السلام عليكم و رحمة الله

لقد قررنا العودة بعد طول غياب, و ان شاء الله ما نختفي هالمرة.

المهم, آخر الاخبار الحلوة اللي وصلتنا كان هذا اللقاء الشيق من ال بي بي سي مع ديفيد مويز (( David Moyes
مدرب فريق ايفيرتون بعد هزيمتهم الساحقة من دينامو بوخارست Dynamo Bucharest الروماني 5-1:


اللقاء





و بالتوفيق ان شاء الله للحمر في مبارتهم اليايه الاحد امام العدو اللدود Glazers United.

¶ 10:53 PM

في اخبار الخليج قبل كم يوم


100من أهالي المحرق يطالبون بطائرة خاصة لنقلهم إلى شرم الشيخ


صرح السيد سلمان بن هندي محافظ المحرق انه بحكم التوأمة التي تربط محافظة المحرق ومحافظة جنوب
سيناء، والعلاقة المميزة التي تربط الشقيقتين مصر والبحرين، وبحكم روابط العروبة والاسلام، وبحكم الحب والمعزة بين القيادتين، أناشد باسمي وباسم اهالي محافظة المحرق.
صاحب الجلالة الملك المفدى، وصاحب السمو رئيس الوزراء إرسال طائرة خاصة تحمل وفداً من اهالي محافظة المحرق ليعبروا لإخوانهم في شرم الشيخ عن استنكارهم الأعمال الارهابية الوحشية، والوقوف معهم صفا واحداً حاملين معهم تحيات وتعازي القيادة الرشيدة، ومعزة وحب شعب البحرين الى شعب مصر العزيز والى قيادته الحكيمة. وسيضم الوفد مائة فرد على الأقل، من مختلف الاعمار من الرجال والنساء، وهذه رسالة نطلقها من محافظة المحرق لنشجب فيها اعمال الارهاب، أما الرسالة الثانية فهي وقفتنا مع الشعب المصري العزيز في محنته، والرسالة الثالثة نشجع فيها عودة السياحة الى مصر العزيزة، والى شرم الشيخ بالذات "محافظة جنوب سيناء".


حلو.... قولولي بس وين اسجل اسمي للرحلة



لكن مثل ما يقول المثل:

مصائب قوم.... عند قوم فوائد!

ع

¶ 3:06 AM

If you do visit this blog, then you would've noticed I haven't posted anything in a while. If I'm gonna take a guess then I'd say future posts will also be intermittent at best.

The truth is for some reason I can't be arsed to post anything lately. I'm not sure why, but so it goes. It's not because of a lack of things to say. I still conjure up ideas that I think would make interesting posts, but then I just go: ahhh.. sod it.. can't be bothered. Maybe it's that lazy Bahraini summer mentality.

Anyway.. enjoy your summer guys.. and hope everything goes well.

¶ 10:07 AM

Is this for real???

Apparently he has friends in Bahrain. Get me an autograph anyone!!

¶ 5:37 PM

Look at this link.

Yes the F1 farce is interesting, but that's not my main point. Look at the right hand side column under "From Other Sports Site."

The list reads: The Sun, The Daily Telegraph, Guardian Unlimited, and.... GULF DAILY NEWS.

This is not the first time I see it on the BBC website either. It has happened at least a couple of times.

Am I missing something here? Since when did the Gulf Daily News become a global household name worthy of systematic BBC referencing?

¶ 3:42 AM

Exams over. Thank god...

This is my fourth time doing this set of the most ridiculous constructed bunch of exams ever. Archaic and several hundred years old, they really need updating. Every time I sit them I feel a couple of years draining away from my life and a few extra grey hairs. I've seen people do them on coke, some not sleeping for a whole week, others crying and wailing wildly after them, one person vomiting while sitting the exam, and another stabbing herself when she came out. This is not counting the ones who become alcoholics or shit themselves right in the middle of the exam and have to withdraw, waiting one whole year to resit them.

Anyway, it's all over, and hopefully that's the last academic exam I'll ever have to sit in my life. Now it's time for punting, croquet, cricket, ashes, wimbledon, and a bit of football. The posh english have a large proportion of wankers, but they definitely know how to enjoy summer.

It is also the first time in my life where I don't know what I'm doing next year. I am extremely worried, but I am also strangely excited about the prospect of the unknown. Life is all about surprises, and I'm eager to see what next one it springs. I just hope it doesn't turn horribly wrong.

Have a great summer everybody!

¶ 3:09 AM

Here are the Coolstreaming Schedules for the World Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday:


Bahrain vs. Iran
15:30 BST (That's British Summer Time for you who don't know. i.e. 17:30 Bahraini time).
Channel: CCTV5


Japan vs. North Korea
13:30 BST
Channel: CCTV5


I know I said last time that they were on ESPN, and it turned out that instead there was figure skating. I guess ESPN can't be trusted with its schedules. Remember, if you want to make sure to have an excellent streaming for the game then load up CoolSteaming and CCTV5 way before the game (I'd recommend at least an hour, but the longer the better).

The situation stands as follows:

Iran 10
Japan 9
Bahrain 4
North Korea 0

Bahrain has two games against Iran and North Korea. Japan has two games against North Korea and Iran. Iran two against us and Japan. North Korea two against Japan and us.

The only way we can qualify directly is:

(1) We win BOTH our games.

AND

(2) A. Japan loses both of its games (against North Korea and Iran). (Hence they have nine points and we have ten).

OR

(2) B. Iran loses both of its games (against us and Japan). (Hence Bahrain and Iran have 10 points but we qualify since we would've (hypothetically) beaten them.)

Naturally both options are very remote and hard to achieve, but you can always have hope. I wouldn't like seeing 2 A occur because that means if North Korea beat Japan then they get three points. If things don't go well for us (e.g. lose to Iran) then that means we'd be on 4 points and they on 3. That would put pressure on us for third spot. I'd say right now it's more realistic for us to hope for third, and hence I hope Japan does beat North Korea (which guarantees us third spot). A bird in hand is better than 10 on the tree.

Hence, probably 2 B. is our preferable and more realistic option (since it is partially in our hand if we beat Iran). However, it is very difficult to achieve because:

1. Iran are playing at home with their fans, not to mention that they are just playing well generally at the moment. Also, they still hold a grudge against us from the 2002 World Cup qualifications where we eliminated them.

2. Even if we beat Iran. We must then count on Japan beating Iran. This most probably will not happen. Why? Well if Japan beat or draw against North Korea then they guarantee progression, and hence won't have have much incentive to beat Iran. If Japan lose to North Korea, then a draw would suffice for them to qualifiy. In fact, a draw makes both teams (Iran and Japan) guarantee qualification REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME OF ANY OTHER MATCH. It seems most likely that both teams will subconsciously go for a draw. If I was a gambler I'd have my money on a draw there.

There is one interesting possibility, though. It is really remote and improbable, BUT WHAT IF:

Bahrain beats Iran and North Korea beats Japan?

In this case, we obviously have to beat North Korea to stand a chance for direct qualification. However, our qualification hinges on the result of the other game. If either Japan or Iran win, we go throw, with the losing team eliminated. However, if they draw, then Iran and Japan progress. A skeptical could say there is a chance of collusion here. Hmmm... Anyway, like I said, this is a very remote outcome and will probably never see the day of light.


Our most realistic scenario to qualify is to get third place, play the third of the other group, and then play fourth of the Concacaf group. Looking at the other group, it looks currently between Kuwait and Uzbekistan. I'd honestly prefer Kuwait because then we are guaranteed at least one Arabic team to the next stage and because Uzbekistan worry me (I think we'd have a better chance against Kuwait).

If we do pass that stage, we play the fourth of the Concacaf. That currently looks between Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guatemala. To be honest I don't know much about any of them. Does anyone have any info?


Anyway, I'm looking way ahead to the future. Let's concentrate on the task at hand. Good luck to our national team!


p.s. Get ready for a flood of foul and brain-dead comments from some Iran fans over the next few days. I see they've already taken over bahrainblogs.com
Should be good for a laugh to see how low they stoop!

Current Subhuman Count: 8 and counting!

Please go to the comments section and join me in laughing and analyzing some of the interesting species we have visiting in the comments sections.

¶ 5:12 AM

Well the day of reckoning is here. Will our boys be able to do it and beat the Japanese computer? Are we going to get closer to the World cup dream or will it have to wait until the CONCACAF playoffs? Zico and Pele are both in Bahrain for the biggest game the country probably has ever seen. I have never felt more homesick before.... If any of the lads in Bahrain are reading this, get me an autograph of the black jewel if you see him!

Anyway, here is the schedule of the games on CoolStreaming (see previous post):


Our Beloved team's game:
Bahrain v. Japan
17:30 BST
ESPN

The Axis of Evil game:
Iran v. North Korea
15:30 BST
CCTV5

The Gulf Derby game:
Saudi Arabia v. Kuwait
19:00 BST
CCTV5

The I don't give a toss about game:
Uzbekistan v. South Korea
14:00 BST
ESPN

Should be a day full of football! I don't know how in hell I'll pass these exams!

Good luck to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but most of all, Good luck to our national team (and I hope I don't eat my words in the title).


هذا الاحمر شاقني يا ناس دلوني عليه

و اليوم يوم الفوز... العب يا حمر العب

¶ 6:19 AM

The big game is coming up on June 3rd. In preparation, Bahrain played Saudi a couple of days ago and drew 1-1. More on the analysis in the next few days, but first to more important matters.

I'm sure quite a few of you are in the same problem as me, where it is very hard to find places to watch to Bahrain games if you are abroad. Sure, if you're in London, you can go to Edgeware road, but usually there are other games (e.g. Saudi Arabia or Kuwait) on at the same time that attract more people and hence are shown in the coffeeshops. Also, Eurosport occasionally shows the games (Eurosport one will show the Bahrain-Japan game), but this is not always the case and it is of no use if you don't have cable. Hence, we are sometimes reduced to watching games on the mediocre steaming of the Saudi sports channel.

I have just stumbled across this cool thing called, surprise surprise, coolstreaming. It's really good stuff, where it streams lots of (Chinese) channels that show lots of football games live. The difference between coolstreaming and normal streaming is that in normal streaming the more people are watching the stream the worse it becomes. It starts to buffer a lot, and it jams. Coolstreaming has the opposite features. THE MORE PEOPLE WATCH IT THE BETTER THE QUALITY AND THE LESS THE BUFFERING! This is why I'm telling you guys about it. Not out of the genrosity of my heart, but because the more of you that watch it the better quality I get. It apparently works in similar fashion to bit torrent, where people share the files (or buffering in this case) between them, something similar to peer-to-peer programs. I'm not sure of the technical stuff, I'll leave it to the computer whizzes.

Anyhow.... it's really good because it also shows tons of premiership, italian and spanish leage games. All for free!

There is a drawback. First, you need quite a high broadband connection. Secondly, all the channels are chinese, since the inventor of it is chinese, so no Al Jazeera etc and pretty weird commentary. Just shows you how creativity is flourishing over there but it is largely stagnant in our area of the world. When will we get an Arab who does this stuff?

Anyway, here's how to do it:

1. Download the program from this link.

2. Install it.

3. Make sure all firewalls on the program are turned off.

4. Pick a channel and enjoy!

The schedule for the channels and the games showed are found here.

The Bahrain Japan game is shown on ESPN on june 3rd at 17:30 BST (Bicester Shropshire Tranmere) timing.

One last thing. If you really want to watch the game, load up the channel and let it buffer for as long as possible beforehand (the longer the better). This way it'll never chop up or rarely buffer again.

Enjoy, and good luck to our national team!

¶ 3:57 AM

The most unbelievable comeback in the history of football was achieved in Istanbul last night. Liverpool, the greatest English club ever, came back to beat AC Milan on penalties.


It was something beyond belief. Having been schooled in the first half, Liverpool were 3-0 down and most people (including myself) thought this might end up being an embarassing whitewish. Like Lazarus rising from the dead, however, they came back and won the mother of all Champions' league finals.

And what a final it was. Pre-match, most pundits described it as one of the most boring games ever. An ageing Italian pensioner team known for their 1-0 victories against a dull and boring mediocre English team that was lucky to be in the final. Boy were they wrong.

The tone was set from the first minute. Paolo Maldini's 36 year old legs scoring a glorious volley within 53 seconds. Crespo then showing his class in scoring two goals before the half time whistle.

What was Benitez thinking? The idea of an attacking formation is good but at the expense of our midfield? Liverpool looked disjointed and disorganized, with the midfield looking miles away from either the defence or the forwards. Up-front, we were reduced to long balls reminicent of Houllier, and every ball from Milan's midfiled seemed to utterly pierce our defence. Kaka was able to make Gerrard, Alonso, and Garcia look ordinary.

Liverpool's entire champions league campaign (excluding the Olympiakos game) was built on solid defence. Although the defence played an important part in this, the link-up and support role the midfield plays was a crucial factor as well.. Yesterday in the first half our midfield was non-existent, with Milan rampaging down the field like a Qatari Sheikh down a French highway. Omitting a holding midfield player in Hamman or Biscan seemed to be a grave error.

At the start of the second half came the turning point of the game. Either due to tactical genius or pure luck, Didi Hamman was brought on for the injured Steve finnan. The midfield suddenly regained it's composure, and one wondered whether a miracle was on hand.

3-0 down at half point, the obstacle facing liverpool seemed insurmountable: Scoring three goals against what is billed as the best defence in the world. Furthermore, Milan were rampant, playing absolute world class football. The more likely scenario was an embarassing drubbing, maybe 5 6 7-nil? Chelsea, Man Utd, and Everton fans were busy scripting their insults to throw the next day. They (and most of us) wrote off Liverpool too early.

What ensued was the most breathtaking 6 minutes of football ever played. Within the time that it takes to smoke a cigarette, Liverpool, from being 3-0 down, rooted the best defence in the world and were level at 3-3. Gerrard heads, Smicer shoots, and Alonso fires up the crowd!!!!!!

Then came the penalties, and as the saying goes, the rest was history.

Who would've thought that the likes of Jerzy Dudek, Djimi Traore, and Igor Bisan, much maligned at the beggining of the season as lucky to play in the third division, would emerge to become immortal Liverpool legends? Special praise goes to Jerzy Dudek. Although he committed some serious howlers in the first half, he pulled off one of the most stunning saves I have ever seen against one of the world's best strikers, and then topped it off by dancing like a maniac and saving two penalties.

And the most sadistly satisfying part of it all was reading the posts by Man Utd, Chelsea, and Everton fans at half time in the forums on the internet. "For the sake of not embarrasing English footy, referee please end the match." "I love watching the global humiliation of your team." "ps. troare or woteva his name is, is uselsess, not taking a cheap shot, but seriously, u seriously thought u cud win the CL with him in the team?!"

Ahh... how they must be eating their words now. Anyway, who gives a toss about United or Chelsea or Everton. We're in a different league with the big boys now. The likes of Ronaldo, Maldini, and Zidane are who we are competing against, not Carlsley, Drogba, and Heinze. When they can win the trophy five times and keep it forever, then we'll have a chat again.

LIVERPOOL HAVE WON THE EUROPEAN CUP FOR THE FIFTH TIME, KEEPING IT FOREVER!

I don't think anyone will forget where they were watching this game. Some lucky fellas were in Istanbul, shouting their voices off, watching 11 heros on the pitch with a master tactician behind them achieve the impossible. I was in a spanish bodeguita with a group of friends watching the unbelievable unfold. Where were you when history was made?



Player Ratings:

Dudek - 8 A couple of serious howlers in the first half. He redeemed himself magnificently by first stopping the Shevchenko free-kick and then the doubl-save from point blank in the dying minutes of the half. The penalty saves were the icing on the cake. You gotta take your hat off to any person who's willing to wiggle around maniacally in front of millions of people. Imagine the embarrassment if he didn't save any. That took guts.

Traore-6 Was ripped to shreds in the first half but was able to hold his own in the second.

Carragher-6 Again schooled and outpaced in the first half but made some crucial tackles and played through a stomach injury in the second half. Our player of the season.

Finnan-6 One of the few players to try and attack in the first half. Injury forced him off to bring on Hamman and the turning point of the game.

Hyppia-6 Also outpaced by the Milan defence in the first half. Improved in the second.

Gerrard-7Schooled in the first half. Led the comeback in the second. Great header.

Alonso-7 Like most of the team, mediocre first half but much better second half. It's simply amazing seeing him miss a penalty with his favoured foot but then score the rebound with the other one.

Riise-7 Our best player in the first half, and throughout the game he seemed the player with the most ideas. Great cross for the fist goal. The missed penalty was the only drawback.

Luis Garcia-5 Not the best game the Spaniard has produced. Wasted a couple of good chances, but became more dangerous as game progressed.

Kewell-4 Not much to say. Hopefully he'll be better next season.

Smicer-7 Great farewell match for the Czech.

Baros-5 Didn't have much chances to work with.

Hamman-8 His introduction made the team look completely different. Arguably his entry was the turning point in the game.

Cisse-6 Like Baros not much to work with. He did make some runs which made you think he might just tip the game though.

Benitez-7 The initial tactics backfired badly in the first period. I don't know what he said to the player in the interval, but boy did it work. He also rectified the tactical errors after the interval. It's great to finally see him smile!

¶ 2:43 AM