Blackadder

The first thing that comes to everyone’s mind when they see Rowan Atkinson is “Mr Bean” and with Hugh Laurie it is “Dr House“. Imagine what would have happened when these two talented actors came together for a comedy show? The resulting concoction was a masterpiece called Blackadder. This show was probably one of the best shows ever made and the addition of Hugh Laurie in the later seasons only upped the humorlevel by several notches. The one thing that stands out in this show is the sheer absurdity of the characters. Trademark quotes, classy humor and very very well scripted characters makes this show a must watch!

Allo Allo

A parody of Secret army, this show manages to keep you hooked.  The exploits of Rene Artois are thoroughly enjoyable as he bumbles his way through life putting up the charade of having a twin and constant affairs with the waitresses. Crabtree with that ridiculously funny greeting of “Good Moaning” will leave you rolling with laughter. David Croft successfully managed to capture the essence of the wartime atmosphere in an insanely humorous way as he combines German, French and English influences to create this masterpiece which even today makes you go bonkers.

Fawlty Towers

The only complaint I have about show is “Why only two seasons?”. Nevertheless the 12 episodes are worth watching. Inspired by the arrogant attitudes of hotel staff, this show takes you on a roller coaster ride of insanity.  After the cult Monty Python series, John Cleese managed to conjure up this highly underrated but highly enjoyable comedy series. He plays the role of Basil the hot-headed whimsical manager who is often rude to people. The Spanish butler from Barcelona who often goofs up situations is just too funny. Sybil portrayed by Prunella Scales manages to play her part as the domineering whip yielding dragon of a wife to perfection.  Of course she is remembered for her role of the Queen in the stage play ” A Question of Attribution“. This show is definitely worth watching and will leave you wanting for more.

The events connected to Ramsey’s goals
1st goal on 26th April 2008. On 28 April 2008, A train collision in China claimed the lives of  72 people.

He scored his 2nd against Fenerbache on 21 october 2008. On 24th October, the infamous bloody Friday when many stock exchanges in the world experienced one of their worst declines in history.

3rd goal on 22 Aug 09. On 25aug, US senator and Nephew of John F Kennedy, Edward Kennedy passed away.

4th goal on 6dec 09. On 8 Dec, 127 people were killed in Baghdad after the bombings.

5th goal on 30 dec 09. On 1st Jan 10, 105 were killed in Pakistan after a suicide bomber detonates during a volleyball match.

6th goal on 3 Jan, 2010. On 4th  Jan, 2010, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, one of the survivors of Hiroshima and nagasaki Bombings dies.

7th goal against Leicester City on 22nd Feb, 2011 and on the same day a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand killed 181 people.

8th goal against Manchester United on 1st May, 2011. On May 2, Osama Bin Laden was killed by US troops in Pakistan.

9th goal against Spurs on 2nd October 2011 and on October 5  Steve jobs dies.

10th goal against Olympique de Marseille on 19th October, 2011. Next day the former Libiyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed.

11th goal against Sunderland on 11th Feb and next day Whitney Houston was found dead in her hotel.
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Plus his birth date is 26-12-1990 and coincidentally it is also a day when many tragic incidents have happened. Here are some of those that happened on 26th December.
1991 Soviet Union dissolves
1999 a storm called Lothar ravages Europe killing 137 People.
2003 Earthquake in Iran killed more than 10,000 people.
2004 a 9.4 magnitude earthquake in Indian Ocean resulting in a vicious tsunami which claimed the lives of more than  2,30 000 people.
2006 Earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hits Taiwan.

Aaron Ramsey and deaths seem to go hand in hand. However weird it may seem, his goals always spell doom both for the opposition and for any random personality. Thankfully Ramsey is a midfielder and rarely finds the back of the net. Everytime Ramsey has scored an important goal for Arsenal, a well-known personality has died .

Ramsey scored vs Manchester United – Bin Laden died

Ramsey scored vs Tottenham Hotspurs – Steve Jobs died

Ramsey scored vs Marseille – Gaddafi died

Ramsey scored vs Sunderland – Whitney Houston died

So who’s next??

Well this is just a disgrace to the beautiful game. The jingoistic attitude of people towards football continues to shock the world. Atleast 75 people were killed and scores of others were injured in an Egyptian football match pitch invasion incident.  Fireworks turned into missiles of destruction and were literally hurled onto the pitch. The losing team had to face the wrath of the fans as some of them seemed rather upset and decided to vent their anger on the team. Such incidents are completely uncalled for as they only ruin the reputation of the game. Even the police were unable to subdue the crowd which resulted in a massive pitch invasion. This was after all a league match and with such jingoistic fans around playing soccer must be like walking in a mine field. May be the politics in that part of the world had something to do with the riots but as a fan it saddens when hooliganism enter the world of football world.

One of the players had this to say

“This is not football. This is a war and people are dying in front of us. There is no movement and no security and no ambulances,” Al-Ahly player Mohamed Aboutrika told his club’s television channel.

Hope football steers clear of such violence in the future.

Elizabeth Lambert

Elizabeth Lambert became famous or as they say “burst into prominence” when she steamrolled a bevy of bewildered players with some rather vicious looking challenges.  One of them involved yanking a player’s ponytail which sent the poor player crashing to the ground. She later apologized though for here rather physical style of play.

“My actions were uncalled for,” Lambert said . “I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation.”

Gennaro Gattuso

There is no doubt that Gennaro Gattuso is a world class footballer. Often describes as “the fighter” ,he is nicknamed ‘Ringhio’ for his aggressive style of play. Probably one of the best defensive midfielders during his prime, he also has a very short temper. The infamous Joe Jordan brawl being one of them. Currently he is recovering from a nasty eye injury that is threatening to end his career. Hoping he recovers soon. It will take more than an eye injury to knock down the Rino.

Pepe

As of now Pepe is the most hated person in the Barcelona camp. His aggression gets the better of him all the time. In a match against Getafe, he literally demolished a player even after the player had gone down to the ground. It was pretty grisly as aggression had got the better of him in that match and he was subsequently banned. He is often branded an animal for his on-field antics. Although talented, his rushes of maddened adrenaline  is a nightmare for the opposition. Hoping he tones down on his aggressive style of play.

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is a bomb waiting to explode at the slightest contact. The explosion may result either in a goal fest or in a sending off. In the 2006 World Cup, he got himself sent off after feuding with then club-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Also in the recently concluded Euro qualifiers, he kicked an opposition player out of sheer frustration and got sent off. Thankfully his ban was reduced by a match and lets hope he doesn’t repeat the same in the latter stages of the Euro competition.

Joey Barton

Joey Barton is dangerous both on and off the field. His tweets always invite trouble. Be it talking ill about his ex-manager to taking random digs at opposition teams Lord Barton has done it all. On the field Barton has been involved in several brawls and even off the field he has been jailed for assaults.

Two superstars, one known for producing moments of magic on the pitch with his lethal presence and magical skill while the other being the midfield maestro capable of audacious long-range passing and picking out team-mates anywhere on the field. Thierry the king Henry and the Ginger Prince Paul Scholes have returned to their respective kingdoms.  Henry making a return to Arsenal was something emotional for him as well as all the gunners in the world. It is indeed true that everyone loves Henry except the Irish and this was proved when seconds after scoring on his return, he was trending on Twitter. It may be only for two months but I am sure that these 2 months will be very productive and who knows might even prove to be the turning point this season.  We all know what Henry is capable of. He may not have been a smashing success at Barcelona but at Arsenal he was a legend,is a legend and will always be a legend. The fans voted him their greatest player of all time and for them to see their legend playing again in familiar territories was just too nostalgic.  The goal he scored against Leeds was what you can call “a regulation TH14 strike”. It had Henry printed all over it. The celebration was too good and even Wenger seemed to relish every moment of it. He did what Arshavin and Chamakh had been struggling to do this entire season..put the ball in the net.. and it took him just a few minutes.

Paul Scholes shocked everyone including some of his team-mates when he decided to come out of retirement mainly to address the midfield woes of Manchester United and boy oh boy what a return match he chose. The stage was set : a mouth watering derby against the noisy neighbors Manchester City.  Scholes on the bench was the perfect psychological card played by the gaffer and Mancini and his men fell victim to it.  The presence of the ginger prince seemed to have brought back a few bad memories for the men in blue and their performance in the first half was a horror show. The first half was a fairy-tale for the men in red which saw them score goals and to add icing to the cake Kompany got sent off in rather controversial circumstances. Well you don’t expect a box of chocolates for a two footed challenge eh? But the challenge looked clean and apparently the referee was just following the book. Too bad had he followed his gut, the game could have been a really close encounter. Nevertheless the game did not disappoint and ended up to be a nail-biting match. Goals on the board, a player sent off in the opposition, manning the midfield was required and so  the moment seemed perfect for a Scholsey return.  His first few touches were a bit nervy and he gave the ball away cheaply to Milner who ran down the flanks in the build up for the city goal. A few passes later Scholes was back to his normal self maintaining possession and making a flurry of passes.  It was a tense encounter but finally Manchester united came out on top. It was not the best comeback but considering the fact that Scholes had been away from the game for quite a while, it was a satisfactory return. A few more games and he will be back to his best.

Two legends back..Lets hope they rock the football world!

When Andy Carroll made his multi-million move to the Merseyside, the fans seemed dejected and moaned the loss of a world-class talent. Their new found hero seemed to have abandoned them for greener pastures. Well Carroll’s Liverpool adventure seems to be going through a nightmarish phase as of now but his successor seems to be thriving.   Now those same fans seem to have forgotten Andy and only one name resonates in the Sportsdirect arena .. “Demba Ba”. Already being touted as one of the best signings ever made by Newcastle United , Demba Ba’s purple patch seems to have no end to it. Having already notched up fifteen goals for the magpies this season, Ba’s reputation has skyrocketed. Finally the Magpies have found an ideal number 9 but alas he prefers wearing the number 19. It is hard to believe that this same man was denied a transfer to Stoke as talks between Hoffenheim and Stoke broke down because of a failed medical. Tony Pulis described Ba’s leg as a “ticking time bomb” but well the same bomb seems to be exploding goals all over the opposition. Well the leg sure seems ok, infact it seems to have improved.  Two hat-tricks this season which saw Newcastle go on an unbeaten run for quite a while. The best thing was although Newcastle’s fairy-tale start to this campaign ended, Ba’s goals kept coming in and hope he carries the same form when he leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations later on.  Here are some of his goals last year.

His last match before the cup journey was against Manchester United and he managed signed off in style. Ba’s performance against the red devils was stupendous as he caused severe problems with his physicality and well timed runs from the deep. Even a world class defender like Rio Ferdinand had a torrid time defending against the in form striker. Rio almost conceded a penalty early on after an encounter with the  towering Senegalese but was very lucky not to be penalized. Phil Jones had an acerbic reality check yesterday as his performance was completely below par and often he was left for dead by the Newcastle strikers, particularly Demba Ba. To make things worse he even scored an own goal at the closing moments of the match. The opening goal seemed inevitable and the target man Ba scored an absolute scorcher to start things off after volleying the ball into the net leaving Lindegaard rooted to his spot. That very strike seems to convey the confidence with which he was playing.  Lining up against the likes of world class strikers like Rooney and coming on top surely seems commendable. He was given a standing ovation by the Newcastle fans as he walked off the green turf and it will be interesting to see how the magpies cope up without him.  He will surely be missed by Newcastle during the cup.

This is what Alan Pardew had to say about the prolific goal scoring machine  :

“His biggest asset is his personality. He’s a winner.“Whatever role I have given him, he has tried to do that to the best of his ability – he has played in two or three roles for me.“His all-round play has been excellent and tonight, he was a leader for the team and put in a performance to match that.“When you compare him to other players, it’s difficult because really, he hasn’t had that long a time here in the Premier League.“But this year, you would have to put him in the top four or five, for sure.”

He may not be an all-round player in terms of work rate but he brings in the most important thing that is required “goals”. He may not be in the league of the Messi’s and the Ronaldo’s but well he definitely is one of the best in the Premier League as of now.  Hope he steers clear of any injuries during his cup run and hope he carries his form into the tournament.

Just when things were looking all hunky-dory between the Indians and the Aussies, a small gesture seems to have created a hell of a lot of trouble.  All hell seems to have broken loose after the cameras caught Virat Kohli making an “obscene” gesture ” towards the SCG crowd.  We all know just how unruly the Aussie crowd can be at times but literally provoking the already battered Indian players is just very poor behavior. The Australia-India rivalry was literally redefined after the mammoth “monkey gate” saga. Also remember the time when Bhajji’s itch was taken as “monkey gesture” by the Australian media?  Well this gesture by Virat Kohli  is just fodder to the media! If an itch can be contorted into a viciously racial insult by the Oz media then god knows what Kohli’s actual insult will be contorted into! This was what Kohli tweeted after the frustrating day in the match

Judging  by this, it was clear that the crowd abused him and he just could not take it any more. But was this reaction necessary? At least Kohli seems to have found solace with some of his fellow cricketers.  Kohli does have a point as most of us are fully aware just how unruly the Australian crowd can be. They are sore losers but seriously no one expected Kohli to react like this. Did the Australians really get under the skin of the Indians with their batting dominance? Clarke and Punter literally steamrolled the Indians today and was this the reason for the frustration of Kohli? Here is what Kevin  Pietersen had to say in response to Kohli’s tweet.

Did Kohli do the right thing by retaliating? He may face disciplinary action and might even get banned for a test match. The series is already poised in the favor of the Aussies and a ban for Kohli would seriously shatter the confidence of the Indians.

The goalkeeping position is probably the most difficult position to fill in for any team. Often the keeper is never given importance as people presume he has no “running” to do when compared to the rest of the team. However goalkeeping requires immense levels of concentration and this generation does indeed have some cracking shot stoppers.  This list is not an all time list and also not the perfect list as you might have your own top five.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gigi

Juventus paid over £30 million and a player to persuade Parma into selling them their shot stopper and what a gem he turned out to be. Having won several accolades over the last decade including the a prestigious world cup winner’s medal,  this Italian master class is a legend. A stunning 2006 world cup campaign which eventually saw him take home the Lev Yashin award, Gigi Buffon will always be considered the best goalkeeper.  He remained loyal to Juve even when the club went through some tough and testing times. Age seems to have caught up with the Italian giant but he still has a good few years left in him.

Iker Casillas

At the age of 30, San Iker has won all major and national honors and is considered one of the best goal keepers. Often he has drawn comparisons to Buffon but it is indeed very difficult to choose between the two. Even paper missiles cannot get past the Spanish number 1! Remember that match against Sporting Gijon where he caught those paper missiles thrown at him? Also who can forget that awesome save against Sevilla !  A stellar performance in the World cup 2010 finals guiding Spain to a world cup triumph and even picking up the Golden Glove (Lev Yashin award) award, nothing is impossible for Casillas . No wonder Real Madrid have inserted a whooping buyout clause of over 100 million into his contract to ward off potential suitors.

Julio Cesar

Although his world cup campaign last year may have ended on a sour note, Julio Cesar still remains one of the best shot stoppers in Serie A. Having worked up his way into the Inter Milan squad, he has firmly established himself as the Brazil’s number one.  After a stunning 2009-2010 campaign with Italian giants Inter Milan, a lot was expected from Julio Cesar in the world cup but alas he failed to impress. Inspite of the world cup shortcomings, he is rated among the very best.  Having been voted Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year for the last two seasons, lets hope he continues the good run this season.

Petr Cech

Petr Cech is truly a legend as he has overcome several odds to emerge as one of the world’s finest shot stoppers.  He has to wear protective head gear during every match as any further injury to his cranium might even cost him his life. Currently one of the best keepers in the English Premier league, Cech has a lot to offer to Chelsea and lets hope the giant Czech continues to entertain us for many more years.

Pepe Reina

Most of you might have expected Valdes, Akinfeev,Neuer,Lloris or Stekelenburg at the end of this list but I choose Pepe Reina. The Spaniard is highly underrated and his international chances are limited courtesy one  Mr. Iker Casillas but I still regard Reina as a world class goalkeeper. He has won the coveted Barclays Golden Glove award three times in a row with Liverpool and was also a part of the World cup winning squad. Remember those three penalty saves against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final?  I wish he had more chances to represent Spain.

There are several other keepers who have burst into prominence in the last few years. Keepers like Joe Hart, Szczesny,David de Gea being touted as the next big things in the world of football.

Critics term him ‘lazy,’ but when Dimitar Berbatov scores, you can’t help but admire the classy Bulgarian. It would have hurt a lot to miss the Champions League final berth despite being the Premier League’s joint-top scorer. A horror miss against bitter rivals City in the FA Cup semi-final, who eventually went on to lift the cup seems to have cost him dearly. The man who netted a hat-trick three times in one season, including that memorable one against Liverpool where he scored probably the second best overhead kick (the first obviously being Wazza’s wonder shot against City) and hammered in an astonishing five goals in a game against a delusional Blackburn Rovers thereby joining an elite list of individuals, seems to be regaining his goal scoring touch, something that has eluded him for the greater part of his Manchester United career. Berbatov scored his 50th Manchester United goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage in midweek with a cheeky back-heel finish. His composed reaction after the goal showed just how relieved he was at getting off the mark this season after being sidelined for the best part of it. The man who was the top scorer last season in the Premier League had been confined to the bench this season. The Bulgarian seems to have fallen down the pecking order after the meteoric rise of Javier Hernandez last season and the sublime form Danny Welbeck has shown this season.

Earlier this season, Berbatov squandered a golden chance against Chelsea when he failed to convert a Wayne Rooney pass but thankfully Fernando Torres stole the honors with his horrific open-goal-miss. Even Ramires and Rooney ended up missing thereby making it a “game of misses”. Berbatov had made a few appearances this season and the goals had been drying up but yesterday’s hat-trick against Wigan seems to have reminded a few about just how deadly Berbatov can be when he is firing on all cylinders. The first goal was a clever one – he held off the defender with his body weight and slotted it in. Had a good look at that critics? The second one was what you can call “typical Berbatov”. A lightning quick turn and a toe-jab which sent the ball into the top corner of the net, oozing classiness all over the pitch. The third one was an icy-cool penalty which somewhat mitigated the horror memories of that missed penalty during the 2008–09 FA Cup final against the Toffees.

Javier Hernandez, who, although prodigiously gifted at scoring from inside the box, lacks the composure of Berbatov when it comes to creating goals and is definitely a mile behind in the finishing department. We often criticize Berbatov for being a tad too lazy and often his prolonged goal drought seems to irk the fans, but it is a well known fact that Berbatov was brought in to balance the team. He is a complete opposite of Wayne Rooney when it comes to being level-headed and slowing down the pace of the game.  This new year might just mark the change in fortunes for the forgotten number 9. The fifty goal barrier breached, the goal drought in European competitions ended, a hat-trick in the bag! Is this a sign for good things to come? Will the Bulgarian break into the side yet again and prove to his employer that he still has something left in him to offer to the team’s title campaign?