EPL Transfer News -> Liverpool (Part 2)

Latest transfer news involving Liverpool -> Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi has been courted by Liverpool in a possible 15MM Pound deal.

Rafael Benitez has come out saying that he's not interested in the 24 year old Argentine striker even though the player's advisor insisted that the proposal from Liverpool is true.



I don't get it....15MM pounds for a striker whose unproven in the English Premier League...we've seen many of these players fail before....Morientes, Babel....it's not that they are not good...it's basically the fact that these players need at least 2 seasons to adapt to the pace of the English game.

Liverpool has had a really good season...just falling short at the very end...next season COULD BE THE ONE...so we should be signing established strikers in the league who has had a relatively good track record and can support Torres up front instead of blowing good money on another player who has been plying his trade in the Italian Serie A.

There's "some" good news filtering through about Valencia having to sell their star players inorder to clear their massive debts...that means players like David Villa and David Silva.

Now that is where Liverpool should be spending the money on...granted that these two players are untested in the Premier League but at least they are teammates with Torres in the Spanish National Team. Villa and Torres partnership will be a dream linkup for Liverpool and having Silva and Riera flank on the wings will be a "SICK" setup.

If I were Benitez, I'd blow the bank and sell Alonso to fund these two transfers.

I'm already drooling with anticipation.

Consider this potential line up :

GK : Pepe Reina
LB : Fabio Aurelio (need someone better here)
RB : Alvaro Arbeloa (need someone slighty better here but not as urgent as LB)
C : Jamie Carragher, Martin Skertel (Sub : Daniel Agger)
Midfield : Steven Gerard, Javier Macherano
LW : Albert Riera (Sub : Ryan Babel)
RW : David Silva (Sub : Yossi Benayoun)
Striker : Fernando Torres, David Villa (Sub : Dirk Kuyt)

EPL Transfer News -> Liverpool of course...

For a second there, did you think I would be interested in reporting player transfers for any other club?

As I've predicted in my earlier posting, Liverpool is seriously looking at signing TUNCAY SANLI from Middlesbrough, who has been relegated to the English League Championship next season.

I'm not sure why there's been negative sentiments raised about Benitez's desire to sign Tuncay because from the limited number of times I've seen him play, he's a perfect partner for Torres on attack.

I think people need to start considering the amount of $ that Liverpool has to sign new players in the summer because obviously every club would like to sign 3-4 players of similar calibre as Torres but more obviously, not every club has that kind of cash to splash.

There's also the consideration of keeping 4 Torres' happy in the team because you cannot be playing all 4 of them at the same time.

Another rumor filtering through is Sylvain Distin from Portsmouth to replace the aging Sami Hyypia who has departed for Bayer Leverkusen. The 32 year old defender will definitely be an upgrade from the 36 year old Hyypia and an excellent cover for Agger and Carragher in the middle of defence.

Also in my prediction was Obafemi Martins whose rumored to be the target of 3 Premiership Clubs but surprisingly, Liverpool ain't one of them. Maybe he's seen as being too much of the "Torres" mould...no use keeping two of the same type of player on the team...

I will end this update with this shout : I HATE AND DESPISE YOU, GARETH BARRY!!

So much has already been said in the media about his dumb move to Manchester City from Aston Villa....all that mumbo-jumbo talk last season about wanting to leave Villa to go to Liverpool to play Champions League football...then following that by saying he will stay with Villa if they qualify for Europe...

Well, Liverpool is still in the Champions League and Villa is also in Europe next season...so how come you're demoting yourself by going over to Manchester City now?

All crap talk just like all the other players who have gone before him to join City -> it's all about THE MONEY...just admit it and move on...I think the fans would find it easier to forgive you if you come out and be honest and admit that you need the $ for a sex change op...

What would I be if I wasn't......STUCK IN A RUT?

I've decided today to post about what I would and could have been if I wasn't who I am today....essentially that means sitting in my office behind closed doors, doing nothing of really any importance and honestly, no one really cares...

I'll explain why, possibly within my next 3 postings but here in this one, this is not about that...this is about who I could have been and would have liked to be...

1) A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE

No, I'm not talking about the peanut-earning no-good crappy sports people we have on our shores..

And Of course this is my first option...what would I be without sports? Certainly anyone who knows and have seen me can conclude that my physique represents nothing of what a professional athlete should look like, except for maybe WWE Rick Flair (the old version)

But having said that, this is about what I COULD HAVE BEEN, so nothing of my current state is valid here.

Imagine playing baseball or basketball everyday...sweating it out on the courts...travelling from state to state with the team, discussing strategy, watching tapes on the opposing teams....AND ACTUALLY GETTING PAID TONNES OF BUCKS....LOVE IT...

2) A COMEDIAN

I've always dreamed of having my own comedy channel or talk show...it all started when I actually wanted to propose to my school that they let me "go on air" once a week over the school PA system and just TALK COCK for an hour, or maybe 30 minutes...

How cool is that?

Well that never happened...I didn't think they would have let me anyway...

But yes, I'd grab at that chance even now...if by some strange twist of fate I get to do something like that on national radio, that would be so so awesome...

Something I read in the "blink" book just triggered a distant memory of something my Secondary School Teacher once told me...

I remember one day we were all doing classroom cleaning...it was one of those "bo liao" activities which the students had to do to kill time after exams...and it's all because the teachers were worried we were spending too much time playing "Western Bar" or "Kungfu" handheld games...

I crept up on my friend from behind, gave the wet towel I was holding several quick twirls, and unleashed a powerful "mid air" ninja hurricane flick at his arse...

"KAPEAK!!!!"

It was loud...I didn't think it was too painful but it certainly left a big wet stain on his candy sweet arse cheeks...

In the midst of the loud guffaws and maniac laughter that followed from all my friends around me, I spotted my teacher standing about 5 steps away to the right, and apparently having spotted the entire incident...damn...

I didn't think my right ear could have survived the oncoming onslaught...but the tirade from my teacher ended with this : YOU SHOULD NEVER MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH AT OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPENSE"

Hmm...quite the contrary to Mr Gladwell because here's what he wrote in his book : "In order to make somebody laugh, you have to be interesting, and in order to be interesting, you have to do things that are MEAN. Comedy comes out of anger, and interest comes out of angry; otherwise there is no conflict"

I love making people laugh..and I fully agree with Mr Gladwell...and that's probably why Li-Anne always calls me MEAN...but do I sense a tinge of sniggering there?

To all those people out there whom I've ever hurt your feelings either by something I did to you or something I said to you....DAMN IT WAS FUNNY!! (I'm sorry...)

3) RACE CAR DRIVER

High Risk Manuevers, Intuition for overtaking and squeezing into the tiniest of cracks between road hogs, love for excessive speed...

I'd be rich if I've gotten $1 for every time someone tells me how nauseating they feel after riding in my car...

No...it's not bad driving....it's about getting to your destination quickly and with finese....

Oh let's not forget the "AND ACTUALLY GETTING PAID TONNES OF BUCKS"

Yes, I'm daydreaming RIGHT NOW in my office....it's probably the most productive thing I'm going to be doing today...

Need to keep my mind spinning unless I can find 3 more "legs" and have a mahjong game right now...mahjong cures ALZHEIMER, so it should do wonders for my already-starting to rot brain...

blink - The Power of Thinking without Thinking

Just want to share a little about this book I'm currently reading...it's from Malcolm Gladwell and if you're familiar with his books, he's also written the bestseller "The Tipping Point"

Yes...Ryan and Reading does not usually go together except maybe sports journals, newspapers and magazines....

I've had this book sitting on my shelf for like a gazillion years, including "The Tipping Point" which I will get to once I'm done with this one...

This book is amazing...it basically talks about choices we make in an instant - in the blink of an eye - and when compared to our decisions made after spending a lot of time deliberating and processing the most information, they are not by any means any much worse.

In fact, if you spent some time thinking about some of the best decisions you have made in the past month, you'll probably not be able to explain to others how you actually arrived at those decisions.

I don't want to kill your joy by sharing too much here in this posting...also probably do not want Mr Gladwell sueing me for copyright so I'll just leave you to discover the wonders of this book yourself..

I'll probably be done with this book in another 2 days so if anyone wants to borrow it, please just give me a holler. I've been buried in it for the past 2 days so yes, I may have started picking up reading again.

It's been SO LONG since I've buried myself in any book...the last was probably one of those TERRY GOODKIND fantasy books...yeah..I remember those days...

My Kidz and Sports!

I signed Terelle up for this year's Cold Storage Kidz Run which was held last weekend at the Padang.

I had wanted to sign her up last year but had missed the deadline, but on hindsight, maybe she would have been a little too young last year to enjoy the run.

It's was very simple run..basically a 700m route around the Padang...this was the youngest age grouping - 2 to 4 years old kids.

It was a great morning spent out in the sun...and all of us had a fantastic time...the turnout was great...and it was really nice to see so many families out there who place a lot of importance in sports and a healthy lifestyle.

Terelle was AWESOME...Daddy and Mummy are both really proud of you....I'm sure we'll all have double the blast next year when Thane is able to come join us.

I wonder whose gonna be doing all the picture and video taking next year...I'll have to be accompanying either Terelle or Thane on the run...not that I didn't run this year...try having a NIKON SLR in one hand and a video camera in the other and running 700m backwards at a frantic pace, while trying to avoid bumping into little 4year old kids and at the same time, busy clicking away and trying to keep the video camera still....

For both Li-Anne and I, as we were growing up as kids and teenagers, sports and the great outdoors dominated a big portion of our daily activities.

People who know me well know that I'm a sports-junkie...well obviously if you've been reading my blog frequently enuff, you'd have arrived at that conclusion as well.

I hope both my kids will come to love sports just like Daddy and Mummy...I guess ideally, everyone wants to be really good at something but it doesn't really matter because the underlying purpose is really to have fun, compete (sometimes) and stay healthy.

Personally, I believe that sports do help develop character in a person...and a fair amount of competition really does go a long way in teaching us about determination, teamwork, hard-work and the important art of failing and never giving up.

These are all important lessons which we may never learn in a classroom or infront of a television, computer or Playstation.

ITS OVER...BOOHOOHOO!!

It was a sad weekend for sports...well, at least for the sports that I follow and the teams which I support..

In fact, I'm seriously considering not-supporting the teams which I like so they actually have a chance of winning.

Its like a curse which I place on these teams...they never win because I'm cheering them on and in return, they give me heartache, lots of anxious moments with nothing but PAIN in return.

If you have still not read about it, the Cleveland Caveliers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs over the weekend by the Orlando Magic.

The final score was 90-103, but the score was probably the most inconsequential part of the loss.

It was Game 6 and Cleveland knew they had to win in Orlando to take the series back home for the all important Game 7. They couldn't do it, not when they had failed all the other 4 times when they came to Orlando.

The story was the same...the supporting cast just did not turn up...

You can argue that the Cleveland's supporting cast was outclassed by that of Orlando's but this is the playoffs...WHERE AMAZING HAPPEN...I don't think that can be used as an excuse..

This was suppose to be "THE SEASON"...Cleveland blitzed every team in their wake during the regular season...they swept their first two playoff opponents and everyone wanted to see a dream KOBE vs LEBRON finals...

Alas, Dwight "Superman" Howard had other ideas....

There's only so much one man can do...basketball will always be a team game...

In summary, this is going to be long summer for the Caveliers....the franchise has failed to provide a strong enough supporting cast for Lebron in the past 6 years and as a result, the greatest player to ever touch a basketball is STILL WITHOUT a Championship Ring.

Many of his detractors out there still feel that without a ring, the greatest player is still not the greatest player. That sets the stage for another debate but you can just feel it....Lebron is going to win a ring one day...even Michael Jordan did not win his first ring until his 8th season...but the question will be...will he win it as part of the Caveliers or another team?

Lebron has one more season before he's going to be a free agent and that will open the doors and opportunities for many teams to swoop in to take him. Although many times, he's said that he's happy in Cleveland, it will just be a matter of time before he leaves for another better championship-calibre team.

Lebron's hurt, dissapointed and the man has every right to feel that way....he's contributed everything to this team : points, rebounds, assists, leadership, guidance...just go Lebron...KING JAMES will always be KING JAMES

I'm not even going to talk about Nadal's loss to Soderling last night in the French Open...

This has been a terrible terrible sporting weekend for me...

Breast-Feeding is EVIL...

Ok...I might get a lot of flak for posting something like this but what the hell...it's my blog...

Why, you ask?

Well, I'm not about to write several paragraphs here about the wonders of breast-feeding...just go google that subject and you'll probably find in excess of one million sites that can tell you that..

This is not what this post is about...nor am I going to refute anything those one million sites will tell you...

One word...addiction....

Have you ever been addicted to breast? Ok that didn't come out right...all the men reading this stop nodding...this is not what you think it is...

Thane is simply addicted to breast...it's his source of comfort and probably not off any fault of his since that has been his primary food source for the past 18 months and he's never been given a pacifier (we don't want to deal with ugly front teeth in future)

Well it's fine when the sun's high up in the sky...it's not when it's freaking 1 am in the morning and he refuses to sleep and is fussing for a breast...

Hang on...let me add 2am, 3am, 3.30am, 4am, 5am, 6am, 6.30am....

Sometimes, I wish I had lactating mammary glands...so I can take some load off mummy....but then again, he doesn't drink anything...the breast is merely a source of comfort...it's like that stinky pillow or ragged blanket...

Many a nights I catch myself feeling utterly helpless and not able to chip in to help ....and it does not make it any better that mummy's such a light sleeper....most of the time, she's kept awake all night attending to his "addiction"

I guess this is testament to the saying "Nothing is for free"

As good as breastfeeding is made out to be, and it's all true, there is still this one little aspect which is negative....

What's next for Thane? Cold turkey my boy....unless you want daddy's breast....

I HATE NEWSPAPER LEECHERS!

I don't know if I'm the only one...also can't remember if I've blogged about this before long long time ago but I HATE THESE PEOPLE!

Not sure who they are (??)....well, these are the people who sit / stand beside you on the bus or train and read the newspaper over your shoulder...

I can actually see some people nodding in agreement now...

It's not that I'm a selfish arse, after all it's only 70cents....but it is SO IRRITATING to actually have someone looking over your shoulder...

For goodness sake, they are giving away FREE TODAY PAPERS..go get your own copy!

You know what's worse? It actually happened to me this morning on the train...

There was a 50+ old auntie standing BESIDE me when I got onboard at Bedok...

The moment I opened up my newspaper, she ACTUALLY stuck her head over to read!!!

Can you actually beat that???

Am I your buddy, ma'am? Why don't you put your head on my shoulders and get some shut-eye as well?

Oh, one more thing...I actually saw, from the corner of my eye, distinct delight showing on her face each time I turned the page...it's like she was so INTO the news!

I tried everything...I folded the papers into half, I folded it into quarters, I tried maneuvering into a position where it makes it harder for her to read....

I had enuff when the train reached Bugis station....

I turned the papers upside down.....