When I start...

rambling on football, I won't stop. I can go on and on about it till the cows come home.

This morning, I had the chance to watch the World Cup Chat on The Breakfast Show on NTV7. What I heard today really annoyed me. Sheahnee Lee, who was filling in for Naz today, was , along with Daphne, interviewing the MPPJ coach and she asked him why other leagues like the EPL, Seria A, Bundesliga, and the Primera Liga were getting more fanbase rather than Malaysian football. The MPPJ coach answered that before all these leagues were shown on Malaysian TV, Malaysians had no choice but to watch Malaysian football [which is true, if you read my 'if-you-don't-support-Selangor-I'll-send-you-to-Sabah' theory] and that the level of Malaysian football then was far much better compared to now. And she went: "Oh really?".

That was really dumb. You know that fact very well, don't you? Any blind person can tell you the level of Malaysian football is slowly deteriorating. I may have been 7 when I first laid my eyes on Selangor, and I can safely bet that Selangor then and Selangor now are two completely different Selangor teams.

And she went on to ask this question:
"If Ronaldo is not fit, who do you think will Brazil will be banking on for goals?"

For the love of God, woman! Who are Ronaldinho, Adriano, and Kaka? They DO score goals too, you know.

And then she goes:
"Oh, so Brazil are not a one-man team. Unlike England. They depend on Wayne Rooney, and now with his metatarsal injury, the world thinks England can't win the World Cup. They ARE a one-man team!"

WTF? Hello, in case you didn't notice, we ARE coping well without Rooney [though I don't deny that he's a bloody good striker!]. Mind you, during the World Cup qualifying stages, the goals mainly came from the midfield. The likes of Frank Lampard, David Beckham, and Joe Cole have scored for England even when Rooney was around. Let's not forget Michael Owen, who has been getting awful criticism of late since that beanpole started scoring and doing his robotic dance moves. I have great respect for Owen ever since I saw him in 1998. He has helped England in so many ways way before Wayne Rooney and beanpole did. Clearly, England is NOT a one-man team like you think!

Believe me, that woman knows nuts about football and there she goes talking about how England is SO fragile without Wayne Rooney as they ARE a one-man team. Whole load of bollocks.

And what I saw in The Star today really got me boiling mad. Another interview on women regarding football.

What makes YOU think that Ruud van Horseface makes a good model? He has A horseface!
What were YOU thinking when they asked who would make a good fashion model and YOU replied Zidane would be a good one but he'd do well in car adverts? The question WAS who would make a good FASHION MODEL, NOT who would do well in a CAR ADVERT!
What do YOU mean by Michael Ballack's move to Chelsea was based on professional reasons? I suppose that getting a 130 000 pound-a-week salary is constituted as ONE of the professional reasons. He is, after all, Der GreedyPants.
What is wrong with a son in NOT following his father's footsteps? I actually think it's better that way, because people will start comparing the poor boy with his father, which is NOT flattering. I know what it feels like. It's even worse than being compared to your older sibling. Trust me.

These women think they know EVERYTHING about football. Sometimes I feel like whacking them in the head. I can be quite mean at times.

And I don't know WHY the press keeps telling how GREAT Gerrard is, when I know that he can be great when he wants to. Before the F.A. Cup thing, who was it who gave the COMPLIMENTARY backpass to Thierry Henry in the Premiership? Who was it who gave Zinedine Zidane the FREE backpass in the EURO 2004 to make the scoreline 2-1 for France, when we were leading 1-0 for 53 minutes thanks to Frank Lampard's goal? Let me remind you that he has only scored 7 international goals in 6 years. IT IS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, STEVEN GERRARD. I'm not saying Frank Lampard is holier-than-thou whatsoever [though I AM making it sound like that, right?], but why isn't it that people see him the same way they see Gerrard and Crouch. Crouch, in particular, has been getting rave reviews not only about his dance, but also his re-discovered goalscoring abilities. They've been hailed as gods. I mean, I have people talking about how 'untalented' Frank Lampard is. Let's take an example nearest to home: my dad. Yes, the official Frank Lampard-basher of my house. He told me just now that the papers have been documenting on how great Steven Gerrard, Peter Crouch, and John Terry [I got no problem with my Captain Marvel whatsoever!] and there wasn't even a word on Frank Lampard. Yes, the media hails one man as a hero one day, and the next minute he does something really stupid they send him back to zero. Was the media kind to Peter Crouch when he didn't score? I didn't think so either. This is an article published some 3 weeks ago:

~Steven Gerrard's ascension "England's hope" for the Wrold Cup is seen as a desperate attempt by the English media to have their own hero in Germany next month. Suddenly everyone is a football expert which should make Sven Goran Eriksson's job much easier. This sudden Gerrard-worship has come about following his 2 spectacular goals in the FA Cup finals last weekan especially since wonderboy Wayne Rooney is doubtful with a broken foot. It's more of the latter, actually. England badly need a hero and with Rooney crocked, teh media have turned their attention on Gerrard, simply because there is no one else who can command such a huge following. David Beckham has passed his sale date; Frank Lampard and Joe Cole's association with Jose Mourinho will not win them much popularity votes among the media and Michael Owen's long injury lay-off does not really make him a media favourite. Now that Rooney is out of action, all attention has shifted to the Liverpool captain, with some newspapers equating the Liverpool captain to Ronaldinho!~
It is quite true, except for the last part obviously! How can you compare the two of them? They are both on different levels!

~He is the driving force behind the team, a fact acknowledged by Chelsea's Jose Mourinho, the Special One. Mourinho wanted him badly but tiwce he was snubbed.~
Excuse me? He SO badly wanted to come to Chelsea. But when they won the Champions League, he decided to make a U-turn! It wasn't because he loved Liverpool to bits he stayed!

~But the truth ahs to be told. Gerrard has not really stamped his class on the international scene yet. After 40 appearances for England, the Liverpool goal-machine has only managed 6 goals for his country over a six-year period. The Gerrard-worship is going to backfire. Remember, he has played 57 top-level games this season and there is a possibilty that he will be a spent force in Germany.~
Didn't I tell you this earlier?

~England do not need heroes at the World Cup. They need team effort. The sooner the media realises this, the better it will be for England.~
Hear hear.


You all can go on talking bout 'yada yada' for all I care, but my man to watch is definitely Frank Lampard.

Enough of my football rants for a day. Need to study for my Lah quiz tomorrow.

*Bluesy* out!