Eternal.Darkness

Monday, July 31, 2006

it seems more surprises were to reveal themselves before much time has passed

marcos senna of villareal is more or less set to sign for man u, with the transfer fee being in the region of 7 - 10 million

hmmm. he's 30 years old, a defensive midfielder, solid tackler, commanding presence, remind you of someone?

think roy keane. even the age is congruent

and that's what worries me. add to that man u's questionable history with south american players (forlan, veron, kleberson etc.). so far heinze is the only south american to have succeeded and even thrived at old trafford.

he may be spanish in name, but his birth certificate will still say 'Brazil'

questions questions and more questions

all it needed was for one tiny thing to go wrong, and i wouldn't have met you.

Aizat looked up at 7:39 PM

Friday, July 28, 2006

so much chaos

in one day alone, i have seen reports that have left me bewildered

and it's barely 5pm

1st:

javier mascherano is in talks with manchester united (The New Paper, Straits Times, and manutd.com)

should there be a call for celebration?

2nd:

ruud van nistelrooy is set to sign to real madrid for 10/11/15 million (soccernet, football365, manutd.com)

hopefully it was for 15 mil

3rd:

michael carrick is set to sign for manchester united for 18 MILLION (soccernet, football365)

you have got to be kidding me. after all that negotiation and bargaining.

well. it's time to wait and see what comes out of all this

Aizat looked up at 5:05 PM

Monday, July 24, 2006

i am seriously dead

there is soooo much crap to do in the next few weeks i don't even know where to begin

let's take a look see

1) extended essay presentation, next monday

2) individual oral presentation essay, next week

3) actual individual oral presentation, three weeks from now

i'm feeling cross-eyed already =S

4) malay oral thingie whatever rubbish, two weeks from now

5) theory of knowledge presentation, no idea when

6) and how could i forget. our dear end of years in about 8 weeks time.

i am soooo dead

Aizat looked up at 8:19 PM

Sunday, July 23, 2006

it has just occurred to me that there is one player whom people keep overlooking in favour of michael carrick. this particular player is also English, plays in the same position as carrick, and has a phenomenal work rate

OWEN HARGREAVES of BAYERN MUNICH

he completely tore apart the portuguese, though he was let down by the rest of his team. also he was not given the chance to play where he liked when eriksson played him as right back. but against the portuguese he showed what he is truly capable off. so far that's the only time i've ever seen him play in that position, and i'm impressed. besides, he's only like 24 or 25 years old - another similarity to carrick.

furthermore, bayern are interested in van nistelrooy, and i'm sure hargreaves isn't that important to them, since they have players like ze roberto. van nistelrooy for hargreaves. that would open up some options

Aizat looked up at 11:39 AM

Thursday, July 20, 2006

i love this article. it sums up manchester united's problems completely.

http://www.football365.com/opinion/f365_opinion/story_189041.shtml

Aizat looked up at 7:47 PM

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

i really have no idea what the heck is going on at man u. first van nistelrooy can leave. a week later, real are close to signing him, with only the transfer fee to be settled. and now. the offer has been flat out rejected. and i have my doubts that real would want to push their bid so high, and even if they do, it might not be in time.

fact: manchester united football club is broke

we have 12 million from the obi mikel sale. that is far far from enough to land a player that we need. even michael carrick will cost around 15 million

my question now is: we had around 11-15 million back in january, such that we could obtain nemanja vidic and patrice evra (the latter of which i am still not too happy about. he has yet to shine at this stage, and his counterpart in vidic is a much better performer for the team)

there was money back then, when we weren't in dire need of players. now we are. without van nistelrooy, we're gonna lose our teeth. there is the jaw in the midfield, and the mouth in rooney, but there won't be a way to finish off the opponent, without someone like van nistelrooy.

problem is, he just might stay, and his thoughts regarding playing for the team remain highly suspect. here's my take: i wouldn't want what could very well be the fate of my team resting on a guy who isn't too happy with life around him. he might just decide to screw up. i doubt he would, because the only way to maintain his status in this world is to score goals, so he has to bang some in to make sure he's still wanted.

but i'm really really wondering what's gonna happen soon. and something better happen soon. the season starts in about a month. that is precious little time to sort things out before the shit hits the fan.

we have a million players in reserve. but that's just the problem. they are reserve players. backup players. they need to have someone to be backup to.

Aizat looked up at 10:27 PM

Monday, July 17, 2006

*wipes dust off* ok time to do something about this place

i'm sure you all know about the italian scandal that has left three clubs relegated and one with a deduction in points for this coming season. so i'm sure you'll know that the transfer market has just been thrown wide open.

hence i will now present my personal opinions on who manchester united should invest in. based on recent newspaper reports, as well as discussions with various supporters of whom i am acquainted with, here is what i can gather:

Ruud van Nistelrooy will no longer be wearing a Red Devils Jersey this season. that is certain. so a replacement is due for him. despite the good reports coming in about Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's exploits in South Africa, there still remains a certain amount of doubt as to his capability at premiership level, especially against the likes of john terry, gabriel paletta and (possibly) lilian thuram. there remains a need for a target man, what with man u now resorting to long balls into the penalty box. with a Ruud there, at least someone was there to beat the offside trap and receive the long ball. now, there is doubt that saha or rooney could do the same job as effectively.

target men recommendations: Luca Toni of Fiorentina or Miroslave Klose of Werder Bremen

both have shown their incredible aerial prowess during the world cup, and Klose has also shown his eye for goal with his feet (4 out of 5 goals with feet). he is also physically capable, and has pace to burn, albeit not as imposing as Ruud, and would be a good replacement.

what Toni lacks in pace, he more than makes up for in height and physical size. in the final against france, italy had three corners in a row. they were almost identical clones. first two were met by Marco Materazzi, one of which resulted in a goal, and the other hit a defender and was cleared. the third was met with equal capacity by toni, who was unfortunate when it hit the crossbar. his heading power is the end product of long-ball play, and he will be deadly in set pieces.

Atletico Madrid and Spanish hitman Fernando Torres has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, and he seems to have cast his future in doubt after saying that he can't guarantee his presence in the squad this season, although Atletico's asking price of 24 million is pushing it a bit. he is a good striker, but i have my concerns regarding whether he can adapt to the premiership style of play. i would rather go for a proven target man, like Toni or Klose, and who are likely to be much much cheaper

____________________________________________________________________

now there is another position to fill. that of the holding midfielder, a gaping wound left by the early departure of Roy Keane. many have been experimented to fill the position, the most promising being Alan Smith, who has been injured in the line of duty and won't be back for a couple more months. john o'shea has been there, though not nearly as effective, and even rio ferdinand has been tried. with no effect whatsoever. so there still remains the need for a replacement. and with the relegation of the italian clubs, there is a perfect replacement

holding midfield recommendation: Patrick Vieira or Emerson, both of Juventus

there was much speculation about the possibility of Gennaro Ivan Gattusso coming to Old Trafford, but that seems somewhat distance now that AC Milan are still in the running. bids have been made for Spurs holder Michael Carrick, which have been rejected, and there is a possibility of possibly-looking-to-leave Citizens man Joey Barton, but the most apt person to succeed keane is his long-time Gunners counterpart Vieira. he can attack, defend, and pretty much scare away any midfielder with his amazing stride and physical size. an imposing person in midfield, he will be the perfect general to lead the Devils to the title. much remains to be seen as to whether he would want to come in the first place, though it is well known that Sir Alex Ferguson has been a long time admirer of him, and apparently he was once quoted as saying he would like to play for the Devils. much talk has been thrown around about Man U holding talks with him, and i am confident his presence would be a much needed boost to a midfield that is only just beginning to come together once again

i have not really seen emerson play in real life, but based on my football manager 2006, he seems to be a near clone of vieira, except in brazilian disguise.

These are my recommendations, and they are based on several weeks of information gathering and discussions. they may or may not change according to upcoming developments, but these would be the minimum requirements. naturally, it all depends on the presence of a certain tricky Portuguese winger who seems to have one foot in the grave after a certain match, where he appeared to have convinced a certain ref to send off a certain key Forward for stamping on a certain Defender's testicles.

ouch

Aizat looked up at 8:08 PM