Rare Talents in FIFA12 :O

Having played FIFA 12 for 3 months, I am still enjoying my time as a manager of Chelsea. As the game progresses, it is imperative for any manager to add value to the squad by buying better players or getting them from youth academy.

As I was playing, I found some real hidden talents that could grow into world-class stars if nutured properly. We are not talking about the likes of Gotze and Messi who are already outstanding players at a very young age, mainly because most of us probably will not be able to offer the sky-high transfer fees or even afford their wages. Instead, we are focussing on obscure young players. Their stats are not exactly brilliant at the start, but if they are played regularly in matches, they tend to gain experience very quickly. These are 5 of the players that are really worth a look...

1.  Roderick (Servette FC) 65 -> 89

Only 20 years of age, this Portugese player is a central defender on loan from Benfica and has already earned himself 15 caps for the Portugal Under-20 squad. He is also able to play as a defensive midfielder in front of the back four.

In FIFA 12, he starts off with an overall rating of 65, with his Strength and Aggression stats being his specialties (at 78 and 70 respectively). He can grow to a potential overall rating of 89, which is a whooping increase of 24 from his inital rating. Best of all, he can be bought a low price at the start of the game.

2. Federik Sørensen (Juventus) 74 -> 88

Valued at 8.5 million in FIFA 12, Juventus is most likely going to let him go at a much higher price since he has great potential (I paid 11.5 million to prise him off the Turin club in my Chelsea save game). And here's why: this Danish centre-back already has an impressive overall rating of 74 at the age of 19. He becomes a monster of a defender if you play him regularly, with a potential overall rating of 88! That should put him in the same bracket as Pique and Thiago Silva. He has the right attributes for a defender, with his Aggression, Strength and Marking all above 80.

He probably won't grow as much if left at Juventus, with Chellini and Barzagli in the starting lineup, so grab him if you can.

3. Cristian Pasquato (Lecce) 74 -> 84

This versatile Italian forward can play in any attacking position (namely CF, CAM, LW and LM), and has played for Italy at every level except full international.

In the game, the 22 year old striker is a awesome speedster and possesses great balance & agility. He is also highly rated for his ball control and dribbling skills. In addition, he improves incredibly quickly and can develop into one of the most dangerous attackers in the game. The only issue I have is that he cannot be bought in the first season has he has just joined Leece, but his stats improve consistently due to him playing regularly.

4. Fernando Lucas Marins (Gremio) 70 -> 87

A natural central midfielder who can only deputise as a defensive midfielder, this 19 year old Brazilian from Grêmio is definitely worth your money. He possesses decent physical and mental stats, with his Interception stats being the highest at 80. He also has superb vision and passing ability for such a young player. Still can grow a lot, and has a potential overall rating of 87.



5. Daniel Johnson (Aston Villa) 60 -> 77

If you are managing lower tiers clubs with decent financial ability, this is one player you should get early in the game to help your club progress to the top leagues.

While he may not grow as much as the rest of the players mentioned in this post, he can make a difference to your team in the first few seasons. The England central midfielder, who can also play on the left, is pretty quick and has a decent passing range & finishing ability for a 19 year old, so it's still not too bad. Plus, he can be snapped up at a pretty low fee.

That's all for now!  I think by now if you have not realised, this topic just came off my mind randomly - I have nothing to write this week actually :D

Farewell 2011, Hello 2012! :D

Yay, the first post of 2012!

Believe it or not, 2011 has been an eventful year for everyone. As we take a big leap into 2012, let us take a look back at some of the events that happened in Singapore during 2011. Just like last year's edition, we will stick to 5 of my favourite incidents. Here we go!

5. "We f***ing did it!"

In order to uphold this blog's squeaky clean image (although in truth, it has been tarnished by a certain suggestive post in the past >.<), the inappropriate words have been well censored.

A 6-minute convocation speech about the highs and lows of university life in NTU became a hot topic of debate when Miss Trinetta Chong ended off the speech with an expletive.

To quote in her own words, "Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2011. We f***ing did it!"

The trouble came only when a clip of her speech surfaced on Youtube and went instantly viral. There were many who question the need to utter the expletive in a prestigious event like a convocation speech. Ms Chong has since apologized and her case for argument was that she was feeling "very emotional and it just came out", hence the expletive. Unsurprisingly, many were fine with it as well, especially in an environment where teenagers nowadays just cuss when they feel like it.

For me? Well, a word is only a word. It only has value, negative or otherwise, to what an individual assigns it based on context. No harm intended.  ;)

Still, a piece of advice for all: be conscious of your surroundings and be responsible & aware of each and every action you do.

4. Heartlanders @ Holland Village

Another classic example of "not thinking of the consequences before speaking", this one went on my list only because it had me laughing for quite a while.

On March 23, a woman, who identified herself only as Samantha, called in to 91.3FM's The Married Men Show. She said Singaporeans living in areas such as Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are "very uncultured and have no manners."

Many people were upset by her remarks.

She has later apologized on air for her remarks.

3. Think before you drink. It's for your own good.

If something you are drinking right now tastes funny, think again.

You may be in for a shock of your life.

In May, a corpse of an Indonesian maid was found abandoned in a rooftop tank of a Woodlands HDB block, tainting the drinking water of 700 residents. Blood stains were found in the 2m-deep water tank. It was understood some of the residents may have unknowingly used the tainted water for household purposes.

As a result, the water supply was cut off and PUB officers were also on hand to hand out water bags. In addition, the town council had to flush and wash the tanks as well as the distribution pipes. Security measures for rooftop access had become stricter since.

Even then, some residents were still a bit edgy about consuming the water after that, to such an extent that Sembawang GRC MP Vikram Nair drank tap straight from the tap during a house visit to residents in order to appease the people.

Scary, isn't it?

2. Lions make highly anticipated comeback in M-League

For Singapore fans who had become disillusioned with our national soccer team, this might be something to cheer about.

In view of the declining standards of our local football scene (imminent signs include poor international performances and even poorer crowd attendances), FAS has collaborated with the Football Association of Malaysia, bringing greater cooperation between the two nations. This will see a selected Singaporean side competing in both the Malaysian Super League and Malaysian Cup, with a selected Malaysian side going the other way to the S-League.

For those who can still remember, it has been 18 long years since Singapore won the 1994 M-League and Malaysia Cup double. The current 28-man squad consists of  mostly the Young Lions, with a few experienced campaigners and capped internationals like Hariss Harun & Sharil Ishak brought in for experience.

No doubt, there is cause for concern, one of which is how the Singapore LIONSXII would fare in a much more competitive Malaysian Super League. Signs have been encouraging thus far in recent friendlies, with the newly-assembled side staging a gutsy comeback to draw 3-3 in a recent match against ATM FA.

There is also the other issue of constant travelling across 11 different states of Malaysia, which could lead to fatigue of the players. Well, look on the bright side. Perhaps through life on the road, the team could gel together better and players bond with each other. Furthermore, they can also expose themselves to different playing styles and standards, which would only serve to make them better.

So don't write them off. Yet.

1. SMRT takes a break(down)

Because this happened quite recently, and the fact that it was so hyped up, I guess I need not explain further.

It is true that there was great oversight by SMRT in the maintenance of our train system, and many were left upset by the way SMRT handled the situation with some even calling for SMRT chief Saw Phaik Hwa to resign. Shortly after the SMRT breakdowns, photos of her dressed up as 'queen' and carried on a chair by half-naked men during SMRT's annual D&D appeared online, and only sought to make matters worse.
 
All these has led to one question.


Did we overreact to MRT breakdowns?

It's up to you to decide.

Note: Coincidentally, if you had realised, once the train system went down, many seemed to have lost their sense of direction and were unable to figure out how to get to their destinations via alternative ways. I guess that very much reflects our over-dependency on the MRT.

Merry Christmas 2011!

Merry Christmas to all!

Time has passed so quickly and pretty soon, 2011 will be coming to an end. Before we welcome 2012, let's immerse ourselves in the Christmas spirit!

Here's a short video for everyone. Enjoy! :D

Korean Music Showcase: Mnet Asian Music Awards 2011! :D

The inaugural MAMA Awards (Mnet Asian Music Awards) hit Singapore's shores on 29th Nov. Held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, this year's show promised to be bigger, better and much more awesome than its 2010 version at Macau.

K-pop artistes who had arrived for the event included Miss A, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, Leessang and 2NE1. With the Korean Hallyu fever raging strongly in Singapore, there is no doubt that this is a widely anticipated event. Many fans had queued up early to attend the show!

In order not to spoil for those who missed out on the event, I shall give a brief outline of who are the biggest winners of this year's MAMA Awards.

1. Girls' Generation

Awards: Artist of The Year, Best Female Group
One of the biggest winners this year, they gave the audience one of the most powerful performances of the night. Singing their latest hit "The Boys", the girls wowed the crowd with their dance moves and strong vocals. Their stage's special effects are so good, they left the members of Miss A stunned! :O Pity they only sang that one song though.

Check out their performance in this video:


2.  Super Junior
Awards: Album of The Year, Best Male Group, Singapore's Korean Singer Popularity Award

SM Entertainment's biggest boyband returned home with a total of 3 awards. Given their popularity in Singapore, it is little wonder they were awarded the Singapore's Korean Singer Popularity Award. For their special stage section, they belted out hits like "Super Man", "Mr. Simple", and of course hot favourite "Sorry Sorry".

3. 2NE1
Awards: Best Vocal (Group), Song of The Year
One of the hottest girl groups in Korea won 2 awards in this year's MAMA Awards. Both wins were well deserved, as the girls showed their vocal prowess in "Lonely" and "I Am The Best" was one of the most popular hits. Dara's hair was one of the coolest that day, with her amazing, gravity-defying ponytail frozen on her head. The quartet also showed in their special stage session why they are the best:


Other award winners include Beast, Kim Hyun Joong, Hyuna and Baek Ji Young. Even though I did not get to go for the awrds show itself, watching it live via streaming is still epic enough to experience the atmosphere at Singapore Indoor Stadium. I look forward to next year's edition! :)

* Credits to slam10 for photos of SNSD, 2NE1 and Super Junior. Thanx. :D

Interesting Read -- The Case of the Missing Servant

Just a few days ago, the Harris bookstore near my house was having a storewide sale, and all books were sold at a 30% discount. Not wanting to miss out, I went in the bookstore and got myself a couple of books without hesitation.

To my pleasant surprise, one of the books I have bought was a great find. Prior to purchasing this title, I have never heard of the author Tarquin Hall himself. After reading through "The Case of the Missing Servant", I took an instant liking to the book.

The story starts off with the titular character, India's most private investigator Vish Puri (also known as "Chubby")in a midst of his investigation work. Ably assisted by his undercover assistants, namely Tubelight, Flash and Facecream (Being Punjabi, the detective had various nicknames for his colleagues, friends and family members. For example, Flush got his nickname because he has a flush toilet at home, a first for anyone in his village in the state of Haryana. Talk about convenience.), Puri handled his cases with the aid of modern techniques and the sharp wit of a detective.

When renowned lawyer Ajay Kasliwal is accused of murdering his maidservant, Puri's resources are finally put to the test. The only clue he was given is that the maidservant was known only as Mary, and his job is to find her whereabouts in a population of more than one million. To make matters worse, Puri becomes the target (and nearly victim) of a mysterious shooting incident, and his mother insists on playing sleuth to find out the culprit. How would Delhi's most private investigator handle the situation this time?

This book was first published in 2009 and was the first of the Puri series (Hall followed up with a second book "The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing" in June 2010). Hall's ability to brilliantly capture the sights, smells, sounds and foibles of modern India, not to mention the nuances of English-Indian speech, captivates my attention as I read the book. This is perhaps due to the fact that Hall is also a journalist and has lived in India for a period of time due to his job, that he was able to describe India so well. Even if readers have never been to India before, they can certainly experience the bustle of Delhi streets, to the remoteness of the mines of Jharkhand.

The many twists in the story also made the story all the more interesting and until the very end, there is no telling of who the real culprit was. Puri's wit and intelligence has also left me in awe, and his style reminds me of another fictional detective, Hercule Poirot.

So, do check out this book "The Case of the Missing Servant" and experience the spirt of India for yourself!

생일 축하합니다 Biwen!

Last Sunday, Biwen invited me to his birthday party held at SAF Changi Seaview Resort. As it was pretty far away from my house, I met up with a couple of friends first before heading for our destination together. In an attempt to make the party livelier, I decided to bring all my Korean songs music videos  to the party.

Birthday boy!

Truth be told, the weather that day was as unpleasant as one can imagine. It was pouring heavily as we traveled on the road and visibility was poor. Luckily, we still managed to reach Biwen's party on time and the weather got slightly better by then. Biwen's party was held in Changi Haven, a resort function room which is normally used for cohesion and meetings, hence the place is much smaller compared to a chalet. However, it is definitely good enough to hold a party as there are many facilities available, including two video players, a video projector and a large projector screen. Just as I thought my plan of playing all my videos was about to come true, it dawned on me that the video players are unable to play .mp4 format. Luckily, Biwen prepared a couple of movies on his own so we were not deprived of our source of entertainment.

A while after we arrived, the horrible weather returned for a rematch with us. The heavy rain that dogged us on our way to the party came again and many guests were delayed as a result. Fortunately, the party still went on as planned.

The food and the atmosphere was great! Although most of the guests invited work in the department beside mine, I do not really know most of the guests well. Through card games, discussion on K-pop etc, we managed to hit it off well and knew each other better.

At about 7.30pm, the big moment came -- it's time to cut the cake! The cake looks awesome!

Looks delicious! :P

The party ended at around 10+, and I must say I really enjoyed myself! Thanks for inviting Biwen, and before I forget, 생일 축하합니다! :D

Connect With The World...via Postcrossing!

Finally, November is here! :D It's been so long since I last posted, but better late than never!

Anyway, it's been an awesome month so far, and I recently came across an interesting hobby. If you are the sociable type and would like to make friends from around the world, this is the hobby for you!

Introducing Postcrossing, which is an online project launched in July 2005. Postcrossing allows its members to send and receive real postcards from random places in the world. As of September 2011, Postcrossing had over 251,000 members in 198 different countries who had exchanged over 8.4 million postcards.

Signing up to be a Postcrosser (as the members are called) is very simple and only takes a couple of minutes. Once you have registered as a Postcrosser, the first step is to request to send a postcard. The website will display (and send you an e-mail) with the address of another member and a Postcard ID. You then mail a postcard to that member. Similarly, you will also receive a postcard from another Postcrosser from a different country. Of course, where you send the postcard to and receive from are anonymous. You can have up to 5 postcards traveling at any single time. Every time one of the postcards you send is registered, you can request another address.

If you are an avid stamp or postcard collector, this is another good reason for you to join in the fun. You will be able to exchange and receive postcards and stamps from different parts of the world. If you are lucky, other Postcrossers may even generously send you more than one postcards or stamps at the same!

So what are you waiting for? Get started with Postcrossing now!