it's been a long month. hope everyone had a good new year and v day.

the few of us played soccer on saturday against some tci punks. old news is that we only had six of us, prompty reduced to five when i tore my sole again. new news is that in edmund we've probably found a second tay, albeit a less physically imposing one. and yes, we do miss you mr tay.

still haven't given up my aspirations of a dream team. i still have hopes that tay and yewtze will recover fully. the team spirit isn't as strong as it was supposed to be, and to be honest, we were getting it on pretty well at some stage last year. i think deep down inside, all of you guys want to be together as a team. we can still kick some ass.


anyway, here's an insight:

what man united needs now isn't carlos tevez. by all means, his statistics present a strong case for his selection, and he has scored some important goals. but tevez, for all his momentary link-up plays, doesn't really pass that well. he is short, yet not a terribly fast sprinter. stocky to an extent, but rooney's more bullish by far.

i think what carlos tevez presents is a solution to ole gunnar solskjaer. saha is too injury-prone to present a staple threat as a super-sub, so that's where tevez comes in.

the answer: karim benzema.

he is fast, strong, good in the air. maybe possessing most of the attributes of a certain ruud van nistelrooy. howere, benzema is more mobile. there are more facets to his all-round game. and there is the added advantage of youth. fergie can train benzema to match his game plan, and the forward can present a bigger goal threat than tevez will ever be. the transfer fee will be insane, but the kid is only 20. he will only get better.

imagine a forward line like this: cristiano ronaldo, irrepressible on the right; nani weaving his way on the left; wayne rooney in his best role as the withdrawn striker, and karim benzema at the tip of the spear. it's a hassle trying to contain one, headache to thwart two, an absolute nightmare to face three.

benzema's the man, the one that will strike all down.