Sorry for the very late update. I know matches are on-going in the Premier League but guess what time I returned home today? Almost an hour or so ago. I was out since like a quarter to noon.
Watching 'Mamma Mia! The Movie' (alright, I know I'm late into this given it has been almost a month or something since it was on here) and after that, a game of bowling (and I played, after like the absence of five years or so and my results...like what I had expected). Originally my sister's idea for the former and I joined in to ask our father when is the best time to go watch it (before it's not being shown anymore in the cinemas) earlier this week. I had watched the musical when it was here four years ago. If there is ever a category on what you may never believe from me, listening to songs from my parents' time is among them. I'm not shy to say that I do also like songs which my father like in his younger days (ABBA songs being among them, given the original musical version and the film were based on the ABBA hits). But come to think of it, I actually grew up listening to Mandarin songs in my father's car, and they were from my parents' time.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari had heard about the time when his club captain John Terry was knocked out by a boot to the head from Abou Diaby as he blocked the Arsenal midfielder's shot in the 2007 League Cup final. Back then his fellow team-mates feared the worst as he was stretchered off to hospital but he did returned in time to see his Chelsea lift the trophy. I did remembered those times. It was mentioned by AFP when Scolari was giving his reactions given Terry might had been out for two of England's recent World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus (back problem), the defender has told Scolari he has no intention of taking time off to recover.
Scolari also gave his take on another of his club defender Ashley Cole being booed last week (by sections of the Wembley crowd last weekend after his mistake gifted Kazakhstan a goal) by saying the left-back is resilient enough to cope with the abuse. For the Brazilian manager, it's the same anywhere in the world if the football players made mistakes.
An injury-hit Arsenal had led to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitting that it have been left with little room for error after early season defeats by Fulham and Hull. But Wenger remains convinced that his players have the quality to mount a sustained title challenge. The injury problems are also partly offset by the return to full fitness of combative midfielder Abou Diaby, who will be in the squad for the first time this season after recovering from a thigh injury. The injury problems are also partly offset by the return to full fitness of combative midfielder Abou Diaby, who will be in the squad for the first time this season after recovering from a thigh injury. One compensation for Wenger is that Everton boss David Moyes has equally serious injury/illness problems, and will also have to do without influential midfielder Tim Cahill, who completes a three-match ban.
Well. Michael Ballack might had declared fit to play in Germany's World Cup qualifier against Wales in midweek, he complained of pain in his feet after the match. He undergone surgery on both feet. The German FA confirmed the 32-year-old had an operation to remove a neuroma - a benign nerve tumour - from both feet and it went without complications. If the recovery go as normal, he will be able to return to training for two weeks.
I had no idea where to put this next report actually. Given I could had also put under my Bundesliga updates (but then again, I realised I had a chunk of reports for that) as well given it concerned the former Tottenham Hotspur manager and current Hamburg coach Martin Jol. Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live yesterday, he is not pointing fingers at anyone at his former club for their worst start in almost a century under his successor, Juande Ramos. And speaking on how things are going for him in Germany, Jol admitted he is benefiting from the support of his current sporting director at Hamburg (in the form of Dietmar Beiersdorfer). The English media had definitely cast an envious eye on how the Dutchman is doing in the Bundesliga since last month he brought them to the top of the Bundesliga standings after nine years.
Maybe Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is right. With the current global recession, Wenger is not ruling out that it will hit the Premier League as well. He was saying that in the Official Arsenal Magazine. And I know actually he is not the only one who is not ruling out of a financial consequence in football. Around like last week or something, the German national team manager Oliver Bierhoff thinks there could be a financial backlash in the Bundesliga (though earlier this week, it has been squashed by the powers that be in German football given of the financial stability the Bundesliga had maintained all these years).
Premier League, or sort of thought of the day: This heartens me. In terms of at his current club Hamburg, what Martin Jol said of sporting director Dietmar Beiersdorfer on BBC Radio Five Live - 'he was delighted I came over and he tells everyone every day he is delighted I am here'. Definitely confirmed whatever I read that the Hamburg chairman Bernd Hoffmann is happy of what Jol had done at the club since his arrival. Tottenham Hotspur's loss, Hamburg's gain? It had crossed my mind before but, I rather see Jol's time at Hamburg as a fine advertisement for the Premier League. That if you can survive being a football manager in England, you can survive anywhere.
Vlog on the pitch - who would you pick for England? (Fabio Capello showed his worth with some inspired selections and substitutions in England’s 5-1 win over Kazakhstan and 3-1 victory in Belarus in World Cup qualifying....Has Capello got the balance right or would you pick some other players to make England even stronger?)
Brown proud of Tigers' feat (Even the most optimistic Hull City fans will be pinching themselves at the dream start to their first ever season in the Premier League.)
Brown a blend of purist and pragmatist (From his 'War Room' Hull's commander-in-chief tells Louise Taylor of his plans to keep bandwagon rolling)
Gareth Southgate proud of his community club (The path to spiritual enlightenment rarely leads to the front gates of a football stadium - too venal, too egotistical - but where most clubs empty the pockets of their supporters, Gareth Southgate is engaging minds. Making a difference does not have to revolve around a billionaire's chequebook or players kissing badges that they scarcely recognise; community is Middlesbrough's secret weapon.)
Young star too bright to be lost in City's growing world galaxy (Micah Richards has not yet played for Fabio Capello but he wants his England place back, he tells Daniel Taylor)
