And the Postman Personality of the Month award goes to…

WELCOME to the first Postman Personality of the Month, where The Postman highlights a sports personality who has consistently hogged the headlines over the past month.

And in the first month of 2009, there have been many – Tevez’s contract wrangle has made him a mainstay in the headlines, while Kaka has kept many Milan and Manchester City fans at the edge of their seats for the better half of the month.

But it is Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez who has been dominating the sports pages this month with his wild comments, leading some fans to wonder if the Spaniard has lost it after a fine start to the season.

Let us recap Rafa’s month of madness:

Question of the Weekend (Liverpool’s poor January form)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEKEND: Explain Liverpool’s poor January form, where they drew four games out of five in all competitions.

How adequate are our security forces at sports events?

A TUNNEL fracas and security clampdown dampened the Lions’ 2-1 victory over Jordan at the National Stadium last night.

While the Jordanian players were alleged to have started the fight on the way to the dressing room after the game, security staff allegedly manhandled a press photographer, as reported in The New Paper today.

And last month, fights broke out between Singapore and Vietnam fans in the aftermath of Singapore’s 1-0 loss to Vietnam in the AFF Suzuki Cup semi-finals at Kallang as well, after security staff allowed the visiting fans to exit the stadium together with the home fans after the match.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Two security incidents in two consecutive games at the National Stadium, is something wrong with the system here, or is it just a coincidence?

Singapore is aiming to become a sporting hub, with the Asian Youth Games and Youth Olympic Games coming to town in these two years.

Sure, the athletes will naturally be the highlight of the events, but the spotlight will also fall on the security of these events.

Robinho in trouble again…

MANCHESTER City and Brazil striker Robinho is in trouble again, after being arrested by the West Yorkshire Police over allegations of a “serious sexual assault”.

This is not the first time the talented player got into trouble with the authorities.

In 2007, he was dropped from Berd Schuster’s Real squad when they faced Espanyol in the Primera Liga, coinciding with rumours of the Brazilian team’s excessive partying after their 5-0 victory over Ecuador in Rio de Janeiro.

An O Globo report then quoted Robinho asking the security guard at a Rio de Janeiro disco “for 40 condoms”, adding that the baby-faced player left at 5am.

The player was also involved in a transfer wrangle between his former club Real, Manchester City and Chelsea before the start of this season. Robinho, whose full name is Robson de Souza, eventually signed for City for £32.5m, a British record transfer fee.

Question of The Week (Liverpool vs Chelsea)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Who will come up tops in the battle of the ‘Troubled Two’ as Liverpool face Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday?

Interview with Charlene Chai, national pool champion

The New Paper‘s Aishah Hamza catches up with national pool champion Charlene Chai, who talks about the difficulties she faced in excelling in a sport dominated by men.

Read the full story in The New Paper on Sunday tomorrow.

Is the English Premiership doomed?

NEWS has emerged that a wealthy Kuwaiti family are in talks for a possible takeover of Liverpool from its American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. At the same time, a group of German investors are interested in buying out Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: The English Premiership may just start to decline if and when these takeovers materialise.

Already, there is a gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premiership, in terms of financial muscle and reputation around the world, which directly affects the quality of players that they are able to attract.

And we have seen how clubs – newly rich from the takeovers – have spoilt the market when it comes to transfers.

Chelsea have shown this with Abramovich’s entry in 2003, and Manchester City are now threatening to up the London club’s ante.

While this may mean good news for fans of these clubs, neutral football fans will rue the widening gap between rich clubs and the rest.

Rafael Nadal’s new look at the Australian Open

Tennis world number one Rafael Nadal has ditched his trademark sleeveless tops and capri pants for T-shirts and above-the-knee shorts at this year’s Australian Open.

Like his new look? Check out today’s edition of The New Paper for reactions from fans.

Question of the Weekend (Will Liverpool crack?)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEKEND: Will Liverpool crack further under the title race pressure (when they visit Wigan on Wednesday), or will they stop the rot, with Man United suffering a hiccup instead (away against West Brom on Tuesday)?

Cheers,
The Postman

Drogba dribbles…this time with words

DIDIER Drogba has expressed his emotional attachment to Marseille fans while insisting that he is not trying to engineer a move.

”It (the Marseille adventure) is unfinished. The difficulty is knowing if one or another we can finish (this story), and finally write the last few chapters, which will maybe be the most beautiful,” said the out-of-favour Chelsea striker.

But he also said: ”But be careful, I am not opening the door to an eventual transfer, I am simply explaining the situation.”

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Can there be a more desperate SOS sign, disguised so poorly, from the Drog?

The Ivorian striker already has one foot out of Stamford Bridge, after admitting to losing his desire for football recently, as well as being frozen out of Luiz Felipe Scolari’s squad in the past two games.

With former manager Jose Mourinho’s interest in Drogba waning, and news of him possibly used in a sensational player swop with Manchester City’s Robinho, it is no wonder his “Get me out of here” are getting louder by the minute.

After all, which top-drawer player would want to join a club whose pedigree has never been proved, and who are currently heavily engaged in a relegation dog-fight?

(Picture: AP)

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