Weekend Outlook (14 Apr 2007)

Watford vs Manchester United

"....Hor hor kuar kew. Mai tak leet buar keow, can?..."

- JayWalk, 14 Apr 2007

Like I said, AS Roma should have finished us off when they had the chance. I think our pay back with interest has been more than generous, putting 7 balls passed the bamboozled keeper.

I hate to be the keeper that night. It wasn't really his fault for all 7 goals. Somehow, the shots just found their way into the back of the net. Wherever the ball went, the goal posts shifted themselves to catch the ball. Most strange indeed. I see already, I also blur.

Carrick's account opener was just a try-my-luck attempt and it just so happened that Doni was out of position. As a result, the ball sailed into the goal without much fanfare. People were going "Hey, wait a minute. Did the ball just go in?"

We really hit them so hard that they have no idea what happened. Like the old Hokkien saying "Die already also don't know what happened." Imagine a demolition derby where we have a baby tricycle and a monster truck. Yeah, we were the monster truck that night. Stats showed that shots-on-goal were about the same for both sides but it must be noted that most of AS Roma's shots were from outside the box. Our defense were top notch, given them no room inside the 12-yard box. All that was left were just futile long shots from a distance away, on the brink of overly optimistic.

It was obvious that Totti couldn't give 100% to his team and the entire side was thoroughly punished. Such is the danger of a team relying too much on a single person. On the flip-side, ManUtd boast of having the most number of players making the score sheet in EPL this year.

Oh yes and another thing, I was very happy to see and that is the partnership of Smith-Rooney up front. Finally, we have an all English attack. Too many clubs have relied on foreigners so heavily to the extend that the football standard on a national scale suffered. We haven't a good strike force since Sheringham, Shearer or Lineker. Glad to see Smith blossoming together with Rooney. Hopefully Owen can recover well too. Otherwise Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 will be another disappointing outing for the English.

If only we have a decent candidate for the position of goalkeeper. We have yet to see a decent keeper since Seaman.

After today's FA Cup semi-finals, we have 2 EPL games before our next European encounter. Both games are at home and on Tuesday and Saturday. That gives us a slight psychological edge against Chelsea as their corresponding fixtures are will be on Wednesday and Sunday i.e. for the next 2 EPL games, the moment we collect 3 points, they will be under pressure to follow suit. The next 2 EPL games for Chelsea also happened to be away games. What better timing for us!

As I have said earlier, I personally think 3 more victories would seal the title for us. If we can take 2 of these during the next 2 games, Chelsea may just implode from the pressure, once they realised we only need 1 last victory in remaining 4 games i.e. we may even already be champions before we reach Stamford Bridge on May 9.

JayWalk The Talk: OK, optimism aside, let's get down to the nitty gritty ahead of us. We have a FA semi-final to clear today. A very mismatched game today as we pip ManUtd, currently at the top of the table, against Watford, currently at the bottom of the table. We have more than 3 times the number of points, won 5 times as many games, scored 3 times as many and leaked twice as little goals.

A madhouse slaughter is on the cards.

Injuries list almost don't matter anymore as Saha, Vidic, Neville, Park and Silvestre are unavailable for today. Somehow, it doesn't seem as serious since we rolled over AS Roma with the same absentees. If we can maul the Italians so easily, I can't figure how we are going to have difficulty dealing with the Hornets.

On the Watford side, the only noted absentee is Marlon King. No.1 goalie Ben Foster won't be playing as he is on loan from none other than ManUtd themselves. So the loan-clause forbid Foster from playing against his parent club.

Nah beh lah.. One side ManUtd, one side Watford. How to analyse? You know, I know Watford comfirm Hong Kan today. Still need to talk so much theory meh?

Fark lah... let's move on to the next section lah.

JayWalk The Walk: Fergie has never lost an FA Cup semi-final and it is unlikely going to happen today. We are confirm heading to Wembley liao. Win is definitely on the cards today. Even bookies put ManUtd give 1.75-ball handicap and 1.972 to clear. Sibeh giam siap.

Some people may argue, ManUtd may be tired after playing the midweek match against AS Roma. True if the score was 1-1 or 2-1 or one of those hard fought scores. But 7-1??!! You seriously think we worked very very very hard to get that scoreline? Please lah. We went strolling in the park. OK?

My only concern is if Fergie going to play second team today. Quite unlikely for a tournament into the semi-final stage but our opponent is Watford leh.

So hor, in case suay suay, second team play hor, then 1.75-ball handicap very hard to clear leh. Even if play first team, win 2-0 only get you half your punt. Bor hua leh.

Arn Juar Kong?: Hor hor kuar kew. Mai tak leet buar keow, can?
(Verdict?: Good good see ball. Dounch everyday gambling, can?)

Disclaimer: The above views are purely my own two-cents' worth. In other words, I cannot and will not guarantee that my predictions are accurate. If you want to bet on the game, do so at your own risk. Also, please bet responsibly and within your means regardless of how "sure thing" that game may appear to be. As the old saying goes, "The Ball Is Round". Good luck.