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Man City end tough week with win at Blackburn Posted: 01 Oct 2011 09:08 AM PDT Manchester City's Samir Nasri shoots to score against Blackburn Rovers during their match today. — Reuters pic LONDON, Oct 1 — Manchester City's tough week ended on a high note today when they won 4-0 at Blackburn Rovers to maintain their unbeaten start in the Premier League and stay level on points with Manchester United at the top of the table. Champions United also maintained their unbeaten start with a 2-0 home win over Norwich City thanks to a second half goals from Anderson and Danny Welbeck. They stay top on goal difference from City with both teams taking 19 points from their opening seven games. In the day's lunchtime kickoff, Liverpool won 2-0 at Everton in the 185th Merseyside league derby with late goals from Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. Everton played for more than an hour with 10 men after Jack Rodwell was sent off in the 23rd minute. Newcastle United won 2-1 at Molineux to inflict a fourth consecutive league defeat on Wolverhampton Wanderers and climb to third, at least until Chelsea play at bottom-placed Bolton Wanderers tomorrow. Aston Villa sent Wigan Athletic to a fourth successive league defeat with a 2-0 win at Villa Park while Sunderland drew 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion after trailing 2-0 inside the opening five minutes at the Stadium of Light. City won at Blackburn with second half goals from Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli and substitutes Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic but Argentine striker Sergio Aguero limped off in the first half with a groin injury. He will now join his compatriot Carlos Tevez on the sidelines, but for totally different reasons following Tevez's suspension from the club for allegedly ignoring manager Roberto Mancini's instructions to come on as a substitute against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday. — Reuters

Carroll, Suarez on target as Liverpool beat Everton Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:52 AM PDT Carroll celebrates after scoring against Everton today. — Reuters pic LONDON, Oct 1 — Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez scored to give Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 win at Everton in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park today after the home side were controversially reduced to 10 men after only 23 minutes. Referee Martin Atkinson showed what appeared to be a harsh red card to Jack Rodwell for what looked to be a legitimate challenge on Suarez, with the defender winning the ball fairly, but clipping the Uruguayan as his momentum carried him forwards. Rodwell fiercely protested his innocence and walked off reluctantly, but his dismissal helped tip the balance Liverpool's way. As well as their two goals they also missed a penalty and hit the crossbar in the first half. Carroll scored his first league goal of the season, and only his third league goal since his £35 million (RM174 million) move from Newcastle United in January, after 71 minutes and he took it well, sweeping home Jose Enrique's cutback into the bottom corner. Suarez wrapped up the points for Kenny Dalglish's team when he took advantage of some slack Everton defending to score his fifth goal of the season in all competitions eight minutes from time. Everton's Jack Rodwell is sent off by referee Martin Atkinson after fouling Liverpool's Luis Suarez today. — Reuters pic Dalglish was back at Goodison as Liverpool's manager for the first time since he famously resigned after an epic 4-4 FA Cup draw there in 1991. He said his side had deserved to win. "We were very professional. When you play against 10 it's easy to lose your concentration and be complacent and we didn't do either," he said. "Everyone played very well, Andy's off the mark with a league goal, and although Dirk missed a penalty it did not affect him and that's great credit to him. It was a good result for us." Liverpool had two good chances to establish a lead in the closing minutes of the first half. The first came after 44 minutes when Everton defender Phil Jagielka tripped Suarez to concede a penalty, but Everton escaped going behind when Tim Howard dived low to his left to save Dirk Kuyt's spot kick. Three minutes later Charlie Adam lashed a swerving 20-metre shot that hit the bar. Liverpool dominated for most of the second half and moved into the top four of the Premier League table, at least until Newcastle United faced Wolverhampton Wanderers later in one of the afternoon's five other matches. — Reuters

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Nepal launches Great Himalayan Trail Posted: 01 Oct 2011 01:41 AM PDT An aerial view of the Himalayan Mountains featuring Mount Machhapuchre from Pokhara, some 200km west of Kathmandu. — AFP/Relaxnews pic KATHMANDU, Oct 1 — Nepal has officially opened the Great Himalayan Trail, one of the longest and highest trekking routes in the world, the tourism board said on Thursday. Billed as the ultimate trek, the arduous hike over Nepal's mighty Himalayas stretches from Taplejung in the shadow of the world's third-highest peak, Mount Kanchenjunga, to Humla at the border with Tibet. "This is a completely new product and we hope that it will help boost the tourism industry," said Sharad Pradhan, a spokesman for the Nepal Tourism Board. "It will also help cement Nepal's reputation as the ultimate destination for adventure seekers. Adventure tourism, as a niche, is new to us but this is definitely an attractive package," he said. Adventurers who complete the 1,700-kilometre trek will encounter a huge variety of cultures from the mainly Buddhist Tamang people of the central Langtang region to the ancient animist practices that mix with Hinduism in the far west. It will take experienced trekkers around five months to complete, although it can also be broken down into smaller sections. Nepal hosts thousands of trekkers and mountaineers annually. The country has eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, including the world's highest, Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres. The Everest region offers several trails that range from 10-day to three-week packages. The Annapurna Circuit, Nepal's most popular, is a 300-kilometre, three-week trek that rises to 5,416 metres and passes through two river valleys. — AFP/Relaxnews

Jimmy Choo plans huge China expansion Posted: 30 Sep 2011 08:43 PM PDT BEIJING, Oct 1 — Jimmy Choo founder Tamara Mellon said the upscale shoemaker hopes to open up to 50 stores in China over the next five years in what she dubbed an "exciting" market for high-end goods. China is the world's fastest-growing market for luxury products and an ongoing economic boom is creating new dollar billionaires every year in a huge explosion in wealth. A shopper peers through the window of the Jimmy Choo store on Bond Street, London. The British company plans to open 30 stores in China by 2016. — AFP pic Jimmy Choo currently has just two shops in China — one in Beijing and another in Shanghai. A third will open at the end of the year in the eastern city of Nanjing, said Mellon, the shoemaker's "chief creative officer". "Our (China) business has increased 100 per cent (in terms of profits) in the last year on the existing locations we have," said Mellon, who was in Beijing as part of a British delegation to the Chinese capital's first design festival. She said the British firm — whose shoes cost anywhere from US$300 (RM930) to US$1,600 — would open at least 30 stores in China by 2016. "But the potential over the next five years could be up to 50," she told AFP. In comparison, Jimmy Choo has just 40 stores across the United States. Forbes magazine said earlier this month that China had a total of 146 billionaires this year — up 14 per cent from 2010, and second only to the United States with 413. The brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said in January that China would account for 44 per cent of worldwide sales of luxury goods by 2020 — bigger than the entire global market is now. Mellon said that many of China's rich were only in their 30s and 40s — relatively young compared with other markets. "The wealth here is... very young, which is great because they love luxury, they love fashion, so this is a very exciting market." She said that consumers of luxury products have also changed over the past few years. "What we found a few years ago was that... men were making money, men were buying brands, they were shopping. Men's brands did phenomenally well much sooner than women's brands," she said. "Now, there are a lot more women who are working and who are shopping. The market is really taking off now." — AFP-Relaxnews

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Stealth festival to rock Kabul with musical explosion Posted: 01 Oct 2011 08:56 AM PDT KABUL, Oct 1 — Afghans are used to having their days broken by a burst of gunfire or the boom of an explosion. But the barrage of drumming, bass beats and amped-up guitar solos that will hit the city next week may stop many in their tracks. From left, Hojat Hamid, Sulyman Qardosh and Qasen Foushanji practise during a workshop as part of preparations for Sound Central. — Reuters pic Sound Central, a one-day "stealth festival" that organisers hope will draw 1,000 to 2,000 young Afghans, will be the first music festival the country has seen since it plunged into three decades of violence in the late 1970s. Afghan bands playing music from doom death metal to blues rock will be joined by musicians who have flown in from across Central Asia — Iran to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The music will almost certainly be a new experience for most of the audience in a country where people seeking a change from traditional Afghan music tend to listen to Western pop or sound-tracks from India's big-hit Bollywood films. "The real bottom-line aim of this festival is to ignite youth to be interested in modern music," said organiser Travis Beard, who dreamt up the festival four years ago, and has been working on it in earnest for the past two years. "What we are trying to do is to expose them to new kinds of music so they can get into those styles of music, and also just start playing music. Hopefully we'll get some kids saying 'Hey this is really cool! Dad can I get a drum set?' or 'Mum can I get a guitar'," Beard said. Beard is an Australian who first came to Afghanistan as a news photographer five years ago, joined a band in Kabul and rediscovered his love of music "after many years away". As he started to meet Afghan musicians, he got involved in supporting them — with instruments or a place to practise — and the festival was inspired by the community they formed. With that in mind, he organised not only the day-long festival, but a week of workshops for Afghan musicians, and underground pre-festival concerts for all the bands at the festival to play more experimental music to a committed crowd. They are also holding on to the amplifiers, graphic equalisers, drum kits and guitars that have been flown into Afghanistan for Sound Central, aiming to turn the festival into a yearly event and make it easier for kids who are interested in rock to start playing the rest of the year. "I live in Herat, which is an old city and the people are too traditional," said Masoud Hasan Zada, a full-time journalist and part-time lead singer of blues-rock band Morcha, or "The Ants". "There is too much tradition, including traditional music," he told Reuters. "It's too hard to talk about modern music, especially blues . . . it's horrible sometimes." He spent a week in Kabul at the workshops, learning everything from online marketing to stage presence — something Beard says is particularly hard for musicians who are talented but grew up in a culture that frowns on exhibitionism. "We are going to teach them how to actually rock out!" Beard said with a grin at the start of the workshop, where more experienced performers thrashed on air guitars and jumped around a tiny stage, under the quizzical gaze of the students. Security concerns Osama bin Laden parodied on the guitar of one of the Afghan rock musicians. — Reuters pic In a country where music was banned for years under the austere Taliban regime, music stores are attacked in some cities, and some of the Afghan musicians playing have had to shut down their websites or even cut their hair because of social pressure, the festival is a daring venture. Publicity has been mostly word of mouth because of security concerns, and the date has been kept deliberately vague. Messages revealing the time and venue will go out to music fans only on the morning of the event. "It's been termed the first ever stealth festival in the world," Beard said. "So like a stealth bomber . . . we are coming in under the radar, dropping a lot of music on the kids, and then flying out. The promotional side of it is very very small." He has also recruited international support for the festival, hoping to show the world a different side of the country he has made his home. "Much as they see in the news that there is a lot of troubles here, a lot of the youth here just want to have some fun, just want to express themselves through the arts, whether it be music or any other type of arts," he said. The crowds may still be relatively small, but at the underground concerts leading up to the festival, there were already a few die-hard fans. "I really want to hear you scream," shouted Sabina Ablyaskina, lead singer of Uzbek funk band Tears of the Sun, in the tiny concrete bunker where the bands are warming up in front of a core of devoted fans for the main festival. The crowd was a mix of hip young Afghans, one in a pair of Kanye West glasses, and a few expats. They roared back at her, and then started dancing, hard, to the music. "This is the first time I'm watching music live, the first time in Kabul we've had something like this," says breathless 22-year-old Asil Ahmad. "It's one of the most unforgettable nights." At 11.15pm, the next band was just starting to get into its stride when the power cut off. At first organisers thought it was one of Kabul's regular electricity shortages, but then discovered that the landlord and his family — trying to sleep upstairs — weren't quite as taken by rock and roll. But Afghanistan is muddling along towards a new music future. That night, an impromptu acoustic concert by torchlight kept the crowd dancing for half an hour. And the landlord eventually agreed to leave the power on for the rest of the week — if the concerts ended early. So Afghanistan's first underground concerts now start at 8pm, and are over by 10.30, and there's no bar or alcohol allowed, in deference to the laws of the Islamic republic. But the crowd doesn't seem to need anything more than the music. — Reuters

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore try to tweet sway split rumours Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:49 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, Oct 1 — Can Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore save their marriage — or at least stave off divorce rumours — through the power of Twitter? Kutcher and Moore on firmer ground wave to fans as they arrive for Colcci's Winter 2011 collection during Sao Paulo Fashion Week, January 30, 2011. — Reuters pic Hollywood's most intriguing May-December power couple have been ground up in the gossip mill in recent days, with rumours that their marriage is on the rocks. And now the pair of dedicated tweeters are addressing the scuttlebutt — although cryptically so — on their Twitter accounts, which combined boast nearly 12 million followers. The most recent buzzing about discord in the couple's marriage began last Friday, on the eve of the couple's sixth wedding anniversary, when the pair were spotted on separate coasts. Moore was in New York promoting her Lifetime movie "Five". Kutcher, meanwhile, was seen partying with his former "That '70s Show" co-star Danny Masterson at San Diego, California, nightclub The Fluxx — after which, according to the current buzz, he spent the night with hitherto-anonymous San Diego blonde Sara Leal. From there, the rumours — as they tend to do — blossomed. As yesterday, according to esteemed celebrity journalist Perez Hilton, there might have been multiple women holed up in Kutcher's hotel room — though, apparently, the other women waited in a separate area while he and Leal commingled. (Memo to Ashton: If that is, indeed, the way it went down, you're doing it wrong.) While neither Kutcher nor Moore have dignified the affair rumours with a direct response, they do appear to have obliquely addressed the issue via Twitter, which appears to be their favoured method of communicating with their fans. On Thursday, Kutcher made sly reference to the brouhaha, tweeting a link to Spotify to indicate that he was currently listening to the Public Enemy chestnut "Don't Believe the Hype". He followed up with a variation on another chestnut, writing "When you ASSUMME to know that which you know nothing of you make an ASS out of U and ME". Meanwhile, Moore offered her own puzzler Monday, posting a photo of herself with her eyes closed with the caption, "I see through you . . ." Though some reports have interpreted Moore's Twit-pic as a message to her 33-year-old husband, it's equally likely that she's broadcasting to the tabloid media that their methods and tactics are transparent, even with her eyes closed. Or she could just be making a goofy joke unrelated to the affair rumours at all. Leal's intentions seem to be a little more clear, at least if the New York Post is to be believed. According to the Post, Leal has met with Beverly Hills attorney Keith Davidson — who brokered a settlement between Lindsay Lohan and former Betty Ford worker Dawn Holland — and is shopping the story of her alleged fling with Kutcher. The Post's source tells the paper, "Sara is talking to multiple media outlets for a deal. She wants $250,000 (US, or RM797,700), but the offers haven't been as high. What she really wants is to get a payoff from Ashton. She has reached out to Ashton's team." We can only hope that Kutcher renders his response via Twitter. — Reuters

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PAS sasar menang lima kerusi DUN, dua Parlimen di Pulau Pinang Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:27 AM PDT KEPALA BATAS, 1 Okt — PAS menyasarkan untuk memenangi lima kerusi Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) dan dua kerusi Parlimen di Pulau Pinang pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.  Naib Presidennya Datuk Husam Musa (gambar) pada pilihan raya umum lalu, parti itu hanya mampu mencatat kemenangan dalam satu kerusi DUN iaitu di Permatang Pasir.  "Kami akan berusaha untuk merampas balik lima kerusi DUN yang dipertandingkan dan dua kerusi parlimen iaitu Tasek Gelugor dan Kepala Batas," katanya semasa berucap dalam Kongres Sambutan 60 Tahun PAS di sini hari ini.  Dipetik Bernama Online, Husam berkata PAS yang menang kerusi Permatang Pasir pada pilhan raya umum lepas hanya kalah empat kerusi DUN yang lain dengan majoriti undi yang rendah.  Selain itu, beliau berkata dalam usaha untuk mengukuhkan pengaruh parti dalam Parlimen, PAS memerlukan lebih 60 kerusi parlimen di seluruh negara.  "Kita akan berusaha untuk mencapai sasaran kita, iaitu 60 kerusi Parlimen dan saya percaya sasaran itu tidak mustahil untuk dicapai," katanya.  Beliau berkata PAS kalah 15 kerusi Parlimen dengan majoriti kurang 5,000 undi pada pilihan raya umum lalu.  Bagi peringkat nasional, Husam berkata PAS juga berhasrat untuk memecah pengaruh Umno khususnya dalam undi-undi di kawasan peneroka Felda.  Katanya, PAS yang berpegang teguh kepada prinsip Islam, memerlukan 12 peratus undi di kawasan pengundi Felda.  "Pilihan ra umum yang lalu, PAS mendapat lebih 39 peratus pengundi Felda dan untuk memecah pengaruh Umno, kami memerlukan lagi 12 peratus," katanya.

Akta Kerja: MTUC tetap piket di Parlimen Isnin ini Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:21 AM PDT Salah seorang pemimpin kesatuan gabungan MTUC menyuarkan pandangan pada forum mengenai Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2010 di Petaling Jaya hari ini. - Foto oleh Choo Choy May PETALING JAYA, 1 Okt — Kongres Kesatuan Sekerja Malaysia (MTUC) tetap dengan pendirian mahu mengadakan piket di Parlimen Isnin ini berhubung kontroversi pindaan undang-undang buruh.  Keputusan itu dibuat hari ini selepas badan induk kesatuan sekerja tersebut dan Kementerian Sumber Manusia gagal dalam mencari titik pertemuan berhubung rasa tidak puas hati mengenai pindaan ke atas Akta Kerja 1955.  Keputusan muktamad dicapai susulan forum empat jam hari ini. Presiden MTUC Mohd Khalid Atan berkata pihaknya akan menghimpunkan 1,000 ahlinya untuk mengadakan protes mengenai Rang Undang-undang Kerja (Pindaan) 2010, yang akan dibawa untuk bacaan kali kedua pada sesi Parlimen yang akan bermula Isnin ini.  "Mereka mahu membentangkan rang undang-undang ini meskipun tidak dibincangkan di NLAC (Majlis Penasihat Buruh Kebangsaan)," kata beliau selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat pascaforum tengah hari ini.  "Mereka tidak pernah membentangkan pindana ini di NLAC. Sekarang mereka cuba nak bentang di Parlimen. Ini tidak adil. Kami tidak tahu apa-apa, apa yang berlaku," katanya.  Khalid berkata tujuh pegawai kanan MTUC akan tetap menghadiri mesyuarat NLAC pada pukul 10 pagi Isnin ini, yang diaturkan oleh Kementerian Sumber Manusia.  Mesyuarat NLAC itu, majlis yang dihidupkan semula dua minggu lalu, diaturkan selepas MTUC mengambil keputusan mahu berpiket Ahad lalu.  Katanya, selepas mesyuarat itu pihaknya akan menyertai piket di luar Parlimen, yang dijangka bermula 11 pagi.  Khalid menambah, MTUC bersedia untuk berhadapan dengan kesan daripada tindakan mereka termasuk kemungkinan halangan daripada pasukan polis.  "Kami dari MTUC, mewakili pekerja, demi hak pekerja... biarkan mereka adakan piket. Kami akan tetap hadir di sana (Parlimen)," katanya lagi.  Selasa lalu, Kementerian Sumber Manusia berkata MTUC yang bercadang mengadakan tindakan berpiket tidak wajar membangkitkan bantahan mereka di "saat pembentangan di Parlimen."  "Kementerian ingin menegaskan bahawa sebelum pindaan ini dibawa ke Parlimen untuk dibentangkan, semua cadangan pindaan ini telah melalui proses konsultasi bersama wakil-wakil pertubuhan majikan dan kesatuan sekerja.  "Sebanyak 18 kali sejak awal tahun 2010 lagi. Selain itu, draf cadangan pindaan turut telah dipanjangkan untuk pandangan dan maklum balas daripada wakil majikan dan pekerja. Justeru, pindaan ini tidak dibuat secara tergesa-gesa kerana telah melalui proses konsultasi yang komprehensif bersama pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan," kata Kementerian Sumber Manusia.  Sehubungan itu, kata kementerian, adalah diharapkan cadangan pindaan ini akan mendapat sokongan daripada semua pihak demi memelihara kebajikan pekerja dan menjamin keharmonian perhubungan perusahaan.  Kenyataan itu dikeluarkan mengulas laporan The Malaysian Insider sebelum ini memetik Setiausaha Agung MTUC Abdul Halim Mansor berkata, mereka akan berpiket pada hari pertama sidang Parlimen bulan depan jika Putrajaya meneruskan perbahasan rang undang-undang buruh tanpa perbincangan di majlis melibatkan tiga pihak.  Bacaan kali kedua Rang Undang-undang Kerja telah ditangguhkan dua kali sebelum ini. Antara lain Rang Undang-undang Kerja didakwa merugikan kaum pekerja kerana jika diluluskan akan membolehkan sistem kontraktor pekerja, yang pernah digunakan sebelum negara merdeka, diamalkan kembali.  MTUC mendakwa ia akan merugikan pekerja dari segi kebajikan mereka dan menjejaskan masa depan pergerakan kesatuan sekerja di negara ini.  Halim berkata dalam pertemuan dengan Menteri Sumber Manusia Datuk Dr S Subramaniam sebelum ini MTUC telah diberi jaminan bahawa rang undang-undang buruh termasuk Rang Undang-undang Kerja tidak akan dibawa ke Parlimen tanpa perbincangan selanjutnya dalam NLAC, yang hanya diaktifkan minggu lalu.  NLAC merupakan majlis dianggotai kerajaan, majikan dan pekerja. Selain peruntukan berkenaan sistem kontraktor sosial, MTUC mahu kerajaan memasukkan cuti bersalin 90 hari dan menaikkan had kerja lebih masa sehingga 130 jam sebulan.

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Fifa must tackle the evil of agents Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:39 PM PDT OCT 1 — What is the most negative influence on modern professional football? I know a lot of you would immediately answer illegal gambling and the match-fixing that sometimes goes with it. However, I believe (maybe naively) that match-fixing is relatively uncommon and isolated — either a match is fixed or it isn't, and in the vast majority of cases it isn't. No, there's a worse influence on football than match-fixing; something that should be addressed with even more urgency: players' agents. From the top, let me make two qualifications. Firstly, I accept that agents are a necessary part of the game. Players have neither the time nor the expertise to manage their large salaries or negotiate the lucrative commercial contracts that come their way; they need someone to do it for them, and that's where agents have a perfectly valid role. They can't simply be done away with. Secondly, I acknowledge that not all agents are bad. There are plenty of scrupulous, responsible agents who carry out their business in a professional, transparent manner and attempt to give their players genuine, honest advice. But now I'll stop being nice. On the whole they are a very unpleasant bunch, motivated by greed and existing on the margins of the game, causing unrest, contributing nothing positive and, like predatory leeches, routinely sucking vast sums of money out of the sport that they had nothing to do with generating in the first place. No, I don't like agents very much. They cause an awful lot of problems between players and clubs, mainly due to the fact that their income rises when their players move. They might receive a relatively small (by their standards) retainer for day-to-day work, but the big bucks are earned by agents when they claim a sizeable percentage of a transfer fee. Therefore it isn't in the interests of money-motivated agents to have players who are happy to stay where they are. So, at the first moment of unrest, they are in the players' ear, telling them how badly treated they are and how much money they could be earning at another club. Even more unethically, they often work by insider dealing — a manager may, for example, receive a "cut" of the transfer fee if his club sign a player from a certain agent. Furthermore, agents are the most common sources of deliberately destabilising leaks to the media, and that explains why we never see the dirty dealings of agents exposed in the media. Despite modern newspapers being obsessed with sniffing out scandal and unveiling corruption, agents can get away with so much because of journalists. Agents are the source of a steady and rich supply of gossip and speculation, so why risk upsetting them by exposing unethical behaviour? They need each other: the agent wants to create interest in his player and bump up his transfer value; he uses the newspapers. The newspapers want sensational scoops and exclusive revelations; they use the agents. They scratch each other's backs in a seedy, grimy, secret relationship that does an enormous disservice both to the art of journalism and the game of football — and there's nothing that anybody can do about it. Agents are particularly topical this week because much of the controversy surrounding Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez in the last few years has been caused by his agent — the most notorious of them all — Kia Joorabchian. Although Joorabchian can't be accused of directly instigating Tevez's refusal to appear as a substitute at Bayern Munich in midweek, there can be little doubt that the general ongoing climate of conflict and distrust between Tevez and his club has been caused by the Argentine's agent (although Joorabchian doesn't like to describe himself as an agent, mainly so he can get away with being unlicensed). Having been taken out of Argentina as a young man under Joorabchian's wing in a "third-party ownership" arrangement that many leagues no longer allow, Tevez somehow seems to be unable to extricate himself from Joorabchian's questionable influence even now he's a multi-millionaire. Joorabchian seems to have some kind of hold over the striker, and that makes for a very difficult relationship with his club. The problem with agents is that they are so difficult to regulate. If a player feels that he needs advice and is willing to pay someone for that advice, how can that process be stopped? Fifa, the game's world governing body, are attempting to get to grips with the issue and I wish them all the luck in the world because the role of agents needs to be reformed. In a way, ruthless operators like Joorabchian are inevitable under the present state of affairs. They're nothing more than shrewd, unscrupulous businessmen who have recognised an opportunity to make lots of cash thanks to a lack of regulation in the current market. If a gap is there, someone will come along and fill it. Fifa have to take responsibility and fill that gap by properly regulating agents and making them accountable to transparent business practises. If that doesn't happen, devious and immoral agents, who have no interest in the health of football and are motivated purely by hard cash, however they can earn it, will continue to exert their malign influence. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

City slickers raring to show some true class Posted: 30 Sep 2011 04:25 PM PDT OCT 1 — Will life return to normal this weekend as Manchester City travel to Ewood Park to face Blackburn Rovers tonight (10pm, live on StarSports, Channel 813 on Astro)? I think it will as there are no parasitical elements at the training ground. The Manchester City players must be heaving a sigh of relief now that Carlos Tevez has finally committed the ultimate crime in football, and is facing the due punishment for his misdeed. This spells trouble for Blackburn Rovers though as they could become cannon fodder, especially after the limp performance against Newcastle United last weekend, going down 3-1 and having a man sent off too. While Man City attempt to brush off any effects of the Tevez saga, their co-leaders at the top of the English Premier League (EPL) will be at the same time welcoming Norwich City to Old Trafford (10pm, live on ESPN, Channel 812). Alex Ferguson will surely be demanding a clean sheet against Norwich City after the debacle of conceding three goals against Swiss side Basle in their mid-week Champions League encounter, let alone the free header given to Peter Crouch for Stoke City's equaliser last Saturday. Manchester United must plug the holes in that defence and keep the marauding Canaries at bay. Norwich would be the ultimate test for a leaky MU side! Okay, only kidding but the knighted one will definitely blow a fuse if Norwich is allowed to even breathe on David de Gea. They have adequate strength and great cover upfront but, hopefully, Ferguson does not make the same tactical faux pas committed against Stoke. The manager should have brought on young Danny Welbeck with his energy, pace and enthusiasm instead of Michael Owen, to replace the injured Javier Hernandez. When you have Dimitar Berbatov on the pitch, you need another striker who is willing to run his heart out. So, having Berbatov and Owen on the pitch together, in my opinion, blunted United's attack and allowed Stoke to come back. Another pair of blue and red rivals will not be thinking of other teams in the league this weekend as they clash in their famous city in the early kickoff at 7.45pm (live on ESPN). Yes, the Merseyside derby takes us to Goodison Park and David Moyes might still deploy the same defensive tactics as he did against Man City last Saturday. Although the feeling is that Moyes could well decide to put Liverpool under pressure to test the already uncertain defending. The Reds defence has to be put to the sword if Everton want to salvage some credibility after last weekend. Another local derby, on Sunday (11pm, live on ESPN), sees what could surely be the story of the weekend. Playing at White Hart Lane, a confident Spurs team will come up against the Gunners, quite perhaps the team under the most pressure currently in the EPL. This could well be a high scoring draw but Spurs look in good form. After the heavy losses in their first two matches of the season — 5-1 at home to Man City and 3-0 away to MU — they have maintained a commendable run of winning three on the trot, including that trouncing of Liverpool at home. Emmanuel Adebayor has come into some great form for his latest club, and this will please the Spurs faithful as he is likely to score against his much-hated former club and local rival, Arsenal, after doing the same at Man City last season. I am certainly looking forward to watching this match more than any other this weekend, personally and professionally speaking. Meanwhile, a club that is flying under the radar at the moment is Newcastle United, whose manager Alan Pardew deserves credit for the club's unbeaten start to the season. They are one of four with that distinction up to Week 6 of the EPL. There has been a slow evolution at St James' Park, with Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan leaving the club and replaced by the likes of Yohan Cabaye, who for me is an improvement. Last weekend's hattrick hero Demba Ba, who is also a new signing, is a physically strong player, and he looks to be an asset for Newcastle's style of play. I think they can maintain their good form, though I have concerns about their defensive cover if club captain Fabricio Coloccini or Steven Taylor were to be injured for more than a week or two during such a long season. With Hatem Ben Arfa set to return to full fitness, I think the high-flying Magpies should finish comfortably between 8th and 12th position come May 2012. Their test of resilience continues at Wolverhampton Wanderers tonight. The other team not from Manchester which has surprised critics by remaining unbeaten this season is Aston Villa. Villa, who play Wigan Athletic at home tonight (10pm, live, Channel 817), have yet to lose a Premier League game so far, but Alex McLeish's men have drawn five out of their first six league games, which is hardly inspiring form. Enjoy the football, folks! * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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