RACISM

Last week, English FA is launching Kick It Out's One Game, One Community campaign. Much of the highlight was focused on Patrice Evra's claim that Luis Suarez uttered racism remarks towards him during Man Utd's match against us the week before. Everybody saw how suarez tormented United's defence that day and Evra had the worse end of the stick. It is sad when someone says bad things about another person and even worse if it is racial in context. Evra's accusation is something that needs to be looked into and King Kenny's statement that he is looking forward to a complete, transparent report from the FA and will 100% co-operate with it is highly applauded. One is innocent until proven guilty.

We have to kick racism from this beautiful game and our great club has always a supporter of this effort. God has created us equal and what makes us different is our attitude. I believe that our fans does not see colour as an issue. Whoever plays their heart out while wearing the sacred shirt will always be close to their heart no matter their skin colour..wheater he is white, black, brown, blue or even green. It is with great pride that our club's motto is You'll Never Walk Alone.. We have gone through a lot.. Hillsborough, Heysel to name a few where every single fan who watch the tragedy feels for the victims and their family. Let us reach out to every single person in this world and tell them that You will never walk alone.

THE FIRST REAL TEST

We came out for our first real test of the season with flying colours. Although we did not won the game, but the manner in which we took the game to United was awesome. Steven Gerrard was included for the match and by looking at the line up, clearly SAF set up the team to play defensively. Rooney was probably left out to protect him but he eventually introduced in the second half after they were a goal down. Our players looked composed except for Lucas who was probably still jet lagged. He was a bit slow and his usual neat passing was absent. Evra and gang was left fuming after the abuse made by our Super Suarez which afterward complained to the official that Suarez racially abused him. A load of crap. De Gea was on song with some superb saves to deny Kuyt, Suarez and Handerson. Hernandez again provide the spoils with the equalizer. I was disapointed with the draw but happy with the performance. Things are looking bright and hopefully we can build on this performance to challenge for the top spot.

Fernando Torres

What more can i say about this guy. He was an idol during his stint with us and he did show a slump in form at the end of his stint. He did not show great form in his early days at Chelsea. I guess his injury affected his game. However he has shown great form this season. With AVB in charge at Chelsea and with new midfield set up there, i have a feeling that El Nino will strike again. I have a feeling that AVB knows how to bring the best out of Torres coz during the last two games, those through passes that he thrives upon is there. I know Torres misses Stevie G's assistance as Lampard play is a lot different from our talismatic captain's style. I guess that is why he says that Chelsea's players are old and slow. Mereiles and Juan Mata arrival at Chelsea should provide the ammunition that he requires. Even Torres was criticized for that awful miss, i believe that it will spur him to score loads of goals. All great strikers have made some blunder at one time. So cheers mate.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

The time has come, the moment that we have been waiting for (apart from Eidul Fitri that is), BPL is back. All the pre-season games and all the transfers done, they are now ready for battle. Liverpool have done fairly well in the transfer market, roping in Jordan Handerson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Alexander Doni and Jose Enrique. I've seen Charlie Adam play when they came to town and was quite impressed with him (actually i was more impressed with Aquilani). The pre-season games was mixed with wins in the far east and then a few losses against Hull and Gatalasaray but managed a draw against a Norwegian side before capping it with a win against Valencia.

With King Kenny at the helm, i am optimistic this time that we can make a serious challenge for the title. I know some pundits are already writing us off as also rans, but deep in my heart i can sense that this time it will be different. We are no more a one man team, depending on captain courageous Mr Steven Gerrard all the time. We have players now who can turn the game around like Aquilani, Luiz Suarez, Charlie Adam and Mereiles. I hope tonight's game will see us hit the ground running. Sunderland is no pushover though, they have made some terrific signings and could provide stiff challenge to us. However, we have quality and enough firepower to see them off. Okay then... cant wait for the game.. Walk on.. walk on.. with hope in your heart.. and you'll never walk alone..You'll Never Walk Alone..

Malaysia vs Singapore

Malam tadi sepatutnya memperlihatkan permainan yang bersungguh oleh Harimau Malaya. namun apa yang dipersembahkan merupakan satu permainan yang gugup oleh anak buah K Rajagopal. Kesilapan taktikal yang dicaturkan oleh K Rajagopal menjadikan permainan terlalu longgar. Pasukan Harimau Malaya terlalu banyak bermain secara long pass dan mengharapkan Safee Sali membuat sesuatu daripada hantaran tersebut. Ini mengundang padah kerana pertahanan pasuka Kota Singa itu dengan mudah mematahkan serangan pasukan Harimau Malaya.

Ketiadaan Syafiq Rahim sememangnya dirasai kerana beliau merupakan enjin kepada pasukan. Pada pengamatan saya, Amar Rohidan gagal mengambil alih tugas Syafig dengan baik. Ball distribution beliau tidak kemas menyebabkan hantaran-hantaran beliau selalu dipintas oleh pihak lawan. Kurangnya bermain melalui sayap kiri amat ketara kerana Kunalan terpaksa mengambil bola dari tengah dan bawah untuk memulakan pergerakkan. Permainan one-two antara pemain-pemain Harimau Malaya boleh dikatakan "non-existant" mungkin kerana terlalu bermain secara long ball.

Safee Sali kelihatan kecewa dengan support yang diperolehinya. Bila bola dihantar terus kepada beliau, boleh dikatakan 70% pasukan Kota SInga itu akan memenangi second ball. Barisan tengah Harimau Malaya agak lambat untuk naik ke atas bagi membantu beliau. Amirul Hadi juga kurang berkesan dan seolah-olah tidak berani untuk menewaskan Jumaat Jantan. Namun begitu, gol jaringan Safee merupakan gol yang datangnya dari short play yang mana sepatutnya di gunakan sepanjang permainan. Pujian harus diderikan kepada Kunalan yang bermain mengikut wisel dan membuat lorongan cantik kepada Safee.

Apa lagi yang perlu diceritakan mengenai pertahanan kita. Dalam 4 perlawanan yang melibatkan pasukan Harimau Malaya ini, dapat dilihat pertahanan kita amat longgar. 4 gol menentang Arsenal, 6 gol menentang Liverpool, 5 gol menentang SIngapura di Stadium Jalan Besar dan 1 malam tadi. Hanya kecekapan Khairul Fahmi menutup malu pertahanan kita. Syabas Apek, berani saya menyatakan bahawa beliau layak diberikan 5 bintang atas persembahan beliau malam tadi.

Namun apa pun, pasukan Harimau Malaya ini patut diberi sokongan kerana berjaya menaikkan semangat penyokong dan menaikkan martabat Harimau Malaya yang selama ini dibelenggu oleh masalah rasuah. Bagi para penyokong Harimau Malaya, janganlah kita mencaci kerana mereka telah bermain sebaik mungkin. Marilah kita mengambil iktibar daripada slogan pasukan Liverpool.. "You'll Never Walk Alone". Jangan kita biarkan pasukan Harimau Malaya dipinggirkan. Jatuh bangun mereka, kita tetap berada bersama-sama mereka..InsyaAllah.

WHEN LIVERPOOL CAME TO TOWN

It was a historical moment for me. Being an ardent fan of The Reds, seeing them play in front of me is a dream come true and its the next best thing than being in Anfield. When Liverpool Football Club announces that they are coming to Malaysia for the first time, my heart skipped a beat. I just couldn't believe it coz this would be their first time coming to our shores. Me and a few friends discussed about going to Bukit Jalil to watch the game and made tickets arrangement. A friend of mine got the tickets for us and off we go.

We arrived at Bukit Jalil at around 2.00 pm and the stadium has already packed. We hung around to soak the fanfare atmosphere, taking pictures and stuff. By 3.45 we decided to go into the stadium. Its already half full as we went in and search for the seat with the best possible view. As the stadium continues being filled by our fellow Kopites, the speakers suddenly played The Anthem.. It brings chills to my spine as we sang You'll Never Walk Alone. Suddenly i was at Anfield. I'm Living my dream...

By 4.15 we saw from the monitor that the bus carrying The Reds players has arrived.. This made the stadium go wild. A couple of minutes later, Jay Spearing, Daniel Agger, Charlie Adam, Danny Pacheco went on the pitch to a thunderous clap and we gave our best rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone. We were eager to see them in action and what a show it was.. 9 goals.. Hats off to Malaysia for giving Liverpool a fight. Harimau Malaya played well and deserve a pat on the back. Liverpool played 2 different teams in each half. The first half team played possession foorball and neat one-twos. Got a penalty and WHAT A GOAL by Shafiq Rahim. It was a gem.. The second team was more attack oriented with Kuyt, Aquaman and Jonjo bossing the midfield. 2 goals each from Ngog, Maxi and Shafiee. Being a fan for both teams (Liverpool and Harimau Malaya) it was truly a satisfying trip. To Liverpool FC, PLEASE COME AGAIN... and to Harimau Malaya.. YOU GUYS ROCK.. Thank you liverpool fc, and to my friends especially Rizal, Issma, Qisti.. thanks guys..

Its been a while since we tasted success..but i believe its gonna be soon