Chase the Devils...

               Yet another win,even after failing to dominate almost the entire game.Yet another comeback,after being outplayed for large periods,but most importantly,yet again 3 points added to the total.Some may say,Manchester United were plain lucky to survive,some may say they displayed the Spirit of the Champions.Whatever it may be,the fact is that United now have a Rock-solid Grip on the Title.Defending Champions Chelsea are 10 points short,which is a footballing equivalent of the Gap between a Ferrari and a Maruti 800,while let's not kid ourselves,Man City and Arsenal are just not good enough for the title.

Roberto Mancini,is he too defensive-minded to win the English League?

                 Let's just start with Manchester City only.I was totally baffled by their Midfield selections vs Aston Villa.De Jong,Barry,Yaya Toure and David Silva.Three defensive midfielders in the same line-up?? Against a team you beat 4-0 less than a month ago?? That's not title winning mentality,Mancini.That's the Problem with City.They can talk about World Domination as long as they want,but they themselves don't seem to believe they are good enough to beat the Manchester Uniteds and Chelseas.Even though they beat Chelsea,their goal came on the counter-attack only,and before that they seemed happy enough to play for a draw.Same thing versus Man United and Arsenal.You don't win titles like that.All they have managed so far,is to give away Huge Christmas presents to Arsenals and Barcelonas and Wolfsburgs by paying extravagant money for their players.Just look what they are doing,paid 25 millions for Adebayor,and less than 2 seasons later,they are ready to send him on loan,just to splash 25 millions more on Edin Dzeko.24 millions for James Milner,like he's the next-Gen Steven Gerrard or something! But,the biggest windfall went to Barcelona.29 millions for a want-away player in Yaya Toure! I mean,who are they kidding? Harry Redknapp got Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale together,for half that price!
                  Talking about Harry Redknapp,Spurs have been more than decent this season,with all those heroics in Europe as well.But the talk of the title challenge still seems far-fetched.They failed to take advantage against a Ten-men United recently and followed it up with a draw at Newcastle.We can already consider them out of Title Race.Their London neighbours,Arsenal,remain very much in with the chance.But,with their amazing ability to Self-destruct,I feel they aren't ready to go the distance yet.They might push their bid all the way to the end,but then this is a team that beats Chelsea 3-1 spectacularly on a day,and then fails to beat 10-men Wigan 2 days later!
                     I still think,even after suffering a massive dip in form for last 2 months,which included Defeats at unimaginable places like Wolves and Birmingham,Chelsea are the only team,which can really challenge United.And even Sir Alex seems to agree,as he's already declared their game at Stamford Bridge as the Season-defining game.The Blues looked almost back to their Best in the 4-0 demolition of Bolton.The ruthless desire to win was back in the team,the ability to turn a victory in a Rout was on display again.And although the 10-point gap that has been created due to ,what Carlo Ancelotti described as a "Bad Moment" (a moment which lasted just about 3 months,that's more than a Quarter of a season!) might yet prove too much.Manchester United may have massive points on the Board,but the Champions will not be willing to give away their Crown, without a Fight!

Can Chelsea's striking Duo Replicate their last season's Heroics?

                     So,at the moment, the Title looks Manchester United's to lose.Still unbeaten in the League,having Dimitar Berbatov in such Red-hot form,but I should remind those already jumping on the "Invincibles" Bandwagon,that United are yet to visit Stamford Bridge,and the Emirates,and the Anfield,and the White-heart Lane! Anyone still ready to bet they will be unbeaten,come the end of the season?
                     Well,United are running away at the moment,demolishing some teams,and grinding out results against the remaining ones.But,in Football,you can never promise what's gonna happen next.May be that's why,It's the Beautiful Game!

Can Dalglish be Liverpool's Messiah ?

Kenny Dalglish is back in the Liverpool Hot-seat

            King Kenny is back at Liverpool,the Place he left almost 20 years ago,as One of the Best Ever the Club had seen..Finally,it seems, the Liverpool fans have got their wish.Roy Hodgson,who many fans thought,led the club through their worst ever run, is gone,to be replaced by the Old Kop-Hero.For many,he represents hope,the sort of guardian angel,who can heal all their pains of mediocrity.But,has suddenly everything changed at Liverpool? Not Really.
            The Problems still remain at Liverpool Football Club.But,what Dalglish's arrival has done is that it has lifted the gloom around Anfield.The fans suddenly believe it's their team again.Some believe,almost to the point of foolishness, that Dalglish can take them back to their Glory-days.Suddenly,everything looks possible again.Funny,just one man's arrival should do that.But then,Kenny Dalglish isn't really like any other man.Many consider him to be the Greatest-ever to have played for Liverpool.He still remains the last man to win the English  League with Liverpool as manager,His achievements almost unparalleled.He's still The only manager of the Current era,to win the English League,with two different clubs.Liverpool fans have every right to believe,that they have found their saviour,or rather Re-discovered him.
                 Suddenly,the Anfield is buzzing again.The half-time boos,that usually accompanied the team at half-time will vanish instantly,at least for some time now.They say many players in Liverpool's current squad don't really understand what it really is,playing for Liverpool.Well, they will find out,by this Sunday. But, then, don't you think it's getting a bit too Romantic? Football Matches aren't won on just emotions,they are won by Hard Facts.The back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Blackpool are there to flash the warning signs.And no one understands it better than Dalglish.Even after remaining out of Football for long time,he still has one of the best Footballing Brains.His immediate decisions,to get Steve Clark as his Deputy,and putting full faith in Fernando Torres testify to that.
                  Liverpool still have massive problems to fix.Their defence is as porous as anyone's in the EPL.For every battling Jamie Carragher,they have a Glen Johnson,who,well,quite simply can't defend.Poor man's Dani Alves,you can call him at best.They need someone to support Torres,they know it from ages,but still we only see David Ngog and Babel running around cluelessly,when Torres is out.But,the biggest thing is they need is to get their confidence back.Let's not forget,they still have most of the players of the team that crushed Real Madrid 4-0,or the side that Romped to 4-1 at Old Trafford.They just need to believe in themselves,which,they just don't, at the moment.That's why,personally I think Dalglish's return could be the best thing to happen for Liverpool.I do not know what a master tactician he is,but he can motivate that team,He can charge them up,Make them realize that they play for Arguably the Most Historical Club in England (They are still unmatched in European Trophies,at least in England).Liverpool have suffered terribly for last few years.Reactions of some fans to the 0-1 defeat vs United show precisely how.Respectable Defeat,they claim.For a club of the stature of Liverpool,any defeat vs United should not be acceptable,even in such conditions.Can you imagine Chelsea losing to Arsenal and later claiming it was a "Respectable" loss?? Or Barcelona accepting any loss vs Real Madrid as "Good Performance"?

"Make Us Dream", that sums up Liverpool fans' feelings

             That's why,it's heartening to read about the names being linked with Liverpool now,since Kenny's arrival.Luis Suarez,Fabio Coentrao,even Charlie Adams of Blackpool,they are far better players to target than the Paul Koncheskys and Ngogs and Jovanovics Liverpool have been signing recently.It's nice to see some common sense returning there.
             Well,we do not yet know,if Dalglish can turn Liverpool's ailing fortunes around.But one thing you can be assured of,the passion is back at Anfield.There will be desire again,to go into every tackle hard,to win every ball,to win every game.The fans will get behind the team.Any team which goes to Anfield from now till the end of season,is sure to get one Hell of a game,For the Faithful Kop believe,they have got back their Messiah.And I can't wait to hear the roaring chants again,

                              "You'll Never Ever Walk Alone!"

The Bridge is Falling....

               Come May,Chelsea will not be lifting the Barclays Premier League Title.Period. Now, some cynics (Read United Fans) may even say it was always likely to happen with the "Old" Squad and Chelsea are now not good enough to even finish in Top 4,while some may think it's just a tragic reaction to a Dip in form.Well,it's not.It's just the hard cold reality.Just go and check the recordbooks.Champions don't lose to Sunderland 0-3 at home,Champions don't dominate the whole games versus the likes of Newcastles and Birminghams and Wolves,and still manage to lose.And the Champions most certainly don't play Paulo Ferreira and Ramires,when they have the talented Brumas and Sturridges,in absolutely must-win games.True,there might still be a fightback,I am almost sure there will be a late surge to derail United's title charge,but well,It's just not gonna be good enough.

Dejected Chelsea players after another Defeat

               Having said that,it's not that United are playing so well to lead the League so easily,they are nowhere near the "Invincible" tag they are trying to claim.Go and watch their game vs WestBrom.They were all over the place.Westbrom dominated almost the entire game,should have had a penalty and red card to Neville,which they didn't get (Even Fergie accepted that.Now how many are ready to bet that a 10-men ,dejected United would come back from 1-2 down against an inform West Brom team.But,after that,Baggies did get a Penalty,which they just fluffed away.Now,you just don't do it against United.It was clear from that point,that United would make them cry.And they did.That's where they are so good,United,winning the games even after playing badly for the large chunks of the game.And that's what Chelsea have precisely lacked in last 3 months.United were outplayed at West Brom,and even Wolves,and still got the maximum points.Chelsea,on the other hand,wasted needless points at Birmingham and Newcastle,and Aston Villa.That's the reason that while United are way clear at the Top,while Chelsea languish in the Fifth place,even below City and Spurs.
               There are calls already to sack the Manager,the same one who was hailed as "One of the Best-Ever" after leading Chelsea to a Historic Double.The So-called "Football Pundits" are already claiming Chelsea won't even finish in Top 4.Nonsense. The same people were writing United off at the start of the season,after Chelsea had driven into a 5-point lead at the top.Now,suddenly,Chelsea are No-goers,right? Yes,there have been some Self-destructing decisions,like sacking Ray Wilkins,or not investing in New players to cover up for those who were drafted out.But,let's not forget they have missed their Big players big time.Injuries to Drogba,Lampard (that guy was out for 3 months,for God's sake,the World's best scoring Midfielder.You're bound to miss him,right? ) and Terry,not to mention the long-term layoffs of Alex,Benayoun,Zhirkov have all hurt Chelsea's cause.
                And then there is the problem of in fact HAVING players like Ferreira and Ramires.What it does is that it dents the chances of youngsters like McEachran and Bruma and Sturridge.Just imagine,Vidic and Ferdinand getting injured for United,and Johnny Evans will automatically come in to fill,Ferguson won't try to put Neville or Carrick in that role.But at Chelsea,there will be long discussions about whether to trust Bruma,or to put the "Experienced" Ferreira in that role.In the end,Ferreira will be picked to play in a position he just can't play,Chelsea will get drubbed (remember 0-3 vs Sunderland, don't you?) ,and after all this tragedy,next time similar injury crisis happens,Bruma will be given the task,as if he's being done a huge favour! And after all this,that 18-year old kid is still expected to go and play like John Terry!
Same thing with Ramires.Well,we were trying to cut the costs.So,we let all the Ballacks and Decos and Joe Coles ( don't you think anyone of them would have come in handy in these times?) were all allowed to leave for Free. Apparently,this decreased Chelsea's wage bill by 20 millions.And then they go and spend 18 millions on Ramires.Not a very smart piece of business,is it? When he arrived,we all were made to believe he is the Future of Brazil.That guy is supposed to be a Midfield-enforcer.But,seriously,he can't keep the ball himself,Forget winning it from the Oppositions.I just can't get why Carlo played Ramires and Ferreira vs Aston Villa,when he had Sturridge and Bosingwa.Don't tell me he "Rested" them.You just can't do that in such situations.It's like being stuck in a House on Fire,and saying "oh no,we're tired now.We'll have some rest first,and then try to get out".
               Chelsea's midfield has never looked so fragile.Few years ago,they could claim to have the Best Midfield Unit in the World.Free scoring Lampard,German captain Ballack,the African Superstar in Essien,the Invincible Makelele,all backed up by Deco and Joe Cole.Look at the situation now,with Lampard and Benayoun gone,we're straight into Mikel and Ramires,and there's this thing as well with Young McEachran not being trusted enough.They say he has the talents to match the Messis and Ronaldos,and still fear to put him against Aston Villa!
               But,even having had so many problems,it's still ridiculous to say they won't finish in Top 4.They still have the team to beat Uniteds and Arsenals.The big players are starting to return,The Blues will rise again,with same personnel,I still believe.For they are the men with Courage,the Terrys and Lampards and the Drogbas, they are the team who got heartbroken in Moscow in Champions League Final,and they still returned to win the Premier League in 2 years time,breaking all kinds of records on the way.

Carlo Ancelotii with Malouda in happier times,after winning the Premier League

                 I'll will leave you by refreshing our memories to a similar situation 2 years ago.Chelsea were playing badly( eve worse than they are now),people said they won't finish in Champions League places.Well we all remember what they did,winning the FA Cup,and even though they were beaten in Champions League semis,Don't you remember how they made the Mighty Barcelona,the Best footballing team ever and all that, look like an Impotent Unit at Stamford Bridge?