Is Time up for the Timers ?

















"Woy, Is that your false Teeth or Mine ?



The two friends,whose respected clubs are constantly at war. They are the proverbial Grumpy Old Men of English Football- Sir Alex Ferguson and Roy Hodgson. One,a hero over decades who now imagines his key player is injured, the other declaring the "the best game played since I joined" after an embarrassing defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby. Fans are beginning to wonder if its time for the pair to swop the touchline for flip flops and a newspaper. On Saturday,Old Trafford rang out with shouts of "Rooney, Rooney" as the Hitman languished on the bench. I have a feeling Ferguson didn't even hear their cries of support. The next day his old pal decides to employ Joe Cole on the left and bring the useless Lucas back into the starting line up. Needless to say both Managers failed to come up with the 3 points. You have to wonder what goes through their minds as time after time they just don't seem able to adapt to the ever changing demands of the 2010-2011 season. A new dawn at Liverpool, now debt free and a chance to bring the feel good factor back to Anfield, Roy has failed to inspire. United fans I speak to don't seem to care too much for past glory, they want success NOW. I mean, just the other day united winger Valencia sustained a serious injury, the doctor reminded Ferguson to check up on Valencia...Fergie obliged and boarded a plane to Spain to check up on La Liga side Valencia, I mean really..!
As Chelsea pull away and Man City emerge as strong contenders,Will The EPL's Bala and Peru stand up and be counted, or countered?

Man City Versus Liverpool...Tonight

Can Roy and the Boys pull off a surprise against the New Galacticos of England ?
Well we're up against it, thats for sure....But as always, Thats wehn Liverpool play their best football, so , BRING IT ON !!!

Well its been a loooooooooooong time but hey I'm back !

I just had to write something about Liverpool's "brazilian" - Lucas Leiva. I mean really...If there is one player who irritates me to no end, its Mr " I can't do anything but go back or 5 inches sidewards. The worst part is the guy single handedly cost us the title last year. Liverpool were 4 points short last season...He gave a Penalty in the 89th minute against Wigan or Everton last year, and gave away a needless free kick which led to a goal against Wigan or Everton. This week against Reading in the FA Cup he watched the oke as he kept the ball in to setup the goal. THe Sad part is that our Coach seems to see something that NO-ONE IN THE WORLD can. I hoep when Masch comes back , he and Aquilani get a chance to form a partnership and , we get to see Gerrard moving up with more ease to Help out our Lone striker Torres, who is doing exceptionally well, most feeding on scraps this season. Why don't we play with 2 strikers, even when at home?

Anyways Maxi Rodriguez on his way to Anfield, remember that goal against Mexico in the Germany World Cup? lets hope he doesn't come and flop like Babel , Dossena (Yay, he just signed for Napoli) and the other misfits of whom there are too many to mention.

So cheerio Dossena, thanks for the goal in the 4-1 Demolition against United, and also the goal against Real Madrid. The two moments of productivity you enjoyed in 18 months at Anfield. Ciao for now


Special well done to Leeds who beat United at Old Trafford. Had to laugh when the commentator said "United take the Lead - Leeds United, that is!!"

Drawing conclusions
Ejaz Khan

Liverpool sit on the cliff edge of uncertainty and growing frustration, as the stand off between Owners and fans seems to be affecting the players, according to Liverpool skipper Stevie G it isn’t easy to just block it all out, all the time. Pepe Reina maybe feels the same, he couldn’t block out the goals last night, conceding two goals in quick succession, although the second goal was a bit of a weird own goal.


Déjà vu ? Seems that way. Another draw, yes. Another resounding backing from the fans for Rafa Benitez, but no full intensity from the players on the pitch. Dirk Kuyt in the box, something new and welcomed by fans. An assist even. Wow, it has can only get better, you’d be fooled into thinking. But that where it stops. Five seconds of productivity, and 92.5 minutes of utter frustration. Yossi Benayoun, doing so well to get the goal, seemed to think, just like Kuyt, that their efforts for the opening goal were enough for the evening. They were horribly wrong.


While a full thumbs up to the crowd is in order for a wonderful backing of both coach and club, seeing their team once again display a mediocre performance must leave them disillusioned to say the least. But the main problem seems to be getting that second goal, the goal that kills off the hopes of your opposition. That has been a re-occurring problem point for the Reds throughout this season so far.
Kewell, showing a few glimpses of his true potential, fizzles out again. Hyppia and Carragher did well at the back, Fabio Aurelio seemed to have put on Jon Arne Riise’s boots, Mascherano was intense in constantly breaking down Aston Villa attacks, but still lacks that edge going forward, and once again, Skipper Steven Gerrard played deeper than Mascherano, when it should have been the other way around. He definitely plays with more freedom when Xabi Alonso is his midfield partner.

Tall story : Why doesn’t crouch get more starts ?

The mystery discussion currently is the Crouch debacle. What has he done to limit himself to cameo appearances. Is it because he is so tall that when he stretches his legs he can warm the whole bench at one time? I don’t think so. Peter Crouch was asked to perform a miracle and duly managed to do what Dirk Kuyt could not in 88 mins…come in and do the job, end of discussion.

Hi All

I have just been nominated for my Sports writing by Sportingo for Author of 2007

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Highlighting the English Premiership
Ejaz Khan


Seven games down the line now and the Usual suspects - Arsenal , Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea- back where they belong, in the top half, Manchester City still continuing their good run, Newcastle under new Boss Sam Allardyce have vastly improved and look destined for one of the Uefa spots again. West Ham have quietly climbed up the table too. On the other end of the spectrum, Derby County languish in last place, and Tottenham Hotspur even though splashing the cash in the transfer market, they sit worryingly third from the bottom. Early days, yes, but who will be the next managerial casualty of the season ?

Surprise package of the season so far : Arsenal

The Gunners hold top spot with a solid run of performances so far and have a young squad capable of doing great in all competitions this season. Adebayor leading the top scorers list, Kolo Toure the rock on which Wengers boys mount attack after attack. Cesc Fabregas the commander in offense is pulling the strings and they are playing the most beautiful football in the premiership, all without Thierry Henry…Who would’ve thought?

Story of the month – Jose Mourinho’s departure

“The special one” is not so special after all. Well, certainly not in Chelsea’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich’s eyes as a small departing gift of 25 Million Pounds should insure he never comes back. For all his eccentricities Mourinho was adored by the his players and the media for his often outrageous comments that usually came across as overly-arrogant. He made magic for Chelsea, not fancy at all on the ground, but his style was effective. He landed the blues the League twice, the FA Cup , and two semi finals in the Champions league all in the space of three years, and thats a remarkable achievement, though most critics agree he did have the resources at his disposal to succeed. He has left now and a new era begins as Chelsea look to bring excitement back to their football, which is the main reason behind his axing. Ronaldinho to Chelsea is looking more and more realistic. Marco Van Basten has been offered the post, so too Guus Hiddink, but is Chelsea 15 minutes of fame up ?
The jury is still out on that one

Top Goalscorers

Emmanuel Adebayor Arsenal – 6 Goals
Nicholas “Abdus Salaam Bilaal” Anelka – 4 goals
Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal - 4 Goals
(EPL Statistics)_

Top 4 – League Standings
1) Arsenal
2) Man United
3) Man City
4) Liverpool

Top 4 earners in the Premiership

1. John Terry Chelsea £130,000 per week
2. Michael Ballack – Chelsea - £121 000 per week
3. Andriy Shevchenko – Chelsea -£ 121 000 per week
4. Steven Gerrard – Liverpool - £120 000 per week


Stars to keep an eye on :

John Utaka – Portsmouth – Powerful , bursting with Pace, he is Harry Redknapp’s best buy so far and will prove to be one the strikers of the season
Micah Richards – Manchester City - Still only 19 , he is the wall which seems to keep Manchester City in the the top 6 so far , and he can only get better with age
Fernando Torres – Liverpool - Adapted quite speedily to a new team, new style of football and environment, The 23 year old striker is by far Liverpool’s most expensive and also most exciting buy in years and has scored 6 goals already in all competitions already

The new players have settled, the tactics are clicking into place, teams are finding their rhythm and some high tempo football is being played,
watch this space....

Rafa's rapidly rising Red Revolution
Ejaz Khan
12 July 2007



As new faces gather in Merseyside, the phases of Rafael Benitez’s planning begin to take shape. But will Liverpool's new strengthened horse stay in the race till the end?

As the number of new recruits trickle into Anfield, it’s exciting times for the Anfield Faithful. Rafa Benitez finally gets his way and and is granted his kitty to strengthen his squad. His patience is rewarded with the capture of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and most likely Ryan Babel too. It is important to note that the “plan of action” continuously spoken about by Gillet and Hicks is beginning to be understood and its implementation shows that the Yankee duo trust in Rafa completely, and are following his strategy as incisively as he could have wished them to.


Phase one – Tying core players to the club - Completed

The likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina and Mohamed Sissoko have all secured new and improved long term contracts with the club, and will form the nucleus of the team for years to come. It must comforting to Benitez to have them commit their future’s to Liverpool and they will remain his key players regardless of new faces that are coming in on a now steadily pace.

Phase Two - Bringing Players in - Currently in Process

Having secured the Big name signing of Fernando Torres for a club record fee, most will agree with Steven Gerrard that it is undoubtedly Liverpool’s boldest sign of intent in decades. Not having someone to finish off the Reds smooth build –up play has been a major cause for concern at Anfield for many a season. Having found a replacement for Luis Garcia in Yossi Benayoun, and with the imminent arrival of promising 20 Year old Dutch forward Ryan Babel, Liverpool are taking strides in the right direction. Liverrpool fans have always been fans of Thierry Henry and soon boast “the next Thierry Henry” Babel in their starting lineup . There’s nothing Liverpool fans wouldn’t do to see the charismatic Quaresma don the Red of Liverpool! The talented winger has been linked with a big money move to Merseyside and would definitely be an instant kop favourite were he to sign for the Reds. Who knows,with the way things are going with Rafa in the Transfer market, he might well be doing stretch exercises with Gerrard and co at Melwood in the coming week(s)!


Phase Three – Build for the Future – Constantly developing...


This is an ambiguous phase, for good reason.

1) Building a stadium, with a bigger capacity, close to double the size of anfield’s capacity, and bigger than Old Trafford, seems to be in the pipeline, and it is now a realization that a bigger a crowd, a louder ambience, will bring: more motivation for the players, more feet in, and inevitably more money for sustainable development. Everyone’s happy! One can already contemplate a colossal cauldron of noise, and if the current Kop is anything to go by, imagine double the noise rocking the New Anfield to it’s core. The best fans in the world, finally being rewarded for their unabated loyalty. Good things come to those that wait, and Liverpool fans have been waiting a long time.

2) Building or filling up the talent pool. Players from all over the globe are being snapped up by Liverpool scouts and it’s plain to see that this is another phase of the Rafalution at Anfield as Benitez looks to the future. It is indeed a blessing that Rafael Benitez is at the helm at Liverpool, and he really has the best interest of the club at heart. He is set to break the Premiership duck for the Reds, maybe not in this coming season, but definitely in seasons ahead. It will be foolhardy to even dare insinuate a title push is on the cards, with the new players still to adjust to their new teammates, Manager, league, homes, lifestyle, etc. As new faces join the Reds, it’s the phases behind the scenes that are resulting in swift actions and changes before Liverpool mount their saddles for the upcoming campaign. Good on the board ,and congratulations to Rafa Benitez in getting what he has always wanted … a faster horse to race with…..