Not-so-great Ending

It was a not-so-great end to a wonderful weekend. First, Dato' Lee Chong Wei appeared lethargic in what could have been his third All-England title in five years. He was clearly not in his best form, and quite rightly, was beaten by Cheng Long in straight set.

Then, I took a nap and set my alarm for then Man United-Chelsea match. It was already the second half when I woke up, and I caught Chelsea pegging United back from two goals behind. We were lucky that we did not get beat. At least there would be a return leg at Stamford Bridge. So, it could've been worst ....

A Touch of Local Football

It was a toss between watching Mania, or a glimpse of what Malaysian football had to offer. Sime Darby was playing Kelantan in the FA Cup Final tonight and the match was shown live on TV. Should I be rooting for Kelantan, or be a loyal servant of Sime Darby?

The match so far had been a drab affair. It was almost unfathomable how this bunch of "professionals" managed to get even the basics of trapping the ball and making 10 yard passes wrong. But what they managed to do right was copy their European counterpart at diving and feigning injuries. In the last 10 minutes alone, I had seen a few cynical challenges, and the majority were coming from the Sime Darby ranks.

Kelantan were clearly playing the more attractive football, but they were being frustrated by the Sime Darby defensive formation. And don't get me started with the crowds taking with them the laser devices. Malaysia clearly still have a long way to go Even to reach the heyday of Mokhtar Dahari ....... But we are getting there hopefully.

The Final

I have a couple of admissions and transfer waiting for beds, and while waiting, it was the FA Cup Final on the TV. Chelsea was playing Liverpool. And I had the whole of the Doctor's Lounge to myself, with its big 60 inch TV.

Eight years ago, the final was played between Manchester United and Millwall. Puan Anita was in labour for Idlan then, but as she was on epidural, she was actually watching the match with me in the labour ward. Surreal but through. Idlan held on overnight, when finally, Anita had to have a Caesarean.

Since then, I had always remembered the fact everytime the FA Cup Dinal was being played. I had to watch it by myself this year however. And compared to 8 years ago, the match was played a couple of weeks earlier than usual.

Welcome Back The Ginger One

It was pointed out as a sign of desperation that United had to recall one of their great, Paul Scholes to come out of retirement. Not only that, he was offered a substitute spot, and later a spot on the field on the first day that he returned.

It was the right game to introduce him in as clearly he wasn't match fit. His poor control led to City's second and could have cost us the tie. Luckily, City failed to find the equalizer.

The introduction of Scholes may indicate that there won't be a marquee midfield signing in the coming transfer window. It also indicated that Ferguson had some suspicion in the coming crop of youngsters. Players such as Turnicliffe and Pogba has yet to make the transition as far as the Boss was concerned.

Yes, that's our new number 22!So, how well did Scholsey do on his first game back? In the 35 minutes he was on the field last night, he attempted 71 passes with 97% completion rate. Not half bad wasn't it? Not bad for a has been.

But in saying that, I really hope that Ferguson would sort out the squad situation soon. The current first teamers were not getting any younger, although there is still hope with the likes of Jones and Smalling. But a world class playmaker in the ranks would be nice .....

Late night

My commitment to watch the United game took me to this entry. After taking an early nap at around 9pm, I woke up just after 1 to catch the game. Anita was up as well. Feeling peckish, I downed some pot noodles before settling into the game. United played Southampton then. United played badly and nearly paid the price. Luckily the second half substitution delivered the goods.

We were well beaten in the first half and Southampton deservedly taken the lead a minute before halftime. The second half early assault did not really materrialise until Giggsy and Nani entered the frame. United came up trumps with a two-one win, and I was about to go to bed content. Will have an early morning tomorrow. Will be driving Mum and Dad for a day trip to Penang to attend a cousin’s engagement. Luckily it would not be on the island, because traffic will be murder. Anticipating a lot of traffic … and speed traps!