Note to Doubters: Gunners Are Not Done Yet....."

Yes though Man City piped us 3-0, we are not done yet. It is still very early in the season, heck we are over a month away from mid-season.

Galas is thankfully been stripped of his Captaincy. The young Gunners will bounce back and contend for the title. Pundits and skeptics [like Galas] are already writing off The Arsenal. It is not over yet.

Arsene has once again proved his mettle and reclaimed his dressing room from the disruptive Frenchman by dropping his countryman from the squad as punishment for his outlandish comment about his teammates.

With Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool and Aston Villa all only taking 1 point from their respective games, the title race is still open and The Gunners will have a say about who gets the title come May.

Don't count us out just yet...

Que est Galas?

William Galas says Arsene Wenger's side is ''not brave enough in battle''. What? Is this dude supposed to be The Gunners Captain? What the heck is he doing ratting on his team like this? Galas has gone too far this time.

Frankly I think that Arsene has protected him too long and it is time the Gaffer strips his fellow Frenchman of the Skipper's arm band...

Galas epitomizes the Gunners problems this season. Not enough consistent fire power...not enough bite. The team needs as good a leader on the pitch as it has in the locker rooms. His angst should be channeled into firing up his young teammates instead of whining to reporters. After four loses (one more than all of last season)and before the Christmas break too..the Gunners season is almost derailing and Galas laments that "there are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated.." You are right Monsieur, your lack of 'fight' and believe in your team is intolerable and does not show character.

Galas should simply step up and lead or step aside.

Bon chance Galas

Lightning Strikes Twice...Actually Thrice...

The games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China will definitely have lots of talking points after hostilities are over; from the baby-faced Super Chinese gymnasts to the “Phelp-fish” and certainly and in his own class Jamaican sprint class act Usain Bolt.

To say the Jamaicans dominated the sprints in Track and Field will be an understatement, Bolt their lead off man smashed two world records himself while with help from the 4 x 100 meters relay quartet completed Jamaica’s dominance by erasing the long standing record in this distance. His total haul at the end of the games; 3 Gold medals, 3 World record times; this is unprecedented.

Folks are already asking questions though, some under their breaths while others are more vocal. Why are these Jamaicans suddenly dominating? Are they clean? My response, Time will tell, you bet.

Rogge Tries To Steal Bolt's Jolt

Another disturbing angle to the whole questioning thing is how many folks are not so happy with Usain Bolt’s pre- and post-race demeanor. They unbelievably argue that his celebrations and being goofy is not good sportsmanship. Chief of Bolt’s critics is International Olympic Committee President, Mr Jacques Rogge. Rogge believes Usain is bringing the games into disrepute by disrespecting his fellow competitors. The IOC Chief had asserts that Bolt is ridiculing his opponents by his now trademark outlandish and enthusiastic celebrations.

Well, Chief Rogge I beg to disagree, Sportsmanship or the Olympic spirit is a
‘true’-way street, and it would be awful to see an athlete like Bolt not be himself, at his best. Every time the 22 year old Jamaican steps onto the tracks in Bird Nest Stadium, the 91,000 strong crowd in the stands respond well to him; antics and all. While Rogge describes 8-Gold medal swimming sensation Michael Phelps as an icon, he doesn’t show any respect for Bolt’s unique achievements.

I think Jacques Rogge should apologize to Jamaicans and to Usain, better still I think he should be forced to do the Usain Bolt “happy dance” inside the Bird’s Nest and without shoes too; that would certainly be good for Olympic Spirit.

Half Man...Half Amazing!!!

He stands at a towering 6 feet 5 inches, strides with the elegance of an ostrich cross-bred with a Hare; he is new World record holder, Olympic Champion in the 100 meters and world's fastest man Jamaica's Usain "Lightning" Bolt.

I have never seen anyone, any sprinter dominate a race like this. Usain Bolt completely eclipsed the race and he did not even run at full throttle. With an emphatic fist pump of his chest he erased his own 9.72s world record time, setting an unfathomable 9.69s all with minimum effort. In the 100 meters final event with six out of the eight finalist running under 10 seconds, it was no surprise that the Olympic record of Canada's Donovan Bailey would fall, the only question was how fast Usain Bolt would run.

Rather unfortunately Asafa Powell, another Jamaican missed out on the podium and a deserved medal, same for American sprint king Tyson Gay. Along with Usain these three 'speedsters' were supposed to crush that World record this Olympics. As it turns out Usain got the job done, and pretty easily too.

I can only imagine what would have happened if both Asafa and Tyson Gay had been at their best in the finale? We might have witnessed an even more special show from the Jamaican Lightning Bolt. "This kid is simply awesome" says Donovan Bailey and I plenty agree.

Power Shift in The Beautiful Game.....Matters 'A-rounding'

Inter Finally Win it

Things are changing in the world of The Beautiful Game. It is very evident in no less than in the Italian championship regarded by some as the world's 'numero uno' league.

FC Internazionale Milano just won their third consecutive scudetto and their 16th in the Nerazzuri's checkered history. On the other hand their more successful city rivals AC Milan will not feature in next seasons Champions League after finishing 5th in Serie A. The Rosoneri were piped to the final spot by Fiorentina....who would have thought?

Milan's disappointing season notwithstanding, Carlo Ancelotti, the Manager will continue on to the next season, while despite Inter's success Roberto Manchini is expected to lose his coaching job to The Special One, Jose Mourinho. Manchini has come under "unfair" criticism for Inter's less than impressive scudetto run. He has been continuously hounded by Massimo Moratti, and it is no secret the Inter President's proverbial 'writing on the wall' will spell doom for Manchini this summer.

It is obvious to all now that Serie A is in a dip, a deep slump. The bribery scandals and allegations of interfering with officiating has seriously affected the credibility of the league. It is evident now as more top class players prefer to take their boots and lace up for Premier league teams. The fact that these players are getting better wages in the Queen's country also underlines this fact.

As if confirming the shift of power, the Champions league was dominated by the Premier League's top four teams. A.C Milan were booted out of contention by Arsenal and the other three Premiership teams found themselves in the last four. The final in Moscow later this month will feature Man United and Chelsea; the Premiership's top two teams.

It will be interesting to see how the Serie A teams fight to reclaim their lost status and how the Premiership will keep their high flying status. In a bitter twist though, England will not be represented in Europe's Nations Cup while once again World Champions Italy are favoured to win it. The fact that England is now coached by Italian giant Fabio Capello and the implications is not lost on anyone. England now attracts the best of the best; Capello for my pennies and cents is the best Football mind in the business rivaled only by the astute and reverential Gunners gaffer Arsene Wenger.

But what does this all mean? Where does this all lead football aficionado's. Will football suffer? I doubt it. In the coming weeks and months, a clearer picture will emerge as to where the football power shift is favouring. These summer's transfer moves will determine the trend of football and ultimately the winners and losers. Suffice to say Aficionado's will always be the winners.

So Long Jens, Mathieu....

The Gunners side ended their season on a high note thanks to a Theo Walcott strike against Sunderland.

Arsenal great Jens Lehmann played his last game for Arsene Wenger's side. Lehmann an important member of the Arsenal Invisibles who went through a whole season without losing a single game, a feat unequaled by any Premier league side.

So long 'mad' Jens, we will surely miss you and your wild ways.

So long Mathieu Flamini for 4 great years in Highbury and at the Emirates, and so long any other players on their way out. We wish you well always.

For Mr Wenger, we believe in you still.

Congratulations Man United for a deserved Premiership victory; Sir Alex is indeed a legend.

For all you Gunners and goners.....Arsenal will be back.

See you in August

Take That Man United!!! Gunners are Still in It

Arsenal forced Aston Villa to a 1-1 draw at the Emirate's Stadium in North London. What a relief!

Although it seemed all but lost, the Gunners showed character and a no-quit attitude in this one. Nicklas Bendtner banged in a low drive off an Adebayor nod down in what was virtually the last kick of the match, sending a message to arch rivals Man United: "We are Still In It".

The Premier league leading Gunners were a depleted side, missing the injured Kolo Toure, Eduardo, the mercurial Robie Van Persie and the suspended Emmanuel Eboue.

Manager Arsene Wenger speaking before the match against the high flying Aston Villa, hinted that his players would have to rise up to the occasion in today's encounter....and they did if only at the tail end of the game.

2nd placed Man United were hoping Aston Villa help ease their rise to the top of the league table. Playing lowly Fulham United put 3 goals past the clueless Craven cottage side.

By today's results Arsenal maintain their lead on top of the table with Man United trailing howbeit closely.

Kudos to Martin O'Neil's Aston Villa for a well played match. Praises to the Gunners for a grand end to the game.

The march to the Premiership title continues.

Good Luck Eduardo!!!

Arsenal front man Eduardo da Silva's season is over. The Gunner's striker suffered a broken foot and ankle injury in Saturdays 2-2 Premier league clash against Birmingham City. Eduardo's injury was so severe that SkyTv refused to show replays of the incident.

Eduardo's was tackled in the third minute by Birmingham defender Mark Taylor who was summarily dismissed from the game afterwards. Arsenal players were visibly shaken by the incident to their colleague.

Eduardo could well miss this summer's European Championships, and his absence will make Arsenal's quest for a first Premier league title in four years even more difficult.

Arsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger who lashed out at Martin Taylor for the tackle on his striker, asking for a Life ban on the Birmingham defender, reviewed his stance Sunday. Professor Wenger admitted that his comments uttered in the heat of the moment were "excessive". Wenger was obviously and rightfully distraught after seeing one of the Premier league's top young players go down in such horrendous circumstance.

Wenger said there was a school of thought that Arsenal could only be stopped by using rough play. 'It goes along with the idea... that to stop Arsenal, you have to kick Arsenal,' he said. 'That kind of thing was waiting to happen. It's not acceptable. If that is football, it's better to stop it.

We wish Eduardo a speedy recovery, but the fear as Wenger puts it that his striker's season is over and the lad could be out much longer.

The Brazilian-born-Croatian Eduardo underwent surgery and was resting, Arsenal website stated.


link: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=510509&cc=5901

Barack Says: Yes We Can!

Black Stars Slip Through

The 'Super Sunday' clash in the African Cup of Nations, Ghana '08 between hosts Ghana and Nigeria's Super Eagles ended with the Black Stars piping their opponents to a spot in the Semi-Finals of the Competition.

Junior Agogo's 83 minute goal which looked offside from Tv replays won the game for the hosts.

The Super Eagles had gone ahead through Yakubu Aiyegbeni penalty on 35 minutes and seemed ready to spoil the biggest party in Accra. Chelsea's Micheal Essien however leveled scores with a fine header in the 3rd minute of added time.

Ghana were on the back foot for the majority of the second half with Nigeria's winger Osaze Odewingwe running riot and confusing the defense; leading to a sending off for Ghanaian Captain and defender Mensah in the 60th minute. Mensah committed a professional foul, audaciously bringing down the goal-bound Nigerian

Ghana reacted by redeploying Essien to cover for Mensah and never seemed to miss the big man. Both sides played a counter attacking option with a lot of the battles going on in the mid-field. John Mikel Obi was relatively absent for the Super Eagles as Sully Muntari threaded passes and controlled the tempo of the game.

The Super Eagles it seemed did not have any clues as to how to make use of their one-man advantage and failed to capitalize. Late into the game, Ghanaian Agogo latched onto a loose ball squared across the Nigerian goal by Muntari. Agogo tapped in at the back post uncontested, while the Nigerian defense it seemed were ball watching.

In the end it was an unconvincing victory for Ghana, but nonetheless deserved. Based on current form many pundits had predicted a Black Stars victory and the Super Eagles were merely spoilers. For the Super Eagles; it was another game where they fell well short.

The 'real' competition begins now as the pretenders and contenders are being separated.

Ghana's reward for a well fought victory; Eto'o's Cameroon or Tunisia.

Kanoute is Africa's No 1

Malian striker Frederic Kanoute has been named the 2007 African Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Kanoute whose team Mali was recently eliminated from the African's Nations Cup this week is the first European-born player to win the award after beating off competition from Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba and Michael Essien of Ghana.

The Sevilla striker was nominated for his role in helping Mali qualify for this year's African Nations Cup finals and triumphs last season with his Spanish club in the UEFA and King's Cups.

The lanky Kanoute is the first Malian to win the coveted award after fellow country man Salif Keita got the award in 1970; its inaugural year. Kanoute played for his native France as a junior international before switching allegiance in 2004 to Mali, his father's country. A decision he was praised for.

The other nominees for the Award Ivorian Didier Drogba and Ghanaian Micheal Essien were seen as favorites for the award. The Chelsea duo were nominated mainly on the strength of their form in the English league and European competition. Drogba's goals kept Chelsea in the Premier League title race last season and also helped them lift the FA Cup, with the Ivorian scoring the only goal of the final against Manchester United at Wembley, while Essien's antic in the Chelsea midfield have not gone unnoticed.

The award ceremony was however undermined when Essien was refused permission by his federation to travel the short distance to neighboring Togo for the ceremony; Ghana plays Nigeria in a quarter-final in Accra on Sunday. Drogba on his part will lead the Ivorians against Guinea in Sekondi in their quest to reach back to back finals.

Ivory Coast were named as the African team of the year and Champions League winners Etoile Sahel of Tunisia announced as the club of the year. Etoile Sahel striker Armine Chermiti was named the best African club competition player and Zambian Clifford Mulenga Young African Player of the Year.

Past winners of the Award include legendary players like George Weah, Abedi Pele, El Hadji Diouf, 3-time winner Samuel Eto'o, Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu and Didier Drogba.

The African Footballer of the Year award is voted for by the national coaches of the 53 CAF associations.

Super Eagles not yet out of it

The Super Eagles are Africa's top ranked team according to the latest FIFA rankings, Nigeria's high flying team has been numero uno since October 2007.

After a lack-lustre start to their campaign in the current African Nations Cup campaign, Ghana'08, the flamboyant Super Eagles go into Sunday's clash against host Ghana's Black Stars as the unlikely underdogs, and this is where it gets interesting.

The Black Stars are 3 for 3 in first round matches, while the Super Eagles are an unimpressive 1-1-1. The Black Stars are obviously favoured to rout Nigeria, but with the passionate home crowd expected at the game, Ghana's players might resort to impress the crowd to their own detriment.

The match-ups in this mammoth game are fantastic. Ghana parades some sleek and very skillful players in the midfield. Chelsea's Essien and Portsmouth Sule Muntari will marshal attacks on the Super Eagles defense led-in-chief by Everton's Joseph Yobo. Essien's Chelsea compatriot John Mikel Obi will screen the Super Eagles defense from deep in the center of play after an impressive performance against Benin.

Super Eagles' strength will be in third of the field where Martins will hope to latch on to John Utaka's passes from the flanks. Nigeria has scoring options in Aiyegbeni, Kanu, Osaze Odewingwe and Taye Taiwo from the free kicks range.

Super Eagles gaffer, Berti Vorgts has to instruct his players not to lose the midfield battles. If the Super Eagles can withstand the Black Star's early rush on goal, the game might turn on its head. Nigeria should soak th pressure and counter-attack when the Black Stars are exposed at the back.

I predict that the longer it takes the Black Stars to get a goal the more it will be 'advantage Super Eagles', as their confidence will increase. Ghana's home crowd will become impatient and the effect could lead the team to push forward in search of a goal; Nigeria will be content to just watch and pounce when this happens.

All in all it should be a spectacle, but I am rooting for the Super Eagles to finish on top.

By the way Ghana is ranked 9th in Africa.....

Link to Fifa rankings

Eto'o roaring again!!!

Samuel Eto'o is no stranger to records and it seems there is no stopping this Cameroonian lion from legendary status. The FC Barcelona striker is a 3-time African Footballer of the Year, Olympic Gold Medalist, African Nations Cup Champion, Spanish League Champion, Champions league Winner European Champion amongst many other accomplishments.

Eto'o again proved he was not yet done with his record, scoring two of Cameroon's three goals against Sudan in the final round of the African Nations' Cup qualifying phase to become the competition's all-time leading goalscorer with sixteen.

Ivory Coast legend Laurent Pakou held the previous record of 14 goals for 38 years. No African deserves the honour of breaking the record than Samuel Eto'o.

The Cameroonian striker, who is in his fifth Nations Cup Finals will have at least one more opportunity to add to his tally as the Indomitable lions have reached the quarter finals.

Elephants Ensure Super Eagles passage!

Wow! I let out one huge sigh of relief as I learned that Drogba's Cote d' voire had just trounced the little Malian Eagles 3-0.

At the start of todays simultaneous match ups, Mali needed just a draw to advance to the round of eight, while the Ivorians who were already through just needed to stay pretty. Nigeria's star studded Super Eagles had been disappointing in two group match ups against Ivory Coast and Mali. Having drawn blanks in a 0-1 loss to Didier Drogba's side and playing goalless with enterprising Mali, the highly rated Super Eagles were 'soaring' on borrowed time. Group whipping boys, Benin were already out of it.

Soccer pundits (including Your's truly) had already written the Super Eagles off. Amazingly the Super Eagles through goals from a pair of English based players dumped 2 goals past hapless Benin, while Mali fell badly by 3 un-replied goals. Chelsea Midfielder John Mikel Obi and Everton leading scorer Yakubu Aiyebgeni contributed the Nigerian goals, while Drogba opened scoring in the rout of Mali.

The next round of Matches sees Nigeria's Super Eagles taking on their traditional soccer foes, hosts Ghana in Accra, while Ivory Coast should have it easier against West Africans Guinea.

Its all in the air now!
Go Super Eagles!!! Dim the Black stars in Accra.