This was exactly what Scolari ordered for. Last season we played in a more competitive MLS league right in the middle of their season. This time Scolari did not want a competitive friendly. He just wanted to try out certain things and also wanted the boys to run around a bit. In all this, he also wanted to win and play in such a way that the team’s confidence level go up.

Don’t let your expectations shoot up just yet. We were supposed to knock these Chinese teams out. As Joe Cole pointed out, in terms of physical skills and attributes, our opponents were way too low to pose us any kind of challenge.

Finally, Anelka has a very good match, few thousand miles away from the UK. Good for his confidence. I knew already that he is a team player and all. That’s never been my gripe on him. On the pitch, he should stop behaving and reacting like a want-away player. He should care more about the possession he loses, the mistakes he commits etc.

In any team sport, when a team loses, the level of disappointment of all the players may not be the same. Some might feel more disappointed and some might feel ‘at least I scored a goal’. Anelka to me, is not someone who does not care too much about the team. It is this aspect of Anelka that I can’t stand. Anyway, for the 6 months or 12 months that he’s gonna stay with us, I wish he makes up for his lack of passion with his goals and assists.

Now that’s 2 goals in 2 matches for Franco. I read reports and remarks that he could have done better. That’s ok but he has made two finishes that have seen the ball hit the net. May be it’s too early to confine him to just the domestic cups. In terms of contribution to the team, if he’s better than Pizarro and somewhat equal to Kalou, I’d play him for short periods in premier league games. For starters, I’ll have him play in every single pre-season match.

The Robinho story is not over yet. Four important parties are interested in this deal – Kenyon, Scolari, Robinho and his agent. Looks like it’s only a matter of time before he signs for us. Joe Cole’s performance yesterday must have reminded Scolari of the sweet problem he needs to find a solution for. Robinho’s arrival could mean some big names starting on bench. I’ll leave it to Scolari. He’s being paid a fortune to do his job.

JM has signed Sully Muntari from Portsmouth, which could mark the end of his pursuit for Lampard. Let’s keep Lampard and along with him the average age of the squad which was 28 years last season as compared to the 26.7 of Man Utd. A difference of just 1.3 years? What the heck?!