On Soccer

I have never been much of a sports fan since I don't do sports and I can't watch sports since I refuse to pay the exorbitant amount for the channel. However, reading Soccernet has become a regular habit of mine and slowly but surely I am following the drama that is the English Premiere League. There are a few teams that are worthy of fans, assuming that you don't live in England and hence cannot be a local supporting fan. The usual favorite in Singapore is Man Utd and Liverpool. If you like a winner, the choice is Man Utd. If you are the long-suffering type, Liverpool is the team for you. Either one is not for me. Just like in Music, I prefer the lesser lumineries. Chelsea, while consisting of the battling type (like Lampard), has an annoying owner. Arsenal while admirable for its focus on youth is too french for my taste. That leaves two choices eventually for me. Villa or Everton. Villa doesn't leave a deep impression for me, while admitedbly it has a good coach as well. The team that clicks with me is Everton.

Everton is a low budget team. One of the highlights for me compared to WestHam or ManCity or Tottenham or even Villa. Yet for the past few years, it has been performing well even breaking into the top four in one year. This is due to an excellent coach Moyes instilling hardwork and discipline into a promising team of fighters. The midfield is extremely talented with the likes of Cahill, Arteta, Osman and Pienaar. Graveson before leaving for Madrid was good too. So this team of hard workers with their never-say-die mentality ready deserves the admiration of its fans, and that's what I want out of a team. Not a success bought, but a victory earned.

"They'll have seen Sunday's win against Liverpool as a big step towards the title. Maybe the Champions League and FA Cup are becoming more important for them. They might even put out their strongest teams in those competitions now. But we're going there with no fear. We've got a belief about us now and we want to show that." - David Moyes

Go Everton!