The Kung Fu Fighter

Thats Nigel De Jong. Manchester City's ninja in blue and the the Netherlands' oranje. You remember him from this years world cup final right? Remember that challenge against Xabi Alonso? Foot to the spaniards chest? No gold there. Luckily for Alonso! But it just tells you so much about the tackles he makes. Okay, so theres nothing wrong with being determined and strong willed to win the ball back. We all know that Scholes isn't the most flamboyant tackler around, as is Wilson Palacios, but, when you see midfielders and a few defenders make tackles the way these guys do, you do get concerned. I know I do. You dont want to see another player screaming on the pitch, frantically waving his hands up in the air in agony and despair because he knows that shit has hit the ceiling quite frankly. We remember Eduardo, Larsson, Cisse, Valencia ( although his case was a bit different ) and now Ben Arfa. The first three players aren't quite the same as they used to be. Lets hope better for Valencia. I'm a Man Utd Fan but just generally, i hope that Ben Arfa gets better too because he was a really promising talent. I dont know the extent of that injury but i didn't want to look at the second replay.

Okay, enough of the victims. Lets talk about the serial tacklers. De Jong in particular. He's done this kind of thing so often, how in the world does he always manage to get away with it??? Chris Foy the referee for that game I think, was having his worst game of the season so far. And we've only reached game number 7. He's as much to blame as Nigel is. One horrible challenge and not even a yellow card or a warning. Eph the warning. That'll be like handing over a birthday card to Nigel telling him to have another go and maybe, he'll get a congratulatory card the next time. And then the yellow cards kept on coming out like they were running out of fashion. unwarranted at most times and the first penalty that was debatable and the second that my 79 year old grandmother cried out foul for was astonishing really. The fact that my grandma could see it and not the referee, who must have been all of 15 yards away from the incident is appalling. But credit to my grandma's knowledge of the game and the doctor who operated on her eye some 30 years ago. Now this might also be my biasness towards the red half of Manchester talking but if you'd watched the Man City / Newcastle game, you'd probably agree with me too. Poor decisions all round. Johnson and Jonas' goals were well taken and superb i thought but you'd like to see a bit of better judgement by the man who dawns the fluorescent jersey.

Having ranted all of the above, it brings me to the conclusion that the premier league is one of the most physically demanding leagues in the world. Its like the movie : The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Good: Lots of viewer-ship. Lots of money. And lots of money.
The Bad: The English tabloids puts so much pressure on clubs, managers, players and referees too. Then you wonder why the inconsistencies with the refs, the Roonies, the Gerrards and the Lampards. thats the scourge of this league I suppose.
The Ugly: Nigel De Jong & Didier Drogba

There you have it. My thoughts on tackles and referees. I'm sure i could think of a lot more to do with what I've said above but I've just realized that Liverpool lost at home to Blackpool. Cant say I'm surprised although  I would think its time for another post eh?!