Recently I caught the MMA bug. It's all thanks to the live telecasts of One Championship on Okto.
Typically taking place on Friday nights, these live telecasts show the action from One Championship's mixed martial arts (MMA) events wherever they are in Asia.
One Championship bills itself as the largest MMA promotion in the world, and says it is watched in 138 countries globally.
I don't really know how true those claims are, as I am by no means knowledgeable about the MMA scene. My enjoyment of the sport is in its infancy and I'm only just getting to grips with everything that goes on.
But what I do know is that One Championship's product is wonderful to watch.
I'll admit that I wasn't always accepting towards MMA. Like many who are not fans of the sport, I used to sneer at how MMA was basically gay pornography, as it involves two sweaty same-sex people writhing together on the ground.
That's not exactly fighting, is it?
Well, a few months ago, I decided on a whim to tune into one of the Okto broadcasts just to have a look. I thought I'd give it a chance to prove itself. And I like watching things live on television for free, so I wasn't going to waste this opportunity.
Besides, live sports broadcasts go fantastically well with Pepsi, my beverage of choice.
What I saw surprised me. It was hugely entertaining from start to finish. The only draggy bits were when the fighters make their overly exaggerated and tacky entrances accompanied by epilepsy-inducing lights and cringeworthy soundtracks, but these are mercifully short.
And the quality of the action was great. It obviously won't be as thrilling as professional wrestling of course, because that is scripted and performed by trained actors and stuntmen. There are no "No Disqualification", "Street Fight", or "Falls Count Anywhere" matches where fighters bludgeon each other half to death with weapons.
But MMA has the one thing that professional wrestling will never have: an air of legitimacy. When the two athletes in the cage are slugging it out, you know that they're doing it for real. They're giving it everything they have.
And when somebody wins, it's because he/she really came out on top.
Regarding the comparison to gay porn, I have to say that although fighters do go to ground and grapple, they spend roughly the same amount of time on their feet trading punches and kicks. In MMA, there are many ways to win, and knockout is one of the fastest and most exciting. The fighters know that, so they try to finish their opponents this way if they can.
One Championship also introduced a new initiative not too long ago known as Super Series. Matches in this series are muay thai kickboxing bouts, meaning that they are purely striking and grappling is banned.
Even when the contest goes to the floor, it's still fun to watch if you know what to look for. Grappling is like a chess match, with each athlete constantly manoeuvring to gain an advantageous position. Many fighters have some form of training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), which emphasises the use of leverage in the arms and legs, so you'll often see them moving their limbs around a lot. It's a good mental exercise to take note of all these movements and guess what will happen next.
I also enjoy judging the fights in my mind by predicting who will win if the match goes to the judges' scorecards. Most of the time this doesn't happen and the match ends in a decisive finish such as through knockout or submission, but title fights tend to go all five rounds without a clear winner as the two contenders are equally strong. And I'm pleased to say that so far, I've got most of my judgments right, and the fighter I choose to win is often the one the judges pick too.
Football rules and refereeing is one area that has always captured my interest and I find myself paying attention to the referee in MMA too. The referees in MMA hold quite a lot of power as they can directly influence the result of a match by awarding victories through technical knockout, which happens when they think that one fighter has suffered excessive damage, or disqualification if they deem that an illegal move such as a suplex or soccer kick was used.
They are also responsible for keeping the fans happy by making sure there is enough action going on in the cage. No one likes to see two athletes circling round and round, posturing here and there without actually hitting each other, and if the fighters in One Championship do that, the referee will issue them with a yellow card, and the payment they get for taking part in the event will be reduced.
But the thing that most impresses me about MMA referees is their positioning and movement. They are exceptional at this. MMA cages are very tiny spaces compared to football fields, yet football referees somehow manage to get in the way of the players and the ball quite often. This wouldn't do in MMA. If a referee strays too close to the fight, he might catch a flying elbow with his face!
Having discovered the joy of watching MMA, I now tune in faithfully to every One Championship live telecast and strongly advise you to give it a shot too. Check when the next One Championship live telecast is scheduled at https://www.toggle.sg/en/channelguide/oktosports.
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soccer. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 September 2018
Monday, 16 July 2018
Reflections on France vs Croatia
"It wasn't pretty but they got the job done. That's what counts at the end of the day."
Former Liverpool player and now pundit Mark Lawrenson says this in football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. It also perfectly sums up yesterday's French win.
The victory was built on a solid foundation of cynicism. Griezmann's dive to earn the free kick that led to the opener was obvious to the whole world except for the referee and his assistant, and debate continues to rage about the handball that caused the penalty and the second French goal (for what it's worth, I'd say it was a penalty, because Perisic seemed to pat the ball down).
But the French should be commended for taking the chances they were given, deserved or not. They're nothing if not clinical. Based on the statistics, they were outperformed by the Croatians. Indeed, they faced wave after wave of attacks from the red-and-white shirts. So the fact that they still managed not one, not two, not three, but four goals is testament to their ruthless finishing.
And it's not as if they didn't score nice goals. The shots by Pogba and the wunderkind Kylian Mbappe (who at 19 years of age has achieved more than I ever have at 20 and probably ever will) were right out of the top drawer.
Fair credit to Croatia too. They've done what Iceland did at Euro 2016, winning hearts all over the world as they shook up the traditional order of football powerhouses which have dominated the sport for years. Their run to the 2018 World Cup final is one that will live long in the memory.
They just couldn't squeeze out one last performance that would have written a happy ending to their fairytale.
Former Liverpool player and now pundit Mark Lawrenson says this in football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. It also perfectly sums up yesterday's French win.
The victory was built on a solid foundation of cynicism. Griezmann's dive to earn the free kick that led to the opener was obvious to the whole world except for the referee and his assistant, and debate continues to rage about the handball that caused the penalty and the second French goal (for what it's worth, I'd say it was a penalty, because Perisic seemed to pat the ball down).
But the French should be commended for taking the chances they were given, deserved or not. They're nothing if not clinical. Based on the statistics, they were outperformed by the Croatians. Indeed, they faced wave after wave of attacks from the red-and-white shirts. So the fact that they still managed not one, not two, not three, but four goals is testament to their ruthless finishing.
And it's not as if they didn't score nice goals. The shots by Pogba and the wunderkind Kylian Mbappe (who at 19 years of age has achieved more than I ever have at 20 and probably ever will) were right out of the top drawer.
Fair credit to Croatia too. They've done what Iceland did at Euro 2016, winning hearts all over the world as they shook up the traditional order of football powerhouses which have dominated the sport for years. Their run to the 2018 World Cup final is one that will live long in the memory.
They just couldn't squeeze out one last performance that would have written a happy ending to their fairytale.
Friday, 13 July 2018
World Cup 2018
I can't possibly let the whole World Cup go by without writing something. After all, it only happens once every four years!
This World Cup has been full of upset wins and underdog stories, from Korea beating Germany to Japan escaping the group stage. Not forgetting hosts Russia making it past the Spanish on their run to the quarters.
But arguably the most compelling is how Croatia, a war-torn country with a population smaller than Singapore, now stands on the brink of an unbelievable tournament victory.
Just one more win will see them lift the trophy and send millions of neutrals around the world into raptures, because who doesn't like a fairytale finish?
There's just one problem. On Sunday, their opponents will be the French.
With world-class names like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ngolo Kante and Benjamin Pavard in their squad, the French will prove to be a stern test for the Croatians. Sterner than even the English, which literally only had Harry Kane going for them.
Nobody honestly believed that "It's coming home" malarkey, surely?
Personally though, I was rooting for the English, whose last World Cup triumph took place when my mother was in diapers and my media writing professor wasn't even on this planet.
But now that they're out, I'm kind of on the fence. A Croatia win will have that feel-good factor, but the French have a number of players who deserve the win just as much.
People like the humble workhorse Kante, who goes about his business quietly but effectively, or the dark horse Benjamin Pavard, who I rate as the breakout star of the tournament. They are also rags-to-riches stories, and I'd be happy for them to record a World Cup title on their resumes.
This Sunday's final is sure to be filled with drama and emotion. Luckily, it will be screened live for free on Okto.
I'll be there in front of the television, Pepsi in hand.
Yeah, Coke is the sponsor of the World Cup, but I don't drink overpriced, underwhelming garbage.
This World Cup has been full of upset wins and underdog stories, from Korea beating Germany to Japan escaping the group stage. Not forgetting hosts Russia making it past the Spanish on their run to the quarters.
But arguably the most compelling is how Croatia, a war-torn country with a population smaller than Singapore, now stands on the brink of an unbelievable tournament victory.
Just one more win will see them lift the trophy and send millions of neutrals around the world into raptures, because who doesn't like a fairytale finish?
There's just one problem. On Sunday, their opponents will be the French.
With world-class names like Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ngolo Kante and Benjamin Pavard in their squad, the French will prove to be a stern test for the Croatians. Sterner than even the English, which literally only had Harry Kane going for them.
Nobody honestly believed that "It's coming home" malarkey, surely?
Personally though, I was rooting for the English, whose last World Cup triumph took place when my mother was in diapers and my media writing professor wasn't even on this planet.
But now that they're out, I'm kind of on the fence. A Croatia win will have that feel-good factor, but the French have a number of players who deserve the win just as much.
People like the humble workhorse Kante, who goes about his business quietly but effectively, or the dark horse Benjamin Pavard, who I rate as the breakout star of the tournament. They are also rags-to-riches stories, and I'd be happy for them to record a World Cup title on their resumes.
This Sunday's final is sure to be filled with drama and emotion. Luckily, it will be screened live for free on Okto.
I'll be there in front of the television, Pepsi in hand.
Yeah, Coke is the sponsor of the World Cup, but I don't drink overpriced, underwhelming garbage.
Friday, 29 June 2018
The past two days...
... Have been filled with thrills!
I went to hang out with my dad at the airport. Nobody we know was flying anywhere, but it's a Singaporean thing that we like to go to the airport for no good reason. Changi Airport is after all one of the best international airports, it has air-conditioning, and what else is there to do in this tiny country anyway? Besides, I like the skytrain, which is a light-rail system connecting Terminals 1, 2, and 3. As my longer-term readers will know, I have a thing for trains.
We took the skytrain a few times, and I got to see the Jewel under construction. The Jewel is the latest vanity project our airport authorities are working on. It'll be a big shopping centre and lifestyle attraction, and there will also be lots of greenery and waterfalls inside the building. But what's most exciting for me is that they're running a new line for the skytrain that travels right through the heart of Jewel itself. From the outside, you can see they've already finished putting up the track leading into the building. I can't wait for the opening next year!
After leaving the airport, we went to a hawker centre. I wasn't craving for anything in particular that day, so I simply browsed the stalls until a ban mian (handmade noodles) stall caught my eye. The pictures on the menu board looked nice, and I picked a bowl of mee hoon kueh (randomly shaped bits of rice flour dough, boiled in liquid) on impulse.
I'd never tried mee hoon kueh until then. I'm not sure how it had escaped my notice all these years. I've had almost every kind of noodle: mee pok (flat yellow alkaline noodles, like linguine pasta), mee kia (thin yellow noodles), thick beehoon (rice noodles), thin beehoon, yellow noodles (generic noodles of medium thickness, contains a delightful cocktail of synthetic chemicals which lend it an overpowering alkaline smell), lamian (noodles pulled by hand), ee mee (another kind of thin yellow noodles), you mee (yet another kind of thin yellow noodles), beetaimak (fat white noodles colloquially termed as mousetails)... But not mee hoon kueh.
Fortunately, I liked it. The smooth yet chewy pieces of dough were fun to eat as they had an interesting texture. They were helped in terms of taste by the addition of a runny egg, anchovies, and fatty minced pork to the soup.
I also had a cup of tea. Lately this has been my beverage of choice, especially during daylight hours. What can I say? I'm getting on in years.
That night, my mum came home from work with the mail from the letterbox downstairs. There was a brown envelope addressed to me, with the return address of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean's Office. "Must be a bill of some sort," I thought. "Or maybe they're accusing me of misconduct."
When the government sends us mail, it's never anything pleasant right?
Not this time. The letter turned out to be good news: I am awarded the China Daily Prize for the Arts 2 level for the 2017/18 academic year! The prize is given to the best Communications and New Media (CNM) student in each level each year, and has a cash payout of $1500.
There was a lot of jumping and screaming when the contents of the letter had been digested. I knew I'd done well in my CNM modules, having obtained straight 'A's, but I wasn't quite sure how they determined which straight 'A' student gets the prize, or if I was even eligible for it rules-wise as my period of candidature has been rather short for a level 2 student.
Anyhow, it's apparently mine, and I'm glad.
Still high from the buzz of this revelation, my dad and I proceeded to watch the Germany versus South Korea game. Everybody knows what happened in the end so I won't belabour the point here, but suffice to say that what the match lacked in football quality, it more than made up for in drama. It was easily one of the top three most entertaining matches I've ever seen. Being a typical kiasu (afraid of losing out) Singaporean, I started out supporting the Germans, but by the time the referee trotted over to watch the video assistant referee review footage, my heart was thumping in my chest, willing the referee to award the goal to the plucky underdogs. Time seemed to slow. And when the referee returned to the field and pointed to the kickoff spot, there was another round of hollering from the guys in the house.
The second goal was icing on the cake, made even more memorable by the lack of a goalkeeper.
For the first time in over a decade, I rode the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) subway train system.
Also for the first time, I visited The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Parking at The Shoppes costs an arm and a leg, just like everything else in that cesspool of pretentiousness, so it made sense for me to take the MRT there if I wanted to explore it. But taking the MRT isn't straightforward for someone like me. Just to get from my house to the station involves a dangerous traversal of the condominium driveway, exposure to the elements, and a trek of half a kilometre. Then I have to take a lift into the basement, tap my payment card through the fare gates, and take yet another lift deeper underground, all of which would be almost impossible if I were by myself.
And all that wouldn't count for anything if my wheelchair can't cross the platform gap to get into the train carriage.
That's what dads are for. He was the one who suggested this journey in the first place, since I have a lot of free time during the university off-season to give it a shot and see how it goes. And he helped me overcome all the obstacles between me and the train, and luckily my wheels are big enough not to get stuck in the platform gap.
Problems avoided, we were on our way to The Shoppes!
We alighted at Bayfront station on the Circle Line, which is conveniently connected to The Shoppes and the rest of MBS by a warren of subterranean tunnels, allowing us to stroll around leisurely without melting under the sun. I got to lay my plebian eyes upon a host of branded items that I'll never be able to afford, restaurants bearing the names of various celebrity chefs that I hopefully will one day, and the casino. Ah yes, that casino which keeps the money flowing through our economy like blood through your veins, and the very purpose for the existence of MBS. Ka-ching!
I was very intrigued when we discovered a plate of chicken rice going for a mere $7 in a hidden corner of the place, but it was too early for lunch so we gave it a miss.
One thing that I really loved about The Shoppes was the number of angmoh (Caucasian) people. They were walking everywhere, and a few groups of them were even riding the boats down the canals which run through the mall, being paddled along by Filipino and Chinese underlings. Forming the upper class here, even among the tourists, they tend to congregate around the bay area where everything is bathed in gold.
Angmoh people are my favourite kind of human and I don't care if you judge me for it.
Soon it was time to eat, and we decided to retreat to a more heartland location in search of sustenance. Back onto the MRT we went! A quick trip to Chinatown on the Downtown Line ended with us discovering that there was no way to connect underground to Chinatown Point shopping centre, and I would have to use aboveground roads. I didn't like that, so we hopped back onto the MRT and returned to Bayfront to change back to the Circle Line.
You know what else dads are for? Making sure their kids don't get lost. The interchange stations nowadays are a helluva lot more mind-boggling than they were when I took the MRT as a child in a stroller. There are so many train lines running in so many directions that the stations now are sprawling complexes that have so many different levels and platforms so as to be able to accommodate them all. I felt like a fish out of water, but I just had to follow my dad's lead and I'd eventually get to the right part of the station.
My dad is also a great shield against people I want to avoid. While we were going back to Bayfront, an acquaintance boarded the same train. I got a rude shock because this was a real case of speak of the devil. The day before, while we were at the airport, this acquaintance had rung up my dad out of the blue, inviting us to a dialogue with other people with my disease, to openly discuss morbid topics in a safe space. Sounds good, but I've got no problems discussing morbid topics in an unsafe space, as evidenced by my posts on this blog which is publicly visible for the world to see, so thanks but no thanks because I'd rather use the time for other things. I had snickered about this to both my parents that night and the morning after, and lo and behold here she appeared in front of me. She's always been a bit too much of a goody-two-shoes for my liking, and I didn't feel like entertaining any inane conversation with her. As it was, I was barely holding myself together against the aural assault of the train and tunnel sounds and the rocking motions jolting every bony protrusion in my body. Sothe five-year-old boy withdrew behind his mum's skirt, peeking out shyly I stared at the wall and kept quiet, and my dad smoothly stepped in and handled the acquaintance with his excellent interpersonal skills until it was time for us to get off the train.
We took the Circle Line to Stadium station, where we ate at Old Town White Coffee at Kallang Wave Mall. It was our first experience with this casual dining chain, which was apparently brought to Singapore by actor and one of my favourite local celebrities Mark Lee, and I'm pleased to say it was a good one. The staff were prompt and polite. My dad enjoyed his nasi lemak (coconut rice) and loved the thick black coffee it came with, and my garlic butter thick toast, essentially an Asian version of garlic bread, was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, exactly what a toast should be. The flavour of the garlic was adequate, and accentuated with the salty undertones of the butter. I had it with a cup of white milk tea, and oh my god it was the strongest cup of tea I've ever had. Usually I like my tea overly sweet and excessively milky, because I don't like the bitter taste of the tannins. But this one of full of that tannin bitterness. That's not to say it was unpleasant. In fact, it was surprisingly palatable for me, and a novel experience. But I did feel a bit trembly all over and my heart started to race, so perhaps I should cut down on the caffeine intake... Who am I kidding? Not a few hours later, I knocked back a can of Pepsi.
At the mall, I passed an electronics shop and it was selling the GoPro Hero 6, which I talked about in my previous post, for $595. I mention this because if not for the GoPro in the hands of the American man Dennis, I might not have agreed to my dad's idea of riding the MRT to explore Singapore. Dennis' video series showing off his neighbourhood spurred me to want to get out there and get to know mine better, from the ground and on foot rather than from inside the sterile and detached environment of a car.
The past two days have been a rollercoaster ride. What an adventure! It was tiring but I have no regrets. Now I look forward to a few peaceful days just chilling at home, playing computer games, and recharging my battered body and mind... But I'm already planning where to take the MRT to next, and beyond that, becoming $1500 richer!
27 June
I went to hang out with my dad at the airport. Nobody we know was flying anywhere, but it's a Singaporean thing that we like to go to the airport for no good reason. Changi Airport is after all one of the best international airports, it has air-conditioning, and what else is there to do in this tiny country anyway? Besides, I like the skytrain, which is a light-rail system connecting Terminals 1, 2, and 3. As my longer-term readers will know, I have a thing for trains.
We took the skytrain a few times, and I got to see the Jewel under construction. The Jewel is the latest vanity project our airport authorities are working on. It'll be a big shopping centre and lifestyle attraction, and there will also be lots of greenery and waterfalls inside the building. But what's most exciting for me is that they're running a new line for the skytrain that travels right through the heart of Jewel itself. From the outside, you can see they've already finished putting up the track leading into the building. I can't wait for the opening next year!
After leaving the airport, we went to a hawker centre. I wasn't craving for anything in particular that day, so I simply browsed the stalls until a ban mian (handmade noodles) stall caught my eye. The pictures on the menu board looked nice, and I picked a bowl of mee hoon kueh (randomly shaped bits of rice flour dough, boiled in liquid) on impulse.
I'd never tried mee hoon kueh until then. I'm not sure how it had escaped my notice all these years. I've had almost every kind of noodle: mee pok (flat yellow alkaline noodles, like linguine pasta), mee kia (thin yellow noodles), thick beehoon (rice noodles), thin beehoon, yellow noodles (generic noodles of medium thickness, contains a delightful cocktail of synthetic chemicals which lend it an overpowering alkaline smell), lamian (noodles pulled by hand), ee mee (another kind of thin yellow noodles), you mee (yet another kind of thin yellow noodles), beetaimak (fat white noodles colloquially termed as mousetails)... But not mee hoon kueh.
Fortunately, I liked it. The smooth yet chewy pieces of dough were fun to eat as they had an interesting texture. They were helped in terms of taste by the addition of a runny egg, anchovies, and fatty minced pork to the soup.
I also had a cup of tea. Lately this has been my beverage of choice, especially during daylight hours. What can I say? I'm getting on in years.
That night, my mum came home from work with the mail from the letterbox downstairs. There was a brown envelope addressed to me, with the return address of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean's Office. "Must be a bill of some sort," I thought. "Or maybe they're accusing me of misconduct."
When the government sends us mail, it's never anything pleasant right?
Not this time. The letter turned out to be good news: I am awarded the China Daily Prize for the Arts 2 level for the 2017/18 academic year! The prize is given to the best Communications and New Media (CNM) student in each level each year, and has a cash payout of $1500.
 |
| Hype! |
There was a lot of jumping and screaming when the contents of the letter had been digested. I knew I'd done well in my CNM modules, having obtained straight 'A's, but I wasn't quite sure how they determined which straight 'A' student gets the prize, or if I was even eligible for it rules-wise as my period of candidature has been rather short for a level 2 student.
Anyhow, it's apparently mine, and I'm glad.
Still high from the buzz of this revelation, my dad and I proceeded to watch the Germany versus South Korea game. Everybody knows what happened in the end so I won't belabour the point here, but suffice to say that what the match lacked in football quality, it more than made up for in drama. It was easily one of the top three most entertaining matches I've ever seen. Being a typical kiasu (afraid of losing out) Singaporean, I started out supporting the Germans, but by the time the referee trotted over to watch the video assistant referee review footage, my heart was thumping in my chest, willing the referee to award the goal to the plucky underdogs. Time seemed to slow. And when the referee returned to the field and pointed to the kickoff spot, there was another round of hollering from the guys in the house.
The second goal was icing on the cake, made even more memorable by the lack of a goalkeeper.
28 June
For the first time in over a decade, I rode the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) subway train system.
Also for the first time, I visited The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS).
Parking at The Shoppes costs an arm and a leg, just like everything else in that cesspool of pretentiousness, so it made sense for me to take the MRT there if I wanted to explore it. But taking the MRT isn't straightforward for someone like me. Just to get from my house to the station involves a dangerous traversal of the condominium driveway, exposure to the elements, and a trek of half a kilometre. Then I have to take a lift into the basement, tap my payment card through the fare gates, and take yet another lift deeper underground, all of which would be almost impossible if I were by myself.
And all that wouldn't count for anything if my wheelchair can't cross the platform gap to get into the train carriage.
That's what dads are for. He was the one who suggested this journey in the first place, since I have a lot of free time during the university off-season to give it a shot and see how it goes. And he helped me overcome all the obstacles between me and the train, and luckily my wheels are big enough not to get stuck in the platform gap.
Problems avoided, we were on our way to The Shoppes!
We alighted at Bayfront station on the Circle Line, which is conveniently connected to The Shoppes and the rest of MBS by a warren of subterranean tunnels, allowing us to stroll around leisurely without melting under the sun. I got to lay my plebian eyes upon a host of branded items that I'll never be able to afford, restaurants bearing the names of various celebrity chefs that I hopefully will one day, and the casino. Ah yes, that casino which keeps the money flowing through our economy like blood through your veins, and the very purpose for the existence of MBS. Ka-ching!
I was very intrigued when we discovered a plate of chicken rice going for a mere $7 in a hidden corner of the place, but it was too early for lunch so we gave it a miss.
One thing that I really loved about The Shoppes was the number of angmoh (Caucasian) people. They were walking everywhere, and a few groups of them were even riding the boats down the canals which run through the mall, being paddled along by Filipino and Chinese underlings. Forming the upper class here, even among the tourists, they tend to congregate around the bay area where everything is bathed in gold.
Angmoh people are my favourite kind of human and I don't care if you judge me for it.
 |
| The famous Singapore skyline, the beautiful Marina Bay, and me. |
Soon it was time to eat, and we decided to retreat to a more heartland location in search of sustenance. Back onto the MRT we went! A quick trip to Chinatown on the Downtown Line ended with us discovering that there was no way to connect underground to Chinatown Point shopping centre, and I would have to use aboveground roads. I didn't like that, so we hopped back onto the MRT and returned to Bayfront to change back to the Circle Line.
You know what else dads are for? Making sure their kids don't get lost. The interchange stations nowadays are a helluva lot more mind-boggling than they were when I took the MRT as a child in a stroller. There are so many train lines running in so many directions that the stations now are sprawling complexes that have so many different levels and platforms so as to be able to accommodate them all. I felt like a fish out of water, but I just had to follow my dad's lead and I'd eventually get to the right part of the station.
My dad is also a great shield against people I want to avoid. While we were going back to Bayfront, an acquaintance boarded the same train. I got a rude shock because this was a real case of speak of the devil. The day before, while we were at the airport, this acquaintance had rung up my dad out of the blue, inviting us to a dialogue with other people with my disease, to openly discuss morbid topics in a safe space. Sounds good, but I've got no problems discussing morbid topics in an unsafe space, as evidenced by my posts on this blog which is publicly visible for the world to see, so thanks but no thanks because I'd rather use the time for other things. I had snickered about this to both my parents that night and the morning after, and lo and behold here she appeared in front of me. She's always been a bit too much of a goody-two-shoes for my liking, and I didn't feel like entertaining any inane conversation with her. As it was, I was barely holding myself together against the aural assault of the train and tunnel sounds and the rocking motions jolting every bony protrusion in my body. So
We took the Circle Line to Stadium station, where we ate at Old Town White Coffee at Kallang Wave Mall. It was our first experience with this casual dining chain, which was apparently brought to Singapore by actor and one of my favourite local celebrities Mark Lee, and I'm pleased to say it was a good one. The staff were prompt and polite. My dad enjoyed his nasi lemak (coconut rice) and loved the thick black coffee it came with, and my garlic butter thick toast, essentially an Asian version of garlic bread, was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, exactly what a toast should be. The flavour of the garlic was adequate, and accentuated with the salty undertones of the butter. I had it with a cup of white milk tea, and oh my god it was the strongest cup of tea I've ever had. Usually I like my tea overly sweet and excessively milky, because I don't like the bitter taste of the tannins. But this one of full of that tannin bitterness. That's not to say it was unpleasant. In fact, it was surprisingly palatable for me, and a novel experience. But I did feel a bit trembly all over and my heart started to race, so perhaps I should cut down on the caffeine intake... Who am I kidding? Not a few hours later, I knocked back a can of Pepsi.
At the mall, I passed an electronics shop and it was selling the GoPro Hero 6, which I talked about in my previous post, for $595. I mention this because if not for the GoPro in the hands of the American man Dennis, I might not have agreed to my dad's idea of riding the MRT to explore Singapore. Dennis' video series showing off his neighbourhood spurred me to want to get out there and get to know mine better, from the ground and on foot rather than from inside the sterile and detached environment of a car.
The past two days have been a rollercoaster ride. What an adventure! It was tiring but I have no regrets. Now I look forward to a few peaceful days just chilling at home, playing computer games, and recharging my battered body and mind... But I'm already planning where to take the MRT to next, and beyond that, becoming $1500 richer!
Monday, 28 May 2018
Fun and games: Real Madrid's triumph and Jagex's tribulations
Such great value this post is. It's actually two posts in one! If I were to charge you to read my blog on a per-article basis, this post would be a bargain. But my blog is completely free, so all you have to do is enjoy!
UEFA Champion's League final
Real Madrid 3 - Liverpool 1
I didn't watch the game live. I considered it but couldn't bear to forego my beauty sleep. But I watched the highlights the next day and what a match it was!
Both teams were evenly matched until Salah popped his shoulder. He was on fire all season and the Liverpool fanbase was hoping that he could work his magic once more and produce the Champion's League trophy for them. There was even talk that he was in contention for the Golden Ball award, which is given to the best player of the year. Safe to say, the weight of expectation was just too much for the poor guy to shoulder, pun 100% intended. He simply isn't ready to hang with the big boys.
Another player who isn't ready to hang with the big boys is the Liverpool goalkeeper, Karius. Real Madrid should give him an honorary contract for having practically gifted them the title with that strange throw to Benzema!
Of course there are lots of sourpuss anti-Real Madrid football fans bandying conspiracy theories around like nobody's business. One popular one is that Sergio Ramos, who is a so-called dirty player, intentionally hurt Salah by using some kind of wrestling technique like an arm lock to force Salah's arm into a position where his entire body weight came down hard on it when both players fell to the ground. Looking at the video footage of the incident, it's clear to see that Ramos indeed had his arm tangled in Salah's. But anybody who's watched enough football will know that limbs get intertwined all the time. There's nothing to suggest that Ramos trapped Salah's arm on purpose. Have a look at this YouTube clip and judge for yourself.
Another preposterous allegation is that Karius was paid to throw the match. This is even worse than the accusations against Ramos because it's completely unfounded. There's not even a shred of evidence to back up this claim.
Whatever. The haters can say what they like. The fact is, Real Madrid are the record-extending 13-time champions of Europe, having won the cup six times more than the next-best team, AC Milan. And the great Zinedine Zidane, such a legendary footballer in his time, has now become the first manager to win three Champion's League tournaments in succession.
Happy, happy.
The Cambridge-based game development studio continues to lurch from one crisis to another. On the heels of the scandal they caused by threatening the creator of a popular third-party client software with legal action (see the appendix at the bottom of this post), they announced last week that they are shutting down the RuneScape Classic servers in August.
Understandably, this revelation has stirred up quite some consternation among the playerbase. RuneScape Classic is the original version of RuneScape from 2001, and is a piece of video game history. A few die-hard players have stuck with it over the past 17 years, and many felt that Jagex's decision to kill the game was unfair to those who've devoted almost their whole lives to it. Those who'd never played RuneScape Classic also criticised the move, saying that Jagex had lost its roots. Jagex really needs to tread carefully here. RuneScape is a franchise that depends heavily on nostalgia to retain customers, and the company cannot afford to alienate its stakeholders by disrespecting the long history and rich heritage of the series.
RuneScape Classic is only the latest casualty in a line of recent culls by Jagex. Chronicle: RuneScape Legends, a card battler similar to Hearthstone, and FunOrb, a minigame site, were also previously cut and will go offline later this year. The way I see it, this could mean one of two things:
Jagex, at the behest of its Chinese overlords also known as Fukong Interactive Entertainment, might be shedding the dead weight it has accumulated over the years in an effort to boost its income. This makes sense because the Chinamen paid $300 million to buy over Jagex in 2016 and they need to start earning a return on their investment. From the manpower perspective, dropping old and unprofitable titles frees up development time for new projects which hopefully will bring in more revenue. For example, the staff can devote more attention to making RuneScape Mobile, which is slated for launch during the next fiscal year, the best product that it could possibly be. With microtransactions, which charge small amounts of real-world currency in exchange for in-game loot, a commonly accepted and lucrative part of mobile gaming, Jagex will try their utmost to ensure that RuneScape Mobile brings in new players, who will in turn bring in more money.
The less palatable explanation for Jagex's recent actions is that they represent a last-ditch effort to save the company. Maybe the company is in dire financial straits and jettisoning underperforming publications is an attempt to stem the bleeding from the coffers. After all, RuneScape Classic and FunOrb have been running for more than a decade with a tiny playerbase and low maintenance from the developers, so why are they suddenly urgent problems now? The official line is that they are based on outdated technology, suffer from multiple bugs, and players are using cheating software rampantly to abuse them, but these issues have been around for many years and Jagex never bothered. The abrupt decision to kill off these games seems rather... well, abrupt, and I can't help but suspect that there's something more behind it that's being hidden from us players. It wouldn't be the first time Jagex has tried to pull the wool over our eyes and it certainly won't be the last.
As a longtime 'Scaper, I fervently hope that the latter theory isn't true. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that if Jagex goes under, a huge part of my life will go with it. They really need to get their act together though, starting with hiring a competent and experienced public relations professional to stop them from repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. Their brand image has taken a terrible beating even among the most loyal followers, and repairs are badly needed.
Appendix: The third-party client controversy
Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a version of RuneScape based on a backup of the game's code from the year 2007. Jagex launched it in 2013 after many players quit the game following a massive but unpopular overhaul to the main RuneScape, now known as RuneScape 3, which introduced a more complex user interface and combat system.
OSRS has a large following among veteran players who are nostalgic for the simple game experience they had when they were growing up. The game must be played using a downloaded piece of software called a client, because modern internet browsers do not support Java, an old coding language on which the game is based. The client serves as a "translator" between the user's computer and the game servers.
Jagex provides a client for OSRS, which is referred to by players as the vanilla client. In computing, the word "vanilla" when used to describe software means original and unadulterated. But the vanilla client by Jagex lacks many quality-of-life features that make the game easier to play such as timers and automated statistic trackers, so fans with the technical know-how have developed several more sophisticated alternative clients, called third-party clients, and a large proportion of OSRS players use such clients.
On May 15, 2018, Jagex told the creator of a relatively new client, RuneLite, to shut down his client or face a lawsuit for copyright infringement. News of this broke on Reddit after the founder of RuneLite wrote about it on the RuneLite website, and players were outraged as Jagex was perceived to be showing favour to another established third-party client, OSBuddy, which had not been ordered to close. Several OSBuddy developers are former Jagex employees, and unlike RuneLite which is totally free, OSBuddy requires a payment of $2 a month to unlock the most useful features. RuneLite had been gaining traction and there had been a corresponding drop in the number of users subscribing to OSBuddy, and players suspected Jagex of trying to kill RuneLite to protect OSBuddy. To make matters worse, it was reported by several older players that OSBuddy had evolved from a cheating software that played the game automatically without user input, a practice known as botting. A few players also accused OSBuddy of stealing their account details and IP addresses, and selling them to third parties. The association between Jagex and OSBuddy was seen as an alliance of evil, and RuneLite characterised as the "good guy".
Players turned up in force to defend RuneLite and its founder, holding massive protests in the virtual city of Falador, cancelling their monthly membership payments to Jagex, airing their displeasure on social media, and sending death threats to Jagex staff. On May 16, Jagex belatedly released an official statement explaining that RuneLite contained tools that revealed sensitive code in the game engine whose function it was to detect botting behaviour, and because RuneLite was fully open-source, anybody could download the source code off the internet, decipher Jagex's anti-botting measures, and write botting scripts that evade those measures. After the developer of RuneLite agreed to take those portions of the code off the internet, Jagex backed down and allowed RuneLite to continue operating on May 18. This satisfied the playerbase and the protests stopped, but the poor communication by Jagex, who by failing to adequately explain their actions from the very beginning allowed the situation to spiral out of control, had already done enormous damage to the relationship between Jagex and its players.
Real Madrid make history again...
UEFA Champion's League final
Real Madrid 3 - Liverpool 1
I didn't watch the game live. I considered it but couldn't bear to forego my beauty sleep. But I watched the highlights the next day and what a match it was!
Both teams were evenly matched until Salah popped his shoulder. He was on fire all season and the Liverpool fanbase was hoping that he could work his magic once more and produce the Champion's League trophy for them. There was even talk that he was in contention for the Golden Ball award, which is given to the best player of the year. Safe to say, the weight of expectation was just too much for the poor guy to shoulder, pun 100% intended. He simply isn't ready to hang with the big boys.
 |
| Mohamed Salah lies in agony on the pitch after dislocating his shoulder and tearing several ligaments in a challenge with Sergio Ramos during the Champion's League final in Kiev, Ukraine on May 26, 2018. Source: Getty Images |
Another player who isn't ready to hang with the big boys is the Liverpool goalkeeper, Karius. Real Madrid should give him an honorary contract for having practically gifted them the title with that strange throw to Benzema!
Of course there are lots of sourpuss anti-Real Madrid football fans bandying conspiracy theories around like nobody's business. One popular one is that Sergio Ramos, who is a so-called dirty player, intentionally hurt Salah by using some kind of wrestling technique like an arm lock to force Salah's arm into a position where his entire body weight came down hard on it when both players fell to the ground. Looking at the video footage of the incident, it's clear to see that Ramos indeed had his arm tangled in Salah's. But anybody who's watched enough football will know that limbs get intertwined all the time. There's nothing to suggest that Ramos trapped Salah's arm on purpose. Have a look at this YouTube clip and judge for yourself.
Another preposterous allegation is that Karius was paid to throw the match. This is even worse than the accusations against Ramos because it's completely unfounded. There's not even a shred of evidence to back up this claim.
Whatever. The haters can say what they like. The fact is, Real Madrid are the record-extending 13-time champions of Europe, having won the cup six times more than the next-best team, AC Milan. And the great Zinedine Zidane, such a legendary footballer in his time, has now become the first manager to win three Champion's League tournaments in succession.
Happy, happy.
... And Jagex cause trouble for themselves again
The Cambridge-based game development studio continues to lurch from one crisis to another. On the heels of the scandal they caused by threatening the creator of a popular third-party client software with legal action (see the appendix at the bottom of this post), they announced last week that they are shutting down the RuneScape Classic servers in August.
Understandably, this revelation has stirred up quite some consternation among the playerbase. RuneScape Classic is the original version of RuneScape from 2001, and is a piece of video game history. A few die-hard players have stuck with it over the past 17 years, and many felt that Jagex's decision to kill the game was unfair to those who've devoted almost their whole lives to it. Those who'd never played RuneScape Classic also criticised the move, saying that Jagex had lost its roots. Jagex really needs to tread carefully here. RuneScape is a franchise that depends heavily on nostalgia to retain customers, and the company cannot afford to alienate its stakeholders by disrespecting the long history and rich heritage of the series.
RuneScape Classic is only the latest casualty in a line of recent culls by Jagex. Chronicle: RuneScape Legends, a card battler similar to Hearthstone, and FunOrb, a minigame site, were also previously cut and will go offline later this year. The way I see it, this could mean one of two things:
Streamlining
Jagex, at the behest of its Chinese overlords also known as Fukong Interactive Entertainment, might be shedding the dead weight it has accumulated over the years in an effort to boost its income. This makes sense because the Chinamen paid $300 million to buy over Jagex in 2016 and they need to start earning a return on their investment. From the manpower perspective, dropping old and unprofitable titles frees up development time for new projects which hopefully will bring in more revenue. For example, the staff can devote more attention to making RuneScape Mobile, which is slated for launch during the next fiscal year, the best product that it could possibly be. With microtransactions, which charge small amounts of real-world currency in exchange for in-game loot, a commonly accepted and lucrative part of mobile gaming, Jagex will try their utmost to ensure that RuneScape Mobile brings in new players, who will in turn bring in more money.
Death throes
The less palatable explanation for Jagex's recent actions is that they represent a last-ditch effort to save the company. Maybe the company is in dire financial straits and jettisoning underperforming publications is an attempt to stem the bleeding from the coffers. After all, RuneScape Classic and FunOrb have been running for more than a decade with a tiny playerbase and low maintenance from the developers, so why are they suddenly urgent problems now? The official line is that they are based on outdated technology, suffer from multiple bugs, and players are using cheating software rampantly to abuse them, but these issues have been around for many years and Jagex never bothered. The abrupt decision to kill off these games seems rather... well, abrupt, and I can't help but suspect that there's something more behind it that's being hidden from us players. It wouldn't be the first time Jagex has tried to pull the wool over our eyes and it certainly won't be the last.
As a longtime 'Scaper, I fervently hope that the latter theory isn't true. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that if Jagex goes under, a huge part of my life will go with it. They really need to get their act together though, starting with hiring a competent and experienced public relations professional to stop them from repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. Their brand image has taken a terrible beating even among the most loyal followers, and repairs are badly needed.
=====
Appendix: The third-party client controversy
Old School RuneScape (OSRS) is a version of RuneScape based on a backup of the game's code from the year 2007. Jagex launched it in 2013 after many players quit the game following a massive but unpopular overhaul to the main RuneScape, now known as RuneScape 3, which introduced a more complex user interface and combat system.
OSRS has a large following among veteran players who are nostalgic for the simple game experience they had when they were growing up. The game must be played using a downloaded piece of software called a client, because modern internet browsers do not support Java, an old coding language on which the game is based. The client serves as a "translator" between the user's computer and the game servers.
Jagex provides a client for OSRS, which is referred to by players as the vanilla client. In computing, the word "vanilla" when used to describe software means original and unadulterated. But the vanilla client by Jagex lacks many quality-of-life features that make the game easier to play such as timers and automated statistic trackers, so fans with the technical know-how have developed several more sophisticated alternative clients, called third-party clients, and a large proportion of OSRS players use such clients.
On May 15, 2018, Jagex told the creator of a relatively new client, RuneLite, to shut down his client or face a lawsuit for copyright infringement. News of this broke on Reddit after the founder of RuneLite wrote about it on the RuneLite website, and players were outraged as Jagex was perceived to be showing favour to another established third-party client, OSBuddy, which had not been ordered to close. Several OSBuddy developers are former Jagex employees, and unlike RuneLite which is totally free, OSBuddy requires a payment of $2 a month to unlock the most useful features. RuneLite had been gaining traction and there had been a corresponding drop in the number of users subscribing to OSBuddy, and players suspected Jagex of trying to kill RuneLite to protect OSBuddy. To make matters worse, it was reported by several older players that OSBuddy had evolved from a cheating software that played the game automatically without user input, a practice known as botting. A few players also accused OSBuddy of stealing their account details and IP addresses, and selling them to third parties. The association between Jagex and OSBuddy was seen as an alliance of evil, and RuneLite characterised as the "good guy".
Players turned up in force to defend RuneLite and its founder, holding massive protests in the virtual city of Falador, cancelling their monthly membership payments to Jagex, airing their displeasure on social media, and sending death threats to Jagex staff. On May 16, Jagex belatedly released an official statement explaining that RuneLite contained tools that revealed sensitive code in the game engine whose function it was to detect botting behaviour, and because RuneLite was fully open-source, anybody could download the source code off the internet, decipher Jagex's anti-botting measures, and write botting scripts that evade those measures. After the developer of RuneLite agreed to take those portions of the code off the internet, Jagex backed down and allowed RuneLite to continue operating on May 18. This satisfied the playerbase and the protests stopped, but the poor communication by Jagex, who by failing to adequately explain their actions from the very beginning allowed the situation to spiral out of control, had already done enormous damage to the relationship between Jagex and its players.
Thursday, 13 July 2017
Thank you for the memories, Rooney
It's official: Wayne Rooney has gone back to his boyhood club Everton, leaving Manchester United after a hugely successful 13-year spell.
Over the past few months it was looking more and more inevitable that Rooney would leave United. He was frozen out of the first team and his lack of playing time at club level was causing him to be left out of the England squad too. To make matters worse, he was supposedly the captain of both England and United, but often found himself on the bench or at home on matchdays. What a blow that must've been to his confidence, and his reputation.
It was said that Rooney's footballing powers were on the Wayne (wane), but I think he just wasn't being given the chance to prove otherwise. Granted, as he aged, he lost his pace and sharpness in front of goal, but maturity and experience brought him the gift of intelligence and an eye for a pass. During Moyes' tenure when Rooney sometimes played in a deeper midfield position, numerous defences fell prey to his 50-yard cross-field diagonal high balls. He was reinventing himself as a string-puller, teaching himself to unlock backlines by spraying killer passes out wide and behind the fullbacks.
Then he wasn't allowed to play anymore.
I don't know why van Gaal and Mourinho gradually relegated Rooney to the sidelines but I feel he was hard done by. He has a lot left to give. That's my opinion anyway. Admittedly, I am a Rooney fan.
When the transfer was confirmed, I got a bit distressed. All my football-watching life, Rooney has been a Manchester United player. He's scored loads of goals, setting records and contributing to the club winning league title after league title. I've adorned my bedroom walls with his pictures as adoring little boys do the world over, and named a pet hamster after him. I cheered my voice hoarse as the ball left his boot and hit the net, game in and game out. And I felt the pain in my heart when he seemingly broke his metatarsal again in 2010, relief flooding in when it was revealed to be a less serious ankle ligament injury instead.
Now that's he's gone, I'm torn. When Everton play against United next season, I'll probably abstain from supporting either team out of deference to my childhood idol.
It's the least he deserves. Since United won't show him any respect, I shall do it on my own.
Over the past few months it was looking more and more inevitable that Rooney would leave United. He was frozen out of the first team and his lack of playing time at club level was causing him to be left out of the England squad too. To make matters worse, he was supposedly the captain of both England and United, but often found himself on the bench or at home on matchdays. What a blow that must've been to his confidence, and his reputation.
It was said that Rooney's footballing powers were on the Wayne (wane), but I think he just wasn't being given the chance to prove otherwise. Granted, as he aged, he lost his pace and sharpness in front of goal, but maturity and experience brought him the gift of intelligence and an eye for a pass. During Moyes' tenure when Rooney sometimes played in a deeper midfield position, numerous defences fell prey to his 50-yard cross-field diagonal high balls. He was reinventing himself as a string-puller, teaching himself to unlock backlines by spraying killer passes out wide and behind the fullbacks.
Then he wasn't allowed to play anymore.
I don't know why van Gaal and Mourinho gradually relegated Rooney to the sidelines but I feel he was hard done by. He has a lot left to give. That's my opinion anyway. Admittedly, I am a Rooney fan.
When the transfer was confirmed, I got a bit distressed. All my football-watching life, Rooney has been a Manchester United player. He's scored loads of goals, setting records and contributing to the club winning league title after league title. I've adorned my bedroom walls with his pictures as adoring little boys do the world over, and named a pet hamster after him. I cheered my voice hoarse as the ball left his boot and hit the net, game in and game out. And I felt the pain in my heart when he seemingly broke his metatarsal again in 2010, relief flooding in when it was revealed to be a less serious ankle ligament injury instead.
Now that's he's gone, I'm torn. When Everton play against United next season, I'll probably abstain from supporting either team out of deference to my childhood idol.
It's the least he deserves. Since United won't show him any respect, I shall do it on my own.
Thursday, 8 June 2017
Fantasy football shopping list
Real Madrid have done it! They have made history by becoming the first team to win back-to-back Champions League trophies.
No time to rest on their laurels, though! They need to strengthen their squad in preparation for next season, which will be even tougher because all their rivals will be gunning for them.
Here is my wishlist of players for Real Madrid to buy.
Real Madrid struggled with a leaky defence this season. I even coined the phrase "colander protocol" which I shout whenever they concede a goal, an all-too-common occurrence unfortunately. Bringing in a top-quality defender like Azpilicueta, who has consistently been one of the best players at Chelsea, should be top priority for Zidane and Perez this summer, even if it means breaking the bank. In return for a possibly inflated transfer fee, Real Madrid will bolster their defence and get a versatile player who can fill any role across the back four.
Real Madrid are almost certain to lose Pepe during this transfer window. Hummels would be a good direct replacement for him. He is defensively solid and, unlike the notoriously volatile Pepe, has a relatively clean disciplinary record too.
Benzema is aging and his performances are no longer up to the standard befitting of a Real Madrid player. It might be time to offload him to a China club for a grossly inflated sum and reinvest the proceeds into getting one of these two young strikers. Both were in red-hot form for their respective clubs and neck-and-neck in the race to be top scorer. Kane is under contract to Tottenham until 2022 but Lukaku's expires in 2019, so it might be easier to get Everton to come to terms.
It looks increasingly likely that Morata will be sold, so Real Madrid will need a backup striker. Son had good statistics for Tottenham this season and is hardworking to boot. Another advantage of buying him is that he is Asian. Real Madrid have no Asian player currently so signing him will allow them to reach out to the Asian market and hopefully gain more fans from that part of the world. If Tottenham can be convinced to agree to a package deal involving both Kane and Son, it would be a bonus as they have played together before and share an understanding of each other that Real Madrid can benefit immediately from.
Poor Tottenham. Their role in life is to be a feeder club for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid have been heavily linked with David de Gea but I really have no idea why Perez is so obsessed with him. Real Madrid already has one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Keylor Navas and a capable understudy in Kiko Casilla. Money can be saved by not buying de Gea, and better spent reinforcing the weak areas in the team.
They should also stay clear of Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe for now. Hazard is broken goods after his ankle fracture and buying him now runs the risk of him never returning to form and wasting the investment. Mbappe is unproven in my opinion. He might just be a flash in the pan. If he is still a consistent top dog in a few seasons, then Real Madrid can consider buying him. For now though, we only need to look as far as Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Barcelona's Neymar for cautionary tales against paying through the nose for one-hit wonders.
Next season will be incredibly competitive and exciting as everyone and their mother will be trying to claim Real Madrid's scalp. August cannot come soon enough for me!
No time to rest on their laurels, though! They need to strengthen their squad in preparation for next season, which will be even tougher because all their rivals will be gunning for them.
Here is my wishlist of players for Real Madrid to buy.
Cesar Azpilicueta
Maximum bid: 60 million Euros
Real Madrid struggled with a leaky defence this season. I even coined the phrase "colander protocol" which I shout whenever they concede a goal, an all-too-common occurrence unfortunately. Bringing in a top-quality defender like Azpilicueta, who has consistently been one of the best players at Chelsea, should be top priority for Zidane and Perez this summer, even if it means breaking the bank. In return for a possibly inflated transfer fee, Real Madrid will bolster their defence and get a versatile player who can fill any role across the back four.
Mats Hummels
Maximum bid: 60 million Euros
Real Madrid are almost certain to lose Pepe during this transfer window. Hummels would be a good direct replacement for him. He is defensively solid and, unlike the notoriously volatile Pepe, has a relatively clean disciplinary record too.
Harry Kane OR Romelu Lukaku
Maximum bid: 80 million Euros
Benzema is aging and his performances are no longer up to the standard befitting of a Real Madrid player. It might be time to offload him to a China club for a grossly inflated sum and reinvest the proceeds into getting one of these two young strikers. Both were in red-hot form for their respective clubs and neck-and-neck in the race to be top scorer. Kane is under contract to Tottenham until 2022 but Lukaku's expires in 2019, so it might be easier to get Everton to come to terms.
Heung-Min Son
Maximum bid: 50 million Euros
It looks increasingly likely that Morata will be sold, so Real Madrid will need a backup striker. Son had good statistics for Tottenham this season and is hardworking to boot. Another advantage of buying him is that he is Asian. Real Madrid have no Asian player currently so signing him will allow them to reach out to the Asian market and hopefully gain more fans from that part of the world. If Tottenham can be convinced to agree to a package deal involving both Kane and Son, it would be a bonus as they have played together before and share an understanding of each other that Real Madrid can benefit immediately from.
Poor Tottenham. Their role in life is to be a feeder club for Real Madrid.
DO NOT BUY
Real Madrid have been heavily linked with David de Gea but I really have no idea why Perez is so obsessed with him. Real Madrid already has one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Keylor Navas and a capable understudy in Kiko Casilla. Money can be saved by not buying de Gea, and better spent reinforcing the weak areas in the team.
They should also stay clear of Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe for now. Hazard is broken goods after his ankle fracture and buying him now runs the risk of him never returning to form and wasting the investment. Mbappe is unproven in my opinion. He might just be a flash in the pan. If he is still a consistent top dog in a few seasons, then Real Madrid can consider buying him. For now though, we only need to look as far as Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Barcelona's Neymar for cautionary tales against paying through the nose for one-hit wonders.
Next season will be incredibly competitive and exciting as everyone and their mother will be trying to claim Real Madrid's scalp. August cannot come soon enough for me!
Tuesday, 23 May 2017
Football has lost its heart
John Terry, the legendary Chelsea defender, played his last game for the club against Sunderland this past weekend. He has served his team and country faithfully for 20-odd years and it is now time for him to move on.
But what should have been a momentous occasion turned into a bit of a firestorm. Terry, whose team number was 26, requested to be withdrawn from the match in the 26th minute so he could go out in a blaze of glory. His manager, Antonio Conte, agreed and worked out an arrangement with Sunderland coach David Moyes so that Sunderland would allow the ball to exit the field at the stipulated time, allowing the game to be stopped for the substitution to occur. It should be noted here that Moyes and Sunderland were amenable to the idea.
The plan went ahead. In the 26th minute, the Sunderland goalkeeper kicked the ball out. The Chelsea players lined up into a guard of honour to salute their captain, leader and legend. Match referee Neil Swarbrick held the ball under his arm and joined in the applause.
Any fan will tell you that loyalty is a rare thing in football these days. One-club men like Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard are a dying breed in a world where players change hands as fast as club owners can write the cheques (or click the button on the online transaction platform, but "write the cheques" has a nicer ring to it). And who can blame them? Anybody would go where the money is.
So the truth is that Terry deserves some respect for staying on at Chelsea all the way to the end of his career. We commemorated the retirements of Giggs, Gerrard and others with misty eyes. Sure, they had arguably less of an ego and didn't ask for a grand send-off gesture like Terry did, but after all the guy has done, I think he's entitled to a little song and dance.
But now people are up in arms, saying that the whole affair epitomises how football has turned into a soap opera. I'm not a fan of Terry or Chelsea, being a lifelong supporter of Manchester United, so I think it's fair to say that my view that the detractors are overreacting is impartial. These people need to ask themselves: Why do we watch football? We watch because we want to be entertained. When we watch, we forget all our problems for those 90 precious minutes of escapism. And which parts of football do we find exciting? Apart from seeing a perfect team move or solo display of brilliance, we love it when passions boil over and managers and players create dramatic scenes on the touchline. We get a thrill from the rollercoaster ride of elation and anguish when our teams go through good and bad spells of form. In short, emotions drive football.
Isn't this exactly that? Simply a harmless spot of emotional expression in a sport which thrives on it. What is so bad about indulging one guy's ego for a bit, when that guy has done so much? After all, the game had nothing riding on its outcome. Chelsea were already confirmed as champions the week before and Sunderland had been mathematically relegated for weeks.
Maybe it's because Terry never had the cleanest of noses. He was racist and had sex with his friend's wife. But still, we should compartmentalise our negative feelings for him because of these transgressions. He served his sentences for those sordid deeds. Now go lightly on him will you?
And now to make matters worse, the Football Association is talking about punishing the parties involved for match fixing. This is one of the stupidest trumped-up charges I have ever heard of. If a goalkeeper fails to save a shot on purpose so that his team will lose, that's match fixing. If a striker deliberately smashes the ball over the goal from a metre away, that's match fixing. For a player to orchestrate a minute-long display to celebrate his own achievements... I don't think it's match fixing.
The FA argued that some bookmakers offer odds on when throw-ins are awarded during matches, and by putting on this show for Terry, the clubs have unfairly affected the result of those bets. What, are we protecting gamblers from their own silly decisions now? They chose to play on those particular types of bet, and they should bear the consequences fully.
This whole ordeal reminds me of those times when a player scores a goal and celebrates by revealing an undershirt with a slogan in support of some cause, and receives a yellow card sanction from the referee. By the letter of the law, referees are required to issue yellow cards to players who lift up or remove their jerseys to show off a slogan hidden beneath. But what if the slogan isn't inflammatory or commercial in nature? Shouldn't players be allowed, indeed encouraged, to use their fame and global appeal for a positive impact? Let's say there was a natural disaster or major terrorist attack. I think footballers are the perfect platform to disseminate a rallying call, getting people to know about the problem and help to solve it. Unfortunately, lawmakers don't see it that way, so the rule remains a blanket one and players continue to be penalised for doing good.
As in many arenas which have grown too large and flush with too much cash, football, or rather the people in charge of overseeing it, has lost its heart. It no longer has compassion, wistful sentimentality, and soul.
And that is a shame.
But what should have been a momentous occasion turned into a bit of a firestorm. Terry, whose team number was 26, requested to be withdrawn from the match in the 26th minute so he could go out in a blaze of glory. His manager, Antonio Conte, agreed and worked out an arrangement with Sunderland coach David Moyes so that Sunderland would allow the ball to exit the field at the stipulated time, allowing the game to be stopped for the substitution to occur. It should be noted here that Moyes and Sunderland were amenable to the idea.
The plan went ahead. In the 26th minute, the Sunderland goalkeeper kicked the ball out. The Chelsea players lined up into a guard of honour to salute their captain, leader and legend. Match referee Neil Swarbrick held the ball under his arm and joined in the applause.
Any fan will tell you that loyalty is a rare thing in football these days. One-club men like Ryan Giggs and Steven Gerrard are a dying breed in a world where players change hands as fast as club owners can write the cheques (or click the button on the online transaction platform, but "write the cheques" has a nicer ring to it). And who can blame them? Anybody would go where the money is.
So the truth is that Terry deserves some respect for staying on at Chelsea all the way to the end of his career. We commemorated the retirements of Giggs, Gerrard and others with misty eyes. Sure, they had arguably less of an ego and didn't ask for a grand send-off gesture like Terry did, but after all the guy has done, I think he's entitled to a little song and dance.
But now people are up in arms, saying that the whole affair epitomises how football has turned into a soap opera. I'm not a fan of Terry or Chelsea, being a lifelong supporter of Manchester United, so I think it's fair to say that my view that the detractors are overreacting is impartial. These people need to ask themselves: Why do we watch football? We watch because we want to be entertained. When we watch, we forget all our problems for those 90 precious minutes of escapism. And which parts of football do we find exciting? Apart from seeing a perfect team move or solo display of brilliance, we love it when passions boil over and managers and players create dramatic scenes on the touchline. We get a thrill from the rollercoaster ride of elation and anguish when our teams go through good and bad spells of form. In short, emotions drive football.
Isn't this exactly that? Simply a harmless spot of emotional expression in a sport which thrives on it. What is so bad about indulging one guy's ego for a bit, when that guy has done so much? After all, the game had nothing riding on its outcome. Chelsea were already confirmed as champions the week before and Sunderland had been mathematically relegated for weeks.
Maybe it's because Terry never had the cleanest of noses. He was racist and had sex with his friend's wife. But still, we should compartmentalise our negative feelings for him because of these transgressions. He served his sentences for those sordid deeds. Now go lightly on him will you?
And now to make matters worse, the Football Association is talking about punishing the parties involved for match fixing. This is one of the stupidest trumped-up charges I have ever heard of. If a goalkeeper fails to save a shot on purpose so that his team will lose, that's match fixing. If a striker deliberately smashes the ball over the goal from a metre away, that's match fixing. For a player to orchestrate a minute-long display to celebrate his own achievements... I don't think it's match fixing.
The FA argued that some bookmakers offer odds on when throw-ins are awarded during matches, and by putting on this show for Terry, the clubs have unfairly affected the result of those bets. What, are we protecting gamblers from their own silly decisions now? They chose to play on those particular types of bet, and they should bear the consequences fully.
This whole ordeal reminds me of those times when a player scores a goal and celebrates by revealing an undershirt with a slogan in support of some cause, and receives a yellow card sanction from the referee. By the letter of the law, referees are required to issue yellow cards to players who lift up or remove their jerseys to show off a slogan hidden beneath. But what if the slogan isn't inflammatory or commercial in nature? Shouldn't players be allowed, indeed encouraged, to use their fame and global appeal for a positive impact? Let's say there was a natural disaster or major terrorist attack. I think footballers are the perfect platform to disseminate a rallying call, getting people to know about the problem and help to solve it. Unfortunately, lawmakers don't see it that way, so the rule remains a blanket one and players continue to be penalised for doing good.
As in many arenas which have grown too large and flush with too much cash, football, or rather the people in charge of overseeing it, has lost its heart. It no longer has compassion, wistful sentimentality, and soul.
And that is a shame.
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