From The Touchlines

Two words: simply scintillating.

That aptly describes Manchester United’s performance as they began their season with a blistering 5-1 win over Fulham in front of a capacity crowd of 75,115, inspired by the fine form of Wayne Rooney and his impactful reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Louis Saha led the charge with a header off a Ryan Giggs cross in the ninth minute, followed by an own goal in the 14th minute by Fulham defender Ian Pearce in an attempt to cancel out Saha’s cross.

Paul Scholes could’ve been on the scoresheet as well, but only to see his shot canon off the post, off Niemi, but not powerful enough to cross the line.

Then came a succession of beautifully constructed goals: after 16 minutes Gary Neville’s cross from the right found Saha and acrobatically tried a shot that rebounded off Antti Niemi, only to fall to the onrushing Wayne Rooney who slotted the ball home.

The fourth came only three minutes later; this time Rooney fed the ball to Ronaldo with an inch perfect cross for the Portuguese midfielder to score his first goal of the campaign.

The only blip that blemished an almost flawless first half was a 42nd-minute Heidar Helguson shot that deflected off United defender Rio Ferdinand and looped over the prominent tall presence of Dutch shot stopper Edwin van der Sar, a former Fulham player.

Fulham came out after the re-start much stronger and less petrified of their more distinguished opponents. They attacked more and also defended better, leaving very little room for the United players to get forward.

But their inability to finish off their well-crafted chances proved crucial as Rooney added his second and United’s fifth in the 64th minute following interplay between Ronaldo and United centreback Wes Brown; the latter’s cross was put into the net with ease by Rooney.

Ronaldo could’ve doubled his tally and make it six for the Devils after he and Rooney almost combined to lethal effect six minutes later. However, Ronaldo was not able to convert when his right-footed shot went just wide, after Rooney had played another perfect pass to him.

Both Ronaldo and Rooney tested Niemi with long range efforts later, but Niemi was glad to be able to stop the rot for a hapless Chris Coleman’s side. And the final score stood at 5-1.

Ronaldo’s return to England after what had been a baptism of fire from the likes of Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, was so well received by the large turnout of United fans who, instead of the usual jeers, backed him up a 100% and hence drove him to produce a match-winning performance.

The only downside to this magnificent start for United, however, is that they will be missing the services of Scholes and Rooney for the next three matches, following their pre-season sendings off in the Amsterdam tournament.

England, under new coach Steve McClaren, put their disappointing World Cup campaign behind them with a rousing 4-0 victory over former European champions Greece.

Led out by newly appointed captain John Terry, England overpowered a Greek side who failed to qualify for the recently concluded World Cup finals.

England also started this friendly without former skipper David Beckham, who was left out by McClaren when he took over.

Terry led by example by opening the scoring in the first 15 minutes, followed by fellow Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard and a brace by Liverpool marksman Peter Crouch. All goals came in the first half.

England’s sterling performance was also capped by impressive exploits by Stewart Downing, who assisted in three of the goals, and man-of-the-match Owen Hargreaves, whose holding midfield role allowed Lampard and new vice-captain Steven Gerrard to make rampaging runs forward.

A seemingly rejuvenated English side signals a fresh start for the Three Lions who, under former coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, were a pale shadow of themselves, even to the point of earning the nickname of jaguh kampung (a term usually reserved for players who perform well at home but seem to falter on the international stage, e.g. Malaysia).

While the friendly against Greece may not be the most accurate yardstick to measure by, it definitely foretells a great future for the underperforming English players; more so with the Euro 2008 qualifiers just around the corner. It is the greatest opportunity for any player in the England shirt to prove their worth.

With a new coach in McClaren and his new assistant supremo Terry Venables, changes are already taking place. The rules are very simple: maintain a string of good performances and you’ll be almost first choice to be selected; play like amateurs (or underperform) and you’ll be overlooked. Think Theo Walcott.

Hailed as the most controversial inclusion in Eriksson’s World Cup squad, Walcott warmed the bench during England’s all-out assault but rather unsuccessful run in Germany. And with McClaren now in command, Walcott is now back with the England U21s. Definitely where he belongs.

On another note, the exclusion of freekick specialist Beckham means that Aaron Lennon will have his big break in trying to impress McClaren and get more first team action.

Beckham’s nonadmission also indicates the end of the “I-don’t-play-well-but-the-coach-likes-me-so-I-can-go-on-underperforming” scenario. Here comes a guy who, at least, has better coaching experience than his predecessor, though not necessarily more impressive. But hey, McClaren’s English. At least the critics will be silent – for the moment. And fans will be appeased.

An era ends; a new one begins. Only time will tell whether England will live up to their expectations or once again, flounder at the hands of their European counterparts.

But the signs are definitely good for the Three Lions. Now, let’s go get a cuppa and enjoy the re-start of the Premiership season, shall we?

Liverpool collected their first silverware this season when they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

With several key players missing from the starting lineup, the Reds still managed to carve out a victory over Chelsea, who handed first starts to new star signings Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko.

The victory also marks some kind of psychological win for Liverpool manager Rafael Banitez over his Chelsea counterpart, Jose Mourinho. In recent times, Mourinho, sporting a new haircut, has been playing mind games with Benitez.

In a largely uneventful match, Liverpool scored the first goal through leftback John Arne Riise. A marauding run by the leftback resulted in him lashing out a left footed piledriver into Carlo Cudicini’s net. That stung Chelsea into the thick of the action.

Subsequently, Shevchenko drew a fine save from Reds shot stopper Jose Reina, though Didier Drogba could not capitalise on the rebound.

However, Chelsea suffered a slight setback when Ballack was taken off in the 25th minute as a precautionary measure with a reported bruised left hip. He was replaced by another new signing, Salomon Kalou.

The Blues managed to get one back just before the break when Shevchenko, upon receiving a beautiful cross from Frank Lampard, beat the offside trap and toe poked the ball into Reina’s net. 1-1.

After the restart, the match went from exciting to mediocre, with both sides hardly testing each other. Both keepers were contented enough to scoop up easy balls. And Shevchenko was almost uninvolved. You could count with your fingers the number of times his name was mentioned by the commentators.

With that, Benitez decided to bring on Gerrard, Alonso and Bellamy, to great effect; Mourinho was more inclined to bring on his less experienced squad members in John Obi Mikel.

Even that didn’t stop Drogba from warming Reina’s fingertips with an angled shot that just went over the crossbar. And the subsequent corner was almost turned in by a Shevchenko header. But parity would only last so long.

With Fabio Aurelio on for Mark Gonzales, Liverpool passed the ball better and Bellamy’s pace paved the way for a cross from the left flank, met with a powerful header by beanpole striker Peter Crouch, with 10 minutes left. Why didn’t he do that more often for England?

A 2-1 scoreline meant Liverpool sat behind the ball more than usual, but Chelsea, it seems, weren’t very keen on tying the match up again. Not when Mourinho brings on Shaun Wright-Phillips for Drogba; even the latter’s performance was not inspiring.

And not for the first time between the two sides, the match concluded in a rather anti-climactic manner, with the Reds once again triumphing over the Blues.

Not your high-octaned, pumped up match, but a victory is a victory nonetheless, at least in Liverpool’s books. And with the season proper only a week away, this is the perfect start to what promises to be an exciting season in the English Premier League.

This photograph, taken in March 1993 in a southern Sudanese hamlet of Ayod, won Kevin Carter the 1994 Pulitzer Prize. This haunting image depicts a crouching, emaciated Sudanese boy being watched closely by a vulture, ready to pounce on him. It’s as though the vulture knew the boy would not be able to defend himself.

But it is also this photograph that took Carter’s life. He was only 34. Apparently Carter was greatly distraught and depressed by this lingering image that clouded his mind; he eventually committed suicide. And even though this will only remain as part of our memories, I thank God for those who had the foresight to invent cameras.

I can only salute George Eastman (1854-1932), an American inventor who made many improvements in photography and was the pioneer of the first ever Kodak camera. Little did he know that his creations would spark off the emergence of other big-name camera makers, like Canon and Nikon.

Now memories are almost made immortal, with the advent of digital photography. With this, you have the choice of printing the photographs, or just saving them in your computer. Provided your computer doesn’t crash, there it will remain, for many years and generations to come.

These photographs may make you cry, smile and a host of other emotions enveloping you, but you have to admit, without these images, you will have no recollections of past events. The memory bank in your mind can only take in that much; being the imperfect humans that we are, we are not very likely to remember a lot of things, whether significant or insignificant.

Let’s face it: if you’re going to have trouble remembering your friends’ names, their phone numbers or where was the last place you left your keys, it will be an even more arduous task to look back and try to remember all those memories. Without a camera, that is.

Compare this…

To this….

Aside from the really bright shining red traffic light, the lamp posts along Jalan Air Itam (think somewhere near Chung Ling High School), have decided to go on strike.

And it’s not only there. Just outside my Rifle Court apartment, the road is hardly lit at all, although all the houses lining the street still have their electricity, mine included.

Can somebody do something about this? Maybe Tenaga Nasional Berhad? It’s funny, because the TNB office is a stone’s throw away from my house. The weekend could be an excuse why they aren’t doing anything. Yet. The lights have been out since yesterday, and I was VERY CLOSE to thinking there was REALLY a blackout.

Vehicles will have to turn on their hi-lites, otherwise there could be a pile-up (that is, if there suddenly is an unprecendented high number of cars coming into the area). Pedestrians will, definitely, avoid walking under moonlight (even that doesn’t help), as they would become easy targets for snatch thieves and the equivalent.

Perhaps I’m running away with my imagination, but the crime rate could unexpectedly increase. Not that it hasn’t happened at my place, with or without the lights.

Creepy and freaky times are around the corner, if TNB doesn’t fix this problem immediately.

You had better NOT be watching An American Haunting, The Amityville Horror, or The Glass House.

Think Campbell’s Street in Penang, and you probably get an overview of Petaling Street in KL. But here’s the catch: the latter is terribly congested. And dirty.

Lined up with rows upon rows upon rows of makeshift stalls, there’s barely enough room to move around. Almost every inch of space is used up.

Visitors are greeted with an arch decorated with brightly lit and colourful dragons, not to mention VCD/DVD peddlars hot on your heels with the latest movies, perhaps even unreleased ones too.

While space is in abundant supply when you first enter, it slowly narrows into very small walkways. It can’t be helped, with stalls set up on both sides of the patio and in the centre of the road. The walkways are further congested with an occasional trolley that comes rolling along.

“Kacang…KACANG!”

“Nak beli minuman?”

If you don’t get out of the way quickly enough, you will probably get a sharp stare, or a yell.

Speaking of which, at this time of the year, it is even more jam-packed with tourists from across the global spectrum; mostly Middle-Eastern jet-setters with deep pockets. In escaping their all-too-hot summer in their respective countries, they kill two birds with one stone by patronising street malls, or shopping malls. Hey, the Mega Sale is on, even on Petaling Street!

And here’s why: there are just so many things available, it’s almost redundant.

Bags decorated with rows and rows of sequins, bonsais with crystals, toy robots, purses imprinted with Disney characters, wallets, watches, backpacks (with their labels still attached) and guess what? Throw in tripods and binoculars too!

The downside is, the place is terribly blackish, littered with rubbish, no thanks to the food stalls at the plus-junction of the street. My mum and I stopped at one of the joints for dinner. It served typical Chinese food; green vegetables that looked OK enough but not too tasty. But not to worry; my principle’s like this: as long as the food is edible and it doesn’t leave me clutching my stomach later, that’s cool with me.

It almost felt like home, except for one thing: the guy in a whitewashed apron came up to us and spoke in an unheard language. It sounded something like Vietnamese, but thankfully we managed to get our message across. One ice-cold barley with sugar; another without sugar. And he scored a perfect 10 for bringing the right drinks too. Bravo!

Opposite our eating joint, there was a stall which, in a rather unorthodox manner, displayed lingerie of many colours. Hmmm…

We walked through the seemingly endless rows of stalls, without really noticing anything eye-catching. There was an occasional puff of smoke; I held my breath for that brief moment.

The experience for my mum, however, was not so pleasant; someone inevitably stepped on her toes. It hurt til the next morning. Owwwww…

Having had enough of crammed walkways, we decided to get some fresh air (which is highly unlikely, considering we were in the city centre). Then my mum had a sudden craving for French fries. I popped into McDonald’s and came out with a bag of fries. So not like her…

Anyway we got on to the pedestrian overhead bridge which looked like a structure ready to crumble. The blind man who was selling tissue papers for (get this) any price you’re willing to pay him, was not there anymore. I wonder how many patrons he had, as my mum paid 50 sens for the tissue he was selling. Good for him; at least he wasn’t begging. Salute!

When Reader’s Digest first published its findings on the level of politeness in several key cities worldwide, I was rather surprised when KL was found to be a rather un-courteous city. But after what happened yesterday while I was in KL with my mum, it finally dawn on me: perhaps there really are SOME city folk who are really NOT courteous.

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“Ada tukar untuk RM5 tak?”

This would have been a common query, except for the fact that this frontdesk personnel at a budget hotel opposite the Puduraya bus terminal had just kicked the wastepaper basket behind the counter, and was stomping all over. Apparently she was in a bad mood, and was in no mood to serve us.

It was 9am when we handed in our card and receipt, waiting patiently for the impatient personnel to return our RM5 deposit so we could leave pronto. I didn’t want to stick around to see what else this woman would do; also I had an interview to attend at the New Straits Times in Bangsar (which is precisely the reason why I was in KL in the first place).

Initially we wanted to complain about a missing hot shower tap head, but, considering there WAS a situation, we decided to let it go.

“What did we do to deserve this kind of treatment? Here we are, giving them business, and she goes on and treats us like crap.”

All my mum could do was shrug her shoulders and smiled a bit as we made our way to the Plaza Rakyat Star LRT behind the bus terminal, and were well on our way to Bangsar.

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At the Masjid Jamek Putra LRT after my interview and a lunch stop at KLCC. 2.15pm:

“Nak pergi Kerinchi, nak pergi Kerinchi. Turun bawah, turun bawah!”

The blind wife was telling the blind husband to go down the escalator, so they could get on the LRT to Kerinchi. But he kept walking aimlessly.

Nobody else seemed to notice the predicament this blind couple was in. Everyone else just moved about, oblivious to the plea of this couple.

My mum, who was a little behind me, stopped me and while I waited for her, she helped the couple down the escalator to the LRT, where she requested the help of a rather RELUCTANT passenger to assist them. The guy said he was in a hurry to get somewhere.

HELLO? Has anyone been listening? Here’s my mum, helping out this couple, with the possibility of us missing the earliest bus possible back to Penang, and this darn guy was thinking he could be late to wherever he was going by a few minutes!

A question popped into my mind after that: why didn’t the management place someone near the escalator, in the event someone (like the blind couple) may require assistance? They were, literally, gripping around in the dark, because nobody was willing to stop to help them. It took two Penangites who were not very familiar with KL itself to help them.

What does it say about KL-lites specifically, and Malaysians as a whole? Seems like looking for good manners is like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you’re lucky, you’ll find it.

What about buses?

After reading Eng Kiat’s article on his editorial being spiked for being a tad opposing, it is a long overdue fact that USM needs to do some soul searching, especially when it comes to a problem that has been dragging on, like a brain haemorrhage.

The efficiency of the commuter bus system has been a prevalent issue over the years. This year is no exception.

For starters, do 13,000 students equate 330 buses? I roll my eyes and shake my head. I believe you would do the same. But this is what the DVC of Student Affairs Jamaluddin Mohaiadin said, in response to the apparent commuter bus shortage.

On the contrary, as the author has pointed out, not all 13,000 of them are going to swarm the buses at the same time, and in addition to that, not all of them use this less-than-efficient transport system. Aside from some students manouevring vehicles illegally in campus, some people DO ACTUALLY WALK.

Can this issue be considered ‘petty’? Absolutely not; more so when, yes, 13,000 students are affected, if that may be considered. Do we have to make a big issue out of this? Yes, and for that same reason too!

This has been a long standing problem, but the DVC of Student Affairs has decided, not for the first time, that, instead of facing the problem, we should avoid it completely. Hey, why not remove the buses too, and make everybody walk?

This would have been fine, aside from the fact that USM doesn’t lie on flat land and, more importantly, not all students are placed INSIDE the campus. Hey, we’re not studying at the Engineering Campus, mind you.

Maybe they should have thought better before starting work on the three hostels off the Bukit Gambir gate. Then, perhaps, students would ACTUALLY consider walking as a means of moving around.

His indifferent attitude towards this issue is seriously appalling, not to say disappointing.

Why should Berita Kampus focus more on events occuring in USM (what communication scholars would term as ‘pseudo events’) when there are other perpetually more crucial issues to think about that concern the USM community at large?

Back when I was a Berita Kampus reporter, I remembered my lecturers telling us what the VC told them: don’t focus so much on tong sampah issues!

But he never once said this issue was petty, though personally, I wouldn’t understand why anyone would want to write about rubbish bins, or the lack of it. It’s pretty hilarious. But there’s definitely nothing funny about the bus problem.

The bottomline is, some issues are petty to some people and important to the rest, but that doesn’t mean we can sit back and take it so lightly. It’s not like anybody’s life depended on it, but a show of some concern is very much welcomed.

With the way things have developed of late though, the problem will be a thorn in the flesh for quite awhile; don’t be surprised if you still hear students complaining about buses, buses and more buses.

Petty? Think about it, and think about it hard.

Arsenal’s Jose Antonio said he’s happy where he is now and does not intend to leave anytime soon; Olympique Marseille’s Franck Ribery, on the other hand, has stated his intent to leave his current club, much to the disenchantment of his employers, who are not very impressed by the player’s latest ’stunt’.

But just over a week ago, that wasn’t the case. These two guys had made different decisions; Reyes, like Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo, had been longing to play for Real Madrid and was touting a move to the Santiago Bernabeu. French midfielder Ribery, meanwhile, seemed to have committed himself to Marseille, until the latest incident.

So what’s what? Are the rumour mongers working overtime again? Why the sudden change in their decisions? Something just doesn’t seem right. Too much rumour mongering is not good for the soul.

In weeks passed, Reyes had been reportedly courting a move to the Bernabeu; one factor influencing his apparent decision then was that “Real Madrid are unique”; the second being “I miss Spain and I have a unique opportunity to return with what Real are offering. Everyone has to understand I can’t let this chance slip away.”

But then he goes on to say this, “I don’t know what is happening but I am a little unsettled by all the rumours.”

He had been hoping this matter would be settled before Arsenal’s Champions League qualifier at Dinamo Zagreb, and it seems, at least for the time being, that’s one matter out of the way. Manager Arsene Wenger will almost certainly not lose sleep over Reyes.

RUNNING IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS?: Arsenal’s Jose Antonio Reyes (left) is looking at a future in the new Emirates Stadium; Olympique Marseille’s Franck Ribery seems disgruntled and looking for a way out of his club.

As for Ribery, just a week ago he pledged his future to Marseille, saying he would stay there for the next four years. He said, “I have a contract for another four years and for four years I will still be at Marseille.

“I love the club and the people and the fans here,” the 23-year-old told the club’s television channel. All this, despite interest from several big European clubs, most notably French Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyonnais and England’s Manchester United.

Arsenal were thrown into the hat as well, although a move to the Stade Gerland would have been more likely for this young French stalwart. But as he said, he wasn’t going anywhere.

But that was a week ago, and we all know the whole world of football can change its face, even within a matter of days, if not hours. Five days later, a seemingly restless and unsettled Ribery revealed he wants out of Marseille, prompting a statement by club president Pape Diouf on the club’s website.

The statement went like this, “We disapprove totally of the methods used this evening by Franck Ribery.

“But it’s only a half surprise because we’ve known for a while that his agent has been talking up a move left, right and centre.

“Our position has been known for a long time. Franck Ribery has a contract which was totally re-evaluated in his favour in March. He was certainly well aware of that.

“We also told him that he wouldn’t be leaving this season. So our position hasn’t changed and nothing will shake our determination.

“Once he made this obviously rehearsed declaration he and his entourage now have to take responsibility for their acts, as we do ours.”

But the final decision, it seems, does not lie with Ribery. The cards on the table have been laid out, and it’s now Marseille’s turn to play their trump card. Unless, of course, Ribery and his agent have a few tricks up their sleeves.

So that’s that. We’ll never know for sure if someone wasn’t telling the truth or there are other devious sources out to give them a hard time. There hasn’t been such a drastic change of heart in a long time (the transfers as a result of the Serie A fiasco is NOT included), and, sorry to say, it isn’t about to stop anytime soon.

(Clockwise from top left) Villareal’s Marcos Senna, Feyenoord’s Dirk Kuyt, Inter Milan’s new signing Patrick Vieira and Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres.

The rumour mongers are hard at work again; on the list this time are Spaniards Marcos Senna and Fernando Torres, as well as Dutchman Dirk Kuyt and Frenchman Patrick Vieira.

Senna has hinted that he may move to Manchester United, despite initial claims he is happy to stay at Villareal. As for Torres, he still remains a huge puzzle: does he want to stay on at Atletico Madrid or does he want to play at Old Trafford?

Kuyt is the latest inclusion in a flurry of rumour-mongering; his reported move from Feyenoord to Liverpool seems to have stalled and with that, the Feyenoord frontman is now linked with a move to United, where, if the deal really does go through, he will replace his Dutch teammate, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

As for Vieira, two days ago he expressed interest in playing for the Red Devils. Then, his move to Inter Milan seems to have hit a roadblock, and he was hoping to leave the seriously depleted Juventus as soon as he could. And it didn’t matter where. Or whom.

But it was a case of a loose cannon misfiring, as, 24 hours later, Vieira agreed personal terms and passed his medical at Inter, who are AC Milan’s archrivals. Vieira was plucked from AC Milan’s reserve team by Arsenal years ago. Inter is only his fourth club, having began his footballing career at Cannes.

While Vieira’s case has been solved, these other three cases still remains unsolved. Only time will tell whether these guys will move – or stagnate. Again.

With the transfer window closing on August 31, the rumours will only intensify; it will come in fast and furious. Speculations will be rife on who goes where, but one thing’s for sure: everything has to be settled by the above date. For those in the Champions League, time will become an even more crucial factor.