I Have Started A New Blog!

I have started a new blog jinhuangdi ! Originally, I wanted to write only on sports, but have now added pastimes and reflections to spice things up. I can't just write on sports only, it would be dull and dry.

I am an Arsenal fan, have been since 2003. That was the time when Arsenal strutted their stuff, conquering all before them in the then EPL, with the likes of Thierry Henry, Berkamp and Robert Pires.

They even earned themselves the title "The Invincibles" for going unbeaten for the entire 2003/2004 season!

I am also interested in the badminton world, especially of Malaysian badminton and Malaysian badminton players. I was also once a F1 fan. But when Mikka Hakkinen retired and Michael Schumacher kept on winning, it became boring for me, what with the scandals hitting the F1 world.

Now I follow F1 only on a desultory basis.

You can access my new blog by clicking on the link above or from my blog roll.

Has Arsene Wenger Lost It?

Arsenal's two consecutive draws with Manchester City and Leeds recently, do not give rise to confidence that they have the wherewithal yet to lift the premiership title this year.

Instead of mixing it up, Arsene Wenger insisted on playing beautiful football. Beautiful football is alright if Arsenal played like Barcelona.

But Arsenal's beautiful football consisted of endless passing of the ball to death. Even when an Arsenal player had the chance to score he would rather try to pass the ball to his colleague instead of taking it himself.

You don't need to be a genius to know that your opponents won't give you a second chance.

Van Persie is an overrated player. He can't shield the ball well, falls too easily when tackled, and is profligate at goal.

Where is his vaunted free kick expertise? We haven't seen anything of it of late, or for a long time already, even before he was last injured.

And why is Wenger still using Theo Walcott to chase after the long balls and not insisting
that Walcott also run at defenders more and try to score on his own more often?

It is such a waste of pace, if what all Walcott does is so predictable.

And where is Arshavin? So much running about without direction or purpose like a headless chicken!

Talking about headless chickens, Roscisky is often as blind as a mice when it comes to the goal-mouth. He kicks at the goal without a sense of where it is!  That is why he hardly scores, if ever.

Another obvious weakness of  the Arsenal strategy, or the lack of, is that defenders fall back and allow their opponents to come forward to the six yard box instead of trying to cut the threat off early on. This has often resulted in woe to Arsenal.

Unless Arsenal pull up their collective socks and play with more aggression, and with eyes open, mixed with of course beautiful football, they will have to go another year ruing the way they play the beautiful game.

I hope not, but Arsene Wenger has to wake up.

We love beautiful football too.




  

Malaysian Football & The Suzuki Cup

The Star newspapers headline 30 December 2010