EURO & KPL standings

Let me start by saying that I feel so disappointed by England's exit...although they didn't really play like semi final material, did they? Seriously... at that level, any team that wishes to be associated to being champions of Europe cannot be playing like that. Basic football like keeping the ball cannot be overlooked. And speaking of basic football... look where that has gotten the Germans... far. Simple football. Basic passing. As for England, they wanted to rely on long-ball tactics, and we all know how that went. They also needed Chamberlain(I accept, Ashley young was poor). I don't see how Germany wouldn't have deflowered them, just like they did in the World Cup, in the semis if they had made it. And so... despite supporting England, am actually happy they were spared humiliation at the hands... or feet of Germany.

Can we talk about racism? All along the English fans have been commended for behaving well during the Euros... well, up until they were eliminated last night. And then.. all of a sudden, black people cant shoot penalties. If you have been following your timelines, well then you will notice that something of the same sort has been happening. Ashley Young and Cole have been criticized for missing their penalties in their loss to Italy. Before the football began, it was there... now that its over, for some teams.. its back. I rest my case.

SPAIN vs PORTUGAL: I'll still stand my ground. The only way to beat Barcelona, sorry Spain, is to pack the midfield. Have enough men in the midfield to neutralize, frustrate and attack. Change the formation if you have to for that game, like Italy did in their opening game against them. Play 3-5-2 if you have to. Speaking of which, I think France failed in their tactics, playing two right backs and Malouda when they faced Spain. Obviously those are wingers, and you're not going to beat Barca like that. Nasri and Alou Diarra would have helped the invisible M'Vila in that game. That said, I think Portugal already have a strategy to beat Spain

GERMANY vs ITALY:
I think Italy will make a worthy opponent against the Germans. They haven't had real competitors all this time. The only image of a threat they faced was a disoriented Dutch team. Italy... they're no push overs. Croatia and Spain will tell you that. Germans... we've all seen them. They were too strong for Portugal, overpowered the Dutch and were too good for the Danes. It looks like a promising encounter.

Elsewhere, the Kenyan Premier League second leg is underway. Tusker, Gor Mahia, City Stars and Ulinzi Stars got off to winning restarts and Tusker are back on top of the table. This is how the top half looks like...

	Team	P	W	D	L	Pts
1	Tusker	16	9	5	2	32
2	Sofapaka	15	10	2	3	32
3	AFC Leopards	15	8	4	3	28
4	Ulinzi Stars	16	8	3	5	27
5	Thika United	16	7	5	4	26
6	Gor Mahia	16	6	5	5	23
7	Western Stima	16	6	4	6	22
8	Karuturi Sports	16	5	7	4	22													More football another time people. Have a nice time

GREAT PLAYERS WIN, GOOD PLAYERS AFFECT GAMES

Lets talk about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Did anyone see his celebration? I think the boy was fondling a pair of imaginary boobs, or telling people that he is a monster. Sublime performance by the guy last night to put his team in the semi finals. That was a brilliant header. And I think he intended to score like that. Remember Croatia versus Spain in their final group game? They had two chances to score with headers but ended up heading straight at Casillas. My point... Ronaldo is a genius. Lets just put Messi out of the picture for a second here. He is class but Ronaldo is class too. How many players can do that? Not many. And that goal was the difference. I read a lot of BBC Sport articles everyday, and one of them had Czech republic manager saying that his team failed in stopping Ronaldo. Yes... this man is hard to keep a mark on. He runs, he jumps, he shoots... sometimes dives but very few can argue about his talent. My friend @DingoKG wanted me to do a piece that recognizes this man's skill... he does. I could say much more to convince, but I know even his haters know too much of him, even Barca players if asked will admit that marking him is hard. Let's not forget he is now joint top scorer in the Euros with 3 goals alongside Gomez(Germany), Mandzukic(Croatia) and Dzagoev(Russia). He led his team well beyond the Dutch with a double and his header against the Czech.

Elsewhere, Germany face Greece. This is supposed to be a great match for Greece. For the rest of us neutrals, Germany is gonna have an easy day on the field. But for the Greek, who are seeking funds for an economic bail out from germany, I hear its a big thing. Loved the cartoon depicting the Greek players wearing German jerseys on (just because the Germans funded them)BBC SPORTS earlier today. I predict a low score. Germany could win this with a one-goal margin.

I personally think the Spain vs France match will be a good match. Both teams can pass the ball around. Spain have a reputation to maintain while the French want redemption from their recent shortcomings.Of course Spain have gelled seeing as most of them play in the same league, so they know each other. France... well, you saw how they played against England and Ukraine. They are not too bad. I foresee a 2-1 win for Spain

England versus Italy. This could be a boring affair. But then again, the midfield battles look promising. Since both teams are practically not flare-playing teams, and they both defend, I see a midfield duel will win or help to win this match.
ENGLAND: Gerrard and Parker. 
ITALY: De Rossi and Pirlo.
Gerrard/Pirlo is the genius who does the fancy delivery. De Rossi/Parker tough tackler who breaks up the beautiful play.
And then they both rely on their wings for speed. I won't predict the score for this one

Before I sign off, a few words about the maestro that is Cristiano Ronaldo aka CR7:

Czech Rep. manager, Michal Bilek: We really prepared hard to cope with Ronaldo, but he is a player of the greatest class
"There have been a few good players but, if we are talking great players, then ronaldo is a great player. Great players can WIN a game, good players AFFECT the game." a former England player when asked about any bright players in the EUROs

In other news... Shinji Kagawa is officially a Manchester United player today. Mark the calendars people. Keep enjoying the games people. More football another time.

A Fan's take on Kenyan Soccer

I'll start at home today. Charity begins at home, but don't call me Charity. There's gonna be drama

Kenya has been eliminated...  yet again. Remember what I said last time? Unless the team is reviewed, there is no way Kenyan football will prosper. I honestly think the problem lies with the team selection. We had problems with the management, we "changed" the managing body, then we thought our problem was the team manager/headcoach and went on to change the managers.... severally. And now... Mr Kimanzi, our very own UEFA trained headcoach, no more. Well he is still in the management board. He is now the technical director. What will he even do there from there? Fishy business eh?

Anyway, we can only hope for the best because the latest string of results have not been appealing. Even for the ardent fans. I hope this time they(the management) pay the players their dues this time. We don't want anymore Oliech sagas, now do we? Which also reminds me, as much as fans want to support the team, the government doesn't support them. This was highlighted by Kimanzi in his post-match interview. He said that the team gets minimal funding... apparently. We need to pull a "Germany' I think. They spent heavily(750million pounds) but they got the best. Look at the Germans now in the Euros.

Kenyan Premier league: Our beautiful league has resumed, earlier today in fact. AFC Leopards and Sony Sugar were first, and they played out a 1-1 draw. The good thing about AFC though, is that their prolific striker is back. Yes, Allan Wanga is back from the sidelines, and he marked his return with AFC equalizer. I actually think am growing into the team. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll know the full line up. I know there's many of us who know European Clubs' full line-ups and substitutes and don't even know the full back line of the Harambee Stars.

Further afield, England have made it into the quarters of  Euro 2012. A hard fought victory against Ukraine ensured they got ended up top of their group. France... stupid team. They suffocate England, beat Ukraine and then lose to Sweden. An eliminated team. Messed up, eh? But that's part of the beauty of the game.

Am sure my friend @kevin_seth will have something to say about the Euros but let me just put up these fixtures, for your viewing.

Thursday, June 21st

Czech Republic v Portugal 

Friday, June 22nd

Greece v Germany

Saturday, June 23rd

Spain v France

Sunday, June 24th

England v Italy

I think Spain vs France and England vs Italy will be mouth-watering encounters.

Lets talk more football some other time. And be sure to whisper a prayer for the Kenyan boys. It wouldn't hurt if we saw our team play in a major tournament sometime, now would it?

Dutch felled in Group of Death

Last time we spoke about football, Germany needed a point while the Dutch needed a miracle. Sadly they didn't pray hard enough, or maybe Portugal prayed harder. And so Germany sealed their position at the top of Group B, and I have to give credit to Denmark. I had ruled them out completely, even though they still exited the tournament, they had a better record than one of the huge favorites, Netherlands. Honestly for me, the Netherlands were a shock exit. I had predicted Portugal and Denmark would exit. but i still reiterated that a giant had to be sacrificed in the 'group of death'. I read a few good reactions on BBC Sport(If its not on BBC Sport, its gutter) and here are some that I think you might like too.  

Phil McNulty, BBC Sport chief football writer: "Cristiano Ronaldo delivers. Good to see great players gracing major tournaments - and whether you like him or not he is a great player."

Germany captain Philipp Lahm: "Every match in this group was difficult. 

"It would appear the Netherlands took the group of death literally and were utterly lifeless throughout their whole campaign."


Denmark came close to claiming a point against Portugal and certainly did not disgrace themselves in defeat by the Germans.


Seems that Van Persie's been a victim of his own reputation, Ronaldo the beneficiary of his.


Who would have thought Netherlands would be eliminated before England? And without a point to add salt to injury... 

Judging by those few comments, I could tell Euro night was legendary. I missed it, sadly. I was watching a very captivating series but I managed to catch the highlights, and boy were those Ronaldo goals classy!! I wonder if Ronaldo's critics(I don't want to say haters) will still label him 'lack-lustre'. I mean sure he is not upto Messi's level, but his level is no other mortal's, lets be real.

In another group, the 'stubborn hosts' Poland were eliminated along with the Russians they clashed with on the streets. Looks like they kept their eyes off the ball, eh?And then we have Spain Italy and Croatia fighting for their place in the quarter finals. Anyone could get in. Anyone could go home

Elsewhere, Kenya's Harambee Stars lost their Africa Cup/World Cup qualifier in Togo. Thats three matches we've failed to win, and in succession. That's messed up. Simple. I pray for the day we will see an improvement in Kenyan football. And it was this Origi guy that we were waiting for to 'solidify' our team at the back? In brighter news though, the Kenyan transfer window is almost coming to a close, and the market has been alive. Clubs have been on a signing spree, with friendly matches being organized to test the new players. I have a feeling KPL will be a good watch when the league resumes

In other unrelated news... the Soccer & Social tweet up was a success. People showed up, played their soccer and ended up having a good time. We played two long matches that ended 8-7 and 2-1. And since Saturday I haven't seen any 'subaru' on the TL concerning the that day. So am guessing it was a success.Well that was all for the love of the game.

More football after we are certain if England have made it to the quarters(I'm rooting for them). Lets see what effect Wayne Rooney will have on the Three Lions and who will have to step down for him and who among Italy, Spain and Croatia will join them in the quarter finals.

EUROS, EPL & KENYAN FOOTBALL WRAP

So, Germany need a point. Netherlands... they need a miracle. The free scoring Van Persie doesn't score when he wants after all. Poland and Ukraine are the stubborn lot we all expected them to be. And our usual stars aren't shining. Ask Torres, Robben or Rooney. Or better yet... Cristiano Ronaldo. Am still pissed at him for almost giving away his team. He and Robben are almost single handedly bundling out their teams of the tournament.

The Germans... they are executing their rivals so well. Defensively, they are intact, upfront lethal. And I like their midfield domination. They have players to bully and the players to create flair as well as attack. I personally think the Dutch played really well. I just don't understand what their problem is defensively. And the England versus France game... well both teams approached it cautiously. That 1-1 draw was even too much to ask for from that game. At least there was plenty of flare in the game. I expect England to see off Sweden easily though. I personally think Chamberlain should NOT start. We, yes am an England fan,  need experience on the wings, Chamberlain isn't exactly experienced. He is raw talent. Hodgson should play Ashley Young on the left, Walcott/Downing down the right... with Defoe and Welbeck upfront and VOILA!!! They conquer the Swedes

Elsewhere, while we were watching the Euros, Redknapp resigned/got fired.. or whatever was the case. If you have been following his case, Redknapp has been through a rough patch. The trial, the heart attack, his team's form slump and now he's been sacked.
You have to feel sorry for him. He really doesn't deserve that, I think. He has a really good track record, with Portsmouth. and he only got better with them, before taking on Tottenham, who by the way were 17th at the time and then turned them into Champions League material. If he wasn't already old, although age comes with experience... I'd say he'd make a good replacement for Sir Alex Ferguson, which makes me wonder, when is the Legend that is Ferguson going to retire and most importantly.... who CAN and will replace him?

Also, while we enjoyed European football, Man United signed Nick Powell(18yr old starlet) and are finalizing a deal with Shinji Kagawa. Chelsea gave Di Matteo a 2-year contract, signed Marek Hamsik from Napoli and Eden Hazard from Lille. Arsenal are also in the running for Podolski and Olivier Giroud. Looks like next season will be a hotly contested affair, don't you think?

And while all that was happening, Harambee Stars lost to Namibia, after a disappointing draw at home to Malawi. you want some more bad news... we play Togo. Not sure if we will also play Nigeria at some point. But my point is... Mr Kimanzi needs to field strong teams... yes, some are his friends but we need good players who are not necessarily HIS friends. Friends of the country... you get the drift, right? Otherwise, every match Harambee Stars will ever play will always be FRIENDLY or a QUALIFIER.

I'll let you enjoy your Euros good people.
PS... am very disappointed with the Dutch. They can still make it though.

Before the Euros start

So, Euro 2012 is upon us. Finally, we can put behind us all that talk about racism that has been doing rounds. I kid you not... when the football begins, all this racism will go away. People are just missing the soccer action, you'll see. European leagues are over, Kenyan league is on a break.

All the talk just creates a great build up to the tournament. The players themselves are the to play football. so any racism that might be there, could be off the field. But lets not forget that even in our most watched leagues, it is there. It is just controlled. All this talk about racism is being blown out of proportion. Hopefully it does not arise though.

Moving on... Kenya are already down in Namibia for their World Cup qualifiers after their barren draw against Malawi the other day. We sure wasted a host of chances. Hopefully Mr. Kimazi can can get the right combination of players on the pitch and we can get to scoring. We need to feature in a big tournament, don't you think?

That said... do not forget about the #TwitterFC Soccer tweet up on Saturday the 16th of June at Siant Georges in Hurlingham . Its supposed to be a social event and all about love for soccer. Come play and/or cheer. Citizen TV's soccer team, which am a part of, along with some of the soccer-loving tweeps will be there. So no tweefing, subaruing, just soccer. The event is open to anyone and its free of charge. Read about it here

I will let you enjoy your Euros now.

SOCCER & SOCIAL: TwitterFC, Citizen TV tweet up

So, Hazard went to Chelsea(much to the disgust of United fans). We all wish him a rough start. JK, United got themselves an equally good, yet more economic buy in the name of Shinji Kagawa and Van Persie is talking of "Juventus is a great team". We all know how that story ends, don't we? Poor Arsenal. These guys must really look forward to getting to heaven, since Arsenal just keeps disappointing. We sympathize. Moving on...

Because we know how you all love twitter and football, we, in collaboration with a few tweeps have decided to organise a SOCCER TWEET-UP on Saturday the 16th of June at Saint George's Primary School in Hurlingham. The @CitizenTvKenya soccer team will be there along with most of the tweeps you all love, and some you love to hate. A few tweeps even proposed we hold matches as per the teams we support in the EPL, that is; Manchester vs Arsenal vs Liverpool vs Chelsea. The soccer tweet-up is open for everyone to enjoy. Come and be ready to play, cheer or jeer. Lets leave all the tweefing at home, eh? Just kidding. That might help us get a good game-day. It all depends on the turn up. The more the merrier.


For those of you who know where Saint George's Girls is, (more popularly known as Saint G), Saint G primary is right next to it. for those who don't know it: 


1. Board a route 46 bus from tao
2. Get off at Chaka Place
3. Ask for where Citizen TV is located, you shall be directed. 
4. From there on Saint G primary is like 150 to 200 metres


Being a Saturday, we know most of you will want to go out later on in the day, we have decided on an 11am to 3pm schedule. We sure do hope its a flexible timeline with you guys. 


If anyone should need any further info on this event, just leave a comment on the blog or just holla on twitter at myself @Arthurnyoiks or  @Sirfender, and  @Sickolia_ 

Remember, HAZARD OR NO HAZARDS, SOCCER MUST CONTINUE. Peace!!!