portsmouth vs liverpool

for the 1st time, it actually seems plausible to get 3 points from portsmouth.

it just shows the gap in class between liverpool and chelsea. chelsea would be expected to get 3 points against pompey even at fratton park.. but for liverpool, getting a point there would be considered an achievement, especially considering we've already lost there twice last season

unfortunately, a draw is no longer an acceptable result. if we want to get that 4th spot, it has to b 3 points or nothing.. the good thing is i think most liverpool players have recognised that and even the game against spurs showed some determination and passion to win, even if they only started to get going after 30 mins or so. ( they did play against juve after all..)

yet again, liverpool face a club who just had a change in management.. it was like that against southampton, man city and now pompey.. so far, a change in management has been a bad omen for us. it's 2 losses out of 2 when the opposing club changes manager..

however this time, i just can't help thinking it will be different.

pompey's strengths are in their attack. lua lua, yakubu can give alot of problems upfront but can be contained.. other than that, i do not see any player who stands out.

the 4-2 win against charlton to me flatters to deceive.. it seems like just about anyone can beat charlton nearing the end of the season..

pompey survive in the premiership for a very simple reason: they win enough home matches and draw enough away matches..it's not to say they are that much of a fortress at home but it's never easy to get a win at fratton park..

all in all, considering liverpool's terrible away form and pompey's reasonable home form, this is another tough match to predict. on neutral ground, you would have to go with liverpool but the new management and liverpool's tendency to concede goals away weigh horribly against them..yet, we cannot forget that pompey is only an average team..player for player, liverpool really does out class everyone of them..

in the end it'll all boil down to who's got more hunger, which to me is always more valuable than skill or technique.

what i can predict is it will not end goalless.. that i dare say...

both will need points but for contrasting reasons.. so it's not easy to say who would be more hungry for the win..i think it'll end 1-0..if i was a neutral i can't say who the winner will be..but oh well i'm a liverpool fan so here we go again..

final score: pompey 0 liverpool 1

PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT

To residents or visitors to the central part of singapore commonly known as GEYLANG:

please be informed that CCTV cameras have been installed on all odd numbered lorongs. this is to curb the recent trend of snatch thefts and other illegal activities. ( but that means the even numbered lorongs are super packed so you can forget about going there either..)

children, in particular teenage girls, should always go to geylang with an adult ( who is not some ah bei who's constantly asking you "how much?")

all females should refrain from wearing anything too revealing ( in other words, girls should just wear MOP-4 chemical warfare armour, a huge raincoat...or better yet, just dress up as a nun. )

we encourage all singaporeans and tourists to go to geylang to savour local delights unique to that area ( white chicken, dark chicken, and other "ji"s)

however, for your own safety, please dress down ( or just make yourself look as ugly as possible )and have a male to female ratio of 1:1 ( preferably the male should look like a complete nerd to avoid mis intrepretating the pair as a "business partnership". weixian is a good role model to follow in the nerd area)

if you only wish to try the food there (which is really very very good), please make sure you have a guide who knows the area well so you will not end up at the wrong places..rest assured there are specific eating areas that only sell food (and by food we actually mean real food you can eat)

thank you and have a nice evening in geylang

regards,
me

P.S: we have just been informed that most girls in geylang actually already look very dressed down..so perhaps you should dress formally instead..( just dress up as a nun)

DISCLAIMER: this annoucement does not intend to bash geylang. without geylang, rape cases would be tripled..some men just need an outlet to release their over flowing testorone..prostitiution is a product of temptation, bio chemistry and lack of self-control..but it's still better than rape...not all prosititutes are illegal and some may seem to have had little choice but take up a profession such as that..we've all heard the true stories of single mothers with little education taking up prostiution to feed their children...

all i'm saying is that if you go to geylang at night, as i have to since i live near there, make sure you don't go to the wrong parts or you may feel extremely uncomfortable. it's a few times worse for girls if you ask me...so i am a little concerned about going there to eat with my friends as we so happily discussed a few weeks back...then again, if we go to my places, it really looks like any other street in toa payoh..so nothing to fear..

guess i got a little paranoid when, yesterday, i followed my mum to geylang to buy dinner home. we drove along the shortest route to the pau dian which meant driving by those less desirable areas.. and i must say even a MALE, like me, can feel the sexual urges of all those men...

and no, those urges were not directed at me...

glad to be wrong

it's nice to know that i was wrong about liverpool.. but with liverpool there is this phrase that seems to suit them well.."when you expect much, you get little... when you expect little you get much"

life is full of those kinda incidents aint it? you think it'll work but it doesn't... then, after a long time, when you've given up all hope, it suddenly looks like it can work again...

like football, there are some things than you can predict in the long term... liverpool will be in the top 5, man u will struggle in the champions league ( haha kidding)..and for life, you're bound to die / pay taxes / sin. but in the short term, who knows? if norwich and wolves can beat man u, who can really say even something simple like " see you tmrw?"

treasure every moment.. it may not last but if it made you happy it was worth all the while..=)

try again...

ok so the last prediction was embarrassingly wrong but i am goign to try again... i dun think my anayltical skills are that bad

i forgot 2 important patterns when making the earlier prediciton.. firstly i failed to take note that liverpool have only scored in 8 out of their 15 away matches.. this suggests that the players or the tactics just don't provide enough firepower upfront during away games... benitez has been brilliant for us throughout the season but away from home he just can't seem to find the winning formula...

furthermore, liverpool tend to lose away games 1-0.. this suggests that away from home liverpool are told to keep it tight at the back and create good counter attacks... however, those days of absobing pressure and counter attacking were gone the moment gerrard houllier was sacked.. the fact was that such tactics simply did not work often enough either...

in my opinion, liverpool should stick to 442 all the time whether home or away.. this is because this team just doesn't seem to understand the concept of shutting out opponents... we have only managed ONE clean sheet away from home all season.. and that was against a west brom team still getting used to bryan robson ! so obviously away defence is not our strong point...

i think we look alot more effective when we take the game to our opponents.. by pinning the defenders and even some midfielders back we lessen the work load on our defenders who are more than capable of shackling the strikers.. this is precisely what we do when we play at home but away we play 451. such a formation ought to mean midfielders come back to defend but players like garcia and nunez are just not good enough in that area.

all in all, juve vs liverpool has 1-0 written all over it.. based on their current tactics and the fact they have a goal lead from the first leg, liverpool will again play 4-5-1 and told to sit back and defend and wait for a good counter attacking opening.. but the question is: does liverpool actually know how to shut out opponents? by the time liverpool find that counter attackign opening, they may have already gone down 3-0...

the only good news is we shoudl have xabi alonso back.. together with the pacy baros.. we could find a counter attacking opening as early as the 10th minute.. such is the vision and precise passing of alonso that any pass he makes could always end up as the killer pass..

in conclusion, whoever scores first will win the tie..and unfortunately i would have to say it should be juve who do that...

final score: juve 1 liverpool 0

another pre match analysis

seeing how i was spot on for most of my predictions ( for which i am very proud ) , i thought i would test my skills again to see if it was not just a fluke.

man city vs liverpool is simultaneously good and bad for us... it's good because man city has got a new manager and the pressure is on them to perform...it's bad because man city has got a new manager and the pressure is on them to perform..

having a new manager can work both ways... on one hand people are pumped up to peform and impress their new manager, especially when the friendship between manager and player was already firmly established back when ian pearce was assistant coach. you can tell by their performace against charlton just how much they wanted a win for their new manager. on the other hand, a new manager would mean new ideas and tactics that can take some getting used to. this could spell confusion in defence or miscommunication in attack. so it's daft to immdiately label a new manager as an instant cure.

the crucial factor is that man city is playing at home which would give them an added impetus to perform. liverpool have not gained enough points away and let's not forget the recent run of good results were all obtained at home.

the one good thing is liverpool should have morientes back from the start and we know he can definitely cause problems for any defence. and if things get tight, perhaps rafa would throw in xabi alonso? however, rafa did say that he would not be taking part in this match

man city will come out with all cylinders firing but look susceptible at the back. if liverpool is going to win this, they should absorb the early pressure and then take the game to them..counter attacking could work too considering the players likely to support fowler all come from midfield ( macken is still rusty )...all in all, whatever way you look at it, you can see goals in this one.. 2 or 3 if you ask me

and though i hate to predict wins cos you can never really predict anything, i'm gonna stick my neck out and make another prediction again.
final score: man city 1 liverpool 2

late nite blog

this won't be too long a blog becaused my eyes can barely keep themselves open. exams are very near so i've been studying till 12 plus everynite. after studying, it's hard to just fall into my bed. i need to do something totally unrelated to academics to let my brain take a breather. not that blogging is a no brainer of course. =) besides i've ran out of anime. i would rather watch them over dinner.

singapore film fest is coming up! and... it falls right during my exams !!! oh what joy !!!

i want to graduate as soon as possible so that when there is a singapore film fest, i can watch animes or movies without having to think about the navier stokes equation

then again, if i do become a Phd student ( hopefully with a NUS paid allowance too).. i doubt i would really be able to watch movies in peace. i won't be surprised if as i'm watching the movie with my friend, he/she says " erm weixian... why r you mumbling about Newton's 3rd law, this is a romantic comedy ain't it?"

will be in 3rd year soon.. where the "fun" really begins: projects, actually designing things and working with strangers while trying to avoid the inevitable politics. in short, all the things i would expect to do when i work in the future. unfortunately, there is one big difference. i still have to do homework at home... i miss the working days when no matter how stressful work was, you know that once you're at home you can just relax. that to me is more valauble than the flexible timetables or the long holidays we students enjoy. i dun mind working everyday. just let me relax once i'm out of the office. wishful thinking perhaps but i do believe that such clear-cut jobs exist.