Making your debut at anything or making a first appearance is always exciting, and I thoroughly enjoyed my debut on Astro Arena's coverage of Malaysian football. Being a studio guest on the Piala Sumbangsih curtain raiser last Friday made for an interesting evening.
The Malaysia Cup Champions Pahang looked good in patches against a Lions XII side who clearly missed the leadership and playmaking skills of Shahril Ishak. Although my former teammate Fandi Ahmad played an attacking game, he clearly has his work cut out for him without previous coach Sundram Moorthy's talisman.
Once again, the Lions XII will have to rely on home form to put in a challenge but from this first impression, they would seem to already have relinquished their Super League title when we study the improvement within rival squads in the title race.
As for Pahang, Mathias Conti needs four chances to score and new signing Dickson Nwkaeme will be out for a while with a hamstring injury. They will need Azidan to start running games or it could be back to front as both Zesh Rehman and Damion Stewart are rather conventional defenders of the old "lump it and fight for it" age.
On to Saturday and my home state team Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) overcame a young and energetic Perak. The young Perak team reminded me of Aston Villa, all youth and enthusiasm but lacking a leader to bring calm, intelligence and experience to the team.
There was anticipation and excitement every time Pablo Aimar touched the ball. Luciano Figueroa was a willing runner upfront while striker turned right-winger Amri Yahyah provided everything dangerous in attack including a super, near-post header from a corner to settle the expectations.
The touch of class was provided by Safiq Rahim when he slipped a sublime pass through for Figueroa to score a debut goal.
It will not always be pretty or easy, but expect JDT to set the pace with the sheer individual talent within the squad come end of the season.
The partnership of Shukor Jusoh and K Gurusamy was totally in control and dominant for Selangor as they made light work of T-Team. The duo, in central midfield, were most impressive while also providing the platform for Brazilian midfielder Junior to pull the strings.
An injury to Shukor meant Junior dropping deep to partner Gurusamy and only then did T-Team show some ambition.
The twinkling feet of S Kunanlan deserved two penalties and he has every reason to feel aggrieved. Refereeing does seem a convenient excuse for many teams when results don't end favourably, but judging from the hefty and reckless challenges Kunanlan received, one cannot help but question the decision-making from the man in black.
No surprises in the English Premier League
On the subject of twinkling feet, the Arsenal were leaden footed in the first half against Fulham but true class eventually shines through as Santi Cazorla proved. Serge Gnabry danced around Fulham defenders, though his finishing let him down; at the tender age of 18, he can only improve in that aspect. When that day arrives, I fear for fullbacks all across Europe.
At the Etihad meanwhile, the twinkle toes of Craig Noone exposed Vincent Kompany so badly he needed two taxis home. However, there is no stopping City and with David Silva in impish form, I can't wait for February and the UCL round of 16 encounter with Barcelona.
As the British media goes off on another witch hunt, the Liverpool fans will always bless the day Luis Suarez came to Anfield. While Brendan Rodgers tries his best to weaken his own midfield, the imperious form of Suarez continues both with and without the ball.
There is just no logic to Rodgers trying to fix what is not broken! But he has broken it and it won't be the same unless he puts Liverpool the team before the individual.
Matches against Manchester City and Chelsea showed that this Liverpool side can hang with the big boys once again (indeed, and Liverpool may very well have taken 6 points from these contests were it not for dubious decisions by the men in black), but limping to a draw against an Aston Villa side which, solid and disciplined as they might be, are hardly world-beaters themselves, one needs only to take a gander at the starting 11 Rodgers has set out each time.
It is strange watching the Spurs now because they seem more confident than it shows on the idiot box. They controlled the tempo at Swansea but seemed to drop the tempo when in possession. Quite unconventional but it was good to see Tim Sherwood get three points as he goes about advocating controlled, possession football.
At Stamford Bridge, it was the usual boring three points from the Boring One. What Manchester United offered was no different from a Hull City or Crystal Palace and so Chelsea offered the usual stop-start, stop-start football that has become the Jose Mourinho template. Results keep coming, so there is obviously no reason to change what isn't broken!
There was more flow in the United performance but the creaky defence, as has been the problem all season, creaked so badly that even Samuel Eto'o got a hat trick. He was made to look almost as good as he was during his last stint for a European powerhouse!
The biggest question mark is Phil Jones. A jack of all trades at one point, he has now become a jack of no trade!
Completely awful at everything he does, maybe, just maybe it is time to send him out on loan as the eighteen million pounds spent on him is indeed money wasted. His headless running creates holes in central midfield and allows opponents to dominate that area.
But then again, he is the stereotypic English midfielder, runs all day, tackles everything but has no positional awareness or the eye for a pass.
And he was thought to be better than Paul Pogba. – January 22, 2014.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
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