"The first 90 minutes are the most important"

Day 8 starts with Clown Referee handing out bookings like Christmas Candy

2010-06-18T11:12:00.003-04:00

(Sometimes) even the Germans miss penalties

In six penalty shoot-outs in their history, the “Panzers” have only missed two, scoring 25 out of 27!Uli Stielike was the only German player to miss a penalty in a World Cup − semi-final shootout in 1982 against France.

Uli Hoeness missed a penalty kick in the 1976 European Championship for West Germany against Czechoslovakia.

Today, Lukas Podolsky gained his entry to this “elite club” by missing his penalty kick in the 60th minute, sending a weak shot to the left of Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, at the same time also missing to score a highly deserved equalizer for the Germans.

Spanish referee Alberto Undiano is a complete clown! - a true joker who handed out NINE yellow cards!

Miroslav Klose was sent off the field for running after Dejan Stankovic on the halfway line and missing a truly honest attempt to get his leg around the ball. His move ended up to be a clear foul, but like his first booking (he was booked in the 12th minute for a foul − which was an accidental tangle of legs − on Jovanovic), was nowhere close to a yellow card. Milan Jovanovic scored a minute later.

The Germans had a tougher game than they did against Australia on Sunday against a defensively well accomplished Serbian side that desperately was in need of points after loosing against Ghana in their opener. Even a draw against the Germans did not seem to be enough for them.

Sami Khedira, in stoppage time of the first half, hit the bar for Germany. Jovanovic (67. min) hit the post for Serbia.

Taking off Mesut Ozil, who was playing really well, was a strange Joachim Löw move and Germany, to be honest, did not have any fluency after that. Cacau, who came in for Ozil, was desperate and useless.

Stankovic’s ‘kick’ − in the 90+2 minute − to the bottom of a German player’s foot looked like a penalty.

10-men Germany finished the game with 51% possession over the Serbians (49%).

A sensational result (1-0) for the Serbian team at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, even if it was basically the result of a terrible refereeing decision, leaves Group D wide open. If Serbia beats Australia and Ghana either wins, or draws against the Australians, Germany will need to beat Ghana in the last Group match to avoid elimination in the first round −- for the first time in 72 years!

The Germans truly did not deserve to loose the game.

Day 7 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup - Mexico stun France

2010-06-17T22:54:00.008-04:00

La Albiceleste, thanks to one of the best performances in this World Cup so far, beat South Korea 4-1 in the Soccer City Stadium of Johannesburg with Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain scoring a hat-trick and Lionel Messi setting up three of the four goals for the Argentinians in moments of magic.

The South Koreans, after beating Greece with a speedy and determined performance in their first game, seemed to be "chasing shadows" against the stylish team of legend Diego Armando Maradona, which advanced to first place in Group B (three points ahead of South Korea and Greece).

In the other game of Group B, lucky Greece beat sloppy Nigeria 2:1 at the Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, ending the Super Eagles' hopes to advance to the second stage of the Cup. Nigeria took the lead through Kali Uche's curling free-kick and things looked quite promising until the 33rd minute when 'moron' Sani Kaita was sent off with a straight red card for giving Greece's Vassilis Torosidis a horse kick in the thigh after the ball had rolled out of play.

Dimitrios Salpingidis leveled the score just before halftime. Nigeria spurned a great opportunity to take the lead in the second half but Greece dominated the most part of the second 45 minutes. Alexandros Tziolis took a shot to be blocked by Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. The magical Jabulani fell just short in front of Vasileios Torosidis who "poked-in" the second Greek goal in the 71st minute.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Vincent Enyeama who made numerous heroic blocks throughout the game.

... AND, VIVA MEXICO !!! ... Raymond Domenech's Les Bleus performed so miserably against a superb team of Mexico that they failed to get a single shot on target in the second half at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. From the French player's body language one could read disinterest and selfishness. What a shame for the 1998 World Champions and 2006 Runners-Up.

Domenech's decision to bring in Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena in the second half - but keeping world-class striker and France's top goal striker of all time, Thierry Henry, on the bench for 90 minutes was the "Cherry on Top". The French "stars" totally lack the picture of being a 'team' in the first place.

Thumbs up for Mexican Coach Javier Aguirre who put together a sparkling Mexican 'team' mixing youngsters with experienced ones.

Javier Hernandez (the Little Pea), shortly after coming on for Efrain Juarez, did not miss his chance to show the world what he is capable of doing for Manchester United next season. And after Eric Abidal put down Pablo Barrera in the box causing a penalty kick, he opened the way for 37 year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco to be the first Mexican striker to score in three different world cups with a perfectly placed and precise shot into the lower left corner of the net.

Uruguay and Mexico are now first and second in Group A with France and South Africa being on the brink of elimination.

Day 7 of the 2010 World Cup ended with Greece earning a first-ever World Cup victory, Mexico beating France for the first time ever, and Gonzalo Higuain scoring this World Cup's first (and probably only) hat-trick.

"Hopp Suisse' TOP Spain !?

2010-06-16T11:57:00.003-04:00

A significant last minute cross by Shane Smeltz and a strong header by Winston Reid on day 5 made history for New Zealand as they tied Slovakia (1-1) at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in the City of Rustenburg. Slovakia found their first ever World Cup goal in the 50th minute through Robert Vittek's header.

Ivory Coast - Portugal: 0-0 was the final score in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth. In a tactical battle in which both sides almost looked nervous to secure 2nd place in Group G behind Brazil, "The Elephants" created the better chances. Portugal looked dangerous at times, and a draw seemed to be a fair result. Cristiano Ronaldo almost gave his side an early advantage. Didier Drogba had the best chance of the game in added time.

Brazil worked hard up until the second half to secure a 2-1 win over North Korea at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. It took the five-time World Champions 55 minutes to break the resistance of the North Korean defense with a superb shot by Maicon. Brazil's second goal came from Elano, who slid the ball beyond the North Korean goalkeepers reach. Ji Yun Nam, after a strong burst through the Brazilian defense, fired the ball past Julio Cesar in the 89th minute to add some excitement to the final minutes of the game, which Brazil dominated. Korea DPR's "defense mechanism" looked very impressive.

Chile secured a first World Cup win in forty-eight years with a late first-half goal by Jean Beausejour, ending a 13-game "no-win run" since defeating Yugoslavia to finish third as hosts in 1962. Honduras - Chile: 0-1 read the score at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. Chile could have been a couple of goals ahead by half time. Honduras barely came close throughout the game.

"Top!" Spaniards struggle to get-through a well organized Suisse team. Gelson Fernandes strikes a loose ball into an open goal in the 52nd minute ... Switzerland 1 : Spain 0

Switzerland have caused the biggest "shock" of the 2010 FIFA World Cup over "favorites" Spain in their Group H encounter in the Durban Stadium. This was the second loss for Spain in 49 matches (the other stunning loss - 0-2 - was against the USA in the semi-final of the 2009 Confederations Cup). The Spaniards spend most of the time passing the ball in midfield, not creating too many serious chances. Xabi Alonso struck the bar with a "low-held" thunder-ball from 25-yards, but the Swiss almost doubled their lead soon after, with Eren Derdiyok beating two Spanish defenders before nicely "rolling" the ball onto the post.

Diego Forlan ended Bafana Bafana's 12 game unbeaten run scoring 2 in Uruguay’s 3-0 victory over the World Cup hosts at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Tshwane/Pretoria. South Africa ended the match with ten men when goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was sent off and caused a penalty. Bafana had a hard time going forward and seemed unorganized in midfield. Uruguay deserved their win.

Looking forward to Day 5 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010-06-14T22:35:00.003-04:00

With 11 games played in this World Cup thanks to 3 perfect demonstrations we now have a new test question for U-8 youth goalkeepers on "how not to goalkeep":
a-) England goalkeeper Robert Green (England vs. USA)
b-) Algeria goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchin (Algeria vs. Slovenia)
c-) Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar (Italy vs. Paraguay)
d-) all of the above

* * *

A superb header from Gabriel Heinze and some real brilliance from Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who constantly kept Lionel Messi from putting the ball into the net, saw Argentina beat Nigeria only 1-0 - despite their dominance throughout the match at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg. The Nigerians showed to much respect to Messi and his teammates and being disappointed of conceding an early goal ‘forced’ the Super Eagles to ‘sit back’ for some time.

A determined and impressive South Korea beating a bad defending Greece 2-0 in Port Elizabeth was a sign that the S. Koreans actually are a serious side to qualify for the knock-out stages in Group B.

A disastrous mistake by England goalkeeper Robert Green enables the USA to share the points thanks to a 1-1 draw at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. England, in general, were the better side, but could not overcome a solid US defense in the second half - especially AC Milan central defender Oguchi Onyewu, who, by the way had not played a 90-minute game for seven months. Instead of starting with a ‘holding midfielder’, Fabio Capello relied on Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard - two attacking midfielders who lack defensive and ‘organizing’ play. Picking two players of similar talent did not seem to be a wise choice. Also taking-off ‘half asleep’ James Milner and replacing him with Sean Wright-Phillips (he had no significant impact) instead of Joe Cole who is great in unlocking tight defenses was another mistake in my opinion. England should be fine to advance to Stage 2.

The Socceroos never had a slight chance against the so far ‘best looking team' in the World Cup – Germany – at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Sending off Tim Cahill with a straight red card was apparently a ‘harsh’ decision by the referee, however, it would not have made a difference … the Germans simply did what they wanted (4-0)! They had fun and totally enjoyed their play.

Ghana became the first African team of the 2010 World Cup to win a match by practically ‘forcing’ the Serbians back in midfield at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Thswane/Pretoria. Aleksandar Lukovic’s unnecessary second yellow card and Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s stupid handball in the penalty box awarded the Black Stars with a 1-0 win. Serbia will face Germany in their second appearance and can not afford to lose. Good luck Nemanja Vidic!

The Danish side has the doubtful ‘honor’ of scoring the first own goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup playing the 'Oranje' at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. An own goal by Simon Poulsen and a tap-in by Dirk Kuyt provided a deserved 2-0 win for the Dutch team.

Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein/Mangaung saw counter-attacking Japan beat Cameroon 1-0 in so far the worst game but most surprising result of the tournament. This was the first win for Japan on foreign soil in a World Cup match. With the Netherlands being a favorite in Group E, it remains to be seen what the later consequences of this loss will be for Cameroon.

Italy vs. Paraguay (1-1) – an unenthusiastic encounter until the 39th minute when Paraguay scored off of a free kick, heading the ball past Gianluigi Buffon to take the lead … with Paraguay not registering another shot on goal after taking the lead, Ginliugi Buffon suffering from a hamstring injury, and Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar demonstrating a great model on “how not to goalkeep” the ball when trying to punch it out on a corner, the defending World Cup Champions – the Azzurri – despite dominating most of the game and controlling the ball, could not really create serious chances.

Group A left with "Must Win" remaining encounters

2010-06-11T23:20:00.005-04:00

"Bafana Bafana" not only finished the opening match of the "Copa Mundial Sudafrica 2010" at Soccer City against Mexico with a favorable result, but "The Boys" also got a favorable result from the second game at the Cape Town Stadium where 'defensive' Uruguay played "unpleasant Raymond Domenech"'s French team. It seems like the second games in Group A, which is one of the toughest groups in the tournament, will be a "football fiesta."

Mexico, looking very sharp, are my favorite team to top Group A, if Mr. Domenech keeps on going on with the same starting 11 - keeping Thierry Henry and Florent Malouda on the bench for the most part of the game, then substituting them with Nicolas Anelka and Yoann Gourkuff respectively and moving Franck Riberry towards center midfield! ... Excuse me? - However, not to underestimate are the solid performances of the South African and Uruguayan teams.

***

Goal of the day: Siphiwe Tshabalala's terrific strike!

***

Why Carlos Vela's disallowed goal actually was offside:

When watching the replay, you can see South African player Steven Pienaar positioned on the goal line. When South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune ran off his line to try and intercept the corner kick, he left Pienaar as the last defender in front of the goal.

The FIFA offside rule reads that a player is offside if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (with the last opponent typically being the goalkeeper).

In the case of the 2010 World Cup opening game, however, the goalkeeper was not there behind the defense. But the moment Vela passed Khune in the middle of the box, he was offside, regardless of Pienaar's position at the post.

Congratulations to Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov and his assistant for making this intelligent call!

Futbol Mundial 2010 - Kick-off this Friday!

2010-06-10T12:47:00.004-04:00

The biggest sporting event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup (2010) is about to kick-off on Friday, June 11th with the host nation South Africa and Mexico playing the opener. The event promises to be a real footballing feast with some of the biggest names like Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, and Kaka getting the headlines, as well as new names who will change the course of this competition.

We will of course all miss a lot of big names whose teams could not make it through the qualifiers like Andrei Arshavin, Peter Cech, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thomas Vermaelen, Edin Dzeko and Arda Turan.

And as we will be through with the knockout stage (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/calendar.html) in the tournament on June 25th, the real "World Cup" will begin on June 26th with only the top sixteen teams left.

Enthusiasm for the "19th edition" is perhaps greatest in host nation South Africa, which is the first African country in World Cup history to host the event. The city of Johannesburg will host the World Cup final in it's impressive 95,000 capacity "Soccer City Stadium." In addition to South Africa, six African countries - Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria - qualified for this year's World Cup.

Italy enters as the defending Champion, with Spain, the last European Champion, and five-time former World Cup Champion Brazil considered to be early favorites to win the title. But the tournament seems to be wide open with other usual "suspects" from Europe and South America being joined by some serious challengers from Africa.

At this point my personal favorites are Brazil, Argentina, The Netherlands and Spain. And I believe that Brazil and The Netherlands will be the last two to stand.

Stay tuned!

36 goals in 11 Premier League games - ( … and 55 including the Champions League and the Carling Cup games)

2009-11-12T16:53:00.003-05:00

What’s even better: the manner in which the goals have been shared among so many different players in the team so far … scoring has improved extremely this season … the Gunners had only 15 goals in 11 Premier League games last year! – It’s no coincidence …: The team has developed a free-flowing, free-scoring style where every player feels confident to go forward and end up in goal-scoring position thanks to the high-pace collective game, the desire to win, the belief, the team spirit, creativity and the continuous development of the young players. Another fact is that many of the players have risen through the youth levels together at the academy and have “learned” a lot from the previous seasons. Besides playing for Arsenal, it seems like they play for “each other” …!

Just look at the third and fourth goals from Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin against Wolverhampton this past weekend! Only these two goals show how powerful Arsenal are at the moment. The current scoring rate − an average 3.27 goals per Premier League game − keeps the Gunners on the right track to become the first side to break the 100-goal barrier for a “Premier League” campaign and to challenge a long-standing Club record.

Robin van Persie’s transforming into a pivotal central striker within a 4-3-3 formation is definitely working. His style links just so well with the collective game and his movement brings the best from the offensive midfielders. He has extremely grown to become one of the most dangerous strikers in the world under Wenger’s guidance and he knows exactly how Wenger wants the team to play.

The Gunners are now up to second in the table – five points behind Chelsea – with a game in hand against Bolton Wanderers.

So far so good: 2 Games – 2 (late) Wins !

2009-09-30T14:37:00.002-04:00

The Gunners left it late − again! Two goals from Robin van Persie (Robin van ‘PerFect’) and Andrei Arshavin (the ‘Atom Ant’) in the last 12 minutes finally ended the deadlock against Greek side Olympiacos FC giving Arsenal complete control of Champions League Group H so far.

Arsenal started cautiously (not to ignore was the fact that they had fallen behind by two goals within the first five minutes against Standard de Liege in their CL opener two weeks ago when they had to “give it all” to come back with 2 late goals in the second half and secure a 3:2 win) but slowly began checking-out the Olympiacos defense and putting on pressure after 15 minutes into the game, then totally dominating until the final whistle.

Dressed in “funeral black”, the Greek side completed the game with complete lack of spirit and “joy of life” defending so deep throughout the whole 90 minutes that Gunners 3rd goalie Vito Mannone almost fell asleep at times.

Thumbs up for Olympiacos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis (in particular), Andrei Arshavin, Cesc Fàbregas and Gaël Clichy.

Thumbs deep down for Olympiacos coach Arthur Zico for instructing his side to not play football, but rather focus on ‘building a wall’ in defense with 11 men – and not even trying to pass the half-line 95% of the total time!

Best decision: Wenger bringing in Carlos Vela for Abou Diaby late in the second half. − It seems like Diaby is still a little short of confidence since scoring an own goal at Old Trafford on game-week three ...

Another great Arsene Wenger decision

2009-09-15T19:38:00.012-04:00

When in July it was announced that Arsenal agreed to sell two of its star men - Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Ivorian defender Kolo Toure to Manchester City − a key rival to compete for a “top-four” spot − many Gunners fans felt like “kissing goodbye” to the Champions League next season. For a young team that is maturing, this really did not seem to be a smart move …

The first two game-weeks, however, it did not look like the Gunners were going to face any scoring problems now that Adebayor was gone: A 1-6 win at Goodison Park, a 4-1 win over Portsmouth and a 5-1 on aggregate over Celtic in the CL qualifier … Arsene Wenger was being more than “cherished” for his decisions by all football “authorities” … all of a sudden …

Even Sir Alex Ferguson just before game-week three (against Manchester United) admitted that Arsene Wenger knew exactly what he was doing: “In all my time at Manchester United, I can't remember anyone doing that (1-6) at Goodison Park before,” he said, indicating that one thing Wenger has done fantastically well is to sell at the right time. "He has always known the right time for a player to leave and he has done it again with Adebayor and Toure. It is not easy to manage that kind of change but I do not think the level of ability has changed one bit and he seems to have a good harmony in the squad." …

Yet, a 2-1 defeat against ManU at Old Trafford that week − thanks to a Wayne Rooney controversial second-half penalty, an Andrey Arshavin penalty claim denial earlier, a Diaby own-goal, an equalizer by Robin van Persie being ruled out for offside against William Gallas, and a Wenger send-off to the stands by “sparkling” referee Mike Dean − was sufficient “material” for speculations about Arsene Wenger’s transfer decisions by the same “authorities” … all of a sudden …

The case of Adebayor goes far back into the previous transfer season: As much as he protested his innocence from time to time, everybody knows how he courted a move to AC Milan a summer ago, announcing his desire to leave Arsenal and play for “one of the biggest clubs in the world.” However, the move to Italy never took place and Adebayor returned to a very “different” dressing room for another season at Arsenal, becoming a target for the fans, and a problem for Wenger − especially after he admitted that he had lost faith in the club and was getting lazier from week to week … − he scored ten goals throughout the whole 08/09 season, compared to twenty-four the year before…

But instead of keeping his head down and focusing on paying back the faith that Arsenal put in him in the earlier two seasons, his ego raised and his performance dropped over time. He was being criticized for a perceived lack of commitment, creativity and flexibility, and after a while, as you can predict, the fans turned on him because there was no loyalty from him anymore. Add to that a public clash with Nicklas Bendtner during a Carling Cup match. Much to Adebayor's frustration, Bendtner's popularity inside the dressing room climbed at a time when his own began to fall. Over time, Bendtner endeared himself to team-mates who indeed preferred him to the guy who could not wait to “ditch” them for “one of the biggest clubs in the world!”

Adebayor started to become a more troublesome influence and by the end of last season Arsene Wenger was left in no doubt that Adebayor needed to move. Naturally, the pain of being rejected hurt … add to that the frustration of being forced to leave a team of which Bendtner is now very much part of …

Moving to Manchester City was like “escaping a bad relationship” which Adebayor had with Arsenal. … "Their hate for me is the thing that will stay in my heart, not until the end of my career, but until the end of my life," a self-dramatizing Emmanuel Adebayor declared just before game-week four, when he faced his former club. His mission was “payback!”, and his decision was to go to “war” with them …!

After tackling his former teammate, Robin van Persie felt the force of Emmanuel Adebayor’s kick in the face! … leaving him with a cut … At the end of the game Adebayor insisted he did not mean to kick(!) van Persie … but anyone who has played football would strongly disagree!

After scoring Manchester City's third goal, he knee-slighted towards the ranks of Arsenal supporters ... not to forget is that he actually raced the length of the pitch to do that! …with an out-of-control behavior … causing Gunners fans to react violently – being kept under control by police and stewards … leaving one of the stewards unconscious …!

Mission Completed! – Bravo Adebayor !!!

The conclusion:
"Under the fast-track disciplinary process, Adebayor has been charged with violent conduct following an incident with Robin van Persie, which resulted in the Arsenal player receiving facial injuries," the FA noted in a statement. "Referee Mark Clattenburg has advised the FA that he did not see this incident, but has confirmed that had he done so, he would have sent Adebayor off for violent conduct." In addition, “Adebayor was charged with improper conduct following his goal celebration.”

The outcome:
Emmanuel Adebayor is facing a lengthy suspension after being charged with violent conduct and improper conduct by the Football Association following his irresponsible behavior. He was charged by with violent conduct for his stamp on Robin van Persie and banned for three matches, with the FA viewing the incident as a red card offence. He also faces a list of other disciplinary action: The FA announced its decision to investigate a potential improper conduct charge relating to the same player's incitement of crowd trouble … And, if the FA chooses to punish a second stamping incident involving Cesc Fabregas, Adebayor's ban could increase to four games. With the two charges and the prospect of further action over his celebration, Adebayor could face a five match ban in total. But that is not the end of his punishment … the Manchester City disciplinary book will be thrown at Adebayor – which looks like a fine of £200,000 !

Was it a good decision to sell Adebayor? YES it was!
… It is Arsene Wenger who sold Adebayor, and not Mark Hughes who bought him, who should be grinning with relief... and it is Mark Hughes who will miss £100 million worth of strikers aginst ManU with Robinho and Roque Santa Cruz injured, Tevez battling to be fit and Adebayor banned for his behavior ... leaving him with one option: Craig Bellamy ...!

That's what I call PASSION for a team ...!

2009-08-13T13:17:00.005-04:00

From the Burnley Express

When Burnley FC (the Clarets) take to the field on August 15, history will be made and the dreams of thousands of the club's supporters will come true. For Burnley's biggest fan this was a day he had been waiting for for many years, but it is a day he will sadly never see. Robert Thistlethwaite followed his beloved team every week for nearly 80 years, but tragically died 11 days before he got the chance to see Burnley FC's Premier League bow.

Down the years the team experienced highs and lows and Robert lived through them all. His cousin and fellow Clarets fan Peter Duckworth said: "He was born in Burnley and has been watching Burnley FC man and boy. He came to pretty much every match, home and away, all his life. He has had a season ticket in the Bob Lord stand since it opened and as long as there have been season tickets."

Robert died on August 4, aged 85, and will be remembered as Burnley's biggest fan. His father took him to see his first match when he was seven – a time when Burnley were struggling in football's second tier. But the magic he saw that day captured his imagination and sparked a love affair with the Clarets to last until his dying day. Even as a young soldier, sent to Burma during the Second World War, he followed his team. He was in the Royal Signals and was awarded the Medal of Valour for his actions. After returning from war, Robert lived virtually all of his adult life away from Burnley, working for Lancashire County Council as a public health inspector in Kirkham, near Preston. But not even this could separate the man from his team, and every other week, come rain, hail or shine, he would make the 70-mile round trip to Turf Moor (Burnley FC's home ground since 1883).

Even when they were playing away he would travel the length and breadth of the country to see the Clarets. Mr Duckworth said: "Robert never drove a car in his life and would catch a train and bus to every game in living memory. He has seen them through thick and thin. It didn't matter where they were playing he would go. There are a lot of devoted supporters but there was not a better one than him."

F.Y.I. Burnley FC (The Clarets) gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 33 years after winning the 2009 Football League Championship play-off Final

"RIP" Robert Thistlethwaite ...

Tugay Kerimoglu: a REAL Blackburn Rovers LEGEND

2009-06-11T15:57:00.006-04:00

May 24, 2009 marked the end of an era at Blackburn … an end of an era in both English and Turkish football history … Emotions ran high at his last appearance in the blue/white shirt – squad number 5 – against West Bromwich Albion … Some 30,000 Ewood Park faithful bid an emotional farewell with high respect and gratitude to their 'Maestro' wearing Tugay masks and shouting "Tugay you are my Turkish Delight" …!

Tugay had joined Blackburn Rovers leaving Glasgow Rangers in the year of 2001 for £1.2 million – quite a bargain !!! - … within his eight years as a Rovers player – and surely being one of the great players of the Premiership – he turned down three big money moves staying at Ewood Park, outlasting Managers like Graeme Souness (3.5 years) and his successor Mark Hughes (3.5 years) …

A man playing for the club with such pride, The 'Maestro', represented an unusual character of a modern-day footballer … loyalty … a rare 'quality' in today's players …

Tugay had a very unique technique … he rarely left the midfield and made space for himself on the pitch by the way he moved his body … His magnificent touch to the ball opened up all the room he needed … and with his long and precise passing he suddenly created chances for his teammates in the offense … He lacked in goals, but never in quality …

With his pure passion for football and dedication for the club he richly deserves to be admired by every football – and especially Blackburn Rovers – fan …

Quote: "To be a Premier League player at the age of 38 takes more than ability ... you need the determination, the desire and the knowledge to go with it, and he has all of those things ... that is what makes him such a good player" ... (Sam Allardyce, current Blackburn Rovers Manager)

Quote: "There have few better to have graced the English game" … "because the quality he can produce is as good as I have seen in all my career, he is up there with the top ten players I have been involved with – I can’t give him higher credit than that" … "he is an outstanding player" … "he still has quality and I had the pleasure of playing alongside him and managing him as well. As a guy that gives you everything on a daily basis, both on the field and on the training ground, you couldn’t ask for a better guy" … "he has got a wicked sense of humor which endears him to people and his ability" … “I have said many times if he was ten years younger I would be looking to buy him" …"his loss will be felt in the dressing room as much as on the terraces" … “he used to moan and groan a bit if he wasn’t playing, but that wouldn’t affect his training approach … we would leave him alone for a while and he would quickly come back to the Tugay we actually like" … (Mark Hughes, current Manchester City Manager) …

Quote: … "Sir Alex Ferguson, after a Blackburn Rovers - Manchester United game, asked Mark Hughes(then Blackburn Rovers Manager) if he wished Tugay was 10 years younger … Mark Hughes' response was 'no' … 'because then he would be playing for you and not for me...' Alex Ferguson agreed with this statement, a true testament to the ability of Tugay and never have truer words been spoken …"

Tugay, I wish you the very best in your new career …!

"Keep the faith" ...? Yes, we will ...!

2009-05-14T17:00:00.004-04:00

Like every other Arsenal FC supporter I do also have high expectations of the club under Arsene Wenger in the Premier League, the Champions League and the FA-Cup.

After four years without a major trophy, finishing only fourth this season (-behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea) in the Premier League, and being knocked-out in the Champions League (-against Manchester United) and the FA-Cup (-against Chelsea) at the Semi-Final stage, I am very much disappointed with the over-all result.

On the other hand, we should not only look at the negative side, but at the positive side as well. Considering that this very 'young' team (the average age is somewhere between 23 and 24) went to the Champions League and FA-Cup Semi-Finals and finished fourth after a 21-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, it seems like it can only get better over the next few years. That is definitely a very promising situation in my opinion.

The club is generating similar income to Manchester United and Chelsea and the team plays still some of the best football in the world. It is all up to Arsene Wenger this summer to take an open-minded approach to improving the team for the next season. Besides keeping the faith in young players and holding-on to the current squad (especially Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Manuel Almunia), he has to draw a fine line between waiting too long to decide the team is not quite strong enough and being more active in the transfer market than in the previous summers, spending some money and making 2-3 necessary additions that could have a huge impact to the team.

Besides a new player in the center-back given the fact that it was really hard to cope without injured William Gallas, there is also the need of one experienced player in central-midfield.

With Tomas Rosicky, Eduardo and William Gallas coming back from injury next season and players like Manuel Almunia, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Kolo Toure, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Alex Song, I will continue to keep the faith in Arsenal FC.

Cristiano Ronaldo's "smart" move ... wishful thinking ...!

2009-05-12T15:36:00.008-04:00

Will Sir Alex Ferguson continue to tolerate Cristiano’s "bitching DIVA-like" behavior at Manchester United, or will he show "the world's No.1" that he definitely is not the best person to "lock horns" with … ?

Ronaldo's childish reaction to his substitution in the second half – while being up 2-0 (and having scored one goal) against local rival Manchester City this past weekend – is surely a challenge to Ferguson's authority and a 'signal' to Real Madrid, who are expected to throw another bid at ManU this summer …

How else could a 'throwing a training top to the ground' , 'mumbling displeasure while on the bench' , 'shaking the head' by the "bitching DIVA" be otherwise described? Ronaldo's stupidity (throwing down his training top) showed a lack of respect to the club that has rewarded him so generously – even after admitting he wanted to 'move on' to Real last summer ...

As we have seen in the past – outbursts and 'signals' do not seem to work with Sir Alex …:

… when he was tired of David Beckham's celebrity lifestyle in February 2003 he sent him off to sign with Real Madrid …

… he dropped Ruud van Nistelrooy from the team (150 goals in 218 ManU appearances until then) following a training ground 'clash' with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006 … and later sent him off to sign with Real Madrid …

… he was annoyed by Gabriel Heinze's attempt to move to Liverpool in 2007 … first he refused to allow him to join Liverpool ... then sent him off to sign with Real Madrid …

It seems like Ronaldo had it all planned …! - : He must be thinking that if he angers Mr. Ferguson, he might be "sent off to sign with Real Madrid" as soon as possible …(!) (!) (!) … and it seems like he is already fantasizing being strolled down Madrid's famous tourist attractions by Juande Ramos (if he survives of course) this summer ...

3 things about the Chelsea - Barcelona C.L. Semi Final

2009-05-08T04:21:00.002-04:00

1. (very) poor referee ...: Can somebody please tell me why the UEFA would choose a Norwegian referee to take charge of such an important game anyway ...? Is it because (I guess) the guy speaks Spanish and English ...??? ... or because he refereed the Norwegian Cup finals of 1999 "between Rosenborg and Brann" and 2006 "between Fredrikstad and Sandefjord" ... ??? Hidding is absolutely right pointing out that UEFA has to get top-notch referees who have experience of the big leagues, like Italy, Spain, England and Germany so they can cope with such an important game ...!

2. Drogba clearly could have scored twice ... straightforward: Maybe then he wouldn't have to assault 'officialdom' wild-eyed and raging instead, after the game was over ... for turning down 3 Chelsea penalty appeals ... His aggression was a true embarrassment, upright by the fact that he was wearing flip-flops ...! I am wondering what the UEFA's decision will be on his confrontation ...

3. Hiddink should have pushed on a third forward player from the bench...: When Barca was down to 10 men for the last 24 minutes of the game and put on more pressure on the Barca defense which was already missing two important players (Marquez and Puyol) ...