Sometime back, while catching an English Premier League game at Car Wash bar in down town Kigali, a colleague asked me, "Why do you (local football analysts) spend more time writing on administrative (issues) than real football issues?”

This guy had a truly genuine question, or concern (if you like to put it that way). It was one of those concerns that a person raises either because it has been burning them quietly and for some time, or they’re too much into the western media or both, and I saw in this guy a mixture of both.

He sounded well informed about local and international football and when he raised his concern amidst out discussion which was centered on the beautiful game in Rwanda and England; it appeared as though his inquiry was specifically directed at me.

So, as I was trying to figure out what definitive answer to give him, another colleague, himself a former sports writer and an occasional football analyst, chipped in with the sort of reply that gave me a starting point in defence of why analysts here focus more on administrative than real football issues.

In fact we (that other colleague and I) told him or rather reminded him that, what we are doing is not only a Rwandan thing but also happens in most developing parts of the world, where the challenges towards development outweigh the actual development.

So, analysts in the less developed societies, not only on football or sports but rather in every aspect of life, tend to put more emphasis on the administrative issues since this is where everything stems from. Development comes with a price and that cost involves principally the human resource, which human resource runs the show that includes carrying out managerial errands.

If the human resource in the society isn’t up to the ball, forget development, that’s why analysts in less developed societies have a tendency to focus more on where things start from other than the actual end product.

Our discussion at Car Wash didn’t last long but from my perspective, there was more to this guy’s concern than meets the eye.

In societies like ours and very many others in a similar situation or even less or more, you’re not going to spend so much time analyzing, in this case, football matches, which more often than not are overshadowed by off-field concerns.

That doesn’t lead to development, either in football or sports as was that brief debate with this guy at Car Wash, or on entirely something different. You can have your pick.

Why I think Newcastle can beat Arsenal
It may sound hilarious, especially to Arsenal fans, but I have this funny feeling that Newcastle United can actually beat Arsenal if they go about their business in the right way this afternoon at the Emirates stadium.

For that to come from a Newcastle United fan, it sounds really selfish on my part, but believe me, because Arsenal are beatable even at their own patch if a team goes there and gets in their faces, they don’t like it.

Yes, Arsenal are a class outfit and no one needs to be told, but why go there and fear them? They can be beaten and already have so, why not? If West Brom can do it, then Newcastle United can, I can feel it.

It’s ten games since the Magpies last beat the Gunners in either league or cup. Noberto Solano’s goal did the trick in a Premier League fixture at St. James Park in 2005. Although United have lost nine of their last ten visits to Arsenal, my gut-feeling tells, we’re going to change all that today.

It is all about going there with confidence. Certainly, if somebody offered me a draw before the game, I would rip their hand off, after all Newcastle have failed to win at the Emirates in five miserable attempts.

However, going in on the back of a fantastic 5-1 hiding of Sunderland, the confidence must be at it’s highest at and in Newcastle.

It’s not about getting carried away with the Sunderland victory; I might just get excited this evening if the Mags shoot down the Gunners!

nku78@yahoo.com