Zahavi to Face FIFA Censure?

The Cole-gate affair has reignited discontentment in the role of agents in modern day football commerce. Pini Zahavi's nickname as the super agent of football is not without merit, and hardly a major (and controversial) deal occurs that does not bear his scent (some say stench).

The basic idea that an agent represents the best interests of the principal may not wholly apply in this day and age. In all fairness, it is quite difficult to deliniate where the agent's priorities transforms from looking after the best long term interests of the client to looking out for number one. However, when players are navigated into ethically untenable situations at the beckoning of these agents, it is surely time for FIFA to reconsider the system. While on one hand, the laws are increasingly stringent in protecting the legal rights of the individual, such flagrant disrespect of contracts will surely bring the clubs to their knees and widen the gap between the haves and the have nots.

Is there a solution in all this madness then? Sadly, I think, there is none. The market will continue to dictate how deals are made, and call them agents or just "well meaning" advisors, any censures will only create a more sophisticated and obscure system of operating. Here's a frightening thought, "the tapping of Ashley Cole is not an isolated occurence, and is unique only in its lack of care in execution".

Movie Review: Sepet *****

It appears than taugey chicken no longer has the strangle-hold over what's good left in Ipoh. And it comes in the way of 'Sepet' - the Malay word for slit eyes, distinctly oreintal ones to be sure, and one of the better Malaysian dramas unearthed in recent memory.

Ipoh provides the quaint setting for this melancholic Yasmin Ahmad love story, and the two love struck youths are ably potrayed by Ng Choo Seong (Jason) and a very energetic Sharifah Amani Yahya (Orked). By no measure of imagination would I call myself a fan of local films - and unless this is not an exception to the trend, my bias should remain. However, more than a love story, Sepet captures the fabric of Malaysian society compete with racial bias, while making no apologies for this. Imagine Harith Iskandar in his John Masters underwear and nothing else and you can begin to understand that this is not your ordinary local fare.

This is the movie many in my circle of friends would like to have a hand in, and in a way perhaps we did, considering our youthful past...