Encounter With the Catalans

We screwed up in the group stages and we knew we were going to pay for it. Schalke would have been the most favourable team, followed by Bayern, Real then Barca of course. We will be playing an even stronger Barcelona team with the addition of David Villa who may well do more damage than Zlatan. It's not a pretty sight to be torn down by Messi and co. and seeing the Special One's Real Madrid receiving a 5-0 drubbing is neither an encouraging prospect for any opponents of Barca.

Right after the defeat last time around, Wenger acknowledged Barcelona were by far the better team and he would look to the transfer market to improve the squad. 8 months on after the thrashing at Nou Camp, are we a better team? We've got Squillaci, Koscienly and Chamakh added to the team, but is the outcome going to be any different...

Barcelona has a team of World Cup winners with their players competing for top individual honours, while Arsenal at times look like a team waiting for Cesc to pull the strings. The fact that Barca has a very mature team that has been working together for many years, winning the Champions League on twice in the last 5 years and is probably the best team in Europe. Messi, Villa, Iniesta, Xavi...the list goes on.

The most important thing for Arsenal is not start the game defeated , which is absolutely crucial. Memories of the first half at the Emirates and the second leg in Nou Camp would haunt us for a long time, but we have to put that aside and play 2 wonderful matches. Put this in simple terms, it would take an amazing effort to beat Barcelona over two legs. I am not that confident of a victory, but I have the belief if we play our best football, we can show Barca they are not invincible.

My 10 pointers for Arsenal to win the game

10. No silly goalkeeping errors
We have error-prone keepers at the club and we have to work with it. But on the day, we can't afford to concede goals due to silly mistakes.

9. Have Vermaelen and Squillaci as center backs.
Vermaelen hasn't featured much this season, and the key is for him to get a good run of games before the showdown. A very dreadful Silvestre played in Nou Camp last season and it was very painful to watch Arsenal not closing down players quick enough.

8. Rest some players in the prior match
Fixtures indicate we play Wolves and as much I like to win the league, the Champion's League is a big priority as well. It's one of the best opportunities to create history so it's pivotal for Arsenal to have fresh players on the pitch. It's a huge source of revenue for the club too.

7. Force long range shots
This might not be such a good idea if you think of the quality of the Barca players. Iniesta, Xavi and Villa are not exactly the most physical players in the game, and if we could out-muscle them and limit their plays to long range shots, we stand a chance.

6. Samir Nasri
By far the best player for Arsenal this season and playing his best season so far. Time to step it up against the world's best and prove yourself.

5. Go on the offence
We've seen on many occasions how Arsenal prefer to sit back in big games, this must change if we're going for mission impossible. Our defence is not the best I've seen which means goals are going to be conceded. This leaves attacking the only way to win.

4. Win the first leg
We got one hell of a beating at in the first leg last time out, but we were not outscored. There must not be dominance so early on by Barca and we need to win by two clear goals if we we stand a chance.

3. Full-backs on Messi
Sagna and Clichy have a half each of responsibility to guard Messi. It's going to be the toughest job in football, but if the Barca are going to be stopped, Messi is the number one target.

2. A successful 4-5-1 formation
If goals are going to be the theme in the two games, we will be outscored. The only way we are going to win it is by clamping down on the Barca midfield which is the obvious strength of Barca. Alex Song is going to be the most important player in the middle of the park, and he has to try to close down as much of the plays from the centre. Arsenal are not going to score many goals in this formation and thus need at least one clean sheet. Chamakh may be deployed as a lone striker, and he too has to be at the top of his game.

1. Have Cesc Fabregas over two legs.
Our captain, our inspiration, he is going to be the man giving us a chance of victory. We need him over two legs and we need him fit. It's going to be a very tough Nou Camp return, but he still has a lot to prove and there's no better time.

Two teams with similar styles of football. Barca are clear favourites from the start but Arsenal may have also been their toughest draw possible. We've beaten Real Madrid (with Zidane) and at that time World champions AC Milan in the competition before, so it's going to a big battle to bring us down. With our swift and scintillating style of play, we are going to do whatever we can to win this. Come on Arsenal!

~deyao~

A Different November

I am home! It's been 8 months abroad and I am happy to be back for the next 3. Still trying to finish up my post of Debt but I'll do a much easier topic to write on, football of course. It's been a tough November for Arsenal, we were almost winless at home.

Are the signs good? It's been very mixed...very indeed. We should have qualified for the knockout stages in the Champion's League a couple of matches ago and but we are needing a final game to progress. Our games against Shakhtar and Braga have been disappointing and it has done us no favours. We are likely to end up 2nd which technically is not a favourable position. On the League front, we had 2 big away wins against Wolves and Everton, which at that time was a big step forward after the unexpected defeat to Newcastle. But after that was a very hard to swollow defeat to great foes Spurs. Being an Arsenal fan, there's no worst team to lose to other than Spurs. We have had an impressive streak of unbeaten games against Spurs over the years but to finally surrender it under such circumstance (being 2-0 up) was really hard to take. It was huge London derby where we could have been top of the table that day, but unfortunately Spurs had the better half and outscored our first half heroics. It was a day that also saw the return of Gallas which had a hostile reception as well as Spurs announcing their intent on make a challenge for the title. With the likes of Defoe, Bale, Van der Vaart and Modric, Spurs made the most of their very talented attacking artillery and made the comeback. We Gooners would need to live with this defeat and the fact our bitter rivals may be finally showing they mean business after years of unfulfilled promises (overtaking Arsenal). I personally admit I could see Spurs progress since last season when they beat Chelsea and brought the title race all the way to the final day. They then qualified for the Champion's League and now they have even qualified for the next phase.

Now a critical analysis of the team. The defence remains the biggest worry for the team. We have kept very few clean sheets and conceded some silly goals. Goalkeeping hasn't been impressive either and for me it is an unsolved problem since the start of the season. As much as I would like to think Almunia or Fabianski is good enough to stand in goal, they certainly have made too many costly errors. Fabianski has shown he is a good shop stopper but he really struggles dealing with crosses and physically tall attackers. I am still adamant we need a better keeper. Djourou, Squillaci and Koscielny has shown promise in some of their appearances, but there's still room for improvement and hopefully that learning curve is not going to cost us more points. More clean sheets is the very next priority.

For the midfield positions, Nasri, Wilshere and Song has been outstanding so far. Nasri is having his best season so far, is scoring goals and making a big impact in games. Wilshere has done some deputising in the place of Fabregas which probably is the most important position for Arsenal. With Cesc struggling with various niggling injuries and threat of playing too many games, this has limited his appearances. Wilshere has stepped up big time for the team, he passing and plays has been really outstanding. Looks like the three match ban has made him an even better player! Song is going to be a sought after player with his performances these days. He not only does the defensive work, he sets up attacks and even scores some goals. Walcott and Denilson has only started to come back their injuries and hopefully things will pick up in December. Arshavin has been a major disappointment this season, he has scored some goals but overall he has only been a shadow of the player he really is. But, he did show a good display against Villa and was the player on that day, a sign of improvement? Cesc and Diaby look to spend the next few weeks on the sidelines, we need to step up in a very important December.

Chamakh has ruled in the scoring department. With Bendtner and Van Persie only just returning from injury, Chamakh has taken on the responsibility and what a debut season he is having. Chamakh's height and speed has really contributed to many of his goals. Plus giving "200 percent"will inevitably bring more goals.

There's an extremely important final game for the CL group stage coming, plus a visit to Old Trafford and a home game against Chelsea in the upcoming fixtures. It's going to be a hectic fixtures list in January as well. Let's move to the next gear Gunners!

~deyao~

Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless 3 hour Special

I just completed the 3 hour special about Taylor Swift's journey and her tour. I still got a final exam paper coming up but I don't want to wait any longer because I might not be writing this if I postponed it.

The special mainly showed how she went on tour and the back scenes on how she made it happen. I've watched many documentaries and read tons about her, but watching one of her concerts remain on the "waiting list". It may not happen soon but the 3 hour special was a wonderful insight on her tour which lasted about 15 months. Her journey is something looked upon millions across America and the world. Her lyrics are 'embedded' in people and it simply shows her song's impact on her listeners. It was another tremendous story about a talented musician trying to make it into the music business.

In the beginning, it showed how she convinced her family to move to Nashville to pursue her music dreams. At an age of 11, somehow she did it and credit to her parents for giving her the opportunity to. Ironically, she got spotted in the same venue where her idol Faith Hill also got noticed. Some humour to the story. After she played in that venue (a cafe), a man walked up to her, asking her to be part of his record label. At the time, she was with a big record label but they were seemingly unwilling to offer her a record anytime soon because she was just 14 or 15. He contacted her a few days later and said. "There are good news and bad news. The good news is I want you on my record label.The bad news is.... I don't have a record label yet". And it was sort of destiny, Taylor had such a bright future ahead and this guy saw it in her, the rest is history.The then little known Big Machine Records has now got Taylor Swift selling millions of copies for them. What a story. Introducing Scott Borchetta.

And more recently, Taylor again mentioned how Big Machine Records gave her the freedom of doing whatever she liked on her new album and how she was very proud to be representing them. Obvious reasons why they trust her, she sells half a million copies on the first week.

The special also included full length performances for her concert in Houston. The first hour had You Belong With Me, Tim McGraw, Fifteen,Teardrops On My Guitar and Our Song. The second, Today Was A Fairytale, Love Story, Hey Stephen and Tell Me Why. The third, Fearless, Forever And Always, Picture To Burn and Shouldve Said No. I was pretty thrilled to be seeing the inside of a Taylor Swift concert. I must say she sounds a lot better than many of her performances on awards and tv shows. It's just an incredible experience for people who attended her concert.

Taylor's efforts in the making her concert possible was also just wonderful to watch. How she chose her dancers, designed her stage, customised the effects and arrangement and most importantly how she made her fans feel that more important to her. There's a lot to mention. Go watch it to find out.

Her band and her mother's influence and support was another key involvement in Taylor's career. Her mother was every supportive of what she does and follows her on the road to all of her shows. And like how Andrea (her mum) says, not many people Taylor's age would want to hang out with their mums, but luckily her daughter does. It sets an inspiring example for teens today and Taylor should be extremely proud. She has the coolest people in her band as well and the intimacy of the band was something people could only wish for. Each and every one of them are special in their own way and they are like family to Taylor. It is closest thing to a fairytale for an artist, working with people who actually are your most important people in life.There was a moment in their last show where she said "I trust you..".Again showing how far they've come.

There are not many people I admire in life and particularly not anyone younger than me. But hats off to Taylor, she has become an idol for millions of people and setting the best example for them. She has won Grammy awards at the age of 20 and there will be no stopping her doing more. Speak Now is a just a fabulous album I can't wait to write a review about soon. Ending with some promo pictures and video from the special.





Taylor Swift's 'Journey to Fearless' on The Hub

Taylor Swift | Myspace Music Videos

~deyao~

American Debt

My post on debt is still in the making and will not be done in at least a month. I came across this article talking about why America is technically bankrupt. And...the printing still continues.

Neil Reynolds - The scary actual U.S. government debt

Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. “Let’s get real,” Prof. Kotlikoff says. “The U.S. is bankrupt.”

Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. “The U.S. fiscal gap is huge,” the IMF asserted in a June report. “Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 per cent of U.S. GDP.”

This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF’s fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling.

Prof. Kotlikoff says: “The IMF is saying that, to close this fiscal gap [by taxation], would require an immediate and permanent doubling of our personal income taxes, our corporate taxes and all other federal taxes.

“America’s fiscal gap is enormous – so massive that closing it appears impossible without immediate and radical reforms to its health care, tax and Social Security systems – as well as military and other discretionary spending cuts.”

He cites earlier calculations by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded that the United States would need to increase tax revenue by 12 percentage points of GDP to bring revenue into line with spending commitments. But the CBO calculations assumed that the growth of government programs (including Medicare) would be cut by one-third in the short term and by two-thirds in the long term. This assumption, Prof. Kotlikoff notes, is politically implausible – if not politically impossible.

One way or another, the fiscal gap must be closed. If not, the country’s spending will forever exceed its revenue growth, and no one’s real debt can increase faster than his real income forever.

Prof. Kotlikoff uses “fiscal gap,” not the accumulation of deficits, to define public debt. The fiscal gap is the difference between a government’s projected revenue (expressed in today’s dollar value) and its projected spending (also expressed in today’s dollar value). By this measure, the United States is in worse shape than Greece.

Prof. Kotlikoff is a noted economist. He is a research associate at the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a former senior economist with then-president Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. He has served as a consultant with governments around the world. He is the author (or co-author) of 14 books: Jimmy Stewart Is Dead (2010), his most recent book, explains his recommendations for reform.

He says the U.S. cannot end its fiscal crisis by increasing taxes. He opposes further stimulus spending because it will simply increase the debt. But he does suggest reforms that would help – most of which would require a significant withering away of the state. He proposes that the government give every person an annual voucher for health care, provided that the total cost not exceed 10 per cent of GDP. (U.S. health care now consumes 16 per cent of GDP.) He suggests the replacement of all current federal taxes with a single consumption tax of 18 per cent. He calls for government-sponsored personal retirement accounts, with the government making contributions only for the poor, the unemployed and people with disabilities.

Without drastic reform, Prof. Kotlikoff says, the only alternative would be a massive printing of money by the U.S. Treasury – and hyperinflation.

As former president Bill Clinton once prematurely said, the era of big government is over. In the coming years, the U.S. will almost certainly be compelled to deconstruct its welfare state.

Prof. Kotlikoff doesn’t trust government accounting, or government regulation. The official vocabulary (deficit, debt, transfer payment, tax, borrowing), he says, is vulnerable to official manipulation and off-the-books deceit. He calls it “Enron accounting.” He also calls it a lie. Here is an economist who speaks plainly, as the legendary straight-shooting film star Jimmy Stewart did for an earlier generation.

But Prof. Kotlikoff’s economic genre isn’t the Western. It’s the horror story – “and scarier,” one reviewer of his book suggests, than Stephen King.

~deyao~

Drowned in awesomeness

I got two weeks of studying coming up but because of another breathtaking album by Taylor Swift, I can't help but spread the word. It's only my second day listening to it, but it has surpassed my expectations. No surprises the lyrics are again based on true stories but I really feel she has stepped it up another level. Fearless was one hell of a album, generating more album sales than any other albums at that time. Now Speak Now is set to break more records, I am very certain of that. Any doubts can be put to rest because Taylor has done an amazing job for this album.She has clearly shown she has matured and become even better over the last two years. 14 tracks on the original version album and a few others with acoustic versions on the deluxe version (red cover). For her fans, it's another incredible treat. The way she connects her stories into music is quite amazing. If you take the time to get to the meaning of the songs (she wrote every song btw) and at the same time get drowned in the excellent instrument arrangement, it won't be hard to understand why she is right on top in the industry.

~deyao~

Turning Point?

It was a slightly mixed morning, I streamed Arsenal v Braga without audio and bad video quality but I was well compensated with some beautiful football.

The summer transfer window dealings had a much better impact than I expected. I thought back on all the transfers made and I just realised Arsenal signed their first striker since Adebayor way back in 2006. It has taken sometime to fine-tune this team and Arsenal supporters have gone through very painful trial and error lessons of sub-par players. It was not a very impressive lineup of signings to start with but the impact has already been felt.

Arsenal can no longer hold on to mediocre players and this transfer window we got rid of most of the underperforming players. Players like Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell and Senderos who are either way past their prime or who simply aren't good enough have been 'weeded out'. They've given some exceptional performances during their time but their consistency were lacking and it has cost us on many occasions. And now we got Koscielny and Squillaci. Straight into the frame of the first team against Braga. One has CL experience with Sevilla and the other is making his CL debut. It wasn't the toughest test we could expect but not to concede a goal was a step in progress. The defence hasn't settled really well yet as a whole, but I would expect things to only get better. When Vermaelen returns, he can partner either one of them. Koscielny has made a few errors, although it hasn't cost us points, I could already see him improving by the week. He has moved to the toughest league in football and for his level of adaptation at this point I'm quite satisfied.

We played without Van Persie, Bendtner, Diaby or Walcott yesterday. But we lacked no firepower really, Fabregas, Nasri, Chamakh and Arshavin combined was so lethal we could compete with any top team. For Arsenal to have the whole team back and not achieving anything this season really makes no sense to me. There's enough talent in this team for sure.

Notables. Fabregas was a big notable yesterday. He probably played his best game this season.I'm really glad the patient buildup towards full fitness has gone well. He was such a maestro in the game, he showed the world once again what an extraordinary player he is. I don't want to be thinking whether his days are numbered. To see him playing at such a level in an Arsenal shirt is one of the most pleasing things I could watch today. His passing, vision and control in the game was something very rare in today's game. The Catalans are finding more reason to get their hands on him and the Arsenal board are probably thinking every day how is this 'fairytale' going to last. To me it is unreal he actually stayed, I anticipated disaster, considering his heart was already back in Catalunya, I thought it was more likely he didn't stay.

Seeing this
and this

That happiness in my heart was indescribable. Having Cesc playing for Arsenal is something you cannot put a any dollar amount on. For him to stay on and still play at his best will earn him lots of respect from the fans.

Another few notables are Jack Wilshere and Alex Song. A few people realise Jack made it into the Arsenal first team at the age of 16. It was definitely for a reason, he is really talented. Still a lot of learning to go but he is making the starting line in CL, that is quite a statement. That incredibly instinctive flick/pass to Chamakh just made me watch in awe. He plays very similar to the departed Fran Merida, and I am feeling a lot better now.

Alex Song was a master in midfield in the match and over the weekend against Bolton. The 2.5m signing from Bastia 4 years ago is showing the exactly why his move was made permanent after a loan. Possession wise he was just superb, it was exactly what you would have expected from a defensive midfield. Feeling better without Flamini, yea...

And also, Chamakh who continues his scoring streak. First goal by his foot? Haha, a stat there.Played in the CL last season and was in familiar territory. Showed his athletic abilities and his mould into to Arsenal style is almost in place.

Good start again this season...I'm not looking very far but I am expecting a lot more this season.

~deyao~

Miss Inspirational

I've been re-inspired again, all thanks to the extremely inspirational Marié Digby. She made a short "movie" named after her album Breathing Underwater. It was primarily to describe how she actually wrote her album, how the songs came about. I did remember her mentioning about the sequence of songs throughout the album and the way she presented it in the movie explains many unanswered questions. The videos are based on a true story and to be able to get an insight on this was a great feeling for a big fan like me. She may not be a big star in music but her songs has appealed to many people. Her songs has played a very huge role in my life over the past few years and it has become a part of me. Marié is one of the people I draw a lot of character and passion from and I am really glad her songs has made an impact like she intended to.

After watching the "movie" (made of 17 short videos), it reaffirms everything she has always tried put in her songs. Her drive and passion for music is remarkable. It is not a typical movie but just an illustration of her songs from the album. You get to experience her many acoustic versions of her songs which sound so much different from the original version. Overall, the videos also shows her difficulty during the start and also the people who exists in her songs. I forgot to mention the movie was directed by her too.


The best thing is the videos are absolutely free for streaming on the ABC website. Refer to the picture above for the sequence to make you don't skip any videos in between.

Go to this URL to check the movie out
http://abc.go.com/watch/clip/music-lounge/FK_lilith

The videos were released over the course of the Lilith tour which consists of only female artists. The tour is created for a good cause, Marié was a correspondent for the tour and she got to meet many big artists. She wrote about her experience on the website below.
http://forums.abc.go.com/abcontheroad

Although I haven't written about her in awhile, it is no indication I've lost touch. I'll most probably write about her again when she has new music or an album coming.

Some pictures to end.

♥

Jap look?

Not sure who are the rest
Marié's precious Misty.

♥♥ Marié
~deyao~

SUPER Albums on the way

Tomorrow marks the release of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" album. Her sophomore album is no doubt going be absolutely fabulous. Her first two singles of this album has already done wonders on the music charts. After a successful first album, this album is poised to hit greater heights.

Next is probably the one I have anticipated the longest. I've waited very patiently for this, about 3 years. She has top spot for the best album I've ever listened too. It's no other than the exceptional Sara Bareilles. Her first album just blew me away. From the lyrics, composition to arrangements for her live performances, it was just incredible really. It's her second headlining album titled Kaleidoscope Heart. Although her first single King of Anything has not quite done a "Katy Perry", this album is destined to be tremendous. It will be out on September 7.

And finally to cap it off, there's no better artist to do it. Competing in the ranks with Beyonce and Lady Gaga in the music scene, there's only one artist right up there. It's the very talented and beautiful Taylor Swift!! It's approaching 2 years since her release of the record-breaking album, Fearless. Fearless was a global phenomenon, selling countless number of albums worldwide. Her "Fearless" tour sold out in minutes in every venue. It would take a book to describe Taylor. Her impact on the music scene has been immense and she's transformed into one of the world's biggest artist. Her upcoming album is titled "Speak Now" and her first single "Mine" has already been on the airwaves. October 25th is the release date for her album.

It's really exciting especially as the albums are released so close to each other. Looking forward to some awesome music!

~deyao~

First Thoughts on the Opening Game

Arsenal had a big break last night. Rosicky could have scored at late but Arsenal could have conceded a penalty to Fernando Torres. Arsenal were favourites at the start but disappointed throughout the match. The fact that Arsenal didn't come out with enough desire to win showed. There was no urgency and no spark in the game.

It was an exciting line up to see. Chamakh, Koscielny and Wilshere all making their first starts for the club.Chamakh used his height to pressure Liverpool but he rarely troubled. He had relatively good touches on the ball and I have no doubt he'll do even better next week. Koscielny had a good start for a first match. Although Arsenal conceded, I think we could see he is up for the challenge. I was delighted to see Wilshere make the starting line up, but Mascherano and Gerrard kept him quiet. Another step to establishing himself into the first team I guess.

Notables. Nasri was influential in many of the plays, showed quick movement and passing. Stuffed up two good free kick attempts but looked more confident than ever. Eboue played good passing as well but never really threatened offensively. Rosicky made a good impact after he came on and almost scoring.

Room for improvement. Arshavin looked completely out of sorts for one of his favourite fixtures based his goal tally at Anfield. I am still not convinced with the crosses from the full backs Sagna and Clichy. Everytime there needs to be good ball in the box, the crosses were disappointing. Almunia should not have been beaten at his near post. He doesn't convince me that he is capable of being number 1.

Impact of Fabregas, van Persie and Song
Arsenal missed these three players yesterday. There was no direction in the flow of the game. Arsenal were passing their way to nowhere at times and it is not something they should be doing. Van Persie never quite settled in the game. Had Song played a part in the game, Arsenal would have held more possession and allow more attacking plays.

We couldn't afford to lose the first game of the season and we didn't. I am not sure about the fitness of the absentees but I would love to see more firepower next week. It's going to be against a Blackpool side who made headlines with their thrashing of Wigan. There definitely must an improvement to this result next week.

~deyao~

Fantasy Premier League

It's another year already...I could still remember writing this post for last year.
As usual I've created a league in in FPL. Feel free to join.
The league code is 660423-152905

The dateline is 14 August 1100 GMT so make sure you get your teams registered by then.

~deyao~

The season is starting

31 August represents a very important deadline for football clubs, it is the last day for clubs to sign new players or sell. It would be 4 months of non-activity after that. The new season of the Premier League starts again in less than 2 weeks!

It was quite a wonderful winter break with the World Cup starting the night of the last day of exams. I've watched many many matches and I couldn't be more pleased. Although I expected Spain to be contenders but I never wanted them to win. One of the reason is Spain being made of almost entirely of Barcelona players whom are pursuit of Fabregas. One way to see it is Barcelona are a tremendous team and even a player like Cesc may not make the starting line up. But you could see the impact Cesc has the moment he comes on, he is one hell of a player. He is intelligent, quick and his vision is top draw. There are countless reasons Barca would want Cesc but Barca too got realities of their own, finances. They didn't build a stadium or get taken over, but yet that pile of debt is so huge. They had to borrow 120 mil to pay their wages. Well, it is not a cheap team to maintain. Most of them are World Cup winners and they had Ronaldinho for some time and his wages would have been very close to 200k a week.

Football is a sport for entertainment and it is also a business. We have seen over the years many clubs run into financial trouble like Leeds, Newcastle and most recently Portsmouth. When you have trouble with your finances, it affects the business too. If the club goes into administration, points get deducted and the club is forced to sell top players, the end result won't be a good one. Arsenal is one of the most talked about teams when it comes to winning vs finances. Arsenal are arguably the most well run club financially in the world. But in contrary they have won nothing in the past 5 years. The interesting fact is, although winning nothing, the club's financial health is still that good. Here's a few reasons why.

Reason #5 Arsenal have not been taken over
Many of the clubs being taken over very very huge in asset base base but when compared to their debt, it is not a pretty sight. Man Utd might have a asset base of nearly 1 bil, but having debts of 700m which has increased since the takeover in 2005 has certainly got the fans very mad. Imagine the financing cost involved.
This article illustrates the not very pleasant situation.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/05/28/1947511/exclusive-manchester-united-spent-40m-refinancing-debt-following-

There's a very big reason why many fans and the Red Knights desperate in getting the Glazers out the club.
Many people are wondering why a change of owners is a bad thing. Well don't the names of the shareholders just change ? Normally that's what happens. But not in this one. What the Glazers have done is a leveraged buyout in finance terms. What they have done is the borrowed a very large sum to acquire the club and at the same time use the club's assets to secure the loan. How does it benefit them? They don't have much upfront cost. Won't they lose as well with the huge financing bill? Number one, how much can they lose if they put so little capital in club. Number two, if it takes 50 years to pay off the debt, it won't matter, the business pays off the debt itself. Who loses? The club loses overall because finance will be tight and players need to be sold over time to fund huge loses. The exact same problem has occurred at Liverpool and that situation is much worse. For Chelsea, the debt levels are also pretty high but the Roman injects money in every season, making things look rosier than it is.

Reason #4 Low wage rates
I shouldn't actually be using the the word "low" because the wages are still pretty high. In general, Arsenal do not pay exorbitant wages to anyone. Anything above 100k is extraordinary. I believe only Cesc commands that level at the moment. The lack of big names also contributes to Arsenal's lower wage bill. However in recent article I've seen, it is not significantly lower. But a million or two a year goes a long way.

Reason #3 Youth
The most controversial policy I have seen adopted. It has shown glimmers of what the future has in store for the club but that has been all. Youth hasn't brought the silverware. But it has kept Arsenal out of the overpriced transfer market.

Reason #2 Stadium Revenue
The Emirates Stadium has been a curse in terms of trophies but financially it has been a great investment. Matchday revenues has been at record levels with season tickets in shortage. Accommodating 50% more spectators than Highbury, a club like Arsenal would need it. But Wenger's role in consistently delivering Champion's League football has been the main reason Arsenal could afford it.

Reason #1 Buying Cheap & Selling
When it comes to value seeking, Arsenal are champions. They have bought many players at a very cheap price and turning them into world beaters. Nothing at Arsenal cost more than 16 mil which was paid for Arshavin. A season of buying in Real Madrid is probably equivalent to more than 5 years of transfers in Arsenal.

The only way you could ever make money is selling. Although it sucks seeing players leave the club, the amount of money Arsenal has made over the years is quite amazing. Henry, Vieira, Adebayor, Anelka, Toure and a few others easily made the club over 50 mil. You don't usually see anything like this anywhere else.

The Transfer Market so far.....
The most aggressive team by far this summer has been Man City. They were extremely close to making 4th place last season. The big names they have got are David Silva, Jerome Boateng, Yaya Toure and very likely Mario Balotelli. It's over 100m spent so far. Mancini has only one chance to achieve a top 4 position and his signings has drawn a lot of attention. Are they going to be serious contenders? In the attacking part of the game, they've got oversupply of talent and I can really see no reason for more transfers. But their problem last season has been the defence. Although their defence is made up of quality players, somehow it was one of their biggest downfalls. Only Boateng has come to the picture in terms of the back four, has Mancini done enough? I think he needs one more.

The Big 3 (although Spurs are in the top 4, they still haven't deserved to knock Liverpool out) has done a great deal of transfers. Man Utd only adding Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez. Despite the loss of Ronaldo, they had quite a decent season. This probably prompted Fergie to continue with his current squad. Despite their age, Giggs and Scholes has been admirable and extremely influential in the team. They surely will play a big role again this season, but Fergie has to know it won't last. Nani and Valencia have stepped up last season and this has most likely satisfied the manager's line up.

Chelsea has been really quiet, only big name has been Benayoun. No offense, but I am not sure Benayoun is good enough for the team. I don't see him lasting more than a season. I am really sorry. Overall I don't think the champions need any more players and all they could do is keep up the good work. They are close on signing Ramires recently but again I am not sure to what extent this Chelsea team is getting much better.

Arsenal has freshened up their squad. Letting under-performing and mediocre players leave during the summer. Campbell, Silvestre, Gallas, Senderos and Eduardo all departing. They haven't done the job up to a certain standards and I had no problems seeing them leave. My concern would be on the defence. Only one signing after 4 exits. Wenger needs another 2 defenders at least, they only have 3 centrebacks now. Ater conceding 4 goals against Barca and 3 against Wigan, Wenger has to know he has a massive gap to fill. The addition of Chamakh rules out any potential strikers. The return of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere would also rule out any potential midfielders. Overall I am still not convinced we got "our" man to score the goals. I would like to see another striker come in. If RVP is sidelined, Bendtner leads the front and that is no way going to create enough goals. I am still not quite satisfied with the sort of firepower to do a lot of damage when attacking, oh well, I can only hope. Wenger has to sign at least 2 players or the fans would go another season suffering. Oh man...

Forecast
I always got lots of predictions wrong. As much as I didn't want Spain to win the World Cup, I gave a genuine prediction they would make it. It's always a tough job for anyone to predict football. So many views and only a few will get it right. I am quite confident the top 3 last season will have no problems staying in the top 3. Top 4 is going to be a four way playoff this season. It is more open than ever. Man City, Liverpool, Spurs and Aston Villa. It would be against the odds but the knocking on the 3rd place door would take place this season. My biased but hopeful prediction for the top 4.
1. Arsenal
2. Chelsea
3. Man Utd
4. Man City

Neutral prediction
1.Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3.Man Utd
4.Man City

Risks
There are a few risk the predictions would go really wrong. I am not buying myself any insurance going with the winners year after year may not be realistic.
Goal scoring machines - Rooney and Drogba were top scorers last season and there will be heavy reliance on them again this season. Rooney had a slightly painful end to last season and a woeful WC, can he charge it up again?. Berbatov has to step for Man Utd with more goals, plus Nani and Valencia must notch up double figures in the league itself. Anelka,Lampard and Malouda must also keep up the scoring.

Integration - Man City's integration is really important. They got a host of talent in the squad but can Mancini make them a team? The predictions are heavily relying on this.

The fitness of Torres - His fitness hasn't be good enough over the past year .I see him scoring when he plays but this could be a tough season with the lack of talent in the team.

I'll leave it here and we'll see what the new season will bring . Till the next time. Ta!

~deyao~

The 4 Factors In An Australian's Perspective

I haven't written about any personal finance topics in awhile, all thanks to my course structure. Anyway, it was quite the semester I anticipated. At least I knew what I was getting into and the consolation was I didn't freak out that often. I have a well deserved break now and here's one of the first few things I am doing.

I did some really interesting subjects this semester and although I went through quite a tough time doing them, I walked away quite happy. Hopefully I could somehow part some of the things I've learnt and make my writings better.

I've been wanting to write about this topic for a very long time and I finally have the time to. Robert Kiyosaki wrote about how every single person should understand the 4 factors. If they didn't they would never improve financially. He wrote his books particularly to help the Americans, whose financially well-being has been below par. But the rest of the world benefited too, people like me. He wrote about the 4 factors that made people poor. And I really felt the same after reading it and I thought it would be important to spread the message. Since he wrote it in an American context, I thought probably I could do one for an Australian's perspective.

The 4 factors by Robert are Taxes, Debt, Inflation and Retirement. He mentioned the majority of the people heard of these words before and knew what they generally meant, but they didn't know the impact of these four factors. The reason that convinced me to write on this topic was because these four factors took the most money out of people, legally. For the working class, what is the percentage these four factors take from your gross pay check? If it is below 20%, then I think you shouldn't be worried. But if it is anything above 40%, I think it is important to take note.Just imagine, before you can spend ANY amount from your pay check, 40% is ALREADY GONE. Some people just accept it and carry on with life as usual thinking they could do nothing about it, but for the people who believe something can be done and look at ways to improve their situation, they could be on their way to saving lots of money by just doing things not much differently.

First of all, I would briefly cover the four factors and some important points to note. It would take an entire book to give a comprehensive guide. What I hope to achieve is to point things to the right direction and hopefully by taking your own initiative to understanding these four factors further, you could improve financially.

*Half way through typing this, I just realised this post would be too long. So I am writing the factors in 4 parts (posts).

Inflation

The first factor is Inflation. Definition, a rise in prices in just about anything. You and I hate inflation because we have to pay more for our bills. We dislike paying more for fuel, groceries and it makes any future investments more expensive because prices keep going up. Inflation hurts the value of our money because 1 dollar today might not buy you the same thing one year later. A brief economics explanation. A rise in price is generally due to a fall in supply or an increase in demand. So which way is it? I would say both factors are evident. A fall in supply seldom occurs unless we're talking about a resource with limited supply, but a growth in demand I would say is due to economic and population growth. In short, if there's growth, there is inflation.

Australia is one of the handful number of countries in the world with a positive a 'real interest rate'. A simplified calculation is the Interest Rate minus the Inflation Rate. If it is positive, it means money is still outgrowing inflation which is still good, vice versa. If it is positive, do Australians still need to worry? The answer is yes. And the next question is obvious, it is why?

One of the reasons is if interest rates are at 4.5% and inflation is at 2.5%, you're looking at a real interest rate of 2%. Especially for people whose interest payments keep them afloat in retirement and people who hold mainly cash, 2% is a below average return. Inflation is also known as a 'silent tax'. It takes money from you without your "permission". For example, oil prices rise, you pay more at the pump, no questions asked. The pump owner sure didn't keep prices down to please customers, simply because people will pay it anyway. What if oil prices go crazy to levels back in July 2008, you would have no choice again but to "surrender" more money for fuel.

The effect of rising energy prices is huge, it trickles down to almost every section of cost of living. From housing, food, transportation and wages. Inflation destroys an economy if it is not kept in check. Growth becomes pointless if inflation grows faster. The central banks increase interest rates to curb inflation, but high interest rates is not necessary a good thing, ask borrowers that.With high interest rates, cost of financing increases and growth slows as well.Inflation threatens our cost of living, so who benefits and what can we do?

When it comes in inflation, only a small group of people in the world benefits. People who own resources/real assets. When oil prices rise, only oil producers benefit and the rest of the world loses. People who own real estate, they don't mind if house prices rise because they would gain. Imagine the wealth transfer. People who don't own any real assets, have their wealth transferred to people who do. In Australia we're talking about a huge mining boom, but how much of that wealth is actually transferred to the general population. If you don't own the mining companies, you don't benefit. If you're waiting for the government to make sure the benefits are spread across the country, this would awhile and I'm not sure how much 1 person would receive after dividing it among 20+ million people.

Inflation can a big problem, especially for people who do not own real assets. The solution is simple, you can own more real assets, earn more money or achieve a higher return on your investments. In the long run, earning more money at work is going to be difficult and achieving a growth in returns over time gets harder. Therefore, owning real assets would be the best option.

In short, inflation happens if growth occurs. As individuals, what happens to prices is out of our control. But the fact is we know inflation will happen and just by looking at inflation data for the past few years, we know inflation will not stop happening. If inflation is controlled well within comfortable levels then it is fine, but if it takes a few spikes many people will suffer. As individuals there are no certainties in economic conditions. Although Australia is a big producer of commodities, the benefit to the country as whole is only concentrated to the people who own these resources. If the price of coal or gas goes up, the owners make more money and our bills get bigger numbers. To deal with this inflationary environment, the best thing in my view to do is to hold inflationary assets; assets that benefit from inflation. I am not saying go get a house or buy stocks because everyone's financial position is different. What is best for yourself is look at the assets to you have, anticipate inflation and see whether you would be better off, worst off or maybe be unchanged. If there's room for change then make some changes in your allocation.

The next few topics would be more linked to an Australian's perspective. Inflation is a bit general to everyone so I haven't got anything specific. Hopefully the next few posts will make up for it. Thanks.

~deyao~

Jay is Back !

Jay is back with a wonderful album titled "The Era". I've heard it a few times and overall I am delighted to listen to Jay's music again. Another tremendous attempt to mix some new material without compromising his style. Really love it.

He mentioned about his interview with CNN on how he couldn't converse in English. So I checked it out and it reminded me how he has inspired the world with his music and being a role model. The video are split to four parts.









~deyao~

Last of Cesc?

In 2000, Overmars and Petit, two tremendously important players, left for Barca. Overmars had a horrid time and Petit returned with Chelsea only after a season.In 2005, Patrick Vieira, captain for Arsenal, left for Juventus in search of more success. He was 29, showed signs of decline and was never quite regained his majestic control in the middle of the park. In 2006, Robert Pires left and Dennis Bergkamp retired from football. Pires was arguably the best winger in the world in 2002. Since the horrific injury that ended his season and chances of a World Cup appearance, he was never back to his best. When he left at the age of 32, he was no longer pacy and he struggled for fitness.He could no longer regain his peak. Dennis retiring was less painful as he was way past his prime at that time.In 2007, captain of Arsenal, Theirry Henry bid farewell after 8 years of excellent service. He was Arsenal's top goalscorer and one of the best ever seen. However, his final season was painful to watch. Plagued by injuries physically and emotionally of losing two of the biggest finals (World Cup and Champions League) in his career saw his season end prematurely and having a lowest scoring total in many years. He left for Barca and did win the CL ,but again, his best days were behind him.

By the time now in 2010, I've seen numerous departures and I've remembered everyone one of them. I still remember in 2000 when the internet was still relatively new, I read the title on Soccernet ;"Overmars -I'm off to Barca". It was really painful at that time even as a 10 year old. When Thierry left, I was also deeply saddened because he was in my view, an Arsenal player for life with no exceptions. At the end, Thierry had an ambition of his own and we respected it.It is really heartbreaking to see good players leave, moving on after that many transfers still creates a lot of uncertainty when seeing a player leave.

For the third time, an Arsenal captain is linked with a move away. This time it is Cesc Fabregas. Undoubtedly the best player on the planet in his position. His maturity and unbelievable talent made him the youngest Arsenal captain in history. Only 23 this year. This possible transfer might be the most painful transfer an Arsenal fan could EVER experience. Cesc is the heartbeat of the team, he makes things work and he delivers very consistently. His vision in passing is phenomenal, he strikes the ball well and his winning attitude and determination is just spot on. And there is no coincidence his name in short means 'Fabulous'.

Does He Deserve To Leave?
Cesc signed an 8 year deal in 2006, the longest contract ever awarded to an Arsenal player. The duration of the contract signaled that even only being in his 2nd year in the senior team, he showed so much promise for the future and created every reason to tie him down. The only other contract I've seen of that length is Lionel Messi and it also contains an exit clause amounting to 150mil euros. And Yes, it is simply because he is too good. Arsenal has been trophyless for the last 5 years, nearly winning on a few occasions, but nearly winning and winning itself is a huge difference.

I would be frustrated if I were him. He is running the show and performing a level higher than everyone else and as a team, he achieves nothing in terms of silverware. The Arsenal team is an extremely good team. But in the reality of football, it doesn't matter how good you are, you need to end up first and only first. 2 seasons ago, Man Utd and Real Madrid won the title on goal difference. In the recent season, Chelsea won the title by a point. Thats how close it has been. Well you can't blame competition for failure and if you have title ambitions you need to be the best. Arsenal have simply failed to be number 1, that mattered. 4th in the Champions League and 3rd in the League, it still doesn't matter. Football is cruel, be top or you're just like any other team.

Who's To Be Blamed?
There can be no fault put on Cesc because he has simply given everything. Is Wenger to be blamed? Well he is the person who brought in Cesc. Like many things in life, someone creates something and in the end that same person messes things up. Similarly, Wenger is held responsible for bringing in Cesc and he would be again responsible if he decides to leave. We all know Wenger developed a project based on transforming young players into world class superstars. But the truth is, Wenger has overestimated the abilities of his youngsters and that's why he has failed to deliver. The understudies of the first team are mainly players who can deliver when being called upon but if they are required to start every game, the inexperience and inconsistency kicks in and points are dropped.

I've been a huge critic of Wenger's transfer policy and I still am. The fact that Cesc is in the league of his own may not necessary be a good thing. There are only two players in his league, Arshavin and Van Persie. And how many games have these 3 players started together, any amount more than 15 would be unlikely. And how many games are there in a season? About 60, and it is clear why Arsenal has failed to win anything. When they play together things go really well but suddenly one or two of them are missing the team struggles. Injuries are one side of the argument, but the real argument is why on earth a team like Arsenal has no other top players to deputise them when needed. Wenger's transfer policy is to be blamed and he could only blame himself if he loses the best player in his team.

A Less Fab Future
Cesc has no doubt been pulling the strings for years, he has kept Arsenal within the comforts of playing Champions League football. The battle for Champions League football finally took a turn this year, with Spurs emerging the "intruder" to the big four. Securing Champions League football hasn't been something Arsenal could take for granted in the past few years. In 2006, Arsenal miraculously edged out Spurs on the last day.In 2009, Villa potentially led by 8 points in March, only to lose steam after. And finally this year, Arsenal needed to avoid defeat on the last day to secure a valuable 3rd place which guarantees a position in the CL without having to qualify thru a preliminary round. Remember there's still Man City, Aston Villa and Liverpool, all potential suitors for the CL spots. It only gets harder.

It is going to be a potential catastrophe for the club if Cesc is to depart. Although Wenger has tried to built a team around him, it certainly hasn't turned out to to one of champion's quality. I am not sure there is any player I know that could even attempt to replace the club's inspirational captain. It truly it going to be unthinkable if Cesc is to depart. There is no way I feel Wenger could even try to mount a decent challenge next season without him. It's almost too hard even with Cesc, without him would be make it impossible. Worst case, Cesc could spark the biggest exodus yet with Wenger the next possible candidate on his last year of contract.

Last Straw Efforts
I am sure everyone at the club is trying to persuade Cesc to stay. But according to the press and uncertainly portrayed, it seems like Cesc has almost made up his mind. Nothing would happen until after the World Cup but after that fear is there as long as the transfer window is open. But what about Cesc's gratitude to Wenger? I feel this is the only reason he stayed on, his career exploded all because of Wenger's gamble in youth. But has Cesc done enough? I would say there is no limit on how much you have to repay your gratitude to someone but there's also comes to a point you have to think what's best for yourself. It is really unfortunate Wenger has not develop more 'Cesc-quality' youths in his time and it probably is one reason he is thinking about leaving. The odds are against Arsenal, of all teams Barca is the likely destination. The thought of going home to where you first came from, seems like quite an easy decision. Despite this, Cesc has a very strong mind and character and he must be thinking about his decision every day. Whatever the decision is, I am very sure he is smart enough to do the right thing.

As an Arsenal fan, there's absolutely no chance you could let this happen and for the best interest of the club, Cesc just has to stay. I am not sure to what extent Cesc has made up his mind, but Arsenal could really struggle without him. Wenger's leverage over Cesc is diminishing over time and the prospect without Cesc is something no Arsenal fan would want to think about.

~deyao~

The Continuing Drought

Before I vent out my frustration again about this season, I've read this from Piers, an Arsenal fan himself, whose weekly articles are great to read.



Piers Morgan - Time to join the big spenders, Wenger, or it will be time to say goodbye

Since the shocking, embarrassing, disgraceful capitulation of Arsenal's season at Wigan last weekend, I've been feeling so dangerously enraged that I didn't want to write about my team at all today - for fear I'd say something reckless and over-emotional again.

But having recently demanded that Rafa Benitez be fired (Liverpool should just get Roy Hodgson - he'd cost half the money, spend a tenth of the cash, play better football and desist from the incessant whining that 'Bizzo' persists in) and Sir Alex Ferguson stand aside for Jose Mourinho before it's too late (after Inter's sensational demolition of Barcelona, I'd say United have about two weeks to get him now before Real Madrid pounce), it would be journalistically remiss and cowardly of me to now avoid the yawning problems in my own manager's backyard.

Arsene Wenger is now facing the biggest crossroads in his Arsenal career, of that I am certain.

Five years without a trophy of any kind is simply too long for a 'Big Club' and everyone at the Emirates knows it, including Wenger himself, because he's not a stupid man. In fact, he's probably the smartest manager the Premier League has seen.

Year after year since he unceremoniously - and, in my opinion, way too speedily - dismantled the Invincibles team of 2004, we've heard the same excuses: the team's in 'transition', the young players are 'maturing', glory is 'very close now'. Yet here we are, half a decade after the youth experiment began and we've ended up with nothing again. Not a sausage. Not even a Carling bloody Cup.

Eighteen months ago, I suggested in this column that Wenger should stand down, sparking an unprecedented furore from Arsenal fans. It was like a devout Catholic calling for the Pope to stand down, you just don't do it. And anyway, Wenger deserved more patience than I'd given him until that point. But are we really any nearer a winning team now?

Part of me says that with a fullstrength team, we are. That inopportune injuries to key players like Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Theo Walcott kept us from fulfilling our potential this season. But another part of me isn't so sure.

I watched us getting hammered by Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona, with pretty strong sides out. Not just beaten, but thrashed.

Real men against boys stuff. And all this after a January transfer window when Wenger bought nobody apart from Sol Campbell. I've been saying for two years, like most Arsenal fans, that we needed a new goalkeeper, striker, and midfield hard-man. Wenger ignored us all, persisting with the hapless Manuel Almunia in goal, relying solely on the keen but naive Nicklas Bendtner up front throughout van Persie's lengthy absence, picking weak links like Denilson in the middle, and the clunk-footed dinosaur Mikael Silvestre at the back.

Either he did this because all the Arsenal boardroom chatter of £30 million to spend was nonsense. Or he did this because he's obstinate and believed he didn't need to.

One thing's for sure, though. This cannot go on. Something has to give. Are Arsenal's board misleading fans about the funds available, in which case they must now say so?

Or do we have the money and, if so, the board must now order Wenger to spend it this summer and spend it big. Because the reality is that to get the right players in the current market, he has to.

I'd break the bank for Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Both will want the Champions League football that Liverpool can't offer them and both would be magnificently complementary partners for Van Persie and Fabregas. And in goal, I would go for Shay Given, consistently the safest pair of hands in the country.

It's time Wenger stopped priding himself on being Mr Prudence and played the game that all his biggest rivals are playing. Otherwise this great man, who has achieved so many amazing things in his 13 years at Arsenal, will reach the end of his contract in 2011 with six consecutive years of failure on the second half of his scorecard. And if that happens, I believe he will either walk away or he'll be asked to.

Article originally from Daily Mail

~deyao~