Saturday, December 22, 2007
Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: Stat of the match
I guess I really should say 'stats' of the match. I'm a number geek, if you can't tell, and what's interesting about this match is that while we dominated possession, 60.5% to 39.5%, they took the territorial advantage, 56.5% to 43.5%. That basically means that, while we had the ball for a large majority of the match, we did little going forward when doing so. What's even more impressive is that our average place of possession winning was at the 28.07m line as opposed to the 27.29m line for them. So, in other words, when we gained possession, we did a phenomenal job of working the ball around, though not necessarily forward. In this case, since we won, patience truly was a virtue.
Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: player ratings
I have a hard time saying any of our players were phenomenal today and that's pretty amazing considering we won by three goals against a decent side. The scoreline was deceiving, but I'm wondering if our intentions were as well. We appeared to return to our quick-strike methods where we worry little about bringing the ball forward in a patient, designed fashion, and instead just lob it forward or make a decisive past to a streaking player. Torres and Babel allow us to do such things and it appears that complaints about the 'long ball' tend to fade when you score a plethora of goals doing so. Anyhow, on to the ratings. Here's the scale:
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant
Pepe Reina 5.5
The goal wasn't really his fault and he was his adequate self for the rest.
John Arne Riise 6
I'm not sure if I'm flattering him with that grade or not. He appeared to be trying less than recently, and I think it helped him out. He didn't force much and didn't try to get to involved on the attack. Maybe he deserves a better grade? I just want the Old John Arne Riise back, this was at least a step in that direction.
Jamie Carragher 6.5
Carra was instrumental in keeping the ball away from Portsmouth and also set Torres' second goal with a pass to Gerrard. Still, it certainly was a less memorable performance than the Chelsea tie, but at the same time, he was called upon to do less as well.
Sami Hyypiä 6
Again, like Carra, his acumen on the ball helped to keep the it out of Pompey's grasp, but at times he looked as if even he'll be happy to see Agger return.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
Our only defender to really be involved on attack throughout and was beneficial to the side in doing so. The yellow card was somewhat justified, if not harsh.
Harry Kewell 6
Honestly, if he hadn't got the assist on the Benayoun goal, it would have been a pretty poor day for the Aussie. He gave away the ball way too often and clearly lacked the ingenuity to truly take any Pompey players on. Still, he got that assist.
Mascherano 7 Man of the Match
Yes, he made errors and yes, he turned over the ball and yes, I've seen him play better, but he will be in the Portsmouth's players nightmares tonight after hassling them to no end. He also set-up Torres' first goal with a brilliant pass to Babel.
Gerrard 6
I'm being quite flattering to our skipper with that grade, but I think he might have been still suffering a little from the flu. His passing was simply horrid and he could create shit-all, well, accept for the brilliant assist to Torres that is.
Benayoun 6.5
Yossi scored an awesome volley goal, which really jump-started our attack, but he really wasn't too involved overall. I honestly think that may be more his teammates' fault, he certainly tried to make himself available.
Dirk Kuyt 5.5
All I want to know is what happened to the Kuyt of the preseason? The Kuyt who went and tried to enjoy playing football? The one that tried cheeky passes and roamed around the pitch like a man with little worries? We need him back and fast.
Fernando Torres 6.5
A brace and he actually had a better passing day than usual, even though you wouldn't know it unless you... well, did.
Ryan Babel 7
If this kid just works on his passing intuition, he's going to be magic. That's two more goals while he was on the pitch, and he was clearly influential in both of them. By the way, we average a goal every 38 minutes he's on the pitch.
Fabio Aurelio N/A
Lucas N/A
Neither Brazilian really got to break a sweat.
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant
Pepe Reina 5.5
The goal wasn't really his fault and he was his adequate self for the rest.
John Arne Riise 6
I'm not sure if I'm flattering him with that grade or not. He appeared to be trying less than recently, and I think it helped him out. He didn't force much and didn't try to get to involved on the attack. Maybe he deserves a better grade? I just want the Old John Arne Riise back, this was at least a step in that direction.
Jamie Carragher 6.5
Carra was instrumental in keeping the ball away from Portsmouth and also set Torres' second goal with a pass to Gerrard. Still, it certainly was a less memorable performance than the Chelsea tie, but at the same time, he was called upon to do less as well.
Sami Hyypiä 6
Again, like Carra, his acumen on the ball helped to keep the it out of Pompey's grasp, but at times he looked as if even he'll be happy to see Agger return.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
Our only defender to really be involved on attack throughout and was beneficial to the side in doing so. The yellow card was somewhat justified, if not harsh.
Harry Kewell 6
Honestly, if he hadn't got the assist on the Benayoun goal, it would have been a pretty poor day for the Aussie. He gave away the ball way too often and clearly lacked the ingenuity to truly take any Pompey players on. Still, he got that assist.
Mascherano 7 Man of the Match
Yes, he made errors and yes, he turned over the ball and yes, I've seen him play better, but he will be in the Portsmouth's players nightmares tonight after hassling them to no end. He also set-up Torres' first goal with a brilliant pass to Babel.
Gerrard 6
I'm being quite flattering to our skipper with that grade, but I think he might have been still suffering a little from the flu. His passing was simply horrid and he could create shit-all, well, accept for the brilliant assist to Torres that is.
Benayoun 6.5
Yossi scored an awesome volley goal, which really jump-started our attack, but he really wasn't too involved overall. I honestly think that may be more his teammates' fault, he certainly tried to make himself available.
Dirk Kuyt 5.5
All I want to know is what happened to the Kuyt of the preseason? The Kuyt who went and tried to enjoy playing football? The one that tried cheeky passes and roamed around the pitch like a man with little worries? We need him back and fast.
Fernando Torres 6.5
A brace and he actually had a better passing day than usual, even though you wouldn't know it unless you... well, did.
Ryan Babel 7
If this kid just works on his passing intuition, he's going to be magic. That's two more goals while he was on the pitch, and he was clearly influential in both of them. By the way, we average a goal every 38 minutes he's on the pitch.
Fabio Aurelio N/A
Lucas N/A
Neither Brazilian really got to break a sweat.
Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: Explosions of brilliance
I think I'm finally getting a feel for our side. Honestly, we really didn't play that well overall. Mascherano was his ever-present disruptive self, Benayoun put us up with a brilliant finish from a Kewell pass, Torres notched a brace, and Babel caused havoc in his usual super-sub role, but it was far from calculated dominance. That's the thing, if we can just be ridiculously brilliant in surges and play adequate defense, most of the time, we're going to walk away with three points. I'd almost rather see such an approach than the tedious possession-based, reserved approach we've had to take pre-Torres and Babel.
Portsmouth is a decent side, though they certainly rely on their athletic ability more than skill. So when they come up against an opponent that is equal in strength and pace, but superior in prowess, they've little chance. Benjani's goal certainly rattled us, but they were unable to take advantage and once we regained composure, it was game over. In fact, the confidence they gained from getting on the scoreboard probably cost them more in the end. They started playing further forward and that cost them the Mascherano to Babel to Torres goal, that essential ended the match.
I really don't have much else to add without getting into individual efforts. Torres makes everything look so easy and with 14 goals in 20 all-contest matches, he's got to be considered one of the best forwards, if not players, in the world. The first goal was far from easy and it goes without saying about the second. He is simply brilliant, and honestly, there's room for improvement. A scary thought to say the least. He and Mascherano are the prime candidates for Man of the Match, but I'll decide my pick when I do player grades later. Cheers.
Portsmouth is a decent side, though they certainly rely on their athletic ability more than skill. So when they come up against an opponent that is equal in strength and pace, but superior in prowess, they've little chance. Benjani's goal certainly rattled us, but they were unable to take advantage and once we regained composure, it was game over. In fact, the confidence they gained from getting on the scoreboard probably cost them more in the end. They started playing further forward and that cost them the Mascherano to Babel to Torres goal, that essential ended the match.
I really don't have much else to add without getting into individual efforts. Torres makes everything look so easy and with 14 goals in 20 all-contest matches, he's got to be considered one of the best forwards, if not players, in the world. The first goal was far from easy and it goes without saying about the second. He is simply brilliant, and honestly, there's room for improvement. A scary thought to say the least. He and Mascherano are the prime candidates for Man of the Match, but I'll decide my pick when I do player grades later. Cheers.
Liverpool vs Portsmouth: All the cards...
And the envelope reads...
Reina
Riise
Carragher
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Mascherano
Gerrard
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Babel
Voronin
Aurelio
Lucas
I hope Xabi is okay. At the moment, I think this is our best side, so if we can't win today, we might as well just concentrate on Champions League.
Reina
Riise
Carragher
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Mascherano
Gerrard
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Babel
Voronin
Aurelio
Lucas
I hope Xabi is okay. At the moment, I think this is our best side, so if we can't win today, we might as well just concentrate on Champions League.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Rick Parry has a huge head
Literally and figuratively.
Also, from the linked article, Rafa states about recruiting promising youngsters from around the world, especially Spain: "They are 16 to 18 but I'm sure that in two or three years most of them will be ready for the first team. That means saving big money."
He's not going anywhere for a long time.
Also, from the linked article, Rafa states about recruiting promising youngsters from around the world, especially Spain: "They are 16 to 18 but I'm sure that in two or three years most of them will be ready for the first team. That means saving big money."
He's not going anywhere for a long time.
Early bird transfer speculation worms (pt 4): Sulley Muntari, Steven Taylor, Boubacar Sanogo, Nihat, & Nikola Žigić
I was going to use this part to talk of players that I think should and/or will be sold, but I've decided to do one more installment of possible acquisitions. Some have been rumored, while others I've just thrown in there just in case, you know, Rafa is reading.
Sulley Muntari, CM, Portsmouth - Supposedly a replacement for Mascherano if we fail to sign the Argentine on a permanent. It makes absolute no sense to pay a rumored £15m for the 23-year-old Ghanaian, when for £2m more we can retain Masche. Both Harry Redknapp and Rafa have rubbished such rumblings, so I'm assuming it's highly ulikely. Masche is the superior player anyhow, though Muntari is very talented and has appeared to mature past the temperament displayed in Italy.
Steven Taylor, CB/LB, Newcastle - Saying I'm not sold on the soon-to-be 22-year-old is an understatement to say the least. I have to admit though, the only times I've actually seen him play was against us. Apparently we were pursuing him in the summer, before Sam Allardyce told us to piss off. I'm not sure what the situation is now and I'm also not sure if we either need or want him. He was in a tiff with Allardyce, but apparently that's been resolved. I just don't believe he'll want to come here and be a scarcely used squad player for a couple of years before getting 'regular' time. Unlikely.
Boubacar Sanogo, FW, Werder Bremen - This is speculation at it's worst since Sanogo has not been linked with our club whatsoever, but I think he's a good player, so I thought I'd include him. The Côte d'Ivoire forward would provide us with muscle in the Heskey fashion and his poacher radar is finely tuned. He's also very athletically and somewhat, if not raw, skilled. He would also come on the cheap at around £4m, though I'm not sure Werder would sell him. He is somewhat inconsistent as well, though with Gerrard and Torres being just the opposite, maybe a player of the goals-in-bunches persuasion would be good for our side. Unlikely anyhow. Here's a compilation of him while he was with Kaiserslautern.
Nihat, FW, Villareal - Nihat Kahveci is a goal-scoring machine. The Turk has scored 169 league goals in 282 matches in the Turkish Super League and La Liga. He has scored 19 in 25 league matches for Villareal so far and 57 in 115 appearances for Real Sociedad, when he was there. The thing is, a lot of his goals are wholly unimpressive, yet deceiving as well. He just always seems to be in the right place at the right time, a poacher extraordinairre, and his finishing is impeccable. I like him a lot, but he is 28, and he did join El Submarino Amarillo on a Bosman, plus I'm unsure they'd be willing to sell nor he'd want to come. Anyhow, if so, more than £6m would be mental. Unlikely.
Nikola Žigić, FW, Valencia CF - Apparently Žigić, who just joined Los Che this past summer, is on his way out with Koeman's housecleaning project at the club. He's tall at 2.02 meters, but has struggled to maintain the same scoring rate in Spain as he did in Serbia. Honestly, he'd be more expensive at around £10m than Nihat or Sanogo, and really hasn't proven to be much better than those two, so if we are in need of striker in January, he'd be pretty far down the list. Somewhat likely.
Next up should be the chopping list. Cheers.
Sulley Muntari, CM, Portsmouth - Supposedly a replacement for Mascherano if we fail to sign the Argentine on a permanent. It makes absolute no sense to pay a rumored £15m for the 23-year-old Ghanaian, when for £2m more we can retain Masche. Both Harry Redknapp and Rafa have rubbished such rumblings, so I'm assuming it's highly ulikely. Masche is the superior player anyhow, though Muntari is very talented and has appeared to mature past the temperament displayed in Italy.
Steven Taylor, CB/LB, Newcastle - Saying I'm not sold on the soon-to-be 22-year-old is an understatement to say the least. I have to admit though, the only times I've actually seen him play was against us. Apparently we were pursuing him in the summer, before Sam Allardyce told us to piss off. I'm not sure what the situation is now and I'm also not sure if we either need or want him. He was in a tiff with Allardyce, but apparently that's been resolved. I just don't believe he'll want to come here and be a scarcely used squad player for a couple of years before getting 'regular' time. Unlikely.
Boubacar Sanogo, FW, Werder Bremen - This is speculation at it's worst since Sanogo has not been linked with our club whatsoever, but I think he's a good player, so I thought I'd include him. The Côte d'Ivoire forward would provide us with muscle in the Heskey fashion and his poacher radar is finely tuned. He's also very athletically and somewhat, if not raw, skilled. He would also come on the cheap at around £4m, though I'm not sure Werder would sell him. He is somewhat inconsistent as well, though with Gerrard and Torres being just the opposite, maybe a player of the goals-in-bunches persuasion would be good for our side. Unlikely anyhow. Here's a compilation of him while he was with Kaiserslautern.
Nihat, FW, Villareal - Nihat Kahveci is a goal-scoring machine. The Turk has scored 169 league goals in 282 matches in the Turkish Super League and La Liga. He has scored 19 in 25 league matches for Villareal so far and 57 in 115 appearances for Real Sociedad, when he was there. The thing is, a lot of his goals are wholly unimpressive, yet deceiving as well. He just always seems to be in the right place at the right time, a poacher extraordinairre, and his finishing is impeccable. I like him a lot, but he is 28, and he did join El Submarino Amarillo on a Bosman, plus I'm unsure they'd be willing to sell nor he'd want to come. Anyhow, if so, more than £6m would be mental. Unlikely.
Nikola Žigić, FW, Valencia CF - Apparently Žigić, who just joined Los Che this past summer, is on his way out with Koeman's housecleaning project at the club. He's tall at 2.02 meters, but has struggled to maintain the same scoring rate in Spain as he did in Serbia. Honestly, he'd be more expensive at around £10m than Nihat or Sanogo, and really hasn't proven to be much better than those two, so if we are in need of striker in January, he'd be pretty far down the list. Somewhat likely.
Next up should be the chopping list. Cheers.
Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What Rafa wants, Rafa does, Rafa bless us all
Whatever happened with the Harry Redknapp arrest incident? Oh, nothing? I'm shocked.
Anyhow, the big question for this tie is whether or not Gerrard will be fit. Now I'm not accusing our skipper and Rafa collaborating on a Man U-like scam, but it certainly was a convenient and opportune time to come down with the stomach flu. That would actually be blasphemous, Stevie-G would have played at Stamford Bridge, vomit and all, if the team would have allowed him. Apparently Torres fell ill as well, but it looks as if both will be available for tomorrow.
The other first-teamers who didn't make the match at Fulham, Pepe Reina, Sami Hyppiä, John Arne Riise, Harry Kewell, Javier Mascherano, and Steve Finnan, should be fit and ready to roll.
I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow's match. It's not that I don't think we can win, it just won't be very entertaining. Portsmouth won't allow it. If they get into an up-and-down match with us, it's over. If we can get a goal early on and force them to play us instead of sitting back, there's a chance that I won't feel as if I've wasted a couple of hours of my life.
Saying this is a must-win, is like saying that people bleed when stabbed. Anything less than three points and I think our league hopes are lost. Come on, boys.
Here's my guess at the squad:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyppiä
Finnan
Kewell
Gerrard (or Xabi)
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres (or Babel?)
Bench:
Itandje
Arbeloa
Aurelio
Xabi (or Sissoko or Gerrard)
Babel (or Torres)
I'm guessing Rafa took Xabi and Babel off early at Stamford Bridge so they'd be somewhat fresh come tomorrow. I really hope Gerrard and Torres start or are at least available. Either way, no excuses.
Anyhow, the big question for this tie is whether or not Gerrard will be fit. Now I'm not accusing our skipper and Rafa collaborating on a Man U-like scam, but it certainly was a convenient and opportune time to come down with the stomach flu. That would actually be blasphemous, Stevie-G would have played at Stamford Bridge, vomit and all, if the team would have allowed him. Apparently Torres fell ill as well, but it looks as if both will be available for tomorrow.
The other first-teamers who didn't make the match at Fulham, Pepe Reina, Sami Hyppiä, John Arne Riise, Harry Kewell, Javier Mascherano, and Steve Finnan, should be fit and ready to roll.
I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow's match. It's not that I don't think we can win, it just won't be very entertaining. Portsmouth won't allow it. If they get into an up-and-down match with us, it's over. If we can get a goal early on and force them to play us instead of sitting back, there's a chance that I won't feel as if I've wasted a couple of hours of my life.
Saying this is a must-win, is like saying that people bleed when stabbed. Anything less than three points and I think our league hopes are lost. Come on, boys.
Here's my guess at the squad:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyppiä
Finnan
Kewell
Gerrard (or Xabi)
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres (or Babel?)
Bench:
Itandje
Arbeloa
Aurelio
Xabi (or Sissoko or Gerrard)
Babel (or Torres)
I'm guessing Rafa took Xabi and Babel off early at Stamford Bridge so they'd be somewhat fresh come tomorrow. I really hope Gerrard and Torres start or are at least available. Either way, no excuses.
Sizing-up the Nerazzurri
It could have been much worse. We could have drawn Real Madrid or even A.C. Milan. It's not that I don't think we could beat those sides, it just would have been a more difficult task. Real is the deepest squad on the planet and from the looks of things, Milan doesn't have much else to play for, being essentially out of the Scudetto race already.
I personally think Inter is the most overrated club in Europe right now. Serie A is relatively weak this season, mostly due to the fall of Milan. When Udinese is the fourth place side, 16 games into the season while scoring only 20 goals, your league is fragile.
What worries me most is the second/away leg. It's set for March 11th, three days after Newcastle come to Anfield. I don't know why they didn't just schedule it for the 12th. Inter has a match two days prior, but that will probably be rescheduled now, though I doubt we'll get such accommodations.
I also can't wait to hear the rubbish that the Italian press will spew about our fans coming to Milan. I'm sure it will be flattering. The Italians have some of the most violent fans in the world, the English pale in comparison, but the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil policy is in full effect. Riots, stabbings, the killing of policeman, our fans are the ones that should be worried, granted most of it occurs in the Rome area and down south.
As for the actual matches, I see rather drab affairs. I expect them to slow things down as much as possible in both ties, especially at Anfield. Cruz and Zlatan don't worry me much, so we shouldn't have much trouble preventing them from scoring. The problem is, it's not going to be easy for us to net either. Certainly the magic of Torres and Gerrard would come in handy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see 0-0 results at the end of both matches, going to penalty kicks. Get studying, Pepe.
One more thing, I would love to see Mascherano take out Materazzi, especially if he starts with his cheating tactics. He's just horrible for the sport in general. Cheers.
I personally think Inter is the most overrated club in Europe right now. Serie A is relatively weak this season, mostly due to the fall of Milan. When Udinese is the fourth place side, 16 games into the season while scoring only 20 goals, your league is fragile.
What worries me most is the second/away leg. It's set for March 11th, three days after Newcastle come to Anfield. I don't know why they didn't just schedule it for the 12th. Inter has a match two days prior, but that will probably be rescheduled now, though I doubt we'll get such accommodations.
I also can't wait to hear the rubbish that the Italian press will spew about our fans coming to Milan. I'm sure it will be flattering. The Italians have some of the most violent fans in the world, the English pale in comparison, but the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil policy is in full effect. Riots, stabbings, the killing of policeman, our fans are the ones that should be worried, granted most of it occurs in the Rome area and down south.
As for the actual matches, I see rather drab affairs. I expect them to slow things down as much as possible in both ties, especially at Anfield. Cruz and Zlatan don't worry me much, so we shouldn't have much trouble preventing them from scoring. The problem is, it's not going to be easy for us to net either. Certainly the magic of Torres and Gerrard would come in handy, but I wouldn't be surprised to see 0-0 results at the end of both matches, going to penalty kicks. Get studying, Pepe.
One more thing, I would love to see Mascherano take out Materazzi, especially if he starts with his cheating tactics. He's just horrible for the sport in general. Cheers.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Liverpool 0, Chelsea 2: player ratings
I've decided to revamp my ratings system for a number of reasons. Before I was rating players individually, as in how well they played compared to how well I've seen them play. The problem with that is I feel that it doesn't really show the proper value of a player's performance in relation to the whole side. That's about the only way I can explain it, I hope that's understandable. The scale pretty much remains the same though.
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant
Charles Itandje 7.5
Would have been Man of the Match if it weren't for him letting Shevchenko's shot get past him. This was his most impressive outing so far and he seems to get better each time. I'm pretty confident now that he can step in for Reina in any competition if needs be. The diving save on Essien was simply brilliant.
Fabio Aurelio 6
I really liked how the Brazilian stepped up in the latter part of the match, getting more involved on the attack. He was probably under orders not to leave our side of the pitch for most of the match, so I can't really hold it against him. His defending was adequate.
Jamie Carragher 8.5 Man of the Match
An inspiring performance from Carra, one of his best of the year, was simply everywhere on defense. Got a bit unlucky with the Lampard goal though. I hope he didn't expend himself to the point where he'll still be fatigued come Saturday though.
Jack Hobbs 4.5
I don't mean to slag off on the kid, but he seemed like pre-Bolton Hobbs out there, lost at times and unsure at others. He's still only 19 though and hopefully he'll be able to grow on such an experience.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
Was a lot less involved on attack than I would have liked, but like Aurelio, I think that was part of Rafa's precautionary measures. Other than that, there isn't much to complain about. The ref did him no favors throughout.
Momo Sissoko 6
Pretty much the performance I've come to expect from Momo. Was pestering to Chelsea through out, put offered little else. I'm actually working on a post about Sissoko, as I feel he's gotten a bum wrap, but I won't miss him too much when he leaves.
Lucas 7
Like Arbeloa, though more harsh, the ref did the Brazilian absolutely no favors. He should have netted, but made the wrong choice in going to the left against Cech. I hope he gets to play when we visit Stamford Bridge later in the season, because I have a feeling he's got unfinished business there.
Xabi Alonso 5
I'm gonna write this one off as an injury return run off. He was pretty off his game throughout. We really need him to find his head and quick if we're going to have a chance to win anything this season.
Nabil El Zhar 5.5
I think this was a good litmus test to see if the Moroccan is good enough to play for our club. I'm gonna have to say no. He just doesn't have the pace and failed to show the ability to compete at such a level, if he does indeed possess it to begin with.
Andriy Voronin 6
I almost think that Voronin was insulted to be out there, he certainly played like it. His age is definitely beginning to show and not in a good way. He really needs to start relying more on his cunning and less on his ability if he's going to have any contribution to our side.
Peter Crouch 3.5
Pretty much rubbish. When a player gets sent off and your side appears to play better once he does, that's not a good sign. It was especially disappointing since Aurelio was there to provide long balls. I will give him this though, a couple of times he made some good 'set-up' plays that his teammates failed to read.
Ryan Babel 7
Impressive and continues to improve. The only thing is he holds on to the ball for too long at times and instead of leading to a positive, it usually results in a turnover. Still, he's here to stay for a long, long time, and I'm thankful for it.
Yossi Benayoun N/A
Didn't really play that long, so there's no need. Cheers.
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant
Charles Itandje 7.5
Would have been Man of the Match if it weren't for him letting Shevchenko's shot get past him. This was his most impressive outing so far and he seems to get better each time. I'm pretty confident now that he can step in for Reina in any competition if needs be. The diving save on Essien was simply brilliant.
Fabio Aurelio 6
I really liked how the Brazilian stepped up in the latter part of the match, getting more involved on the attack. He was probably under orders not to leave our side of the pitch for most of the match, so I can't really hold it against him. His defending was adequate.
Jamie Carragher 8.5 Man of the Match
An inspiring performance from Carra, one of his best of the year, was simply everywhere on defense. Got a bit unlucky with the Lampard goal though. I hope he didn't expend himself to the point where he'll still be fatigued come Saturday though.
Jack Hobbs 4.5
I don't mean to slag off on the kid, but he seemed like pre-Bolton Hobbs out there, lost at times and unsure at others. He's still only 19 though and hopefully he'll be able to grow on such an experience.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
Was a lot less involved on attack than I would have liked, but like Aurelio, I think that was part of Rafa's precautionary measures. Other than that, there isn't much to complain about. The ref did him no favors throughout.
Momo Sissoko 6
Pretty much the performance I've come to expect from Momo. Was pestering to Chelsea through out, put offered little else. I'm actually working on a post about Sissoko, as I feel he's gotten a bum wrap, but I won't miss him too much when he leaves.
Lucas 7
Like Arbeloa, though more harsh, the ref did the Brazilian absolutely no favors. He should have netted, but made the wrong choice in going to the left against Cech. I hope he gets to play when we visit Stamford Bridge later in the season, because I have a feeling he's got unfinished business there.
Xabi Alonso 5
I'm gonna write this one off as an injury return run off. He was pretty off his game throughout. We really need him to find his head and quick if we're going to have a chance to win anything this season.
Nabil El Zhar 5.5
I think this was a good litmus test to see if the Moroccan is good enough to play for our club. I'm gonna have to say no. He just doesn't have the pace and failed to show the ability to compete at such a level, if he does indeed possess it to begin with.
Andriy Voronin 6
I almost think that Voronin was insulted to be out there, he certainly played like it. His age is definitely beginning to show and not in a good way. He really needs to start relying more on his cunning and less on his ability if he's going to have any contribution to our side.
Peter Crouch 3.5
Pretty much rubbish. When a player gets sent off and your side appears to play better once he does, that's not a good sign. It was especially disappointing since Aurelio was there to provide long balls. I will give him this though, a couple of times he made some good 'set-up' plays that his teammates failed to read.
Ryan Babel 7
Impressive and continues to improve. The only thing is he holds on to the ball for too long at times and instead of leading to a positive, it usually results in a turnover. Still, he's here to stay for a long, long time, and I'm thankful for it.
Yossi Benayoun N/A
Didn't really play that long, so there's no need. Cheers.
Early bird transfer speculation worms (pt 3): Vicente, Mancini, Kenwyne Jones, Tomáš Ujfaluši, & Angulo
Left-wing is a position we are going to have to address in the very near future. I don't know how many years King Harry has left in him, but I'm gonna guess about two and he'll become more and more of a squad player as his time comes to a close. We have Ryan Babel to play over there, but in truth, he's more of a straight attacker than a proper winger. I actually consider Riise more of a left-wing than Babel, but he's mainly a defensive option there and it looks like the Norwegian Ginger may be on his way out next month. I've already mentioned Jérôme Rothen and Francesco Modesto as potential transfers, but there's also a couple of more out there to scoop.
Vicente, LW, Valencia - I have to admit I was a bit shocked to see that Vicente could be available in the January window. If there is even the slightest chance we could acquire him, it has to be done. Would he even want to come to Liverpool is a question that I know not the answer, but as with a lot of Los Che players, they have played and flourished under Rafa Benitez, so I have to believe he has a leg-up on most of them. He'll be 27 next July, so he still has plenty of football left in him, but what will he cost? Three years ago he was linked to Man United for £13m, so I really can't see us paying more than £15m for him. Rarely do I get excited about a player, neither Torres (which I was wrong, btw) nor Babel (ditto) did much for me, but Vicente is a special player who can make us an unbelievably class side. His recent injury-ladened seasons do worry me though. Somewhat likely.
Mancini, LW, AS Roma - It's sort of redundant to say that Mancini is talented, but his problem is his ego. He knows how good he is and a lot of the time it gets in the way of his performances on the pitch. I honestly don't think he's got the emotional stability to be in a side under Rafa. The constant rotation might have too much of a negative effect on him. That leads me to question if we're still pursuing him, he's probably no longer the top choice at the left. If the rumors are true, I believe that goes to Vicente. I'm think his valuation is somewhere in the ballpark of £16m. Somewhat likely.
Kenwyne Jones, FW, Sunderland - When I think of Kenwyne Jones, I think a younger, faster Emile Heskey. Is he as skilled? Well, he's definitely more athletic, but I'm still not sold on his footballing abilities. I honestly don't want him on our side, even though his strength would probably came in handy in the Premiership, but would be a detriment in Europe. Ultimately, I just don't think he's good enough for a side desiring to become a Premiership contender, plus it would take an exorbitantly unnecessary amount of money to pry him from Roy Keane's hands. Not likely.
Tomáš Ujfaluši, CB/FB, Fiorentina - Ujfaluši could have joined us in the summer, but I believe he rejected the deal, so I'm unsure why these rumors are starting up again. His contract is up at the end of the season and I'm guessing that he expected to receive an extension offer. Apparently either he hasn't or it was insufficient. He's 29-years-old and seems pretty versatile on the backline, so I can't really say he'd be a bad signing, but I have to believe he's closer to the bottom of our list, especially if we can sign Garay. He would be relatively inexpensive though, I'm thinking some where in the neighborhood of £3m. Somewhat likely.
Angulo, RB/RW/CM/LW/FW, Valencia - I would be happier than Charles Bukowski at an open-bar boxing match if we could just pillage the Valencia side for all of Ronald Koeman's 'undesirables' and Angulo is without a doubt, no exception. His versatility and experience alone would be priceless to our side, not to mention he's a pretty damn good player as well. For his valuation, certainly the fact that he's 30-years-old would have to be taken into consideration, but even £6m would be a fair price in my book. Somewhat likely. Nothing like a little Tupac & Bruce Hornsby to conclude a post:
I believe the next part of this series will be who I think should be sold and why. Cheers.
Vicente, LW, Valencia - I have to admit I was a bit shocked to see that Vicente could be available in the January window. If there is even the slightest chance we could acquire him, it has to be done. Would he even want to come to Liverpool is a question that I know not the answer, but as with a lot of Los Che players, they have played and flourished under Rafa Benitez, so I have to believe he has a leg-up on most of them. He'll be 27 next July, so he still has plenty of football left in him, but what will he cost? Three years ago he was linked to Man United for £13m, so I really can't see us paying more than £15m for him. Rarely do I get excited about a player, neither Torres (which I was wrong, btw) nor Babel (ditto) did much for me, but Vicente is a special player who can make us an unbelievably class side. His recent injury-ladened seasons do worry me though. Somewhat likely.
Mancini, LW, AS Roma - It's sort of redundant to say that Mancini is talented, but his problem is his ego. He knows how good he is and a lot of the time it gets in the way of his performances on the pitch. I honestly don't think he's got the emotional stability to be in a side under Rafa. The constant rotation might have too much of a negative effect on him. That leads me to question if we're still pursuing him, he's probably no longer the top choice at the left. If the rumors are true, I believe that goes to Vicente. I'm think his valuation is somewhere in the ballpark of £16m. Somewhat likely.
Kenwyne Jones, FW, Sunderland - When I think of Kenwyne Jones, I think a younger, faster Emile Heskey. Is he as skilled? Well, he's definitely more athletic, but I'm still not sold on his footballing abilities. I honestly don't want him on our side, even though his strength would probably came in handy in the Premiership, but would be a detriment in Europe. Ultimately, I just don't think he's good enough for a side desiring to become a Premiership contender, plus it would take an exorbitantly unnecessary amount of money to pry him from Roy Keane's hands. Not likely.
Tomáš Ujfaluši, CB/FB, Fiorentina - Ujfaluši could have joined us in the summer, but I believe he rejected the deal, so I'm unsure why these rumors are starting up again. His contract is up at the end of the season and I'm guessing that he expected to receive an extension offer. Apparently either he hasn't or it was insufficient. He's 29-years-old and seems pretty versatile on the backline, so I can't really say he'd be a bad signing, but I have to believe he's closer to the bottom of our list, especially if we can sign Garay. He would be relatively inexpensive though, I'm thinking some where in the neighborhood of £3m. Somewhat likely.
Angulo, RB/RW/CM/LW/FW, Valencia - I would be happier than Charles Bukowski at an open-bar boxing match if we could just pillage the Valencia side for all of Ronald Koeman's 'undesirables' and Angulo is without a doubt, no exception. His versatility and experience alone would be priceless to our side, not to mention he's a pretty damn good player as well. For his valuation, certainly the fact that he's 30-years-old would have to be taken into consideration, but even £6m would be a fair price in my book. Somewhat likely. Nothing like a little Tupac & Bruce Hornsby to conclude a post:
I believe the next part of this series will be who I think should be sold and why. Cheers.
It's so hard to be negative
Since when did it become a sign of intelligence to be negative? Cynicism is one thing, pessimism is another, but negativity is not the act of critical thinking. In fact, it's more a sign of emotional instability or stunted maturity and lack of understanding. What good does it do to go on a inimical tangent? Absolutely none, that's what.
That's why I can't believe some of the reaction I'm reading from yesterday's match. Most of it is antagonistic and delusional more than anything else. I understand undying passion for your club, as this blog shows I have just as much as anyone for LFC, but it isn't a benefit to anyone to unleash an epic rant berating the players and Rafa.
Don't you think they're aware when they mess up? Don't you think they realize what they need to improve on? Do you not think Rafa sees and realizes such things? If you don't, than your just plain mental. Being negative about it doesn't improve the situation whatsoever. In fact, most of the time it makes it worse by putting unneeded pressure on the player which may force them to hurry improvement and mainly ends up with them making even more mistakes.
It's one thing to be a mindless cheerleader, but it's no less asinine to be a negative nitwit. It takes about equal knowledge to do either. Take the performance of Momo yesterday. I counted roughly 8 'mistakes' he made throughout the match, but he not only 'touched' the ball over 60 times, he also 'won' it a number of times and made a few Chelsea-momentum crushing tackles along the way. Emphasizing the ever-apparent negative aspects of his performance is not only unfair, it's just plain ignorant.
In fact, if we analyze the verity of yesterday's contest, 2-0 is a tremendous result for our boys. It was played at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fielded an older, more experienced, and an exponentially more expensive and arguably more talented side. Our boys have an abundance of aptitude, but a lot of it is undeveloped at the moment. If you throw-in the reality that the Lampard goal was basically luck and the Shevchenko goal was an unfortunate error by Itandje, who had a brilliant match otherwise, the result was even more commendable.
I don't care about losing to Chelsea in what is essentially a meaningless cup tie. It would have been phenomenal if the side we put out there had won, but for the most part, the Carling Cup is not a priority nor a major trophy compared even to the FA Cup. As for the rivalry angle, well, let's just say Chelsea considers us a much more important opponent than we do them. It pales in comparison to Everton and Man United.
While I'm at it, all this rubbish about Rafa not being good enough to lead us to the Premiership is unsubstantiated nonsense. I've said it once and I'll say it again, give the man Abramovich money and we'll win either the league or the Champions League every season and probably a few doubles and trebles as well. We still don't have the depth in horses to be competitive in all contests, but we're getting there. Players such as Lucas and Arbeloa show that Rafa knows talent on the thrift and the performances of Torres and Babel so far this season is just a taste of what a deep-pockets Benitez can bring about.
Mourinho could not do a better job. Give me a point of view with substantial facts to prove otherwise. In Portugal, he was at Porto, one of only three major clubs there. He had all the money in the world (for a Portuguese club, that is) and the pick of the litter. Sure, he was able to realize such talent, as does Rafa, and that allowed him to breeze through the domestic league with little trouble, therefore enabling him to concentrate on Champions League. By the way, have you ever looked-up Porto's draw in the knockout stages of the CL that season? In the first round they faced Man U and needed a 90th minute goal in the second leg to advance. The next two rounds they faced Lyon and Deportivo de La Coruña. No disrespect intended for either side, but Porto beating them is not shocking. At Chelsea, Mourinho had Abramovich money. Enough said.
I fully admit I've lost my head in the past and I'm not particularly proud of it. I got a bit flustered when the threat of Rafa leaving came about and have gone on a tangent after some matches, but those days are over. I essentially was just being a muppet. A sign of character is how one weathers a storm and our current 'crisis' is far from a hurricane. What needs to remembered is that our players are human beings, subject to error with an ego and an id, just like everyone else. They deserve respect, just like everyone else. Weighing the facts and circumstances is not hard to do, but apparently it's a lot easier to just be negative.
That's why I can't believe some of the reaction I'm reading from yesterday's match. Most of it is antagonistic and delusional more than anything else. I understand undying passion for your club, as this blog shows I have just as much as anyone for LFC, but it isn't a benefit to anyone to unleash an epic rant berating the players and Rafa.
Don't you think they're aware when they mess up? Don't you think they realize what they need to improve on? Do you not think Rafa sees and realizes such things? If you don't, than your just plain mental. Being negative about it doesn't improve the situation whatsoever. In fact, most of the time it makes it worse by putting unneeded pressure on the player which may force them to hurry improvement and mainly ends up with them making even more mistakes.
It's one thing to be a mindless cheerleader, but it's no less asinine to be a negative nitwit. It takes about equal knowledge to do either. Take the performance of Momo yesterday. I counted roughly 8 'mistakes' he made throughout the match, but he not only 'touched' the ball over 60 times, he also 'won' it a number of times and made a few Chelsea-momentum crushing tackles along the way. Emphasizing the ever-apparent negative aspects of his performance is not only unfair, it's just plain ignorant.
In fact, if we analyze the verity of yesterday's contest, 2-0 is a tremendous result for our boys. It was played at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea fielded an older, more experienced, and an exponentially more expensive and arguably more talented side. Our boys have an abundance of aptitude, but a lot of it is undeveloped at the moment. If you throw-in the reality that the Lampard goal was basically luck and the Shevchenko goal was an unfortunate error by Itandje, who had a brilliant match otherwise, the result was even more commendable.
I don't care about losing to Chelsea in what is essentially a meaningless cup tie. It would have been phenomenal if the side we put out there had won, but for the most part, the Carling Cup is not a priority nor a major trophy compared even to the FA Cup. As for the rivalry angle, well, let's just say Chelsea considers us a much more important opponent than we do them. It pales in comparison to Everton and Man United.
While I'm at it, all this rubbish about Rafa not being good enough to lead us to the Premiership is unsubstantiated nonsense. I've said it once and I'll say it again, give the man Abramovich money and we'll win either the league or the Champions League every season and probably a few doubles and trebles as well. We still don't have the depth in horses to be competitive in all contests, but we're getting there. Players such as Lucas and Arbeloa show that Rafa knows talent on the thrift and the performances of Torres and Babel so far this season is just a taste of what a deep-pockets Benitez can bring about.
Mourinho could not do a better job. Give me a point of view with substantial facts to prove otherwise. In Portugal, he was at Porto, one of only three major clubs there. He had all the money in the world (for a Portuguese club, that is) and the pick of the litter. Sure, he was able to realize such talent, as does Rafa, and that allowed him to breeze through the domestic league with little trouble, therefore enabling him to concentrate on Champions League. By the way, have you ever looked-up Porto's draw in the knockout stages of the CL that season? In the first round they faced Man U and needed a 90th minute goal in the second leg to advance. The next two rounds they faced Lyon and Deportivo de La Coruña. No disrespect intended for either side, but Porto beating them is not shocking. At Chelsea, Mourinho had Abramovich money. Enough said.
I fully admit I've lost my head in the past and I'm not particularly proud of it. I got a bit flustered when the threat of Rafa leaving came about and have gone on a tangent after some matches, but those days are over. I essentially was just being a muppet. A sign of character is how one weathers a storm and our current 'crisis' is far from a hurricane. What needs to remembered is that our players are human beings, subject to error with an ego and an id, just like everyone else. They deserve respect, just like everyone else. Weighing the facts and circumstances is not hard to do, but apparently it's a lot easier to just be negative.
Liverpool 0, Chelsea 2: Stat of the match
Just to prove my point about my post game recap, FC Fulham (you do know that Stamford Bridge is actually in Fulham, don't you?) not only fielded an older, more experienced side. They also fielded a much more expensive one, in fact, a £87m more expensive one. Plus Graeme Le Saux. I went ahead and did the math since I realize Chelsea fans struggle with values. They do think Carling Cup = Champions League Trophy, after all.
They better watch out though. If Mickey Mouse finds out they're bullying younger, less experienced sides, Disney might rescind their deal. It just doesn't look good for their image to be sponsoring a side that appears to literally try to steal 'empty' calorie candy from children. Once again, our side deserves recognition for holding Goofy & friends to just two goals. Cheers.
Here's the breakdown:
Petr Čech £7m
Wayne Bridge £7m + Graeme Le Saux
Ricardo Carvalho £19.85m
Tal Ben Haim Free
Juliano Belletti £3.7m
Frank Lampard £11m
Mikel John Obi £16m
Michael Essien £24.4m
Andriy Shevchenko £30m
Scott Sinclair £160,000
Salomon Kalou £12m
Michael Ballack Free
Steve Sidwell Free
Joe Cole £6.6m
Total £137.71m + Graeme Le Saux
Charles Itandje £2.75m
Fabio Aurelio Free
Jack Hobbs £150,000
Jamie Carragher Academy*
Alvaro Arbeloa £2.5m
Xabi Alonso £10.7m
Momo Sissoko £5.6m
Lucas Leiva £5m
Andriy Voronin Free
Peter Crouch £7m
Ryan Babel £11.5m
Yossi Benayoun £5m
Nabil El Zhar £200,000
Total £50.4m
* That's pronounced a·cad·e·my /əˈkædəmi/ [uh-kad-uh-mee] just in case you Chelsea fans are unsure.
They better watch out though. If Mickey Mouse finds out they're bullying younger, less experienced sides, Disney might rescind their deal. It just doesn't look good for their image to be sponsoring a side that appears to literally try to steal 'empty' calorie candy from children. Once again, our side deserves recognition for holding Goofy & friends to just two goals. Cheers.
Here's the breakdown:
Petr Čech £7m
Wayne Bridge £7m + Graeme Le Saux
Ricardo Carvalho £19.85m
Tal Ben Haim Free
Juliano Belletti £3.7m
Frank Lampard £11m
Mikel John Obi £16m
Michael Essien £24.4m
Andriy Shevchenko £30m
Scott Sinclair £160,000
Salomon Kalou £12m
Michael Ballack Free
Steve Sidwell Free
Joe Cole £6.6m
Total £137.71m + Graeme Le Saux
Charles Itandje £2.75m
Fabio Aurelio Free
Jack Hobbs £150,000
Jamie Carragher Academy*
Alvaro Arbeloa £2.5m
Xabi Alonso £10.7m
Momo Sissoko £5.6m
Lucas Leiva £5m
Andriy Voronin Free
Peter Crouch £7m
Ryan Babel £11.5m
Yossi Benayoun £5m
Nabil El Zhar £200,000
Total £50.4m
* That's pronounced a·cad·e·my /əˈkædəmi/ [uh-kad-uh-mee] just in case you Chelsea fans are unsure.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Liverpool 0, Chelsea 2: Billionaire Blues barely beat a ten-man Reserve side... at home
What are ya gonna do? When three players of the opposition are worth more than your whole side in transfer fees, a 2-0 loss with only ten men on the pitch has to be considered a valiant effort. I didn't know Chelsea needed an ego boost that bad, but I guess I was wrong.
All our boys need to be commended for their performances. No one was particularly poor, though I thought Crouch missed an opportunity to step up and be a leader. I take that back actually, Xabi was well off his game, but you can't really get too down on him, it was his first match back in two months. Everyone else played at a high level and were tremendous when allowed, especially Sissoko and Itandje.
The ref was clearly duplicitous in his actions. While they were allowed to steamroll over our players, if we accidentally touched one of them, a foul was called. I was surprised they were so fragile and crumpled to the ground so easily being world-class and all. The yellow card on Lucas was especially harsh and the red card against Crouch was a complete joke, but we actually appeared to play better once the lanky one was gone, so I'll leave it at that. Abramovich continued his squeaky-clean record of paying for vacation homes for referees, but I'm a bit surprised he spent his money on a Carling Cup match. He is the billionaire though, so I'm sure he paid some genius to analyze the cost-reward benefits.
If I had to point out a negative though, I would have to say our lack of continuity. While at times, when attempting to control possession while remaining relatively static, we moved the ball around well enough, but when anyone would tried to set-up another player with a through-ball, the majority of anticipatory passes found themselves either in the middle of nowhere or at a Chelsea player's feet. On defense, I was aghast when are uncoordinated ganglia of defenders didn't lead to more goals for Chelsea, but we either recovered in time or the Blues were unable to take advantage. Carra was decidedly awesome, covering for a bewildered Hobbs, who's first trip to Stamford Bridge found him clearly out of his league.
In the end, this is just a League Cup match. The trophy matters less than experience given to players like Babel, Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje, and El Zhar. Chelsea did give Sinclair a run out, but apparently he wasn't up to par, so Joe Cole had to be brought on to give the Blues that much more of an edge... at home. Next up is Portsmouth on Saturday, let's hope all is well with Steven Gerrard by then. Cheers, and I will definitely be doing player ratings for this one, as I feel certain players really stepped up today and need to be credited for doing so.
All our boys need to be commended for their performances. No one was particularly poor, though I thought Crouch missed an opportunity to step up and be a leader. I take that back actually, Xabi was well off his game, but you can't really get too down on him, it was his first match back in two months. Everyone else played at a high level and were tremendous when allowed, especially Sissoko and Itandje.
The ref was clearly duplicitous in his actions. While they were allowed to steamroll over our players, if we accidentally touched one of them, a foul was called. I was surprised they were so fragile and crumpled to the ground so easily being world-class and all. The yellow card on Lucas was especially harsh and the red card against Crouch was a complete joke, but we actually appeared to play better once the lanky one was gone, so I'll leave it at that. Abramovich continued his squeaky-clean record of paying for vacation homes for referees, but I'm a bit surprised he spent his money on a Carling Cup match. He is the billionaire though, so I'm sure he paid some genius to analyze the cost-reward benefits.
If I had to point out a negative though, I would have to say our lack of continuity. While at times, when attempting to control possession while remaining relatively static, we moved the ball around well enough, but when anyone would tried to set-up another player with a through-ball, the majority of anticipatory passes found themselves either in the middle of nowhere or at a Chelsea player's feet. On defense, I was aghast when are uncoordinated ganglia of defenders didn't lead to more goals for Chelsea, but we either recovered in time or the Blues were unable to take advantage. Carra was decidedly awesome, covering for a bewildered Hobbs, who's first trip to Stamford Bridge found him clearly out of his league.
In the end, this is just a League Cup match. The trophy matters less than experience given to players like Babel, Lucas, Hobbs, Itandje, and El Zhar. Chelsea did give Sinclair a run out, but apparently he wasn't up to par, so Joe Cole had to be brought on to give the Blues that much more of an edge... at home. Next up is Portsmouth on Saturday, let's hope all is well with Steven Gerrard by then. Cheers, and I will definitely be doing player ratings for this one, as I feel certain players really stepped up today and need to be credited for doing so.
Liverpool at Chelsea: Rafa goes with a 4-3-3
Here's the line-up:
Itandje
Aurelio
Hobbs
Carragher
Arbeloa
Xabi
Momo
Lucas
Voronin
Crouch
Babel
Bench:
Martin
Hyppia
Riise
El Zhar
Benayoun
The first thing I thought of when I saw this was that we're exposed on the flanks, but I'll be damned if they get anything going up the middle. The second thing I thought was Rafa let himself plenty of options on the bench if things aren't going well. I would love to see Lucas get his first goal here.
Itandje
Aurelio
Hobbs
Carragher
Arbeloa
Xabi
Momo
Lucas
Voronin
Crouch
Babel
Bench:
Martin
Hyppia
Riise
El Zhar
Benayoun
The first thing I thought of when I saw this was that we're exposed on the flanks, but I'll be damned if they get anything going up the middle. The second thing I thought was Rafa let himself plenty of options on the bench if things aren't going well. I would love to see Lucas get his first goal here.
Early bird transfer speculation worms (pt 2): Daniel Alves, Fernando Amorebieta, Kakha Kaladze, Jonathan Zebina, & Francesco Modesto
Continuing from yesterday's post. Time to talk defense... sort of.
Daniel Alves, RB/RM/RW, Sevilla FC - I don't know why I punish myself, but what the hell. After the death of Antonio Puerta, it looks mission impossible for anyone to snatch the 24-year-old Brazilian from Sevilla. He would certainly solve any issues we have with the right side of the pitch. His quality is unquestionable and though he does tend to disappear at times, he has the talent to dominate matches. He's obviously CL cup-tied, so I'm thinking if we do make a bid, it'll be this summer. The price? Probably £20m. The chances? None.
Fernando Amorebieta, CB/LB, Athletic Bilbao - I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know much about Señor Amorebieta other than he's 22-years-old, was born in Venezuela though holds a Spanish passport, and plays centre-back, but can also fill in at left back. Apparently Rafa rates him though, which is ultimately all that matters. Oh, and he likes designer t-shirts, tiger cubs, baby alligators, and has a spider web tattoo on his right elbow (see video). His valuation is somewhere between £6-8m and I'm thinking the closer to 8, the better chance we could nab him. Somewhat likely.
Kakha Kaladze, CB/LB, AC Milan - Apparently this was on the books until the American owners stalled on the transfer funds. Now with the retirement of Paolo Maldini, it's looking even more unlikely. I'm kind of 50/50 on it anyhow. Kaladze is an adequate squad player who can fill-in at multiple positions, but he doesn't do much else. I guess right now, he'd fill a need. His fee is set at around £4m, so availability is the real question. Somewhat likely.
Jonathan Zebina, RB/CB, Juventus - Like Kaladze, Zebina is 29-years-old and would be a decent squad player. The thing about him is that he's primarily a right-back and though he does have centre back experience, I'm not sure he's worth the risk unless he comes on a free. He may be a throw-in on a Sissoko deal as well. Another issue with the Frenchman is that he does have a bit of an attitude and I don't know how he'll take to the limited time he'll receive on the pitch. Here's a video of him bitch-slapping a camera man. Somewhat likely.
Francesco Modesto, LB/LM, Reggina - Oh my God, I'm getting bored with this shit. Anyhow, Modesto may have the shortest Wikipedia entry on the planet. Hell, I think mine is longer. I'm pretty sure I've watched him play before, but like most the times I watch calcio, I probably fell asleep. I have no clue what his valuation is set at, but I would assume it's somewhere between the ballpark of £6-9m. Apparently he's available at the right price, though he'd prefer to stay in Italy. Somewhat likely.
Stay tuned for part 3: Mancini, Gabriel Heinze, Jesus, the Pope, & less...
Daniel Alves, RB/RM/RW, Sevilla FC - I don't know why I punish myself, but what the hell. After the death of Antonio Puerta, it looks mission impossible for anyone to snatch the 24-year-old Brazilian from Sevilla. He would certainly solve any issues we have with the right side of the pitch. His quality is unquestionable and though he does tend to disappear at times, he has the talent to dominate matches. He's obviously CL cup-tied, so I'm thinking if we do make a bid, it'll be this summer. The price? Probably £20m. The chances? None.
Fernando Amorebieta, CB/LB, Athletic Bilbao - I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know much about Señor Amorebieta other than he's 22-years-old, was born in Venezuela though holds a Spanish passport, and plays centre-back, but can also fill in at left back. Apparently Rafa rates him though, which is ultimately all that matters. Oh, and he likes designer t-shirts, tiger cubs, baby alligators, and has a spider web tattoo on his right elbow (see video). His valuation is somewhere between £6-8m and I'm thinking the closer to 8, the better chance we could nab him. Somewhat likely.
Kakha Kaladze, CB/LB, AC Milan - Apparently this was on the books until the American owners stalled on the transfer funds. Now with the retirement of Paolo Maldini, it's looking even more unlikely. I'm kind of 50/50 on it anyhow. Kaladze is an adequate squad player who can fill-in at multiple positions, but he doesn't do much else. I guess right now, he'd fill a need. His fee is set at around £4m, so availability is the real question. Somewhat likely.
Jonathan Zebina, RB/CB, Juventus - Like Kaladze, Zebina is 29-years-old and would be a decent squad player. The thing about him is that he's primarily a right-back and though he does have centre back experience, I'm not sure he's worth the risk unless he comes on a free. He may be a throw-in on a Sissoko deal as well. Another issue with the Frenchman is that he does have a bit of an attitude and I don't know how he'll take to the limited time he'll receive on the pitch. Here's a video of him bitch-slapping a camera man. Somewhat likely.
Francesco Modesto, LB/LM, Reggina - Oh my God, I'm getting bored with this shit. Anyhow, Modesto may have the shortest Wikipedia entry on the planet. Hell, I think mine is longer. I'm pretty sure I've watched him play before, but like most the times I watch calcio, I probably fell asleep. I have no clue what his valuation is set at, but I would assume it's somewhere between the ballpark of £6-9m. Apparently he's available at the right price, though he'd prefer to stay in Italy. Somewhat likely.
Stay tuned for part 3: Mancini, Gabriel Heinze, Jesus, the Pope, & less...
Carragher just says no, family more important than exhibition football
Blasphemy! Treason! Break out the tar, start plucking the chickens! Someone is talking sense in England and it's not that reputable blog, 'Talking Soccer'.
You can't blame Fabio Capello for trying though, Jamie Carragher is one of the best defenders in England, but years of being abused and disrespected by previous Three Lions heads has left a bad taste in the mouth of the 29-year-old man from Bootle. A brief period away from the national squad has poisoned him with discretion, what's the point of putting up with the unrealistic expectations and negative auspices of small-minded English fans when he could be spending time with his family?
Ultimately though, his return would do neither himself nor the squad any good. At the very most he would still only be available for a couple of more years, basically for some of the World Cup qualifying matches, but mainly for even more meaningless exhibition matches. There's simply no way the Three Lions will make it to the World Cup if they are relying on 30-somethings to get them there, and it's not as if they'll be allowed to win it anyhow. Might as well start breaking-in the chicks.
Carragher's momentous decision to leave the England side this past summer has been a godsend for Liverpool. The fact that he received such negative backlash is beyond rubbish, especially when you consider United players faking injuries and collecting early match red cards to avoid international duty usually go unquestioned. If Carra had remained available to Steve McClaren, he would have certainly been selected to start in most of the Three Lions Euro-qualifying matches in the late summer and fall. Only due to injuries to other players though.
That would have left Rafa with little choice but to force-integrate Jack Hobbs into the squad quicker than desired or have Arbeloa play more at centre back. Either way, with the injury to Agger, we would have been that much thinner and shakier on the back line, as one can't expect Carragher to play two games a week for three months straight.
Jamie Carragher is not the answer to England's national team issues anyhow. In fact, the real problem is that the English still believe the squad should be an actual representation of the country. That kind of thinking is simply passé. What they need to do is go the way of France and treat it more like club football, recruiting promising youngsters from foreign countries, relocating them and their families to England, setting up their parents with employment and falsifying the necessary documentation to make them citizens. Oh, and if there's any inquiry, just slip Sepp Blatter an envelope full of money.
You can't blame Fabio Capello for trying though, Jamie Carragher is one of the best defenders in England, but years of being abused and disrespected by previous Three Lions heads has left a bad taste in the mouth of the 29-year-old man from Bootle. A brief period away from the national squad has poisoned him with discretion, what's the point of putting up with the unrealistic expectations and negative auspices of small-minded English fans when he could be spending time with his family?
Ultimately though, his return would do neither himself nor the squad any good. At the very most he would still only be available for a couple of more years, basically for some of the World Cup qualifying matches, but mainly for even more meaningless exhibition matches. There's simply no way the Three Lions will make it to the World Cup if they are relying on 30-somethings to get them there, and it's not as if they'll be allowed to win it anyhow. Might as well start breaking-in the chicks.
Carragher's momentous decision to leave the England side this past summer has been a godsend for Liverpool. The fact that he received such negative backlash is beyond rubbish, especially when you consider United players faking injuries and collecting early match red cards to avoid international duty usually go unquestioned. If Carra had remained available to Steve McClaren, he would have certainly been selected to start in most of the Three Lions Euro-qualifying matches in the late summer and fall. Only due to injuries to other players though.
That would have left Rafa with little choice but to force-integrate Jack Hobbs into the squad quicker than desired or have Arbeloa play more at centre back. Either way, with the injury to Agger, we would have been that much thinner and shakier on the back line, as one can't expect Carragher to play two games a week for three months straight.
Jamie Carragher is not the answer to England's national team issues anyhow. In fact, the real problem is that the English still believe the squad should be an actual representation of the country. That kind of thinking is simply passé. What they need to do is go the way of France and treat it more like club football, recruiting promising youngsters from foreign countries, relocating them and their families to England, setting up their parents with employment and falsifying the necessary documentation to make them citizens. Oh, and if there's any inquiry, just slip Sepp Blatter an envelope full of money.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Liverpool at Chelsea: Hopefully the Mad Tinkerer will return?
The Reserves had a friendly with Tottenham yesterday, that they won 2-1 behind goals from David Martin and Craig Lindfield. More importantly, any player featured in that match will probably not get the call at Stamford Bridge tomorrow. That means sadly there'll be no chance of getting to see Emiliano Insua, Jay Spearing, Ray Putterill, or Krisztián Németh, among others, but neither Nabil El Zhar, Jack Hobbs, nor Sebastián Leto played, so they may feature.
I'm really hoping Rafa goes bonkers on his selection tomorrow. With Steven Gerrard apparently unavailable due to a stomach bug and our next match being Saturday, we've got nothing to lose anyhow. It is only the League Cup after all. If Gerrard was available, we may have put out a strong side, but without him, there's little point. Might as well rest Torres too.
The good news is, Xabi Alonso will be available, and I fully expect him to start. Unfortunately, due to lack of depth at centre back with Agger still not able to go, Carra will probably have to play the full ninety. Maybe Agger will be ready for Portsmouth, it would be just in the nick of time, but still, we can't risk old man Hyppiä.
In goal, we'll probably see Reina start. Itandje was brought in for matches like these, but it's Chelsea and though I don't mind if we lose, I certainly don't want to be embarrassed. Lining up in front of him, I see Aurelio on the left, Hobbs and Carra in the middle, and Finnan on the right. Who knows? We may see Arbeloa paired with Hobbs in the middle, but that would pretty risky, even for Rafa.
In midfield, I think we'll see Babel on the left. No need to wear out Kewell. In the middle, I like Sissoko and Xabi with Lucas on the right. I think it's time we let the Brazilian loose and see what he can do. Up front, Crouch and Voronin look to get the call.
Now if Carra doesn't start, it'll be interesting to see who gets the armband. The obvious choice is Xabi, but Finnan is just as deserving.
My final guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Hobbs
Carra
Finnan
Babel
Sissoko
Xabi
Lucas
Crouch
Voronin
Bench:
Itandje
Arbeloa
Torres
El Zhar
Leto
If Sissoko doesn't play tomorrow, he's definitely gone in January, but his fate is probably already sealed nonetheless. Babel and Xabi are obviously the most creative players on our side, so I hope they enjoy themselves. I think putting Lucas on the right would be a great idea just to see what he can do. Here's Crouchy's chance to prove he's worth a spot on our squad, if he can carry us to victory, he's more than deserving of it.
Never the less, I don't like our chances tomorrow unless Grant starts a similar side to ours. Cheers and godspeed.
I'm really hoping Rafa goes bonkers on his selection tomorrow. With Steven Gerrard apparently unavailable due to a stomach bug and our next match being Saturday, we've got nothing to lose anyhow. It is only the League Cup after all. If Gerrard was available, we may have put out a strong side, but without him, there's little point. Might as well rest Torres too.
The good news is, Xabi Alonso will be available, and I fully expect him to start. Unfortunately, due to lack of depth at centre back with Agger still not able to go, Carra will probably have to play the full ninety. Maybe Agger will be ready for Portsmouth, it would be just in the nick of time, but still, we can't risk old man Hyppiä.
In goal, we'll probably see Reina start. Itandje was brought in for matches like these, but it's Chelsea and though I don't mind if we lose, I certainly don't want to be embarrassed. Lining up in front of him, I see Aurelio on the left, Hobbs and Carra in the middle, and Finnan on the right. Who knows? We may see Arbeloa paired with Hobbs in the middle, but that would pretty risky, even for Rafa.
In midfield, I think we'll see Babel on the left. No need to wear out Kewell. In the middle, I like Sissoko and Xabi with Lucas on the right. I think it's time we let the Brazilian loose and see what he can do. Up front, Crouch and Voronin look to get the call.
Now if Carra doesn't start, it'll be interesting to see who gets the armband. The obvious choice is Xabi, but Finnan is just as deserving.
My final guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Hobbs
Carra
Finnan
Babel
Sissoko
Xabi
Lucas
Crouch
Voronin
Bench:
Itandje
Arbeloa
Torres
El Zhar
Leto
If Sissoko doesn't play tomorrow, he's definitely gone in January, but his fate is probably already sealed nonetheless. Babel and Xabi are obviously the most creative players on our side, so I hope they enjoy themselves. I think putting Lucas on the right would be a great idea just to see what he can do. Here's Crouchy's chance to prove he's worth a spot on our squad, if he can carry us to victory, he's more than deserving of it.
Never the less, I don't like our chances tomorrow unless Grant starts a similar side to ours. Cheers and godspeed.
Early bird transfer speculation worms (pt 1): David Albelda, David Villa, Nicolas Anelka, Jérôme Rothen, & Ezequiel Garay
Since this is my first official January transfer window post, I thought I'd might as well get the delirium tremens out of my system. Whether we have funds or not, it's always fun to dream.
Nicolas Anelka, FW, Bolton - Laugh all you want, but Anelka would be an incredible re-addition to the club. Why we never kept him, I'll never know, the guy just scores goals and according to Steven Gerrard, was never a problem at the club. The issue is Bolton, are they willing to sell and for how much? Not sure we'd be willing to pay an absurd price, but I don't see £10m + Danny Guthrie being too much to ask. Man City is said to be interested as well, but Anelka has said in the past that he regrets not being able to stay at Liverpool, so I think we have the edge when it comes to player preference. A big plus is that, unlike a player like David Villa, he isn't cup-tied when it comes to Champions League. Unlikely.
David Villa, FW, Valencia - I can only imagine and drool over the thought of having Villa and Torres lining up together. Where Torres is the power and the pace, Villa would be the cunning and conniving. Don't get me wrong, as he has displayed on more than one occasion this season, Torres has quite a few tricks up his sleeves, but Villa is just a more refined product. He is three years older after all. The issue, as with most prospects, is price and availability. Though he pledged his future to Valencia this past summer, things down in the Estadio Mestalla aren't looking too bright at the moment. If he wants to come, I don't see how we can pass on him, transfer funds or no transfer funds, a talent of his level is a rarity and if we have to give Valencia Dirk Kuyt, John Arne Riise, and an I.O.U. for £10m, we should. We should do whatever we have to. It's true he's Champions League cup-tied, but ultimately I think we could use him to give Torres some Premiership matches off, so El Niño would be fresh for CL. Still, highly unlikely.
David Albelda, CM/CB, Valencia - Speaking of chaos at Estadio Mestalla, Valencia manager announced today that team captain Albelda and regular starting keeper Santiago Cañizares have been given an early Christmas vacation and might not be welcomed back into the squad for the rest of the season. Albelda, a defensive-minded midfielder who has played centre back at times in his career, would certainly be a welcomed addition to our side, easing up some defensive issues. Unlike Villa, Albelda was at Valencia when Benitez was manager, so if there's any possibility of him going elsewhere, it looks as if we may have a leg-up. Like Villa though, he's CL cup-tied, but he'd get sufficient time in the Premiership and hopefully Carling and FA Cup ties. Another plus is that he'd probably be a bargain, seeing that he's basically collecting dust and a paycheck for Los Che. Somewhat likely.
Jérôme Rothen, LW, PSG - The 29-year-old Frenchman would certainly solve all our left-wing issues, at least temporarily or until we can pry Valencia's hands from David Silva. The biggest plus, other than he's pretty damn good, is that he's Champions League ready which would also be a lure as he has mentioned his desire to return to the elite competition in the past. He was part of the Monaco side that lost to José Mourinho and FC Porto in the 2004 final. I'm not sure what his valuation is set at, but paying more than £6m would seem a waste. Sure, he's a left winger and all, but he is 29. Somewhat likely. Another negative is that he, like Harry Kewell, has been cursed with fans who make videos with questionable music. I have nothing against the Pet Shop Boys nor the Village People, but putting them together just doesn't 'do it' for me. Exhibit A:
Ezequiel Garay, CB/RB, Racing de Santander - I wrote a post on this kid a while back and if we move Riise in January, it's looking more and more likely that he's coming. With Arbeloa and Garay, Benitez will be able to rotate more like the mad man he now appears to be just a shadow of. Likely.
Part 2: Daniel Alves, Fernando Amorebieta, Kakha Kaladze, Jonathan Zebina, Francesco Modesto, & more
Nicolas Anelka, FW, Bolton - Laugh all you want, but Anelka would be an incredible re-addition to the club. Why we never kept him, I'll never know, the guy just scores goals and according to Steven Gerrard, was never a problem at the club. The issue is Bolton, are they willing to sell and for how much? Not sure we'd be willing to pay an absurd price, but I don't see £10m + Danny Guthrie being too much to ask. Man City is said to be interested as well, but Anelka has said in the past that he regrets not being able to stay at Liverpool, so I think we have the edge when it comes to player preference. A big plus is that, unlike a player like David Villa, he isn't cup-tied when it comes to Champions League. Unlikely.
David Villa, FW, Valencia - I can only imagine and drool over the thought of having Villa and Torres lining up together. Where Torres is the power and the pace, Villa would be the cunning and conniving. Don't get me wrong, as he has displayed on more than one occasion this season, Torres has quite a few tricks up his sleeves, but Villa is just a more refined product. He is three years older after all. The issue, as with most prospects, is price and availability. Though he pledged his future to Valencia this past summer, things down in the Estadio Mestalla aren't looking too bright at the moment. If he wants to come, I don't see how we can pass on him, transfer funds or no transfer funds, a talent of his level is a rarity and if we have to give Valencia Dirk Kuyt, John Arne Riise, and an I.O.U. for £10m, we should. We should do whatever we have to. It's true he's Champions League cup-tied, but ultimately I think we could use him to give Torres some Premiership matches off, so El Niño would be fresh for CL. Still, highly unlikely.
David Albelda, CM/CB, Valencia - Speaking of chaos at Estadio Mestalla, Valencia manager announced today that team captain Albelda and regular starting keeper Santiago Cañizares have been given an early Christmas vacation and might not be welcomed back into the squad for the rest of the season. Albelda, a defensive-minded midfielder who has played centre back at times in his career, would certainly be a welcomed addition to our side, easing up some defensive issues. Unlike Villa, Albelda was at Valencia when Benitez was manager, so if there's any possibility of him going elsewhere, it looks as if we may have a leg-up. Like Villa though, he's CL cup-tied, but he'd get sufficient time in the Premiership and hopefully Carling and FA Cup ties. Another plus is that he'd probably be a bargain, seeing that he's basically collecting dust and a paycheck for Los Che. Somewhat likely.
Jérôme Rothen, LW, PSG - The 29-year-old Frenchman would certainly solve all our left-wing issues, at least temporarily or until we can pry Valencia's hands from David Silva. The biggest plus, other than he's pretty damn good, is that he's Champions League ready which would also be a lure as he has mentioned his desire to return to the elite competition in the past. He was part of the Monaco side that lost to José Mourinho and FC Porto in the 2004 final. I'm not sure what his valuation is set at, but paying more than £6m would seem a waste. Sure, he's a left winger and all, but he is 29. Somewhat likely. Another negative is that he, like Harry Kewell, has been cursed with fans who make videos with questionable music. I have nothing against the Pet Shop Boys nor the Village People, but putting them together just doesn't 'do it' for me. Exhibit A:
Ezequiel Garay, CB/RB, Racing de Santander - I wrote a post on this kid a while back and if we move Riise in January, it's looking more and more likely that he's coming. With Arbeloa and Garay, Benitez will be able to rotate more like the mad man he now appears to be just a shadow of. Likely.
Part 2: Daniel Alves, Fernando Amorebieta, Kakha Kaladze, Jonathan Zebina, Francesco Modesto, & more
Today's Banter: Snake oil salesmen, drowning fish, or spin doctors?
Being American, Tom Hicks and George Gillett have received the best education in the world when it comes to advantageous utilization of media and the English press are always more than happy to oblige. The latest issues that appear to have their press relations firm(s) working overtime are the revising of the stadium plans due to rising costs and how that could affect the amount of money available in the upcoming January transfer window. At least the rift with Rafa has been laid to rest.
As I have mentioned prior, the very basis of the aforementioned 'tiff' was money. Does that mean now that since plans for the stadium have been 'scaled-back', there will be funds available in January? Some media are reporting that the board will be unwilling to approve neither a transaction to buy nor sell by Rafa, while others are declaring that he will have to sell first. Rick Parry says this is all rubbish and when the king puppet speaks, all the children should listen closely.
Personally, I don't know nor do I care. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see certain players sent on their merry way while a few diamonds in the rough are plucked and polished, but I could do without all the extracurricular melodrama. It may serve more of a purpose than just to confuse and frustrate the average supporter though. Machiavellian measures are always useful in denying the opposition information that may give them an edge. Think Ryan Giggs.
When the new owners took over they promised us the world and have delivered shit-all. Torres, Babel, Benayoun, Lucas, and Itandje have come at the price of Luis Garcia, Craig Bellamy, Mark Gonzalez, Djibril Cissé, and roughly £20m, or about what we've come to expect to spend in summer's past. It appears as if the improvement of our squad has had more to do with Rafa's cunning then lack of vowed 'big money' funds.
Honestly, I have no problem with supporting a 'small' club. It makes me appear a whole lot more intelligent and means all the more when cups are won. The problem is, I don't like to be taken for a ride, but in this day and age, that's just appears how business is done. I could definitely do without the coloring book antics of the official site and teenagers in Ireland manipulating headlines to lure clickers though.
As I have mentioned prior, the very basis of the aforementioned 'tiff' was money. Does that mean now that since plans for the stadium have been 'scaled-back', there will be funds available in January? Some media are reporting that the board will be unwilling to approve neither a transaction to buy nor sell by Rafa, while others are declaring that he will have to sell first. Rick Parry says this is all rubbish and when the king puppet speaks, all the children should listen closely.
Personally, I don't know nor do I care. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see certain players sent on their merry way while a few diamonds in the rough are plucked and polished, but I could do without all the extracurricular melodrama. It may serve more of a purpose than just to confuse and frustrate the average supporter though. Machiavellian measures are always useful in denying the opposition information that may give them an edge. Think Ryan Giggs.
When the new owners took over they promised us the world and have delivered shit-all. Torres, Babel, Benayoun, Lucas, and Itandje have come at the price of Luis Garcia, Craig Bellamy, Mark Gonzalez, Djibril Cissé, and roughly £20m, or about what we've come to expect to spend in summer's past. It appears as if the improvement of our squad has had more to do with Rafa's cunning then lack of vowed 'big money' funds.
Honestly, I have no problem with supporting a 'small' club. It makes me appear a whole lot more intelligent and means all the more when cups are won. The problem is, I don't like to be taken for a ride, but in this day and age, that's just appears how business is done. I could definitely do without the coloring book antics of the official site and teenagers in Ireland manipulating headlines to lure clickers though.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Liverpool 0, Man U 1: Stat of the match
I could have gone with a whole plethora of stats to prove Liverpool were just unlucky on the day. Possession-wise they held a 57.4% to 42.6% advantage and also claimed a 51.8% to 48.2% territorial edge. An alarming stat that proves Manchester United were scared to play against us is the only player that spent more than 50% of the match in Liverpool's half was Cristiano Ronaldo at 54%. Or maybe it's just a sign that LFC were the better side on the day?
The most telling figure of all is this:
That is a percentile-based heat map of United's player activity. In other words, they spent 42.45% of the match in their third of the pitch. Just for a frame of reference, in their loss at Bolton, they were in their defensive zone just 23.68% of the time. Bolton were just lucky, right?
The most telling figure of all is this:
That is a percentile-based heat map of United's player activity. In other words, they spent 42.45% of the match in their third of the pitch. Just for a frame of reference, in their loss at Bolton, they were in their defensive zone just 23.68% of the time. Bolton were just lucky, right?
Liverpool 0, Man U 1: The 'double standard' press strikes again
It is no surprise how the press and pundits are playing up yesterday's match. To admit that one side had intentions of playing football, while the other decided on trench warfare, putting ten men behind the ball, would have been honest yet unacceptable. To admit that one side was actually attempting to play 'the beautiful game', while the other had aspirations of turning it into a wrestling match, apparently isn't part of the company line. Then again, selling papers has never been about writing the truth. As Mae West once said, "Virtue has its own reward, but has no sale at the box office."
If the roles had been reversed yesterday and Liverpool had played like United, win or not, they would have been thrown into the gauntlet. They would have been chastised for their drab and uncreative approach, sacrificed for their cowardly ways, and written off as a side that is afraid to play proper football. Since it was the other way around though, Man U are commended for their excellent defending. As Mark Twain put it, "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
It is neither surprising nor shocking that this perspective is being force-fed as the acceptable conclusion. The press and the pundits know how their bread is buttered. Ultimately, English football becomes the victim and it's a shame the culprits can't see the damage they're inflicting. It is no wonder that the game has to go abroad for new fans, as the local ones, tired of the sensationalism and deceit, are turning away in droves. To quote Benjamin Franklin, "Trickery and treachery are the practices of fools that have not the wits enought to be honest."
That was far from good nor entertaining football yesterday, but at least Liverpool tried to make it so. It's surprising that a side as expensive and talented as Man U would go for such a game plan or possibly the only true class side on the pitch yesterday was wearing red. Rafa obviously didn't receive the memo that 'shit on a stick' would be acceptable on the day or maybe since he now has the horses to win any race, he mistakenly thought football would be allowed to be played. Another mistake by the press that they've yet to use against our gaffer. I'm sure it's only a matter of time though.
If the roles had been reversed yesterday and Liverpool had played like United, win or not, they would have been thrown into the gauntlet. They would have been chastised for their drab and uncreative approach, sacrificed for their cowardly ways, and written off as a side that is afraid to play proper football. Since it was the other way around though, Man U are commended for their excellent defending. As Mark Twain put it, "Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
It is neither surprising nor shocking that this perspective is being force-fed as the acceptable conclusion. The press and the pundits know how their bread is buttered. Ultimately, English football becomes the victim and it's a shame the culprits can't see the damage they're inflicting. It is no wonder that the game has to go abroad for new fans, as the local ones, tired of the sensationalism and deceit, are turning away in droves. To quote Benjamin Franklin, "Trickery and treachery are the practices of fools that have not the wits enought to be honest."
That was far from good nor entertaining football yesterday, but at least Liverpool tried to make it so. It's surprising that a side as expensive and talented as Man U would go for such a game plan or possibly the only true class side on the pitch yesterday was wearing red. Rafa obviously didn't receive the memo that 'shit on a stick' would be acceptable on the day or maybe since he now has the horses to win any race, he mistakenly thought football would be allowed to be played. Another mistake by the press that they've yet to use against our gaffer. I'm sure it's only a matter of time though.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Liverpool 0, Man U 1: Misfortune strikes again
It's unclear how disappointing this loss is, I guess time will only tell, but few positives can be taken from it. I was already confident in the ability of Mascherano at shutting down an opponent and he had little problem with one of the supposed best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo. The impressive skills and pace of Ryan Babel isn't a revelation either. Basically everything else was discouraging, but even so, I still thought we were slightly the better side and had fortune smiled upon us instead of them, we would have been the ones celebrating at the final whistle.
On Friday, I wrote a post called 'A rant about Rafa, Trojan Horse formations, and guerrilla warfare tactics', where I stated at least twice that the tactics used against Marseilles wouldn't work against Man U. Apparently Rafa did not share this opinion, but I firmly believe that is why we lost. Rafa opted for a predominantly attacking side with obvious defensive capabilities, but our strategy seemed similar to the blitzkrieg approach successfully used against lesser opponents rather than more cautious means. It looks as if Liverpool were going to try and beat Man United at what they do best and essentially we did, but unfortunately, Sir Alex Ferguson opted for a different approach.
Surprisingly, the Mancs practically played a form of football reminiscent to how our side has played in previous seasons, a physical, defensive approach relying on cunning and quick-strike tactics to score goals. It was quite similar to the modus operandi we used in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal versus Chelsea last year. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Ferguson outwitted Rafa though, he was just luckier on the day. His side won, despite being inferior throughout, and in essence, that's all that matters.
The lack of risk in the line-up Rafa selected probably disappointed me most. I realize that he knows his players better than anyone else, but to me, if a player is on the bench, that says they are physically and mentally able to start as well. I would have rather seen Aurelio at left back, Riise at left mid, Lucas pair with Mascherano in the middle, and Gerrard in a supporting striker role. Kewell and Kuyt would have been the odd men out with Benayoun staying on the right.
Such a line-up in theory would have lead to less congestion in the forward zone, since Man U was jamming that area with as many players possible. We actually handled Ferguson's bottleneck and roadblock measures better than we have in the past, but one less player going forward would have been one less obstacle to overcome. Hindsight is 20-20, but the inability or stubbornness of Rafa to make adjustments is dismaying. I have a hard time believing he didn't understand Man United's obvious game plan early on.
Another aspect of failure was full use of pitch on attack, which would have stretched the defense even further. In the first half, the right side remained mostly desolate and the extreme flank was scarcely used the duration of the match. This is where a fit Jermaine Pennant comes in handy. Had Kewell been more diligent at utilizing the left, congestion would have been less of an issue, but he was either rarely able to do so or try and with Yossi in free-range mode, instead of fighting Man U over control of their side of the pitch, we basically fell into their trap.
The officiating also appeared to be helping out United by allowing them to be overtly aggressive in key areas and at key moments, though we were not allowed such comforts. Look, I understand a few mistakes throughout the match, but come on, early on Man U committed fouls against us almost every possession, but the ref always seemed to be looking the other way. Our opposition showed the lack of class we've come to expect, but to go without penalty is unacceptable. Though the histrionics of Ronaldo weren't rewarded, a blatant handball in the box by Tevez was ignored. Not to mention Rooney taking a kick at Arbeloa after getting the ball taken from him. If he's not punished for that, for which he should have received a straight red to begin with, well, then we know which side the FA favors.
Individually, most our efforts were forgettable, save the previously mentioned Babel and Mascherano. Nearly everyone had their moments, but for the most part were relatively poor. I'll get to my player ratings either later today or tomorrow, but if I had to pick a Man of the Match, I'd have to go with Mascherano. Though he was far from perfect and I've seen him play much better, you can tell he truly wears that badge on his chest with obstreperous passion and a never-say-die attitude. By the end of the match he was all over the place, at the top of the box trying to get a desperate equalizer and then scampering back to help defend. If we don't sign him on a permanent, we have the most thick-headed management on the planet.
Ultimately we lost because we played poor defense for ten seconds and despite having practically an open net on two different occasions, it just wasn't in the books. Not to mention a couple of free kicks at the top of the box and Babel barely missing an outstanding strike. Either way, Man U did not deserve this victory whatsoever, and I find it funny that I've yet to read about their drab and uncreative approach. If that had been us, the press and pundits would have sacrificed us.
On Friday, I wrote a post called 'A rant about Rafa, Trojan Horse formations, and guerrilla warfare tactics', where I stated at least twice that the tactics used against Marseilles wouldn't work against Man U. Apparently Rafa did not share this opinion, but I firmly believe that is why we lost. Rafa opted for a predominantly attacking side with obvious defensive capabilities, but our strategy seemed similar to the blitzkrieg approach successfully used against lesser opponents rather than more cautious means. It looks as if Liverpool were going to try and beat Man United at what they do best and essentially we did, but unfortunately, Sir Alex Ferguson opted for a different approach.
Surprisingly, the Mancs practically played a form of football reminiscent to how our side has played in previous seasons, a physical, defensive approach relying on cunning and quick-strike tactics to score goals. It was quite similar to the modus operandi we used in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal versus Chelsea last year. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Ferguson outwitted Rafa though, he was just luckier on the day. His side won, despite being inferior throughout, and in essence, that's all that matters.
The lack of risk in the line-up Rafa selected probably disappointed me most. I realize that he knows his players better than anyone else, but to me, if a player is on the bench, that says they are physically and mentally able to start as well. I would have rather seen Aurelio at left back, Riise at left mid, Lucas pair with Mascherano in the middle, and Gerrard in a supporting striker role. Kewell and Kuyt would have been the odd men out with Benayoun staying on the right.
Such a line-up in theory would have lead to less congestion in the forward zone, since Man U was jamming that area with as many players possible. We actually handled Ferguson's bottleneck and roadblock measures better than we have in the past, but one less player going forward would have been one less obstacle to overcome. Hindsight is 20-20, but the inability or stubbornness of Rafa to make adjustments is dismaying. I have a hard time believing he didn't understand Man United's obvious game plan early on.
Another aspect of failure was full use of pitch on attack, which would have stretched the defense even further. In the first half, the right side remained mostly desolate and the extreme flank was scarcely used the duration of the match. This is where a fit Jermaine Pennant comes in handy. Had Kewell been more diligent at utilizing the left, congestion would have been less of an issue, but he was either rarely able to do so or try and with Yossi in free-range mode, instead of fighting Man U over control of their side of the pitch, we basically fell into their trap.
The officiating also appeared to be helping out United by allowing them to be overtly aggressive in key areas and at key moments, though we were not allowed such comforts. Look, I understand a few mistakes throughout the match, but come on, early on Man U committed fouls against us almost every possession, but the ref always seemed to be looking the other way. Our opposition showed the lack of class we've come to expect, but to go without penalty is unacceptable. Though the histrionics of Ronaldo weren't rewarded, a blatant handball in the box by Tevez was ignored. Not to mention Rooney taking a kick at Arbeloa after getting the ball taken from him. If he's not punished for that, for which he should have received a straight red to begin with, well, then we know which side the FA favors.
Individually, most our efforts were forgettable, save the previously mentioned Babel and Mascherano. Nearly everyone had their moments, but for the most part were relatively poor. I'll get to my player ratings either later today or tomorrow, but if I had to pick a Man of the Match, I'd have to go with Mascherano. Though he was far from perfect and I've seen him play much better, you can tell he truly wears that badge on his chest with obstreperous passion and a never-say-die attitude. By the end of the match he was all over the place, at the top of the box trying to get a desperate equalizer and then scampering back to help defend. If we don't sign him on a permanent, we have the most thick-headed management on the planet.
Ultimately we lost because we played poor defense for ten seconds and despite having practically an open net on two different occasions, it just wasn't in the books. Not to mention a couple of free kicks at the top of the box and Babel barely missing an outstanding strike. Either way, Man U did not deserve this victory whatsoever, and I find it funny that I've yet to read about their drab and uncreative approach. If that had been us, the press and pundits would have sacrificed us.
Liverpool vs Man U: Same as Marseilles
Here's the line-up:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Gerrard
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Aurelio
Babel
Crouch
Lucas
A bit surprised about this one, I thought we'd go for a more defensive side. Still liking the draw though. Cheers.
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Gerrard
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Aurelio
Babel
Crouch
Lucas
A bit surprised about this one, I thought we'd go for a more defensive side. Still liking the draw though. Cheers.
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