What’s wrong you Devils?!

This has been a pretty bad 2 weeks for Manchester United fans. Following the 4-1 drubbing my Liverpool, Fulham inflicted more damage by beating the Red Devils 2-0. I caught both games and the thought running through my head was, “What’s going on?” The team is barely recognizable and the previously impregnable defence has looked as shaky as Newcastle’s! At this rate, anyone can score against United. Damn it, even Bobby “it’s easier to score than to miss” Zamora looked as threatening as Thierry Henry that day. WTF?

Are the players crumbling to the pressure of the possibility of winning the Quintuplet? Heck man, don’t they remember that Chelsea themselves were on the verge of a quadruple last season before letting everything slip through their fingers? Are the Devils getting too complacent? Looking at the recent line-ups, I suppose people can say that. But with the talent in the squad, any team United put out should be good enough to win any game. Then, there are also some conspiracy theorists who insist that the EPL, like any other major league in the world, is rigged. What do I say to that? If it were true, it would be one major con job, involving thousands of players and officials. But who are we to say that it is not possible? Football is a multi-billion, perhaps trillion dollar industry. With so much money at stake, anything is possible. Personally, I just hope the Red Devils wake up from this setback. With Liverpool firing on all cylinders, Manchester United cannot afford another slip-up. Heck, let Chelsea win it, but not Liverpool. To all my friends who are Liverpool fans who might be reading this, no offence ok. Like Rooney said, “I was brought up to hate Liverpool”. I respect the team, but I definitely don’t like them.

For the first time ever, a Redbacks game ended in a mass brawl. As things were getting really hot and spicy on the pitch, I was just sitting at the sidelines, stunned at the events unfolding. I contemplated running onto the pitch to get involved but I was still respecting the laws of the game too much, knowing that any invasion would just make matters worse. What is it about football that reduces men to neanderthals? We can be so cultured, educated and civilised but when we’re doing battle on the pitch, our deepest most animal instincts take control. It really soured the evening.

We were playing pretty well, despite trailing. I guess some people would say that the Spiders are just a bunch of sore losers. I don’t really care about what others have to say. The fact remains: we did not overreact, we did not last out at our opponents, we tried to diffuse the matter. What we are guilty of is that we failed to keep someone’s mouth shut. Regrettable, but that happens.

Taking a page out of Aki’s book, at least I scored. No, this doesn’t mean that I put my personal achievement above my team. I’m just really happy that I managed to break my goalless streak. Before the game, Azam asked me if I was comfortable playing upfront. I just answered, “Wherever you put me, I’m ready.” Steady ah Kai. Before kick-off, I told Ayyub that I dreamt I scored in a football game. And true enough I did. Thank you Yusman for providing a peach of a cross. I always feel that we don’t put in enough of such crosses into the box for me to exploit. I enjoyed the goal. This is possibly my best headed goal ever, apart from the one I scored for Flamboyant back in my teenage years. I hope there will be many more to come. 4 down, 11 more to go to hit my target. With 8 months left, insyaAllah I’ll achieve it.

The King strikes again!

To all football lovers, never lose the passion!