Photo by AP

Angola and Mali played out a thrilling 4-4 draw to open the Africa Cup of Nations and take some attention away from the unnerving events of Friday’s act of violence against the Togo national football team.

Many notable figures in the world of football have called for the tournament to proceed despite the brutal attack on the Togo team bus, which reportedly left four people dead.

Those who have lent their support to the cup organisers, such as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and PFA Chief Gordon Taylor, are right when they said that stopping the championships now will simply hand victory to the attackers and embolden them to attempt future assaults.

This brazen attempt to massacre the Togo players has also come at a time when so-called extreme weather conditions have created havoc with the football fixtures here in the United Kingdom.

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Photo by GettyImages

When hotshot Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford gently poked the ball past Manchester United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak in the 20th minute, most observers would probably have expected a customary fight-back from the Red Devils.

However, that fight-back did not materialise. What happened instead was the League One side producing a lion-hearted display to dump the Premiership champions out of the FA Cup.

In retrospect, there really was not much for Leeds fans to be concerned about as the Reds were absolutely abysmal. Wayne Rooney was distinctly off colour and blasted over on numerous occasions while there was an acute lack of a cutting edge from the midfielders.

Photo by Getty Images

Only in the last 10 minutes of the match did Man United exert any kind of sustained pressure on the Leeds defence.

It was not long ago in 2001 that Leeds were contesting a Champions League semi-final against Valencia. In 2004, Leeds were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship.

Their fall from grace seemed complete in 2007 when they entered into administration due to a crippling 35 million pound debt, which incurred Leeds a points deduction that relegated them to League One.

Like a phoenix that rises from its ashes, Leeds’ revival from their self-inflicted mess was inspired by a man who lives and breathes Leeds United.

Manager Simon Grayson supported Leeds as a kid and played for them as an adult. He was appointed as manager on 23 December 2008 and they are now 8 points clear at the top of League One.

The 9000 travelling Leeds supporters were ecstatic as the final whistle blew and this performance against Man United is surely a sign that the fallen giants are on a fast-track back to the big time.

This victory is also proof that the romance of the oldest cup competition in the world is still well and truly alive.

For me, however, it is a nightmare and I now dread the prospect of my beloved Red Devils facing a multi-million pound Man City side during Wednesday’s Carling Cup tie.

Photo by William Shong

Instead of visiting some of the overly well-known volcanoes, Han, Peter and I chose to head somewhere along the East Java region of Indonesia to the small port town of Probolinggo.  That small town would serve as our main point of entrance to the national park.  Our destination was a collection of active craters just to the west of the popular island resort of Bali.

All roads leading to and out of Probolinggo were typical of any small village; narrow, winding and uneven with the occasional shop house by the side.  There was nothing much to note in the village itself except for a small market in the town centre with villagers selling everything from cheaply made toys to kebabs of dubious quality of hygiene.

Early during our first morning in East Java, we set off towards a volcanic crater called Kawah Ijen.  The uphill path leading there was as twisty as a sidewinder rattlesnake and narrow to the point where a six-foot person could easily block the road.  Not that anyone would want to of course.  Plenty of lush greenery along the way managed to take our attention off the sweltering heat, which had sweat dripping down our faces and soaking our clothes as if we were in a sauna.  It may have been early morning, but the sun’s heat was at full blast and our minivan’s air condition was out of order.

Photo by William Shong

We soon reached the foot of the hill where several other hikers were waiting to make their way up to the peak.  Adrenaline was coursing through my body.

My hike uphill was simple enough thanks to my ongoing fitness regime and we arrived at a rest-stop to take a breather and get a cup of piping hot lemon tea. Clouds were flowing past us as we looked down upon breaks to the forests.  We had literally walked up into the sky. And this was only halfway up.

At the peak, we could see smoke coming from the crater, but our journey was not done yet.  Now, we had to climb down a rocky path into the crater.  An assembly line of miners were busy hauling sulphur deposits back and forth like a well managed group of worker ants, seemingly oblivious of any danger to their safety.  Against our better judgement, we did the same and reached the bottom where we took advantage of a photo opportunity with the sulphuric gas blowing at our backs and the bright orange and yellowish rocks as our background.  The base of the crater also had a steaming lake of sulphuric acid, which is one swimming hole that I did not feel tempted to jump into.

Next up was Cemoro Lawang, the mountain village at the base of the Bromo Tengger Semeru craters.  We arrived to an atmosphere a lot cooler than the scorching heat down at Probolinggo.  My friends and I took some time to relax and walk around the village resort, while taking great care to avoid stepping on the numerous piles of stinking fresh horse manure.  To our good fortune, our room was located far enough away from where the horses were allowed to roam and relieve themselves.  For the most part, the cool breeze was actually quite refreshing.

After lunch, we set off on horseback to visit Mount Bromo.  Our trusty steeds steadily brought us across a desert of ash leftover from previous eruptions and an ancient looking Hindu temple.  The sight of Mount Batok, a dead volcano, provided an ominous indication that something which once looked spectacular can eventually fade away.  At the base of Bromo, I felt a tingling sense of exhilaration as I looked up at the long flight of stairs that led to the crater mouth.  Once again, I was grateful to my superior athlete’s level of fitness as a daunting looking climb was overcome with me barely breaking a sweat.

Photo by William Shong

As I stared down into the mouth of the volcano, I looked on in awe at one of nature’s greatest creations as clouds of smoke billowed towards the sky.  This volcano was technically safe, but I still wondered about what horrors could befall anyone unlucky or foolish enough to wander off and get trapped down there.  A group of students on their field trip seemed to take a different view of the surroundings as they happily fooled around with each other.  They were also very eager to chat and take photographs with us foreigners.

I was still daydreaming and admiring the view from atop Mount Bromo when clouds began to fill the sky and produced a surreal ambience that made me feel I was in another world.  We headed back to the resort for some R&R, but not before my horse gave me quite a scare by acting up and carrying me off into the distance.  Luckily, our guide caught up and brought us back safely.  A few gentle pats on the horse’s head managed to calm it down and it soon warmed up to me.  Perhaps, I should have done that before getting on the animal.

Before dawn the next morning, with eyes only half-opened, we dragged our drowsy selves out of bed and met our hired jeep driver who would take us to view the sunrise.  Halfway down the slope from our resort, visibility literally became pitch black.  Even when our spotlights were turned on, we could barely see more than five feet in front.  For all I knew, our driver could have been using a bat’s navigating system to take us through the desert of ash.

When the jeep brought us safely uphill to our lookout point, we disembarked and waited patiently as the cold morning breeze made me shiver.  It was not long before dawn broke, and the early rays of sunlight appeared behind the majestic backdrop of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park.

The serene environment was soon buzzing with excitement and every tourist there was eagerly lapping up the photo opportunities.  Mount Semeru spewing ash and puffing smoke made for an imposing sight.  As the often used cliché goes, the view was simply breathtaking.

1) Man City vs Stoke City
Roberto Mancini’s first game in charge and the alleged player unrest following Mark Hughes’ departure provides an interesting backdrop to a game, which would normally not get the neutrals pulses racing.  City may have been frustratingly inconsistent this season and drawn too many games for their liking, but showed they have the quality to challenge the league’s elite by beating Arsenal and Chelsea, while narrowly losing to Man United.  Will Mancini be able to rally his troops?  Will he be able to bring out the best in Robinho?  Can Mancini shore up a shaky defence?
Prediction: 0-1.  Stoke to batter the City rearguard into submission and improve their wretched away form.

2) Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Most neutrals assumed that the title will be decided between Chelsea and Man United, but a win here for either side will at least temporarily move the winner into 2nd place above the champions and within touching distance of the league leaders.  Villa have won their last 4 games including a well-earned 1-0 win at Old Trafford, and will have no fear taking on another member of the so-called Big 4 having also beaten Chelsea at home and Liverpool away.  Arsenal seem to score for fun at the Emirates (excluding the 0-3 to Chelsea) but have been badly hampered by the absence of the injured Robin van Persie, while Cesc Fabregas is also doubtful for this game.
Prediction: 1-1.

Birmingham v Chelsea: 0-3
Fulham v Spurs: 2-2
West Ham v Portsmouth: 1-0
Burnley v Bolton: 2-1
Sunderland v Everton: 1-0
Wigan v Blackburn: 2-0
Liverpool v Wolverhampton: 2-1
Hull City v Man United: 1-3