Weirdest Goal

Haven't seen anything like this in quite awhile, but Nani scored a really weird goal last night. I think he thought he could get a penalty by going down in the box and reached his hand to grab the ball. But the referee didn't blow and Gomez just looked like he thought it was an automatic free kick but no whistle was blown, so Nani just kick it into the empty net! Ha! Who cares though, a goal's a goal and I'll take the win anytime.

A 2-0 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford is something we might've grown accustomed to, but they really looked quite lively last night and could've gotten something out of the game.

Berbatov wasn't in very good form but it's good to see Park Ji Sung regaining form again so at least our wings have more bite once more.

And yes, we keep a clean sheet which is more than what most of us can ask for this season,

Long may this run continue.

Oh, and we're STILL unbeaten in all competitions this season :)

S$

For a start, let's see it hit 1.20 against the USD by year's end.

Got my money on it!

Time to hunt for some potential USD-denominated assets.

Uranium

The next big investment commodity.

Time to hunt down some related companies.

SGX ASX Merger

This has been all over the business news the last few days.

My simple, humble thoughts are as follows:

SGX is borrowing a hefty lot to make this bid ($4.9b) and paying a huge premium for a company that will lose it's monopoly next year.

But then without such an overvalued bid, we're going to see Australians burning the Singapore flag and using people power to stop the deal from going through. Granted, there's some noise right now but it's not as bad as if we made a lower bid and claim it to be overpaying.

Singaporean companies overpay for everything anyway don't we? It's the only way to seal a deal in the cleanest and least corrupted of fashions.

This is one up for all Singaporeans. Take that, you Aussie xenophobics!

Magnus Bocker doesn't normally announce deals without knowing the odds. And this time he still has probably calculated right. ASX wants this, the Aussie government (fragile as it may be) seems to be in support, and local protests are quite limited for now. Let's see how it pans out.

All in all not good if you're an SGX shareholder right now though, because SGX shares are headed for dilution if the deal goes through.

Yet I'm still feeling proud that we're the ones buying over them and not vice versa.

First Away Win

Stoke City 1 Manchester United 2

Got to give it to our newest baby-faced assassin, Javier Hernandez!

Once again like all of this season, we've let leads slip away. But heck, as long as we always score more, we still win right? Plus Stoke's goal was quite a stunner by Tuncay Sanli, so it wasn't because of an individual error.

If every match were this heart-stopping, I wouldn't mind as long as we always won!

Chicharito go!

And I wonder if anyone's noticed that we're still unbeaten in the league?

Korean GP 2010

What a race!

Fernando Alonso wins the inaugural Korean Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton coming in second followed by Felipe Massa.

Both Red Bulls retired (DNF) for the first time this season.

Now the title race is really wide open!

Of note during the race is that 9 drivers retired! Wow, that must be some sort of season high.

Stoke City

That being said, I wonder if we'll win at Stoke tonight though.

I'm hoping for another Berbatov hat trick :)

Sir Alex Ferguson Masterstroke II

As if locking up Wayne Rooney in the confines of the United camp wasn't enough, SAF has also played the Glazers into his hand as he managed to use Rooney as a bargaining chip as well.

Now he gets an extra war chest of between £50-£100mio of transfer fees to strengthen the current squad. Plus whatever money he makes of selling any existing players.

Simply fantastic.

Sure, alot of people are going to drag in their grouses about the Glazers weeding money off the club, but at some point I guess we all have to admit that the club isn't in as dire a situation Liverpool was in a month ago, and even though the debt is a monster sum, it is adequately financed.

Just take it as akin to Singaporeans buying a second piece of property and using rental from that exact property to supplement the instalment payments. As much as I hate to say it, it is a prudent piece of wealth enhancement technique. As long as the piece of property doesn't skydive in value and is suitably maintained, there will be no problems maintaining healthy rental and financing it in the future. The fans just happen to be the ones renting the property and are complaining that the prices are soaring. But then when a piece of property's value goes up, isn't rental expected to go up as well? Hmm.

Ok I can't believe I'm justifying the Glazers' actions here.

Anyway.

And Manchester United is a good piece of property with very very steady revenue streams. So those debt issues really aren't as bad as the tabloids make it out to be. What's more, being one of the most popular clubs in the world, there seems to be no shortage of interested buyers in the club. Demand can only continue to grow with it's popularity and stature. Even if the Red Knights previously could amass £1.5b to buy over the club, they'd still be taking a large portion of that on loan. Which will mean the same debt issues wouldn't it?

Hmm.

Back to Ferguson. This guy is sheer genius in a red tie. I wonder how we'll cope when he retires one day. Hopefully by then we will have won another 2 more Champions League trophies and many more league crowns.

Sir Alex Ferguson Masterstroke

In the end, it was probably one of the best outcomes even though Man U fans are still seething with anger. Tying Wayne Rooney down to a new five year contract at £180,000/week appears like a weird decision but let me explain.

Rooney has a £5mio buyout clause in his previous contract which allowed him to pay just that and be free to go to another team. That leaves Man U with next to nothing in investment returns after six years with the boy if they just let him up and go.

Somehow, SAF managed to convince him that bailing out of Man U now wasn't a good option. Particularly since it probably isn't worth the mountain of hate he would receive from fans if he remained in England. Nor was Rooney certain that any club would pay the £200,000/week or more the greedy bugger was asking for. Sure there was Chelsea and Man City who might have been able to shell out those figures, but he'd have a mountain of pressure on his shoulders and less certainty to be the star of those star studded teams. So how about a compromise?

Brilliant.

Now with the contract signed and dusted, Rooney has two choices.

1)Play like crap and suck until the end of the season, thereby SAF giving him less and less playing time, and then he gets sold for £40mio or something to the highest bidder where Man U fans would long be happy to see him go. Or.

2)Regain his crazy form last season and win a small portion of fans hearts, then still get sold in the summer for maybe £50mio, and no one will fault Fergie still.

Either way, it costs the club less than £10mio to keep him here and we still get return on investment.

Winner.

Wayne Rooney II

So it's a lack ambition? As much as I detest the Glazer's reign, pilfering club profits to pay off debt, this is one really lame excuse from that boy. But then it's too brutal to tell the truth isn't it? Especially when it's really about the money. And how much more can he earn and how long?

I really hope he meets his spectacular fall from grace and Man U goes on the win even more trophies without this guy.

Life might be better without him after all.

Don't want to ever see him in United colours again.

Pui!

Wayne Rooney

Yup. As a Manchester United fan, all I can say is GO.

Maybe it's the perceived lack of ambition in the club, maybe it's the £250,000 a week he thinks he deserves, maybe it's Fergie, maybe it's the Glazers. Heck, maybe it's Berbatov! Well whatever it is, just go.

No one player or staff is bigger than the club. But I do hope he regrets leaving.

I'm probably more concerned about when Fergie decides that enough's enough and calls time on his glorious career.

Whether Fergie's last press conference was staged or genuine, I'm on his side on this. The reason why Manchester United is so loved is because it was built upon the foundations of tradition, loyalty and cohesiveness.

You've got my support, Sir Alex!

What What What

So now that the Liverpool saga is over, the attention has shifted to us?!

There's too much news about Wayne Rooney already!

Will Rooney leave? Personally, I don't really care. If we have a good team with a tighter and meaner defence, a killer spirit, then who cares?

With or without Rooney I think we can still do a pretty good job of winning something.

As long as we don't keep letting our goals slip away.

Sigh.

Home

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh I miss you, you know

Pump Room

Replaced my broken down filter with an air pump.

Wonder how that's gonna turn out.

Everton 2 Liverpool 0

For all you know, Peter Lim's failed takeover bid might actually be a blessing in disguise. If Liverpool is relegated this season, the biggest losers would be NESV after all.

After this weekend's loss, they lie in 19th place in the table.

The Swamp

My fish tank aka The Swamp, is almost a direct replica of Pierce reservoir. Particularly the soiled sediments and dirt on the bed.

And now the filter has broken down. Not like it's gonna make a huge difference.

Mind you my tank is a 4ft living proof of an ecosystem that requires minimal maintenance. Water doesn't get changed, it gets added every 3-4 weeks or so, when it has evaporated below my Absolut gauge (you've got to see it to understand). And so far only the fittest living things have survived, most of which were caught in Pierce themselves.

And yes, there're still tons of living things inside, awaiting the keenest eyes to spot them.

There's an SAE (Siamese Algae Eater) which most people have no problems spotting, and another Algae Eater which is regularly hiding in one of the brick holes.

There're also three snakefishes, one zebra-striped and another two plain black ones, all of which are the hardest to spot especially in the day. They normally burrow into the sand or hide beneath the rocks. I once thought they had died, only to find them chilling out in the open late one night.

There's obviously a whole bunch of hydrillas, all spawning from a small little clump I had brought back from the reservoir a long time back. I've tried alot of plants previously but the hydrillas are the hardiest of them all. All they need is the sunlight from the balcony.

There's a mini Malayan snail infestation going on. They're the most common buggers you see in the reservoir. I brought a few back and before I knew it, they were spawning far faster than rabbits. Horny bastards.

Lastly is a trio of African Zebra snails who help clean up the hardiest algae and keeps the glass tank clean from any mega algae infestation.

See? Not hard to keep a neat little tank for viewing pleasure for 3 years and counting right? All you need are the right living things to do the right set of jobs.

Time for another trip to Pierce reservoir.

Another Draw

Another draw.

Another two-goal lead squandered.

Another bunch of individual errors.

Dunno how much more we're gonna take man. Our defense is horrendous. I think this Is going to be one very long season for me as a fan. Sigh. Luckily I've got other more important things to occupy my mind with, else I would be feeling really down.

On a positive note:

Nani is in spectacular form.

Berbatov is in spectacular form.

Hernandez has shown he's an able Rooney replacement.

Our strike force is scary.

Ferdinand is back.

Anderson is back.

Hopefully we sell Michael Owen in January and bring in a good midfielder to replace Scholesy.

NESV

So New England Sports Venture or NESV as they are better known, have finally concluded their purchase of Liverpool. And my interest is already starting to wane. Yawn.

I wonder which club Peter Lim is eyeing to buy next?

By the way, USD and AUD have hit parity. Can I say I told you so?

SGD will be next. I said it here first.

Peter Lim & Liverpool

So it has been revealed that Peter Lim is the Asian bidder who came in number 2 to NESV of buying out Liverpool FC. With estimated networth at $1B, a $300mio investment (albeit a bad one) shouldn't trouble him too much. I already can picture LFC jerseys with the Wilmar logo instead of the Stanchart one. Haha. Funny.

I dunno whether to be proud or disappointed.

On one hand its great to have a Singaporean presence showing our financial strength (no need to borrow to finance the deal somemore!), but then its LFC (pui!). If only it were Man U then I'd really be overjoyed. Oh well, may the Singaporean flag fly high.

And also, buying EPL clubs have much more often than not, proved to be loss-making ventures. The only good out of such a purchase is the branding and popularity it will bring. Not to mention that Peter Lim has never been known as a Liverpool fan. More of a pseudo Man U fan given the publicity he's had locally. So likely he just thinks that a successful bid  for the club is a good piece of investment work.

In any case, I will quietly be prouder than dismayed if the takeover does indeed succeed.

On another note, I strongly suspect that the rich guy who lost $100mio in our casino a couple of days back was him too. :P

Heat

Is it me, or is the weather getting warmer over the last couple of days?

Must be all that talk about currency wars. The new lingo for the next couple of weeks.

Beginning Of The Currency Wars

So it's pretty obvious that for all the US rhetoric pressing China to devalue the CNY, they themselves have succumbed to their own form of devaluation. By simply flushing the system wih even more USD while calling for a simultaneous rise in CNY does come across as hypocritical, but I choose to see it as the next best alternative since China doesn't want to budge. And rightly so too, since appreciation too quickly will almost surely halt China's growth. It will still be a gradual process if left to their own means.

So with the USD depreciating by the day, the EUR and JPY are suffering from too high a valuation. with the BOJ intervening in September and the free markets not taking heed (JPY was intervened at 83 and currently languishing below 82), it will surely spell another round of intervention shortly. Europe is also starting to talk about intervening, and it's more a question of when and not if now.

That surely leaves us wih a very strong SGD which we could yet suffer for if the MAS doesn't do anything about it. But you surely cannot discount the possibility of SGD and USD parity. You know how much richer Singaporeans will be if that really happens?

Strongest currency to bank on now is the AUD. Already almost at parity with the USD, this currency is closestly linked with Gold prices. And what better asset class to hold onto when the world's major currencies are crumbling?

That's right.

FML

I swear there's a generation gap between the younglings and myself these days. The kind of vocabulary used are completely different and incomprehensible.

http://www.fmylife.com/

Time for an upgrade.

Delhi Commonwealth Games

Ok, it looks better than all the reports in the past few weeks suggest.

Hopefully it'll be a smooth games.

At least the opening ceremony looks pretty good to begin with.

Does anyone even bother about the games anyway?

Bet most are staying up because of the Arsenal Chelsea game instead.

Goodbye Mdm Kwa

Mrs Lee Kuan Yew passed away yesterday. Bless her tender heart.

Can't believe Man U drew yet again.

Chicharito

Won it for us at the Mestella. Let's hope he continues his awesome form.

Wonder who Fergie will play up front tonight against Sunderland with so many in-form strikers to choose from. So exciting!

By the way, is anyone monitoring the Delhi Commonwealth Games? Indian wedding indeed!