EPL 2014/15 - Game Week 27 (Special Feature On Lee Man Hon)

Which Team Do You Support?

Which team do you support in the EPL? I can tell you that most support Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City today. Why? Because these teams have been League Champions in the last few years. They are in fashion. Everybody loves a winning team. To build a winning team takes many years of bloody hard work. These are the same reasons why some men marry rich women or some women marry wealthy men. Its easier. Or folks who suck up to certain people in power, are influential or wealthy.

The Good Old Days

During my school days, I have heard about the legends of the Busby Babes, Bobby Charlton and George Best. I like the name Wolverhampton Wanderers, I thought that Albion was a good team though not sure which Albion it was. Some of my friends love Manchester City, Derby County and Leeds United. Today, a few of them still support Derby and Leeds but they are not sure where they are. There were teams like Luton Town and Carlisle United. 

Those were days where West Ham supplied England's World Cup players like Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. Their Claret and Blue colours remain unique till this day. I remembered the heroics of goalkeeper Mervyn Day, Alan Devonshire, Trevor Brooking, Frank Lampard Senior and Billy Bonds. Later they gave us Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick.

YNWA!

I supported Liverpool and was very familiar with Anfield and their players during my school days even before Liverpool were champions because I read about Bill Shankly, was very impressed with Bob Paisley and like the way Emlyn Hughes, Ray Clemence, John Toshack and Kevin Keegan played. I saw for the first time ''live'' how Liverpool have Borussis Moenchengladbach beaten 3-1 in the European Cup Final. Though I supported Liverpool, I like the other teams and their players too. 

But we could never afford to buy jerseys of our favourite teams. The closest most of us got were to buy any pair of shorts or t-shirts that resembled the colours of our teams. We even have to invite friends who owned a soccer ball to play. I do not think they even brought soccer kits of English teams to Singapore for sale. Who will buy them? We poor souls could only dream about it. Not any more. Today, I see boys sporting Real Madrid and Barcelona colours. When I buy jerseys these days, friends ask me why I buy them for and when I told them that I bought them to wear when I play soccer they looked at me with disbelief: ''I thought you quit some years back"? And so I said: ''I wear them to play X-Box FIFA15 soccer can or not''?

Lee Man Hon

That was when I got reconnected with Lee Man Hon. Do you remember Man Hon? He was a former top midfielder who played for Singapore in the 90s - probably from 1990-1997 and featured in the Malaysia Cup and League. Man Hon was in the team that won the Malaysia League and Cup double in 1994! I remember Man Hon as a young man with a cultured left foot who often make the left side of midfield his own. He took corner kicks for the team regularly. Man Hon was a delightful player to watch because he has a certain cheekiness in the way he played and at the time was like the baby in the squad at the time. I am sure he brought joy to many soccer fans of that era. As a player and in sports,  be they racket games, soccer or even golf I like an attacking game and not boring ones. There must be a certain kind of flamboyance, cheekiness to wow! At the time Man Hon did give us some of that.

Unfortunately, the FAS withdrew the Singapore team from the Malaysia League and Cup after the Double victory and that was when the S-League kicked off. Man Hon played in the S-League with SAF, Marine Castle and Tampines Rovers. Recently, I met Man Hon. 

Here I am with Lee Man Hon! He's a fan of mine. NO, I was a fan of his.

Here is another fan, he was my fan and stalked me so I passed him to Man Hon. Haha. Just kidding. Freddie is a good friend of mine.

Man Hon is a friendly and unassuming guy.

West Ham v Palace - The Hammers have not won in five matches but when you saw them killing off Tottenham in the first half last week you would not know that but Hammers supporters would say that they are disappointed they did not win the game. If they did the same again at Upton Park they can beat Palace. However, matches involving these two teams in the past tended to be close affairs. Draw or 1-0 margin but last August West Ham won 3-1 away. This match shall be competitive but I expect West Ham to win. 2-1.

Burnley v Swansea - The beauty of the Premier League was evident when lowly Burnley held Chelsea at their Stamford Bridge fortress. This kind of result and performance can spur a team to greater heights but Swansea did an equally good job in defeating Manchester United 2-1 don't you think. Burnley have home advantage here but Swansea have a better record against Burnley. I think both sides would sweat out a draw. 1-1.

Man Utd v Sunderland - I have asked this same question many times - would David Moyes do as well if he were given the same kind of money? Law of attraction? So some people succeed because they kept getting the plush jobs with no disrespect to Louis van Gaal. With all the big players and names, Man Utd look ordinary and play ordinary. It is just fortunate they are meeting Sunderland who have only won once in their last nine matches and they have to watch out for RVP who has a knack of scoring against Sunderland. The Black Cats can hope to cast a vodoo on their opponents if they remind their host of their last season's 1-0 win at Old Trafford and a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. Prior to that all previous three scores were 2-1 in favour of Utd twice. In other words they are often close. Can Sunderland surprise? I think Utd will again get lucky. LVG - Lucky van Gaal. 2-1.

Newcastle v Villa - The Magpies looked bereft last week as they got torn 0-5 by City. Villa led and put out a good fight only to succumb to Stoke at the last minute. How will Tim Sherwood motivate his players knowing that Villa have not beaten Newcastle from 2012. Newcastle is not their favoured team. While Villa is no City, Newcastle's lame performance last week meant they are unlikely to win. 1-1.

Stoke v Hull - Stoke have just lost to the Tigers only once in eleven outings. Stoke have a habit of scoring in the 90th minute. They did that 3 times against QPR, Newcastle and Villa. The past results when they both met are usually quite close and Hull have not won at the Britannia for some time but are having a revival. After they held City 1-1 away, they have beaten Villa 2-0 and QPR 2-1. I could see a draw here. 1-1.

WBA v Southampton - The Baggies haven't scored against the Saints since the second half of 2013 but unbeaten in their last four matches. Southampton have only scored a goal in their last four matches and in a bit of downward spiral. They must play Sadio Mane who has scored four in his last five whenever he starts. Head to head both teams are level with a 2-1-2 (WDL) record. It will be a tight game with not many goals. Draw, 1-1.

Liverpool v Man City - The fact is Liverpool have rarely beaten City. Only 2 in 12 times (the last Liverppol win was April 2014) and the most likely result have been a draw (6 x). They have been unbeaten in eleven league matches and climbed to sixth place. To say both teams need points would be an understatement. Their matches tended to be high scoring with 4-5 goals. City may have bulldozed Newcastle last week but in critical games like Barcelona, they were mentally weak. Arsenal showed how they could be beaten. Both may be a little tired from their European adventures but Liverpool have younger legs and Coutinho is on song. Saw that goal? It could be goal of the season! Mind you Fraser Forster is an excellent goalie. If Liverpool play at a fast pace and seize the opportunity with an early lead, it would be interesting. Brendan Rodgers need to make some brave decisions now that they have been dumped out of the Europa. Would you not rather City win than let Chelsea run away? Vincent Kompany has not been himself and Mangala runs around like a new born baby giraffe. Draw. 2-2.

(Southampton v Liverpool):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kALCy2IXfYU

(Man City v Barcelona):
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=880103872032205&pnref=story

Arsenal v Everton - The Gunners surprise you sometimes like how they had City beaten 2-0. You give them a lowly team and they draw. They could not have a better draw than meeting Monaco instead of Real Madrid or Barcelona and Monaco is no Bayern Munich. What did Arsenal do? They promptly lost their plot at home and lost 1-3. If Arsenal continue to do the same things, they will get the same results that is 4th place in the EPL at best and quarter-finals in the Champions League. Wenger is a great coach and manager but it is hard to understand even if you are an ardent fan how he has failed to address the problem year after year.

It is fortunate that they are meeting an Everton side that were not as good as last season form-wise but they have been improving. Anything other than a win here would put more pressure on Wenger unless they pull off a miracle like the last time with Inter where 0-3 down they went on to win 5-1. In this respect, they are like England, making things more difficult for themselves. They don't need enemies. It's just a few points separating their 3rd position from the others. 2-1.

(Arsenal v Monaco):
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=880609645314961&pnref=story

The QPR v Tottenham London derby and Leicester v Chelsea will be postponed due to Sunday's League Cup Final between Tottenham and Chelsea. I shall be rooting for Spurs.

P.S. The Guru will take some time off in March to save the world and promote Singapore and may not have time to inspire you. Normal service should resume as and when possible.