weak link in his game. Up and down on right flank with quality crosses will make him a perfect right back.

Glen Johnson …. 4
Probably the weakest link in this Chelsea defense. Outstanding as far going forward is concerned but not the best defender at all. Makes too many rash tackles and does not have the best of positioning sense. However, here is a food for thought, Glen Johnson as an attacking midfielder. Considering his pace and his dribbling skills, I feel he will really blossom in this role.
Things to improve : If he wants to continue in the right back position then he has to tighten up at the back. More use of the head will help him no ends. Has to keep his cool should not easily commit himself into any tackle.

Ricardo Carvalho …. 8
There indeed was a reason why he was rated as the best defender in last years Champions League campaign. Has adjusted to English game very well. Compliments Terry to perfection. The way he attacks the ball instead of sitting back is something which the best defenders in world can learn from. All and all a wonderful buy by the Blues.
Things to improve : He has a really bad tendency to switch off at times. Since he plays with some of the best defenders in the world, these mistakes might not be that highlighted but this habit of his has cost Chelsea thrice this season (as I remember).

John Terry …. 10
Great defender who leads by example. In my books, the perfect footballer. Has deserved all the awards and accolades he as got this season. Outstanding in air and best positional sense in the business. Is a huge threat from the set pieces. Simply, the best defender in Europe this season. One important fact which everyone forgets is the fact that he is only just 24 years of age. We can say he is a Raul in defense !!
Things to improve : The only thing which he can improve is add a yard or two as far his pace is concerned.

Robert Huth … 8
This giant German is a typical old fashioned center back. Huge in size and wins almost everything in air. Showed against ManU that is good on the floor too. Has had limited opportunities this season but has proved his worth in the Chelsea defense and why he is so highly rated. He is very young too and surely is one the for long run.
Things to improve : Just doesn’t seem to be a finished article. However, by playing alongside people likeTterry and co, will surely improve.

William Gallas … 9
He has been a real unsung hero of this season. Is a world class center back with great pace. But the way he has performed in the stand-in left back position is commendable.
Since he is naturally right footed, not be the best going forward on left flank but has done outstanding job in defense after injury to Wayne Bridge. Is hugely underrated this season. Quintessence of sacrifice for the team !!
Things to improve : Nothing significant to point out only he may have to sharpen his center back skills since he has played as a left back for the last third of the season.

Wayne Bridge …. 5
Started off well but then the horrible injury has kept him out of almost half the season. For me, he is second best left back after Ashley Cole and can put in precision marked crosses. Has good defensive qualities too.
Things to improve : The way he defends, he might have some serious problems when he plays against good dribblers. Has to look out for that.

Arjen Robben …. 8.5
What a talent !! He was the one because of whom Chelsea started scoring freely. Everyone would remember how Chelsea were struggling to find the back of the net early in the season but then he came in and change the whole complexion of Chelsea’s attack. It is really sad that he was plagued with injuries and did not play even half of Chelsea’s matches but he was the one who instigated belief in the Blues.
Things to improve : The kind of football he plays and the kind of built he has, he always will get physically hammered. Has to find a way to keep himself fit and avoid tackles from strong defenders.

Tiago Mendes … 5
Makelele mould of player. Has had a decent season but will have to improve his allround game. Will be found out when people like Scott Parker get fit. Did have a gem of a match against ManU … hope that it is beginning of something good.
Things to improve : Just doesn’t seem to be part of a champion side. Considering his game, not comfortable enough on the ball.

Claude Makelele … 9
A great footballer. Is best in the business in what he does. Huge mistake by Real Madrid to let go this man and surely is one of the reason for why they are struggling. Has had a major hand in Chelsea’s terrific defensive record.
Things to improve : If one really has to find a fault then one might say that he is a very one dimensional player. Can possibly improve on his long range passing ability.

Frank Lampard … 10
Some say he is the perfect replacement when Zidane retires. This proves everything about the man. He is a tiger when it comes to defending and is a fox when it comes to attacking. Best long range shooter in Chelsea’s line up. For me, the best midfielder of the season in Europe. One thing which people tend to forget is his vision and passing ability. May it be long range passes or short passes, he his Chelsea’s Beckham. Also salute to his fitness. For me, he is the fittest player in EPL.
Things to improve : Lately, has developed this weird tendency to miss sitters. This might be due to bit of fatigue. Apart from this, NONE.

Damien Duff … 6
I actually feel that he was much better last season. Apart from that, a perfect winger with a great eye for goal. The pairing of Robben and this man can threaten the hell out of opposition. However this season, I feel, he gave away the ball far too much in most of the matches. Don’t know if this is Mourinho’s plan but this season Duff just did not give enough width to the side. I don’t remember him putting his precision marked crosses which people like Drogba thrive on.
Things to improve : Should try to play more on wing to give Chelsea width. Should concentrate to play more of an assist role instead playing lead role and With his natural skill and ability, he is bound to score.

Joe Cole … 8
A revelation far second half of season is concerned. Robben got injured and this man grabbed the opportunity with both hands. If he had the first half of season as good as the second half then he would have been right up there with Frank Lampard to be best midfielder of the season. After receiving heavy criticism from manager about his defensive play, he has improved no ends in that aspect as well. Regular place in England squad is testimony of his performance.
Things to improve : On occasions should curb his instincts and should try to play a more percentage game.

Didier Drogba …. 4
This rating which I have given takes into consideration the amount of money spend on him. Has got great body strength and is excellent in air. But as far as finishing is concerned, he was mediocre this season to say the least. Chelsea have used his strength in air to its fullest as demonstrated in the Bayern Munich game but. Though he has scored decent number of goals, if he would have converted half of the chances which he got then he would have been right up there with the top scorers in the league.
Things to improve : Has to improve his finishing skills. He is a very expensive striker and his performance in front of goal was not upto the mark atall.

Mateja Kezman … 2
The biggest disappointment of the season ! Before the start of the season there were huge expectations from this man whose goal scoring record in Holland was even better than Rudd Van Nistelrooy. Seems to have a very good work ethic but his performance this season is abysmal to say the least. May be he has found it hard to adjust himself to the English game. Has to show a huge improvement if he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge.
Things to improve : He is a striker and so he has to improve everything he is paid for.

Eidur Gudjohensen … 8.5
Underrated is the word for this man. A very percentage player. This season he has played in a more of a midfield role instead of out and out striker and the tactic from the manager has worked to perfection. Clinical in front of goal is one of his major asset.
Things to improve : Should improve his long range shooting and off the ball play.

Want unity ? …. Pray for calamity !!!

2005-01-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

While the world is still in a state of shock and sorrow in the aftermath of the dreadful tsunami, it is great to see that everyone is getting together to help the sufferers. Infact if one really wants to see a silver lining in this horrifying episode, if ever there can be one, then it is the fact that all the countries are fighting against the same enemy. Sense of unity is in the air. There is no doubt in my mind that the world has come more closer …. but then a question pops up in my mind …. what till time length can this unity sustain ? I am afraid but as I see it, the sense of unity will be thrown out of the window when we get out this state of shock. And as the truth about life is that it goes on, everything will be as usual. Tensions between countries and other ugly things like disharmony, disputes, discrimination etc will again crop it head up.
So if one looks at it logically then it is obvious that there has to be some sort of a calamity to bring about unity. I have used the word calamity because it is normally used in context of something natural where one can blame no one but nature.
This is something which is true when the whole world is taken into consideration.

Now lets consider countries. People in any country will come together like anything when there is a war situation or some things on similar line. So again logically speaking, to bring people in a country together there has to be some kind of a war (mere exaggeration to drive the point home).

One can consider any magnitude of the domain.. world, country, state, religion or anything else … the logic remains the same. People in a domain will unite only when some unfavorable thing has happened to that domain.

I think that most of the people will agree with this logic, however I think that it is a very confusing logic. The reason I say this is because this can lead to two contradictory conclusions. First is that man is actually has a very peace-loving kind of a nature and on some subconscious level believes strongly in unity of human race … that’s the reason why one is searching for occasions to show that they believe in unity. They get this occasion during any kind of a calamity and in such a case they don’t hold back.
Second is that man has a very foxy mind and he will come together with other people only when he cannot handle the situation by himself. So its like when I am in need I want a friend indeed, and when I am not in need I don’t care.

The only thing I can say is that if the first conclusion is true then after some point in time earth will be indeed a beautiful place. And if the second one is true then … well … if u want unity then pray for calamity !!

Something is fishy for sure !!

2004-12-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

... for football freaks only

Couple of days back I heard a news. Henry stood third behind Ronaldinho and Shevchenko for the best European footballer award. Initially I thought that it was one of those things which get spread but when I came to know that this is the fact, I was dumbstruck to say the least. All the three are great players without a shadow of a doubt but Henry is by far the best.

Ronaldinho is a dazzler and has contributed no ends in Barcelona's recent success but when u compare his performance with Henry's … its peanuts. Henry is not only a prolific goal scorer but, as arsenal team members will tell, he is the best assist in the EPL. So basically he is both .. a fierce striker and an excellent provider … cant ask for more than that. Ronaldinho on the other hand is no where near to Henry as far as goal scoring is concerned. Henry may not have those outrageous skills of Ronaldinho but what matters is being effective on the field and he is surely better than Ronaldinho in that respect. If one sees on the simplest gauge, Barcelona without Ronaldinho is imaginable but Arsenal without Henry … what is that ?

As far as Shevchenko is concerned, well, one can say stop Shevchenko and AC Milan will be stopped. He is a AC Milan’s heart and soul and in some ways is what Henry is to Arsenal. But by no means is he a better goal getter than Henry and is no where near Henry as far as assistance is concerned.

So for me Henry wins it hands down. And the fact that he stood third tells me that there is some sort of conspiracy theory going on !!!

A rumor here and a rumor there !

2004-11-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Salman Khan has committed suicide .. Sri Jyendra Saraswathi brought him to life .. something impossible has happened .. boy, what a miracle !!!
I got a mail with this kind of content in my mail box yesterday, and though I am not a fan of salman, I was shit shocked. I frantically opened all the possible news related sites to check what exactly happened. The only thing I found out was that I was fooled big time !!! Similar thing happened just a few days back when I got the mail giving away the end of Veer Zaara which was weird to say the least. Looking at it now, the end suggested in the mail would have been a much better choice but anyways, the bottom line is that I was again ... fooled !!!
But hey its not my fault, i had also got a mail saying that veerappan was dead. That was true. Boy, in this ‘kaliyug’ what to believe and what to not is anyone’s guess.

Rumors are part of my life since from when I remember (and I am sure that this applies to everyone if not most of u). When in college before exam of every semester the air was full of rumors that the exams are postponed or otherwise and the external examiner is going to be a tough nut. And of course the mother of all rumors – “Have u heard that this time the result is less than 10 odd %”. And though everyone knew that this is anything but true, or it is a hardcore rumor, majority of guys got terrified. And I must say that I might have looked really cool about all this stuff and kept telling everyone that this was horse crap but the fact is that this was all pretension. The question “what if” used to make its home in my mind till the results were out.

I was just wondering why the hell and who the hell starts such “things”. And guess what I got the answer in my own bag. The amount of free time I had in college or when I don’t have much to do in the office and nothing on the internet is unexplored, devil can easily creep into the idle mind. Here please note that I am telling this by logic and not experience.

Having said all this if u happen to be a rumor father don’t ever stop doing the “thing”. It has become a part of my life and I just don’t want to remove such an exciting thing which makes the life look even more unpredictable and gives stuff to talk about on the ‘Katta’.

I am writing this because I did not know what else I can post as my first one and of course I am having some free time .... wait a minute ... why am I doing this, I might just have a better idea !

The first date

2004-11-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to say ... just testing it out !