Reds Back on Their Perch After 30 Years

Boy, does this feel good! And apparently nobody is going to Switzerland. 

YNWA

Give the Ball to Kevin!

Such a treat to watch him play. Was a strong contender to win the PFA player of the year award but then Mo Salah started to score one magical goal after the other. He was not his usual self against France and Belgium missed the World Cup final by a hair's breadth. But we'll see him on Saturday and on August 12 when City visits Arsenal for their first game of the 2018/19 season.

€222m Later Neymar Appears At PSG

From Barça. He will earn $53m a year for five years making him the best-paid footballer in the world and play alongside an in-form Dani Alves and fellow members of the Seleçao. The Catalan club want to fill the void with Coutinho. That would be a terrible blow for the Reds as the Brazilian is so crucial in enabling Liverpool to produce games that are pleasant to watch. Plus there was some hope that with recent signings like Mohamed Salah and the return of Mane the team would finally find the rhythm that is needed to mount a serious title challenge.

Even if the Spanish club doesn't land Philippe he will be chased by the PSG if their bid to get the sensational Mbappe doesn't work out. But the latest news is that Liverpool might not sell their attacking midfielder even if there's a £100m on the table. Arsenal's Wenger points out that this is a consequence of a country owning a club and reminds us of the time when the first £1m transfer was deemed unreasonable.

How A Referendum Would Deepen Our Democracy

There are some issues that are really fundamental to our well-being and these are better addressed in a referendum. Especially when they are not discussed in manifestoes and electoral campaigns. Here are four.

1. Tax policy can break an economy and send a country to the dogs. Which is what the Sithanen flat tax has done. And that too without asking us for our permission. 

2. Currency policy. Only morons believe that competitive depreciation is Tiger stuff. Plus it matters a whole lot who call the shots at the BoM. For example in 2010 we were told that Manou was coming back. We didn't know depreciation-obsessed Basant Roi would after 2014.

3. Party lists are the equivalent of an English Premier League without red cards. We don't want them.

4. Privatisation of any part of our public utilities or other national assets. A government that wants to sell the CWA or saddle it with a management contract because it doesn't like its hotline is a good-for-nothing government.

Mauritius in 2017

Thousands will again be denied a place in a secondary school because of a badly designed learning experience. Our roads will kill another 140. Eight or nine amputations will be performed every week or about 400 for the full year. Mauritius will shutdown around Saint Valentine as soon as we get some heavy rainfall. The CWA will announce harsher cuts right after. We will send a team to the IMO for the first time and get ready to participate in PISA 2018.

Roughly 1,000 people will be thrown into poverty. Every three months. Thanks to the trickle-down economics which has been going on for a decade now. The flat tax trap will cause the GDP shortfall to reach a trillion rupees about half of which would have happened on Lepep's watch. This will make government increasingly unpopular. Voters will keep on getting smarter. And that will be bad news for our political class. The water supply will improve as Bagatelle dam comes into operation in the second half of the year. Potential tragedy of a horrific number of fatalities during Porlwi by Light.

Quite a few of the bad events don't need to happen or can be mitigated. Like how does Mahebourg by Light sound? We could also avoid several road deaths if Lepep recognises that it might have acted in haste and brings an improved point system back.

Reds Thrash Champions

Kind of pleasant to watch Liverpool outclass Leicester on Saturday. And especially Sadio Mane, Anfield's new darling. Many see in him a Suarez-class striker. It is an interesting performance for Liverpool given that no Premier League team scored more than two goals against the reigning champions in the entire 2015/16 season. Save Arsenal who won 2-5 last September.

City is looking very strong -- they're the only team not to have dropped any points in four games. Everton too is better with Bolasie.

We're in for another very competitive season.

Leicester's Owner Wanted 40 Points

For the season and Claudio delivered 39. Halfway through it. He has added another 38 points with two more matches to play. Nobody can catch them save Tottenham which has to win all three of their matches provided Ranieri's lads don't take more than 1 point out of a possible 6. Of course if the Spurs drop points tonight Leicester will be the Champ and they won't have to wait for Vardy's return against Everton on Saturday to start celebrating.

But hey, this is football. You simply never know.

Klopp Pretty Sure of Grabbing EPL Within 4 Years

Or else he's off to Switzerland. It's the first time I've listened to him. Made a good impression. Seems to be disinterested enough to produce the good results that Anfield has been longing for. Like he did with Borussia Dortmund. We'll find out soon as The Reds meet in-form clubs over the next five matches.

Fans Shocked Gerrard Leaving Liverpool

For sure at 34 he doesn't have the legs he used to when they won the 2005 Champions League in Istanbul. Carrying the Reds almost single-handedly for several seasons will wear you down. And I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to keep on doing that to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere in the team. They could have adjusted their game to keep him playing as a deep-lying midfielder like 35-year-old Andre Pirlo is for Juventus.

I'm not too impressed either by the recent signings of Brendan Rodgers. The Reds have been playing some really sloppy football recently. At times it seems they can't even manage some really basic passes.

Premier League Season Starts Today

Manu will kick off the league by welcoming Swansea City at 15h45. They got a great new coach: Louis Van Gaal. Arsenal will meet Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium at 20h30. The two best teams of last season will be in action tomorrow. Liverpool, post-Suarez, will play against Southampton -- a team where it bought a number of players -- at Anfield at 16h30. And City will travel to Newcastle for the 19h00 game. Finally Chelsea -- Drogba has returned and they now have Diego Costa -- will visit newly-promoted Burnley on Monday.

The fun resumes!

Suarez Wins Player of the Year Award

From the Football Supporters Federation. In the midst of a terrific comeback. He is the league's best scorer for now with 17 goals or four more than City's Aguero. That's more than what 10 teams have scored this season. Liverpool is currently second but the top of the table could see more changes this week-end if Arsenal doesn't win. Good stuff ahead!

Manu Wins 20th, Ivanovic To Be Tested For Rabies

After being bitten by the Premier League Top Scorer until last night. Luis Suarez has already apologised, been fined by Liverpool, offered anger management classes and is likely to face more than the standard 3-match ban from the FA. But depending on when the suspension actually starts he could still score more goals than anybody else this season. And win the PFA Player of the Year award. Too. In five days.

Thank You London!

For the great emotions you provided for a little over two weeks. Watching Bolt run nine times was more than a treat. Along with Jamaican colleagues. Phelps made some more history. Brazil did not look hungry enough to win the men's football final. And Russia made an awesome comeback in the last game of the men's volleyball.

It was also fun guessing who would win the different events. It was not the Greek-god type of athlete who threw the javelin the furthest. Nope, it was a skinny Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago. Who seemed to have the right combination of height, speed and shoulder muscle flexibility. Same for the decathlon  with Ashton Eaton. Quite nice to see Leonel Suarez finish third there -- he won the javelin and high-jump parts.

And the US won most gold this time: 48 or 10 more than China. Which won 13 less events than in Beijing. While Britain bagged 10 more gold than four years ago. Doesn't hurt to play at home.

Good thing we have the English Premier League starting on Saturday. To help get us out of any post-Olympic blues.

Citizens Clinch Title in Fergie Time

City appeared a bit too complacent in the beginning compared to Manu. I thought they would need at least a two-goal margin to be on the safe side from QPR and given how many matches Sir Alex has won in the last few minutes of a game.

So the cup was heading to United when Rooney scored first. Then it was going back to Etihad Stadium when the Citizens put one in. But afterwards they looked toasted when QPR scored a double. And just when it seemed that the Red Devils had their 20th title in the bag, Manchester City scored two goals in two minutes -- with the last one by Aguero arguably one of the most nail-biting goal in EPL history -- and won the league after 44 years.

What a great season it was. Just hope the next one is as open.

Liverpool lost again. Unsurprisingly.

Manu Held To Home Draw As The Reds Try To Stop City

City has a chance to widen its lead by 7 points if it beats Liverpool. But that's not going to be easy after what the Reds showed us they were able to do at Stamford Bridge last week. Suarez, Kuyt and Johnson make a very intimidating trio that could hand City its first defeat of the season. And open up an already very interesting Premiership even more.

Let's see what unfolds at Anfield in an hour or so.