www.Go To The Mountain - Musings of a Potential Guru

Sam Allardyce became the only manager with a 100% win record! To borrow an English quote - penny wise and pound foolish. How will English football progress from here? Who is it gonna be now? Arsene Wenger? Last week, I predicted three matches 100% - Stoke 1 WBA 1, Middlesborough 1 Tottenham 1, and Swansea 1 Manchester City 3. It is tough. Worse, they are legalising online betting now. Will more people take to gambling because of that? We can say that those who would gamble may already be doing it albeit illegally. But how do we know about the rest who gambles but because it is illegal they do not and when it is made legal, they will? Everton v Crystal Palace - The Toffees had a dream start for this campaign thanks to Ronald Koeman. Just as the praises flowed in, they got halted at home to lower rung Norwich in the League Cup followed by an away loss Bournemouth. Eddie Howe's stock will continue to rise at Bournemouth. Palace rebounded from their League Cup exit at the hands ...

What a difference a day makes. Life is always full of twists and turns they say. The ball is round and the earth is round too and she rotates such that wherever you are, one day you are ahead and the next behind. It always pays to be humble. The EPL is the same. After just five matches, teams, managers and players are having their lives changed. Stocks have risen and stocks have fallen. Manchester City are flying. Everton have quietly gone into second place. Tottenham, not as exciting as last season are holding on strong. Arsenal have finally awaken but will they hold? Chelsea , so tough-looking and uncompromising are being questioned after one loss. Liverpool, so bewitching to watch and intoxicating, would they continue? Manchester United, wowing after a shopping spree are now whimpering and a big question mark hanging over them now. Leicester, after stuttering a bit are picking up. Sunderland are the same and whatever happened to West Ham and Stoke City? Manchester United v ...

Read that Nike has given up their golf division. I have only once used a Nike golf club and it was in the form of a rescue club red in colour. It was like a hybrid with a big head. Nike clubs are rather quirky in shapes, designs and colours. Tiger Woods and Rory Mcilroy were sponsored by Nike. I used certain brands not just in golf for different reasons. Some that you like are too unreasonably expensive and so you find another. Others simply because you like it but surely because it works for you. However, I do not believe that one brand has all the answers and that we should always dare to experiment, explore, try and discover. There is no substitute for that.  Not all golfers are long hitters but most golfers can hit their shots long enough as it is easier to go for a full blooded maximum swing with full power. You often see golfers putting the ball on or around the green within two to three shots from hundreds of metres away but from less than a 100m, fluffed their lines an...

Geylang is a fascinating place. It is fascinating because it has everything and it is unpretentious. It is also quite well known around the world I am sure. Of course there is the seedy side of town. The fighting, the drinking and the occasional murder.  Then other side, they have many residential projects over the years, fruit stalls, kitchen, durians stalls, bathroom and hardware shops, etc. and many variety and plenty of food stalls, coffee shops and restaurants. Every street and lorong are filled with some really nice and interesting food. From beef whore fun (hor fun lah stupid auto- correct) to frog porridge, duck rice to wanton (pronounced one tonne and not wanton) noodle, clay-pot rice to Hokkien Mee, Fishball Mee Pok to Prawn Noodle. Restarants like Wan To Sek, Sek Wai Sin, Sek Bao Sin are really literally translated from Cantonese and they were not talking about Wanting To Seek nor about Sinning.  And did you know that Geylang has a good Nasi Padang?  W...

It was a different kind of weekend EPL soccer but no less succinct and even more intriguing. Thirty over goals, surprises, ironies, mesmerism, excitement and even intoxication. Even the Euro is easily forgotten. Wow! Chelsea v Liverpool - I do not know which smart Alec's idea it was to play this match and such good matches at 2000 hours and SG time 3am on a Saturday morning. Such God-forsaken time are for vampires and Zika mozzies. I saw how Chelsea recovered from the jaws of defeat by a surprisingly good Swansea and confirmed that Diego Costa minus his anger and wild, abrasive ways is quite a hell of a striker. His two strikes were superb, a first timer and a scissors kick. Wow! Terry seemed to be injured and David Luiz may make his return debut ala Paul Pogba. He was sold by Chelsea for 50 million pounds and now bought back for 32m. He is an interesting footballer but can't defend to save his life. The Blues showed the fight in them saving at least a point. Conte realise...

It has been awhile since I visited Jalan Kayu. Passing by is not counted. Even when you drive past the Seletar Aerospace Park you could see they are developing a dining zone coming up soon in the near future. Of course, occasionally stop by for the Hiang Soon Otah at Jalan Kayu. It is a wee bit salty, tasty and very spicy and very good. Jalan Kayu today is also undergoing changes and renewal. Shops are changing hands except for the Prata shops that has been there since a long time ago. While exploring, I found a Thai Bistro which I thought is good. The Naowarat Thai Bistro. I learned that Naowarat means nine gems. I was debating what chicken to order but went for the traditional Pandan Chicken and I have no regrets. We had a serving of Pineapple Rice. It was not that yellowish and came with lots of ingredients. This is the best dish to me. BBQ pork. It actually deserve another order. Shiok! They were kind to me and gave us a complimentary dessert. Such lovely ...

Many golf experts consider the golf shaft the engine of the club. If you were to walk in and buy any golf clubs from the shelves without understanding your swing and other details of your own swing speed, etc. it is no wonder you may be struggling with your shots. There is also no uniform specification for what constitute a regular shaft. Furthermore, the American and Japanese or Asian specification for 'Regular or Stiff' are different. Moreover, you have to contend with "stock" shafts mass produced just to fit the club heads to be sold. Even if quality has improved over the years, these shafts could never compare with 'after-market' shafts that are manufactured and sold separately as shafts for the individual. It is the same as your hi-fi whether  your set is generic or are you a purist? It is also similar to eating at an army camp's mass or at a higher end restaurant where the food is individually prepared and cooked. I used to play with 'regula...

New England manager Sam Allardyce has just named his England squad for the World Cup qualifier beginning with an away trip to Slovakia. When he named his squad there was a new name - Michail Antonio from West Ham. I have previously in one of this columns asked why he was not selected for the Euro 2016 and instead Jack Wilshere who hardly played was there. Now Wilshere is out but Ross Barkley and Marcus Rashford are missing. Ironically Barkley shone for Everton recently and Rashford is a class act. Hart being number one is not much issue but he has not see action and if not for the fact that Fraser Forster was injured he could be installed as first choice. I have watched England laboured against Slovakia away and these are my observations. Hart did not have much to do so he was okay. Kyle Walker made many forays up field but was not telling. Danny Rose made a good block but also gave away the ball in his own penalty box. If  Luke Shaw was not injured, I think Rose could find hims...