EPL Preview - Teams

Who will win it then?

United.

This season for one will be quite difficult and will be a 70-80 point season. There is a list of 6-8 teams that cans surprise the top 4 on their day, and I expect that to happen quite frequently this season and the team amongst the top 2 that skips around this minefield successfully will win, hoping United’s and Fergie’s experience to save us.

Something that the London press have made it a point to ignore to build up Chelsea is the transfer of ‘rock-solid’ Makelele out of Chesea! Deco is not the answer, the one person who can step into that role is Essien and Mikel would be a good back up but it would take both of them put together to make up for one Makelele. United will miss Ronaldo’s goals and there is a big question mark on whether he can match last season, least improve on it. This long break and all these pressure will fire him up for sure, that’s what the last 2 seasons have taught us about the boy.

Will it be a 2-horse race?

It will be, but I expect the other ‘competitors’ to push them very close this season. Liverpool and Arse are not favourites for the Champion League slots, the Torres-Keane-Gerrard Combination is being built up, as good as it sounds, the backup again is lacking. Provided they qualify for the CL proper, they need more for their Alonsos and Benayouns. Same for Arsenal, the defence is very suspect, when your best defender is William Gallas, that’s says everything does it not? So it’s a 2 horse race yes, but a very tight one.
Relegation

Any 3 from Boro, Fulham, Hull and Stoke will do down.

Boro – All depends on Alves and his goals, Wheater should improve with an extra year under his belt but again, Arca and Downing alone cant save a team and are inconsistent and injury prone.

Fulham – Some clever purchases and a very experienced manager means that I could very wrong with this, but again when you buy players like Zamora and Pantsil who cant get into a struggling team like West Ham, it does not show a lot of promise

Hull & Stoke – Unknown and for me don’t have any names that inspires any confidence. Trusting the same players who took them into the premiership is heartening but not clever!

UEFA cup slots

Arse, Pool, Portsmouth, Everton (provided the impending transfers do come), Villa and of course Spurs.

Amongst the list above, the team that gets out of the cups including the UEFA cup the earliest will nick the UEFA Cup slot. Due to the fixture list because of the no of teams in Europe this year, we can expect another season of cup upsets in the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Does your name define you?

Vanity has reached new heights with people starting to give 'stylish' names to their children, moving away from tradition where you could identify the area and culture of a person, given the name. Conversely, this only shows that people are in a way ashamed or their roots and want their children to be someone they wanted to be but ‘could not’ be. I come across few Tamil children with Tamil names, with a good majority scouring the Internet for ‘fancy’ names and complex meanings.

My name was judged upon recently and the mere mention of my name had instilled doubts on whether I could speak English. To be frank, yes, my spoken English was never any good until I had been to Singapore but that was the case across my school for everyone who had not read anything more than Hardy boys and Nancy Drew along with Archies and Tin-tin. There was a time I had to seek my friend’s help to talk to a counsellor just because I was not confident about my verbal skills. But then, the situation is a lot better now and that’s not because I had changed my name is it? I had my circumstances and my good friend Rajiv to thank for that.

What irks me is that this is not the late 80’s and early 90’s where the people from the South aped the people from the North and people from the North wanted to be ‘Americans’ with all their first names becoming Christian names, this is the era where ‘on-site’ opportunities has enabled everyone to roam the world and by now people should realized the people that we pray to actually spend half the time and money in getting darker and spending their holidays in ‘exotic’ India and the other Asian countries. Seriously, to an outsider (Non-Indian) what difference does the name ‘Shanmuga’ and ‘Deepak’ make? Zilch! Both are names that they can’t relate to anyway. So its just us who has a problem and its time we grew up and not generalize. A ‘Subbulakshmi’ can wear a short skirt and can have an American accent, she does not have to change her name, and all she has to do is join a call centre!

If you think that who you are is a disadvantage, prove yourself and set it right, do something great and your name, whatever it is, will relate to greatness and will be ‘cool’. Remember it’s the underdog that the world roots for, not the favourites

Handwriting Analysis.....

Wrote a letter and got my handwriting analysed recently. The person was quite generous and claimed thats what the analysis said about me. Firstly, the handwriting suggested that I extremely generous person, probably bordering on the extravagant. Quickly, to the stunner, 'stickler for detail , probably a bit too disciplined', say that to my parents and they will faint. Moving on, 'not a very friendly person- but take care of the ppl u r friends with already well' - will let you guys to be the judge of that. I would do well in Business but am confused sometimes, just sometime?? hmmmm.....

To a bit more about things I like talking about, 'optimistic & ambitious', this I would agree. I will like to lead India one day, as the Prime Minister, my portfolio might include managing the Indian Football team, so guess this would fall into both categories. Finally, the part I shall shamelessly admit to be happy with - 'the most striking thing is ur individuality, ur self worth is probably the most important thing'. Ah, admit it, everyone likes a bit of that, don't we? But just as I was about to wave to the crowd and take a bow, it was followed with 'so individualistic that u may be seen as overbearing'. Oops, a quick getaway via the back door was in order :(

From little Niki to me :)

Dear mama,

I do apologise for the communication gap that exists between you and me. I hope you do appreciate that I am still not quite in your league (not sure whether to be unhappy about it though, with all due respect). Please give me some more time, and things should look up.Assuring you that your intent has always been appreciated.

Kind regards,

Nikhil

Communication is not about what is being said...

Well the so called magnum opus, Dasavatharam released this week, and like everyone else, albeit a Rajni fan, went to see the very first day. I should say I was disappointed because the whole purpose of the movie seems to be to create this world record of a single man playing 10 different characters, even though the make-up for most of them seems way too elaborate and absolutely unnecessary.

If you have started to think this is just another Rajni fan having a go at another much hyped let down from Kamal Hassan, then you are wrong. The man is a genius, an acting god. I will give it to him, but then when you put so much of another person's money at stake, and try to reach to the people of tamil nadu with a story, then you have to pay some attention to what the common man understands. We all seem to assume that a movie is done for the so called educated city crowd, but then these are not the people who pay for the movies, they watch it 'on the net' or with cheap pirate DVDs, the real money comes in from the poor chap who 'labours' over 8 hrs a day for paltry sum as compensation and then passes the same to the man over the counter at the cinema, a good majority of that amount to let him and his family in, so that they can have a good time.

The point is, does this majority who pay good money to have a decent time understand complicated words and a dull plot to glorify a single man? NO. Does this crowd set out to critically evaluate the cinematography or the message? NO. Do they wonder if what they see on the screen can be replicated in their day to day lives? NO. So, if the customer, who is king does not understand a complicated fare dished out, why bother? Which is why they say, communication is not about what is being said.. but what is being understood. So my dear friends, stop having a go at people who make the impossible possible on screen, if the person paying wanted sorry reality, a mirror is a lot cheaper and losts longer!!

4th in the Fantasy League (League of 17)

Finally, after a gripping climax to the fantasy league, I managed to finish a disappointing 4th. After leading for most of the season, that is really sad! It was just 22 points that seperates me and the top dog :( There was one week I had 26 points sitting on the bench! Anyway congrats to both Ramanan and Bala for nicking it from me at the finish!!

Kumar's EPL Awards

Player of the Season
1. Ronaldo - Well he did better than Alan 'Its your job to make me score' Shearer, and Thierry 'I am God' Henry... all that playing most of the season on the wings.
2. Roque Santa Cruz - Tops Torres for the simple reason that he cost Blackburn 1/7th the price of Torres
3. Fernando Torres - Avoided the blushes for Liverpool single-handedly. Sorry even Gerrard could not have done this.

Manager of the Season
1. Avram Grant - Although the London press a.k.a. English Press did their best to belittle him, managed to sneak behind everyone's back to challenge United.
2. David Moyes - Arsene Wenger should stop moaning about Money and learn from this man.
3. Sir Alex Ferguson - What can you say, won it 10 times and yet immediately talks about the 11th. LEGEND!

Goal of the Season
1. Ronaldo's free kick against Portsmouth at Old Trafford - Magical
2. Ronaldo's back heel shot against Aston Villa at Old Trafford - Cheeky
3. Adebayor's against Tottenham at the Emirates - Good skill for such a tall man ;)


Flop of the Season
1. David Nugent - Should have worked with Keano, atleast would have become a man.
2. Kaboul - Scapegoat? - no way, took away a good man in Jol away from the EPL
3. Florent Malouda - Could have done a lot better, definitely not French player of the year material.

Surprise of the Season
1. Julian Lescott - 10 Goals - says it all, so many of them crucial for their 5th position
1. Nwanko Kanu - Great start, faded away but still a great return.
2. Elano - Find of the season, carried Man City on his shoulders but then ran out of steam.



Buys of the Season
1. Distin at Portsmouth - What a signing! Great partnership with Campbell and he is going to get someone better to play with next season
2. Ashley Young - Great talent, good value for money
3. Santa Cruz - Look above!

Apostrophe after the "s"

Place an apostrophe after the "s" when you are dealing with a possessive plural case that has an "s" at the end (e.g., book to books, tree to trees). But if the word is plural without an "s" at the end, this rule does not apply; add an apostrophe and an "s" as if the word were singular.

• "Look at all of the sailors' boats!" The boats belong to the sailors (plural: there is more than one sailor).
• "The children's dresses were pink and frilly." The dresses belong to the children, but since the word children is already plural without having to add an "s" at the end, this is an exception.

Who says what....

A person that I know very well manages opinion in a different way. He always asks himself the question, is this person who has shared his 'opinion/comment' qualified enough to comment on that particular subject? In the heat of the moment thats a very difficult thing to do! He always smiles whether its  a compliment or of the opposite kind. If he then thinks that the comment has come from a person worth his salt, he takes it on board, otherwise just chucks it just like the thousand other things you hear every day from the time you get out of bed to the time one gets back into bed.

Pushed for an example, he explained how a couple, one half does not know to drive and the other just learnt, yet they assumed that they were in a position to comment on his driving style and this is in a foreign land where he has been there longer than this couple! It was funny when he explained that he will have glorified them if had reacted to it :)) 

I have an example of my own, relating to cricket fans. Almost 90% of the Indian population, irrespective of age and sex have an opinion on how the Indian Cricket team should be selected, how the players should play but in the end, who does the newspapers  pay for his/her opinion?

What should we aspire to?

Looking at how much we celebrate the defaults (Our country, our parents, our language, our religion) that our birth has given us, I wonder if its more appropriate that we strive towards all these celebrating our existence instead of the other way around? What I am trying to say is that if we genuinely believe that things like the country that we are born in, the family we are born into are indeed a privilege, then first recognise that we did not work to earn or sacrifice anything, it was GIVEN. So lets put that bit of effort into doing something worthwhile to show the person (open to interpretation as per your religious views) who gave you this that you acknowledge the gift and have done this good thing to show your appreciation. Who would you rather be, the ferrari engineers for whom the Italian National Anthem is dedicated to or the rest of the Italians who are on their couches feeling 'good' and 'proud' about the Italian National Anthem being played?

F1 2008 - Here we go again!

The grandest of all circuses that is out there is back again! Formula1 kicks off again this weekend at the traditional first race venue, Melbourne. There has been a few big moves over the winter, Domenicali with one title behind him has been more vocal and has been saying the right things, the Prince has been very quiet and doing things his unique way and the most unfortunate driver there is will hope to prove that the ‘1’ on a Ferrari will look good with a Brazilian at its wheel .

Before you rant that there are other teams on the grids, I would like to remind you that if the FIA had any balls and a certain ‘can do it all’ did not have such a heavy media backing, there would have been only 22 cars on the grid and the names of the 2 cars missing would not read ‘Super Aguri’. Well then, my best mate supports McLaren so for his sake I am quite happy to see them shamelessly compete with a photocopy Ferrari for yet another year. Its always that bit sweeter to rile him at the close season if they cant cut with all the help in the world! I honestly expect Kovalainen to outpace the ‘Right place at the Right time’ Lewis this year, if given the same car and the same support.

And for the rest, the pretender returning to his ‘family’ should be interesting, at the beginning of last year it did seem his move to the photocopiers brought them an extra second and the 3rd best car of the 2006 season was suddenly well ahead of others, a year on, we shall look forward to what gifts he has for his brothers and sisters at Renault. Williams and BMW have been showing good signs and look likely to push Renault very close for the third position. Ross Brawn’s return to Honda has created some excitement but I personally don’t expect any surprises this year, the only advantage is that he has two very good technical drivers and if the team sticks together, they can be the Everton of Formula1. Hats off to the big man for taking up the challenge of taking the big seat with a team struggling so badly, it’s a far cry from the giddy heights of race wins every other weekend. Finally to the dark horse amongst the pack, Red Bull, their times have been surprisingly fast over the close season, waiting to see what the Milton Keynes based outfit can do this year.

Finally - Force India. Nothing Indian about it except for the name, named so for the sole purpose of attracting the ‘patriotic’ supporters back home. Karthikeyan or Chandok not being given even a test seat on the team is very disappointing actually, Fisi is never a going to be a number 1, Sutil is not going to excite anyone, so we can only hope that they at the least stay ahead of the 'not very super' aguri’s and not share duties with Team India in disappointing a nation of very kind, easily satisfied fans.

Predictions
Driver Championship – Massa, Raikonnen, Kovalainen
Team Championship – Ferrari, McClaren, Renault (No surprises there)

Dark Horse - Button (Driver), Red Bull (Team)

P.S. - Recongnise that - but do you know about it?

While at work today, my good friend a Pakistani asked the rest of us, what is 'p.s.'? Given that everyone else around us carry her Majesty's emblem on their passport, you would think there would be an immediate reply..... while I was looking around for one, they were doing what I should have in the first place - google for it.

For the records - it is post scriptum, a Latin expression meaning "after writing" and abbreviated PS... and now we know :)

Even a monkey beat me to it!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7263782.stm

:))

Read this story at work today, I was half expecting to read that the wedding was done to appease some god so that it would rain in thier village or something, the bloody curse of watching Indian movies. It turns out that it was just an ordinary wedding between two monkeys raised as pets by two different families.... the best bit in there is about the businessman who donated some sort of jewellery to the female monkey.... isnt that stretching charity a bit too far?

Don't you agree?

I lifted this from a football article..... the author is discussing football fans... but this segment in itself I thought, applies to everyone in general

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Humans can be complex creatures. Love and hate can be very close bedfellows; ecstasy and pain can hold hands and kiss. We are a seething mass of irrationality and emotions masquerading as a reasonable, rational animal. As a species we choose what defines rationality, intelligence and sophistication, and then apply it to every living thing and guess what, it turns out we're top of the tree! Funny that.

You can't lose when you invent the rules, even though any dispassionate view of the human animal would see a species that is, at best, very confused. There is and has been precious little agreement on anything at any point, and the things we do agree on soon change and mutate into another viewpoint which is then clung to ferociously as though this is the new ultimate truth, until it isn't anymore and we move on again. We live our lives in a cloud of superstition, supposition and silliness, and spend far too much time pretending otherwise. It's who we are.

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Agree?

Will Robot push the limits?

As if the triumphant triumvirate of Rajni, Shankar and A.R.R is not enough to send expectations through the roof, now they have roped in Aish for Robot. As every Rajni fan, I am truly happy to see the 'Perfect' woman getting together on screen with the 'Perfect' Man, BUT there is a part of me doubting whether this time around they will actually trip over themselves. Before anyone gets defensive, look at the numbers for Shivaji.. they are big ones, but not that good if its put in front of you in percentages and Robot at the least WILL double everything under the expenses coloum and I am not convinced that they can double the revenue. Where is the new or the 'extra' market going to come from? There are 3 distributors who actually claimed a loss for Shivaji (Salem, with 17 Cinemas being one of them), so with the price of Robot surely to eclipse that of Shivaji, we can only hope that is one record that will never be broken!

The optimistic in me says that its not all doom and gloom, if Shankar puts together another of his trademark scripts which made people like Arjun look good, and Aish if given a role similar to Padaiappa's Neelambari, then all that magic can line up behind the Big Man's charisma and push the movie past the red into the black. But they are two big 'IFs', considering its a Rajni movie, lets not forget the response to Chandramukhi. A movie with the Robot's reported budget will have to rake in 10 or 20 times what CM did to look equally impressive. So again, it all rests on Shankar. Will pray that the immensely blessed man can yet again pull a rabbit out of the hat and prove to us that the picture that the Producers are currently seeing via the pink tinted glasses that this team has given them is not fictitious!

Charlie's War

Biting the hand that feeds you, to explain that idiom, there is no better example to use than the Afghans bombing the Americans. For the first time actually I have heard of a very reasonable explanation for the Afghan warriors trained and bank-rolled by the Americans turning against them. The director is quite direct in his explanation and I like his take on the issue. With a GMAT exam around the corner, the last thing I am going to do is go digging more about this movie, but I am quite happy that the selfish interests of the Americans has been highlighted.

Its always amusing to remember the Taleban was once American 'aides' but I never really wondered why they would want to hurt thier 'guardian angels. This movie has put one possible reason for us to think about.... will we have another Sam's war a few years down the road with the Iraqis perspective? Will we really get to know the real reason why Iraq was 'rescued'? You can't help but wonder....

'Simply' Loaded!

Just read a BBC Article on a village in Bangalore, Hessargatta where it costs $150 a night to experience life as if you are in a village. As much as I appreciate this novel idea which introduces 'simple' living to the City bred cosmopolitans of today, why pay an intelligent 'entrepreneur' £150 a night to experience what is available for 1/10th of that in its natural surroundings? i wonder what is that ppl want more, the experience of being to this place or to bask in the limelight 'sharing' their experience of being to this new 'hep' place? A poor farmer will give you his herd and half his land for that money in my village! All it would take is for you to put that bit more effort and getting your ass onto a train or a bus seat and travelling to a village and for that money you will experience the 'simple' life and also show the thousands who have no choice but to put up with teh same 'simple' life a bit of glamour. If only those protesting Shriya's dress to Sivaji's Silver Jubliee function start to look for something worthwhile to fight for :)

Original Article, thanks to BBC - Click

Cars that sold the most over the last year

Ford's Focus remained the UK's best-selling car in 2007, shifting 126,928 units, followed by the Vauxhall Astra (113,894), Ford Fiesta (102,872), Vauxhall Corsa (94,120), and VW Golf (68,843).