As I said in my review, we actually played quite well, but not well enough. I'm going to have a hard time not reflecting my disappointing of certain players. Anyhow, 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
Pepe is usually always the hardest player to rate and today was no exception. I mean, he did what he had to to get the clean sheet, but that wasn't much. So giving him a 5 is in no way a negative rating.
Fabio Aurelio 7
Played well in all facets of the game: on defense, on attack, passing, and shooting, and if one of his efforts had even lead to a goal, he would have been a candidate for Man of the Match.
Jamie Carragher 9 Man of the Match
Was simply brilliant in the first half and did what was needed in the second, including getting involved on attack by coming forward at times, but mostly by making some brilliant long passes. He cleared nearly every ball and stopped nearly every Man City attack single-handedly throughout and almost got the assist on the winner.
Alvaro Arbeloa 6
I'm cutting him some slack since he was playing out of position and after about thirty minutes he actually regained composure. In the second half, discipline set in and he appeared much more reliable.
Steve Finnan 6.5
Would have liked him to get more involved on attack, but can't ask for much more from him. This was the second match for him in five days and I don't care how fit a 31-year-old he is, that's still a lot.
Harry Kewell 7
Solid performance, kept the ball well and created chances on attack.
Steve Gerrard 6.5
His distrust of Arbeloa in the first half probably hurt us from taking control of the match before the second half, but once he got involved on attack, asserting ourselves became much easier.
Javier Mascherano 8
A tremendous performance from the Argentine as he plucked away the ball from the Man City players almost effortlessly and got to show off some of his ball-handling skills.
Yossi Benayoun 7
It's hard to get down on Yossi for holding on the ball too long when he creates so much and does make some great passes, but the truth is, he does try to do too much at times.
Dirk Kuyt 7
Probably his best performance of the year. He made some great plays, tried some different things, and made few mistakes. Ultimately though, Kuyt just doesn't have the pace to help us become Premier League champs.
Fernando Torres 5.5
Man City put on a clinic on how to stop El Niño and for the most part it worked. I thought the ref was awfully lenient on the roughness of the Man City defenders, but still, Torres lacked in creativity. Gerrard set him up with a perfect give-and-go which Fernando failed to put through, instead he tried to create something else on his own.
Ryan Babel 6
Like Benayoun, only worse, Babel needs to learn when to give up the ball instead of keeping it himself. It's fine if he scores, but most of the time he doesn't. I don't know if it's just a lack of intuitive skills or selfishness, but it's frustrating and very predictable for the defense.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Liverpool 0, Man City 0: He may be gold, but he's not perfect
I hope that was the worse match I ever see Torres play. Much credit to the Man City defense is due though, particularly Dunne and Richards. I knew that Richards would be able to match El Niño's pace, but I was unaware Dunne would out-power him. That clearly canceled out our young Spanish strikers one-on-one abilities, which leaves him to rely on his other attributes. Obviously he needs to work on his passing, but he's not the only one. Benayoun and Babel frustratingly held on to the ball way too long as well.
In some ways it was a bizarre affair with Kuyt being the better forward on the day, Aurelio basically playing the John Arne Riise role, though an improved version as of late, and Arbeloa starting at centre back, where he appeared to be lost until about a half hour in. Most the positives were on the defensive side of the ball, with Carra and Mascherano not allowing Man City to exert themselves on attack. On the other side, the aforementioned Kuyt had one of his better days while Kewell almost looked back to the form of old.
In the first half, Gerrard arrested most of our attacking development by staying too far back. Maybe he was distrustful of Arbeloa and wanted to make sure he settled in before going too far forward, no matter what, it clearly made us a less dangerous side early on. Carra was absolutely out-of-his-mind in the first half, determined not to allow Man City a lead. Most of the time I don't really care for players taking shots 30 yards plus out, but Aurelio looked the threat, so I say fire away.
The second half was utter domination from our boys, keeping the ball in their half most of the 48 minutes. Our old demon from previous seasons of being unable to finish re-appeared somewhat, but it really was the outstanding play of the Man City defense. Playing back and boring, a staple of the Sven days with the Three Lions, looked to be their game plan, and it worked on the day. We had our chances though and didn't covert, particularly Torres, and usually taking a point away at a side as good as Man City would be a satisfactory result, but we were without a doubt the superior side.
Ultimately, we're going to have to win these matches if we hope to compete for the leauge, especially when Man U falters. Also, playing as well as we did, and overall, we played quite well, while not getting the result, cannot do much for our confidence. Thankfully we have Wigan coming to Anfield on Wednesday.
In some ways it was a bizarre affair with Kuyt being the better forward on the day, Aurelio basically playing the John Arne Riise role, though an improved version as of late, and Arbeloa starting at centre back, where he appeared to be lost until about a half hour in. Most the positives were on the defensive side of the ball, with Carra and Mascherano not allowing Man City to exert themselves on attack. On the other side, the aforementioned Kuyt had one of his better days while Kewell almost looked back to the form of old.
In the first half, Gerrard arrested most of our attacking development by staying too far back. Maybe he was distrustful of Arbeloa and wanted to make sure he settled in before going too far forward, no matter what, it clearly made us a less dangerous side early on. Carra was absolutely out-of-his-mind in the first half, determined not to allow Man City a lead. Most of the time I don't really care for players taking shots 30 yards plus out, but Aurelio looked the threat, so I say fire away.
The second half was utter domination from our boys, keeping the ball in their half most of the 48 minutes. Our old demon from previous seasons of being unable to finish re-appeared somewhat, but it really was the outstanding play of the Man City defense. Playing back and boring, a staple of the Sven days with the Three Lions, looked to be their game plan, and it worked on the day. We had our chances though and didn't covert, particularly Torres, and usually taking a point away at a side as good as Man City would be a satisfactory result, but we were without a doubt the superior side.
Ultimately, we're going to have to win these matches if we hope to compete for the leauge, especially when Man U falters. Also, playing as well as we did, and overall, we played quite well, while not getting the result, cannot do much for our confidence. Thankfully we have Wigan coming to Anfield on Wednesday.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Liverpool at Man City: I have no clue what Rafa will do...
...mainly because I've been computer-less for about a week now. Which is also the reason for my lack of updates. I apologize, but hey, Man U lost today and Arsenal is losing (knock on wood).
Because I don't have a computer, I'm pretty much lost in what's going on in Liverpool land, so I don't have much of a clue of who's set to go. Is Arbeloa still ill? Have there been any fresh injuries? I have no clue.
So here's my guess anyhow:
Reina
Auelio
Agger
Carragher
Arbeloa (or Finnan)
Riise
Xabi
Mascherano
Gerrard
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Finnan (or Hobbs)
Babel
Kewell
Benayoun
That's who I'd go with anyhow, pretty much what I consider our best defensive XI. With United's loss today, a win tomorrow has become even more crucial. Cheers, and I should be back tomorrow with a recap though I won't be announcing the starting line-up.
Because I don't have a computer, I'm pretty much lost in what's going on in Liverpool land, so I don't have much of a clue of who's set to go. Is Arbeloa still ill? Have there been any fresh injuries? I have no clue.
So here's my guess anyhow:
Reina
Auelio
Agger
Carragher
Arbeloa (or Finnan)
Riise
Xabi
Mascherano
Gerrard
Kuyt
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Finnan (or Hobbs)
Babel
Kewell
Benayoun
That's who I'd go with anyhow, pretty much what I consider our best defensive XI. With United's loss today, a win tomorrow has become even more crucial. Cheers, and I should be back tomorrow with a recap though I won't be announcing the starting line-up.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Are Man U fans worried?
I'm not sure what warranted this, but I would think that Red Devils supporters would be more concerned with Arsenal than poor, little Liverpool. I hope this doesn't lead to a Chelsea-like treatment. Blues fans seem to write and talk more about us than they do their own side, it would be quite sad to see the mighty Man U crowd go the same route.
And by the way, there's a reason why Man U have won so many Premiership titles and other than a few spurts during the Busby years, were non-competitive in the Old First Division. It's called the Michael Jordan effect, used by the league, in this case, the revamped top flight English football league, and the media that reap the most benefits from it's success, which would be Sky. Creating excitement by having one side constantly and consistently dominate is a great way to draw 'fans' of the insecure nature, they will then have something to feel confident about. Most Man U supporters aren't fans of football, they're sad losers who haven't a chance in life, so they needed to grasp to anything that represents otherwise, ethics aside.
And since I'm using this post as therapy, that Chelsea-Villa match was horrible. Laughable decision after comical call, the ref made a mockery of the sport. When are we going to get a fifth official, video replay, and open mics on the officials? Oh for the integrity of the game.
And by the way, there's a reason why Man U have won so many Premiership titles and other than a few spurts during the Busby years, were non-competitive in the Old First Division. It's called the Michael Jordan effect, used by the league, in this case, the revamped top flight English football league, and the media that reap the most benefits from it's success, which would be Sky. Creating excitement by having one side constantly and consistently dominate is a great way to draw 'fans' of the insecure nature, they will then have something to feel confident about. Most Man U supporters aren't fans of football, they're sad losers who haven't a chance in life, so they needed to grasp to anything that represents otherwise, ethics aside.
And since I'm using this post as therapy, that Chelsea-Villa match was horrible. Laughable decision after comical call, the ref made a mockery of the sport. When are we going to get a fifth official, video replay, and open mics on the officials? Oh for the integrity of the game.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Liverpool 2, Derby 1: When we find ourselves in times of trouble...
...all we have to do is call on Stevie-G. Fekkin' brilliant.
And he had a shit match otherwise.
As I said in my preview, this was not going to be an easy task, but the determination of our fearless captain pulled it out... again. I know I don't have to say it, but there's absolutely no player in the world with his class. Not even close. He can be having a woeful day and then put our side on his back and refuse to accept to defeat as he did. Absolutely, positively, fekkin' magic.
Fernando Torres, also once again, showed why we paid £20m for him. His goal was a phenomenal piece of class, something you rarely get to see at this level. It's disappointing that he can't play so mesmerizingly genius the entire match, but I'll take the few seconds that he can.
Derby needs to be commended for their effort. They certainly didn't deserve to walk away with nothing. I can already read the rubbish headlines now and honestly, it's disrespectful to the Rams. They were the better side in the second half by a mile.
I'm not sure what our deal was, maybe we were looking ahead to Sunday's match at Eastlands, but that's no excuse. We were not a top side today, to say the least. I was disappointed in Rafa's tactics as well. I would have gone with a different starting line-up and taking Hyppiä off, unless he was injured, was clearly a mistake.
I'll get into individual efforts when I do my player ratings, but if I had to pick a Man of the Match right now, I have no clue who'd I pick. Torres and Gerrard for their mere seconds of genius and conviction I guess are deserving, as is Xabi for his brilliant passing. In fact, Alonso made two world class passes in the first five minutes of the match, something we usually fail to do an entire ninety minutes.
And when the night is cloudy, there's still a light that shines on me... Stevie F'n G.
And he had a shit match otherwise.
As I said in my preview, this was not going to be an easy task, but the determination of our fearless captain pulled it out... again. I know I don't have to say it, but there's absolutely no player in the world with his class. Not even close. He can be having a woeful day and then put our side on his back and refuse to accept to defeat as he did. Absolutely, positively, fekkin' magic.
Fernando Torres, also once again, showed why we paid £20m for him. His goal was a phenomenal piece of class, something you rarely get to see at this level. It's disappointing that he can't play so mesmerizingly genius the entire match, but I'll take the few seconds that he can.
Derby needs to be commended for their effort. They certainly didn't deserve to walk away with nothing. I can already read the rubbish headlines now and honestly, it's disrespectful to the Rams. They were the better side in the second half by a mile.
I'm not sure what our deal was, maybe we were looking ahead to Sunday's match at Eastlands, but that's no excuse. We were not a top side today, to say the least. I was disappointed in Rafa's tactics as well. I would have gone with a different starting line-up and taking Hyppiä off, unless he was injured, was clearly a mistake.
I'll get into individual efforts when I do my player ratings, but if I had to pick a Man of the Match right now, I have no clue who'd I pick. Torres and Gerrard for their mere seconds of genius and conviction I guess are deserving, as is Xabi for his brilliant passing. In fact, Alonso made two world class passes in the first five minutes of the match, something we usually fail to do an entire ninety minutes.
And when the night is cloudy, there's still a light that shines on me... Stevie F'n G.
Liverpool at Derby: Strangedays Rafa returns
Here's the verdict:
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Voronin
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Benayoun
Lucas
Kuyt
Mascherano
I don't know where to begin. Babel on the right? No defensive players on the bench? Well, other than Mascherano, but that doesn't really count. I have concerns... this is a good side, not our best possible, but still, no excuses for anything less than three points.
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Riise
Gerrard
Alonso
Babel
Voronin
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Benayoun
Lucas
Kuyt
Mascherano
I don't know where to begin. Babel on the right? No defensive players on the bench? Well, other than Mascherano, but that doesn't really count. I have concerns... this is a good side, not our best possible, but still, no excuses for anything less than three points.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
My 2007 World's Best XI
I'm pretty bored, so I thought I'd throw my irrelevant two cents into the mix. Here's who I think were the world's best XI in 2007. Feel free to flog me, I know nothing, of course.
GK - Petr Čech
Casillas, Reina, and Buffon are all incredible, but some of the saves Čech makes are just plain silly. Rarely does a side score against him without a phenomenal effort.
LB - Gianluca Zambrotta
Heinze, Thuram, and Lahm are all tremendous as well, but Zambrotta is probably the most consistent.
CB - John Terry
CB - Fabio Cannavaro
Just too many good ones, and really, it comes down to personal preference. Carra would no doubt be in the squad. I don't really want to get into it, but these are the two I would trust most if I were managing the world's best XI.
RB - Steve Finnan
Yeah, I know I'll get plenty of flack for this one, but Finney was the second best overall defensive player in the Premiership last season according to Actim and his qualities are undeniable. Even at 31, he's arguably the best right wing-back in the world. Dani Alves and even Arbeloa deserve recognition as well.
LM/LW - Lionel Messi
This isn't even debatable. Not even Ronaldinho takes his spot.
CM/DM - Javier Mascherano
Simply the best defensive midfielder in the world. Dietmar Hamann is going to be hard to leave out of the squad though.
CM - Steven Gerrard
If I have to defend this pick, you're a victim of the anti-English press or your own inability to know world-class when you see it.
RM/RW - Kaká
You can pretty much start him anywhere at midfield or forward with this side. With Gerrard and Mascherano there to provide cover, he, like Messi, are just additional forwards.
FW - Fernando Torres
FW - Didier Drogba
As with CB, there's just so much quality at that spot that it comes down to personal preference.
Squad (23 total):
Pepe Reina
Jamie Carragher
Cristiano Ronaldo
David Villa
Philipp Lahm
Andrea Pirlo
Patrice Evra
Franck Ribéry
Carles Puyol
Ronaldinho
Dani Alves
Deco
I think I'm pretty fair in my assessment overall. Like I said, I think the Finnan pick is a bit controversial, as even a lot of Liverpool fans don't seem to realize his consistency and contributions though he's clearly a tremendous player. Alves is not as good as Finney defensive-wise, but he is superior in the pace and attacking aspects.
I really hate putting Pirlo on just the squad. He's probably my favorite Italian player and for someone who loathes the Italian game, he'll always be one of my favorite players of all-time. Gattuso is nothing compared to Mascherano, and I'm not having a go with that, I'm just preaching the truth.
I don't feel as if I have to defend putting Carra on the squad, but I will. First of all, go ask the Milan and Chelsea players how good he is, they'll tell ya. Second, he's also pretty versatile having played fullback for Liverpool in his earlier years, and he can even play defensive midfield, as he has with England.
I'm pretty confident that this side could go undefeated and win any league at the moment and the Champions League and domestic cup as well. There's just very little fault. They may not be as defensive-minded as even I would like, but a clean sheet against a side of this caliber would be an unbelievable effort.
GK - Petr Čech
Casillas, Reina, and Buffon are all incredible, but some of the saves Čech makes are just plain silly. Rarely does a side score against him without a phenomenal effort.
LB - Gianluca Zambrotta
Heinze, Thuram, and Lahm are all tremendous as well, but Zambrotta is probably the most consistent.
CB - John Terry
CB - Fabio Cannavaro
Just too many good ones, and really, it comes down to personal preference. Carra would no doubt be in the squad. I don't really want to get into it, but these are the two I would trust most if I were managing the world's best XI.
RB - Steve Finnan
Yeah, I know I'll get plenty of flack for this one, but Finney was the second best overall defensive player in the Premiership last season according to Actim and his qualities are undeniable. Even at 31, he's arguably the best right wing-back in the world. Dani Alves and even Arbeloa deserve recognition as well.
LM/LW - Lionel Messi
This isn't even debatable. Not even Ronaldinho takes his spot.
CM/DM - Javier Mascherano
Simply the best defensive midfielder in the world. Dietmar Hamann is going to be hard to leave out of the squad though.
CM - Steven Gerrard
If I have to defend this pick, you're a victim of the anti-English press or your own inability to know world-class when you see it.
RM/RW - Kaká
You can pretty much start him anywhere at midfield or forward with this side. With Gerrard and Mascherano there to provide cover, he, like Messi, are just additional forwards.
FW - Fernando Torres
FW - Didier Drogba
As with CB, there's just so much quality at that spot that it comes down to personal preference.
Squad (23 total):
Pepe Reina
Jamie Carragher
Cristiano Ronaldo
David Villa
Philipp Lahm
Andrea Pirlo
Patrice Evra
Franck Ribéry
Carles Puyol
Ronaldinho
Dani Alves
Deco
I think I'm pretty fair in my assessment overall. Like I said, I think the Finnan pick is a bit controversial, as even a lot of Liverpool fans don't seem to realize his consistency and contributions though he's clearly a tremendous player. Alves is not as good as Finney defensive-wise, but he is superior in the pace and attacking aspects.
I really hate putting Pirlo on just the squad. He's probably my favorite Italian player and for someone who loathes the Italian game, he'll always be one of my favorite players of all-time. Gattuso is nothing compared to Mascherano, and I'm not having a go with that, I'm just preaching the truth.
I don't feel as if I have to defend putting Carra on the squad, but I will. First of all, go ask the Milan and Chelsea players how good he is, they'll tell ya. Second, he's also pretty versatile having played fullback for Liverpool in his earlier years, and he can even play defensive midfield, as he has with England.
I'm pretty confident that this side could go undefeated and win any league at the moment and the Champions League and domestic cup as well. There's just very little fault. They may not be as defensive-minded as even I would like, but a clean sheet against a side of this caliber would be an unbelievable effort.
My LFC Player of the Year: Javier Mascherano
Let me first say that Steven Gerrard is definitely just as deserving, but I think Masche's contributions to the side in the past twelve months have been equally important and influential. Others that I considered were Finnan, Arbeloa, Reina, and of course, Carragher, but it really only came down to two.
Mascherano became a huge asset to our side when we got him on loan last January. His impact was instantly evident after immediately stepping into our starting side and I truly believe that it was the addition of him that lead us to our second Champions League final in three years. Not to mention he made Kaká look very average in that match.
I have little problem calling the Argentine the best defensive midfielder in the world. His most important contribution to the side though, as I've mentioned in the past, is that he allows Steven Gerrard to roam around the pitch unfettered. He has gained the trust of our iconic captain, which is probably the greatest comment a player of Gerrard's caliber can offer.
Like in chess, to be able to dominate the middle of the pitch is instrumental in winning a match, and Masche has shown to be able to do so in world-class fashion. He displays such brilliance with an undying effort and at least appears to wear the shirt with unequaled passion as if he was a Scouser himself. To say we need to lock him down for the rest of his career should be added to the dictionary as an example of redundant.
Liverpool at Derby: What would Carra do?
In the spirit of Saturnalia, I thought I'd do a little role reversal and with Carra considered the player most knowledgeable football-wise on the side, he would most likely switch with Rafa.
I have a feeling that this match will be a lot tougher than we hope. First off, Derby has been playing better as of late under Paul Jewell who took over at the end of November. They basically held United to three goals at Old Trafford and were unlucky not to get three points at St. James Park, though it isn't as if that is a monumental task these days. I don't buy the rubbish of their injury issues either, there's not a huge discrepancy of talent between their normal starters and their bench, so pride and determination would play a huge part to begin with.
As for who we'll play, I'm not completely convinced we need to go with our best available side. Man City awaits on Saturday at Eastlands, so I'm not sure it's wise to risk fatigue and injury. Crouch's suspension doesn't help though, a front line of Kuyt and Voronin would seem a bit futile, though we could start Babel there. I think Hobbs is likely to get the start over 'Old Man' Hyppiä.
Here's my guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Carra
Hobbs
Arbeloa
Kewell
Xabi
Lucas
Benayoun
Voronin
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Hyypiä
Babel
Gerrard
If Crouch was available, I could definitely see him starting here. I believe Finnan is still injured, if not, he'd also probably get the start. I think we'll win, just not as impressively as most will think. I'm sure the 2-0 victory by Chelsea at Pride Park in late November will elude the ever omnipotent post-match press, once the reviews are published. Cheers.
I have a feeling that this match will be a lot tougher than we hope. First off, Derby has been playing better as of late under Paul Jewell who took over at the end of November. They basically held United to three goals at Old Trafford and were unlucky not to get three points at St. James Park, though it isn't as if that is a monumental task these days. I don't buy the rubbish of their injury issues either, there's not a huge discrepancy of talent between their normal starters and their bench, so pride and determination would play a huge part to begin with.
As for who we'll play, I'm not completely convinced we need to go with our best available side. Man City awaits on Saturday at Eastlands, so I'm not sure it's wise to risk fatigue and injury. Crouch's suspension doesn't help though, a front line of Kuyt and Voronin would seem a bit futile, though we could start Babel there. I think Hobbs is likely to get the start over 'Old Man' Hyppiä.
Here's my guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Carra
Hobbs
Arbeloa
Kewell
Xabi
Lucas
Benayoun
Voronin
Torres
Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Hyypiä
Babel
Gerrard
If Crouch was available, I could definitely see him starting here. I believe Finnan is still injured, if not, he'd also probably get the start. I think we'll win, just not as impressively as most will think. I'm sure the 2-0 victory by Chelsea at Pride Park in late November will elude the ever omnipotent post-match press, once the reviews are published. Cheers.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Pompey fans struggling for positives, slag off on Anfield
I just had to share this link.
Apparently they don't have much to take from the actual match, understandably so. Anyhow, I guess we Liverpool fans should be 'very, very, very, very, very embarassed' that playing a truly small and insignificant club like Portsmouth doesn't get us going.
Yes, I'm 'avin a larf!
Apparently they don't have much to take from the actual match, understandably so. Anyhow, I guess we Liverpool fans should be 'very, very, very, very, very embarassed' that playing a truly small and insignificant club like Portsmouth doesn't get us going.
Yes, I'm 'avin a larf!
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.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Kids watch: Eccleston does the trick, Hammill continues Saint futility, Anderson settles for assists, & more
Nathan Eccleston is looking more and more the business. The 16-year-old Manchester product netted three more goals today in the U18s 5-0 annihilation of West Brom. The same West Brom that held them scoreless just a month-and-half ago. That brings the young striker's tally to 15 in 16 matches. Did I mention that in three of those matches he played less than a total of 120 minutes? The kid's scoring pace has been impressive to say the least. Just imagine our side five years from now if he, David Amoo, Marvin Pourie, Gary Mackay-Steven, and the whole plethora of young International hopefuls continue to progress and develop into Premiership-quality players. We're going to be world-beaters even if a fraction of them 'make it'.
(Oh, by the way, my friend Ciara wanted me to mention that Michael 'Fekkin' Magic' Collins also scored. Typical Irish.)
The thing about Eccleston is that he didn't come with all the hype that accompanied most of our other Academites. I wouldn't necessarily say he came out of nowhere, but he did work his way from a player who wasn't even on the bench at the beginning of the season to playing every minute of our last 13 matches. That is deserving of recognition and commendation alone. In the article I linked above, Hugh McAuley seems to hint at the 16-year-old possibly already moving up the ladder and playing for the Reserves as early as this spring, an impressive feat nonetheless.
Apparently, England has no talent at the youth level, which is easily rubbished by pointing out Eccleston. He plays on a youth side with players from all over the world, Dean Bouzanis is an Aussie, Shane O'Connor and Michael Collins are Irish, Ayala is Spanish, Astrit Ajdarevic and Alexander Kacaniklic are Swedish, Gary Mackay-Steven is Scottish, and Marvin Pourie is from Germany. Pourie and Collins are both forwards as well, competing for time with the Manchester kid, but despite the German's prolific scoring record, he now sits second fiddle to the Englishman.
Since I'm on the subject of the Academy, I was wondering where all our other 'baby galaticos' are? It appears Argentine ace, Gerardo Bruna, despite being just 16, will train with the first team and get some time with the Reserves. Finnish wonderkid, Lauri Dalla Valle, also 16, arrives in January and it is rumored that he'll do the same and young Spanish star, Dani Pacheco, 17, has seen minimal time with the Reserves already. Who knows about Ayala, he might be injured, but I haven't heard much of him lately.
I'm beginning to wonder if Southampton is the right fit for Adam Hammill. Just when it looked as if he was settling in after a two assist outing, leading the Saints to a 4-0 thrashing of Hull, he was essentially a non-factor in his club's 1-1 draw at Coventry. In fact, he was taken off the pitch in the 68th minute with the score at one apiece. At least it ended in a draw. The Saints next play a home fixture on Saturday with Preston, the team of none-other-than Neil Mellor who scored just his second goal of the campaign this season, helping the Lilywhites defeat Burnley.
Paul Anderson has decided to no longer score goals and now just set them up. The 19-year-old Wirral wonder got two more assists today to help Swansea win 3-0 at the Liberty over Southend. Anderson only played 59 minutes before being replaced by Thomas Butler. With Leyton Orient taking it up the arse, 0-1 at the hands of Carlisle, the Swans now sit all alone atop the League One table, a point and a goal clear of the aforementioned Cumbrians, which they travel to on Saturday. Anderson, like Hammill at Dunfermline last season, appears to be turning me into a Swans supporter. Hell, if Rafa goes, this blog will be changed to Swans Banter?
Since Hartlepool wasn't playing a side that featured another Liverpool player on-loan, they won, 3-0. Godwin Antwi started and played the full ninety. The Monkey Hangers head to Swindon next Saturday. Finally, Ryan Flynn failed to make the bench for Hereford. Shocker.
(Oh, by the way, my friend Ciara wanted me to mention that Michael 'Fekkin' Magic' Collins also scored. Typical Irish.)
The thing about Eccleston is that he didn't come with all the hype that accompanied most of our other Academites. I wouldn't necessarily say he came out of nowhere, but he did work his way from a player who wasn't even on the bench at the beginning of the season to playing every minute of our last 13 matches. That is deserving of recognition and commendation alone. In the article I linked above, Hugh McAuley seems to hint at the 16-year-old possibly already moving up the ladder and playing for the Reserves as early as this spring, an impressive feat nonetheless.
Apparently, England has no talent at the youth level, which is easily rubbished by pointing out Eccleston. He plays on a youth side with players from all over the world, Dean Bouzanis is an Aussie, Shane O'Connor and Michael Collins are Irish, Ayala is Spanish, Astrit Ajdarevic and Alexander Kacaniklic are Swedish, Gary Mackay-Steven is Scottish, and Marvin Pourie is from Germany. Pourie and Collins are both forwards as well, competing for time with the Manchester kid, but despite the German's prolific scoring record, he now sits second fiddle to the Englishman.
Since I'm on the subject of the Academy, I was wondering where all our other 'baby galaticos' are? It appears Argentine ace, Gerardo Bruna, despite being just 16, will train with the first team and get some time with the Reserves. Finnish wonderkid, Lauri Dalla Valle, also 16, arrives in January and it is rumored that he'll do the same and young Spanish star, Dani Pacheco, 17, has seen minimal time with the Reserves already. Who knows about Ayala, he might be injured, but I haven't heard much of him lately.
I'm beginning to wonder if Southampton is the right fit for Adam Hammill. Just when it looked as if he was settling in after a two assist outing, leading the Saints to a 4-0 thrashing of Hull, he was essentially a non-factor in his club's 1-1 draw at Coventry. In fact, he was taken off the pitch in the 68th minute with the score at one apiece. At least it ended in a draw. The Saints next play a home fixture on Saturday with Preston, the team of none-other-than Neil Mellor who scored just his second goal of the campaign this season, helping the Lilywhites defeat Burnley.
Paul Anderson has decided to no longer score goals and now just set them up. The 19-year-old Wirral wonder got two more assists today to help Swansea win 3-0 at the Liberty over Southend. Anderson only played 59 minutes before being replaced by Thomas Butler. With Leyton Orient taking it up the arse, 0-1 at the hands of Carlisle, the Swans now sit all alone atop the League One table, a point and a goal clear of the aforementioned Cumbrians, which they travel to on Saturday. Anderson, like Hammill at Dunfermline last season, appears to be turning me into a Swans supporter. Hell, if Rafa goes, this blog will be changed to Swans Banter?
Since Hartlepool wasn't playing a side that featured another Liverpool player on-loan, they won, 3-0. Godwin Antwi started and played the full ninety. The Monkey Hangers head to Swindon next Saturday. Finally, Ryan Flynn failed to make the bench for Hereford. Shocker.
Friday, December 14, 2007
A rant about Rafa, Trojan Horse formations & guerrilla warfare tactics
Formations have basically ceased to matter and as soon as football catches up to evolution, they may all together. Managers like Rafa, Mourinho, Ferguson, and Wenger have realized this for a while now. World class footballers cancel out archaic tactics, allowing them to use guerrilla warfare instead of Napoleonic measures.
Take the Marseilles match. Yossi Benayoun, who is more of a direct attacking midfielder (and arguably a box-to-boxer) started on the right, yet rarely utilized the flank. There was no need. Having a fit Kewell on the left, drawing out the defense, allowed Rafa to basically cram an extra attacker into the penalty corridor. If he had needed Yossi to play out, the Israeli has shown in the past he's more than capable of adjusting. Then you pull Gerrard forward, push Mascherano way back, Kuyt slightly back and to the left, and voila! You essentially have a five man attacking front, calculatingly spread to open up the middle and cause havoc throughout. Without the pace, skill, and intelligence of such great footballers, this just wouldn't be possible.
The Marseilles match was also a brilliant display of guerrilla warfare. Utilizing our superior pace and skills, we struck quickly and then withdrew, digging trenches to halt our opponent's forward movement. The French side dominated possession, yet rarely entered our penalty box on foot. I can only think of two occasions when they did. This game plan devastates such opponents since they are already entering the match as the lesser side. Expending energy just to fight for a position makes their situation even more dire. It's not only clandestine in it's approach, but it's nearly impossible to penetrate if even done moderately well. The thing is though, it won't work against a side like Man U, who do have players who can beat you on their own.
Playing Gerrard on the right is another deceptive tactic that I hope Rafa utilizes more once Alonso gets back or he becomes more comfortable with Lucas. In position alone is Stevie-G truly on the right. In reality, he has free roam of the pitch, since he has world class cognizance of knowing positioning. Rarely does it cause congestion issues, at least ones that are his fault. If Rafa needs him to go the winger route, he's more than capable, but if Finnan is behind him, there's no need. Finnan is an exceptional wing-back, one of the best in the world. Of course, I don't have the same confidence in Arbeloa, so starting Gerrard in front of him is quite the risk.
One of the things you'll rarely see is Gerrard on the right with Crouch in the middle. Crouch is best utilized as a set up man over the middle or, obviously, a finisher in the box. When Gerrard is given free roam and Crouch tries to play his middle man role, you can just see the frustration on our Captain's face. He's essentially a caged animal and it negatively affects his play. The answer to that is having him play to the right, which he does and will effectively, but it's kind of like raising a puppy without a leash. All of a sudden when they're a grown dog, trying to train him/her on one is no easy task. Trust me.
Wing-backs are a crucial element to Rafa's game plan. Not many sides have the luxury of having two potentially great ones on the left in Aurelio and Riise. When they start together, Riise at midfield, it almost mimics starting Gerrard on the right with Finnan trailing. Riise can play the wing, though I would never mistake him for Harry Kewell, but with Aurelio, a deadly passer and crosser, behind the Norwegian, it's not required. Riise can float around the left-side of the pitch merrily, as long as he keeps an eye on the opposition and his teammates.
The goal of Rafa and ultimately any coach/manager is to have your side playing as a highly-functional organism, free thinking yet relying on other organs to provide the necessary output to succeed. The less static, the less predictable, and the more options, the more impossible it becomes to defend against. Shrouding such tactics under ancient jargon is just another way to get the edge up on the opponent. Unfortunately, when it comes to sides like the one we're to face on Sunday, trench warfare is the only way to go about it without evoking Ragnarok.
Take the Marseilles match. Yossi Benayoun, who is more of a direct attacking midfielder (and arguably a box-to-boxer) started on the right, yet rarely utilized the flank. There was no need. Having a fit Kewell on the left, drawing out the defense, allowed Rafa to basically cram an extra attacker into the penalty corridor. If he had needed Yossi to play out, the Israeli has shown in the past he's more than capable of adjusting. Then you pull Gerrard forward, push Mascherano way back, Kuyt slightly back and to the left, and voila! You essentially have a five man attacking front, calculatingly spread to open up the middle and cause havoc throughout. Without the pace, skill, and intelligence of such great footballers, this just wouldn't be possible.
The Marseilles match was also a brilliant display of guerrilla warfare. Utilizing our superior pace and skills, we struck quickly and then withdrew, digging trenches to halt our opponent's forward movement. The French side dominated possession, yet rarely entered our penalty box on foot. I can only think of two occasions when they did. This game plan devastates such opponents since they are already entering the match as the lesser side. Expending energy just to fight for a position makes their situation even more dire. It's not only clandestine in it's approach, but it's nearly impossible to penetrate if even done moderately well. The thing is though, it won't work against a side like Man U, who do have players who can beat you on their own.
Playing Gerrard on the right is another deceptive tactic that I hope Rafa utilizes more once Alonso gets back or he becomes more comfortable with Lucas. In position alone is Stevie-G truly on the right. In reality, he has free roam of the pitch, since he has world class cognizance of knowing positioning. Rarely does it cause congestion issues, at least ones that are his fault. If Rafa needs him to go the winger route, he's more than capable, but if Finnan is behind him, there's no need. Finnan is an exceptional wing-back, one of the best in the world. Of course, I don't have the same confidence in Arbeloa, so starting Gerrard in front of him is quite the risk.
One of the things you'll rarely see is Gerrard on the right with Crouch in the middle. Crouch is best utilized as a set up man over the middle or, obviously, a finisher in the box. When Gerrard is given free roam and Crouch tries to play his middle man role, you can just see the frustration on our Captain's face. He's essentially a caged animal and it negatively affects his play. The answer to that is having him play to the right, which he does and will effectively, but it's kind of like raising a puppy without a leash. All of a sudden when they're a grown dog, trying to train him/her on one is no easy task. Trust me.
Wing-backs are a crucial element to Rafa's game plan. Not many sides have the luxury of having two potentially great ones on the left in Aurelio and Riise. When they start together, Riise at midfield, it almost mimics starting Gerrard on the right with Finnan trailing. Riise can play the wing, though I would never mistake him for Harry Kewell, but with Aurelio, a deadly passer and crosser, behind the Norwegian, it's not required. Riise can float around the left-side of the pitch merrily, as long as he keeps an eye on the opposition and his teammates.
The goal of Rafa and ultimately any coach/manager is to have your side playing as a highly-functional organism, free thinking yet relying on other organs to provide the necessary output to succeed. The less static, the less predictable, and the more options, the more impossible it becomes to defend against. Shrouding such tactics under ancient jargon is just another way to get the edge up on the opponent. Unfortunately, when it comes to sides like the one we're to face on Sunday, trench warfare is the only way to go about it without evoking Ragnarok.
Liverpool vs Man U: Which Rafanauts will heed the call?
The Mancs are coming.With Aggerus apparently unavailable, the anchors of the Rafargo have but two to labor, Hyppiälas and Carracles. With Finnaemon knocked as well, Arbelanta is the only viable option on the right, while on the left, I think Aurelycus gets the start. In recent history, Rafargus has called upon Riiseus to play left-mid in big matches, especially against adversaries with menacing right-wingers like Ronaldon, so I think he'll do so here as well.
Lining up aside the ginger warrior, I fully expect Mascheranion to pair Jason. He has apparently recovered from the knock received in the victory at Marseilles and was back in full training on Thursday. On the right, Benayophon is really our only, but best, option. If he marks as well as he did in France, whomever the Mancs put on the left will be rendered useless and hopefully run ragged in retaliation.
Up front, the great Torreses will certainly start, but whom shall be paired with him is a mystery. Crouchion is too much of a defensive liability and turns over the ball way too often. Giving a side like the Manchestereanans the ball on the counter is like giving a dragon oil, you're going to get burnt. Voroninus I can see, but I think Kuytalus is the best choice. We won't get pace from any other forwards to begin with, except for maybe Babeleus, but he's not ready to start in a big match like this, so Kuytalus' defensive attributes should come in handy. The other option is Kewellius, but he's so much better on the wing.
My final call:
Reinaus
Aurelycus
Hyypiälas
Carracles
Arbelanta
Riiseus
Mascheranion
Jason (Gerrardius)
Benayophon
Kuytalus
Torreses (the Great)
Bench:
Itandjemus
Babeleus
Kewellius
Lucas
Crouchion
As I mentioned prior, I believe this will be a draw, but hopefully at least one of excitement. May the Gods shine upon us.
Today's Banter: Calm down Mr. Babel, Arbeloa relishes Ronaldo, Sir Alex wanted Torres, & more
Apparently Ryan Babel is not fond of the 'super sub' label. Sensitive, are we? Well, Mr. Babel, you shouldn't confuse 'super sub' with 'one who is not good enough to start', that clearly does not apply. Unfortunately there are other players who have more experience that play the same positions as you. Your abilities are duly noted and in due time, you will be a starter, I have little doubt of that. Don't let meaningless words hinder your progress, the biggest obstacle for a young athlete is his ego. Why do I get the feeling that something was manipulated in translation here? Anyhow, the author of the linked article mixed deceptive math and words to make the Dutchman sound like the God of all subs. It was a nice touch.
Álvaro Arbeloa is ready to cage Cristiano as he did Messi in his Liverpool debut at Camp Nou. The 24-year-old fullback is expected to start on the right as Finnan looks out with a knock. To the Spaniard, what position makes no difference, as long as he plays. I'll be curious to see who we play on the left. I have my ideas and will post them in due time, but whomever gets the call will need to step up and contain the Portuguese winger.
You can spot an envious Man United fan a mile away. They are the ones who write things like 'Ferguson didn't want Torres' or 'Man U rejected El Niño'. Well, their leader has spoken and he says different. Sir Alex Ferguson states that he attempted to bring Torres to Man U on multiple occasions, but believes he failed due to the language barrier, an aspect Rafa had the advantage. Though I think that had something to do with it, the mystique of the club, where the fans are not products of the fear of losing, was more important. Torres is already revered and idolized on a level that not even Cristiano Ronaldo can match. It's almost as if he's the adopted son of most supporters with the uncanny ability to channel that positive energy into amazing results on the pitch. A factory like Man U just can't compete with that.
I don't always have respect for Ferguson. For the manager of a club which has received the Michael Jordan treatment from the refs for years, he doesn't take it very graciously when the tables are turned. What goes around, comes around, in life and sport equally, how you endure the lows shows true character. I will credit the Scot with one thing though, he's keen to truth, whether he brings it into the limelight or not is his own discretion, honor aside. Standing up for Rafa in the Spaniard's recent quarrel with the owners is more than just taking the side of another manager. It was taking the side of truth and common sense. As the nine-time Premier League winning manager said, "You ask yourself where that comes from and there’s obviously some undercurrent of a dispute somewhere along the line, but with Rafa’s record, it’s strange." Strange, indeed.
Álvaro Arbeloa is ready to cage Cristiano as he did Messi in his Liverpool debut at Camp Nou. The 24-year-old fullback is expected to start on the right as Finnan looks out with a knock. To the Spaniard, what position makes no difference, as long as he plays. I'll be curious to see who we play on the left. I have my ideas and will post them in due time, but whomever gets the call will need to step up and contain the Portuguese winger.
You can spot an envious Man United fan a mile away. They are the ones who write things like 'Ferguson didn't want Torres' or 'Man U rejected El Niño'. Well, their leader has spoken and he says different. Sir Alex Ferguson states that he attempted to bring Torres to Man U on multiple occasions, but believes he failed due to the language barrier, an aspect Rafa had the advantage. Though I think that had something to do with it, the mystique of the club, where the fans are not products of the fear of losing, was more important. Torres is already revered and idolized on a level that not even Cristiano Ronaldo can match. It's almost as if he's the adopted son of most supporters with the uncanny ability to channel that positive energy into amazing results on the pitch. A factory like Man U just can't compete with that.
I don't always have respect for Ferguson. For the manager of a club which has received the Michael Jordan treatment from the refs for years, he doesn't take it very graciously when the tables are turned. What goes around, comes around, in life and sport equally, how you endure the lows shows true character. I will credit the Scot with one thing though, he's keen to truth, whether he brings it into the limelight or not is his own discretion, honor aside. Standing up for Rafa in the Spaniard's recent quarrel with the owners is more than just taking the side of another manager. It was taking the side of truth and common sense. As the nine-time Premier League winning manager said, "You ask yourself where that comes from and there’s obviously some undercurrent of a dispute somewhere along the line, but with Rafa’s record, it’s strange." Strange, indeed.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Kids watch: Academy kids destroy Wycombe, Southampton finally wins with Hammill, Antwi loses to Peltier, & more
The U18s began their double defence of the FA Youth Cup with a resounding 5-0 shellacking of Wycombe. The Wanderers were undefeated in thirteen contests coming in while racking up a ridiculous +27 goal difference. Though they managed to hold our boys for the first half, an explosion of goals in the second, led by a brace from Nathan Eccleston, crushed the young Chairboys' hopes and dreams of the upset. I was utterly shocked to read about this win, especially considering Wycombe's dominance of all previous comers and the fact that it was at their house. Here are some other pics from the contest.
Adam Hammill may have finally had the match that gives him the belief of shining in the Championship. The flashy left-winger set up at least two goals and possibly three in the Saints 4-0 demolition of Hull City last Saturday. The most important aspect is that his side won, a first when the 19-year-old starts. Hopefully this will give George Burnley confidence in the youngster to make him a regular starter.
Godwin Antwi has continued his futile streak when it comes to on-loan 'derbies'. The twenty-year-old has now been on the third losing side of Hartlepool when they face a club featuring another Liverpool player on-loan. This time it was Lee Peltier and Yeovil Town thrashing the Monkey Hangers, 3-1, at Huish Park. I'm not sure if it's a continued sign of hard luck or an emphasis of his value to the side, but after going up 1-0, Antwi had to go off the pitch to receive treatment and while his side was down to ten men, the Glovers scored a pair to take the lead. Both players played the full ninety.
Swansea is on a roll and though Anderson has cooled off on his goal-scoring pace, when the 19-year-old Wirral product plays, the Swans usually get a result. In fact, they are undefeated in his last 19 appearances. Unbelievable. Their lastest match was a 6-2 drubbing of Horsham in the FA Cup. Though Anderson failed to net, he did have one disallowed for reasons unknown and assisted on at least one other. The Swans still sit atop the League One table with a match-in-hand and a considerable goal difference differential of 13 over table top sharers, Leyton Orient. They play Southend at the Liberty on Saturday.
Finally, Danny Guthrie played the full match in Bolton's 4-1 win over Wigan at the Reebok. The 20-year-old failed to score, but did collect his first career Premiership booking. Ryan Flynn has still yet to feature for Hereford and if you haven't heard, Besian Idrizaj, Craig Lindfield, and essentially Robbie Threlfall, have all concluded their loan spells. Cheerio.
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