Noulakaz

The blog of Avinash, Christina, Anya and Kyan Meetoo.

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Five players who can make Liverpool compete with Chelsea

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I wonder who Liverpool is going to buy in the next transfer window. Rumours indicate that Jürgen Klopp has been given a substantial amount of money (of the order of 200 million pounds) to strengthen the team.

It is clear that the defense has leaked too many goals and not all of them can be blamed on goalkeepers. Virgil van Dijk would be a very good centre back to buy but will not come cheap as he is having a great season in Southampton and is considered to be among the best in his position in the Premier League. James Milner is neither a defender nor left footed and, even though he has performed admirably this season, he is really a central midfielder. A very good left back is Stéphane Sessègnon, who currently plays for Montpellier, but who has played five years in England already. I was mistaken. Liverpool is not looking at Stéphane Sessègnon, who is an attacking midfielder, but rather Ryan Sessegnon who is a 16 years-old playing for Fulham in the 2nd division. He played 23 times this season scoring 5 goals and, according to online sources, is one of the top targets for Liverpool for the next season.

The midfield of Liverpool is already very capable (with players such as Henderson, Can and Lallana) but looks a bit thin. The youngsters in the first team are still very young and oldies like Lucas are on the verge of departing. An excellent central midfielder is Naby Keïta who currently plays for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. He is a box-to-box midfielder, passes very well and scores too (similar to Steven Gerrard). Another good acquisition would be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the dynamic Arsenal player who already has played 25 times for England. He is a powerful winger who can provide cover for players such as Sadio Mané.

Finally, as Daniel Sturridge is most probably leaving, Liverpool needs a goal scorer. Alexandre Lacazette would be close to perfect but won’t come cheap. He has been playing for Olympique Lyon for the past seven years and would most probably be interested to try his luck in the Premier League. He is a potent striker with 96 goals scored in 200 matches. Of course, the French leagues is far from being as competitive as the Premier League but Alexandre Lacazette has bags of talent.

To summarise, here are five players who can make Liverpool move up one level and, dare I say, become as strong as Chelsea: Virgil van Dijk (CB), Stéphane Ryan Sessegnon (LB), Naby Keïta (DM), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (AM) and Alexandre Lacazette (FW).

How many of them will Liverpool get? No one knows. Might be 0. Might be 5. And anything else in the middle…

Whisky I know (and like…)

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I like to have a nice drink from time to time.

Here are some of the Scotch Whisky I like to have (sorted by price, from most expensive to most affordable):

I have just discovered the Lagavulin thanks to Cédric and it is amazing. I have never tasted a single malt which is so smokey, yet so good. It’s the best whisky I’ve ever had.

Next come the Johnnie Walker (Double Black and Black) as well as the Chivas Regal which are my go-to (relatively) high-end drinks. This is what we have when we have something special to celebrate. The Jack Daniel’s is in the same league but is a whisky that I drink less frequently and I know a few people who do not like its taste.

On the lower level come the Ballantine, the J & B, the Red Label. I prefer the Ballantine which is basically my everyday (not that I drink everyday!) whisky. It’s not very expensive and is quite refined, compared to the Red Label which is not very good to be honest.

Finally, at the lowest level come the remaining three brands (Grant’s, Teacher’s and King Robert) and I have to say that I like King Robert very much. It’s very inexpensive, relatively speaking, and is quite easy to drink. It’s basically what I have with family and friends if we are not in a whisky tasting mood.

To summarize, here are my whisky selection : Lagavulin, then Double Black, then Ballantine’s and finally King Roberts. With those four, I have all bases covered.

Don’t drink and drive, though.

Do we use our smartphones too much?

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When I saw that quote on Reddit, it immediately rang a bell. It seems that most of us (all of us?) bring our smartphones everywhere now (including, of course, the toilet). We can’t live without it and a decent Internet connection. But it this a bad thing?

Pros of always having a smartphone

  1. You never feel stupid. Any question asked by anyone else has an immediate answer thanks to Google and Wikipedia. This can even make the conversation richer and more interesting by going off tangents.
  2. You always have some music to listen to.
  3. You always have something interesting to read while waiting for you know what.

Cons of always having a smartphone

  1. Some may become antisocial and speak less. I have witnessed my kids for instance having a slight tendency to watch YouTube videos when having dinner until, of course, a good zouré mama from yours truly…
  2. Sometimes some listen to music too much. It’s good to be able to enjoy the silence.
  3. And, most importantly, for those who only have one toilet at home, making others wait is bad for health :-)

What do you think?