Latest News from Author Gautam Viswanathan

FIRSTPOST YOUSPEAK

Wednesday, May 22nd 08:19 PM IST

Gautam Viswanathan

gautam

Gautam Viswanathan

Read biography

Gautam Viswanathan has a very simple dream: he wants to commentate at the finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A die hard football fan, Gautam's love for the game borders on the fanatical. Give him a choice between an all-expenses paid trip to Europe and Champions League final tickets and he will choose the latter without the slightest flicker of hesitation.

Close

Not Man Utd, not Chelsea, Swansea are the best EPL team

21 mins ago

Many will be impressed by the imperious manner in which Manchester United regained the Premier League title this season. After Manchester City had snatched away Sir Alex Ferguson’s dreams of capturing league titles nineteen and twenty one after the other, the Scotsman wanted to show his arch-rivals who was top #English Premier League #EPL #football #KickingAround #Manchester United #Sports #Swansea
Ferguson’s retirement offers hope to Man United’s rivals

May 11, 2013

When a nation loses a leader, there is a vacuum in power at the top. The more influential the leader, the more he has done for his people, the more known he is throughout the world, the more respect he commands, the greater the vacuum. And the harder it is #David Moyes #KickingAround #Manchester United #Sir Alex Ferguson #Soccer #Sports
The Good Scot: Here’s the Ferguson-Moyes connection

May 9, 2013

This article was first written on 2 January, 2013. We are republishing it in light of David Moyes' appointment as Manchester United manager — and his Scottish connection with Alex Ferguson. Manchester United's comeback 4-3 victory against 'wee club' Newcastle United once again drew adulation of a 'never say die' attitude from commentators #Alex Ferguson #English Premier League #Kenny Dalglish #KickingAround #Scottish managers
Real Madrid raise hopes but ultimately fall short against Dortmund

May 2, 2013

Yesterday night explained why the UEFA Champions League is one of the world’s most watched sporting events. In the 76th minute of the game, the score line at the Santiago Bernabeu read Real Madrid nil, Borussia Dortmund nil. Having created a plethora of chances in the first half, but seeing most #Borussia Dortmund #KickingAround #Real Madrid #Soccer #Sports #UEFA Champions League
Van Persie has alienated himself from Arsenal fans forever

Apr 28, 2013

August 15th, 2012. A date that will live in Infamy. No, no, not if you are an Indian. If you are an Arsenal fan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s well-documented phrase aside, that was the day Arsenal fans’ worst fears were confirmed. On that day, the club had announced that their talisman, captain and #Arsenal #football #KickingAround #Manchester United #Robin van Persie #Van Persie
Bayern, not Barcelona, are the ‘greatest’ team in Europe

Apr 15, 2013

“We’re by far the greatest team the world has ever seen” is a well-known chant sung by football fans throughout the world. Irrespective of the wider landscape a football club finds itself in, top-notch performances through a ninety-minute period (or even less) elicit these chants that show admiration by adoration. Which #Barcelona #Bayern Munich #Champions League #OnOurMind
Champions League: Guess who’s coming to Real Madrid?

Apr 3, 2013

The Daily Mail calls him a man not even Lionel Messi can touch. Ivorian striking legend Didier Drogba says he is lucky to play alongside a man of his calibre, having praised his skills. The Union of European Football Associations has named him their Player of the Group Stages in the #Burak Yilmaz #Champions League #Cristiano Ronaldo #Galatasaray #KickingAround #Real Madrid
Champions League: It can’t get bigger than Bayern vs Juventus

Apr 2, 2013

If you like watching the Champions League – wait, why am I saying if – then on the basis of the historical achievements of the teams, the quality of the football they play and the star-casts their rosters contain, then a significant portion of you will be definitely rooting for #Bayern Munich #Bayern vs Juventus #Champions League #Juventus #KickingAround
The biggest football hoaxes: From fake sheikhs to fake teams

Mar 27, 2013

The international break – and this one is rather long – allows me to store my bottle of vitriol and recharge my invectiveness as I take a look at the flip side of football. For everything that that makes you drop your jaw for a wonderful moment of magic on the #Dream Football League #football #Graeme Souness #OnOurMind #Qatar
Don’t dare call the Europa League boring

Mar 14, 2013

On the seventh of March began the Europa League Round of 16. And while the Champions League is considered to be Europe’s hallowed playing field, the Europa League is looked at with furrowed brows and handed step-motherly treatment by the same group of fans. They say that it contains no emotion. #Champions League #Chelsea #Europa League #KickingAround #Tottenham Hotspur

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
›

The best from the blog

Need your self-esteem shredded? Come on a makeover show in India

Sep 6, 2012
We don’t have the stomach to watch Tendulkar fail

Sep 6, 2012
Why Mumbai’s prime office rates are rising in a depressed mkt

Sep 6, 2012
Does a disrupted Parliament mean electoral reforms are in the offing?

Sep 7, 2012
Was Arsenal’s win over Chelsea down to sheer luck?

Oct 31, 2011

New bloggers

Mid-wicket Tales

S. Giridhar is Registrar and also the Head of the University Resource Centre at Azim Premji University. V J Raghunath retired as CEO of Addison Paints and is now a senior training consultant. Both share a great love for test cricket. Both have combined to
- View blog
Sugandha Dubey

Sugandha Dubey has over 18 years of work experience in marketing, sales and brand management for iconic brands like Tanishq, Gillette, Group 4 and Getty Images. She turned entrepreneur in 2008 and launched SIBSA Digital Pvt Ltd, a total photography solut
- View blog

Editor's picks

Why India is concerned about supplying arms to Afghanistan

From across the Hindu Kush, a plea for Indian help. Hamid Karzai wants New Delhi to provide artillery and military transport aircraft. It won’t cost India much—but New Delhi is worried about upsetting Pakistan, and wary of making commitments before it becomes clear which way the political wind is blowing in Kabul.
Sreesanth and IPL spot fixing: Why history makes it so hard to believe the police

With the glut of information regarding the IPL spot fixing scandal and the three cricketers how much of it can we really trust?
Phaneesh Murthy admits to relationship with employee

This is the second time the IT industry veteran has been involved in a sex scandal.
Despite BJP edge over Cong, both NDA and UPA are conjectures

Opinion polls show the BJP and the NDA ahead of the Congress and UPA. But it is the regional parties that are likely to make the biggest gains. NDA and UPA are post-poll creatures

Not just niceties, China and India need to focus on thorny issues

India’s discourse with China has traditionally been trapped in the Mao-ist maze that defines how “friends” ought to conduct themselves. But Chinese statecraft has evolved, and India too must up its diplomatic game.
Why the Indian media gives a damn about poverty

In that sense the poverty line of India is cruel. It is merciless and doesn’t allow the majority of Indians any money for shelter or access to education or healthcare or sanitation or anything else that civilised nations would consider as essential as food.
Goa meet: Will the BJP finally find a way out of its troubles?

Can the party resolve internal discord and take a call on Modi’s PM candidature?
Why Dhoni, Tendulkar can't distance themselves from spot fixing

Try following a game on twitter or with friends or at the ground. At every step of the way, the spot-fixing question raises itself.

Movie Review: 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' leaves you dissatisfied

If you forget the politics and just look at the film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist doesn’t fare much better. It’s a thriller that lacks tension and suspense.
Here's how the Delhi Police stumbled upon spot-fixing in IPL

After monitoring a phone call, the investigation had virtually turned pan-India with some of the bookies based in Gujarat and Mumbai.
Ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit, JM Financial join hands for banking foray in India

JM Financial will nominate Pandit as the non-executive chairman of the proposed bank. Pandit and Aiyar will have the right to purchase shares up to the amount prescribed by the RBI in this entity.
Movie Review: The Great Gatsby is the most Bollywood of Baz Luhrmann's films

The great American dream is an integral part of America. It’s ‘great’ in that it symbolises not truth, but hope when the truth is disillusioning; it symbolises not facts, but ideals when facts are unnerving; it symbolises not likelihood, but promise when likelihood is all but bleak.

Google I/O 2013 keynote: New Maps, Search, Plus, and S4 with 'pure' Android

We’re tracking the Google I/O conference 2013 live – what will be unveiled?
Hero worshipped in Kerala, Sreesanth still innocent in his state

The summary of the response in his Sreesanth’s home turf is that of incredulity. They are unwilling to believe that the pacer is guilty.
Why return of Dreamliners won't change Air India's fortunes

The original promise of the Dreamliner has failed to materiallise due to limitations in its flying range. Will Air India continue to pay a price for this?
Did Indira abolish bonded labour or Sonia? NREGA's tall claims

The UPA ads eulogising MGNREGA as a a huge success needs to be taken with bags of salt. The scheme did make a difference, but not as is claimed.

Angelina’s breast surgery possible in India, but there's a catch

So can we test in India and gain from the same treatment privilege that Jolie had? Yes, but there is a catch.
IPL 2013 KKR vs PWI Live: Yusuf kicks KKR out of the IPL

Live detailed updates as KKR take on Pune in a must-win game at Ranchi.
Wrong on Ghaziabad: The Kiran Bedi argument for moral policing

Bedi’s argument that we should focus on the legal wrong committed by the girl slapped by cops is technical, disingenuous and enabling.
Cloak but no dagger: The awfully mundane world of spies

There’s an endearing quality to reports that a CIA spy was arrested in Moscow: he comes across as a bumbling amateur who represents the lost Age of Innocence in the world of espionage.

From here on, Sonia-Manmohan dyarchy is a slow train wreck

The “two heads” power arrangement between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is coming apart at the seams.
Lessons from Karnataka: Cong must stop backing corrupt leaders in Andhra

The fact that it has allowed individuals named in chargesheets to continue as ministers is evidence that the Congress runs Andhra Pradesh as if it is its fiefdom, without a care for ethics in public life.
IPL 2013: How Isa Guha is changing perceptions about cricket presenters

Isa Guha is not your usual female cricket presenter. Apart from being an ex-player, she’s highly educated and injects a breath of fresh air on Indian screens.
Android and Chrome aren't merging for now, says Google's Sundar Pichai

Pichai has emphasised that Google is embracing both Chrome and Android is investing in both at least for now.