Wednesday 26 August 2009

La Manga - That's Spanish for 'Footballers getting smashed and raping young women'

As I'm jetting off to La Manga on Friday on Footy Tour, I thought I'd do a tincy wincy piece on the place Footballers love to go and do naughty things.

Now, one thing I won’t be doing is what these lovely people did in March 2004. That’s Matthew Elliott, Keith Gillespie, Frank Sinclair, Paul Dickov, Richard Scowcroft, and Lilian Nalis for those of you who were wondering. They all appeared in court on allegations of rape, but got away with it. They’re Footballers so duh. They’re obviously gonna be found innocent.

Relaxing by the pool, playing Table Tennis, lying in the sun, having endless kickabouts, and drinking Sangria sounds like a much better idea to moi.

La Manga resort is notorious for it’s first-class Sports facilities. Leicester are one of dozens of teams who have visited the resort for pre-season training camps and friendlies in the last decade. Sheffield United were there at the start of this season, amongst other clubs.

Unfortunately it’s also notorious for Footballers getting smashed, and we all know when you do that, you end up with a jumper over your head. Bad times.

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Upton Park update

Awful scenes at Upton Park.

Crowd trouble marred an excellent win for West Ham over Millwall in tonight’s Carling Cup 2nd round tie. A 44-year-old man has been stabbed, but is currently in a stable condition in hospital after crowd violence broke out outside Upton Park.

A 29-year-old who witnessed the incidents unfold said: “It’s the last thing you expect to see. There were West Ham fans on one side, Millwall fans on the other, both being separated by the Police. Bottles and bricks were being thrown and hitting people on the front. There were bloodied faces everywhere”.

The Police have described the violence as “pre-planned” and “high-level”. The trouble broke out after Junior Stanislas scored the first goal. Hundreds of West Ham fans ran on the pitch, prompting the Millwall players to leave the pitch immediately. One fan even ran past a Millwall player, who clearly tried to advise him to get off the pitch, and stuck his middle finger up at him.

That particular situation was diffused in time for the match to continue, but outside the violence showed no signs of relenting. Riot Police have gathered at the local tube stations prepared for ongoing violence as people depart the ground.

One very moving scene at the end of the game was a tearful Jack Collison. Collison lost his Father in a motorcycle accident at the weekend, and as he was shepharded off the pitch he burst into tears. The remaining West Ham fans all stood to Collison and gave him an emotional round of applause.

Obviously very disturbing scenes at Upton Park tonight, and it wouldn’t be the first time Millwall fans have been involved in such an incident. It’s not good for the game, and the thugs and hooligans that are involved in the incident should be banned for life and locked up.

Carling Cup Round 2 Roundup

No big ’shocks’ in today’s 2nd round ties.

Portsmouth got their first win of the season by thrashing Hereford United 4-1. Goals from Piquionne, Utaka, Krancjar, and Hughes securing Pompey’s place in the next round.

Blackburn saw off League 1 side Gillingham with goals from David Dunn, David Hoilett and Morten Gamst Pedersen. Gillingham scored through a Simeon Jackson penalty.

Hull City also saw off League 1 opposition in the way of Southend United. A 3-1 win saw Jozy Altidore claim his first goal for the Club, and other strikes for youngster Tom Carney and Geovanni gave Phil Brown’s men the win. Franck Moussa scored for Southend.

Burnley scraped past Hartlepool with a 2-1 victory after extra time. Steven Fletcher scored both the goals for Owen Coyle’s side, but a brave effort from League 1 Hartlepool.

Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers were other PL teams to make it through to the third round draw. The Blues saw off the challenge of Southampton, a potentially tricky tie, while Bolton beat Tranmere Rovers with a Mark Davies strike.

Wolves have seen off Swindon Town, but just. 0-0 after normal time, and extra time, but Wolves won 6-5 on penalties.

West Ham United beat Millwall 3-1 after extra time, but the Football was overshadowed by severe crowd trouble outside the ground. Update to follow. Junior Stanislas got the late goal for the Hammers in normal time after Neil Harris’s opener. Stanislas then netted from the spot in extra time before Zavon Hines rounded off the performance with a 3rd.

Other 2nd Round results:
Peterborough United 2-1 Ipswich Town
Port Vale 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Preston NE 2-1 Leicester City
QPR 2-1 Accrington Stanley
Reading 1-2 Barnsley
Leeds 2-1 Watford (aet)
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Middlesbrough (aet)
Swansea City 1-2 Scunthorpe United (aet)

Violent scenes at Upton Park

Typical. Just after posting an article on how well things are going at West Ham United, this happens. Although it’s not really a fault of the Hammers.

Millwall were the visitors to Upton Park this evening for a Carling Cup tie, but unfortunately it’s not the Football that’s making the headlines. A man has been stabbed and violent battles have broken out outside the ground between rival fans who failed to get tickets for the match.

Reports are that “hundreds” of fans are involved in the incident, and officers have made two arrests. Police say the stabbing is connected to the fighting and the man is currently being treated by paramedics.

It’s same old same old as far as Millwall fans are concerned. They’re renowned for their trouble and violence both home and away, and there are no signs that they will relent in the near future. We obviously hope that there will be no fatalities linked to this violence.

Update as soon as we get more news.

Zola continues Italian Job

It’s been a tough 12 months for the boys at Upton Park. A row between the board and manager over the sales of Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney to Sunderland lead to the resignation of Alan Curbishley. That was followed by major sponsors ‘XL’ going bust, and then an ex-Chelsea player taking over as manager. Not ideal for West Ham fans, but it seems Zola was indeed the right man to take on the role.

Zola arrived at Upton Park last season a unknown quantity. He’d never managed a side before, let alone a PL team with European aspirations, and everyone was rather sceptical. But he slowly and surely stabilised his side and guided them well clear of the drop in his first season. Now, with the new season underway, he’s quickly changing the outlook of his side to suit his style.

The Hammers are close to capturing the signing of Livorno striker Alessandro Diamanti, a 26-year-old who scored 16 times in Serie B last season. Perhaps a bit of a gamble for Zola, as Diamanti doesn’t really have a proven track record in a decent League. However, perhaps Zola knows something we don’t. Diamanti could be a superstar in the making, and if anyone would know about it, it’d be Zola.

Another player that has recently been linked with a move to the East London Club is AC Milan’s Right-Back Massimo Oddo. The Italian International spent the whole of last season on-loan at Bundesliga side Bayern Munich after struggling to hold down a place at San Siro. Now he claims that West Ham have made an inquiry for his services.

Oddo is now 33 years old, and that coupled with the fact he can’t get a place in the Milan side suggests that he could be on his way out. However, Oddo has made it clear that he wants a permanent move rather than a loan move away from Italy.

“I have already had an experience on loan, which is not ideal for a player. Hence, I don’t want to go away and then come back to the same conditions as I was in the previous year. I have to look not only at my interests but that of my family. To go away for a year with young children and face a new culture doesn’t seem the ideal situation.” He obviously gets homesick, our Massimo. If he was English he’d jump all over the chance to get out of here for a year or so!

If Oddo does make his desired permanent move to the Hammers it would be part of an exchange deal with Frenchman Julien Faubert. Faubert started his career in London with an injury that kept him out of action for the first 3 months of the season, and since recovering he’s never really made an impact. A move to San Siro may just revitalise him and kickstart his career.

Having watched West Ham take on Spurs at the weekend it’s plain to see what Zola has done with his side. They play good Football, they’re a strong side especially through the middle, and their fanbase is second to none. A push for Europe is a definite. All that’s left to say now is: Bravo Zola, siete una leggenda! Safe.

Monday 24 August 2009

Pressure mounts on Benitez as Liverpool fall to 3-1 defeat at the hands of Villa

I'll keep this short and simple.

Liverpool only lost twice in the entirety of last season, but with only 3 games gone in the 09/10 season, Rafa's boys already find themselves with 2 defeats against their name.

Villa turned up at Anfield today having lost their first and only PL game of the season, a home tie v Wigan, but they showed no signs of that against a sloppy Liverpool side. An open first half ended with Villa 2-0 up, after Lucas slotted one past his own 'keeper, before Curtis Davies headed home just before the whistle. Fernando Torres netted for the Reds with 20 minutes to go, but hopes of a comeback were short lived as Steven Gerrard brought down Nigel Reo-Coker in the box, allowing Ashley Young to slot home from the spot.

The match ended with boos from the Liverpool fans, clearly frustrated at another defeat in a game that they really should have won. Pressure continues to grow on Rafa Benitez who has failed to bring home the PL trophy in the 5 years he's been at Anfield. A squad that lacks depth, unstable owners, and a whole lot of question marks surround the Spaniard, and if the team don't start winning soon, the door could well be open for Rafa to pack his bags and leave.

Sunday 23 August 2009

England bring the Ashes home

Can we play you every weeeeeek, can we play you eveeeeeery week?!

England have won the Ashes! Ah the pleasure in typing/thinking/saying/shouting/singing that is indescribable.

Andrew Strauss and his boys have done the nation proud in regaining the little urn, by thrashing the Aussies in our own back yard. England have won the 5th and final Test by a massive 197 runs. Graeme Swann took 4 wickets on the final day, while Steve Harmison cleaned up the tail with 3 quick wickets. Emotional and jubilant scenes followed, as not only have England brought back the Ashes, but Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has bowled his last ball in a Test match. Not his greatest match, but his run-out of Ricky Ponting was definitely a turning point in the afternoon. Ironic for such a great all-rounder that his final contribution in the whites is a run-out from mid-off. Gotta love the man.

England got off to a flyer by taking the wickets of Simon Katich (43) and Shane Watson (40) early on in the day, but Captain Ricky Ponting (66) and Mike Hussey (121) dug in for the tourists, until that decisive Flintoff run-out. From then on in, wickets continued to fall throughout the afternoon, until Alastair Cook clung on to the winning catch off Mike Hussey. Graeme Swann taking the last wicket of the series.

Andrew Strauss was given the award for England's player of the series, while Michael Clarke won Australia's award. Stuart Broad won man-of-the-match for his wonderful spell of 5-37 in the first innings, plus some important runs down the order. So Freddie gets the greatest send-off he could have hoped for, and the celebrations have begun.

"I'm gonna take the mrs out for a meal tonight and then spend the day with the family tomorrow", he claims. As if! As Ian Botham said, "he'll be taking the mrs out for a Bacon & Egg roll at five in the morning!". Great scenes at the Oval, and the great thing is, they'll be at it again in 18 months time!

Saturday 22 August 2009

Twitter Tatter


So I was browsing through my Twitter, and as there's a lot of Football on this weekend, all the pros are tweeting their hearts out. Here's just a little view of what they're getting up to.

I'll start with Alecko Eskandarian, the LA Galaxy forward.
alecko11Headed to the HDC to watch the WPS Final, LA vs NJ. My prediction? 2-1 NJ and my twin sis Heather O'reilly will be WPS Finals MVP.

There are more abbreviations in there than a list of the World's most famous charities! Prizes for knowing what he's actually talking about (except Katie for obvious reasons).

Next up is Stuart Holden, USMNT player, revealing his generosity to a Twitter friend.
stuholden22RT @keikamara: FOR 4 GAME TICKETS...WHAT DID I DO WHEN I SCORED MY 1st GOAL FOR THE DYNAMO? 1st complete answer wins my box seat BLESS.

Think I wanna get myself to one of his games!

Holden in the action again here, exchanging pleasantries with close mate Jozy Altidore.
stuholden22@JozyAltidore17 how did the debut go ? Congrats on the win bruv!

And Altidore's reply.
JozyAltidore17@stuholden22 it was sick my man I loved every second can't wait for the next game

Nice to know the dude's enjoying life over here. S'not all doom and gloom afterall!

Finally, Giuseppe Rossi treats us to an insight as to what life as a professional Footballer is really like.
GiuRo22heyyy...took a dip in the pool cuz its sooo hot now...gonna be watching soccer games the whole weekend..good one tonite - milan vs. siena.

I'm sure they work hard reaaaally.

Congrats, Jonny Trott!


'mon the new kid!

A little congratulations is in order for one Ian Jonathan Leonard Trott. He battled his way to a maiden Test hundred today, and what a time to do it. England were 39-3 when Trott came to the crease, but a big partnership with skipper Strauss, and some very handy ones down the order with Broad, Swann and Anderson took England to a lead of 546.

Trott was eventually caught in the gully for 119 but received a standing ovation as he trotted (excuse the pun) off the field. The cameras caught a glimpse of his parents in the crowd - slightly embarrassing for his Mother who was shedding multiple tears - but a lovely, touching moment nonetheless. Well done Johnny boy!

Is Ravi Bopara the new Mark Ramprakash?

He's no Usain Bolt, but he could still be pretty special.

Ravi Bopara's International career has had more ups and downs than Katie & Peter's relationship. He burst onto the ODI scene in the 2007 World Cup down in the Caribbean, making a name for himself with a remarkably composed 53 against Sri Lanka in the Super 8's, a game England had to win, but didn't - by 3 runs. But it's not all been plain sailing.

His languid, yet effective style makes him a joy to watch. Cover driving, pulling, and clipping off his legs are all strengths of Bopara's, all evident in his 3 consecutive Test hundreds against the West Indies, home and away, earlier this year. However, a drop in form, and a loss of confidence has brought to my attention a very similar International career from a very similar Cricketer.

Surrey's Mark Ramprakash has been piling on the runs in County Cricket for years now. In particular the last 3, in which he has averaged over 100 in all 3 seasons. Despite this wonderful First-Class record, his Test match statistics are very disappointing. Throughout his International career, the question was raised time after time as to why he wasn't reproducing his County form in the World arena. It continues to stump pundits, fans, and himself to this day. An average of just 27 does little justice for his astounding ability.

As for Essex's number 3, he seems to be heading in a very similar direction. He's still a very young man, with a lot of years ahead of him, but one has to question his mental ability to cope with the step up to the International fold. That's clearly what it was for Ramps - a mental thing. He's proved that he has as much ability as your next England batsman, but when it came down to it, his fairly brittle mental state, at least when walking out with the Lions on his chest, cost him what should have been a much longer England career. Last season Bopara made big runs for Essex, including a double-hundred in a 50 over match. That's an incredible feat, and you have to be a special player to be able to do that. Since being dropped by England, he's made 201 in the County Championship against Surrey, suggesting that it wasn't his form with the bat that cost him his place for the final Test, but his fragile mind.

It'd be a shame if Bopara let that get the better of him, and sabotaged what could be a fantastic, blossoming England career. It's not something that can be easily rectified, but with more experience perhaps a stronger frame of mind will come with it. Yes he did score 3 consecutive hundreds earlier in the year, but that was against West Indies. With all due respect, they're not an Australia or a South Africa. Having not even made a fifty in this year's Ashes, his place for the South African tour is surely in jeopardy, especially as Jonathan Trott cracked a brilliant 119 today on debut. The only thing Bopara can do now, is make sure he's getting runs on a regular basis for Essex, and hope the selectors give him his third chance in Test Cricket.

Ramprakash certainly received his fair share of chances, but failed to ever capitalise on them. He never cemented his place in the side, and that's exactly what Bopara has to do. Scoring runs against the weaker sides is one thing, but delivering the goods in a high pressure, Ashes situation is a completely different slice of cake. We hope Bopara isn't the new Ramprakash, and we hope that with experience and matches he'll gain the mental strength to be able to deal with the high pressure expectations that come with being an International Sportsperson.

Hull off the mark & stalemate at St. Andrews

Question; Who's the most relieved man on the planet right now?
Answer; Mr. Philip Brown.
(Click here for Today's other match reports, and general news)


The little-known name of Kamel Ghilas ensured Hull bagged their first points of the PL season, and giving Manager Phil Brown a reason to sigh very heavily. It was The Tigers’ first home win in the PL since December. The Hull faithful were to catch a glimpse of new American signing Jozy Altidore when he came off the bench to replace Caleb Folan in the 60th minute, and no doubt Jozy will have been ecstatic to play a pretty major part in Hull’s first win of the season.

A fairly dull first half saw chances for Bolton’s Johan Elmander, and Hull’s Stephen Hunt, as well as an effort from scorer Ghilas that brought a decent save out of Wanderers’ ‘keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

The second half brought little more to enthrall the crowd. Elmander had another chance rather early on, but nothing came of it. Then, Altidore making his PL debut replacing Folan, set up Ghilas for the winner with a header over the Bolton defence that he smashed past Jaaskelainen. Altidore had a chance of his own a few minutes later, lobbing Jaaskelainen but placing the ball wide of the far post. Little else followed for either side, but a much needed win for Phil Brown’s men, who are now lifted out of the relagation zone at this very early stage in the season.

Further south, Birmingham and Stoke played out a bore draw at St. Andrews with Stoke ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen claiming man-of-the match. He kept out efforts from Gary O’Connor and Franck Queudrue amongst others, but watched his side fail to hit the back of the net at the other end. Both sides will be fairly content with a draw, although pre-match, both Alex McLeish and Tony Pulis probably viewed this as a should-win.

Another op for Freddie?

"F-f-f-f-fuckkkkkkkkk".

Oh Freddie Freddie Freddie. When shallst thou be healthy again?
There are yet more reports that the big man will require another operation on his dodgy knee after the Oval Test match. That'd make Freddie the most operated-on man since David Busst snapped his leg in about 24 places.

He's clearly struggling though, but despite that Andrew Strauss made the strange decision to bring him on to bowl when messrs Siddle and Hilfenhaus were occupying the crease late in the Aussie innings. Surely a Harmison, or an Anderson would have been a better option, considering their not limping around on half a leg?

Still, you can't knock big Fred. He keeps bouncing back, thundering in off his long run-up, and defying the physiological odds. If he is to have another operation, he'll be ruled out for the ODI's against Australia, and the much hated Champions Trophy in SA in September. That'd put us right in the brown stuff, with KP already ruled out of both competitions.

Any other normal person would be dead by now, but after hundreds of injuries, thousands of operations, and millions of miserable mugshots, Fred is still with us, and battling on with the rest of the England boys as they approach a memorable victory at the Oval that will see the Ashes return to the place it belongs.

Friday 21 August 2009

Wickets tumble on enthralling day

15 wickets falling on the second day at the Oval. I'm mad, right?
But you would be mistaken in thinking that I was incorrect if you didn't watch one of the best day's Test Cricket in a long time.

An overnight 307-8 was where England stood as the bell rang out over the Oval pavilion on the second morning. Stuart Broad, James Anderson, and Steve Harmison were the men given the difficult task of lifting England up to a respectable but below-par 350. A total that would challenge Australia, but by no means right them off.

The day started badly for England, however. James Anderson recorded his first Test match duck as he was undone by a Ben Hilfenhaus in-swinger. Anderson trudged off with his record shattered, and ending at 58 innings without a Test duck. AB de Villiers lead the way with that statistic - he played out 78 innings before recording his first duck.

Some decent hitting from Broad and Harmison saw England up to 332, before Broad edged a Hilfenhaus cutter to Ricky Ponting in the slips. A slight delay followed, with a bit of confusion. It turned out that as Hilfenhaus bowled that ball, Broad's leg stump bail had fallen off. However, both sides accepted it, and that was that as far as the England innings was concerned. Andrew Strauss would probably have been very disappointed not to at least reach the 400 mark after an excellent start to their innings, but the pitch was already showing signs of wear and tear that would no doubt aid Graeme Swann with his off-spin.

Australia's innings started slowly, but Shane Watson and Simon Katich dug in and took the score up to 73 before the first wicket was lost. Broad in the action again as he trapped Watson in front, LBW for 34. And there started one of the greatest collapses the Oval had ever witnessed. Broad went on to claim 3 more wickets in his next 3 overs, giving him figures of 5.1.16.4 mid-way through the afternoon session. Ricky Ponting dragged one on, Mike Hussey was trapped leg-before by a full in-swinger, and Michael Clarke drove on the up to Jonathan Trott at short extra-cover. That was Trott's first catch in Test Cricket, and boy did he enjoy it.

shame about the mugshot, but a great moment nevertheless

After Broad's burst, it was Graeme Swann's turn to steal the show. On a big-turning pitch, the Notts off-spinner had the Aussies in one hell of a pickle. He first did for Marcus North, who on second look was very unlucky to be given out LBW after getting a fairly noticeable inside edge onto his back pad. A rye smile from North followed, but jubilant scenes from England said it all. They were dominating proceedings. It wasn't too long after that Simon Katich reached his fifty - a gritty, very Katich-like knock, much needed by the tourists. Australia would dearly have loved Katich to go on and make a match-saving ton, but it wasn't to be. When on exactly 50, he got a healthy inside edge onto a Swann delivery that failed to turn, and ballooned the ball up to short-leg where Alastair Cook took one of the simpler catches of his blossoming career. Katich trudged off furious with himself, and with the scoreboard reading 109-6.

Brad Haddin is renowned for being an excellent player of spin. However, it wasn't spin that claimed his wicket. It was that man Broad again. A beautiful away-swinger pitched full on middle stump, that Haddin played all around, crashed into the off stump and set the Barmy Army off again. 111-7, and only one thought on Aussie minds - to avoid the follow-on. Mitchell Johnson made 11 before edging a Swann turner, while Stuart Clark and Ben Hilfenhaus made just 6 apiece before falling to Swann and Flintoff respectively. Swann finishing with series best figures of 4-38. Clark was very unlucky to be given out bat-pad when the ball clearly missed the bat by a couple of inches. Asad Rauf not doing himself any favours with that one. Peter Siddle remained unbeaten on 26, making him one of only 4 Aussie batsman to make double figures. All out, 160.

England came out to bat in the knowledge they led by 172 with 9 and a bit sessions left in the match. They lost Alastair Cook (9), Ian Bell (4), and Paul Collingwood (1) cheaply, leaving them 39-3, but they end the day on 58 with no further losses. Andrew Strauss (32), and Jonathan Trott (8) are the not out men, and they have the comfortable task of ensuring England set a solid base tomorrow morning, from which they can press on and get a huge lead, before attempting to bowl Australia out for a second time.

There is no doubt as to who's day it's been. Stuart Broad has had a mixed time of it lately, particularly after the Cardiff Test. He's had his critics, but it seems ever since Mitchell Johnson got involved with him while Broad was making runs at Headlingly, he's been a different bowler. Figures of 6-91 at Leeds, followed by 5-37 in this match. His variety has been his downfall in the past, but today he used it to perfection, causing every batsman he bowled at problems, and keeping composed after taking his first couple of wickets. There's been much talk as to whether he could be as good as Andrew Flintoff, and with performances like these, you have to agree. We've seen the potential he has with the bat - an average of over 32 with two fifties has taken care of that side of his game - but it's his bowling that needs to really progress in the next 12-18 months if he's to stake a claim for being England's next genuine all-rounder. I don't think there's any doubt that if he continues to work hard at his game, and put in full-blooded performances

like we've seen today, that Broad can do just that. As an England fan, I'd love him to fulfill his potential, and some. He's got a bright future ahead of him that kid, we just need to give him some time, and he'll become one of the best.

A mention for Graeme Swann too. Only 6 wickets in the series prior to today, and 4 of them in one innings. There were questions over his form after Cardiff, a pitch that offered considerable turn, but he's answered them today, on a surface that has turned more than Sophia Gardens. 4-38 is a fantastic return for a finger-spinner on any Oval pitch, and even more so against Australia. So well done to him, and the rest of the England boys.

Match in the balance after Siddle's 4

Peter Siddle's 4-wicket haul on the first day at the Oval restricted England to a below-par 332. Ian Bell's 72 was the highlight of the England innings, who after being 176-2 would have been hoping for a score of over 400.

Siddle finished with figures of 4-75, his second best return of the series after an emphatic 5-21 in the first innings at Headingley. There were 3 wickets for the series' leading wicket-taker Ben Hilfenhaus, and two for Mitchell Johnson, who once again was the most expensive and less threatening of the 4 seam bowlers. Jonathan Trott's wicket came courtesy of some sharp work by Simon Katich at silly point - Trott going for 41, an impressive start to his Test career.

With the pitch being described as the worst at the Oval in over 20 years, a result seems increasingly likely. There was sharp turn on the first day for Marcus North, only a part-time off-spinner don't forget. Graeme Swann, therefore, should be able to exploit the substantial rough outside the right and left-hander's off-stump.

If England are to fight back and win from this position, their bowling has to be immaculate. Swann will need some wickets for his confidence, and to answer the few growing critics that he has, while Andrew Flintoff will no doubt be pumped up in his final Test match outing.

Argentine star Boselli a target for PL Clubs

It is understood that 24-year-old Argentine striker Mauro Boselli is a target for several Premier League Clubs.

Boselli helped current club Estudiantes to Copa Libertadores victory earlier this year, an achievement that has caught the eye of Managers in England. Boselli also finished top scorer in the tournament, with 8 goals, including the winner in the final against Brazilian side Cruzeiro.

Manchester City had been linked with a move for the striker earlier in the year, but now with the likes of Adebayor and Tevez at Eastlands, any renewed interest seems unlikely. However, as the transfer deadline nears the end, Bolton, West Ham, Hull, and Wigan are all deeply interested in securing his signature.

Boselli's British representitive Barry McIntosh deems it only right that his client should receive such interest.

"Mauro is one of the best strikers in Argentina and it is little surprise there is such interest in him. We cannot go into detail at this point, but a move before the transfer window shuts does look possible."

Boselli's career record isn't the best, but there's still room to improve. Since making his first-team debut back in 2003 for Boca Juniors, Boselli has played 99 matches and scored 25 goals. That's less than a goal every 3 games. However, playing in a higher standard of League, with better players may just give him the opportunity to shine. Whoever captures his signing will have acquired an excellent young player.

Thursday 20 August 2009

Michel Salgado - Remember him?

He's back on the Football radar. 33 year old Michel Salgado has made the surprising move to Ewood Park, to join up with Big Sam Allardyce and his Blackburn side.

The ex-Real Madrid man played a major part in the success of the Club during Vicente del Bosque's reign, but as the impatient President and Directors chopped and changed their number 1, Salgado found himself shut out at the Bernabeu. A combination of injuries and poor form contributed to that too. Salgado made just 17 appearances in his last two seasons in Spain, before being released at the end of the 08/09 season.

It's not surprising that Allardyce snapped him up. He's a player of great experience, and in his day he was a class act. I'm sure he still will be a class act, especially for Blackburn, although some of his old flair will obviously have been lost. However, since young Danny Simpson has left the club, the right back position has been a bit of a problem area for Big Sam, in pre season and the opening game of the season - the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Salgado will give Rovers width, experience as I mentioned, some hard-tackling, and probably a bit of play-acting, which can be expected from a Spaniard with long, blonde hair. An accentric character, who I'm sure will slot nicely into life in Lancashire. It's a far cry from Madrid though!

Allardyce has likened the new signing to Fernando Hierro's stint at Bolton, when he was Manager at the Reebok. "It will give us bigger status. He will demand more from the players rather than me or the coaches. I want him to bring a Real Madrid attitude to the dressing room. That is what Fernando did at Bolton and we all benefited. Hopefully that will be the case with Michel."

As for Salgado himself, he's just happy to be back in action. After turning down Chelsea to stay with Real a few years ago, looking back he feels he made the right decision. "I had a chance to come to Chelsea but I was lucky too because my team was Real Madrid. I love the club, I was there 10 years - it is a lifetime. I am proud of playing for them for so long. Now I want to enjoy the next two years, playing in the Premier League. It is one of the best in the world. Not only that it is pure football - fantastic games and a fantastic atmosphere. This will be a good experience for me, my wife and children. I have joined a historic club.''

A signing that will no doubt excite the Ewood fans, and hopefully make an impact on the Premier League in a positive way.

Dugout of the week

We see these kinds of dugouts quite often, in Italy, Brazil, Argentina. But seldom in England, let alone in non-league Football.

This very Continental idea is home to Corinthian FC, a Kent based Club who play in the Premier Division of the Kent Leagues. They were formed in 1972 by millionaire builder Ron Billings, primarily to give his sons something to do. Corinthian FC play at Gay Dawn Farm. You wouldn't boast about that, would you?

The Hoops aren't to be confused with another Corinthian FC, a London Club who were used as a development side for the England National team back in the late 1800's. You all knew that anyway.

Picture by Daniel Braddock.
http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/index.html

Kyrgiakos to join Liverpool

Samaras look-a-like?

Good luck pronouncing this one.

Liverpool have completed the signing of Greece International centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos - that's Sot-ear-rios Ker-jee-akos for the Graham Taylor's out there. The deal comes subject to a medical, and the fee is believed to be around the £1.5m mark.

With such a low price tag, Kyrgiakos is either a big gamble on Benitez's part, or a bargain from AEK Athens. At 30 years of age, Kyrgiakos should be at the top of his game, so perhaps it's the latter.

Rafael Benitez seemed positive about the new signing. "He is a player with experience who will hopefully help us in defence". I don't like the use of the word 'hopefully'. It gives an air of the unconvincing. Rafa went on to say: "He has experience in British Football with Rangers. After that with Frankfurt and the National team. He's a good player in the air, strong and aggressive. We were looking for a player with experience".

Does this spell the end for Daniel Agger? With Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel now regulars in the side, and the arrival of Kyrgiakos whom I'm sure will be next in line seeing as Agger's injured, the Danish International may just find himself out in the cold. Unless Rafa has plans to play either a 5-3-2, or play Agger at left-back. But that'd mean the end for Fabio Aurelio. AC Milan have recently shown big interest in Agger, and with the transfer window deadline still two weeks away, there's still plenty of time for them to come calling again.

It'll be interesting to see how Kyrgy fits in to Rafa's plans. He'll be arriving before the weekend, so the Kop may get a first glimpse of him during Monday night's home match against Villa.

The H Factor: Harry's impact at the Lane

Tottenham - over the last few years has been a story of three little Piggies. Martin Jol built what seemed to be a solid platform at White Hart Lane, only for the big bad Wolf, Daniel Levy, to blow it down, much to the fan's discontent. Along came Juande Ramos, but his structure didn't last very long at all. He barely collected the wood before Levy came and blew his house down. But now Tottenham have a new era, and a new Piggy at the helm. Harry Redknapp has laid the foundations for his sturdy looking team, and Levy is yet to spoil his party.

Redknapp has been around the South Coast for as long as a lot of people can remember, from his playing days right through to his current Managerial endeavours. His playing days saw him wear the shirt for 4 Clubs, and he even ventured into the US in an attempt to make an impact on American football. West Ham, Bournemouth, and Brentford were his British-based Clubs, while Seattle Sounders were the boys across the Atlantic that gave him a chance there. In a career that lasted 18 years, Redknapp knocked up 276 appearances, scoring just the twelve goals. But it would be his Managerial expertise and prowess that would leave a big imprint on the Footballing life of Harry Redknapp.

In 1983 Redknapp took up the role as Manager of his beloved hometown Club Bournemouth - this after he had a stint as Assistant Manager in Seattle. In 9 years at the seaside Club, Redknapp managed to gain promotion from Division 3, and even beat Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. Some achievement. Redknapp then followed his mixed spell at Bournemouth with a long stint at West Ham, where he truly made his mark, and enhanced his reputation. He is still held responsible for the upbringing and nurturing of players such as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, and Frank Lampard - all whom have gone on to play for England on numerous occasions and are now major parts of their respective clubs. Portsmouth followed his West Ham days, where he made an immediate impact, lifting Pompey to the Premier League in his first full season. He then managed to keep them in the top flight the following season, before a spat with then Chairman Milan Mandaric prompted him to resign. Harry then took up the post at local rivals Southampton, much to Pompey fan's disbelief. Cries of 'judas' rang round the Football World for a lengthy amount of time. That is of course until he returned to Fratton Park for his second spell at the Club. In 2008, Redknapp finally called time on his Portsmouth career, to make the exciting trip to North London to take over a struggling Spurs side.

Redknapp stated that he couldn't turn down the offer. The chance to join such a big Club was too tempting for him, and as he said himself, it may be his last and only chance to do so. Harry made immediate change. He stabilised the Squad, and managed to save Tottenham from a very unlikely relegation battle by winning ten of his twelve games in charge at the back of the 08/09 season. Now, he's brought back Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, and Pascal Chimbonda to the lane, as well as capturing the signature of Wilson Palacios. It's those players that have made the difference to Tottenham since Redknapp's arrival.

He's definitely one for getting the best out of his players. Since bringing Defoe back, he's looked a different player. He's already banged in 5 goals this season for Club and Country, and there's no doubt there's a lot more to come. "Jermain has been brilliant for us so far this season. He looks stronger and fitter than ever". Robbie Keane's career seemed to have stalled when he linked up with Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, but since returning to his beloved Spurs, he's been given the captain's armband, and has been playing better than ever. One may argue that we didn't see the best of Keane because he never really got a chance at Anfield to make an impact, but that's no fault of his. And as for Darren Bent, he couldn't hit a barn door if he tried when Jol and Ramos were at the helm, and even though he's a pretty average player, he ended up as the Club's top scorer last season - the majority of his goals coming under the Redknapp reign towards the end of the campaign. He's now moved on to Sunderland where his confidence is sky high, and is banging in goals left, right, and centre. Two in two so far for Bent.

It's not hard to put your finger on how Redknapp gets the best out of his players. He's one of the most respected Footballing figures in Europe right now, and has been for a long time. Players look up to him, perhaps almost as a Father figure, or at least as a friend. He knows where to draw the line between a bit of friendly banter off the pitch, and getting down to business on it, and that's where the respect comes from. The players know he can be a banter merchant and a bit of a joker, but when it comes to matchday they know to perform, and they know where they stand. His honesty shines through most of all. If he has something to say, he'll say it. He doesn't beat around the bush and try to hide things like a Wenger, or a Benitez would do. He says it how it is.

Obviously his knowledge of the game is as good as anyone else's. His tactical awareness, man-management and everything else you can think of that goes with being a Premier League Manager is first-class. Ramos panicked when things weren't going his way. He tried to make changes that everyone could see weren't going to work. Redknapp has kept it simple though. He's stuck to what he knows best, played players in their best positions, and as I said before, he's got the best out of his lads. Tottenham will go places with Harry in charge. They've already made a wonderful start to the new season, beating Liverpool at WHL, and demolishing Hull at the KC. Europe is certainly on Spurs' minds, and in this current form, who'd dare bet against them?

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Spurs and Reds run riot

Tottenham continued their fantastic to start to the new season with a crushing win at the KC Stadium against Hull. After defeating Liverpool at White Hart Lane on the opening day of the campaign, Jermain Defoe helped himself to a hatrick, while Robbie Keane and Wilson Palacios added to the scoreline, as Spurs completed a 5-1 demolition of Phil Brown's men. Palacios' strike was his first for the Club since joining in January from Wigan. Hull's consolation strike came from new signing Stephen Hunt, but this'll be a bitter pill to swallow for Brown, who would have been hoping to put the opening day defeat to Chelsea behind him by at least securing a point from this game. Hull's next match is a 6-pointer against Bolton at the KC, a game Brown will be desperate to win.

As for Defoe, he seems to just get better and better. He made the strange, and unsuccessful move to Portsmouth last season to work with Harry Redknapp, but since moving back to the Lane, he's been on fire. Redknapp described his form as the best he'd ever seen from the little striker, who hit two goals last week for England against Holland, helping them recover from a 2 goal deficit to claim a draw. "He's been fantastic all pre-season", Harry remarked. "He's a fantastic striker and we've seen today just what he can offer". Spurs will be hoping that he can stay fully fit, and keep up his form - if he does that, they'll be major contenders to break into the top four.

Liverpool were amongst the goals as well this evening, hitting 4 past Stoke City, and keeping their first clean sheet of the season. Goals from Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson, Dirk Kuyt, and David N'gog made for an emphatic result, thoroughly deserved and needed after the defeat to Harry's men on Sunday. Still, there's a difference from beating Stoke 4-0 at a packed Anfield, from travelling to Old Trafford on a cold Sunday afternoon with 60,000 people up against you. But we'll see what occurs for Liverpool as the season pans out. No doubt Rafa Benitez will be delighted with the win, and with Manchester United surprisingly losing to Burnley tonight, will be pleased that the Red Devils haven't got away from them early in the season.

Liverpool's next match is a televised home game against Aston Villa, who haven't made a great start to the season, but they're always a threat. There is still grave concern over the depth of Liverpool's squad, but for this evening, all's good on the Red side of the Mersey. Well done boys!

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Denly gets the call

Seems like the England selectors have been taking note of my 'Eye on England' for Joe Denly.

The Kent batsman has received his first International call-up, and it's some call! He's been selected in the ODI Squad for the matches against Australia, plus the Champions Trophy in South Africa later in the year. Congrats Joe!

A very talented batsman, Denly has been on the tip of selector's tongues for a long time now. Having played numerous games for the Lions, he'll have some kind of flavour for facing International bowlers. Hopefully he'll give the England top-order what they've been missing for a very long time now - a bit of flair.

While Denly has been included in both Squads, Kevin Pietersen has been included in neither. The Achilles injury will keep KP out of all International action this Summer, meaning if England are to win any major honours in the next few months, they're going to have to do it without their star batsman. A challenge, but one I'm interested and excited about. I want us to do well without Pietersen, to shut up all those cynics out there who think England are a one-man team. Jog on.

Andrew Flintoff has also been included in the Squads, despite suffering from a Knee injury that has forced him to hang up his boots on Test Cricket. At least with Flintoff in the side, we have some prowess with the ball. As we saw at Headingly in the 4th Test - without Flintoff, the side falls apart.

Adil Rashid, who impressed in the World Twenty20 in this country, keeps his place in the Squad. Whether England will play with two spinners remains to be seen, but Graeme Swann will remain the primary spinner. Tim Bresnan, who did an admirable job earlier on in the summer against West Indies gets a call, as does Irish-born batsman Eoin Morgan, who's had little impact so far since making the switch of allegiance.

Squad for ODI's v Australia & Champions Trophy:
A Strauss (Captain), J Anderson, R Bopara, T Bresnan, S Broad, P Collingwood, J Denly, A Flintoff, E Morgan, M Prior, A Rashid, O Shah, R Sidebottom, G Swann, L Wright.

Hertha want Voronin back

Why?

Desperate? Piss-take? One of the two.

German Club Hertha Berlin have the unexplainable desire to take Liverpool Striker Andriy Voronin back to Germany. The Ukraine International spent last season on loan in Bundesliga, and scored 11 goals in 20 appearances for the Club.

Voronin is out of favour at Anfield, for good reason, and it looks like Rafael Benitez wants to shift him out. The problem is, no one had wanted him up until now. Having started his Liverpool career fairly well, with a goal on debut at St. Etienne, Voronin completely lost his form through the middle of the 2007-2008 season, and was cast aside promptly. At the start of the 2008-2009 season, Hertha came calling and snapped him up on a loan deal. Now back at Anfield, Voronin made little impact when coming on as a substitute in the defeat to Tottenham.

For me, having watched him play on numerous occasions, he's definitely having the same for breakfast as what Lucas has. Liverpool have had their fare share of failing centre-forwards in recent times - Fernando Morientes is one that springs to mind - but Voronin has hit a new level of rubbish-ness. You may think I'm over-critical of Lucas and Voronin, but anyone in their right mind can see that they're not worthy of the Red's shirt.

So if Voronin goes, that's half of the catastrophes out the door. I'll be on the phone to Mr. Gegenbauer asap, asking if he'll take Lucas away as well.

Monday 17 August 2009

El hombre de Wigan

Wigan. Not a club you would generally associate with elegance, beauty, and silky smooth Football. They’re a club you’d put in the physical, route one, bullying bracket, without being unfair or critical. Over the years their style of Football has remained pretty much the same – the ‘Northern’ way if you like. Being from the Lancashire region, in which teams such as Bolton, Blackburn and Burnley come from, you’d expect nothing more and nothing less.

Recent Managers such as Paul Jewell, Christ Hutchings and Ray Mathias have done little to change Wigan’s style of play. Players like Jason de Vos, Emile Heskey, Arjan de Zeeuw and David Unsworth all play into that style – big, bullying, physical men who wouldn’t necessarily think about trying to play the ‘beautiful’ game.

However, Wigan’s answer to Pep Guardiola has something to say about that. Only two seasons ago was Roberto Martinez lifting Swansea City to the summit of League 2, a competitive division in it’s own right. That is no mean feat, don’t be fooled. Martinez’s youth, for a Manager anyway, and hunger for the game was unquestionable. He looked like a man in complete control of his emotions, his tactics, and his general ability as a leader. Wigan saw something in that, and pounced. Had they not brought Martinez to the JJB, bigger Clubs would no doubt have approached Swansea.

Martinez was an excellent Footballer himself. Having started his career at little-known Spanish outfit Balaguer CF, before moving to Real Zaragoza. From there he swiftly made the decision to move to England without so much as scoring a goal for the La Liga side. In a period of 6 years from 1995-2001, Martinez made 188 appearances for Wigan scoring 17 goals, which can be argued doesn’t do his ability and talent justice. He was a fantastic passer of the ball, something that has clearly rubbed off onto his Management style. Set-pieces were a forte of Martinez, something that attracted great praise and acknowledgement from fellow Players and Managers.

Following his long and successful spell with Wigan, Martinez went on to have spells with SPL side Motherwell, and League 2 side Walsall before settling down in Swansea in 2003. In 3 seasons with the Welsh Club, Martinez racked up 122 appearances, scoring 4 goals – again, perhaps not a true reflection of his ability. Martinez ended his career at Chester City, in 2007, a player that somewhat underachieved, particularly in the goals scored column. However, soon after ending his playing career, Swansea snapped him up as their Manager. In his first season, Martinez won 3 Manager of the Month Awards and as I mentioned earlier, gained promotion to the Championship. After an impressive first season in England’s second tier, Wigan signed the Spaniard on a 3 year contract, beating the likes of Celtic to his signature.

Martinez style as a Footballer is slowly becoming more and more evident in the way he Manages his teams. When at Swansea, he played an attractive, attacking style of Football and took a very average mid-division side to great success. Now with Wigan, he’s continuing along the same route. Having brought in players such as Jordi Gomez, Abian Serrano, and Antonio Amaya, it seems that the old bullish Wigan way is slowly but surely falling out of place. Whilst we don’t know a lot about those players, the fact that they are Spanish gives us a clue towards Martinez’s thinking. All Football fans will know that the Spanish pass the ball. There’s none of this wacking it up the pitch and letting the bloke upfront barge his way through the opposition centre-backs nonsense. Proper Football is the way forward.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say Wigan are the new 1990’s Middlesbrough, but they’re heading in the same direction. When Brazil fever hit Teeside, with the arrivals of Juninho and Emerson, ‘boro fans everywhere sought after instant silverware. Wigan have to be more realistic in their approach. They’re not a club with a huge amount of money like the much precedented Manchester City’s of this world, but they’re a club with a stable platform, an excellent chairman, and now a talented, enthusiastic Manager and group of Players.

Wigan’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at the weekend is evidence of Martinez’s impact on the Latics in this short space of time. Beating Villa on home soil is hard enough, but beating Villa AT Villa is even tougher. Martin O’Neill has a well-balanced, well-structured setup at Villa Park, but were outdone by an impressive, young Wigan side. The likes of Hugo Rodallega, Jason Koumas and Scott Sinclair all have wonderful ability. Time is on their side too. Having rebuilt the side with youth, Martinez has plenty of time to work with his players and develop them into a side that can maybe one day press for a Champions League place – perhaps that’s a bit unrealistic, but Europe League is a definite possibility.

Roberto Martinez has really stirred up things at Wigan, and for the good. The only thing Dave Whelan has to think about, is making sure no one goes near his enigmatic Manager. With Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and the likes all approaching the end of their careers, big clubs will have vacancies, and there is no doubt in my mind that Martinez could fill one of those vacancies in the future.

Football's most tedious discussion resurfaces

Yes, you have read this story in 17 different newspapers in the past 5 years, and yes it’s back again. For the umpteenth time in the history of the Premier League, the old row over goal-line technology has hit the surface once again.

This latest uproar comes courtesy of a truly hilarious and ridiculous incident during Crystal Palace’s match with Bristol City at the weekend. Hilarious because it happened to Neil Warnock, whom I dislike severly, and ridiculous because it was. Palace’s Freddie Sears effort flew past City custodian Dean Gerken and hit the stansion in the top corner of the net. However, referee Rob Shoebridge and his assistant, Chris Knowles, failed to realise what 14,000 other people did realise – that the ball had gone in the net. Dear oh dear. If we’ve learned that Arsene Wenger doesn’t in fact need to go to Specsavers, we’ve learnt that Messrs Shoebridge and Knowles need to take the Arsenal boss’ place.

City went on to win the game 1-0, and as you would expect, Warnock was furious and claimed his side has been “cheated”.

The incident brings back memories of similar incidents in recent years, most notably the Pedro Mendes ‘goal’. The now-Rangers man was playing for Spurs at the time in an important encounter at Old Trafford against Scumchester United. Mendes’ long-range lob beat United ‘keeper Roy Carroll and bounced at least 5 inches over the line, but neither referee nor assistant spotted it, despite Carroll’s obvious disappointment at conceeding the would-be wondergoal (he sat on the ground for about 10 seconds with his hands on his knees!).

Keith Hackett, the General Manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board (easier done than said), is adamant that the use of goal-line techonology would be a positive step for the game.

“I think the major issue centres around the fact for a number of years PGMOB have been calling for goal-line technology to be introduced. In fairness the Premier League worked with Hawkeye to achieve a product that the Premier League wanted to put into an operation as an experiment with the full support of the Football League, Football Association, LMA and PFA. All the parties were in favour but, at the international board meeting in Gleneagles a year ago, FIFA and Sepp Blatter decided the experiment could not go ahead.”

I think that on such matters, and difficult decisions, levels of tedium should be taken into account and a decision should be based on that. Therefore, this case should have been decided at least 3 years ago, when the tedium levels hit more epidemic proportions that Swine Flu. Introduce bloody goal-line technology and lets talk about something more interesting. Mr. Blatter, are you reading?

A seagull with a mission, and all change for England

Okay, so a lot can happen in a week.

This is the infamous Seagull that decided to uphold play in the match between the Aussies and the England Lions because he was hungry for a bail. Yes, a bail. Perhaps not the tastiest of choices, but a gull's gotta do what a gull's gotta do!

Back to more Cricketing matters, and England have made the tough, but probably the correct, decision to drop under performing batsman Ravi Bopara. Bopara has made just 105 runs in 7 innings in this year's Ashes, a tally that clearly isn't good enough for the England selectors to give Bops another chance.

Jonathan Trott will make his Test debut at the Oval in the deciding match of the Summer. The Warwickshire batsman has been his county's top scorer in all competitions this season, so one can't argue that he doesn't deserve the call-up.Oh, but look - he's a South African. Commeth the day when England find a decent batsman from ENGLAND.

It bewilders me how the England selectors continue to show so little faith in our home-grown talent. James Hildreth, Alex Gidman, Paul Horton. They're all out there. A name that has been bandied around recently is that of Surrey antique Mark Ramprakash. I think Andy Flower and the boys were ready to dip in and purchase a zimmerframe for Ramps, who 20 days short of being 40, would be England's oldest Test Cricketer since Geoffrey Boycott. Perhaps Bob Willis will be called out of retirement in time for the Oval decider.

Spurs 2-1 Liverpool: Lacklustre Reds pay the price

Eugh.

Liverpool paid the price for a below-par performance at White Hart Lane on Sunday with a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of an impressive Spurs side.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto opened the scoring for the home side on the stroke of the break with a powerful drive into the top corner of Pepe Reina’s net. Liverpool equalised soon after half-time with a Stevie G penalty, brought about by some impressive work from Glen Johnson, making his debut for the club. However, Harry Redknapp’s side had the last laugh, with new recruit from Newcastle Sebastien Bassong heading home from a Luka Modric freekick.

There was obviously something missing for the Reds throughout the 90 minutes, and it was clear to everyone apart from Rafa Benitez, it seems, just what that was. The presence and class of Xabi Alonso. Rafa replaced the now Real Madrid man with Lucas Leiva, possibly the worst Premier League player Liverpool have ever had, including Karl-Heinz Riedl. Alonso’s ability to pick a pass from 40 yards made Liverpool a threat from all over the park in previous years, but now with two ‘workhorses’ in Lucas and Mascherano in the middle, there was no such luxury.

Looking at the Liverpool bench, it’s evident that Benitez needs to spend a bit more time in the transfer market too. The likes of Voronin, Dossena, Sanchez Ayala, and Kelly are simply not good enough to be able to change a game when coming off the bench, and in comparison to Spurs’ subs, they were considerably weaker. Harry had the likes of David Bentley, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko to call upon, but without a second class striker, and with Daniel Agger and Alberto Aquilani out injured, Rafa had nowhere to turn.

Tensions rose towards the end of the match when Sammy Lee was sent to the stands by referee Phil Dowd. Rafa Benitez wasn’t best pleased either, displaying his disappointment in a post-match interview.

“We didn’t play well, especially first half, but we were much better in the second. We pushed harder and had more options in the final third, but clearly we have to improve if we want to win these kind of games”.

Damn right, we need to improve. We don’t have the strength in depth that United, Chelsea, Man City do, and we don’t have the quality in the middle now that Alonso has left. Aquilani is out for 2 months, so in the mean time, either Lucas has to perform a miracle and play well for once in his life, or Rafa has to get someone else in, either on a short-term loan, or permanent. Preferably the latter.

Liverpool won’t be winning the League this year, i can safely say that. If we continue to play like that, we’ll be lucky to finish in the top half.

Next 5 matches:
Stoke City – H
Aston Villa – H
Bolton – A
Burnley – H (no Djimi Traore, thank the lord)
West Ham – A

Friday 14 August 2009

From where I was sitting, I saw nothing!

Who would be a manager, eh? Not only do they have to control a group of mischievous, binge drinking, gambling addicted idiots but from what we gather from post-match interviews, they have a severe case of missing the most crucial incidents and decisions, UNLESS they go against their team. It’s usually because a steward was standing in their way, or they were on the phone to the Mrs, or some other really valid excuse.

However, as if we didn’t know already, Mr. Arsene Wenger of Arsenal FC has admitted that he faked it all. Well I never. I’m not being funny, but Arsene didn’t really need to ‘admit’ that for us all to believe. It was as clear as daylight.

Speaking ahead of his side’s League opener against Everton at the weekend, Wenger stated that loyalty to his players is far more important than answering questions from the media. (I’m sure a few media personnel will have a word or two to say about that).

Asked whether Wenger had ever been economical with the truth, the Frenchman replied: “Yes, because you are thinking ‘why has he (the player) done that?’ and you know you cannot explain”. So why not just say he’s a cheat then? We can all see it, we all know what’s happened – the hundreds of camera angles take care of that.

“From where I was sitting, I couldn’t see it” is now code for “yes, he dived – he’s a cheat”. However, you can understand where Arsene is coming from – it’s his duty to protect his players from criticism and such like – but for years now the FA and all other major governing bodies have been trying to clamp down on foul play such as diving and manipulating the referee into making decisions. Surely these acts of protection and denial give encouragement to players to continue doing such things, as they know that they will get the backing of their gaffer.

It’s a different story when the bad refereeing decision, or a dodgy offside flag goes up AGAINST Wenger’s team – he’ll give it some after the match, claiming the referee is biased or not fit to officiate a PL match, or the linesman wasn’t doing his job properly – but when the rub of the green is going his way, he’ll keep quiet and act innocent. I think it’s wrong that they are allowed to behave in this way. We know that in Football, and in Sport in general there are going to be some bad decisions, and it’s tough to accept them, especially in such high-pressure arenas and situations like you get in the PL. But berating officials when they get something wrong against you, and then turning a blind eye to something that happened for your team isn’t the way to go about it.

Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the King (it pains me to use the word ‘King’ in the same sentence as Fergie) at manipulating referees to such an extent that they are influenced during the match. Then when the rare occasion of a bad decision goes against United, you see him parading onto the pitch post-match and giving Howard Webb, Mike Riley, Steve Bennett a complete earful. It’s not fair on officials to be treated like that, and it’s not fair on opposing teams who have to be on the receiving end of a Ferguson tantrum – they ultimately affect a referees thinking.

Rafa Benitez received a lot of criticism when he spoke out against Ferguson’s influencing tactics, but none of that criticism was justified. He was 100% right in what he said, and I was so glad to hear about it – it was about time someone stood up and said something, and stopped letting Fergie get away with it. Benitez is a good one for staying quiet on the subject of criticising match officials. Seldom do you hear the Spaniard ranting Kevin Keegan style on TV after a bad match, and seldom do you hear about him getting involved in pre-match disputes about the men in the black.

The FA keep claiming they’re putting measures in place to give the referees more protection, but from where I’m sitting, I can’t see anything happening. Or perhaps that steward just got in my way. But seriously, last season a ‘rule’ came into place which allowed only the Captain of the team the right to speak to, challenge, whatever you want to call it, the referee, but on more than one occasion, much more than one occasion, did we see a mass of players aggressively approaching a referee. Chelsea are the main culprits – an Old Trafford Tie of the Avram Grant era springs to mind, when John Obi Mikel was sent off for a late lunge on a Utd player (prizes for naming that player). I’m looking forward to seeing if the FA’s latest attempt to give the referees some protection will actually work – I’m not 100% sure what they’ve actually changed, but we’ll see I guess.

It’s time that Wenger & Ferguson get a grip on their emotions, and be real here. It’s Football – you’re going to get done out of a few decisions – but deal with it. There are 20 teams in the PL all experiencing the same referees/linesman/officials – the World is not against YOU. I’m fed up of the words “I didn’t see anything”. I want managers to clamp down on cheats, and not protect them, and I want them to stop moaning about ‘bad’ referees.

Bring on tomorrow.

Torres signs new deal

Fernando Torres has agreed a new contract with the Reds that could see the Spain International stay at Anfield until 2014.

Such relief for me and my fellow Liverpool supporters, as Torres has been linked on a number of occasions recently to Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City – that’s an insult for a start. But Torres has now committed his future to the Merseyside Club, ensuring the Liverpool faithful can enjoy more wondergoals, such as the Van Basten-esque screamer against Blackburn last season.

The only question that remains over Torres now, is what sort of hairstyle he’ll be modelling come Sunday afternoon.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

He's neven going anywhere!

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the name Neven Subotic belongs in a Bond movie? Or perhaps a disease on your feet?

Subotic has recently been linked with a move to Arsenal but his agent, Stephen Kelly (very Football, no?), claims it is all speculation: “There is nothing in the reports linking Neven with Arsenal.. He only recently signed a new 5-year deal at Dortmund and it would take big money for any move to happen”. He says it like spending big money is a novelty.

The Gooners aren’t the only team to have shown interest in the 20-year old 6ft4 Centre-Half (that’s scary – i’m 17 and already 6ft3!). Last season, Everton expressed their desire to bring a then teenager to Goodison, but nothing ever came of it.

Arsenal have been looking to fill the gap that Kolo Toure has left since his departure to Manchester City. First they tried luring Federico Fazio, the young Argentine, to London, in vain, and now they seem to have missed out on Subotic – although you should never believe anything an agent says. It’s usually bull.

Subotic Fact-ory:
Born 10th December 1988.
Parents Zeljko and Svetlana.
Moved to Germany in 1994, before moving to Salt Lake City in 99.
Spotted by Mr. Kelly playing for USA under17’s in Netherlands.
Signed by Mainz where he made his First-Team debut at the end of the 06-07 season.
Signed for Dortmund in June 2008 on 5-year contract.
Has represented Serbia 4 times and has scored 1 goal.

Seems like a very interesting chap, does our Subo. Oh god, lets not call him that – any association with Susan Boyle can’t be a good thing.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Gerrard pulls out of England Squad

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has pulled out of England’s Squad for the Friendly against Holland on Wednesday with a groin injury. The news will come as a concern for Red’s gaffer Rafa Benitez, who will obviously want Gerrard fit for Liverpool’s Premier League opener on Sunday against Tottenham.

The FA stated that they would “err on the side of caution” with their squad, due to the timing of the Friendly which happens just days before the Premier League kicks off. The FA have previously received criticism from Managers for arranging Friendly matches so close to big Premier League games, and it wouldn’t be a surprise should this latest injury to Gerrard fuel up more discussion on the subject.