Post-Arsenal match reactions

I'm beginning to enjoy doing my post-match reaction debunking now more than ever. It's always fun to ridicule recycled opinions of matches, especially when they are manipulated by the commentators from the match and the press. Those who don't understand the intentions and motives of the media are deemed to repeat their words. I actually listened to the commentators for this match, something I rarely do nor would rather do, and I have to tell you, their comments were laughable at best. Anyhow, moving on...

Let's start with Ian Doyle's assessment for the Liverpool Daily Post. I have little issue saying that Mr. Doyle has written the best review I have read of the match so far, though I have yet to read Chris Bascombe's take. Doyle is quite fair to both sides though I don't agree with his entire view.

First, he fails to give importance to Mascherano's injury with ten minutes to go in the match. If Masche had been able to continue his shadowing of Fabregas, the Arsenal equalizer would have surely had to come from another source. Also, I thought it was a brilliant move by Wenger to push the young Spaniard forward to further Masche's negating influence.

Doyle instead puts the blame on Arbeloa, who he felt was playing too far forward which allowed Chucky Fab to beat him. At the very least it was a communication or tactical error. Looking back, I bet Rafa now would have pushed Sami forward and put Arbeloa at centre-back, but hindsight is 20-20 and what is done, is done.

A couple of other points from Doyle is that he gives recognition to Rafa's formation change, which will probably be ignored in most match reviews, but then he praises Crouch, I'm not sure why though. For the first time in a while, I agree the lanky striker actually looked as if he wanted to score, but after about ten minutes he returned to his useless form. Doyle also noted Eboue's card-deserving flop in the box when he received a slight-nudge from Carra though tried to make it look like a knockout punch. Moving on...

Sam Wallace of the Independent wrote a clearly-biased and insipid review that takes about as much stabs at comedy than Andrei Chikatilo. Mixed-in with asinine comments about player's hair and boardgame references, were cheap shots at Benitez and orgiastic Arsenal praising. If Arsenal were so good, why didn't they win, Mr. Wallace? Hitting the sidebar is not hitting the back of the net. Anyhow.

The most entertaining and baseless reviews always come from the opposition's bloggers. Most believe they were the better side and I can't flatly disagree with that assessment, but if anyone thought the Gunners dominated, well, you're delusional. As I said prior, hitting the bar is still a miss, and to base your opinion on that is just self-deception.

My favorite has to be insidearsenal.com's review. If you want to undermine your own valuation of a match, simply quote a match commentator in the opening sentence. Good to hear you can think for yourself. If you want to make yourself out to be a clown, do it again in the second paragraph. Gees.

Anyhow, other than being seduced by Andy Gray and clearly manipulated by the commentator's lip service, this guy fails to realize that fate is a two-headed monster. Anybody can 'woulda, shoulda, coulda' but the end result happened for a reason. Saying 'with a bit of luck, a solid wall, some composure in front of goal and an accurate final ball we would have stolen the spoils', is just ridiculous.

He also likes to spew stats, but incorrectly assesses whether or not they are either a determination of a side's performance or if it is a good result. He first writes that Arsenal had 63% of possession in the match, which his true, but believes this matters somehow. It doesn't, you can have 80% possession and lose 10-0, it only matters what you do with the ball when you have it.

Then he tries to make us believe that Fabregas' 86% passing completion percentage is good 'for this kind of match'. Really? Well, I guess if that's a good passing percentage 'for this kind of match' than Dirk Kuyt (100%), Steve Finnan (94%), Hyypia (89%), Xabi Alonso (86%), and Steven Gerrard (89%) are better passers than Chucky Fab. I don't believe that at all, except for maybe Xabi, but hell, Mascherano had a subpar match passing-wise, but still completed 83%. Laughable.

Today's Banter: Jimmy Ryan gone, Torres, Xabi likely to be fit for Arsenal, New stadium costs rising, & more

- Jimmy Ryan will make his loan to Shrewsbury Town permanent in January. Good luck to the lad and hopefully he finds success with the League Two side. I know I criticized him in the past for not wanting to make it with a formidable club like our own, but honestly, if the kid just wants to play football than kudos to him.

- Xabi Alonso looks to be almost a sure thing to start on Sunday versus Arsenal while Torres is looking more and more likely to feature as well. I wonder if Harry Kewell might also be an option as he only played the first half for the Reserves yesterday? That might be rushing things though and with Kewell's track record, probably not the brightest of ideas.

- The new stadium, which is expected to be ready by 2011, was originally supposed to cost around £250m. Now Tom Hicks is saying around £400m is more like it. That's quite an increase in cost which is sure to come out of the supporters' pockets. The thing that most disturbs me about this article is Hicks saying, "There are far better investments I could make than buying a football team." Why do I feel like he's giving me the service?

- Should we feel sorry for Peter Crouch? David Prentice seems to think so. Unfortunately his article appears to lack a bit of logic, especially when it says things like 'They managed two more efforts after his introduction, and this time finally breached Besiktas’ goal' and when further speaking of that match, 'But Crouch looked predictably rusty and wasted the kind of chance he was gobbling up six months ago.' First insinuating that Crouch had something to do with the goal that Gerrard scored, which is far from reality, and then saying he was 'rusty' possibly due to lack of playing time, makes no sense. If Peter Crouch can't take advantage of the opportunities allowed him, then when will he? Predictably rusty? You've got to be kidding. He plays football nearly everyday in training, but apparently he's still 'predictably rusty'. Get off it. It's going to be a long, long time before I get the Marseilles match out of my head, when he was clearly not playing for us.

- Finally we have good ole David Moyes still moaning about Clattenburg's performance last Saturday and now how Liverpool and Benitez in particular reacted to being 'gifted' the three points. Get over it Moyes, maybe you should have played Tim Howard last year when Man United came to town. The Premiership is a corrupt league, except it or rot.

Today's Banter: Rafa waiting Mascherano game, Swansea wants Anderson permanently, City to make Crouch offer, & more

- One of the bigger mysteries at Liverpool, outside of the enigma that is Harry Kewell, is Javier Mascherano's contract situation. The good news is that the Argentine wants to stick around, the bad news is that it will cost us an additional £17m to keep him. With other needs to fill in January, I'm not sure we'll have the funds to make the acquisition then, but I think if we wait until his current on-loan contract runs out his price may go up. I don't think we need Masche, but he certainly makes things a lot easier for us. Rafa is at least willing to wait and see what FIFA rules about third-party player ownership since Mascherano is still technically owned by Kia Joorabchian’s company, Media Sports Investment (MSI). I think that's a good idea, but let's just hope that happens before the January transfer window closes.

- Paul Anderson has made such a splash at Swansea City, that the Swans want to keep him permanently. I personally hope Rafa has future plans for the 19-year-old winger at our club, but I can definitely see him being loaned out again next season and if Swansea gets promoted to the Championship, I don't see why that wouldn't be one of the options. I don't see him joining anything less than a Championship side with maybe a SPL club in consideration. His contract runs through 2010.

- Sven and Man City look to be early suitors for disgruntled striker Peter Crouch. The problem is they are only willing to pay £8m for him. I can't see us taking less than £10m. The reason being is that he'll be a fresh addition to any side thanks to Rafa's rotation policy. If Sven can't get ole Thaksin to cough up an extra £2m, I'm sure Redknapp Casino FC aka Portsmouth can.

- Remember Rob Styles? The man who gave Chelsea a point at Anfield with a rubbish call. Well, it turns out he could get an additional ban for the same match, though this time for his showing of two yellows to Michael Essien. Not sure why the FA has waited this long to try him again, but it sounds awfully fishy to me. Maybe he's had a fallen out with the good ole boys in the FA.

Is Afonso Alves the answer?

With Peter Crouch's whining arse hopefully on it's way out, Brazilian striker Afonso Alves has been the first name to surface as his replacement come January. You may recall his recent seven goal performance for Dutch side Heerenveen versus Heracles Almelo last Saturday. Though a somewhat impressive feat unless you're playing American Samoa, I am always wary of a player being over-hyped after such a performance.

The only thing I will say about Alves is that he was more deserving of the Golden Boot last year than Totti. I realize that the Eredivisie is not as strong a league as Serie A, but a lot of the AS Roma forward's goals came against lesser opponents while Alves should little disparity in scoring against teams no matter their place on the table. Also Totti got more help from his more formidable side.

With that said, I've never been that impressed with the Brazilian, but I have never really watched that much of him to make a confident assessment as to whether or not he would be the right fit. With our current issues of scoring inefficacy, maybe we need a player that may be lacking flair but has that Ruud Van Nistelrooy sense of netting yawners. Of course ultimately it may come down to availability and price anyhow and I don't see us overpaying for him just to pry Heerenveen's grasp loose.

Anyhow, here's the highlights of his seven goal match:

Rafa wakes up! Crouch on his way out!

For the love of Robbie Fowler it looks as if Rafa has seen the light. In this article, it is revealed that Rafa is looking to dump the useless striker in the January window due to Crouch's attitude towards the gaffer's rotation policy and his recent dreadful performance versus Marseilles where he was clearly a detriment to our side.

Can today get any better? Johnny Wilkinson leads England to the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup with a stunning upset of Australia, Paul Anderson scores another goal, and now it looks as if our biggest (and tallest) problem might have found a solution.

I'm not sure if Crouch has the power to block a move though. I believe he can refuse, but if I was Rafa, I'd put the lanky waste of space on the Reserves squad and have him rot on the bench there.

One thing that baffles me is Crouch saying he loves playing for Liverpool, though won't sign a contract extension. If he's not doing so due to monetary reasons, that's fine, but it doesn't give him the right to throw matches. Another reason may be because he knows it's more likely that he'll be transferred if he gets tied down to a long term deal. He's gone anyhow, and like I've said in previous posts, if they don't sell him in January, maybe it's time for a managerial change.

Sell him to Portsmouth where the other shady footballers roam. He and David James can go casino hopping with Harry Redknapp. I don't care what they do with him, just as long as he never wears a kit again. Oh, and by the way, if he does get the opportunity to play for us again, expect him to play well and then if you need more of a reason to roll your eyes, go find another club to support.

One more point before I go celebrate England's World Cup win. Rafa mentions he'll have around £20m to spend in the January window. I'm not sure if that includes what we'll get for Crouch or not, which will probably be over £10m. Time to start shopping for another striker and a centre back. Cheers.

Analyzing Crouch's duplicitous behavior in the Marseilles match

Accusing someone of throwing a match is very serious and I would never do so unless I believed it beyond a doubt. Crouch's erratic play is beyond just having a bad day once-in-a-while. It's gotten to the point where he has a good day once-in-a-while and that's just simply unacceptable. Why he is still at Liverpool, I refuse to speculate, but after his performance today, no one can question Rafa not wanting to play him. If I was the manager, he'd be relegated to ball boy.

First, let's look what his motive might be. First thing that comes to mind is playing time. It's no secret that Crouch isn't happy with Rafa's rotation especially since it seems that Torres is not necessarily part of it. One may try to argue that he's not playing enough to be the best player he can be. Oh really, than explain the Arsenal match from last year when he had a hat-trick? Due to injury, he hadn't played for us in over a month. Furthermore, explain his success with England. Does he play for the Three Lions week in and week out? No. He just happens to play well when he wants to.

Underlying playing time could very well be the motive of money, for if Crouch would go elsewhere and feature more, that club would probably be required to pay the lanky striker more since his playing time would increase. Not to mention the endorsement deals he would be more likely to get if he was the star striker of the side. I'll quit the motive aspect while I'm ahead and before I get personal, but we all know life is more complex than black and red.

His performance speaks for itself. If you were a striker on Liverpool and you wanted to have the most negative influence on a game, what would you do? You'd stand in the middle of the field and try to distract any ball movement, especially passes between the two best players on the club, Gerrard and Torres. And what did Crouch do today? Exactly that.

Nearly every time he touched the ball, he turned it over or he passed it back. At one point Torres laid off the ball to him and took off down the field. El Nino had tons of space and was wide open and what did Crouch do? He turned around and passed the ball back. Not unbelievable, intentional.

I mentioned in my review of the match that Crouch (and everyone else who's ever watched the grown-up version of Mike Teavee play) knows his physical limitations and knows his role on the field. He's not a distributing forward. He's not good with the ball over three touches. He by no means has any chance whatsoever of dribbling the ball past even the most inept opponent and he's not an idiot, he's complete aware of his faults and weaknesses.

So you can lie to yourself all you want, live in Candyland, eat gold-flavored ice cream and play with your very bestest invisible friend to your sweet little heart's desire, but the people who live in reality know that matches are fixed and players throw matches. Don't believe me? Have fun. Peter Crouch's actions today lead me to believe he threw the match, there's just no other explanation.

Today's Banter: Allardyce calls Rafa 'lucky', Love for Arbeloa & Pennant, Porto smack talk begins, & more

- Sam Allardyce, who's Newcastle side lost to Derby 0-1 yesterday, the same Derby County we dismantled 6-0 a few weeks back, has stated that Rafa is 'very lucky' to still be employed with LFC and the only reason he is so, is because of our Champions League showings. Other than the obvious that Big Sam needs to worry about his own job and his own side, the Magpies manager appears to be showing signs of amnesia. He says, and I quote, 'Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second.' Really, Sammy? I didn't know that Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho were suddenly British.

- Football365.com has named Alvaro Arbeloa and Jermaine Pennant to their EPL side so far this season. Though I agree with the former, the latter is a bit odd of a selection. Pennant's performance so far this season is neither as impressive nor consistent as his November-on form from last season. One glaring omission from the team is Pepe Reina who has yet to allow a goal from open play. The Spaniard does get a nod, but Brad Friedel? Come on.

- Porto captain Lucho Gonzalez and boss Jesualdo Ferreira have made their feelings about today's match heard. The 26-year-old Argentine has made it clear that his side is ready and capable to beat Liverpool, while their manager thinks that Ricardo Quaresma will be instrumental in beating the English side that has not impressed him. Apparently Ferreira sent his assistants Rui Barros and Joao Pinto to scout LFC at the Pompey match. Hopefully, that's how they think we normally play.

- Supposedly Crouch is set to move to Portsmouth in the January transfer window. No... please... don't... if only it were true.

- Finally, Rafa gives Pepe some love. Cheers, I'll be back for the Porto line-up.

Today's Banter: Carra officially set to return, Traore talking junk, Abigail gets the axe, & more

- Well, at least we'll have Carra. With the Agger injury and Hyypia coming off two full matches in five days, it was unclear what we were going to do for centre backs come Saturday, but it looks like Jamie Carragher will definitely start. I assume that Arbeloa will be there along with him. As for the full backs, it would be great if Aurelio was declared fit and ready, but I doubt it, and I haven't heard anything in regards to Finnan's condition. I'll assume it'll be Riise on the left though and who knows, maybe Stephen Darby on the right? That would be interesting.

- Djimi Traore, quite possibly one of the worst players ever to win a Champions League medal, is talking a little smack about his former club with whom he won that medal, Liverpool. The Portsmouth back thinks his side will win on Saturday because they won't give the Reds much respect and the long travel south will make them tired. What? Are they walking? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but then again, this is Traore we're talking about. It's only about 250 miles by car and our boys will most likely be flying. Anyhow, the linked article which is from a Portsmouth fan site mentions that Portsmouth has won three of the last five games between the two clubs, but then mentions that one of the wins was against a weak Liverpool side as we were on the march in the Champions League last year and the other was on penalty kicks this past summer in a meaningless preseason tournament final. So against full LFC sides, they've won one of the last three. Luckily for them though, they probably won't meet a first team squad on Saturday.

- Peter Crouch's girlfriend, the sort of attractive Abigail Clancy (pictured above), has gotten the axe from Hell's Kitchen, the reality cooking show she's been a part of recently. She apparently will now use her new-found cooking skills to fatten up her boy.

- Rafa, who was named 33rd on the top 50 managers of all-time by the Times Online, has once again expressed the unfairness of our schedule. For the second consecutive time we have to play a lunch fixture following an international break. I can sort of understand his complaining with not having a lot of preparation time on the day of the game and some players being out of sorts with the earlier than usual start, but come on, it's only a couple of hours. I do think they should play a large majority of the matches following an international break on Sunday though as it would allow players an extra day rest and probably increase the quality of their play and the matches in general. Of course, that would just mean less time to prepare for the Champions League match in the middle of the upcoming week. By the way, Paisley and Shankly were 6th and 5th respectively on that list though both should have been ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson for obvious reasons.

- It's been revealed that Dirk Kuyt's schoolboy German lessons have paid off in helping Andriy Voronin adjust to Liverpool life. Though a bit rusty and sometimes unsure of what he was saying, Kuyt has been instrumental in helping the Ukrainian communicate with his coach and teammates. Kuyt also praised Voronin for his work rate and as one of the players he used to admire in his Bundesliga watching days. Being involved in the international scene so long, I'm sort of surprised Voronin doesn't speak English or even Dutch.

- Finally, just because you play for LFC and are named Jamie Carragher doesn't mean you get special treatment. Even if that means getting bumped to the front of a book signing line for a book in which you are featured. As was the case for Here We Go Gathering Cups In May, a book about LFC's seven European trophy runs. Carra had to wait in a line that wrapped around the bookstore just like everyone else.

International Update: Agger injured?

From the looks of it, none of our boys suffered any major injuries today. In fact, some didn't even play which is awesome because it means there's a good chance they'll be available for Saturday at Portsmouth. Here's a round-up by player:

Sami Hyypia, Finland
Played the full ninety in his side's 0-0 draw with Poland. A win here would have been huge for the Finns chances of advancing, but since Portugal ended up tying as well, they stay in second place and live to fight another day. I doubt the 33-year-old will play versus Portsmouth considering this is his second full match in a row.

Andriy Voronin, Lithuania
Came in as a sub in the 60th minute in his country's disappointing loss in Kiev to Italy. They are pretty much eliminated from advancing now. His limited time on the pitch definitely makes him a possibility for Saturday. How you don't start Voronin in what is basically a must-win beats the snot out of me.

John Arne Riise, Norway
Riise scored an absolute cracker of a goal versus Greece today, but it wasn't enough as his side took a slight blow to their Euro advancing dreams with the 2-2 draw. I don't expect Riise to play Saturday, but he's known for his fitness and despite playing the full match, he is a possibility.

Craig Bellamy, Wales
Oops.

Steven Gerrard, England
Played the full 90 in the Three Lions crucial 3-0 victory over Russia which I guess it's good news since it means he's fit, but I doubt he'll play versus Portsmouth.

Peter Crouch, England
Came on with 10 minutes remaining for England in place of Emile Heskey. Will probably be on the bench on Saturday, but I doubt we'll see him play. Rafa will probably want to save him for our Champions League clash with FC Porto next Tuesday.

Daniel Agger, Denmark
Agger was substituted in the 28th minute of the Danes 4-0 romp over Liechtenstein. No news as of yet whether it was serious, but let's keep our fingers crossed. Losing a centre back could potentially be devastating for our side right now.

Fernando Torres, Spain
Torres played the full match and scored on a rebound in the 86th minute to assure his side's victory over Latvia. As long as he is deemed fit, I wouldn't be surprised to see Torres start against Portsmouth.

Pepe Reina, Spain
Didn't play, will start Saturday.

Ryan Babel, Netherlands
Played the full ninety for the Dutch in their last second 1-0 win over Albania, he's young though and I expect him to at least be on the bench Saturday.

Dirk Kuyt, Netherlands
Edit: Well, I just watched a majority of this match and it appeared that Kuyt was in the whole time, so it's unclear whether he'll play this weekend or not.

As soon as here something about Agger I'll post it. I'm just thankful we'll have Yossi, Xabi, JP, Arbeloa, and Momo ready for action. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Aurelio returns, What about Harry?, Rafa laughs off Reina offer, & more

- Fabio Aurelio made an unexpected early return to action today as the Reserves beat a Crewe Alexandra Reserves side, 2-1, behind goals by Xabi Alonso and Ray Putterill. The 27-year-old Left Back played an impressive 45 minutes. This is great news, if he's able to play this Saturday against Portsmouth, it allows Arbeloa to play on the right if Finnan isn't fit or even in the middle with Carra if Agger or Hyypia are fatigued.

- Despite reports that he was also set to make his return against today, apparently Harry Kewell did not line-up against the Crewe Reserves side. Hopefully there will be a mention of his status when the full match report is published on the official site. The only good news is that Kewell was included on our 23-man Champions League roster, so obviously Rafa is expecting him to return to action sometime in the near future.

- Rafa has dismissed any talk of Pepe leaving to go to Atletico Madrid or anywhere else for that matter. I kind of figured it was a load of donkey dung, but again, £10m for a keeper is not an amount to scoff at especially when you have the likes of Scott Carson available to replace him.

- A FIFA source has revealed that Peter Crouch was not singled-out by referees at the World Cup, but an incident where Crouchy pulled at the hair of a Trinidad and Tobago defender as he headed in a goal was brought to the attention of match officials. There's a picture of the incident to accompany the article and honestly, I don't see how the striker can be giving himself an advantage by being anchored down by someone's hair as he jumps. Call me crazy, but wouldn't that prevent him from jumping higher, it looks like accidental contact if you ask me.

- The U18s won on Saturday versus Nottingham Forrest, 3-1, behind a brace from German Marvin Pourie and a goal by Scot Gary MacKay Steven. 16-year-old English striker David Amoo was apparently quite impressive himself. Just taking a peek at the U18/Academy roster, we have quite the international mix with players from seven different countries, though a large majority, 13, are English.

- Finally, here's a nice piece from Liverpool Legend Ian Rush on Rafa's recent decision not to replace his number two, Pako Ayesteran. It's interesting to read what role such a person plays on a club and why it's not a good idea to replace them in haste. Cheers everyone.

Today's Banter: Carra training, Atletico want Reina, Crouch stalls contract, Cheryl Cole praises fans, & Kewell returns!!!

- Reports are that Carra returned to training today and will be ready for action on Saturday when we travel to Portsmouth. Great news considering how many players we have out on international duty including Hyypia and Agger. Hopefully everyone will return fit and rested, Pompey at Fratton Park will be no easy test.

- Apparently Atletico Madrid are keen on Pepe Reina and are putting together a bid for him in the realm of £10m to offer LFC in the January transfer window. Whether this is true or not, I wonder if Rafa would consider selling Pepe. £10m is a respectable offer and we do have Scott Carson on the books yet on loan to Aston Villa. I doubt he'd sell him in January though unless he could recall Carson.

- Peter Crouch, who's current contract expires at the end of next season, has apparently been offered a three year extension from the club. Supposedly though, he's withholding his signature to see what kind of playing time he's going to get this season. What an ass, he knows what kind of playing time he's going to get, so he needs to commit his future or gotten rid of. I've been for the latter for the past year or so anyhow.

- Cheryl Cole has praised Liverpool fans for their unconditional love of their club and players and thinks England fans should be the same way. The problem is fans of Liverpool know that the people who run their club, love LFC, while those who run England, the FA, do things that say otherwise. For starters, they would have gotten a class coach at what ever cost.

- Harry Kewell returns to action tomorrow night for the Reserves versus Crewe Alexandra Reserves. Well, that's promising. I'm hoping he'll be able to play this Saturday so we can give Babel and Yossi a little rest from International duty. Despite the rise of the new signings, we need Kewell as a key contributor this season if we want to go after all the silverware. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Gerrard okay, Today's flavor: Pasquale Foggia, Abbey Clancy wants to be Crouch's baby's momma & more

- Despite limping off the field yesterday in the 70th minute of England's 3-0 win over Israel, Stevie-G did not re-aggravate his toe injury. He apparently just had cramps. I guess he boozed a little the night before with the boys. Unfortunately, that means there's a chance he'll play versus Russia on Wednesday much to mine and Gus Hiddink's dismay. Not only was Gerrard okay, but it looks like we escaped yesterday with a still fit side. One day down, one day to go.

- The transfer window may be closed, but that doesn't mean the rumors have to stop. Yesterday we saw the beginning of what looks to be a neverending saga about whether Steven Taylor will be a Liverpool player come January or not. Today the seeds of the Pasquale Foggia beanstalk were planted. I know very little about the 24-year-old other than he's Italian, he plays for Cagliari, and he can play left wing but is pretty versatile. And just to set the record straight, Giovani dos Santo will never be a Liverpool player. Seriously, if you sell papers writing crap like that...

- Abigail Clancy may be pissing off her co-stars on Hell's Kitchen for getting paid almost twice as much as them, but at least the girl has got good intentions when it comes to her boy Crouchy. She has come out and said she wants to have the striker's baby, the problem is though, her boobs have appeared to have shrunk from the heat of her latest Telly reality cooking adventure. Not sure what that has to do with having a baby, but anyhow, she also claims to have turned down a job with a top modeling agency in LA to stay with Peter. Hmmm, maybe his people should call the Galaxy people, a Beckham to Crouch connection would probably give the Los Angeles club a better chance of making the playoffs next season. Finally, Abbey says she attends "all the important games." Glad to see she's there when the cameras are.

- Finally, you'd figure a Spanish newspaper would know the difference between Xavi and Xabi. Apparently not. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Crouch an internet sex god?, Le Tallec snubbed Hearts, Xabi could get rare start, & more

- Apparently Peter Crouch is one sexy bastard. According to this article, the England striker has quite the following on Facebook with a group dubbed 'Peter Crouch is a Sex God'. I don't do Facebook so I can't confirm it, but when asked, here's what Crouch supposedly said: "I've never been classed as that before. I'd certainly like to meet these people. I'm sure they're all very attractive." He'd like to meet them? Uh, Crouchy, I don't think you do.

- Anthony Le Tallec is claiming that Hearts offered him 'crazy money' to play for them instead of returning to his home country of France on loan to Le Mans. Wouldn't surprise me since the owner of Hearts, Vladimir Romanov, is mental and has loads of cash. Le Tallec turned down the deal for 'sporting' reasons, which I'm assuming was because of international ambitions.

- Spanish national team manager Luis Aragones has hinted that Xabi Alonso could get a rare start in his country's upcoming Euro-qualifier versus Iceland on Saturday. Xabi had been reduced to bench status for the past year, ever since the World Cup. Aragones also said that, despite a minor knee injury, he expects Torres to start as well.

- Javier Mascherano has come in support of Rafa's rotation policy despite not playing as much as a World Class midfielder would expect. It seems like he's played more for Argentina lately. Javi is all right with his lack of playing time because he understands that it is a long season, we are going after the quadruple, and the more amount of fresh bodies, the better is our chance of winning. It's not rocket science. Too bad the pundits don't get it.

- Finally in two separate articles that have nothing in common, here's a look at our team's debt issues and an article that mentions a few of our former players who will be attending Rhys Jones' funeral. Cheers.

Graham Poll: Crouch targeted at World Cup

Former International and England referee Graham Poll has revealed that officials at last year's World Cup were told to keep a close watch on the Three Lions' Peter Crouch. He claims that they went as far as watching England warm-up matches so they would know what to look for, emphasizing the way the lanky striker uses his arms. A biased against an English player in the World Cup in Germany? Crazy.

A player being targeted by refs seems a serious subject to me, yet I've seen very little about it in the media. I know the German, Italian, and most other non-English European media will ignore any subject regarding discrimination against England and an English player, but if there is any truth to this, something should be done. Maybe England should just resort to the corrupt and cheating tactics of their European competitors, as it looks like that's the only way they're going to get a 'fair' deal in international competition.

Peter Crouch Bicycle Kick Wallpaper

This was probably the easiest one I've ever done, but it's huge. Probably because the picture quality is so good.



You know the procedure. Cheers.