Average Looking Mat

I woke up this morning to the tune of a drizzle… only to realise my underwear is still at the balcony….

Damn.

Da Vinci code… the rage of the month.

To the critics of Da Vinci code, (ahem... David and Margaret) it is not as bad as you make it out to be.

A common critique about the film was that it was too cluttered with information that it becomes confusing for the audience.

Well I have not had a problem with that. I doubt I am the most intelligent film … well if that’s the case…then… film critics who claim that it is confusing must be… ok I shall not say it…

Until then, I hadn’t read the book yet, so there was a chance that I might not understand it. But the thing is I did! So to say that… ok I am making the same point as above…

It’s just so frustrating that the critics say its confusing, with a lot of mambo jumbo and what not…

I understand a lot is expected because of its best-selling paperback counterpart but the critics have grossly overestimated it…

The book is nowhere near Earnest Hemingway, VS Naipaul, Seth, Roy, Achebe … hell it’s not even near JK Rowling… but I have to give credit to the writer and the book on its own merits. It is a good piece of page turner.

So what were they expecting? An in depth look in life… ponderous… earth shaking philosophical film, who are we kidding… the conspiracy theories are as old as the church itself, it has just been given a new twist to an old story. You know, put a bit of an adventure here and there… and presto! You have a best seller... with all the controversy surrounding it, why not add another… Hell! how about putting forward the Islamic view point that Jesus didn’t die in the cross, he was brought to Heaven before he could be crucified. The man on the cross was a person who resembled Jesus. Other Traditions said that it was Judas himself. Jesus will come back in the future to save the world. And yes Jesus was and is a man… sorry to digress; it is just a story which struck a chord with many readers.

Talk about being at the right place and time.

Look, Ron Howard made a faithful reproduction and personification of the book. The actors acted brilliantly, although Emily Tatou might seem a bit awkward but she was hot (for a descendant of Christ, well I am sure he’s hot and all, being god, according to the Church) … so whatever it is, it is a well-made film which should be judged on its own merits, not based on some whimsy standards the critics have placed them.

Iwan’s world cup 2

So here we are at group B.
Group B
England | Paraguay | Trinidad and Tobago | Sweden

I shall review England.

Let’s look at the squad.

Full squad
Goalkeepers: Paul Robinson (Tottenham), David James (Manchester City), Robert Green (Norwich City)
Defenders: Gary Neville (Manchester Utd), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester Utd), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Arsenal), Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Wayne Bridge (Chelsea)
Midfielders: David Beckham (Real Madrid/ESP), Michael Carrick (Tottenham), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich/GER), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
Forwards: Michael Owen (Newcastle), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd), Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

A lot have been said about England. A friend of mine plus the English press and the fans seems to say every world cup and euro championship year that they have the personnel to win it.

True, I have no argument in that. Any of the countries with a top league is capable of winning it. This is because they have the personnel, profession, the experience and the niche to win a big tournament like the world cup.

So question is, why don’t they?

Answer is simple, the others are better. Like Spain, England is a perennial underachiever. However unlike Spain they do not play a brand of football that is capable of conquering and beating teams like Brazil.

Granted they have some wonderful footballers, but frankly speaking they are never above or at par with the rest. The only footballer capable of taking on the best is probably Michael Owen. (Maybe Beckham) it has been proven in the international stage and set up.

The thing is individually they have the skill, technical ability and desire but are not tactically sound. This is the opposite for a team like Spain, who have everything but the passion, which is strange, because the Spaniards are known for being naturally passionate.

In any case back to England, because of this lack of tactical acumen, their chances have been halved.

But a lot has happened between 2002 to 2006. the thing is, if most teams play under par, England might have a chance.

With the impending world cup tournament just around the corner, I think I should give my 5cents worth. Plus, I will look into my crystal ball and attempt at foreseeing the unforseen future.

IWAN’S WORLD CUP RUN DOWN
GROUP A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

I shan’t attempt to analyse all teams because I do not have that deep enough knowledge. Here I shall analyse the Germans.

Full squad
Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann (Arsenal/ENG), Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich), Timo Hildebrand (VfB Stuttgart)

Defenders: Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Robert Huth (Chelsea/ENG), Marcell Jansen (Borussia Monchengladbach), Per Mertesacker (Hannover), Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (VfB Stuttgart), David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund)

Forwards: Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), Lukas Podolski (FC Cologne), Mike Hanke (VfL Wolfsburg), Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach), Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04)

The spine of the team is Lehmann, Lahm, Ballack, Klose. Out of the four only 2 are world class, that is not to say, Lahm and Klose are not good, in fact they are very good, very efficient, however, in the international stage, players must perform either their usual standard (if they are world class) or above it.

That said, it also depends on the effectiveness system that they use (which depends on whether the players understood it). Juergen Klinsmann, Germany’s coach uses the conventional back four. Fine. But if you do not have a solid holding midfielder ala Claude Makele or Mario Silva or Xabi Alonso or Dietmar Hamman (the player they left out), it is not going to be as effective. Notice how I say going to be as effective. However, it is a good attacking formation, with wingers and runners and pace… well basically he is banking on his runners and not ball players to win games. This is evident with players like Asamoah, Hitzperger, Schneider etc… so that my fellow football analysts, is his plan to conquer the world. He reminds me so much of Keegan’s England.

Nevertheless, Germany has always performed well in the world cup. People write them off, all the time. But history has shown that they would at least reach the quarter finals. Semi-final is a norm. This has been the pattern since 1966. The only reason for this phenomenon is German mentality. It is as hard as steel.

So write them off at your own peril!!