beckhamteh

A season to Fer-get

2010-05-11T10:53:00.006+08:00

Losing Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Tevez to city-rival Man City before the start of the season 2009/2010, and with no big-name signings for the season, is not something every Man Utd fan in this world wanted to see. As expected, the season ended with disappointments. Embarassing 3rd round FA Cup defeat to Leeds United from League One, Quarterfinal Champions' League exit at the hand of Bayern Munich, and playing 2nd fiddle in the Premier League to Chelsea were bitter pills to be swallowed by all United fans.

United players applauding the Old Trafford faithfuls after the final game of English Premier League 2009/2010.

Although Ferguson still trying to put up a brave face in summarizing this season's performance, but the fact is, this team is just not good enough. Lacklustre performance by 30-millions-pounds striker Berbatov, ineffective wingers like Nani/Valencia/Obertan, injury-proned Michael Owen, the three oldies of Neville/Giggs/Scholes who are at the wrong end of 30s in their careers, embarassing 7 league defeats to Burnely, Fulham, Aston Villa, Liverfool, Everton and Chelsea (2) summed up our season. The only bright points of the season are the mesmerizing form of Rooney, successfully defending League Cup (in fact the 1st cup Ferguson ever successfully defended) and the superb 3-2/4-0 round-16 win against AC Milan in Champion's League.

Ferguson applauding the Old Trafford faithfuls after the final game of English Premier League 2009/2010.

Every United fan is wondering what are the changes Ferguson will bring in during the summer to bring back the glory to Old Trafford. Hope Ferguson will get back his magic touch again by defying the odds against him everytime...

Rome dream ended in ruins...

2009-05-29T01:49:00.017+08:00

The euphoria of UEFA Champions' League 2009 Final at Rome, Italy for Man Utd started off well with the possibility of Sir Alex Ferguson's men being able to create a great piece of history in this competition. No team has able to defend the cup since it was rebranded in 1992/93. Imagine, every year since 1993 till now, for the past 15 years, we have a new team winning it every year! Starting with Marseille in 1993, AC Milan, Ajax, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Man Utd, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Porto, Liverfool, Barcelona, AC Milan, Man Utd in sequence.

Ferguson said before the game "This is our time, take chance to join the greats". The team hired a famous suits designer to design specially the suits that all players will wear for the final, and they boarded the plane confidently to Rome...

Nice suits for the Final

As soon as the final whistle were blown at the end of the final on 27 May 2009 at Rome, dejected looks appeared on Ferguson and all MU players . These looks are very familiar to me... and bring back all the memories of the disappointments since after the 1999 Treble season. The disappointment in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 are so vivid and clear in my mind where i can never forget how each failure happened. This defeat will surely add to the list above.

Ferguson's men were simply outclassed and outfought by an amazing Barcelona team's attack leaded by Xavi, Ineista, Eto, Messi and Henry. Goals by Eto and Messi handed MU a 2-0 defeat, and the score could have been worse if not because of all the saves Van der Saar made. Did Ferguson use the wrong tactic for the game which lead to such massacre? The horrible and low-class display by the MU team are just simply not acceptable to all MU fans around the world. We are supposed to be the reigning European Champion and World Clubs' Cup champion, but do we look like one on this night?

There was not anyone in the MU's starting first 11 who can drag the team back from the setback of conceding an early goal through Barcelona's 1st attack in the game on 10th minute. No one can act as a leader like what we used to have, such as Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce or Roy Keane. No players able to find their feet on the pitch. Rooney was lost playing the left of midfield, Park lost playing on the right, Anderson lost playing in the middle, Giggs didn't contribute anything in the midfield, Ronaldo too busy trying to show that he is better than Messi, and Carrick had just too much space to cover in midfield due to others not performing. Defence-wise, Ferdinand and Vidic look like having serious weakness by easily being turned/wrong-footed by Barca attackers, Evra not in the game at all, but at least John O Shea was coping quite well surprisingly. We don't look like able to win the game at all.

Although i was not particularly sad after the game, and in fact, throughout the game i wasn't that emotional or angry, because from the very deep bottom of my heart, i already know that this performance for sure is not good enough to be European champion again... I consoled myself by telling myself that probably there is blessing in disguise in the humiliating defeat, as the manager will know that he needs to refresh the team a bit for coming season, if he wants to continue pursuing his dream of pushing Man Utd to be among the pantheon of elites clubs which have won this competition for more than 3 times such as Real Madrid (9 times), AC Milan (7 times), Bayern Munich & Ajax (4 times).

Ferguson, Rooney, Ronaldo, Carrick, Giggs and Ferdinand all said after the match that the best won tonight, and Ferguson said they will come back stronger next season. I do hope what Ferguson said it's true, and he can continue to defy the odds as usual, although today he just can't create this piece of history...

Can we do it again in 2009?

2009-05-06T13:16:00.010+08:00

5th May 2008:

Every Man Utd fan today will be surprised to see their team's comprehensive victory over the 2 legs against arch-rival Arsenal in the semi-final of UEFA Champions' League 2009. Followed by the marginal 1-0 win from Old Trafford from last week, MU won 3-1 at Emirates today! It was a classic MU performance, with lots of superb counter attacking play. Park Ji Sung scored the 1st goal in the 8th minute, followed by Ronaldo thunderbolt freekick in 11th minute, and one classic counter attack move on the 61th minute produced the 3rd goal by Ronaldo.

Park celebrating the 1st goal

Ronaldo celebrating 2nd goal

Ronaldo with the 3rd goal

MU has not been playing well throughout this season, as far as i can remember by watching them playing every game this season. They have been facing problem in scoring goals since the start of the season, finding the right combination of midfield players, inconsistency by key players at key matches (like the thrashings by liverfool and fulham in the league recently), and scrapping through matches with 1-0 small wins.

I myself was very doubtful of whether they can make the final. After all, last season was just a miracle when they got past Barca in the semi. Since the treble win in 1999, disappointments at the hand of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Bayern Leverkusen, AC Milan, Porto were just too bitter to swallow, and i can remember the sad moments each time after those matches. I was quite calm with today's victory, prefer not to put too high hope of them defending the crown at Rome on this coming 27 May 2009. Can they do it? I don't know... although in the very very bottom of my heart, i do hope they can. Opponent may be Barcelona who possesses the best attacking in the world now leaded by amazing player Lionel Messi. Ferguson always says that he regretted that his luck has not been much better in this competition... elite clubs like AC Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich have won it 5 times at least, yet MU only won a pathetic 3 times... i hope Ferguson can bring MU a step closer to that statue of these clubs when 27 May comes at Rome...

I shall hope for the best :), pray for MU victory, pray for Ferguson to create another milestone in MU's history....

祝我

2008-07-04T23:33:00.001+08:00

我知道伤心不能改变什么
那么~让我诚实一点
诚实~难免有不能控制的宣泄
只有关上了门不必理谁
一个人坐在空荡包厢里面
手机~让它休息一夜
难~想切歌切掉回忆的画面
眼泪不能流过十二点

=========================================================

电灯胆
假使不能公开妒忌
学习大方接受
同行时要殿后
谁冷落旧朋友
节日约我三位一体的庆祝
沿途明亮灯饰闪映着沉重
言谈越炽热
内在更冰冻
谁当初无心
将两方缀合
然后留低只得这寂寞人
仍是你们密友
呆望你们热吻
应该伤感还是快感
能回避嘛
我怕了当那电灯胆
黏着你们来来回
委曲中受难
一个我被撇低却又很不惯
要走的一刹又折返
能承认嘛
我故意当那电灯胆
他日你们完场时入替也不难
善良人埋藏着最坏的心眼
妄想一天你们会散
会选我吗
对换了你身份
可应该满足
情人还是知己
都拥入怀抱
同情或眼泪
让别个得到
留低的原因
一世的秘密
其实明知只得我是外人
仍是你们密友
呆望你们热吻
应该开心
还是痛心

Crushing defeat...

2008-05-30T12:39:00.004+08:00

Sports can be fun, but sometimes it can really make you sad... ya, i ain't any 'professional' sportsman or what-so-ever, but the 'crushing defeat' my ping pong team 'tasted' on 29 May 2008 was really a very sad experience. I don't know where to hide myself after the match was over by a scoreline 0-3 (0-3, 1-3, 2-3 by 1st, 2nd and 3rd pairs, i was playing in the 1st pair). Was it a tactical error by me? Lack of luck? Or we just not good enough? I don't know... but i guess from this experience, i know how Sir Alex Ferguson, Rooney and Ronaldo felt in the 0-3 defeat to AC Milan in 2007... 'Sky-high' expectation ended in embarassing crushing defeat. If we have lost by 2-3, probably i will feel better. Anyway, as Jose Mourinho once said 'Almost is nothing', thus i guess there is no difference...

I just couldn't do it when i wanted to do it very much at that 'very' moment... sigh~... really sad about this...

Finally, we did it!

2008-05-25T22:58:00.003+08:00

22 May 2008, 6am Malaysia time, Manchester United were crowned the 2007/08 UEFA Champions' League Champion. This success of Sir Alex Ferguson was achieved in even more dramatic fashion compared to 1999. The score was 1-1 after extra time and the game went on to penalty shootout. Man Utd won eventually 6-5 on penalties, with Ronaldo missed the 3rd kick and Chelsea converted the first 4 kicks. When it was down to the fifth kick, Nani converted it to make it 4-4. John Terry from Chelsea just needed to converted the last kick to send the trophy back to London, and when he stepped up to take the kick, Van der Saar dived the wrong way, and at that very moment, all MU fans around the world (including me of course) thought the ball was rolling into the empty net on the right hand post, and to our amaze, the ball hit the outside of post and flied wide. Yes, Terry missed it!!!! Anderson converted the next kick, and so as Kalou. Giggs stepped up and converted the seventh kick, and Anelka held the responsiblity of Chelsea's next kick. Amazingly, Van der Saar guessed the right way and punched the ball away. MU has won the cup this year! Sir Alex Ferguson managed to clinch the cup for the second time under his tenure! And it was nine years ago when he last guided Man Utd to Champions' League victory! It is absolutely amazing and marvellous record for Sir Alex. His 20 major trophies for club over the past 22 years!

I just can't believe that it was 9 years ago when Man Utd did this the last time. Tears of joy inevitably came out from my eyes, signalling the long long wait that every MU fan around the whole has wanted to see over the last 9 years...

It was 9 years ago, but it feels like yesterday

2008-05-01T11:39:00.005+08:00

30 April 2008, finally after 9 years of waiting, all Man Utd fans around the world are cheering the fact that the team will appear in European Champions' League final on this coming May 21. It has been a long wait after they last won the Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson in the historic win in 1999. In fact, this will be only the third time in the history of the club that they will appear in the final. What a under-achievement for a club of this size... The names of clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Bayern Leverkusen, AC Milan, Porto were never be forgotten by any fans which have broken their hearts over the past 9 years at various stage in this pretigious competition. And tonight, we achieved it without the presence of injured duo Rooney and Vidic. And more memorable, the job was done with a stunning solitary goal by Paul Scholes, who missed the final 9 years ago because of suspension. It's certainly a night full of memories, tears of joy, and unforgettable feelings of what we have missed over the past 9 years...

Moscow (the venue of the final this year), here we come!!!

Scholes, the unsung hero of the night. At the age of 33, although clearly the age has caught up with him this season, till the extent i can't resist to have a go at his performance many many times when i was watching MU playing, probably today is one moment i am really proud to see him playing in the team :)... 9 years is really not a short period of time...

My journey of HK series

2007-08-07T13:46:00.000+08:00

I need a place to keep track of those HK series that i have watched for recent years, suddenly thought of doing it here, thus here is the list i wrote down for time-being :)

I became a HK series lover ever since i was small and my house 1st got tv when i was only standard one/two. I started watching series here in PG when my colleagues downloaded a lot and shared to me :). From the list below, you can see how much time i hv spent (or you can say 'wasted'... haha) in keeping up with this hobby. I not sure what i can gain from doing this, may be helping me spend my free time, keep me occupied, or may be brush up my Cantonese. After all, i learnt cantonese since small from watching HK series, haha :).

2005:
1. 金枝欲孽 (30)
2. 隔世追凶 (20)
3. 九五至尊 (20)
4. 金牌冰人 (20)
5. 栋笃神探 (25)
6. 天涯侠医 (30)
7. 水浒无间道 (25)
8. 下一站彩虹 (20)
9. 青出于蓝 (30)
10. 无名天使 (20)
11. 老婆大人 (20)
12. 谈判专家 (30)
13. 开心宾馆 (20)
14. 妙手人心 III (40)
15. 心花放 (30)
16. 十兄弟 (20)
17. 酒店风云 (20)

2006:
1. 阿旺新传 (32)
2. 情迷黑森林 (20)
3. 胭脂水粉 (30)
4. 十万吨情缘 (20)
5. 随时候命 (30)
6. 叠影危情 (20)
7. 人生马戏团 (20)
8. 火舞黄沙 (32)
9. 我的野蛮奶奶 (20)
10. 潮爆大状 (20)
11. 爱情全保 (20)
12. 施公奇案 (20)

2007:
1. 刑事情报科 (20)
2. 赌场风云 (35)
3. 突围行动 (25)
4. 汇通天下 (32)
5. 肥田喜事 (20)
6. 人间蒸发 (20)
7. 凤凰四重奏 (30)

Dead and Buried

2007-05-03T07:12:00.001+08:00

3 May 2007:

Today is one of the worse day ever for me. At 445am, when the final whistle blown off at San Siro Stadium, Milan, Italy, i just can't get back to sleep... My beloved football team, Manchester United has just crashed to an embarassing 0-3 defeat to AC Milan. Again they failed to make it to the final... "A night that had started with so much hope saw United out-thought, out- manoeuvred and, worst of all, outclassed."

Since the historical moment of MU winning the Treble in 1999, which is also the only time they won the European Champions' League Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson, below are their record in this competition which i have witnessed every moment of their failure each time.

2000 Quarterfinal:
(A) 0-0 Real Madrid
(H) 2-3

2001 Quarterfinal:
(H) 1-1 Bayern Munich
(A) 1-2

2002 Semifinal :
(H) 2-2 Bayern Leverkusen
(A) 1-1

2003 Quarterfinal:
(A) 1-3 Real Madrid
(H) 4-3

2004 Round 16 :
(A) 1-2 Porto
(H) 1-1

2005 Round 16 :
(H) 0-1 AC Milan
(A) 0-1

2006 Group stage :
Unable to qualify to 2nd round, lost in last group match away to Benfica 1-2, when they needed just a draw to get through.

2007 Semifinal :
(H) 3-2 AC Milan
(A) 0-3

Manchester United players became 'San Zero' in San Siro stadium tonight. It's not only the defeat that is disappointing, but the way they were playing which is sad to be witnessed by any MU fan around the world. Porous defence, slack passings, toothless in attack sums up the night where they just couldn't find their feet in a rain-soak pitch from the beginning of the match. Greeted at the San Siro by thunder, lightning and torrential rain, MU players just could not keep in touch with the blistering pace by the Milan players. It is really a sad way to lose a game like this. Ferguson sums up the game in a very good style "My boys cut their own throats". Going down 0-2 in first 30 mins is just not good enough for a team who wants to be among the elites of Real Madrid and AC Milan in this competitions.

The SUN reported:

...
Sir Alex Ferguson's men chose the worst night possible to turn in one of their poorest displays of the entire campaign, with Cristiano Ronaldo among the biggest let downs.
...
Kaka was again an inspiration last night as his thumping opener set Milan on their way to a comprehensive victory and reduced United’s hopes of a trip to the final in ancient Greece to ruins.

While Kaka flourished, ably assisted by his Dutch team-mate Clarence Seedorf and the terrier-like Italian Rino Gattuso, United’s star men Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo went missing.
...

Just can't believe that it has been 8 yrs now since they last entered the final of this competition which Ferguson wants to win again so much before he retires. The high hope each time went up in smoke as each year goes by. Ferguson's days are numbered in the club, as well as players like Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville... May be this biggest prize in Europe football will just continue to be eluded from them...

This failure will continue to haunt them, and i just hope they can win the Premier League and the FA Cup as compensation in the next 2 weeks to wrap up this season.

rooneyteh

2007-03-29T15:55:00.000+08:00

My msn pic today officially changed from beckhamteh to rooneyteh... hehe

The Big Man is back!

2006-10-18T14:59:00.000+08:00

Let's blog about MU today... hehe :)

17 Oct 2006 (Tuesday):

To my surprise, the ESPN today was showing live the match of MU vs FC Copenhagen in 2006/07' UEFA Champion's League Matchday 3 game. For sure i won't miss the chance to catch a glimpse of my MU stars... the match was scheduled to be 1145am to 145pm my local time here in Folsom. To prepare for the game, i have cooked lots of fried rice the previous night's dinner, so that i, Stanley and Julian can just eat the leftover from last night during the game (altho sad to say that this was my worse ever fried rice since i came here...)

Match started 1145am sharp (UK time 745pm). Shocked to see Rooney carrying the captaincy armband, no Ferdinand, Giggs or Neville.. Starting lineup: van der Saar, Vidic, Brown, O' Shea, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Rooney, Saha. Why is Rooney given the captain armband instead of Scholes? Really wonder what this Ferguson thinking sometimes...

The game started with fantastic displays from MU, they totally dominated the game with classy one touch football early on... Saha missed the 1st 1-1 chance in the 1st minute of the game! Rooney then missed another great chance, set up by Ronaldo (altho Ronaldo seems like he was trying to score himself rather passing to Rooney). Sad that Rooney is yet to be able to score in Champions' League since he debut 2 years ago against Fenerbahce which he scored a hattrick on his debut for MU.

Scholes scored the 1st goal for MU to lead 1-0 during half time, 2nd half, two fluke goals from O' Shea and Richardson completed a 3-0 victory. A good scoreline win, but nothing much to be proud, except a very good performance by Rooney (There comes the phrase 'The big man is back!'. He said this to the press when he managed to recover in time for this year's World Cup in Germany, altho his world cup campaign end up in the red card sending off disgrace on 1st July 2006). Much has been talk about Rooney drops in form in the past 6 MU games... but clearly from tonight's display he is showing signs of the Rooney that i wish to see :)

Not to miss from this game, Vidic and Ronaldo also put up a good performance that makes me very happy to see... hehe. However Carrick was disappointing, yet to live up to the tag of 18 millions pounds that he is carrying...

Bravo, Captain Marvel Rooney~

Now to concentrate on beating Livefool this Sunday...

My 29th birthday...

2006-09-15T15:30:00.000+08:00

Sept 14:
It's my birthday today at PG time. Got lots of wishes from my PG friends :). My colleagues (Jin Wen, Leonard, Ker Li, Han Beng, William, Kit Fei, Lan Sin, Chin Leong and Soek Junn) even gathered at a meeting room in PG and called me up at my house at my 12am to greet me, and sing birthday song for me!
Julian organized a dinner for me here just now. 6 of us (Stanley, Julian, Me, Julian Papu, Yoong Yoong and Phei Yuin) went to Kim Son Restaurant at Sunrise for mongolian buffet @ 6pm. Although the food there is not as nice my 1st time there 2 years back, but really appreciate Mr Julian's effort. Guess he was pressured by Jin Wen & Leonard to celebrate for me... haha...

Pasar Malam nite

2006-08-04T14:29:00.000+08:00

A 'pasar malam' food dinner at 2 uniten juniors' house, ate with a well-cooked chicken soup. Goreng cempedak, satay, murtabak, mee goreng, nasi tomato, ayam percik, fried fish and vege, mata kucing drink were on the 'menu'. Returned home with a tummy full like a 3 months' pregnant lady... What a night!~

Beginning of everything?

2006-08-04T04:15:00.000+08:00

3th Aug 2006, 1.10pm, i created my very 1st blog site :)... Am i going to maintain this site like what others used to do everyday? Hehe, no one knows, we shall see...

Quote of the day: Nobody is more critical of myself than I am.