Thursday, June 18, 2009

My Arsenal Team of 2009/2010 season

The promise of the 2008/2009 season came and passed. With so much promise in the young team, the addition of a certain Samir Nasri made us believe that we had what it took to win a trophy since 2005.

What we never counted on was the lost of players to our very thin squad. Coupled with an amazing outburst by former captain Gallas and a long term injury to new captain Fabregas, the young squad was not able to overcome the instability and lost its way early in the season. It took 4 months or so to stabilize the ship and we went on an effective unbeaten streak but did not have enough experience or form to bring back the trophies.

So what do I think we need for the new season? A new coach? No way, Wenger is the man. A new stadium? Well, the Emirates does seemed unlucky for us but its not going to happen so lets forget about it. New players? Yes, we need and we need 2 in my opinion without considering any sale of player.

First up is the big hole in our central defence. There is no Adams or Keown or Bould to scream, shout or cajole the young ones to watch their men during corners. There is no Patrick Vieira or Edu or Parlour to cover for the defence when counter-attacked. We need a big strong guy and Haageland fits the bill. The Norway captain is 6 foot 5, imposing and has leadership quality. He is experienced in the Barclay’s Premier League and certainly fits the shape of a center back; not unlike Adams.

The next position is the defensive midfielder position. A couple of names come to mind such as Esteban Cambiasso, Sulley Muntari and Miguel Veloso. A lot of people may be shocked by my choices but realistically, Arsenal does not have the financial power to fight off other rich clubs if we went for the other names such as Alonso, Sneijder or Mascherano. Between the mentioned 3 choices, Veloso would be a great choice to add to the team if he could get used to living in London. The problem with trying to get Cambiasso is the same issue of acclimatizing while at the same time, Inter might not be willing to sell their defensive midfielders. In an ideal world, with the combination of luck and fortune, I would be able to get Muntari and he would sit right in front of the defense like a wall and give support to our playmaker, Fabregas. In addition, I believe Song will learn a thing or two off the beast.

With the purchase of these 2 key players, I certainly hope for good fortune in the injury front. Nobody would have known what the outcome of our title run is if Rosicky, Eduardo, Fabregas, Gallas and Adebayor were not out for such a long time. In fact, Rosicky was out for the whole of last season and still listed as doubtful for the start of next season.

All said, my first team for the 2009/10 will be (starting from goalkeeper and right to left): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Haageland, Clichy, Walcott, Fabregas, Muntari, Nasri, Adebayor and Arshavin. On the bench, we will have RVP, Song, Vela, Gallas, Bendtner and Mannone.

With this team, I believe we can win the title and possibly one of the cups as the hunger is there. Mixed with a bit of skill and experience, we can bring back the glorious years.
Go Arsenal!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

The Ronaldo issue.

Ronaldo is set for Real in an amazing £80 mil deal. The contract details are so stunning that it seems he will get half a million every week by playing soccer or even NOT playing...

I mean the prick is skillful and good etc.. but surely, one man cannot make a team. if you top up the £80 mil to £100 mil, you can actually get a whole club. i.e Newcastle United.

This deal raised many questions in the soccer world. Is a player really worth so much? Can or should a player earn so much? Should there be a transfer limit and salary cap set? Where in the world does one club get so much money? What is the impact of such a STAR player on a team? The list goes on and on....

As much as I hate Ronaldo, what if some desperate club decide to send a destroyer on Ronaldo? A player who is worth £50,000 and is very envious of Ronaldo's fortune. His only job is to chop Ronaldo into pieces. I think this will happen either sooner or later...

The soccer world is going crazy and Platini is screaming for rules. And this time... I truly support him.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The legacy of Rickmobile....

after selling my rickmobile, we were given a nasty surprise tonight when we received the notification of a summon.

AGAIN, it was for infringing into a bus lane on the 21st of May....

well... last present from my car.. Ex-car.....

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Last Day of My Opel Combo Van (The Rickmobile)


Tomorrow, I will be handing over my little silver Opel Combo.... After 5 1/2 years, the little beauty has fulfilled its job scope and done its best for the Chong family.....


Its has been great fun and lots of memories to bring along from the Rickmobile.... I guess many of my friends and colleagues that has enjoyed riding in it can also vouch for them. Well, there will always be time for the union to end.......


The Mrs and I said goodbye to rickmobile for the last time and cleared all our stuff for it for one last time and off the engine...

Good job, mate and I will remember you fondly.....


Tuesday, June 2, 2009

My Australia Trip..... Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 11

One more day?!?


no lah... just a wake up call at 5 am and a ride to the airport at 545 am to catch out 8 am flight back to home sweet home......


:)

My Australia Trip..... Fun Fun Fun!!! Day 10


Oh No! its the last day.... 10th of may....

For the last day we took a day trip so as to be more relaxed.... The bus picked us up from the hotel and our first stop was at Featherdale Wildlife Park. Its really cool as we were up close and touched Koala bears and Kangeroos for the first time... Feeding the kangaroos were also quite fun as they whack the ice cream cones with very sharp teeth!


My personnal favourite was the Wombat. But i was not able to touch it as they were apparently dangerous..... Look so cute.. but well, better listen to the experts......

After the pleasant time in the wildlife reserves, we proceed on to the 3 sisters at the Famous Blue Mountain. In the cold air up in the mountains, one ponders about life and the mysteries it brings....











We were brought to the Scenic World around the Blue Mountain region and had our first buffet lunch in Australia. The spread was reasonable although not fantastic, we also had our first taste of kangaroo meat. Quite similar to chicken, i must say.....

The scenic World is a really nice Rainforest area and we had a cable car ride, tram ride and skyway to enjoy. All scenario stuff to enjoy and a slow walk in the rain forest (on elevated planks) was quite nice...









The tour bus brought us to the river where we board the RiverCat on our way back to Sydney Harbour Bay........... A short bus ride brought us to our dinner place and we reach out hotel after dinner tired and totally happy to have concluded a memorable trip to Australia......
Good bye, Mate!