Sparky’s Column

Lots of goals keep fans entertained

Goals aplenty on the weekend with Al Wahda netting five against a hapless Dubai Club, Al Jazira scoring four and Al Wasl hitting the onion bag another four times. Bani Yas were the young upstarts and the early pace setters in the League but it all went wrong at the weekend. It shows an early league table means little and that the strength in depth of a big squad like Al Jazira's will more often than not come out on top.

I am starting to fear for Dubai Club and Kalba even at this early stage. A single point between them is not the form that will keep you in the top division. They are five points adrift of safety with few signs that they are about to hit any kind of form. They have not been able to invest in the same way as Al Dhafra and Bani Yas did when they got promoted. We did have a surprise package in Ajman who took the League by storm on being promoted but a few good early results built their confidence, which is so vital if you are to succeed.

I have done a few bits of media as an "expert" on the Etisalat Pro-League. I don't know if it is lack of knowledge or just extreme giddiness at having a World Cup winner in the League, but every question I get asked has to involve the word champ Cannavaro. There are a few other players in the League, in fact there are lots of them. One player who has been a star performer for the last few years in the Brazilian Pinga. He is going to stand out with a name like that, but his midfield performances were the engine of Al Wahda last season and Al Ahli this current season. He is skillful, hard working and weighs in with some great goals from midfield. His equalizer last weekend in the Al Ain match was typical, a great strike from outside the box that inspired his team to victory. He won't get as many column inches as his Italian team mate but to me he is the heart of the team.

Last week I mentioned that only two clubs were selling replica shirts. I need to put this right after a call from Sharjah, as they too have started selling shirts. This is part of the ongoing plan to modernise that club top to bottom and merchandising is a big part of that. They are also running a line of polo shirts with "The King" emblazoned on them. The King, by the way, is Sharjah's nickname due to the amount of trophies they have won over the years and has nothing to do with Elvis Presley.

Mark 'Sparky' Pendergast