Lets talk tactics -- Chelsea Vs Barcelona

So the Golden Guus has managed to silence Barca at Camp Nou and will need to repeat the same feat at Stamford Bridge next week to guide Chelsea into the Rome Final. In yesterday's game, it was like a 1-4-2-2-1 with Malouda given a free role on the left hand side.

Cech(Keeper), Bosingwa(LB), Alex and Terry(CB),Ivanovic(RB), Essien and Mikel(Defensive Midfielders/Holding Midfielders) with Essien given more attacking freedom while Mikel is to hold the fort at all times, Lampard and Ballack (central attacking midfielders) and Drogba (lone striker), while Malouda is to help out Bosingwa in defending against Alves and Messi and also exploit the space left by Alves just to keep the right side of Barca in check.

Now Henry plays down the left side of Barca without drifting towards the centre because Eto and Messi are there. Messi is on the right but cuts in very often to draw free kicks or work a 1-2 with Alves or Iniesta. Eto was kept very quiet but broke away once after leaving Alex dead and nutmegging Terry. Luckily Cech and the two central defenders did well to slow him down and close his angle before he could take a shot.

Xavi is a very intelligent player who is currently protecting the defence and starting all the attacks. He was simply too impressive yesterday and even robbed Lampard of the ball a few times. Now Guus was correct to take off Lampard because he was not playing well. That was because he made a few bad fouls and not keeping the ball well. At the moment, Essien, Ballack and Drogba are doing very well in keeping the ball, linking up play or defending.

Now, the right side of the field is somewhere Chelsea could look to exploit with Ashley Cole back. Messi does not defend at all when he gets marked out of the game. Perhaps Malouda with his newly found form could look to attack Alves with more regularity and partnership with Ashley. Yesterday no attacks were made on the left hand side of the field because Chelsea did not play with a right midfielder. Ballack occasionally gets into that position but he brings the ball in.

The right side of the field is not a problem because once you get the measure of Henry, Abidal is ageing and does not provide enough attacking threat. Of course that is if you do get the measure of Henry. Ivanovic was beaten a few times but closed down the space sufficiently with Terry helping him.

Chelsea played alot of long balls up to Drogba which he wins with ease yesterday but because of Barca's insanely fast midfield, the attacks were always broken up. However two things worked in favour of Chelsea with Marquez(meniscus) and Puyol (second yellow card) ruled out for the game at Stamford Bridge.

Now lets talk about the shape of Barca. Valdes in goal, with the back four of Alves(RB), Pique and Marquez(replaced by Puyol) (CB) and Abidal(LB), Yaya Toure(defensive midfield), Iniesta and Xavi(central attacking midfield), Messi(right forward), Eto(central forward), Henry(left forward) in a 1-4-1-2-3 manner. They will be playing the same team next week minus one central defender. So Martin Caceres, Xavi Torres or Sylvinho could come into central defence to partner Pique. Or even Yaya could be moved back and Keita be used as the holding midfielder.

Of course, Guardiola might want to play it safer with Eto and Messi up front while throwing in another midfielder like Hleb to stretch play. Or Keita to offer more protection to the defence. Guus will definitely have taken that into account when he plans his offensive for next week.

So the backline of Barca is very good to attack. If Lampard can get his form next week, Chelsea can use route one again to take the game to Barca. Drogba was winning almost every long ball but his teammates were too cautious and not fast enough to link up with him. Pique did a very good job yesterday but Chelsea will look to exploit his inexperience next week. Iniesta was definitely more impressive than any of the players on the pitch yesterday. You cannot also catch Messi once he starts dribbling, unless you physically catch him and foul him.

So Essien and Mikel or Ballack and Mikel needs to snuff out the threats of both Xavi and Iniesta. Ashley and Malouda will work on Messi and Alves. Essien could break away and he dribbles out of tight situation ever so well.

Perhaps Anelka could be used as a right winger or right forward to offer more threat against the ageing Abidal. Henry does not help out in defence as well so If Chelsea can stretch Barca on the wings, Drogba. Lampard or Essien can cut through the middle and go straight against the Barca defense. That is if you can keep Xavi and Iniesta quiet. Ballack is having a good spell so he might be able to play against them.

So if we can get Lampard and Mikel up to scratch, Chelsea has a very good chance to winning the game at the Bridge. Of course, the most important thing is still not to concede so no gungho football will be served up from the off. Perhaps Hiddink would want Chelsea to retain more of the ball and certain players like Alex and Ballack might just be one booking away from missing the final.. so they have got to be really careful.

In conclusion, mark out Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. With Messi you really have to get Ashley to stick really close and Essien or Mikel to deputise if Ashley is linking up in attack. While Xavi and Iniesta will have to neutralize via the midfield battle with Ballack and Lampard. With Drogba and Malouda or Anelka against Barca's defense, it is highly possible to get a few goals.

With Ashley back, a fit Bosingwa might move back to right back and Ivanovic might just have to make way. He was abit unsteady against Henry but played intelligently and worked very hard. He was also fearless and it will be interesting to see if Bosingwa gets his place back. After all, Bosingwa may be faster than Ivanovic but Bosingwa lets opponents get past him as well because he is not that good a tackler. He goes up in attack often and usually when he does not perform, Chelsea does not play well as well. But then again, a flying Bosingwa with Anelka on the right might just tear down that side of Barca.

So attack through the wings and straight lobs to Drogba for him to bring Chelsea into the play. The rest of midfield will be defending and attacking on the break. If we let Barca score, we will have to open up and Barca can tear you apart with their counter attacking or even direct attempts. So the second leg remains a thrilling tactical battle. I will not be surprised for Guus to start practising penalty kicks or aim to kill off Barca in extra time when away goals do not count.

Time to board

When I drink, even if it is just a few sip, I get flushed almost immediately. Then peripheral parasthesia will set in and together with dyspepsia, make me wish I never started drinking. So it is, I really cannot drink and shall not drink. I wonder if there is an enzyme defiency that will lead to my symptoms specifically.

YEsterday, my last day, I spent the afternoon at Thamshui. Fishermen's pier. At 3.30pm, I walked past a street artiste who was belting out wonderful Taiwan oldies. I was just so mesmerised by his singing that I stood that for an hour just letting myself caught in his songs and music. The rain started to fall, abit of drizzle only and together with the sea right in front, it makes for a really emotional hour.

The laptop is burning my crotch

The marvels of technology and my innate ability to wake up at the right time see me able to create this blog entry in Zhong Zheng Airport. The plane is due to take off in another hour so that leaves me with plenty of time to reflect on a swift 3 weeks in Taiwan. Before that, I took to bed at only 5am and as much as I told myself not to fall asleep, I inadvertibly did so. To my horror that when I woke, the sky was bright and a sense of foreboding fell upon me. I let out a few cries of desperation before checking my watch which somehow still read 6.30am. Luckily the sky turns bright early here, at around 5am. A consortium of air stewardesses just boarded the plane. Perhaps it would be fun for my girlfriend to be one too. Imagine the number of free tickets for the family and they will all be first or business class. Why are they always so tall? My guess is that they need to help us load the luggage into the overhead cabin. Looks does not always come into the equation, neither does age. I have seen my fair share of obasans on the planes, they usually just stand at the door and greet you welcome or goodbye.

So next stop will be Hongkong. My second trip to disneyland and hopefully I will find enough in my tank to muster a trip to ocean park. My luggage is already overweight and even my hand carry is bulky and heavy which makes it really cumbersome to carry.

I guess I will miss taiwan because of the relatively stressfree environment and good food. Of course, there are stuff in Singapore you can hardly find in Taiwan. Which explains why I am headed back and not attempting to overextend my stay here. With lodging at only $350 for 3 weeks, food and other expenses do not come up to $1000. That means if I can secure a job that pays at least $2000 and above, life will be good in Taiwan. Good alone. I can survive on my own. Travel on my own, find accomodation alone, do everything alone. I am a survivor.

Ok now for some sleazy information. A friend asked me to bring him to a pub or nightclub. Because he wants to try some Taiwan pussys before going back to Singapore. I just talk a good talk. In theory it is easy. Go to a pub, look out for some lonely chick or a couple of them, approach them, pay for their drinks and bingo, you have secured yourself a night of fun. So when he got really serious and kept asking me to go, I was caught in a catch 22 situation. Luckily our schedules were quite hectic and we did much travelling that we did not really find time to go to a club. Someone at the University told me all the most happening clubs in Taipei and even urged me to go and have a one night stand there. I think maybe it was because I let it be known that my friends were keen to have a bit of fun. I turned down my friend twice to go to a club simply because I rather sleep than waste energy dancing and getting myself drunk.

However I still managed to glean some valuable strategy on how to pick up girls. It is really not that simple. Unless you are D where girls are queueing up to get themselves screwed in the ass by you. The rest of us mere mortals need to work harder, be patient, be prepared to buy a few drinks and risk a few disappointments. I will elaborate on that further next time. By the way, J told CC that a girl asked me out at night and both CC and LK bought the story. I guess I must not be so vocal about my theories any more. Alot of guys think they are real.

Of course, the rest of my Taiwan trip was healthy and involved plenty of walking around night markets, visiting Gorges and farms and does not involve any girls. And plenty of time in the hospital. I will miss my tutor and I actually forgot to take a picture with him on the last day. That is one less photo for my facebook! What a waste. I do hope that he comes to Singapore again with his family and this time I can actually play host to them.

.......................

黑暗中的我们都没有说话
你只想回家
不想你回家
寂寞深的像海太让人害怕
温柔你的手
轻轻揉着我的发
你的眉眼说
你好渴望我拥抱
你身体却在拼命逃
但欲望在燃烧
你爱我还是他
是不是真的他要比我好
你为谁在挣扎
爱我还是他
就说出你想说的真心话
你到底要跟我还是他
爱爱爱......
这是不是命运对我的惩罚
爱你也没办法
恨你也没办法
陷在这个漩涡只想挣脱它
拉住你的手
却让我也被拖下
你的眉眼说
你不渴望我拥抱
每当爱变成了煎熬
你就开始要逃
你爱我还是他
是不是我可以做他的好
你不再挣扎
爱我还是他
我宁愿听到残忍的回答
也不要再被耍
你爱我还是他
我为你找了一百个理由
我就是那么傻
爱我还是他
是否沉默代替你的回答
我应该明白吗
爱我是他噢
你都已看不到我们的好
我还会心牵挂
你爱我还是他
是否沉默就是你的回答
我们都别挣扎
去爱他

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard has hit back at a radio DJ who labelled him ''scum'' on a live broadcast, after accusations that he was a bad father following his bitter split from fiancée Elen Rives.

Empics
Frank Lampard hit out in the live broadcast.
• Listen to Lampard's outburst here...
The England and Chelsea midfielder called the phone-in show in a 15-minute rant to blast LBC presenter James O'Brien, after the DJ said that men who allow their children to live in inferior circumstances to them were "weak and scum".
His sister had been listening to the show and was angered by negative comments callers made about the footballer, which spurred the England star to phone in.
In an emotional and angry exchange, Lampard said: "Since I've had kids every penny I earn and every yard I run on the football pitch is for my kids. It hurts me every day when I wake up and my kids are not there."
The 30-year-old called the presenter an "idiot" for upsetting his family on the first anniversary of his mother's death and accused Rives of "having had a few drinks" when she made the remarks in a national newspaper.
He said: "Someone approached her in a bar and got her talking after she had a few drinks. My ex-girlfriend is very distressed about the story. She gave it away in a moment of weakness."
Miss Rives said that their daughters Luna, three, and Isla, one, were living in a small flat while Lampard had stayed in their £8.5m townhouse.
But Lampard said: "They are living in a temporary flat which is actually in Fulham. It's not a bad flat at all. I am buying a house at the moment which is going to be of equal standard to mine if not better.
"It hurts me every day when I wake up and my kids are not there. Luckily I have a relationship with my ex-girlfriend where we will share custody or whatever you want to call it. For three nights a week - and I'm away two or three nights for my football - the kids wake up in my house. I look after them solely."
Lampard became emotional when O'Brien said that he also had daughters and would fight "tooth and nail" to keep his family together.
He said: "What do you think I have been doing for the last two years? Let me tell you something now, right, my mother died a year ago today and that has had a huge impact on my life and my family's life and on my sister's life and unfortunately that has had a huge impact on my relationship at home. I find it insulting that you insinuate I wouldn't fight tooth and nail for my kids. You don't know anything about me.
"The hardest part of this break-up is not waking up with my kids every day. So before you start insinuating and calling people weak and scum on a radio station, sitting on a high horse which you are.. I hope one day that your wife or your girlfriend doesn't come up to you and say, I don't want to be with you any more. That will hurt you as well."
He then went on to tell O'Brien that he had no right to discuss his personal life.
He said: "I have to wake up and listen to idiots like you say, I read this' and this is what he's doing' and it's wrong. I put up with it and keep my mouth shut. The only reason I rang you is because my sister is distressed and as I said, it's the anniversary of my mum's death.
"Do you think my sister needs to hear idiots like you saying that on the radio station?"
O'Brien apologised for bringing up the issue on the anniversary of Lampard's mother's death, but added: "You will understand that I am not likely to have an anniversary like that in my desktop diary.
"You cannot expect verbatim first-hand quotes from the mother of your children to go unremarked by the general public."
The conversation then ended like this:
Frank: Listen I've spoken much too much about my private life today already - I didn't expect to have a phone call with you this morning. So I'll leave it there thank you.
James: So you won't give us a quick rundown on your thoughts for the champions league semi-final then.
Frank: No, I certainly won't.

We love playing against Arsenal

Chelsea Vs Liverpool : over the two legs

Chelsea

Chelsea denied Liverpool the glory of another sensational European comeback to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 7-5 aggregate win.

Liverpool, trailing 3-1 from the first leg at Anfield, stunned the Blues with two first-half goals from Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso, who scored a penalty.

Chelsea's defensive frailties, exposed so clinically by Bolton in the Premier League at the weekend, looked like costing them a place in the last four as Liverpool, without their talismanic midfielder Steven Gerrard, threatened to pull off another miracle.

But the Blues looked home and dry after producing a sensational comeback of their own - scoring three times in the second half to lead 6-3 on aggregate at one stage.

Yet this incredible contest took another twist when Liverpool scored twice in as many minutes through Lucas and Dirk Kuyt to leave them just one goal adrift of an incredible victory.

However, Frank Lampard's second in the 89th minute secured a 4-4 draw on the night and a date with Barcelona.

The home side had been outplayed in the opening 45 minutes and had barely threatened to get on the scoresheet despite coach Guus Hiddink's pre-match assertion that Chelsea would go for more goals.

They had to wait until six minutes after the break for the goal which eased the growing pressure on their ambitions of reaching the final in Rome.

Didier Drogba's effort was deflected into the back of the net by Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina and a stunning 25-yard free-kick from Brazilian defender Alex then looked to have eased any remaining worries.

When Lampard added a third in the 76th minute the tie seemed to be effectively all over, but Liverpool had other ideas.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez had always maintained the first goal would be the most important but when Kuyt collected a pass from Yossi Benayoun and fired over in the 13th minute, he could have been forgiven for thinking that perhaps the task ahead was indeed far too great.

But six minutes later Liverpool were in dreamland when they punished Lampard's push on Kuyt in spectacular fashion.

With everyone expecting the free-kick from the right of goal to be pumped high into the centre of the penalty area, Aurelio stunned everyone, including the flat-footed Petr Cech, by firing his 30-yard effort straight into the bottom near corner of the net.

Referee Luis Cantalejo then rightly awarded Liverpool a penalty when Chelsea's first-leg goal hero Branislav Ivanovic clearly held back Alonso.

The Liverpool midfielder stepped up to beat Cech and suddenly the impossible seemed possible.
Chelsea had Cech to thank for keeping them on level terms on aggregate when he tipped away a header from Kuyt in the final minute of the opening half.

Hiddink's side needed a goal to take the sting out of Liverpool's motivation and it arrived somewhat fortunately in the 51st minute.

Nicolas Anelka, a 35th-minute replacement for the poor Salomon Kalou, crossed low from the right and Drogba got a touch on the ball, with Reina only able to turn it over the line.

Chelsea made it 2-2 on the night when Jamie Carragher's foul on Drogba was punished by a fierce 25-yard free-kick by Alex.

With 14 minutes remaining Liverpool's dreams looked finished when Drogba crossed for Lampard to apply the finish.

But a long-range effort from Lucas was deflected off Michael Essien and beyond Cech in the 81st minute and, somewhat astonishingly, Kuyt put Liverpool 4-3 ahead on the night with a six-yard header two minutes later.

But with Liverpool needing one more goal for a glorious victory in this emotional week on Merseyside, 20 years on from the Hillsborough disaster, Lampard ended a stunning contest with his second of the night in the last minute.

Chelsea will face Barcelona in the last four but only after Liverpool had pushed them all the way in a pulsating contest that was a marvellous showcase for English and European football.

Benitez must have wished Gerrard had been fit enough to play as his contribution may well have been the telling one, on a night when the Reds almost managed to achieve the unthinkable.

My time in Taiwan

I think something nice should fill up my blog.
So I shall write abit about what has happened over in Taiwan.


This is what happened on my first night:
I am lying lazily in bed but today has been quite interesting so I decided to share it with you!It is actually quite cold here and I really regret not bringing one more jacket. It is actually quite boring to be alonein Taiwan. So while I was on the plane from Hongkong to Taiwan, I met an interesting uncle. The plane to Tw from Hk is actually quite empty. So almost everyone has an empty seat beside him. So I sat beside an empty seat, I am also beside the window. In the same row, an uncle is seated one seat away. He asked the stewardess for a beer in mandarin but the stewardess isJapanese so couldnt understand. I nice so I used english to convey his request. Later on he started chatting to me. Then say he will help me find a place to stay after I told him I am looking for a place to stay. ahha he actually paid for my bus ticket from airport to taipei. Then took me to his shop which sells vase and potterythen drove me around to look for a hotel. However he did not make much of a difference, I still ended up paying 30 per night . However I will just be staying at this run down hotel for one day before i move to the cleaner and more suitable for student hostel. at 25 per night. I miss you hor!!I went to Shilin night market for dinner. Ate smelly beancurd and chicken cutlet. Tomorrow shall be more thrifty! Here got hundred over channels! I am watching Tv while trying to fall asleep. OH yah got frightening thing..Coz i am staying in this really run down hotel.. they do not even have level four. I am staying on level four. which they named Level 5. Then as I collectedmy keys, I turned and saw this boy staring at me, half his body is hidden behind a door... It was quite dark and he seemed to havea greenish tinge. It looked quite freaky and I jumped abit..then the boy stretched his arm out towards me .. haha scary siaz.. why would young boy be staying in such a dirty place?


Second day:

Yesterday was quite uneventful. We went to XImenDing and had dinner there. I went with 5 other clasmate including a couple. How I wish you were here. I can just lug you around and plant a kiss on you whenever I want. Then I bumped into Andrew and Liankiat. Will be travelling this fri and sat with them to a farm, plus some pottery cottage where we can have some hands-on. Next week I will also be going to HuaLian and Taroko Gouge with them. I am really running out of cash. I shall go and change money afterwards. 7000 and 7500 for lodging and fees. WHich leaves me with 7100. However I just keep counting less money. I have no idea why. Today I sat in the clinic with my doctor. Saw plenty of patients with multiple sclerosis. An autoimmune disease which intermittently can cause weakness, numbness and vision disorders. Plenty of them. I just had lunch. It is curry pork chop plus egg wrapped rice. FOr $95, that is about 4.50 sing dollars. Tonight I will be watching Champions League. Man U vs Porto and Arsenal Vs VIllareal.Tomorrow is the exciting one where Chelsea will go to Liverpool. Then Liverpool will visitCHelsea two weeks later.
I had a nightmare yesterday. YEsterday we went to Ximending. There were two girls in ghost costumesand makeup. They were promoting a school carnival and their class is setting up a house of horror. We took pictures with them naturally. Then later yetsreday night, I dream I was neighbours with one maid who was sitting beside her asleep employer and flashing me a really eerie smile. I cannotremember if she had rotting flesh on her face. Then there was another boy who was glowing a ghastly green sitting on the floor and looking at me. I am feeling asleepy and fell asleep just now behind my doctor. For about 10 minutes. Now I shall go tothe wards and wait for him to do his ward rounds. WHich will then conclude my day!

Yesterday night:

Yah yesterday I went to Wo Cai Wo Cai Wo Cai Cai Cai, Gigi Leong was one of the guest. She and Jackie Wu did not take pictures with anyone. But the rest of the stars did. I took one with one Taiwanese aunty celebrity. although I have no idea who she is. Then the show also invited 3 pretty girls they spottedon the streets. Me and my friends were asked to vote on who is the prettiest. At the end we also took pictures with them. I missed the group photo with Ah Ya.I think the show is going to end soon with Jackie Wu retiring. So no chance to take you there.

The other night I took a bus to Fishermen's Pier. There were no one there because it was too late and the place fills up only during the weekends. But the nightmarket nearit was not too bad, I managed to buy alot of stuff to give to friends when I comeback.

Baffled

I wish I knew how to quit you.

Why not make me happy by telling me you will not see him for the next few months? Just to make me happy. I do not understand.