₦airaland Forum

A very sad story.
He was used as a scape-goat but i can only blame Rio's care-free attitude for the whole incident.
If Wayne Rooney, John Terry or David Beckham had missed the test i doubt if the FA would have banned any of 'em for 8 months.
We all know racism is still alive and this should teach other players a big lesson.

Wenger cannot survive it and he's secretly undermining the potentials and the talents of English players.

Arsene Wenger, of course, continues to believe that only the Foreign Legion can win battles.
Even a radar couldn't have spotted a British player in the team he sent out to play Hamburg because every position was occupied by a foreign import.
Not so with Old Trafford's Awesome One. Alex Ferguson's senior squad is top-heavy with home-produced players.
And I was delighted when I saw the make-up of his team against Celtic cos any Premiership manager who still believes that British talent is the best gets my vote every time.
Ferguson started 8 British players against Celtic and that should be applauded especially at a level like UEFA Champions league.

It goes without saying that the primary responsibility for any manager is to the club that pays his wages. But it is my unshakable conviction that a manager should feel some responsibility to the country in which he earns his living.
And part of his responsibility is to provide players for that country's international team.
Has Jose Mourinho any desire at all to provide players for England? I very much doubt it.
He inherited Lampard, Joe Cole and Terry at Stamford Bridge and he's now bought Ashley Cole.
But name me one English-born player during Mourinho's tenure who has come through the ranks at Chelsea to hold down a regular place in the senior side.
If there is such a player, I certainly haven't spotted him.


Now that Cole has moved across town, how many Arsenal players will be named in Steve McClaren's next England squad? The answer to that is none.
Sometime in the future Theo Walcott will get another international call-up but he's NOT a product of the Gunners' youth system.
It was Southampton who identified his potential.
Don't get me wrong: There is no legal requirement on a manager to ensure that he has a quota of home-produced players in his senior squad.
All that went out of the window with the Treaty of Rome which introduced freedom of movement between all of the European Union member nations.
So only the managers themselves can keep that vital lifeline flowing between club and country. Only the managers themselves can decide not to flood their clubs with foreign imports and give home-produced players the Premiership experience they so desperately need to develop to international level.

Intentionally or otherwise, Ferguson is setting an example which I believe Wenger and Mourinho should follow.
There is no conflict of interest. Fergie clearly feels that he can win trophies with a squad packed to the gills with home-grown players.
For United's and England's sake I hope he is proved right.
After all it's not rocket science. The more home-grown players gaining experience at Premiership level, the bigger the choice will be for Steve McClaren when selecting his international squad and the stronger the England team will become.
So whether he knows it or not, by refusing to adopt a Foreign Legion policy, the old Scottish fire-breather could be greatly enhancing England's chances of winning a major tournament.

Don't mind Mukina2.
She has got the hot pants for United and always drool when the team rolls out to play.
Its only when u dig something secretly that u always come out and discredit it.
Man Utd is the best club and the most supported in England and there's nuthing Wenger and his goons can do about it.

@ Priscilla,
I want u to understand i am a Man Utd fan by birth and by choice.
My love for United is deep-rooted so forget the fact that i am switching to Chelsea.
Objectivity should not be confused as me switching clubs and i ain't like y'all gunner fans.
The unbeaten run of 2003/04 was the main reason why many people joined Arsenal.
90% of Arsenal fans today were supporting other clubs 4 years ago but they find it difficult to switch again as we can now identify most of them.
Prisccy was a Southampton fan by birth but later joined Arsenal by choice in 2004.
Whats ur name? Judas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back 2 the issue at hand,
Don't get sucked into this issue as many soccer-illiterates are doing on Nairaland.
Mikel Obi is a player i know personally and i am sure he has the natural ability to be the best player Africa has ever produced but such things take time.
No football player in the world can boast he never sat on the bench to understudy big players in his club.
From the perceptions of the imbeciles on this thread u can as well say Theo Walcott will regret joining Arsenal, ain't it?

A club as big as Chelsea is not a place where players (especially young guns) can stroll into the 1st team easily.
Mikel's time will surely come and i have no doubts he would set the world ablaze when the time comes.
For instance, Louis Saha is now the top gun at Man Utd. Who would have thought this was possible 12 months ago?
Another classic example is Ole Gunner Solskjaer. He was always on the bench and he is still the most respected player at Man Utd.
Mikel Obi will surely liberate himself but he still needs to learn one or two things because he is nowhere near a finished product yet.
I hope Jose will develop him to his maximum potential and be the best he can be.

I support Man Utd religiously and i still won't let that affect my judgement on Mikel Obi.
He wants to play for Chelsea and we should all respect his wishes as Nigerians.
If Theo Walcott was a Nigerian i am sure Arsenal fans will not be complaining this way but just because Obi is in Chelsea then its a big issue.
Why do we have so many Pharisees and Saducees(HYPOCRITES) in the Gooners camp?
Mikel will never regret joining Chelsea because he still gets to play despite the stiff competition he faces in the club.
I assume he is 15th best player @ Chelsea which is still remarkable for his age.

There u go again,
If in the next decade a poll was conducted to judge the best striker between Ruud and Henry, i will choose Ruud.
Ruud will always be my best striker because his strike rate speaks for itself.
Thierry Henry is a forward and not a striker as u soccer novices think.
There's a difference between a forward player and a striker.
Rooney, Henry, Dinho, Kaka, Scholes, Kalou, Gudjohnsen are all forward players and not strikers as people sometimes think cos they can only play just behind an out and out striker.


Henry makes and links up play, he supplies quality and sublime passes and he is not always at the end of crosses to jab the goals.
Van Nistelrooy is a goal poacher. He is always at the end of crosses to deliver clinical finishing both in the air and on the ground.
Ruud pounces on rebounds, communication errors between defenders and their goal-keepers and that makes him the best paocher/striker in the world.
The 2 players are different in style but i will put Nistelrooy ahead cos he has been able to triple his worth in all the leagues he has graced.
Can u say that of Thierry Henry? Little wonder he developed cold feet when he had the chance to move to Barca.
The likes of Etoo, Dinho and Forlan would have made him sweat like a Hungarian turkey.


Henry wld always be the best in the Premiership cos he has stayed longer and that list cared more on number of goals scored than goal ratio.
TT has played more games-hence more goals, enjoy more appearances due to the small squad size and the untouchable syndrome Wenger has given him at Arsenal.
Looking at it in a wider scope, i think Henry himself will envy Ruud's phenomenal goal scoring records.
RUUD is RUDE.

@ Akola,
Leave these soccer novices alone.
Some of them cannot even manage a table-soccer team, let alone reason objectively to analyse a team as big as Chelsea.
Mikel Obi is a young lad and he will grow up in time to play for Chelsea.
I don't understand why peops on this forum are picking on the young dude for joining Chelsea.
Chelsea's where he wants to be so let him be.

Carling Cup and Preliminary rounds of the FA cup is where he needs to start for now.
U cannot expect Jose to start him in important matches yet as the boy is still learning to settle down in England.
Don't kill the lad's career before his career gets off.

@ Loyika,
U almost passed for a genius on this sports forum but like i have said-u still suffer some selective amnesia.
Back to the issue at hand----------The European golden boot Henry won was based on his premiership goals and not the UEFA Champions League.
The European golden boot award u have quoted is picked based on all the top scorers of every league in Europe.
While top leagues in Europe like England, Spain and Italy are given 2 points for each goals scored, leagues like Eredivisie and Portugese leagues attract 1.5 points per goals scored.
At the end of the day, it is still based on the goals Henry scored in the Premiership so that is no award.

Ruud has proven himself already in every league he has played.
An amazing 62 goals in 67 matches for PSV(93% strike rate) and 150 goals in 218 games for Man Utd(69% strike rate) and 28 goals in 54 games for country(52% strike rate)
PSV, Man Utd and now Real Madrid. Take Ruud to Nigerian league and he would still score despite the harsh weather.
He is a natural born striker and he deserves some credits.


Henry on the other hand was a mediocre in Italy.
A major disappointment as he could only manage 3 goals in 16 starts(19% strike rate) for Juventus.
At Monaco he was annoyingly non-existent with just 20 goals in a staggering 105 games(19% strike rate).
Henry has only scored 38 goals in 88 games(43% strike rate) for France despite Loyika's dud analysis.
Thierry has NEVER won the golden boot of the UEFA champions league before in his 7-yr stay at the English Premiership.

Van Nistelrooy won it back to back in 2001/02 and 2002/03 and broke the records of the[b] highest goal [/b] ever scored at the competition.
I don't think any striker can EVER match Ruud's 14 goals haul in the Champions Legaue season of 2002/03.
Ruud defied the laws of physics by winning the UEFA golden boot award again in 2004/05 despite sustaining an injury that kept him out for 4 months during that season.
RVN is also one of the rare strikers that has won the Premierhsip's golden boot and UEFA golden boot at the same time in the same season.

As u can see Ruud's 52% for country is way better than Henry's 43% unless u are suffering from acute conjuctivitis.
Van Nistelrooy is a rare breed/specie and i still repeat no striker born of a woman can match his strike rate in world.
FYI, Pele also named RVN as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.
I think someone needs to explain the meaning of strike rate to Loyika because he is mixing things up here.
How can u begin to compare 38 Henry's goals for country to Ruud's 28 goals when Henry had played 34 more games than Ruud.
What happened to goals per game ratio(strike rate) statistics?  I' m sure u will be weeping by now with all these revelations.
Lemme know when Henry notches the UEFA champions league golden boot or beat Ruud's strike rate in any competition.

Moreover, winning the World Cup, Confederations Cup and European Cup is a collective effort of a team and not Henry's individual efforts.
Shevchenko has never won the world cup but he is adjudged the best striker in the world at the moment.
George Weah and Abedi Pele are the best players in Africa  but they never played in the world cup so that is no yard-stick for measuring the player's performances down the years.
Ruud was born to do one thang-SCORE goals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Buncha novices!
Schmukkkkkkkkkks.

@ Akola,
Are u sure its Muda Lawal?
What about Stephen Keshi?

@ Loyika,

Ruud's efficiency extends beyond the Premiership where other strikers like Henry enjoy being a local champion.
Henry a prolific scorer in England and a disappointing striker elsewhere.
Tell me any competition apart from the Premiership that Henry has won the golden boot in his entire career.

RVN is the king of Europe in terms of the number of goals he has scored in his very short career at Manchester United.
The player has won the UEFA golden boot 3 times in the last 5 seasons of the UEFA champions league.
Where's ur Thierry Henry at the big stage of UEFA? He is nowhere and a complete waste of space at the big stage.
Has Henry ever neared the top 3 in Europe ever before? Nah.

Ruud is currently the 4th most prolific scorer in the European cup/ Champions league behind Shevchenko and Raul despite playing less than half what Raul and Sheva has played.
No striker born of a woman has Ruud's goal ratio in the whole world  and thats why we call him the god of goals.
Van Nistelrooy is the only player in the history of the Premiership that scored 44 goals in all competitions in a single season.
The 1st player in the modern day era to score 10 goals in the UEFA champions league and he broke his own record the next season to score a whooping 14 goals.
Henry has spent more than 7 years in the English League and he is yet to notch 40 goals in a season.
So who's the man? Van is the man.

@ Loyika,
I don't know why these 3 points is a big issue.
How many times has United taken 3 points from Arsenal in the last 4 seasons.

Lemme refresh ur fading memory caused by selective amnesia(Sorry Hucs!!!!)
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=153082&cc=5739

And what about this?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=154193&cc=5739

Can u also remember this?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=192471&cc=5739


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_IYtmdyYJI


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWGAwyQYLg

@ Justkunmi,
Chelsea have the same points as United but we are ahead on goals difference.
Man Utd should keep winning games and stay on top of others.
I am glad the real cannibals in the team are back(Vidic, Heinze and Smithy).
These are the peops that can add steel and grit to United's gameplay.

@Priscilla,
U dont mean that, do u?
67% ball possession?
U must have watched ur match on a pocket TV.

@ amodu,
Disgrace?
I lost £500 bet on Chelsea when Liverpool won the community shield.
That was more than a disgrace.
It was a heart-break.

Please------------------------don't start.
Mikel Obi's time will come.
He plays for Chelsea for crying out loud so what do u expect?
Shawn Wright Phillips, Joe Cole, Ferriera, Wayne Bridge all sit on the bench so why finger-print Mikel?

@ teaser,
I have franchises with kitbag and i can get any football shirt of any premiership club customised with names, authentic premiership badges and numbers.
Do u want to start a big business with this products or what?
I am willing to supply the products but i need to know whats on ground
What is ur target audience? 1000 customers or 1 million?
Be realistic about ur figures cos football shirts(customised) cost about 60 pounds per item.
Non -customised are about 40 pounds but can ur potential clients handle the price?
Where r u based?
Whats the potential market sales of this products?
How much profit , equity and credits do i get?
Do u wanna start selling on the high street shops or from a car?
What security measures have u put on ground?

send a mail to nethowen@yahoo.co.uk
Cheers!!!!!!!

@ debosky,

Man Utd                                       Arsenal
19                    shots                  14

  9                     on target            7

10                    corner-kicks        5

4                      offsides              4

50%                  possession        50%
 
4                        saves             12


Can u tell me why United deserved to lose this match judging by the stats?
U can find the stats at soccernet's website-it wasn't coooked by me.

@ deboksy,
Marginally better on the day but United is better overall.
The league table does not lie.

Duhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why do u think Nairaland sports is fun?
If everyone here has the same defaulting mentality like u then this place will be booooooooooring.
We will all come back after the match and say-------WE LOVE ARSENAL.
How sick is that?
Get a club and start pushing your weights for your club.
I suggest u start with Reading FC or Sheffield United because anything more will make u an arse-licker.
Just joking, U can join the gunners----they have the highest number of fanbase on this forum.

@ deboksy,
No doubt, Arsenal played beyond ma expectation.
Blackburn's results must have spurred em into action in the 2nd half as victory to Man Utd wld have condemned Wenger to the 20th position.
All the same i cannot really fault Man United.
I feel better with this loss than the FA cup final battle of 2005 cos we played well but it wasnt gonna be our day.
Ronaldo, Rooney, Fletcher, Evra all played to ma satisfaction but shit happens.
I am already looking forward for the part 2 at the Emirates stadium.

That match i

U should not comment here then.
Whats ur name-Judas?
U are a defaulter/ ass-kisser.
If Boro wins tomorrow, u will pitch tents with them and shout -----campeone campeone.
I tend to listen more to peops that stick it up with a team and they stay with that team in victory and defeat.
Priscilla, Bagoma, Sir Kay are gunners and they can NEVER deny the team even if Arsenal relegates.
Those are the real fans and not a potential glory hunter like u.

Uchenna cannot understand.
Stop wasting your valuable time explaining this to him.
He is match-drunk right now.
The odds were against United when Arsenal had 49 unbeaten run and United won 2-0.
The odds were stacked against United when Arsenal lost 4-2 at Highbury.
This is football and the form on the day is the most important factor!

The Gunners came out today smoking and they deserved the victory- no question?
Did United deserve to lose? I don't think so if they had taken their chances before they got jaded in the 2nd half.
Ronaldo, Evra and Kuczack were brilliant as far as i am concerned.
Arsenal has just kick-started their season.
Congrats to Arsenal on their 1st premiership win this season.

@ Akola,
I must drink to that.
As a matter of fact, i have forgiven Didier Drogba for all he has done in his short football career.
What a 1st touch? What a goal?
If Rooney or Walcott had scored that the British press would be nominating them for world footballer of the year.
That goal got me screaming like krazie.
In fairness, i think Drogba is the most under-rated striker in the premiership and he does not get his due credits.
His control, football brains and guile in taking that shot was just phenomenal.
Etoo scored a belter today as well and i dont know where Africa's MVP of the year is going this time around.

Replayed?
U took that out of ma mouth.
I was watching the match this afternoon and i kept rewinding and pausing to disapprove Graham Poll's nasty decisions.
He got some decisions wrong today which might have changed the course of the match.

All the same, Arsenal played really well.
We wld have done the same in their shoes anyways cos their season wld have been over if they had lost.
They had to win by hook or crook and they won cos they were more hungry for the victory than Man Utd.
I cannot really criticise Utd today cos they played quite well.
Jens Lehmann(The Nazi) was the major difference cos he made some outstanding saves.

This thread is interesting.
Bagoma? Where have u been since?
I dont think u wld have shown ur pretty face if Arsenal had lost today.

Anyways, twas a nice match.
Arsenal played with a breath-taking mental strength and i was impressed.
United team looked jaded but i still love my Man Utd.
We shall be back to unleash the same venom at the Emirates in the return leg.
UP MAN UTD.

@ Bagoma, Priscilla and others.

Enjoy ur night.
The fact is Arsenal played really well and they got under United's skin with a very effective 5-man midfield.
Man Utd played well but it wasn't just gonna be our day.

Arsenal came to OT more determined to win because a loss would have left them at the bottom of the league table.
I looked back at the missed chances we had and i felt United could have done better in the 1st half when Ronaldo blasted Lehmann's face.
Lehmann was the difference today as his save should be nominated as the save of the season.
What a save?
Rooney looked jaded and he need games as he has barely played 4 matches after his toe injury last April.

We will be back.
United lost the battle but they have not lost the war.
One United.

A well-deserved victory from Arsenal.
They stuck to their 4-5-1 formation which paid off very well.
Arsenal out-numbered United's players in the middle of the pack and they were always winning loose balls.
4-5-1 formation was Wenger's tactics in the FA cup final and that crook of a man has deployed it again.
Fabregas, Rosicky and Gallas were just outstanding.

Man U will look at their missed chances and blame themselves for the loss.
Man U 0-1 Arsenal.
Its almost unbelievable.
Maybe staying so long at the bottom of the league was the push Arsenal needed to tear United's fortress!!!!!!

Congrats to all the gunners on Nairaland.
Lehmann's last minute save won it for Arsenal.
I wish u guys a crappy

Yo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am gonna have to go for a draw in Chelsea V Liverpool match.
Chelsea won emphatically last season because Liverpool thought they could outplay Chelsea thus throwing caution into the wind.
The UEFA fixtures last season gave the Scousers a misguided belief that they were stronger than Chelsea but how wrong were they?

The whole scenario looks different now. The addition of Sheva, Ballack and some other mercenaries put Chelsea in a more stronger situation.
Moreover, Liverpool's loss to Everton last week will make them sober up and i expect the Scousers to play a highly defensive game.
To be honest, i do not know any team that can break down Liverpool when they decide to play defensive.
They are a very difficult side to beat on their day so Chelsea should expect a very boring game.

My Prediction: 0-0 or 1-1.
Both teams will drop points.

I can supply u authentic jerseys with customised names and number.

I will let ma boys do the spanking.
My worry here is if Arsenal should lose on sunday,pls don't come back to NL.
I will taunt u from bombay to budapest ceaselessly and relentlessly.

Please no excuses!!!!!!!!!
Henry didnt play, Wenger is fighting flu, Eboue has hernia and Fabregas is suffering from fits.
All that aint gonna move me on sunday so GAME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

United reserves will beat Arsenal anyday.
The last time i checked, Arsenal has not won United in the last 8 premiership games.
The pendulum swings again to Old Trafford.
This season is gon' be our easiest of wins as Ronaldo and Rooney plus a testosterone-charged Saha will punish ya.
Gallas will cry all over again.
If we lose Giggs, we have Ronaldo and Richardson that can cover that side of the field.
Rooney and Fletcher can cover up on the right side of the midfield so Arsenal is in trouble no matter how u look at this.

Thats what Wenger does time and time again.
Should Arsenal lose,those wankstas will quickly say it was because Henry didnt play.
Let Wenger feature the 2 of them dead or alive.

Arsenal to bite the dust again this season.
C'mon Wazza-lick anutha shot at Lehmann.

@ debosky,
Why hasn't Henry done that in the last 4 seasons at OT?
Van Persie has played twice at OT and he was nowhere to be found.
Why has goal-scoring evaded Arsenal at OT for 4 seasons?
Isn't that something to worry about.
Arsenal's premiership unbeaten team that scored freely could not even fashion out a goal against United.
Shame on Wenger.

U call Giggsy a diver last night-yeah?
What would u call Van Persie's theatrical dive last night that led to Arsenal's penalty-kick?
What would u also call Eboue's diving stunts against Barcelona last may?
Pull out the log in your eye before removing the speck in someone else's.
Capice?

@ Priscilla,
Whose fault is this?
Wenger had more than 3 months on his laps to buy experienced players to beef up the team.
Any manager should not make excuses and if anyone should make one-it should be Ferguson and he is riding high.
Scholes, Giggs, Neville and Solskjaer are old guards and the best performers since the season kicked-off.
United made only one signing so the balance in the team is still very much maintained unlike Chelsea.
Do u know Mourinho does not even know his strongest team yet?
Ballack and Lampard get in each other's way and the team hasn't really gelled yet.
Chelsea will maim, kill and destroy when they get on the groove.