Live Life With No Regrets!

With Jose Mourinho departing Chelsea, I find it hard to support Chelsea much, besides Lampard, Drogba and Cech, there's nothing better than supporting "The Special One"

I doubt Chelsea would do any better without him. It seems that Mr. Abramovich neglected to read Sun Tzu's "Art of War" which admonishes the sovereign from interfering with tactics of the general.

I admire Jose because he epitomises self-confidence, discipline, always has something witty or a great quote up his sleeve, has good family relationships (he's still married to his childhood sweetheart till now, goes out with his kids), doesn't let his medals go his head (he threw them into the crowd on winning his second premiership title), and finally has a really good dress sense. (Urggghh, Avram Grant in his training jacket just looks like a tired old fogie.)

I'm switching my support to Mr. Sven Goran Eriksson now and Manchester City.

Posted by Nico at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After the few weeks experimentation of doing virtual betting, I've stopped.

The results are: I would have lost money. (No surprises there.)

I do not have a keen eye or nose to pick winners. Even picking a winning team isn't good enough, the betting companies know how to give low odds on big teams like Arsenal and Man Utd. You have to get a good secondary pick like actual score or number of goals scored, etc.

But the second thing is, doing soccer result predictions takes time. It may seem easy enough to pick who is the winner but there needs to be some research into it if you're "serious" into betting. You have to find out who's injured, guess the morale of the team, pick the right bet with the best odds, buy the morning paper, read pundits opinions, etc. No wonder there are 1900 numbers that charge a whopping $50/call just for you to hear an "experts" pick.

It's not just the money, it's the time. That's why I couldn't even get started on Fantasy Football. It's the same thing, checking the injury list, thinking about the tactics, guessing which player is worth buying, home and away, etc.

(The ironic thing is if you spent money on every match, blindly betting on AOS (Any Other Score, i.e. any score not listed like 9-0, 7-4, etc.) you would be just about making a profit now. A fluke nonetheless.)

Posted by Nico at 1:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reading 1 - Wigan 2 (2-1, Lose $5.85)
Middlesborough 0 - Sunderland 1 (2-2, Lose $23.75)
Arsenal 7 - Derby 0 (5-0, Lose $5.10)
Liverpool 2 - Birmingham 0 (0-0, Lose $30.00)
Fulham 0 - Manchester City 1 (3-3, Lose $24.30)
Newcastle 1 - West Ham 1
Aston Villa 0 - Everton 1
Blackburn 2 - Portsmouth 2
Bolton 1 - Tottenham 2
Manchester United 2 - Chelsea 0

Posted by Nico at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This weeks EPL predictions:

Everton 0 - Man Utd 3 (0-1, Lose $21.75)
Portsmouth 0 - Liverpool 3 (0-0, Lose $30.00)
Tottenham 0 - Arsenal 1 (1-3, Lose $19.00)
Sunderland 0 - Reading 0 (2-1, Lose $24.25)
West Ham 1 - Middlesborough 1 (3-0, Lose $30.00)
Wigan 1 - Fulham 0 (1-1, Lose $23.90)
Birmingham 2 - Bolton 1 (1-0, Lose $12.75)
Chelsea 0 - Blackburn 0 (0-0, Win $131.75)
Manchester City 1 - Aston Villa 0 (1-0, Win $38.55)
Derby 0 - Newcastle 3 (1-0, Lose $30)

Virtual Lose: $21.35
Running Total (Loss): $226

Posted by Nico at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Betting figures are hypothetical. I do not condone gambling. The figures are just to show that gambling doesn't pay.

Bolton 1 - Everton 1 (1-2 Lose $7.75)
Fulham 1 - Tottenham 2 (3-3 Lose $30.00)
Liverpool 2 - Derby 0 (6-0 Lose $17.25)
Middlesborough 0 - Birmingham 2 (2-0 Lose $14.00)
Newcastle 2 - Wigan 0 (1-0 Lose $29.20)
Reading 2 - West Ham 1 (0-3 Lose $6.20)
Manchester United 3 - Sunderland 1 (1-0 Lose $4.15)
Arsenal 3 - Portsmouth 0 (3-1 Lose $1.00)
Blackburn 1 - Manchester City 1 (1-0 Lose $4.20)
Aston Villa 0 - Chelsea 2 (2-0 Lose $1.30)

Virtual Loss: $115.05
Total Virtual Profit/Loss for the Season: -$204.65

Posted by Nico at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sunderland 0 - Liverpool 3 (0-2 Win $15.00)
West Ham 0 - Wigan 0 (1-1 Win $34.25)
Bolton 0 - Reading 2 (3-0, Lose $30.00)
Chelsea 2 - Portsmouth 0 (1-0, Win $13.80)
Arsenal 0 - Manchester City 0 (1-0 Lose $2.25)
Aston Villa 2 - Fulham 1 (2-1 Win $38.65)
Derby 3 - Birmingham 2 (1-2 Lose $6.30)
Everton 1 - Blackburn 1 (1-1 Win $37.60)
Middlesborough 0 - Newcastle 2 (2-2 Lose $24.40)
Manchester United 1 - Tottenham 1 (1-0 Lose $22.60)

Virtual Profit: $53.75
Running Total for this season: Loss of $89.60

Posted by Nico at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't gamble. But the winning/losing is the how much I would win/lose if I did on Singapore Pools with the minimum $5 bet per category. It's also to prove why I shouldn't gamble, though I like predicting.

Portsmouth 1 - Bolton 0 (3-1, Lose $25, Win $3.75 = -$21.25)
Birmingham 1 - West Ham 0 (0-1, Lose $20, Win $15.75 = -$4.25)
Fulham 2 - Middlesborough 2 (1-2, Lose $25 Win $0.80 = -$24.20)
Reading 1 - Everton 2 (1-0, Lose $20 Win $15.70 = -$4.30)
Tottenham 1 - Derby 0 (4-0, Lose $25 Win $2 = -$23)
Wigan 1 - Sunderland 3 (3-0, Lose $30)
Newcastle 0 - Aston Villa 2 (0-0, Lose $25 Win $1.50 = -$23.50)
Man City 2 - Man Utd 1 (1-0, Lose $15 Win $32.15 = $17.15)
Blackburn 2 - Arsenal 3 (1-1, Lose $25 Win $1.35 = -$23.65)
Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 2 (1-1, Lose $20 Win $13.65 = -$6.35)

Virtual Total Profit/Loss: -$143.35

Posted by Nico at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Early Morning Match
Originally uploaded by nicodemus_chan.

It was the most pathetic display of football from Man. U. that I've ever seen.

No all-English final.

But it will be interesting to have another AC-Liverpool final. Will we see Liverpool triumph again? Or will AC exact its revenge?

Posted by Nico at 4:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The joy and ecstasy of the Singapore fans as the penalty kick was taken by Mustafiq Fahrudin.

Is this the last goal to be scored at the Singapore National Stadium?

Posted by Nico at 1:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My final prediction for the tournament:

Italy 1 - France 1 (France win 3-1 aet)

Posted by Nico at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Germany 2 - Portugal 0

Posted by Nico at 12:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My prediction for today:

Portugal 1 - France 1 (France win 2-1 aet)

Posted by Nico at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My prediction for today

Germany 0 - Italy 0 (Germany to win 4-2 on penalties)

Posted by Nico at 12:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

England 1 - Portugal 2 (even though I'm an England supporter)
Brazil 2 - France 0

Posted by Nico at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Germany 2 - Argentina 1
Italy 0 - Ukraine 0 (Italy win 4-3 on penalties)

Posted by Nico at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Switzerland 1 - Ukraine 0
Spain 2 - France 0

Posted by Nico at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Brazil 3 - Ghana 2
Italy 3 - Australia 0

Posted by Nico at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

England 2 - Ecuador 1
Portugal 2 - Netherlands 1

Posted by Nico at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Germany 2 - Sweden 2 (Germany go through 4 - 3 on penalties)
Argentina 3 - Mexico 1

Posted by Nico at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Saudi Arabia 0 - Spain 4
Ukraine 2 - Tunisia 0
Switzerland 2 - South Korea 1
Togo 1 - France 1

Posted by Nico at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Czech Republic 0 - Italy 0
Ghana 2 - United States 1
Croatia 1 - Australia 2
Japan 2 - Brazil 1 (yes! Brazil I believe will be unmotivated to win the match.)

One of the reasons I'm doing these predictions is to prove to myself to never, ever, ever, ever bet on football matches.

Almost none of my predictions were ever spot on. And my win, lose or draw predictions also is just as bad. At the end of the world cup, I'll tally up the statistics to see how much I predicted right.

Posted by Nico at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Ivory Coast 2 - Serbia & Montenegro 0
Holland 1 - Argentina 2
Iran 0 - Angola 1
Portugal 2 - Mexico 0

Posted by Nico at 7:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Japan 1 - Croatia 0
Brazil 3 - Australia 3
France 0 - South Korea 1

Posted by Nico at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Argentina 2 - Serbia & Montenegro 0
Ivory Coast 1 - Holland 1
Mexico 1 - Angola 1

Posted by Nico at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This article about having 4 dutch coaches in the world cup illustrates John Maxwell's law of reproduction at work.

All of these coaches can be traced to the work of one man, Rinus Michels and how his legacy has produced many coaches of top quality.

Maxwell illustrates in his book the "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" General Electric and NFL coaches that have traced their influence to just one man in their respective fields.

Therefore, in order to become a better leader you must seek out great leaders and learn from them. Find the best leader in your field, join his company, and learn from him or her.

Posted by Nico at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Ecuador 1 - Costa Rica 1
England 3 - Trinidad & Tobago 0
Sweden 2 - Paraguay 2

Posted by Nico at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My predictions for today:

Germany 3 - Poland 1
Spain 1 - Ukraine 1
Tunisia 3 - Saudi Arabia 0

Posted by Nico at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That is how you must play in the league of life.

Get consistent results, win and fight every day tooth and nail. Play with character.

Even if you're not getting consistent results at first, fight, fight and fight. Just like the bottom teams of the league are fighting against relegation, it's not over till the fat lady sings. Look at West Bromwich Albion last season when they were the first team to shrug off the Christmas curse by being bottom of the league at the end of the year and yet survived on the final day. Look at Middlesborough which this season seemed to be headed to the relegation zone, but defeated Chelsea and are now in the round-of-16 in the UEFA cup.

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

(2 Timothy 4:6-8)

Posted by Nico at 2:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)