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Saturday, December 31, 2016

Man Utd in December

First match in December, luck has not changed for Jose Mourinho and the Red Devils. Dominated Everton but fell to a 88th minute penalty when Fellaini fouled...aghhhhhh 1-1 again to leave the Red devils at 6th spot, 13 points away from leaders Chelsea!!!

1-1 Ibrahimovic scored again
Source : Youtube

8 Dec 2016
The Red Devils made it into the knockout round of the Europa League with a simple 2-0 win over Zorya at Ukraine.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first Utd goal and started for the 3rd consecutive game. Ibrahimovic scored his 13th goal of the season.
Source : Youtube

Source: Youtube
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first EPL goal for Utd

Source : Youtube
Midweek soccer
The Red Devils just hung on to their 6th position with a late winner from Ibrahimovic after Progba gave them the half time lead and Palace equalised after the break.
Palace 1 : Utd 2

18 Dec 2016
Jose Mourinho and his team now believes that they have turned around the corner with this 2-0 win over the in-form WBA side at the Hawthorns. Two Ibrahimovic goals settled a supposedly tough contest.
WBA 0: Utd 2
Source: Youtube

Boxing Day 2016
David Moyes returned to Old Trafford for the first time as Sunderland's manager and he left without Xmas cheer in this 3-1 defeat. Watch Henrikh Mkhitaryan's fabulous flick goal (the 3rd Utd goal)... it was very very spectacular!!!
Man Utd 3 : Sunderland 1

Source : Youtube

31 Dec 2016
Man Utd ended 2016 in a barn storming manner when they scored in the last 5 minutes to win 2-1 against Middlesbrough. They have now won 5 consecutive EPL matches.

Source : Youtube

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Man Utd In November 2016

Europa League
vs Fenerbahce in Turkey 4th November
Source: BT Sports

Jose Mourinho's woes continued at Turkey. After comprehensively beating Fenerbahce at Old Trafford, the Red Devils were a goal down by the 90th seconds of the match and eventually lost 2-1. His records with Utd is now 'as good as' van Gaal or Moyes!!!

6th November
An easy fixture for the Red Devils as the Swans are devoid of ideas and organisation. While Chelsea (5-0 against Everton) and Liverpool (6-1 Watford) to go top, the Red Devils should have build on their first half 3-0 lead.


Source: Youtube
Zlatan scored a brace, the first one is the 25000th EPL goal, after a drought since September

19th November : 12th week, after the International Week
Gigantic clash at Old Trafford between Mourinho and Wenger, Red Devils vs Gunners, a stuttering side vs a firing side....
The Red Devils dominated but no one can finish. Juan Mata scored but Giroud scored a 89th minute equaliser with the only Gunner's shot on target!!!!


Europa League vs Feyenoord : Revenge for the 1-0 opening defeat in Holland for Mourinho's side. This time the Red Devils dominated and made it count with 4 goals. Wayne Rooney scored his historic goal to become Utd's all time Utd's European top scorer.


Week 13: Another frustrating matchday for Mourinho and the Red Devils, not unlike the van Gaal days when they dominated by just could not kill off their opponents. As a result, West Ham escaped with a 1-1 draw, having taken the lead as early as the 2nd minute. Not the first time that this Utd team was caught cold at the very beginning of the match. Jose's day was darkened further when he was sent off to the stand for kicking a bottle at the touchline in protest against a booking for Progba for an alleged dive!!


It is still November only and nearly everyone has already written off the Red Devils' title challenge!

30 November 2016
the Red Devils are into the semi-final of the League Cup. For the second time this week at Old Trafford, West Ham Utd were the opponents. Just like the earlier game, Utd dominated but this time they managed to score, braces from Ibrahimovic and Martial. Jose Mourinho had to stay away after a 1-match immediate ban on him for kicking a water bottle in the earlier match. 4-1 Utd


Man Utd in October 2016

Jose Mourinho described October as 'poisoned' whatever he meant

Source : Youtube
Man Utd vs Stoke 1st October 2016

The Red Devils dominated but a brave Stoke side scored a late equaliser after Martial's goal.

After the Internationals, EPL continued on 15 October. On 17 Oct the Reds and Red Devils fought out a gigantic 0-0 draw at Anfield. Honours even though many before the game,  felt that Klopp's side would clobber Jose's side. So much for the so-called  'experts'.
David de Gea once again denied the Reds with out-of-the-world saves esp the one in the second half against Philipe Continho

Source: Youtube
Europa League
Paul Progba scored a brace in the comprehensive 4-1 defeat of Fenerbahce at Old Trafford. Robin v Persie scored the consolation goal for the Turkish side on his return to Old Trafford


Source: Youtube
Humiliation! Nightmare! Disaster! Not Special Anymore!!
These were some of the headlines after the Red Devils' disastrous 4-0  defeat at Stamford Bridge. This was Jose Mourinho's biggest defeat in the EPL ever, the moment his defence let in the first goal by Pedro in 30 seconds!!! I believed that he never expected such a humiliating homecoming. 
It is a bad time to be a Man Utd fan, to see the team and manager in such a helpless and hopeless state.

Pedro, Cahill, Hazard and Kante scored for the Blues 23 Oct 2016
Source: Youtube

Mid week 4th round League Cup against Man City at Old Trafford
Source : Youtube

Something to smile about, a 1-0 win over City rival in the League Cup 4th Rd.
Juan Mata scored in second half

4th Saturday in October
Jose Mourinho's poisoned October ended in chaos! 
Beside being sent to the stand at Old Trafford by the referee for disputing a penalty, at the tunnel during half time, which was not given Ander Herrera was harshly  sent off for two yellow cards, his side was held 0-0 by a solidly defending Burnley side despite having 37 shots on goal with 11 on target!!!!
How luck can desert you sometimes. Zlatan continued his goal drought! It is Man Utd's worst points won in the opening 10 games ever.....
Hope for a better November.

Source : Youtube

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Everchanging Landscape 1 - Alexandra Road


Personal Musings:

Alexandra Road- Prince Philip Avenue, Prince Charles Avenue : These British sounding roads are still around. However, the landscape around these roads had changed totally. The 4-storey rental flats along Alexandra Road (from former 'Thye Hong Biscuit factory' till Lower Delta Road) were demolished in the 90s. Those higher blocks inside the estate near where Crescent Girls School were gone way before that. At present, only CGS and the old Post Office building were left behind.




 
Block 39 Alexandra Road where I lived in the 80s till 1993

September 2016

Where Blk 39 used to be is an empty land now

Blk 39 empty land looking towards Blk 101 & Alessandra Condominium along Alexandra Road
Now, Viking Road has disappeared!!!



The old Alexandra Post Office Building is still standing but the PO occupies only a small part of it.

The Cars I owned in my lifetime:

My first car was a second hand 7 year old orange coloured Mazda 323 in 1980 costing around $7000.

1980 Mazda 323 : EG 4503 P 1000cc car

My second car was also a second-hand car, a midnight blue Mitsubishi Lancer ET 9112 L in the mid-80s costing around 10K for a 7-year old 1400cc car.

 My third car, a brand new Proton Saga 1.3 (late 1980s to early 90s). Proton was Malaysia's pride then. SBQ4101C

My fourth car, Mazda 323 (late 1990s), a champagne gold 1.3L car SCV9104Z
















The fifth car was a Nissan Sunny EX, late 90s to mid 2000s SFA 3049P costing about 43K

In 2006, again I opted for a Silver Nissan Sunny 1.3 costing 47K, a facelift version of the previous car. Drove it for ten problem-free years.

SGJ312P

April 2016 : White Kia Forte costing 89K SLB1622X

Everchanging Landscape 3 Margaret Drive Singapore 2 (Revisited)

Margaret Drive in 2004

 The thriving provision shop at corner of Blk 39A

 Abandoned 38 Commonwealth Ave wet market
 Entrance of the 38 Commonwealth Ave wet market

 Refuse dump area of wet market

 38 Commonwealth Ave wet market from Blk 39A

 Refuse dump area of wet market. Pictures below showed me and my brother at that area in 1961...the familiar bricked wall



 The other entrance of 38 Commonwealth Ave wet market



38 Commonwealth Ave wet market - used to have a very good Bak Kut Teh stall 

NTUC Fairprice Supermarket Margaret Drive circa 2004

I visited Margaret Drive again in the 2011 when it was on the verge of being demolished for future development into a new town. 

The cinema cum bowling building - ticket payment booth

Queenstown Cinema and Bowl exterior : right side is the heritage 38 Wet market

Side view of the Queenstown Cinema and Bowl building

The other side view of the Queenstown Cinema and Bowl building

Ticketing booth with the signboards

Second level of the Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre where the famous steam chicken rice stall was located
Ground level of Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food centre as viewed from the former Polyclinic



Side staircase of the cooked food centre

Car park directly opposite Queenstown Public Library

Ground level as viewed from staircase

Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre as viewed from open field opposite Quuenstown Public Library

Another view from the open field










Another view of  
Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre
This well-known Poh Piah Skin stall on the second level is now located at Commonwealth Crescent Market

View of the Poh Piah Skin stall on the second level

 
Last desolate look at the second level of Commonwealth Ave Cooked food Centre 

Path leading from Blk 39A to Food Centre

The former Queenstown Polyclinic

Block 39A , one of the last Margaret Drive housing blocks to be demolished

View of the former Queenstown Polyclinic taken from top floor of Blk 39A

East-West MRT Line from Blk 39A

View of Commonwealth Cooked Food Centre 

View of Margaret Drive running between the Food Centre and Polyclinic

View of Queenstown Primary School from Blk 39A

View of Tanglin Halt Estate from Blk 39A

View of Mei Ling Estate in the far right

View of Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre from Blk 39A

View of NTUC Fairprice Supermarket from Blk 39A

Desolate view of corridors of abandoned Blk 39A

Corridors of Blk 39A

Airy view from corridor of Blk 39A

Blk 39A Margaret Drive circa 2011

View of the land where the Commonwealth Ave Cooked Food Centre used to stand as taken from Queenstown Public Library circa 2013

View of land where NTUC Supermarket used to stand as taken from Queenstown Cinema before it was demolished circa 2013

Rebuilding Margaret Drive 2016

The vacant site now 2016. It used to be Blk 6C (below),  beside Queensway Secondary School



Entrance of Blk 6C



Piling works began for the new HDB apartments in the area where the Cooked Food Centre used to be.

 The drain at the edge of Margaret Drive



September 2016 : The construction of a new HDB precinct is in full swing at this moment. 
Only the Church of Our Saviour, The Fisherman of Christ Fellowship building, Blk 38 Market, Queensawy Secondary School, the former Queenstown Polyclinic Building and Queenstown Library are left after the development.

The Future Margaret Drive/Dawson Estate