Money over Tradition?

This past weekend, the second best league in the world was back. And how?

Real Madrid played Deportivo in the opening fixture of this season's La Liga. The galacticos had a chance to show what fans can expect for the rest of the season.

But, my attention was drawn not to the result and the performance, but to the goalscorers. One goalscorer in particular. Christiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo scored his first competitive goal for Madrid - from the penalty spot. Now, what bothers me is, why/how did Ronaldo get the nod to take the penalty over Raul who was the regular penalty taker for so many years? Raul is such an icon at Madrid that, even when Raul was not performing, he was not even considered for a transfer.

Has Ronaldo edged ahead of Raul as the first choice for taking penalties? Is this a marketing strategy for Madrid? Is there a clause in his contract regarding this? Who knows?

Know the difference?

There is one particular aspect of football that has me going berserk every time it happens. Well, who am I kidding? There are many aspects of football which makes me go berserk. Here's one of them.

There were two incidents in the Manchester United-Arsenal game which I would like to point out. One was the incident where Fletcher threw himself at Arshavin in the penalty box and Fletcher got the ball after he got the man.

Then, minutes later, there was another incident where Diaby took down Evra with a similar challenge outside the area.

This was the conversation between Martin Tyler and Andy Gray after the second of those incidents.

Martin : You know the difference?
Andy : Ya, I know the difference. One was inside the penalty box and the other wasn't.

One was given as a foul and the other wasn't. No points for guessing which was given.

Wake up!!!!

The start of the EPL season has been very very weird for quite a few reasons. Here are some of them off the top of my head.

1. Spurs are top of the league.
2. There has not been a deflected goal from Lampard yet.
3. There has been only one draw in three rounds of EPL games.
4. Burnley beat Manchester United.
5. Liverpool have lost twice in the first three matches.
6. Michael Owen is in an United shirt.
7. The only person to be sent off in the EPL so far is Sammy Lee (Assistant Manager of Liverpool).
8. Adebayor has scored two in two games.
9. Arsenal have started shooting from distance.
10. Bolton are trying to play football.

Oh, and did I mention Spurs are TOP of the league?

Am I dreaming? Nightmare? Will normal service be restored? I need to wake up...Quick...

Disgruntled

After a lean couple of weeks in terms of the blog scenario, I'm back. I did not have any words to write after the first game of the season.

Well, let me rephrase that. I did not have any words that did not include unparliamentary language. Now that I've got my head straight, I'll dive into the football. To be more precise, I'll dive into Liverpool.

There's no points for guessing why I was not in the right mood after the opening round of fixtures. Liverpool lost in terms of the result and they got beat in terms of the football. The loss of Alonso was there for all to see. Also, the formation seemed all wrong. Gerrard in the hole behind Torres seemed extremely wrong without Alonso. I agree that Lucas is a different player to Alonso. But shouldn't that mean Liverpool alter their play too? There was talk about Gerrard dropping back to midfield in a traditional 4-4-2 and playing Voronin up front with Torres. But all such talk was quashed when Lucas was named "Star of the pre-season". Well, something didn't quite add up with that statement. I have given lots of stick to Lucas in the past and let me assure you I will stick with that. Last night's result against Stoke might have eased the tension but does not prove anything yet. The jury is still out.

Disclaimer : As a football fan, my thoughts might have been different.

Have a good one, Sir Bobby

It is indeed a sad day in the world of football. One of the legends of the sport has passed away leaving behind fans all over the world in shock and in mourning.

Sir Bobby Robson was one of the most loved personalities both among the footballing industry and among the fans. His charisma, his dedication to the sport and his fantastic work ethic made him one of the respected people in his generation. I remember Steve Mcmahon once mention that Sir Bobby played a round of golf (18 holes), immediately came to the studio, worked for 8 straight hours and he looked as fresh as ever. And he was 74. That says it all.

John Travolta's quote about Phoenix in the hit movie Ladder 49 can be compared to the following quote. Sir Bobby loved football and gave his life to football. Let us all celebrate the life of Sir Bobby Robson.

Rest in Peace, Sir Bobby...

Sup"porter"

Well, enough has been said about the footballing world. The players, the managers, the clubs, UEFA, FIFA et all... It's time to talk about the more important contributors to the sport - The supporters.

Warning : This might NOT please many people...

Undoubtedly, the supporters of a football club/country are the most important ingredients to making football what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow. We all know that. But this post is not about that.

A decade ago, not many people I knew, even considered Chelsea as their club to support, to watch, to pay to watch.Then, Mr. Abramovic arrived and shortly thereafter, Mr. Mourinho arrived. Needless to say, many good players arrived and not surprisingly, Chelsea started winning titles(NOT by playing the best football at most times). Suddenly, there were a whole barrage of people supporting Chelsea. People who knew zilch about football were supporting Chelsea left, right and center. People even switched their support from their own club to Chelsea. Is this what you call a "Die-Hard" supporter? Is not a supporter responsible to support a club through the best and worst of times?

I am not saying, people should not watch the football, admire it etc. Hey I am a Liverpool fan and I admire the way Manchester United play at times(Again, I am a football fan first, then a Liverpool fan). But never in a million years would I "yap" about the football United play or
even think of being an United fan.

These people are definitely contributors to the football world (what with the merchandise, tickets et all). But are such people really good for the world watching football? More importantly, are such people really needed for the watching world?

You may be intrigued by the timing of this post, but, it might just be the right timing after all. What with the Manchester City explosion going on.

P.S. I hope you get the subtle pun in the title.

Alonso/Ribery another Ronaldo?

Disclaimer : I am not comparing the players.

All I am doing is trying to make sense of what is happening in the transfer market. Specifically, with respect to Real Madrid.

Madrid have been very open about their interests in Alonso and Ribery but neither Bayern nor Liverpool are refusing to budge. In both cases, it looks like the player wants to leave, but the manager/club do not want to sell.

Any dejavus?

Any ESP's on whats going to happen next season with Ribery/Alonso? (i.e. if it does not happen this season)

Now, besides the "Will he, wont he" sagas, I would like someone to define the term "tapping up". And can someone please tell me if it is legal? Or is it "officially" illegal? I, for one, am getting sick of it. Anyone care to join me?