Not the Best of Starts

I set the alarm at 3, all excited about the new season. United invested on three new faces with a couple of those on display at the game last night. Van Persie started from the bench and only appeared for the last 20 minutes or so, for the much maligned Danny Wellbeck.

The first half was all Everton, with United struggling to cope with the aerial presence of Marouone Fellaini. De Gea was a decent shot-stopper but his presence in the box still need some working, but compared to last season, he was much better. With Ferdinand out injured, Carrick deputised at center back. Both he and Vidic coped well on the deck, but struggled with crosses.

Midfield was compact Scholes and Cleverley playing close to each other, with Wellbeck and Nani providing the width. The new number 7, Valencia was at right back, hence United struggled to provide penetration. Often, Kagawa had to drop deep to pick up the passes, isolating Rooney up front. With Distin and Jagielka forming a solid shield, United struggle to get the breakthrough.

A series of stunning stop by De Gea kept the match goalless until halftime, but the soon after the break, Fellaini got his just reward for being a thorn, out jumping Vidic Carrick from a corner. De Gea had no chance. United tried to assert their authority after that with injection of some pace. Van Persie was introduced, but again, he dropped deep, and sometimes wide rather than being an all out striker. We have yet to fine the right balance with our attacking formations. Our wingers failed to kept the pitch wide or find the forwards with their crosses. The Everton defense stood their ground well against what United had to offer.

Disappointed but not dissatisfied. Was not exactly the start of the season I was hoping for, but it was better to lose early doors and start building up. On for the game .....

Updated

After we decided to call the afternoon trip earlier, I spent the the rest of the afternoon updating my blog. Plenty of the entries from the Fraser's Hill trip were still not uploaded since the photographs took a bit of time to edit. They had been ready for the last few weeks but I didn't have time to update them. they were now finally up.

I then collated the entries into a stream of links. Next would be to put together the Ramadhan entries into one coherent link group. I may do that later tonight while waiting for United to kick off the new season. That would be 3 am though, and I was not sure if I could stay awake until then. I may have to set the alarm up then ....

Good luck to me :)

Idlan and Miniature Golf

My father-in-law was an avid golfer back in his heydays. In fact, all senior government servants were golfers. Maybe it was built into their job description. He would spend weekends away on retreats with fellow senior officers at resorts, and my mother-in-law was furious at times. Unfortunately, after his heart bypass in 2004, he had hardly pulled out the driver.

Tips from the ProBogey!One more tryTaking a breatherIrfan also had a goDuring our trip to Frasers Hill last months, we spent a couple of afternoons after lunch playing a quick miniature golf, and on the second afternoon, my father-in-law actually Syed with Idlan. It was a great sight. My boys actually understood golf, from TV and video games and certainly they understood what putting was all about, making teaching them a breeze. It was hardly the real thing but Idlan had fun with his grandfather, which waste main thing.

The training went on until tea timeFollowed by a runAnd a swing!I was sure Idlan would inherit his golf set still ending dusting down. More on the Fraser's Hill stay here.

Scott's Restaurant, Frasers Hill

The owner of Smokehouse at Frasers Hill has a couple of children, Ashley and Scott. Those name appeared all of the place at the hotel and the sister restaurant of the chain at Frasers Hill town is called Scott. It was run by a former Assistant Manager at the hotel, a Myanmar gentleman called Henry. He served us at the hotel the last time we were in Frasers Hill. So, on the Sunday lunchtime, we went into town looking for him.

Bad timing though, as it was a busy afternoon. It was opened at noon and when we reached there, about ten minutes after opening, the place was already full. We ended up waiting for more than an hour for our order. Real bad timing.

The food was pretty standard as far as Smokehouse was concerned. they also serve at noon scones, but we were far too early far that. we spent the time waiting for food exploring the restaurant. It was decorated to the English Tudor style, which was the theme of the Smokehouse as well.

The restaurant was situated right smack in the middle of town, next to Puncak Inn. Upon reaching the town from The Gap, take the first left turn when you reach the famous clock tower roundabout. The restaurant should be on your left just past Puncak Inn, right opposite the public toilet. You can't miss it.

More on the Fraser's Hill stay here.

Day Two

A drab day in all honesty. It was dull in the morning, and it started to pour come lunchtime. My mother-in-law were driven out for lunch by my brother, and they were stuck halfway up Genting Highland. In earnest, it would be a bad idea to drive out of town today.

We drove over to 1Utama for lunch, but had to turn back as there were no parking space left. We ended up having lunch at Bangsar instead. Pizza for the boys of course, even though both of them looked tired after the outing yesterday. Idlan woke up with a sore throat, and he was still tired after lunch. We cut our outing short after he started sneezing.

Traffic in KL was OK, even in the heavy rain. I would imagine the town would be empty for the next few days, and would only start to pick up by the weekend. The weekend would be madness as most people would be traveling back into KL, as well going around for the inevitable "Rumah Terbuka". Not looking forward to that!