Premier League-Review Game-Week 2...

The 'Hand' of VAR!

Gabriel Jesus, was at the wrong end of a second consecutive VAR decision. While Sterling's fractional offside position led to his goal being disallowed during the opening day fixture against West Ham, an accidental handball by Laporte robbed Jesus of a match-winning goal against Tottenham. The Strict 'Hand' of the VAR could lead to similar 'Title' defining moments in the ongoing season. 

Source: Express.co.uk; Google.com

The match, in itself was a fascinating watch with both City & Spurs trying to storm the opposition defense. A couple of immaculate Keven De Bruyne first-time assists ensured Manchester City took the lead twice during the match, only to be pegged back by a quick thinking Lamela goal & a '23 second' First touch goal by Lucas Moura off the bench. The Citizens seemed to have pulled off another last minute win with Jesus scoring from a City corner. VAR, though, had the last word. 

Manchester United vs Wolves!

Source: telegraph.co.uk; google.com

The other Manchester club, had a disastrous campaign against the Wolves of Wolverhampton last season, losing three matches against a 'spirited' Nuno Esperito Santo side. It seemed like, 'The Red Devils had left the 'Ghosts of Season Past' behind wi   
th Martial capitalizing on a Marcus Rashford pass in the first-half. It took the brilliance of one, Ruben Neves to equalize for the Wolves. Paul Pogba, had the opportunity in the dying moments of the game to win the match for United, only for Rui Patricio to deny the unsettled Frenchman's penalty kick.

Frank Lampard's return to the Bridge!

Chelsea's boss had a 'baptism by fire' introduction to top-tier management at the Theatre of Dreams. His first home game at Stamford Bridge against Leicester City had plenty at stake. The Blues began well with Pedro & Giroud wrecking havoc in the first couple of minutes. A 'Ndidi' lapse of concentration resulting in a debut goal for the young protegee, Mason Mount. The Nigerian came back strongly in the second half to equalize from a James Maddinson corner. Lampard, the Chelsea legend remained winless after a couple of games in charge of the club.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk; google.com

                                

The Top Two!

Source: Livepremierleague.net; google

Liverpool & Arsenal will clash in the upcoming weekend as Table-toppers. Both sides ensuring their perfect start to the weekend with convincing 2-1 wins over Burnley & Southampton respectively. Arsenal, with their multiple signings & Liverpool, with no new signings are brimming with confidence in the new season. Jurgen Klopp's men have continued their passionate brand of Football from last season. Arsenal, making their steady progress under Unai Emery are making a case for themselves this season. A Tea time encounter at Anfield, will separate the two at the top. Neutral fans, are in for a thrilling weekend.

18th, 19th & 20th! 

The Toons, The Saints & The Hornets occupy the last three spots in the cash rich Premier League. With 36 games in hand, there is no reason to panic,yet with Newcastle's earlier relegation, Southampton's regular trysts with the drop, the fans of the reputed clubs are biting their nails in anticipation. Watford fans, optimistic of a fight back after watching their club finish a fraction outside European Qualification spots.                                        

The Premier League is up and running. Another weekend of Football on your screens, shortly.

P.S: The words are mine, but the pictures aren't. No Copyright infringement is intended.

Premier League-Review Game-Week 1...

The Premier League is Back!

89 days of Speculations, 89 days of Rumors, 89 days of Anticipation came to an end last week, with the 'Kick-Off' to the new 'English Premier League' Season. Recognized as the toughest football league in the world, the PL is back to our TV screens. Its time to unleash the inner fan and rejoice in the glorious world of the "Beautiful Game" i.e. Football/Soccer.

Source: aa.com; google

 The Transfer Window had its say, Big money transfers, some smart buys, few superstars out of the league, only to be replaced by another fresh batch of superstars. The likes of Hazard & Lukaku will be missed but the rest will definitely make up for lost number of Goals this season. So, without further ado, lets get going for the new season..

Review-GW1: Aug 9th-11th Aug'19

Source: Hindustan Times; Google

The Top Six: With a single match day beyond us, it is always reasonable to see the likes of Brighton & Burnley in the top six. They will be happy to notch 3 points at the start of a new season, which would probably be a long fight against fellow relegation threatened clubs. The other four spots, occupied by the regulars, the Mancunian clubs, Liverpool from Merseyside & North London's Tottenham. While Manchester City were off the blocks with a 'Five Star' Display against the Hammers, the Red-Devils were solid against Frank Lampard's Chelsea. VAR, makings its debut for the first time in the PL raised plenty of questions with respect to its implementation, especially during City's match. A Gabriel Jesus Goal disqualified by the finest of margins. Raheem Sterling, continued his rapid rise in English football by scoring an opening day Hat-trick.

Source: Forbes, Google

The Red-Devils survived an initial onslaught by Chelsea, playing a young team with the likes of Mason Mount & Tammy Abraham leading the West Londoner's attack. As the game progressed, an unforced error in the Penalty area by the returning Kurt Zouma, handed Man United a life-line, dutifully dispatched by the talented Marcus Rashford. There was no looking back for Solskjaer's men in the second half. A solid defence led by 'Slab-Head' Harry Maguire, a midfield controlled by the mercurial Paul Pogba and attacking runs made by the temperamental Anthony Martial. The Red Devils supporters are looking forward for a positive season after witnessing one of the strongest displays by their team at Old Trafford.

Liverpool & Tottenham underlined their credentials as "Title-contenders" with ruthless displays against newly-promoted clubs, Norwich City & Aston Villa respectively. While Liverpool faced an initial set-back with their highly paid goalkeeper, Allison Becker limping off with a Calf Injury, but the attacking prowess of Divock Origi, Mo Salah & Roberto Firmino ensured the Reds started their campaign with a 4-0 victory.

Tottenham Hotspur FC, were stung by an early Villa goal scored by John McGinn, the scottish lad who helped the Villans  secure a Premier League Spot from the Championship play-offs. Spurs, rallied back from a goal down to win emphatically with goals from Harry Kane & their new signing, Tanguy Ndombele.

The Best among the Rest: Arsenal, began their campaign against a Steve Bruce, led Newcastle side. Steve Bruce, becoming the first former Sunderland manager to move from the Wearside to Tyneside. A young Gunner's team with academy players, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Guendouzi didn't disappoint the North-London faithful. An Aubameyang goal sealing the deal for Unai Emery's men.

The likes of Everton, Wolves, Leicester City & Crystal Palace managed respectable Draws ensuring a positive start to the campaign. While, newly promoted Sheffield United managed to scrap a draw against a dominant Bournemouth, looking to continue their growth under their spirited manager , Eddie Howe. Southampton, though would like to forget their abysmal start to the season against Burnley and gear up for a gigantic clash against Liverpool at St Mary's this weekend.

The Relegation Bound: Chelsea, will be the first team out of the Relegation zone when Game-Week 2 starts. Even Watford with their charismatic players would consider their current league position to be a one-off scenario. But West Ham, will have to pick themselves from the opening day debacle and ensure they return back to their regular mid-table spot. The likes of injured Mark Noble, Felipe Anderson, Chicharito & others will have to use their experience to ensure Premier league safety for the Hammers.

With an enthralling Game-Week 1 done and dusted. We can now look forward to the second set of matches with Arsenal kicking off proceedings against Burnley, saturday afternoon. The biggest match of the weekend will be between Manchester City & Tottenham, with both teams looking to score early season brownie points. On that note, see you all next week.

Source: The Sports Daily; Google

                                         
Yes.! The Premier League is Back!!

P.S: The words are mine, but the pictures aren't. No Copyright infringement is intended.

VOTE ! VOTE for your M.P, not P.M - Post-3 (A Tragedy of 'Logic')

Disclaimer: The below mentioned views belong to the author (okay, ME) alone without any influence from his peers, family, political outfits & Media personnel, especially "Ar. Nab".

India, goes to vote in April/May, to elect its Prime Minister(P.M) ???

No! It will vote to elect "Members" of the 17th Lok Sabha. 543 Members of Parliament, then elect their Prime Minister. The whole election process is clear, it is called Democracy.

Lets talk, Issues!! Unemployment? Agrarian Crisis? Economy? Nationalism? Institutions under attack? Lynching? Freedom of Speech? Nehru? Constitution of India? - Nope! People(as in ME, Myself & I) should refrain from speaking about topics which do not affect them. Right. But Logic? - Yes, we can speak about the basic aspect of Life- Logic.

DEMONetization, a.k.a Note-Bandi a.k.a Surgical Strike on Black Money, Govt Ji, occupied prime-time on national television, delivered one of the most iconic speeches in living memory. Black Money,Fake Notes, Corruption, Oh!! Corruption, the mantra which won the ruling party, the last elections. Demonetization was supposedly, the ultimate War-Cry against the Corrupt & the Evil. 

Credit: Indianidiot.com; Google

But did it 'Succeed', of course IT did. 
Black Money- 99.3% of the demonetized notes returned back to the banking system, the remaining 0.7% notes were found floating on the 'Ganges' (Source: 'He who must not be named'- Japan, November 12,2016). 
Fake Notes- If Media is to be believed, the launch of the '2000 Rupee note' with a 'Microchip' meant, 'No more Fake notes, bring on Fake News'. 
Corruption- You wish! There has been NO corruption in India since May 26th,2014. 

Credit: Sabhlokcity.com; Google

Were people affected, of course NOT. 
It was all media and opposition hype. People enjoyed the long lines in front of ATMs, Banks, Post offices to withdraw/exchange their own money. People found their long-lasting 'Love' in these lines, got married and lived happily ever after (withdrawing the enchanted 2000 rupee note).

On a serious note, the only people NOT protesting against the whole SHAM(or SCAM) are the people NOT affected by the whole fiasco . For e.g, The RICH, Paytm & Jio etc. But people died, doesn't matter how many, maybe one. They died for the noble intentions of one righteous politician. 'Govt Ji' haven't spoken about Demonetization, its failure or success since December 31st, 2016. 

Credit: Cartoonist Satish Acharya, Twitter

Maybe, November 2016 was the right time to question. Maybe, March 2019 is the right time to question. But who will question? Of course, the affable, "Prasoon Joshi" or the quintessential, "Arnab Goswami", who? "#GovtVsWho".

What about Press Conferences? Of course, the fourth pillar of democracy, the Media, can still use one of the most convenient platforms to hold the government accountable. 

Fact Check:
'Silent PM' Manmohan Singh: 3 Press conferences.
'Mann ki baat/Chai pe Charcha/Mera Booth Sabse Mazboot' Govt ji: "Aryabhatta's gift to Science- 0 or 'ZERO'.

Logic, goes to vote on April 23rd,2019, people of the 115 constituencies, Vote! Send your members to the parliament, not drummers. Vote for your choice of M.P, not P.M. On a later thought, Please Vote.

P.S: The words are mine, but the pictures aren't. No Copyright infringement is intended.

VOTE ! VOTE for your M.P, not P.M - Post-2 (Types of Politicians)

Disclaimer: The below mentioned views belong to the author (okay, ME) alone without any influence from his peers, family, political outfits & Media personnel, especially "Ar. Nab".

India, goes to vote in April/May, to elect its Prime Minister(P.M) ???

No! It will vote to elect "Members" of the 17th Lok Sabha. 543 Members of Parliament, then elect their Prime Minister. The whole election process is clear, it is called Democracy.

The first post covered the basic aspects of Elections, the process, the facilitators, the voters, the political parties and the main beneficiaries, the Politicians/Members of Parliament. In this article, lets account for the different types of political leaders.

Credit: Indiatimes, Google

1) The Ideal One: The 'One', the one with 'genuine' expectations on his/her able shoulders. Such politicians understand their responsibilities to the core. They identify the current concerns of their electorate. They comprehend the major problems such as poverty, unemployment, basic necessities like "Roti, Kapda & Makaan" and bring in policy changes/laws to alleviate them. The Ideal one has been "Missing in Action" since eternity. Free India is waiting since 15th August,1947.

Credit: National Herald, Google.com

2) The Chosen One: In India, the choice of the 'Chosen One' either happens in the plush avenues of 'New Delhi' or the dusty lanes of 'Nagpur'. In the latter case, the selected M.P (or vice versa) is considered sacrosanct and sent directly by God, himself. He makes policy decisions in lieu with his own complex mind without any research or understanding. When questioned, he goes all emotional and brings forth weapons tried and tested since time immemorial in Bollywood i.e. Poor financial background, hard working parents, unrelated nationalism etc. Some awe-inspiring dialogues too like, 'Friends, give me 50 days. If I am wrong, burn me at the stake'. Well it sounds, more convincing in Hindi.

Credit: Free Republic, Google.com

3) The Drummers: The most common type of members. These members constitute a majority in the Lok Sabha. The Job responsibilities are well defined and Simple. They include:
a) Synchronized thumping of hands on the table- whenever the Government tries to placate the country.
b) To shout, "SHAME"- whenever the leader of the Government blames the previous PM for the current state of affairs.
c) To act interested in matters of "National Importance"
d) Storming the well of the House in order to ensure a quick adjournment.
d) Other responsibilities include Snoozing, Chit-Chatting & in some instances, "Age restricted websites".

4) The Poets: The in-house entertainment package. These members do take the initiative of raising important issues in the society. They wrap their speech in meticulously crafted words which start with a Poem in Hindi & end with a Sanskrit quote. But still, fail to reach out to the concerned ministry members.

5) The Privileged: The actual 'Rich' (usually, all of them) and the actual 'Progeny' (usually, most of them). These members are elected by default. Period.

Credit: Amul, Google.com, Scroll

6) The Speaker:The Speaker is usually the oldest or the most respected member among the elected representatives. They have a singular job of conducting the parliamentary affairs. They usually end up asking the other members to 'Sit Down' as in, "Aap Baith Jaaye, Aap Baith Jaaye, Jaffer Ji, aap baith jaaye"

There are other minor categories too, for e.g, the Women. Parliament is the only place in India, where Women Reservation is spoken of, spoken of & spoken of, but never initiated or implemented. So much for Women Empowerment. We will continue our discussion with other related topics in subsequent posts.

Credit:Huffpost, Google.com

Meanwhile, remember the date, April 18th, the second phase of the general elections, people of the 17 states going to poll. Please VOTE for your choice of M.P, not P.M. On a later thought, Please Vote. 

P.S:  The words are mine, the images aren't. Thank you Google. "No Copyright infringement is intended"

VOTE ! VOTE for your M.P, not P.M - Post-1 (Elections)

Disclaimer: The below mentioned views belong to the author (okay, ME) alone without any influence from his peers, family, political outfits & Media personnel, especially "Ar. Nab".

India, goes to vote in April/May, to elect its Prime Minister(P.M) ???

No! It will vote to elect "Members" of the 17th Lok Sabha. 543 Members of Parliament, then elect their Prime Minister. The whole election process is clear, it is called Democracy. 

With the definition of Elections, taken care of. Let's have a look at other related terminologies in the present context (21st Century India):

Source: Troll-Modi, Facebook, Google

1) Election Commission: The main objective of the E.C is to announce the elections dates after the Prime Minister completes his last gasp project inaugurations & "Nationalistic" speeches before the "Model Code of Conduct" kicks in. Other objectives include the conduct, late night announcement of results & farcical tests of the E.V.M (when questioned) in a controlled environment.

2) Election Campaign: On paper, the campaigns begin after the announcement of the election dates. But in reality, it begins 5 years back, upon the culmination of the last election. The Government uses the entire machinery available at its disposal, to highlight the multiple lapses by the previous governments. Meanwhile, the opposition points out the failure of the ruling majority. Wait! That's not a campaign, it is their JOB.

                                                                                                                 

Source: Monish Hardasani- Times Now News- Google.com

3) Political Parties: The major beneficiaries of the whole Election Process. The politicians deliver their choicest promises/Jumlas in scorching rallies with thousands of 'poorly paid' cheering supporters. In India, the political parties are led by the Reliance, Adani Group & other corporate houses.

4) Voters: The decision makers, the constituents, the 'Holy Grail' for the politicians till the announcement of the results. Once elected, most of the Netas simply forget their voters for the next 5 years. In some cases, these voters double up as the "Social Media" marketing team of the ruling party.

5) President/Governor: The final cog of the election process. The 'highest authority' in India closely analyses the final results and invites the leading political party to form the government. In some instances, the final authority gets influenced by Ideology and invites the party without adequate numbers to indulge in the noble practice of Horse trading and Defection.

What follows next? Overnight counsel of the Supreme Court of India & 'Luxury Resort' Visits for the tired elected Law-makers. We will discuss other related topics in subsequent posts filled with knowledge, advice and a heavy dose of Sarcasm :-) !

Meanwhile, remember the date, April 11th 2019, people of the 20 states going to poll, Please VOTE for your choice of M.P, not P.M. On a later thought, Please Vote. 

Source: India Today- Google.com

P.S: The words are mine, the images aren't. Thank you Google. "No Copyright infringement is intended"