Mob Justice Kenyan Style!!!

This guy was caught at Kencom Bus Terminus after attempting to steal a ladies mobile phone and shooting at a police officer. The great thing is that this camera man was spot on...catching the guy in mid-air. The photographer is from The Standard Newspaper..Big ups to him...

YOU DON'T WANT TO BE CAUGHT STEALING IN NAIROBI....DO YOU!!!

Arsenal’s Form is back!!!

Arsenal seem to be getting their form back. Unluckily, it’s a little bit too late in the seasons because with few games remaining it would be hard to catch up with the league leaders. Unless some form of miracle happens and the top 3 teams lose points drastically then they should forget the title race.

I think Wenger has already given up on the title race because the top 3 teams are in serious contention for the title, especially Liverpool. After their massive wins over ‘the Red devils’ and Aston Villa, Liverpool have made a statement that the race is still on till the end. Back to Arsenal, after a grueling penalty shootout win against Roma followed by thrashing Blackburn 4-0 and thumping Newcastle 3-1, it seems that Arsenal have refocused and are ready at least to get a piece of silverware. Currently they are still in contention of the FA cup and the UEFA Champions League. If they keep up with this kind of play then they are bound to come out with some silverware.

One of the major impacts that has helped Arsenal is the acquisition of the Russian midfielder, Andrei Arshavin. He has taken a very short time to adjust to the English premier league, which for many is the toughest league in the world. He has been able to adjust accordingly and is already scoring splendid goals and setting up the strikers. This acquisition had to be done after an injury to Cesc Fabregas was clearly being felt in the Arsenal midfield. Also, the return of Theo Walcott and Eduardo have helped greatly. Although Eduardo has not had much play in the English premier league games, he has certainly helped the team in the FA cup when on his first return game scored 2 goals.

The upcoming month will be a difficult one for Arsenal as they have a UEFA Champions league quarter final match against Villareal (which I think would be bearable for them) followed by a premier league march against both Liverpool and Chelsea and also FA cup semi-final against Chelsea. The good news for them is that their many injury bound players will be returning. The likes of Cesc Fabregas and long time player Tomas Rosicky, including Walcott and Eduardo, will be back in this month.

GO GUNNERS!!!!!!

Arsenal soccer business!!!

Arsenal have started getting their form back but it is a little bit too late for them. If they had played this way in the earlier parts of this season then they would be one of the title contenders. But they have has mainly improved after they spend quite a great amount on the Russian play, Andrei Arshavin. As many soccer lovers would know, Arsenal are never big spenders. In fact of all the teams in the premier league, it is probable that Arsenal make profits while the others are still making major loss. The Arsenal policy is quite good. It’s something like this: buy cheap young talented players, develop them and sell them at a higher profit.

One good example of this Arsenal soccer business is Thierry Henry. When he arrived at Highbury in London, he was not well known. But he was a young talented player with great skill and a wonderful finishing touch. He arrived in Arsenal in 1999 and in his debut season was very marvelous. Having to play alongside Arsenal legends such as Bergkamp was an added advantage. He was acquired for less than 10 million pounds.

As time got by he became better and was able to lead the gunners to win a number of trophies including the famous unbeaten run that led them to win the English premiership title. He also helped them to win a number of FA cup trophies and led them in the finals of the 2005 Champions league. That was probably one of his greatest highlights. But after a season of misfortunes he decided to go to Barcelona in 2007 at a cost of 12 million pounds. See how the profits are made.

Another player I can recall is Hleb. In fact I never knew Alexandr Hleb existed until he came to Arsenal. Boy was this guy talented. His footwork was just amazing. He never feared any defences. He would attack them head on. But when he saw that Arsenal was not bringing in any trophies he opted to leave. I am not sure of the price at which he was bought but I am sure it was again less than 10 million pounds. He was sold at a cost of around 13million pounds to Barcelona. See how business is done!

So, although Arsenal are not bringing in any silverware, you have to remember that soccer is also a business. If they can balance between business and bringing profits, then they are bound to go very far!!!

Old Traford becomes The ‘Theatre of Shattered Dreams!!’ – Second Half

First Half Details

After the few fireworks that went on in the first half you can imagine what each manager had to tell their teams. Earlier on in the season, Benitez’s formed allegations that Ferguson is rude to referees and is able to get away with it. But on this day he was out to prove a point to the Man Utd fraternity that anything is possible in the premier league.

The 2nd half started with a bit of intensity, each team looking on how they can beat the other. Every team kept their own vigil because they knew a small mistake would cost them greatly. Man Utd were able to provide some splendid attacks. At some point, Tevez got some clear opportunities at goal but he wasted. One that he got was a through pass that he wasn’t quite able to get to and sent the ball wide at the post. Another opportunity came when he got Ronaldo gave a lob to Rooney on the touchline, and he was able to angle it towards Tevez but he was unable to reach the ball as he tumbled down with the defender. But props have to be given to the ever so splendid Liverpool backline of Carragher, Skrtel, Hyppia and Aurelio. They were splendid in the defence.

I have to say that Man Utd played with a lot of heart and zeal believing that there was something in the offing. At some point, I actually thought they were going to score because they attacked more vigorously. After watching the game for a while, he thought a complete overhaul would be necessary, where he would prefer experience rather than the young talent. So he did a total overhaul of the team, putting attack minded players and opening the mid field. Out went Anderson, Carrick and Park, in came Scholes, Giggs and Berbatov. Where I was watching the match, many people had wanted Tevez to be replaced but personally, I think he tried…anyway so experience has been brought in.

No sooner had this move been done than a foul near the 18 yard box was committed on Gerrard by Vidic. Gerrard had already out maneuvered Vidic and as he went for the ball, Vidic fell him down. This led the referee to produce a straight red card for Vidic making the game more interesting. Honestly, I think the red card was a bit too harsh, but the premier league is always unpredictable. Candidates for the free kick were Gerrard and Aurelio. Aurelio took a splendid free kick that left Van der Sar flat footed! The wall made didn’t even move a bit as the ball flew passed their heads. It was splendid free kick taken at the most unexpected time.
Score Man Utd 1 Liverpool 3.

Liverpool went on and made changes by substituting Torres and Riera for Babel and Dossena. After the send off, the game became almost one-sided as the Liverpool attacks increased. This is because after bringing in the attack minded experience players, the midfield was left open for Liverpool to have as much control as they wanted. At some point, Dossena gave Babel a lovely cross which he was able to back-heel to Gerrard who shot it wide. By now, Man Utd knew there was no way of recovery but Rooney (ever so resilient) played as if they could still recover. If there is anyone I pitied the most I thought deserved a goal, it had to be him. But in the dying moments, a long lob by Reina bounced passed Oshea and met Dossena who lobbed the ball over Van der Sar, who had left the goal and was standing in ‘no man’s land’.
Final score Man Utd 1 Liverpool 4.

4 goals are too many at your home tuff, but hey, this is the English Premier League. This win for Liverpool means the race for the title is on…..

Old Traford becomes The ‘Theatre of Shattered Dreams!!’ – First Half

What happened at the stadium that was once known as ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ on March 14, 2009, is what led to the above headlines. The ‘Red devils’ received one of their worst losses at their backyard in Old Trafford to one of their long time rivals Liverpool. The worst part of all this is that they were beaten in their own backyard. How painful can that be. It’s like inviting setting up someone for a nasty trick and the trick ends up happening on you. Old Traford has been known to be the place where dreams are made for the home fans and dreams shattered for their opponents. On this particular day, it was quite the opposite. Here’s how it all went down.

Starting line ups

Man Utd: Van der Sar (GK), Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Oshea, Ji Sung Park, Carrick, Anderson, Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney

Liverpool: Reina (GK), Aurelio, Hyppia, Skrtel, Carragher, Riera, Lucas, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard and Torres

The game was quite evened out at the begin but the scoring started when Tevez happened to give Ji Sung Park a lovely through ball in the 18 yard box leading Reina to try and get . Unfortunately, he was too late and he tripped Park. Ronaldo, the usually spot kick person for Man Utd, put the ball in the far corner…score Man Utd 1 Liverpool 0.

Liverpool then began play as if nothing had happened. You should have seen the heart that the Liverpool players had. They took everything as if the game was still wide open and that they could win. That confident spirit is what led them to play on and push on as if nothing much had happened. Not so long after that a defensive blunder by the experienced Nemaja Vidic led to a spectacular goal. Fabio Aurielio lobbed the ball over to the center field and found the Man Utd defense asleep. The ball bounced the first time near the centre half and went over Vidic. As he tried to follow up to try and clear the ball, El Nino (the man Torres himself), was right behind his heels and was able to outsmart the experienced defender and put an easy goal behind Van der Sar…score Man utd 1 Liverpool 1.

The goal evened out the game but you could still see on the Liverpool players that all was no yet over. A number of free kicks by Ronaldo threatened Reina but he stood his ground at the goal. In one instance, Ronaldo had a thunderous shot that Reina could not hold and Tevez was right there waiting to pounce on it. But the quick reflexes of Reina enabled him to get to the ball fast. The game went on well for sometime but a splendid through pass from Torres made Evra commit a defensive error that led him to trip Gerrard in the 18 yard box and Liverpool were given a penalty. Who is better at spot kicks than Gerrard himself. He did deliver and was able squeeze one behind Van der Sar despite diving the right way. So at the half time break….score Man Utd 1 Liverpool 2.

Second Half Details

Man Utd out to have a total Clean sweep!!!!

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side is out to make a clean sweep i.e. win all the 5 trophies! Ferguson is looking to make history by being 1st manager to bag in 5 trophies. Already in his bag are the World Club Championship, the Charity shield and the League Cup. After an impressive win over Inter Milan at Old Traford, he still has his eyes set on the UEFA Champions league, the FA premier league and the FA cup. WOW!!! Those are 6 cups in one season!! This guy has to be really ambitious. So the big question is “Can Man Utd complete the biggest clean sweep in history”

Of late, he has strengthened his race for the premier league title after Liverpool slipped and with Chelsea a few points away, they can still afford to go for the win. The premier league definitely belongs to them unless they slacken. But by the form they are playing in, they are not bound lose a game any time soon. Ferguson has singled out the Champions League as his main priority. They may get it but they have to put a big fight for it.

As the race for the premier league proceeds, they have happened to come across ceratin downfalls. The first one was the 4-1 thumping by Liverpool (this is the worst part) IN THEIR OWN BACKYARD!!! How ugly can that be?? I felt pity for them but hey, this is the premier league. Next came Fulham and they were beaten 2-0. 2 straight defeats in row is not good for championship contenders. I think they can win the premiership but as I have said before, the English premier league is very unpredictable. Despite all that it would be good to note that Chelsea and Liverpool are also hot on their heels for the premiership and the UEFA Champions league titles. After what happened to them in 2008, Chelsea are more determined and more hungry to win a title. The rich man, Abramovich, had to bring a national soccer coach to help them in their titles chase. So far so good. He has been able to help them qualify for the Champions League quarter finals.

Enough about Chelsea. Man Utd are out to win and win big. They have the heart, the will and the players, plus a great manager. Nowadays, Ferguson has 3 established strikers in Berbatov (whose slowness can fool many), Rooney (we all know what he can do with the ball, with or without space) and Tevez (the very industrious and strong striker who plays like an attacking midfielder and has a lethal strike to add to his speed). United’s great defense owes much to the fact that most of their rivals are always trying to gain possession from them. The longer Utd have possession, their opponents have to keep looking for the ball and eventually they tire out and that is how Utd end scoring goals. Their counter attack is splendid.

What more can I say about man utd. More will come later. If you think there’s something missing in this article, feel free and comment.

Man Utd's Biggest Loss

Liverpool Flying High!!!-Part 2

Part 1 of this article

The next big match in the March madness for Liverpool was against the English premier league leaders, Man Utd. Man Utd had been in splendid form having not lost any premier league game at their home ground and had a more than 10 game winning streak. Liverpool had just come from humiliating Real Madrid, who had won the UEFA Champions league the most times. This was going to be a very explosive game.

So on March 14th, Liverpool traveled to Old Trafford to meet the ‘Red Devils’. The game started on a high note with each team being cautious of the other. In the early stages a wonderful through pass by Tevez was miscalculated by Reina, who tripped Ji Sung Park in the penalty area. Ronaldo converted the spot kick and took Man Utd 1-0 up. Play had not continued much when a lovely lob by Aurelio found Vidic sleeping and the ball bounced over him. Instead of clearing the ball, Vidic wasted time and Torres pounced on the ball and put it behind Van der Sar evening the score. A few minutes before the break, Torres made a lovely through pass to Gerrard and a miss-tackle by Evra in the 18 yard box gave Liverpool the penalty. Gerrard was able to squeeze it beyond Van der Sar despite him jumping the right way.
In the second half, the Man Utd came out firing as they had numerous chances but were unable to convert. Ferguson did a complete overhaul of the team by introducing experienced player in the likes of Giggs, Scholes and Berbatov. This did not pay off because in a short while, Vidic was red carded for bringing down Gerrard. Fabio Aurielio took a wonderful free kick that left Van der Sar flat footed as the ball went behind the net. Towards the end of the game, one could clearly tell that Man Utd were not going to try and win. This eventually led to a wonderful goal by Dossena.
Final Score Man Utd 1 Liverpool 4.

More on Man Utd vs Liverpool.

On March 23rd, Liverpool hosted one of the most improved premier league teams, Aston Villa. The game had not yet settled when a wonderful cross was not dealt with by the Aston Villa defense and Dirk Kuyt pounced on the ball scoring after 7 minutes of play. 25 minutes later, Riera scored a wonderful volley after a clearance by Reina. The ball just bounced once near the edge of the Villa area and Riera struck it with a thunder bolt. Reina was also outstanding in goal as he was able to produce spectacular saves from Carew’s and Heskey’s wonderful headers. In the 39th minute, Riera controlled a searching cross field pass from Kuyt and was brought down by Reo-Coker. Gerrard was able to convert it with a thunderbolt. 5 minutes into the second half, Carlos Cuellar brought down Kuyt on the edge of the box and Gerrard drilled the free kick in the back of the net. In the 63rd minute, Brad Friedel clashed with Torres and Gerrard drilled home the penalty, earning him a hat-trick.
Final score Liverpool 5 Aston Villa 0

Liverpool has been able to go through the March madness. But April wont be a bed of roses as they face Chelsea in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions league and also have to meet with Arsenal…..watch this space

Liverpool Flying High!!!-Part 1

The 2008/09 English premier league season has to be one of the most memorable seasons for Liverpool. They are flying high. The month that will be remembered most by most Liverpool fans will have to be March. In this month, Liverpool had tough matches both locally and in the UEFA Champions league.

At the beginning of month, they were in 4th place with 55 points, 7 behind the league leaders. At the end of the month, they were a single point behind the leaders, but with the leaders having a game at hand. They ended the month of February on a low note with a 2-0 disappointing loss to Middlesbrough. I really don’t know what happened in that game or what the Rafael Benitez said that sparked a wonderful come back in the month of March.

March started with Liverpool facing Sunderland at Arnfield. Liverpool were able to beat them 2-0 with goals by the young David Ngog and Yossi Benayoun. Surprisingly enough, that was Liverpool’s second home league win since Boxing day and that gave them confidence as they headed for the Champions League tie against Real Madrid.

March was to be one of the toughest months for Liverpool as they had to face Real Madrid, Man Utd and the ever rising Aston Villa in consecutive matches. This is how it went down:

On March 10th, Real Madrid made their way to Arnfield for the return leg. Liverpool had earlier beaten Real Madrid at the Bernabeu stadium 1-0 in late February. Being the team that has won the Champions league title the most, they were looking to repay Liverpool for the damaged they had done back in Spain. This was all changed when the game started and Torres made one of the most lovely turns and almost scored his former derby rivals (i.e. he was in Atletico Madrid). Soon Liverpool was attacking so often and in the 16th minute, El Nino (aka Fernando Torres) opened the scoring with a lovely placing below Casillas assisted by Dirk Kuyt. After 12 minutes, Torres was brought down in the 18 yard box and who else to convert it but Steven Gerrard. He sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. In the second half, Gerrard added to his tally assisted by Ryan Babel. Real Madrid couldn’t believe it. There were a few instances of brilliance by Marcello and Raul but Dossena put the icing on the cake as he scored in the 88th minute…final score
Liverpool 4 Real Madrid 0.

Second part of article here.