Well, remember that infamous penalty incident a few seasons ago when Henry and Pires wanted to try an audacious penalty by 'passing' it? I think the recent Drogba and Ballack free kick 'routine from the training ground' must surely be one of the funniest moment in football.
The Anfield crowd making some noise before it was taken:
Another round of Premiership gone and this time with a bang. A Manchester derby, a London derby and a couple of cracking goals. Not forgetting the man who showed his loyalty but got the almighty axe (or hammer in this case) befalling on his head. It's none other than Mr Alan Pardew.
Drogballs on the West Ham/Pardew Issue:
If I'm a West Ham fan, I'll be mightily pissed. Two weeks back Eggert "Egghead" Magnusson said Pardew will get his full backing after completing the takeover of West Ham. And then one alright result followed by a mauling by Bolton means Alan Pardew got the axe. To me, it's a terrible decision by the new board and I really hope this is not what foreign investors do to the clubs. With news surrounding Liverpool about the impending takeover, one will have to sweat over the fact that these investors wants to see results instantly and has no compassion over whether the fans loves the manager or not. No results to show, out you go.
He showed incredible man-management and determination to bring West Ham from the depths of the Coca Cola championship to the peak to FA Cup Finals, where they narrowly lost to a very plucky Liverpool. He stuck with them, got them promoted, faced with the prospect of losing his big name players, over-achieved in their first season in the Premiership. Getting the boot now is a little premature and honestly, unfair.
But the turning point would have to be the signing of THAT two Argentinians. No, they aren't terrible footballers or some former great player's grandson. Mind you they are full Argentine international. But they just failed to click with the team and there was some uneasiness surrounding West Ham constantly. With this in mind, expectations heaped on Pardew and his boys (literally). A young squad full of prospect now got unsettled by this two big time players who sticks out like a sore thumb. Two of the thumbs actually.
Nigel Reo-Coker's rubbish form might also be one of the reasons. Arsenal had a last day bid for him before the transfer window closes and we can be quite sure this current West Ham skipper was not the one we saw last season. Out of sort, out of form and his heart? Out of West Ham. He's not the only one of course, but as a captain, he have to bear the heavy responsibility.
Now, Curbishley will be the ideal man for the West Ham job, I reckon. He's English, which fits the principle of West Ham, an academy of football. Bringing in a continental manager would be quite contradicting and who knows some Swedish (coughs) might bring in some big time charlies and forgot about the production of youths.
Anyway, all the best to West Ham. I've got a soft spot for you Hammers.
Weekend's Winner:
There's is little doubt that over the weekends, the biggest winner would have to be ManYoo. A victory over their bitter rivals is enough to make them in the bracket. The performance wasn't the best but they managed to sweep Citeh aside just shows everyone why they're currently the favourites to dethrone Chelsea. Just touch wood and cross your fingers Giggs, Cronaldo, Saha or Roonster gets injured. Or it could become quite ugly...
The clash between Chelsea and Arsenal also ensured ManYoo being the big winners. As they say, let the opponents kill themselves off and then we go for the remaining, Arsenal truely gave ManYoo a big hand and Chelsea letting themselves down at times. The result means ManYoo now holds a 8 points lead over Chelsea. It's game on....but only for two teams.
Chelsea, Drogba & Lehmann:
Well, now it's clear to see what a busybody owner could do to a team. It's alleged that Andriy Shevchenko hasn't been able to gel with the team (in terms of the on & off the pitch stuff) and that he hasn't got much friends. His best friend being...Roman Abra himself is quite a problem. Because I wonder who picks the team nowadays. Jose or Roman? Because looking at their performances, even a git could tell 4-4-2 just doesn't suit Chelsea and Sheva just looked so out of place.
Is it Jose who insisted on playing Sheva every game or is there some dark politics? The 4-5-1 that had been implemented so successfully over the last 2 seasons was taken apart and the arrival of Ballack & Sheva over the summer is questionable. It's clear that once Chelsea reverts back to 4-5-1 (Robben & SWP providing width), they looked so much threatening and showed more urgency. And playing Sheva as the one on top is suicidal. Ballack just don't look he give an arse with his hands on his hips most of the time, you gotta wonder again.
Anyway it might looked funny and you can laugh about it, but the LehmannDrogs antic (see video below) is just embarrassing. Do you see rugby players do that? Nowadays nobody takes football serious anymore because there are jokers like this on the pitch. Clean up the act, punish those fools.
Yesterday during the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, not only did Cashley Hole caught the attention, Mad Jens Lehmann and Didier Diver Drogba did their best to impress as well.
They really have problems staying on their feet. But seriously, they should be stand up comedians instead.
Italian Captain Wins 'Golden Balls' With Gigi Buffon Second & Thierry Henry Third
He also led Juventus to the Serie A title before the Italian giants were stripped of the honour for their role in the match-fixing scandal.
After the World Cup finals, Cannavaro followed his former Juve coach Fabio Capello to Real Madrid and he had been widely tipped to win the prize.
Cannavaro was delighted to be voted the 2006 winner and he becomes just the third defender to be named European Footballer of the Year after German duo Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer.
"Of course I will bring this trophy back to Madrid, but I would also love to bring it to Turin," said Cannavaro.
"My season at Juventus was just outstanding. I played 37 matches and scored four goals, all decisive."
He also offered his gratitude to his team-mates, adding: "It is thanks to them that I have been able to show my qualities on the pitch.
"So I want to thank my Juve team-mates and all my colleagues from the Nazionale."
Second spot in the voting went to Buffon, who was Italy's keeper at the World Cup and opted to stay at Juventus after the club's demotion to Serie B.
Arsenal captain Henry took third place after inspiring The Gunners to the UEFA Champions League final, and also helping France reach the World Cup final.
Drogballs: I personally thinks Cannavaro deserves the award fair and square, no qualm from me. The display he put up during the summer's World Cup was enough to earn him the acolade and also by helping his former club, Juventus, to the Italian Scudetto was yet another achievement for the Italian 'giant'. Not the tallest of defender, the man was a colossal figure in the Italian national team as well as his club. Small he might be, but everyone sees a giant in him.
I'm not so sure about Buffon and Henry though. We all know FIFA and UEFA are notorious for naming 'winners' and 'shortlist' with reputation in mind and I'm sure they overlooked some who deserve the award more.
Gigi Buffon, like Cannavaro, had a brilliant World Cup. And the thing that impresses me was his willingness to stay with Juventus although they're shamed and are now demoted to the Serie B. Goalkeepers are a bunch of undervalued, under-rated people who work their socks off without getting recognition. So it's nice to see him getting the second place.
Thierry Henry had sort of an on and off year. He led Arsenal to the Champions League final with some fine display namingly the Arsenal vs Real Madrid one. But then he bottled during the finals, missing several chances and then went on to whine during the post-match interview.
Hurt by the defeat, he spurred France to the World Cup finals and then predictably bottled it yet again. But this time against who else but Cannavaro the giant. Ironic? Perhaps.
Not the nicest person you can think of, but he is without a doubt one of the best striker in the world now. Deserve the award? I'm not so sure about it, though. If the award was base on fame and not form, then he will win it. But looking at form, I'm sure there are several players who got overlooked.
Didier Drogba: I know, I loathe the big man. But seriously, he's on fire at the moment. He is currently one of the most on-form striker and he has improved leaps and bounds after receiving criticisms from Chelsea fans, who jeered him. But he might never win it due to his...notorious reputation.
David Villa: Impressed in the World Cup. Impressed in Champions League. Together with Drogba, another of the on-form strikers at the moment. He scored tons of goals, but with no medals and trophies to show, it's just not gonna work.
Zinedine Zidane: Just because he had the balls to headbutt someone in the World Cup finals. All hail the legend.
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