Man, is it U?

Week 6 of EPL and the usual suspects make the top 4 in the Premiership table. Arsenal has been in great form, Liverpool still has away blues, Chelsea seems to stutter and ManU has forgotten they are the reigning Champs. ManU's recent displays against Sunderland and Everton have been inept, to say the least. For a team that was playing great attacking football until a few months back, this is clearly unexpected.

Ever since Saha succumbed to injuries, ManU has looked terrible up front. With Rooney and Ronaldo out, Giggs was paired up front with Tevez and the latter, not being an out-and-out striker clearly struggled with his new role. Ronaldo is back now but was not at his best against Everton. And, can someone please tell Ron he sucks at free-kicks!

Champions League starts mid-week and ManU plays away at Sporting Lisbon. This is a tricky encounter, given the form ManU is in but then I expect Sporting's old boys Ron and Nani to play a huge role at their former stadium.

A few random thoughts...

1. What has happened to Giggs this season? He doesn't look good but then he has been playing up front, rather than in the wings.
2. Silvestre at LB and Evra at left wing? What is Fergie/Carlos thinking? But one consolation...looks like Egghead is out for a long time with an injury he suffered at Everton.
3. Tevez struggles up front but seems an entirely different (much better) player with Saha for company. Hope Saha, the Brittle' stays clear of any more injuries this season.
4. Too early to say this but with Hargreaves in CM, ManU look so different. They are much better at defending but far from the attacking force they were last season. Personally, I would prefer Owen only for games against top clubs and in Europe.
5. Martin Jol's days at Tottenham are numbered now. 40 million+ pounds later, they lose the London derby at home against Arsenal!? Wondering whether we will see Lippi, Koeman or Ramos?

Pick of the Week

I have not been able to update my blog for a long time...my apologies for that. The past couple of weeks have seen some great action across Europe. Some of the goals that really caught my eye and ranked accordingly are these...

1. Nakamura's awesome freekick, giving Celtic a win over ManU. One of the best freekicks I have ever seen. Just unstoppable!

2. Ronaldinho can't seem to stop scoring lately, his incredible overhead kick goal hit the final nail over Villareal's coffin.

3. Jermaine Defoe scored a peach of a goal, bamboozling the Wigan defenders. This guy is a terrific but underrated striker and needs to start more regularly for Tottenham.

4. Saha did a Ronaldinho over Chelsea, taking a shot from a tight angle and scoring a wonderful goal with his great left foot. Pity, it wasn't the winning goal!

5. Blackburn's Tugay is well-known for his long range kicks, so it was no surprise when he hit that stunning strike from nearly 30 yards. What a volley!!!!!

There's a rumor that Cannavaro is certain to land the prize of BalloonD'Or or the European player of the year, followed by Buffon and Henry. I feel Eto'o deserves that honour more than anyone else. His wonderful scoring record last season both in Spain and in Europe was the main catalyst in Barca doing a double. No doubt, Cannavaro was incredible at that World Cup but that alone does not make him more worthy than Eto'o.
My Pick would be Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Deco, Henry, Kaka...in that order.