My summer wishlist..

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It's summertime!

As with every season, the summer transfer window never fails to bring hope and at the same time alot of talk about the comings and goings at the club. I'm gonna leave the whole Ronaldo "saga" aside for the moment and concentrate more on the positives! Our new potential signings! :D

Ok, it's pretty obvious that despite our healthy goal-scoring record this season, we're still lacking cover upfront. And if we're serious about defending the European crown next season, some major reinforcements have to be brought in to send out the right message both domestically and to the rest of Europe that United means business.

Euro '08 has brought about some interesting players we could look at too ;)

Here's who I'd like to see in our kit next season:

Micah Richards (Man City)
Tall, strong, quick, and young, this kid comes as a complete package and is one of those that would probably die on the pitch for his team. He's the kind of good old-fashioned English hardman that we need at the back. His performances have been consistently solid and he is able to operate at Right Back, Centre Back as well as the centre of Midfield. I don't know about how likely we'll be able to get him considering former United boy Mark Hughes recent appointment at Man City.

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Almost similar to Richards, Ramos has undoubtedly started to make a strong claim to taking over Raul as the new "Golden Boy" at Real. He's also able to play a variety of positions and has an aggresive nature to his game which would go very well with the English game. There was talk about him being part of an exchange deal for Ronaldo. Which leads me to think of how much they value their own players, especially good ones like Ramos.

Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow)
At 27, Pavlyuchenko has been hailed as the next best forward since Oleg Salenko led the Russian frontline. So far, he has looked pretty impressive despite successive Russian defeats at Euro '08. Bagged a poacher's goal against Spain and he may be a cut-price alternative to the pricey names that United have been linked with previously. A solid target man with an eye for goal, he was top scorer in the Russian League for the past 2 seasons grabbing a healthy 14 goals in 22 matches in the latter season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan)
Biasedness aside (yes I'm a BIG Zlatan fan), Ibrahimovic is definitely one that surprisingly hasn't been considered as a potential transfer target for Ferguson. Standing at 1.95m tall, the Swede is a giant and to add to that, he has great feet and pace for a big man. Also, true to the way United play their football, Zlatan is definitely in the same mould of entertainers that already at the club (ie. Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez etc.). With Jose Mourinho recently taking over Inter and publicly stating that he has targeted bringing in the likes of Drogba and company from Chelsea, it'll be interesting to see how things develop at the San Siro for Ibrahimovic. He will come at a very high price though.

Klaas-Jan Hunterlaar (Ajax)
The new goalscorer extraordinaire from a long production line of Dutch striking greats which include the likes of Van Basten and Van Nistelrooy. With him at United, the squad would finally have a focal point to their attacks which was a void left by Ruud when he left for Real Madrid. he too has an amazing goal ratio for Ajax with a total of 70 goals in 82 appearances for the club. Personally, I'd only consider Klaas if we were to let go of Ronaldo and switch to much more orthodox 4-4-2 system as compared to the vibrant 4-3-3 style that we are employing at the moment.
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Roundup - Matchday 1 : Italians hammered, Germans reign supreme.

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Matchday 1 had a whole whirlwind of shocks, dazzling displays and controversy as the opening rounds of matches brought about a total 16 goals over 8 games.


Hosts looking good

The Swiss and Austria came away from Matchday 1 with solid performances despite their respective defeats. Switzerland were unlucky to not at least grab a point against the Czech Republic and Austria was even cursed after totally dominating Croatia in the second half of their match. The next few games should prove interesting for the co-hosts as I expect more surprises to come from them. A pity Alexendre Frei has to miss the whole of what should be his last Euro now due to that nasty accident he had in the first half. Seeing him in tears was bad =(


World Champs stunned!

No one could have expected a 3-0 drubbing by the Dutch as the Italians really looked lost without the steady Fabio Cannavaro marshalling the backline. But to their credit, Holland were very impressive and looked menacing on all fronts. They're unfamiliar looking defence was stable and they played quick, flowing football which was easy on the eyes. Elsewhere, former Euro champs France were too cautious and were made to pay by coming away with a just a point against a stubborn Romania. They were also clearly lacking the invention of Vieira and talismanic skipper Thierry Henry. Germany were at they're usual best and looked comfortable against Poland while Spain finally look like shaking off their 'under-achievers' tag with a 4 goal tally against Russia.


So much for the hype

Leading up to Euro '08, there was so much hype and buzz being created about how Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema would finally shine at the international stage. After their first matches though, they failed to make any significant impact for their respective teams and were disappointing by their standards. Much was also said about Fernando Torres who for all his goalscoring exploits for Liverpool, could only manage a 54-min goalless display.

There were still enough bright sparks elsewhere to suggest that this could still be the most entertaining Euro yet. Lukas Podolski pulled of a clinical performance and grabbed 2 goals. Wesley Sneijder was also smoking hot, scoring 1 and looking very threatening as a creative force. Nothing more can be said about David Villa as he grabbed a superb hat-trick and the current top spot in the Golden Boots list. Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic finally ended his 3-year goal drought for country as he silenced his critics with a wonder strike which looks set to be one of the goals of the tournament so far.

It was an interesting enough matchday and I'll be looking forward to more goals in the next round of matches when teams start to open up abit and shake off their 'first match jitters'.

What's next?

Italy should bounce back against Romania and it will be interesting to see what comes out of the France-Holland match when Thierry Henry returns. I don't see much surprises elsewhere. Maybe a Czech surprise against Portugal but that's it. The Spain-Sweden encounter should also be an interesting one and Croatia have an opportunity to send out the message that they can mix it up with the best provided they get a result against Germany.


Player of Matchday 1 - David Villa

Team of Matchday 1 - Holland

Goal of Matchday 1 - Lukas Podolski's stunning volley against Poland

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Euro 2008 - It's here!!!

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4 years on and it's back!

Yes! The tournament that pits the creme de la creme of Europe is finally here. Hot favorites, dark horses, rising stars and seasoned warriors. You name it, they've got it. And to make things even more interesting, must of us would have probably discussed to death by now what looks to be the most toughest group in recent Euro history - The Group of Death (Group C of course).

As if the 12am and 2.45am time slots weren't challenging enough, friends and families in living rooms across Singapore will find themselves divided for a month as the huge following of Dutch, French and Italian fans slog it out to gain bragging rights over the other.

Personally, looking at the 16 that have made it to Switzerland-Austria, its hard to put your finger down on one team you'd genuinely believe will win it. Which is also testament to how far the game has grown in terms of standard and development in various countries. Can you pick a winner?

Here's my take on the teams and the groups they're in:

Group A
Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey

At first glance, Portugal does look like where the smart money should be and I wouldn't fault anyone for believing so too. Ronaldo's scintilating 42-goal season mixed with youth and experience of the likes of Moutinho and Deco are more than enough reasons to back the Portuguese to breeze through the group stages. I'd give the Czechs more credit than they're due though. They finished at the top ahead of hot favorites Germany in the Euro Qualifiers and were semi-finalists in 2004. I actually fancy the effeciency of the Czechs over Portugal and lest we forget, Turkey are no push-overs themselves and are sure to cause a shock or two in the competition. The Swiss are of course on home soil and we all know what happened to the host nation at the last Euro (google "Euro 2004" or "Ronaldo in tears")

TD's picks - Grp Winner: Czech Republic, Runner-up: Portugal

Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland

Ok ok, maybe not all the groups are gonna be tough. Group B looks like a shoo-in for heavyweights Germany and the ever-improving Croatia. Austria and Poland are gonna be in for an uphill task trying to come away from their 3 games with their pride intact. Yes of course Austria's a co-host too in the competition but they definitely are nowhere near where Switzerland are at at the moment. Expect no surprises in this one.

TD's picks - Grp Winner: Germany, Runner-up: Croatia

Group C
France
Holland
Italy
Romania

Ahh, the Group of Death. Need we say more? The line-up is tantalising and so too are the players. Henry.. Van Nistelrooy.. Pirlo.. and the list of who's who in football today goes on. The Dutch look like a team rejuvenated under Marco Van Basten with an injection of youth and flair in this current batch of hopefuls. France and Italy of course are no strangers to the big stage having been finalists in the last World Cup - which Italy won - and gracing the final stages of various international competitions many times. Tough one to call.

TD's picks - Grp Winner: Italy, Runner-up: France

Group D
Greece
Russia
Spain
Sweden

A defending champion, an under-achiever, an over-achiever and the eternal hopefuls. That's how Group D reads to me. Spain look strong to make it through with a team that might finally make the grade this time round. There is enough invention and experience to suggest that this could be the Spaniards most successful campaign yet. Then again, they've broken countless of fans hearts before with complacent and careless performances previously. An Ibrahimovic-led Sweden have baflled critics on more than one occasion. First getting past the group stages of the last World Cup, and then stunning Italy in the very same competition in 2004. Guus Hiddink has been known to make magic out of the teams he's handled and this Russia side looks to be no different. They look primed for a huge upset but only time will tell how they will fare. Greece are defending champions but none are anticipating a shocking repeat of 2004.

TD's picks - Grp Winner: Spain, Runner-up: Russia

Overall Champions: France ;) (seriously.)
Runner-up: Germany

More picks...

Golden Boot: Lukas Podolski

Player of Euro'08: Karim Benzema