See, I told you so!!!

It’s confirmed now. Our very own Michael Chopra has been signed by newly promoted Sunderland to be part of their strike force for the coming season. Iam super excited about it. I had been counting on his move to the premiership and now I can root for one of my own. (And before you say Sunderland, who, remember that our previous best was Baichung Bhutia being a substitute for Bury FC, which plays two divisions lower than Sunderland)

I know his first stint in the premiership with Newcastle was a disaster. But he is a much better player and a far mature human being now. Expect a much better season from him this time round. Roy Keane has signed him for £5M. That’s a lot of money for a newly promoted club and surely Keane rates him highly.

And come on guys; let’s go all out to cheer for him. Please take a cue from the Chinese. When Yao Ming went to the NBA, his countrymen voted him to the top of the all-star fan ballot. The NBA’s popularity is growing in China and lots of NBA teams are touring the country. The premiership is pretty popular in India and we could see some of the sides visit our country soon.

Mr. Mittal seems to have put on hold his plans to buy Birmingham City FC, but Chopra’s move will definitely gladden the hearts of all Indian football lovers.

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7 reasons why, I can't wait for the 2007-08 English Football season to begin

1. There's absolutely nothing to see on ESPN Star till then - As mentioned in a previous post (My season of misery begins), the sporting action this summer is the perfect recipe for a round of forty winks. The return of the premiership in August will resuscitate all the bored to death sports fans. These summer days seem to go on forever.
2. For the blossoming of the Chelsea - Man United rivalry - Man United have successfully broken Chelsea’s stranglehold on the premiership and shaken them out their belief that the premiership was a one horse race. Expect a full fledged rivalry next season, with Chelsea more determined than ever to impose their authority and Man United confident in their belief that they have in terms of heart and passion, what they lack in finances, to match their London rivals. While Chelsea are going to war with wholesale changes in the squad, Man United are looking to make a few strategic additions (One in the form of Owen Hergreaves is already on the way). This could well become the British version of Real Madrid- Barcelona.
3. For Liverpool and Arsenal to finally come to the party – I will call this the ‘Cold War’ of Britain. Nothing stimulates a Yankee, like the sight of a Russian. Just ask Malcolm Glazer of Man United about it. The new American owners of Liverpool and Arsenal (as I write this, the Arsenal chairman has finally agreed to discuss a take over. Trust me, Stan Kroenke will be in charge by the start of the new season) will go all out to win the title and hold no dollars back. Just to give you an idea of their financial muscle; Tom Hicks of Liverpool gave baseballer Alex Rodriguez the most expensive professional contract of 252 million dollars and Arsenal hopeful Kroenke recently broke the bank to sign Allen Iverson in the NBA.
4. For the second coming of Michael Chopra - Step aside Baichung Bhutia. Michael Chopra is by far the best known footballer of Indian origin. Groomed as the successor to Alan Shearer at Newcastle, his first stint in the premiership was a major disappointment. He went down a division with Cardiff City, where he has scored goals galore. A lot of premiership clubs are interested in him and I can’t wait for him to become the first Indian to score in the premiership.
5. For the return of Roy Keane – For all their success this season, Man United still miss the leadership and combative spirit of Roy Keane (as was evident in their shambolic display against Milan). He returns this season, albeit not as a player but as a manager, having earned his managerial spurs with Sunderland (he took the club from bottom after six games, to league 1 champions at the end). The fortunes of Sunderland will be closely followed in the coming season; a successful one firmly establishing ‘Keano’ as the likely successor to ‘Fergie’ at Old Trafford.
6. For the ‘Carlos Tevez’ movie to begin (having seen the trailer last season) – The Argentinean arrived after the mid term break, took a while to settle down and then exploded towards the end; single-handedly leading West Ham to 8 wins in their last 10 games. All the top clubs are chasing him, and if he can carry on in 2007-08 from where left off in 2006-07, the likes of Ronaldo and Gerrard can kiss the ‘PFA best player’ award goodbye.
7. To raise a toast to the new 'Asian' invasion of England - While the Yanks are running riot, an Asian is making a conquest of his own. Former Thai premier, Thaksin Shinawatra is close to taking over Manchester City. Our very own Lakshmi Mittal already owns the CSKA Sofia team in Bulgaria. I pray that he does an 'Arcelor' on one of the English clubs as well. And if he can close the deal on 15th August, I suggest we give him the Bharat Ratna this year.

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Michael Carrick - The second coming of David Beckham

I am a Man Utd lifer, and Tuesday night's annihilation of AS Roma (7-1) was footballing nirvana for people of my ilk. I am given to Bacchanalian celebration (I generally jump around, cheering loudly and pumping my fists and it takes a good 5 mins for me to sit down), every time I see them score, and the frequency of their scoring ensured that , I was on my feet all night.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the Man of the Match, but the man whose performance gladdened my heart the most was Michael Carrick. He scored two exquisite goals and orchestrated the offense brilliantly all night; his phenomenal passing finding the United runners in wide open spaces with unerring regularity.

Carrick has had a difficult first season with United. He was United's big money summer signing and expected to shore up their midfield, which was stripped bare after the exits of Beckham, Butt and Keane, and the injury troubles of Paul Scholes. While his cultured passing has impressed the critics, the apparent lack of goal scoring and tackling ability hasn't gone down well with the supporters, who, have been brought up on heady dose of Scholes, Keane and Beckham. The resurgence of Scholes and Giggs this season had further undermined his contribution and he was deemed to be an expensive surplus.

Carrick will never be a Keane or a Scholes, but his passing is reminiscent of David Beckham at his best. United's treble winning squad was built around the striking trio of Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Dwight Yorke, who benefited hugely from the pin -point crossing of Beckham. As for Roy Keane, possible replacements are Owen Hargreaves of Bayern Munich or Marcos Senna of Villareal.

David Beckham had a penchant for coming up with crucial goals (mostly struck from distance, just like Carrick’s) and saving his best for the big games. Carrick's effort; two goals, with the first calming United’s jangling nerves, and the mid field leadership in the absence of the suspended Scholes, have finally established his goal scoring credentials and proclivity for the big stage. Carrick is a Geordie from the North-east and has chosen the Reds over his hometown team, just like Beckham ignored the London clubs to play for United.

Man Utd have recaptured past glories with a return to their speedy offensive game. They have been justified in selling a proven goal scorer like Ruud Van Nistelrooy, whose lack of pace forced them to slow down their offense. Carrick’s passing will push the pace further. Whether, he can match Beckham’s treble effort of 1999 remains to be seen.

The England manager, Steve Mclaren was in the crowd at Old Trafford. He is the man, who booted Beckham out of the national team. The merits of this move are debatable as the England football team continues to falter. One possible remedy; Field the ‘New Beckham’ more often.

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