'G'Owen

It looks almost certain that Michael Owen's international career is all but over. Atleast as long as Fabio Capello is the boss.

Fabio's explanation that he's picking players "in form" is weak. There are many players in his 8 matches in charge so far who have not been "in form" at that moment. Even when John Terry wasn't "in form" at times, he was "the captain". And you may say that Rio Ferdinand is not "in form" at the moment (considering the latest results). And he's in the squad. Even though he's injured. What about Emile Heskey? Is he "in form"? I beg to differ. He's in as much form as Gabrian Agbanlahor is at the moment. Just to cite a few examples.

Also, Fabio's explanation(sometime back) that his international players should play for big clubs is nauseating. Look at the number of non "big club" players he's picked in the current squad.
Agreed, Owen was not fit for most of the games, but even when he was, he was overlooked. And even when he was in the squad, he was given a run-out for 45 minutes and that too in a formation which doesn't suit him.

Agreed, players cannot rest on their past reputations. But reputations and past exploits should count for something.

PS : This comes out of frustration from a Owen fan.

To be or not to be...

When Mcartney was sent off for Sunderland for having a slight tug on Sean Wright Philips' shirt, everyone said, "What was that for?"

Such is the change in the English game that the challenges considered to be fouls a decade ago are no longer so. There is pushing and shoving(i.e.wrestling) in the penalty area every time a corner or a free kick comes in. And yet, the referee chooses to do nothing about it most of the times. When he does say "Hey, Enough is enough. It's time to give a foul.", everyone says, "Thats harsh. You see that kind of challenge every week."

The mentality and mindset of the English game has changed over the years which just adds to the fascinating zeal for the viewers.

Inconsistency from the referee though lives for us to debate another day.

Best Midfielder?

On Sunday night, Steve Mcmahon proclaimed Steven Gerrard as the best midfielder in the world.

I disagree.

If you recall, Zidane called him one of the best "players" in the world.

To be called the best midfielder in the world, you need to play in midfield. And Gerrard has not done that in a long time now. For both club and country.

Zidane was, is and always will be the best midfielder in the world. With Kaka coming a close second.

Here's my top 5 of the best midfielders in the world to have grazed the grass for the past decade.

5. Gerrard (when he was playing in midfield)
4. Roy Keane
3. Xavi
2. Kaka
1. Zidane

WOW!!

Andy Gray summed up Liverpool's performance against Manchester United in a single word.

"WOW!!"

I agree. Liverpool were magnificent. Twice in a week. How often has that happened?

After the midweek performance against Real Madrid, everybody asked (obviously), now why can't they do that in the league? And when they did do so in the league, everyone asked (obviously), now why can't they do that to your so-called lesser teams?

Well, instead of pondering over all these questions, I decided to just enjoy the occassion for a change. And you should too.

PS : A special mention to Alan Wiley. Magnificent display.

Tech"no"logy

Considering the number of wrong decisions these days, lots of people want technology to be implemented in the game. It would ensure fewer debates, fairer decisions and lesser confrontations.

For eg, every time Liverpool face Chelsea, especially in Europe, people inevitably talk about the "ghost goal". The reverse also happens where for eg, the ball appeared to have crossed Buffon's goal-line and a goal was not given (Juventus vs Chelsea). In all these cases, everyone's crying out for technology.

But personally, I don't like the idea of technology to be introduced in the game. It will inevitably slow the pace of the game considering the number of stoppages. Also, it takes that element of luck out of the game. Call me old-fashioned but "luck" is a very important factor in any sport and it has already been taken out of many sports (Cricket, Tennis to name a few).

Besides, if there were no dodgy moments like the "ghost goal" happening every now and again, what is there for us to talk about?

Take a dive son

Gerry Armstrong's quote "The fact that he's rolled so much tells me he's ok." says it all. What's more to say?