Birstol City 1 Wolves 2 ; Classic Game ; never say die attitude ; Wolves are in a mercurial mood !

This game has made me so happy in a vicarious way. My childhood team, Wolves has now gone 10 points clear from the next team at the English Championship table, Derby County.
There is a newfound spirit, optimism in the team with a great talent led by a brilliant tactician coach  Nuno Esperito Santos. I dare say he can be the next Jose Mourinho (now Man Utd.)

Last night's game showed the tremendous character and spirit of the coach / manager, players and the fans.  Wolves were down to 10 men around the 14th minute when the captain Danny Baath was sent off for a what looked like a genuine challenge on the Bristol City striker.  Despite that major setback, the team kept their form and shape and played even better football than when they played with 10 men.

In the 64th minute they went down to a Reid goal which was well crafted. Wolves looked to be losing their grip, but they never gave up. 2 minutes later, Doherty was brought down by the City keeper Fielding and Fielding was immediately sent off. So it was then 10 against 10 men. City were then forced to use their reserve 'keeper on field. 

66th minute, Barry Douglas sent a wicked curling shot from a direct free kick which took a deflection from the defender and 1 - 1 !  You could literally feel the stadium rocking from the video above.

There were many other good end to end chances and in the 94th minute - right at the death of the game, Pack gave away a needless freekick and Douglas (again) swung in a wicked in-swinger of a cross and Ryan Bennett popped up at the far post to smash in the unstoppable header.

Bristol C  :   1   Wolves  :  2

What a game, what a team, what a coach / manager. 

At last count, I believe there are more than 10 players who have scored goals ; almost everyone except the keeper John Ruddy. This is unbelievable. 

 1. Diogo Jota
 2. Leo Bonatini
 3. Ivan Cavaleiro
 4. Helder Costa
 5. Reuben Neves
 6. Matt Doherty
 7. Barry Douglas
 8. Romain Saiss
 9. Ryan Bennett
10. Wily Boly
11. Reuben Vinagre
12. N'Dyae


I am going to bet next season that they will win the Premier League in 2018 / 19.

Watch out !!!   

Venice Italy, 6th Dec 2017 ; truly a must visit city

At the Rialto bridge 

Venice is a city of superlatives. No metal roads for cars, waterways and canals and many districts. Coupled with architecture from the middle ages, gondolas, ferries, and water taxis for transport and you have a one of a kind city.  I had visited Venice twice before, once in my childhood and once upon graduation from University (thanks to a generous 'holiday gift' from my parents who wanted me to have a cosmopolitan view of life) and most recently.

I can say that, with each visit, my perception of the host country, Italy, changes. For the better actually. On the 5th December chilly morning, we took the TrenItalia cross country high speed train from Milan Centrale to Venice Santa Lucia station (which is on the 'island' itself). When we landed at the station, we (I in particular) was befuddled at the numerous signs and means to get to our hotel, which was located in the southern portion of the 4 major islands. 

Some bag porters came up to us and to my surprise, they turned out to be Malaysian Indians who had come to Italy for a better future and wound up living in Venice the last 10 years ! So, we negotiated a EUR 25 bag charge and they hauled the 2 big and 2 mid sized bags all the way to our hotel up and down the numerous bridges and winding walkways. I would say that this experience is a one of a kind in Italy, let alone the world.

Soon enough, we made it to the hotel and after a quick checkin, we started to explore the city. I did my homework booking 2 tours, one for the Duomo Saint Marco (St Mark's cathedral) and another for the Doge's palace (the President or the top official). A third tour which we booked when we came was the Murano (glass making factory), Burano (scenic village with lovely waterway views) and Toricello (a church stands there).

Duomo Saint Marco is declared as a world Heritage Site, so its a must visit for any first time visitor. St Mark, the apostle (not the disciple) of Christ who was responsible for bringing Christianity from the Palestine region to Europe (first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity was the Emperor Constantine) and most importantly Africa (Egypt in particular) where he and his followers was credited for founding the Coptic Christian church.

Duomo Saint Marco in the Piazza Saint Marco. 

The architecture of the church is influenced by the then global superpowers, Greece, Roman and possibly Egypt. Built from the 1st to the 10th century, it is magnificent both inside and outside. The square is massive and we were fortunate to visit during the down season of winter where the hordes of tourists dwindles down to a trickle. Venice was one of the 4 city states or autonomous cities in the Roman empire electing their own Doge and the other 4 being Florence, Pisa and Milan (if my history serves me correctly).

Marco Polo was a Venetian and my home country of Singapore takes a leaf out of the many good aspects of a well run city state which Venice left behind, entrepot trade, seaport, conscription for a strong military, strong financial institutions and rule of law.  

   

              One of the many high end boutique shops dotting the small vias (streets)

We had an excellent dining at the Bistro de Venise, which is one of the Michelin up and coming restaurants for 2017. More of that food blog later.

  

Seta ; Mandarin Oriental Milan ; 2 star Michelin dining ; best meal in 2017

           

My wife and I had a superb meal in Milan, Italy recently. The restaurant is Seta in Mandarin Oriental,Milan and the foodie writeups on it were giving it reviews beyond excellence. I am putting up this post in the after lunch glow of a truly satisfied patron who has had an extraordinary gastronomic experience. 

Mandarin Oriental Hotel is an exclusive 5 star (5 storey) building tucked away at via Andegari 9, 20121, near the Piaza del Duomo district is the 5 star Mandarin Oriental Milan.It is within 10 minutes walking distance from the Corsa Vittoria Emmanuelle II or the famous walking street.  

Reservations must be made well in advance (I did mine almost 1 month beforehand), as they are almost fully booked (only about 12 tables) on the weekends, I was fortunate in that we  managed to secure a table on 4th December monday at lunchtime. 

Berlucchi Prosecco 

The first thing when you enter the hotel's unobstrusive entrance is that you step into a hotel of understated luxury. Seta itself was set up in 2015 and within 2 short years, it has gained 2 Michelin stars for its dining excellence. Helmed by Antonio Guida, his team of chefs, the maitre 'd and the service staff are all well groomed, and well versed in their craft.  

Seafood Spaghetti 

We opted for the 3 course set lunch, for EU 65 each. I also had a Berlucchi Prosecco to go with the seafood antipasti (starter above). The starter was a show stopper, the spaghetti was done 'al dente' or chewy which I thoroughly enjoyed as compared to our Singapore version of boiled to extreme softness. It had some prawn mince dumpling on the top and a beetroot - tomato gravy. Very tasty. 

  

Free nibbles 

Seta delights its patrons by offering fusion Italian food mixed with Asian influences (chef Guida worked in Japan for a good number of years before starting Seta). On top of that, the sommelier (wine expert) and the wait staff are excellent in their service standard, world class, very skilled in their craft, never pushy and available whenever you want them.

  Lamb Roulade 

The main course lamb roulade was sensational, the meat was very tender, flavourful and the fusion was in the vegetables with radish, carrots on a pistachio nut sauce. Very innovative.

Pantanonne Bread 

The Pantanonne bread is a Seta original, and it was rich (raisins, cranberry etc.) and came with a side of cream. 'Perfecto' as the Italians would call it.  But no, they went one better and offered us there additional desserts gratis.

Calorie counters please step aside 

The grand finale,  which would keep anyone with a sweet tooth thoroughly satisfied, is the ultimate sweet fruit fantasy. 5 different pairings of sweets for anyone ranging from cherries, to chocolates, to avocado to walnuts. The devil will be in the weighing scale when you get home (OMG ! I put on ...... kg !!! ).

A final review of Seta, based on my rather simplistic forumla :

a) Food Quality and Presentation : 4.8 / 5

b) Service Quality   :  4.8 / 5

c) Ambience           :  4.9 / 5 (very quiet setting with plenty of privacy corners)

d) Satisfaction        :  4.9 / 5  

Overall : 4.85 / 5 ;  Really a class meal worthy of the term 'fine dining'. 

Will we go there again, of course. But we must start saving our monthly earnings for a long while yet. 

Cheers ! 

   

Wolves go Marching on ; 23 Dec 2017 ; 1 - 0 win at home to Ipswich

This time of the year many football clubs are in the thick of the mid season and Wolves are having a splendid first half, leading the Champsionship by 7 clear points at the mid way mark. Their squad is brimming with talent and coach / manager Nuno Esperito Santos is a master strategist as well as man motivator. Easily 3 quarters of the team can be fielded into national teams, and I can list the obvious ;

Strikers 
Diogo Jota  (10)   - Portugal
Ivan Cavaleiro (10)  - Portugal
Leo Bonatini (13) - Brazil

Midfielders
Reuben Neves - Portugal
Romain Saiss - Morocco
Matthew Docherty -  Ireland

Defenders
Wily Boly  France

Goalkeeper 
John Ruddy England 

The team has only conceded 4 goals in the last 11 matches with eight clean sheets (not letting in any goals) - including the titanic 0-0  against Man City and scored a whopping 19 goals. They are practically injury free at this point and with the January transfer window coming up, coach / manager  Santos will be eager to snap up the loan players such as Jota and Bonatini. So great is their potential that the manager needs to make quick decisions as they are hot property. Wolves will do well to place mid table if they reach the Premier League next season 2018-19. 



    

Paves - Baby

This is a brand new band from the UK, and I like this single called 'Baby'. have a listen and decide for yourself. They have potential to be chart toppers ?  

An excellent goalkeeper is worth 2 outfield players ; Reading 0 - Woves 2

this is an excellent season for the Wolves, so I am very proud of their owners, the manager / coach and players. Most importantly the die-hard long suffering fans from the West Midlands you deserve the top of the table result so badly.

This game I would rate John Ruddy the Wolves stalwart and captain as the Man of the Match, at least on 3 occasions he single handedly (pun intended) kept Wolves with a 0 deficit when it could easiy have been 3 - 0 or at least 2 - 0. 

The strikers did their job yes, but the unsung heros of the defence and especially the goalkeeper, John Ruddy deserves my Man of the Match for this win.  

Greetings from a fan (yes, fair weather but changing fast) from Singapore 

Another Hero Gone ; Goodbye Malcolm Young ; Lead Guitarist AC/DC

This is the penultimate AC/DC song for me. "Highway to Hell". Surprisingly it does not glorify the Evil One,as people who do not know and want to criticise. Instead, the lyrics tell of the singer, who has lived the life according to his own values and most likely when the time comes, if he gets judged by the Man upstairs, he is on the way via the Highway to Hell.
Malcolm is the lead guitarist of AC/DC and he is in the same league as Keith Richards of Rolling Stones. AC/DC contrary to popular belief is not from the UK but Australia. The Angus brothers were, however, born in Scotland before their family migrated to Australia when they were children. 

This video was shot in River Plate Stadium,with 250,000 heaving and ecstatic fans. Malcolm and his brother, Angus Young, were really giving a performance par excellence. In a predominantly Catholic country, it is refreshing to see so many people, young and old appreciate the art of AC / DC. The band was definately relishing their performance to the sellout crowd who literally had the time of their lives. This live band performance and the wild participation from the fans is a real bonus ! 

In my early days, I did not even want to listen to their music. Now, especially after Iron Man 2, I love their songs, especially Highway to Hell. Its so 'in Your face' !  

My hero ? Michael J. Fox

A video detailing the early signs of Parkinson's disease, before the tremors. 
a) Small handwriting
b) Loss of Smell

My hero for several years now, has been Michael J. Fox, of Family Ties fame. He shot into stardom at an early age (in the early 20s) with the Back to the Future series, playing the Marty McFly character to much commercial success.

In 1991, when he was barely 30 years old, he discovered he had Parkinson's disease, a dibilitating disease which till today there is no cure. However, through his sheer effort, he formed the Michael J. Fox foundation and it is doing very well with lots of sponsoships and visibility.

His humility, humour and sheer resilience in the face of this disease is admirable, having battled this monster on a daily basis for the last 36 years. I am truly in admiration of this man, who has 4 children, and has written several books since his diagnosis, one of the most memorable being " Lucky Man".

Never take your situation or condition as the end of the world, the world goes on with or without you. So, wake up each morning and thank God that you are here and you have your health, your wits and your loved ones.

Keep pressing on with all your might ; find a cause which is close to your values and pursue it with conviction. You will be the better for it.  If you haven't found a cause, keep looking and like Steve Jobs said, never settle. 

Stay Hungry, and Be Foolish. Only then will we be facing adversities and growing. 

Gen IGen ? Fake news is the order of the day. People are getting brain lazy, apathetic and the art of interpersonal relationships is being seriously threatened.

             

       There is a new generation of people, called the IGen, (I guess its a play on the IPhone) ; these people, young and old are addicted to their smartphones. They are being inundated daily with news feeds which are increasingly being viewed by me as from a dubious source. Half truths are being perpetuated as 'news' and the people cooking these up all have an 'agenda'. So where is the objectivity of news ?  We need to have a discerning mind so that we can think really for ourselves is this the actual situation or is this an article which is 'framed' to impart an opinion so as to influence public perception. This then is what people can an 'op - ed'.  It is inevitable that reporters or writers will put in a 'bias' or slant on things or events which they report. So skip the written article and view the event on Youtube. Again, there is the possible 'framing' of the video if taken not in real time, but edited to take out certain bits and then present it to the unsuspecting public (like Trump's visit to Japan and where he fed the koi fish, together with President Abe and the MSM press only focussed on Trump tossing his entire box of fish food indicating or giving the impression he was not respecting tradition,culture and protocol ; the actual longer footage taken by CNBC (I think) shows Abe throwing out his entire box first, then followed by Trump. The MSM media edited out the first bit on Abe and focussed on Trump, giving further evidence to the impression that this President was one who did'nt care about respect, protocol and the centuries old culture of a long time post war friend.  

            We have 'Stomp' the news portal of AsiaOne which in a nutshell shows local people doing horrible things in public and then being filmed and the footage goes viral on social media.

            IGen, is a malaise of the world where the smartphone has made us dumb. For example, I am less used to thinking of where this street is, in context of Singapore as I am reliant on GoogleMaps and my Garmin provides me up to the last 5 metres of my destination where I want to go by car. I lose track of how to get to my destination in my head, forget the roads leading up to my destination and I am ever dependent on technology to make my life simpler.

          If in the event of an emergency, I need to rush to a certain friend or relative's place, I will be struggling to recall what road the house or apartment is. In short, I have become dumb and not utilising my brain as it has not been used to remember road names and relying on the general direction of the roads and expressway. This is just one of the dumbing down of me (and society in general) that I am aware I am sinking into, so I try to be aware of that fact and make the necessary adjustments lest I become so dependent on the technology. 

          If I can advise people 1 important thing, 'get off the grid ! '.  See the forest making up the entirety of the numerous trees, seize the beauty of the day and enjoy the moment as living life.

         When we look up from our phones, we see beauty, simplicity and joy. Why do we jump into the virtual world which is entirely man made and when we can't appreciate even the most basic of nature's beauty right before our eyes ?  

         Seize the Moment.     

Shitoryu Matsukaze Kata

The Loss of a friend sets me thinking again

Today I saw in the obituary section a picture of a friend, more an acquaintence of mine during our University years at the NTI. Noel was a year older than us and he studied in the Electrical Engineering School. We met occasionally at the canteens and he hung out with another clique whereas I was never really into any cliques choosing to have individual groups of friends at different occasions. He had passed away on 5th November, at the age of 56. 

He was the MD of a telecommunications company and I had met him some 3 years ago with a mutual friend (Fat Yap) at the Serangoon Gardens and we chatted over coffee about how time flew and fortunes of people who we knew in common. 

He never married and left behind parents, and siblings. I was stunned for a while, then reflective about what I am doing in this world. 

The point which was reminded again clearly to me was that life is finite, it can be short, or long, but is it meaningful to ME ? Set clear priorities and some goals and chase after them, make friends, get good friends, find a partner fall in love, start a family (or not), work, have a long and meaningful (hopefully it pays well) career, start a business, these are all activities which are expected by our other halves, our children, our parents, our colleagues, bosses and people around us. 

Stop and think for a minute. 

Whats it all about ?  Life. 

Take the Purpose Driven Path, set forth and go after whatever you set out to be. There will be shitty times, so called friends will betray you, you may lose you partner, ill health will threaten to throw the whole thing out and reset your path, death of loved ones and setbacks, financial, health, (mental and physical),economic challenges will all come several at the same time.

At the end of it all, I must be satisfied that I lived it the way I ought to have lived it, with a sense of purpose, which indeed give some benefit and uplift to the people that mean the most to me, my family and my close friends.  Seeing them make and achieve something of their lives will be the ultimate satisfaction.

Monetary gratification and wealth generation will never appease me totally. So just make enough to say, OK, thats it. Easier said than done, so make sure I save and spend less than I earn.

Then I can say, thats it.  I have Seized the Day.  Its the end of my journey. 


    

Reunion of the 1978 'O' Levels St Andrew's batch

Back Row L - R : Paul Lim, Gurdeep Singh,Glynn Sim, Yours Truly,Paul Ezekiel,Pang Seng Meng,Chew Ping Nan, Kanna,Samuel Abeysekera,Syn Pok Choon,Andrew Lee, A. Surendran.

Front Row : Chew Loo Kwong,Freddy Choy,Thulasaidas,Peter Ooi, Peter Tan, Jeff Kwan,Albert Hong, Kenneth Fong Kai Yew. 

September 23rd 2017, this was the day we celebrated in school and we had a total of 20 'boys' (16 year olds plus 39) in school. 16 was the year we took our 'O' or GCE Ordinary Levels Examinations. We all turn 55 by this year end. So the time for reflection is there for all of us ;  some of us are about to be grandfathers, Abraham Matthew got married this year (better now than never !) and we all are finding the reconnecting of our friends from our youth so pure and without any expectations or agendas set forth except that we want to 'carry on where we left off'. Some of my old friends I have not met since 16 years of age, so that was like 39 years ago ! 

The night before, we had a bash at Foster's Steak House at Holland Village and we had a total of 53 old boys turning up. The master of ceremonies, Apparoo Surendran did a great job, and I am honored to be part of that organizing team comprising Paul Ezekiel, Andrew Lee, Chew Ping Nan, Surendran and myself. 


Time is running fast away, and we are aware of our physical frailties and diminishing health. Its two thirds, or three quarters and unknown to us, maybe some of us are almost at the end of our journey. 

We have strived for our bosses, our families, our friends and associates, but most importantly, we need to take care of ourselves. 

I am truly happy to make 49 plus old friends again ; lets not take another 39 years to meet up guys !!! 

Seize the Day !!!!! 

Beautiful Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Houses of Parliament 

This was a recent trip I took to visit the Houses of Parliament in Canberra, Australian Capital Territories. The Australian Government convenes there every month, and now with the row over the dual citizenship of elected members of Parliament, things are going to look quite busy in the next few months. 

Canberra has a registered population of about 350,000. It has a broad expanse of land, and the centre of the city is the Capital Hill where the Parliament House sits. During our trip there for a couple of days, we took the flight from Singapore to Sydney (7 hours) and then a connecting domestic flight from Sydney to Canberra by propeller plane lasting about 1 hour.

From the airport, we rented a car to drive and we were in the city within half an hour upon arrival and car takeaway. The city centre (correct me if I am wrong) is around the Manuka District (that of the Manuka Honey fame) and the Manuka Circle houses some 30 - 40 shops and supermarket. Its very pleasant during the time we were there and we had a sumptuous breakfast (I believe I had the eggs benedict) when we were there.

Houses along Franklin Street

The avenues are tree lined and during the short visit, I observed the population is mainly white Australian with a sprinkling of Asians and other aboriginal peoples. The houses along Franklin Avenue were modern in design and the restaurants along Manuka Circle were serving multi national food fare. 

David standing along Franklin Street 

During the visit to Parliament House, I had a chance to view all the portraits of the past Prime Ministers and had a good look at the definitions and roles of the elected Members of Parliament as well as definitions of the roles of mayors and ministers of the Federal Government. Following the Westminister model, all MPs must be elected every 4 - 5 years with the party with the most popular mandate with a simple majority forming the Government. In the event of no party winning the popular vote, then a coalition government can be formed with 2 or even 3 parties coming together to secure the government.

Breakfast along Manuka Circle in lovely autumn weather 

The current government I believe is the Labour Party headed by HE Mr. Malcolm Turnbull.Australia is part of the Commwealth group of countries (countries which were colonies of the British Empire until the 2nd world war for most of them). I will have ample opportunity to visit this lovely city again soon and will want to explore more of the outskirts and living opportunities in this sprawled out capital city.

Shit Happens in Life ; Deal with It ; Shovel it out and Press On

A funny joke  WEE, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi’ bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee,	5
Wi’ murd’ring pattle!
I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle	10
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An’ fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave	15
’S a sma’ request;
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
An’ never miss’t!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!	20
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
Baith snell an’ keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,	25
An’ weary winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell—
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell.	30
That wee bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,	35
An’ cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,	40
An’lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e.	45
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!
Robert Burns The poet Robert Burns accidently tore through a little mouse's abode in the field so aghast was he that he wrote an entire poem to expess his disappointment and regret (I personally would have just let the fella live and move on), so the poetic and talented would write a sonnet just for easing his guilt and soul and hence the phrase  'the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray'. How often do we see our and our friends hopes and dreams dashed by family squabbles, friends or colleagues backstabbing, business failures, bankruptcies, serious sickness, weather disruptions and financial disasters ?  It is life's unpredictability.  Life is determined by first setting our goals and then when these unexpected things happen (I call them shit), the situation takes control and we are thrust into the vortex of crisis management and time, or health lost.  At the end of the day, we are shaped by how we respond to such crises and whether we can rise up from the ashes of bitter and stinging defeat, health crises, family or interrelationship issues and press on.  It is never about how others view you, that is beyond your control, so do not bother about the perceptions by others about you, that can and will change once they do understand or bother to understand the fine nuances of the situation ; if they are remote and pass comments, well it doesn't matter, as they mean nothing to the sphere or environment in which you are existing. Proving to yourself that you made a difference to this world, your small sphere of influence, your family, your closest friends, your business partners and associates, and finally your acquaintences or work and charity related societys.  There are many million dollar pain in the ass people who flaunt their supposed power and wealth. Don't go near them, it is not in your interest to upstage them. They are ever present and visible, let them be.  Life has a way of evening out things at the end of the day. Just take care of the little mouse who is trying to eke an existence in your field (parable speak).

After the 2 - 1 loss at Queens Park Rangers, a 2 - 0 away win at Carrow Road ;

The Wolves team have taken the bitter pill of the loss at QPR where they let in a soft goal and conceded another against the run of play by playing at their best at Norwich City on Tuesday and ekeing a fine 2 - 0 win away.

This has reinforced their lead at the top of the Championship and have a home match against Fulham this Friday 3rd November.

The team is in fine spirits, the Manager is a visionary and results oriented person and the fans are ecstatic.

Lets keep up the fine form for the rest of the season !  

This is what I wrote in 2010 ; a repost ; how times(and money from a rich Chinese conglomerate) and fortunes have changed for the Wolves !

W is for 'Wolves' and in Old Gold Too ! 

         This is the $ 64 million question I think I need to answer. My formative teenage years were in the 1970s and the top entertainment during those times was the colour TV (introduced during the 1974 World Cup Final between Germany and Holland). Oh how, it changed people's lives forever. We could actually see in S.E.Asia what was going on 'live' as it happened halfway around the world. There was no Internet, no Facebook,Twitter, no PCs (first introduced in the early 80s), no mobile phones, no IPhones etc. It was really like living in the Stone Age !

        Every week, Singapore would get the English Premier league shown on Channel 5 maybe delayed telecast (2 - 3 weeks later) IN COLOUR. And the games then were played in a very passionate and rough and tumble manner, and of course being part of the Commonwealth, English football took a firm hold in the hearts and minds of many ordinary Singaporeans and Malaysians. The games were less skillful than those today and we had no Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga etc. to watch.

        So, in those days, one of the more unique sounding teams was Wolverhampton Wanderers, or Wolves for short and I kind of fancied myself like their chief striker John Richards, who played once or twice for the English national team. I had no idea where they were or if they were even champions. But I faithfully bought the SHOOT ! magazine every week after school (it was available at the neighbourhood shop for about S$ 1 a copy, a princely sum then) and followed their fortunes. I was kind of naive, not wanting to follow a big name team like Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United etc. but the uniqueness of supporting an obscure West Midlands team had its appeal. So I stuck with them, even though their glory days of winning the league twice in the 1950s to early 60s were long gone, even before I was born.

       Since I followed them (say around 1976), they have only won the League Cup TWICE, once in 1974 (against Manchester City) and once more  in 1980 against Nottingham Forest. AND THAT'S IT ! 

      Andy Gray headed in a solitary goal against Nottingham Forest and it was 1-0. That's the  2 major silverware they have won in the last 30 years. YES VERY PATHETHIC. They have been relegated several times since the 1980s and their last stay in the lower regions has been almost 15 years. I forgot them altogether, although I visited the stadium Molineux in 1987 (23 years ago) with some University friends. So I am not a true blue die hard supporter. I am just a FAIR WEATHERED SUPPORTER - ALTHOUGH AFTER THIS SEASON THAT MAY CHANGE FOREVER ! 

    Call me a romantic, but the PLUS POINT of supporting a no-hope team is that :

     Whenever they win a game against any other Premier league team, its like WINNING THE CUP FINAL .No one expects them to win anything, let alone stay in the top flight of the Premier League, so their being in the top 20 for  2 years (2008 till now) is already a cause for celebration.

     They invest a miniscule amount of money on players, have no brand name stars, and have been using their stadium for 30 years with little upgrade. Money is tight. I have been to the town of Wolverhampton and it is woefully sad and run down many factories have closed shop decades ago (it is an industrial town) and the only revenue is from their university and polytechnics which offer decent degrees and diplomas in Engineering.

     So when they win a match I celebrate like they have WON THE CUP FINAL  !

      Compare that to someone who supports Arsenal, Liverpool,Man U or Chelsea,their supporters expect them to WIN A TROPHY EACH YEAR. When the do, its EXPECTED. When they don't its a massive DISAPPOINTMENT. So the supporters are JADED, winning is like so boring. So when a team like Liverpool loses a match to Wolves, its a MAJOR DISASTER.  So their emotions are OK we won (this week), BOO we lost to XXX.

       Life must be quite torturous for those fans, the expectations are always rising each season.

      My approach with Wolves is this ; They lost last week (OK) ; This week they won (YEAH, OLE,OLE, OLE !!! )

     So I am a FOREVER OPTIMIST.

      So on 30th Dec 2010,  Liverpool  0    Wolves 1.

      Its TIME TO PARTY !  OLE ! OLE ! OLE !

Well done you Wolves ; you left Etihad stadium with your head held high ; So proud of this performance.

The championship leaders took on the Premier league leaders AWAY on Tuesday 24th October and the score was 0 - 0 at the end of extra time after 120 minutes of regulation play. 

Santos played 9 alternate players like Helda Costa, N'Bakare, Bright, Price, Will Norris (goalkeeper who in my mind was the Man of the Match), Vinegre, Marshall. Their regular strike force of Jota, Bonatini, and Cavalero did not start the match.

Wolves had 3 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper Bravo who is so aptly named, a Chilean International and the coach Guardiola only blamed Wolves defensive stance and the Mitre ball, which in my opinion was an absolute joke, as he then did not have to justify why his team of 300 odd million pounds worth of skill couldn't beat a 30 odd million pound team put together by brilliant Nunos in just 6 months. Guardiola is a master tactician but a sore 'loser' in this instance. 

In the end it came down to penalties, and while City netted all 4 of their tries, Wolves only got the solitary one from Bonatini. 

The ball is kicked, dribbled and headed by both sides, so where can there be any criticism of a FIFA sanctioned 'tool'.  A lousy workman blames his 'tools' so Guardiola just gave me a lousy impression, not much of a sport.

Manchester City vs Wolves Tuesday 24th Oct ; What a Matchup !

Top of Premier League versus Top of Championship teams.  This is the penultimate game of the season for me ;  I will watch it live on TV ; that is for sure !


As a fan with renewed optimism for my boyhood club, I am relishing the prospect that Wolverhamption Wanderers have the chance to play against the top of the Premier League in the Carabao or League (4th round) Cup. Manchester City with all their expensive signings will be playing at home, and Wolves record for their away games is at an all time high, only having lost 1 away match all season (that to Sheffield United) ;  

The play by Wolves is a very continental and flowing ; so if the teams employ the 3 - 4 - 3 which is an attractive attacking formation with the powerful Portuguese front line of Jiota, Bonatini (who is on fire at the moment) and Cavalero, we have a team of world beaters.
Jota has scored 7 brilliant goals, Bonatini 9 and Cavalero 4. 

Midfield of Siass, Neves, Doherty and Douglas is very strong ; Coach Santos knows that all games are won in mindfield, so the Midfield 4 are really clicking well and stringing passes together. Romain Saiss is apparently the top passer of the ball in the Championship.  

Defenders such as  Miranda, Coady and Batth form the defensive trio, while they can lose their heads sometimes, have an able goalkeeper in John Ruddy.

Saturday's 3 - 2 win against Preston North End resulted in 2 scrappy on field goals and 1 penatly while Preston had 2 good goals scrambled in before the final whistle.

In the substitutes, they have Bright Enobakhare, Helda Costa and Alfred N'Deave who have all scored on the pitch.

All in all an excellent team with an excellent visionary coach in Santos.

Bring on Tuesday 24th !!!