What a game last weekend.
It had everything. Good football(Arsenal), magnificent defending and counter-attacking(Us). Controvery on the pitch, injuries, teenagers throw into the heat of battle,loads of injury-time drama and of course a Manager spat! Brilliant!This is why we watch they Premier League. It may not be the most technical of football, but it gives so much more in other ways. You can shove your pedestrian Serie A nonsense and your basketball-esque La Liga. I will take the PL everyday.
So unsuprisingly Fab Aurelio broke down again and young Jack Robinson was thrown in. I did fear the worst, I have watched Jack a few times for the Reserves and the Youth team. He looks decent at that level. Coming on to face Walcott and company is a different matter. I have to say I was extremely impressed. He was ably assisted by Lucas and Spearing and Meirles when required. But England's mercurial winger did very little against him. When Carra went off after a clash of heads with Flanaghan, I again feared the worst.
They put us under pressure without creating too much. They were most dangerous against us when they played the early diagnals from fullback into the channels. They did this successfully against Blackpool the week before but failed to use it enough really. It is just me or has the pace Arsenal play at dropped significantly? There doesnt seem to be the same urgency from them that used to typify their play. Its still pretty to watch but the end product is dropping off. Only Gooner who stood out for me was Djourou, he hardly lost a header against Carroll all day and always seemed to be in the right place.
If there was one player who didn't deserve to finish on the losing team it was little Jay Spearing. He was everywhere, tackling, closing down intercepting, covering, passing intelligently. I am glad to see he is finally getting a extended run. He gives 110% everyweek. It was therefore a bitter blow that he conceded a pen deep into injury time. At that point you think its all over but Lucas wins a free kick on the edge of the box. Arsenal then take 2 minutes to sort out a wall after already taking another 2 after they scored. Is it any wonder Mr Mariner added the best part of 4 miutes on top of the initial 8? Eboue proved why he is generally on the fringes at Arsenal with his rash bundling over of Lucas for Kuyt to calmly slot home.
Eboue has always been a strange part of the Arseal squad, very rarely 1st choice,the wrong side of 30 and hardly technically gifted. I doubt he would be the right back at any of the teams in the top half or so of the PL. Wenger would normally have moved him on by now. Perhaps he has pictures of Wenger with animals or indeed watching replays and actually seeing what happened!
That brings me onto his reaction to us equalising, I have generally had a lot of respect for the myopic Wenger throughout his time at Arsenal. Mostly because he winds Sith Lord Ferguson up no end. His unsportsmanlike attitude to defeats and indeed he unwillingness to offer Dalglish a hand shake at the end shows the arrogance and ignorance of the man. For Kenny to dismissively wave him away with a 'Piss Off' tells you all you need to know. Wenger and his team are uravelling. They subsuquently threw a comfortable 3-1 lead away against Spurs on Wednesday night in another magnificent game and with it their chance to win the league. They are a squad which lacks leadership and characters.
So onto yesterday and our 7 year hoodoo against Birmingham. We certainly put that one to bed. 5-0, a hat-trick for Maxi and another sound set of performance from the 3 yougsters Robinson,Flanaghan and Spearing. I do like the Kuyt/Suarez partnership, it seems more mobile than when we play Carroll. Both are happy to drop off and work the channels, that allows Maxi and Meireles to go beyond them and join the attack. I think long term if Carroll is going to start every week we need a couple of wingers to really exploit his attributes.
Newcastle next, time to avenge the 3-1 reverse at St James'. I would stick with what we have for that game. If Carroll is fit then leave him on the bench, he can always come on as a sub and would you really want to expose him to the abuse he will get. Lets see if we can get anyone else fit before then, although Johnson and Kelly know they have some serious competiton for the fullback roles now!
We are closing in on Spurs and if can win all our remaining games I think we will nick 5th. A remarkable achievement considering where we were in mid October (19th with 6 points). Spurs have a tough run-in and hopefully they will do their usual and capitulate under pressure.
And for Christsakes give Kenny the job!!!!!
YNWA
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Blue Monday ???
What a great performance on Monday I thought I was watching Liverpool. But there I was being entertained, jumping out of my seat and high 5-ing my housemate and generally enjoying myself. But that cant be right can it??? We didnt get anything like that under Uncle Woy and only occasionally under Rafa the FSW.
Amazing game we were first to everything we didnt let them settle and the game was over long before halftime. I cant think of a single player who wouldnt have got at least 8/10. Lucas and Spearing were imperious in the middle of the park. Opitimised by 2 incidents in the 2nd half, Lucas winning his 300th header against Dzeko and Jay Spearing booting lumps out of Yaya Toure on the edge of the City box!! Brilliant.
Suarez and Carroll seems to be developing a good understanding, despite my comments on my last posting. That why I do this and Kenny runs the team! Dirk was at his duracell-bunny best. Raul was steady probably the only player who didnt stand out. Aurelio lasted 90 minutes, a miracle which I have reported to the Vatican!!
And what about 'Flanno'??? Young John Flanaghan was excellent his best moment was tracking the petulant malcontent that is Mario Balotelli and bundling him to the floor when he tried to sneak in on the blindside.
We were helped by Mancini's ineptitude and the general malaise in the City camp. Playing 4-4-2 for them was a mistake,changing a team that just won 5-1 at Sunderland was a mistake and not switching Adam Johnson over to Flanaghan's side of the pitch was bizarre especialy after they were 3-0 down.Did they really have anything to lose??? No-one in the PL want him running that them never mind a young lad on debut.
I think there will be a lot of players who leave City in the summer. What is the point of going to a big club and not playing? There are players who will gladly takes the wages and not bother but others have pride.Can you really see the likes of Johnson,Milner,Silva,Richards staying if they arent playing regularly. I think these guys will leave and be willing to take a cut in wages if required. Could you imagine what Adam Johnson would be like in our team.
We are a really conundrum within an enigma this year. We have played well against all the top 5 this year. Narrow defeat to Spurs (thanks Soty), a valiant fightback after being 3-0 down against ManUre. A plucky home draw with 10 men against the Gooners at home on the opening day. 6 points of Chelski, ManUre and City dismissed in our last 2home games.
Yet this same group of players couldnt muster a point against Blackpool, have lost to West Ham,West Brom and Wolves and could only manage 2 draws against Wigan. Be glad to see the back of all these 'W's!!! It is odd. Even since Kenny has come back we have still shown a flaw when playing the donkeys down the bottom. Still I think on the whole things are looking up.
We really need to decide if Kenny is going to stay beyond the end of the season. We should be starting to look at new players and they will all want to know who the gaffer is going to be. Personally I am still not sure if he a long term answer but do we really need another management change? I would give him a rolling 1 year deal. That would work for everyone, we arent overcommiting and he can still leave a legend.
Turning to Sunday I still think we have to lose. I know that is ridiculous but we were in the same situation last year when we played Chelski. On that occasion thankfully Stevie G saw Drogba make a great run and couldnt help but pass it to him!!
We need a similar thing on Sunday. If we beat the Gooner's the Legions of Doom will have won the League for the 19th time.Un-fucking-thinkable!
I still cant believe as I type this that when we won our 18th in 1990, they would ever get close to us, never mind pass us. The really gallig thing about it is they have been rubbish this season along with most of the other big clubs but they are still up there. Its too depressing for words.
They are also looking good in Europe after completing another bye against Chelski and now meet Schalke. Led by 375 year old Raul! Another bye. Only they can get to the Final of the Champions League and not have played a single team with any European pedigree.
Let hope Barcelona beat them 7-0 in the final. Viva Messi Viva!
I digress, I digress, I digress. If we play anything like the way we did on Monday night Arsenal are in for a hiding of note. Sqaullaci and young Koschelny are not going to be able to cope with Carroll and Suarez. They had enough trouble with Carl Taylor-Fletcher and DJ Campbell last week! Midfield I think we are match only Walcott and Van Persie worry me, oh yes, and that pesky little Rusky who like to score against us, Andre of the Arse Shavin! But really I think we will win on Sunday. I hope Kenny accepts the case of wine with good grace from Sith Lord Ferguson when it arrives from the Theatre of Delusions!
Of course I cannot sign off this blog without mentioning the harrowing, haunting and heart-breaking events of the 15/04/89. A day that will never be forgotten by Reds fans the world over. Tomorrow we mark the 22nd anniversary of Hillborough where 96 followers of the greatest team in the world died because of police incompotence and inaction.
I remember the day clearly, I had just finished playing football with my dad and we returned home and switched on the telly. We had stopped to get some beers and my dad's best friend and another guy from my class at school were there. We had missed the the first 15 minutes of the game. Which by that time had come to a halt. Bruce was trying to open gates and pull people up and over the fence. We watched in horror as peoples faces turn blue. It was terrible. There seems little assistance from the authorities at the time. Disgusting really.
But not as heinous as the headline published here in the UK by that bastion of journalism know as the Sun. This 'paper' caters to peoples whose IQ's are comparable to that of an ameba. THE TRUTH it screamed!!! All the Liverpool fans were drunk and they charged into the central pens and were to blame for killing their own. Irresponsible, unsubstiated and inflamitory was what it was. That particular newspaper still battles to sell in Liverpool to this day. They would never have dared publish that if it happened to any London club or indeed ManUre, but as all scousers are scum to them it was fair game to print this nonsense.
I have read the real truth by by Phil Scraton - 'Hillborough The Truth' I tell you it is the most disturbing book I have ever read. I could barely read 10 pages at a time without sobbing my eyes out or getting so angry that I wanted to punch someone. That was in 2002. I can only imagine the anger and pain still felt by the relatives of the 96. They still await justice. How David Duckenfield and Bernard Murray sleep at night (if they are still with us) is beyond me.
We shall never forget the 96.
YNWA
Amazing game we were first to everything we didnt let them settle and the game was over long before halftime. I cant think of a single player who wouldnt have got at least 8/10. Lucas and Spearing were imperious in the middle of the park. Opitimised by 2 incidents in the 2nd half, Lucas winning his 300th header against Dzeko and Jay Spearing booting lumps out of Yaya Toure on the edge of the City box!! Brilliant.
Suarez and Carroll seems to be developing a good understanding, despite my comments on my last posting. That why I do this and Kenny runs the team! Dirk was at his duracell-bunny best. Raul was steady probably the only player who didnt stand out. Aurelio lasted 90 minutes, a miracle which I have reported to the Vatican!!
And what about 'Flanno'??? Young John Flanaghan was excellent his best moment was tracking the petulant malcontent that is Mario Balotelli and bundling him to the floor when he tried to sneak in on the blindside.
We were helped by Mancini's ineptitude and the general malaise in the City camp. Playing 4-4-2 for them was a mistake,changing a team that just won 5-1 at Sunderland was a mistake and not switching Adam Johnson over to Flanaghan's side of the pitch was bizarre especialy after they were 3-0 down.Did they really have anything to lose??? No-one in the PL want him running that them never mind a young lad on debut.
I think there will be a lot of players who leave City in the summer. What is the point of going to a big club and not playing? There are players who will gladly takes the wages and not bother but others have pride.Can you really see the likes of Johnson,Milner,Silva,Richards staying if they arent playing regularly. I think these guys will leave and be willing to take a cut in wages if required. Could you imagine what Adam Johnson would be like in our team.
We are a really conundrum within an enigma this year. We have played well against all the top 5 this year. Narrow defeat to Spurs (thanks Soty), a valiant fightback after being 3-0 down against ManUre. A plucky home draw with 10 men against the Gooners at home on the opening day. 6 points of Chelski, ManUre and City dismissed in our last 2home games.
Yet this same group of players couldnt muster a point against Blackpool, have lost to West Ham,West Brom and Wolves and could only manage 2 draws against Wigan. Be glad to see the back of all these 'W's!!! It is odd. Even since Kenny has come back we have still shown a flaw when playing the donkeys down the bottom. Still I think on the whole things are looking up.
We really need to decide if Kenny is going to stay beyond the end of the season. We should be starting to look at new players and they will all want to know who the gaffer is going to be. Personally I am still not sure if he a long term answer but do we really need another management change? I would give him a rolling 1 year deal. That would work for everyone, we arent overcommiting and he can still leave a legend.
Turning to Sunday I still think we have to lose. I know that is ridiculous but we were in the same situation last year when we played Chelski. On that occasion thankfully Stevie G saw Drogba make a great run and couldnt help but pass it to him!!
We need a similar thing on Sunday. If we beat the Gooner's the Legions of Doom will have won the League for the 19th time.Un-fucking-thinkable!
I still cant believe as I type this that when we won our 18th in 1990, they would ever get close to us, never mind pass us. The really gallig thing about it is they have been rubbish this season along with most of the other big clubs but they are still up there. Its too depressing for words.
They are also looking good in Europe after completing another bye against Chelski and now meet Schalke. Led by 375 year old Raul! Another bye. Only they can get to the Final of the Champions League and not have played a single team with any European pedigree.
Let hope Barcelona beat them 7-0 in the final. Viva Messi Viva!
I digress, I digress, I digress. If we play anything like the way we did on Monday night Arsenal are in for a hiding of note. Sqaullaci and young Koschelny are not going to be able to cope with Carroll and Suarez. They had enough trouble with Carl Taylor-Fletcher and DJ Campbell last week! Midfield I think we are match only Walcott and Van Persie worry me, oh yes, and that pesky little Rusky who like to score against us, Andre of the Arse Shavin! But really I think we will win on Sunday. I hope Kenny accepts the case of wine with good grace from Sith Lord Ferguson when it arrives from the Theatre of Delusions!
Of course I cannot sign off this blog without mentioning the harrowing, haunting and heart-breaking events of the 15/04/89. A day that will never be forgotten by Reds fans the world over. Tomorrow we mark the 22nd anniversary of Hillborough where 96 followers of the greatest team in the world died because of police incompotence and inaction.
I remember the day clearly, I had just finished playing football with my dad and we returned home and switched on the telly. We had stopped to get some beers and my dad's best friend and another guy from my class at school were there. We had missed the the first 15 minutes of the game. Which by that time had come to a halt. Bruce was trying to open gates and pull people up and over the fence. We watched in horror as peoples faces turn blue. It was terrible. There seems little assistance from the authorities at the time. Disgusting really.
But not as heinous as the headline published here in the UK by that bastion of journalism know as the Sun. This 'paper' caters to peoples whose IQ's are comparable to that of an ameba. THE TRUTH it screamed!!! All the Liverpool fans were drunk and they charged into the central pens and were to blame for killing their own. Irresponsible, unsubstiated and inflamitory was what it was. That particular newspaper still battles to sell in Liverpool to this day. They would never have dared publish that if it happened to any London club or indeed ManUre, but as all scousers are scum to them it was fair game to print this nonsense.
I have read the real truth by by Phil Scraton - 'Hillborough The Truth' I tell you it is the most disturbing book I have ever read. I could barely read 10 pages at a time without sobbing my eyes out or getting so angry that I wanted to punch someone. That was in 2002. I can only imagine the anger and pain still felt by the relatives of the 96. They still await justice. How David Duckenfield and Bernard Murray sleep at night (if they are still with us) is beyond me.
We shall never forget the 96.
YNWA
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Horrorshow at the Hawthorns
Well Well Well, we should have see that one coming, if anyone knows how to beat us it would be Uncle Woy. After all he oversaw so many limp and lifeless performances in his short pitiful time in charge.
I have to me honest I could not bring myself to watch the game in full on LFC TV, I think the Match of the day highlights were traumatic enough. Lets be honest if it wasnt for Pepe Reina we would have lost 6-1. He made a string of excellent saves and had we drawn he would probably have been man of the match.
Our gameplan was not helped by first Glenn Johnson (Thank you England) and then Dan Agger (Mange tak Danemark) going off injured after 22 minutes.The curse of the leftback continues.
Oh and a special thanks to Sepp Blatter for sticking more unwanted fixtures in our calander. I hope Bin Hamman wins the 'transparent' FIFA election. Another 4 years of Blatter will ruin football completely.
From the lowlights shown we kept lumping long balls at Carroll ala Braga and we got the same result nothing.I do like repeating myself, cant play big lump if you have no wingers to cross the ball.FACT!
I think we looked better with a 4-2-3-1 with Suarez on his own with Dirk and Meireles supporting. 4-4-2 with Meireles stuck out wide and Carroll upfront doesn't work at the moment for me. Yes we have paid £35 mill for Carroll but at the moment Suarez looks the one more likely to hurt the opposition so we should be tailoring our formation to suit him.
As to the 2 penalties, Soty can have no complaints on the 1st one and he again put Reina in a vulnerable position for the second one. Soty is fast adding himself to my clearout list for the summer.
So 7 games to play Man City and Arsenal next and we really need to lose those 2 games in the hope that someone will finish ahead of the Legions of Doom. Knowing us though we will win both game 2-0 and then lose to Birmingham,Newcastle and Fulham in the next 3 so helping ManUre to win the title.
The alternative doesnt bear thinking about. The way things are panning out a treble looks good for them after Schalke trounced Inter tonight. If they beat Chelski they will have a bye in the semi. For the God-fearing among you that should prove He doesnt exist as the alternative means that he is in fact a Man U fan which is much much much worse!
As for us qualifying for Europe next season we just need Spurs to continue their collapse and win all 7 remaining games. 'Simples' as our favourite meerkat would say. I really think 6th is as good as we can do and hope City or ManUre win the cup. No Europe would put a serious dent in our recruitment policy over the summer, no established player would come and so we would be left with squad players from other clubs to choose from. Not great.
I am not going to attempt to guess what Kenny wiill do as far as selection goes for Sunday. My own efforts at this have proved woefully inaccurate so far since he took over. We still havent shaken off our inability to perform away from home, we seem tentative and scared. If we do score first, we go into our shell ala Benitez, its not the Liverpool way and not what we expect.
So putting the remainder of this pathetic wrist-slitting season aside who should go and who should stay? First the keepers
Reina- despite horrible rumours that ManUre want him, that cant happen. It sends the completely wrong message out and gives them one of the best keepers in the world. Let then go and find their own! They have everything else!
Defence we should keep - Darby,Carra,Skrtel,Kelly,Wilson,Johnson(leftback or right winger).
Midfield - Lucas,Spearing,Shelvey,Meireles,Gerrard,Pacheco,Aquilani
Strikers - Suarez,Carroll,Kuyt, Ngog (but he needs to go on loan)
The rest as far as I am concerned can go, reasons below. Hell we still have El Zhar and Degen on our books!
Left Back - Konchesky and Insua arent good enough and Aurelio is always broken.
Centrebacks - Soty is too rash under pressure (Spurs and West Brom to name but 2) and Agger like Fab is always broken.
Rightback - Degen, why oh why did we ever buy this clown????
Midfield - Jovanovic not good enough. Maxi not really offering anything going forward simply a disciplined midfielder. Joe Cole, waste of time, money and effort. We have young Pacheco who will be ten times the player Cole thinks he is! Poulsen completely useless. If you offered him to Forest Green Rovers they wouldnt take him! El Zhar - Pigmy Morrocans are not what is required in the Premier League.
So that leaves us requiring at least 1 left back preferably 2. 1 or 2 centrebacks, 4 wingers and possibly another striker. I cant see us generating too much income from the dross we have to sell. Mr Comolli will certaily have to start and earn his crust.
My wishlist follows bearing in mind the '8 homegrown' rule I have highlighted those in the keepers who qualify. We dont have to name those that are under 21 (So Darby,Pacheco and Shelvey may remain un-named in the 25 man squad) So that would leave us with only 6 players who qualify.
Leftback - Baines - more rumblings at Everton that Moyes will have to sell as Mr Kenwright has nothing to give.
Centreback - Cahill at Bolton, Shawcross at Stoke and Roger Johnson at Birmingham come to mind. If we want a footballing centrehalf we will need to look abroad. Cant see any obvious candidates in the PL at the moment. One of these three would be good, 2 would be great.
Wingers - N'Zogbia,Podolski,Etherington,Eagles. There are plenty options here, I would like to see 2 or 3 of these type of players brought in. Add in the likes of Ecclestone,Amoo,Ince and Sterling and we have a good healthy crop of exciting players who can change a game.
Strikers - If Ngog is going out on loan, suggest a swop with Leicester, we get Connor Wickham for a season they have Ngog we get 1st option to buy Wickham.
I also wouldnt mind a cheeky bid to Chelsea for Daniel Sturridge, big, strong, quick and shot like a rocket, we could always give them Joe Cole back!!!
YNWA
I have to me honest I could not bring myself to watch the game in full on LFC TV, I think the Match of the day highlights were traumatic enough. Lets be honest if it wasnt for Pepe Reina we would have lost 6-1. He made a string of excellent saves and had we drawn he would probably have been man of the match.
Our gameplan was not helped by first Glenn Johnson (Thank you England) and then Dan Agger (Mange tak Danemark) going off injured after 22 minutes.The curse of the leftback continues.
Oh and a special thanks to Sepp Blatter for sticking more unwanted fixtures in our calander. I hope Bin Hamman wins the 'transparent' FIFA election. Another 4 years of Blatter will ruin football completely.
From the lowlights shown we kept lumping long balls at Carroll ala Braga and we got the same result nothing.I do like repeating myself, cant play big lump if you have no wingers to cross the ball.FACT!
I think we looked better with a 4-2-3-1 with Suarez on his own with Dirk and Meireles supporting. 4-4-2 with Meireles stuck out wide and Carroll upfront doesn't work at the moment for me. Yes we have paid £35 mill for Carroll but at the moment Suarez looks the one more likely to hurt the opposition so we should be tailoring our formation to suit him.
As to the 2 penalties, Soty can have no complaints on the 1st one and he again put Reina in a vulnerable position for the second one. Soty is fast adding himself to my clearout list for the summer.
So 7 games to play Man City and Arsenal next and we really need to lose those 2 games in the hope that someone will finish ahead of the Legions of Doom. Knowing us though we will win both game 2-0 and then lose to Birmingham,Newcastle and Fulham in the next 3 so helping ManUre to win the title.
The alternative doesnt bear thinking about. The way things are panning out a treble looks good for them after Schalke trounced Inter tonight. If they beat Chelski they will have a bye in the semi. For the God-fearing among you that should prove He doesnt exist as the alternative means that he is in fact a Man U fan which is much much much worse!
As for us qualifying for Europe next season we just need Spurs to continue their collapse and win all 7 remaining games. 'Simples' as our favourite meerkat would say. I really think 6th is as good as we can do and hope City or ManUre win the cup. No Europe would put a serious dent in our recruitment policy over the summer, no established player would come and so we would be left with squad players from other clubs to choose from. Not great.
I am not going to attempt to guess what Kenny wiill do as far as selection goes for Sunday. My own efforts at this have proved woefully inaccurate so far since he took over. We still havent shaken off our inability to perform away from home, we seem tentative and scared. If we do score first, we go into our shell ala Benitez, its not the Liverpool way and not what we expect.
So putting the remainder of this pathetic wrist-slitting season aside who should go and who should stay? First the keepers
Reina- despite horrible rumours that ManUre want him, that cant happen. It sends the completely wrong message out and gives them one of the best keepers in the world. Let then go and find their own! They have everything else!
Defence we should keep - Darby,Carra,Skrtel,Kelly,Wilson,Johnson(leftback or right winger).
Midfield - Lucas,Spearing,Shelvey,Meireles,Gerrard,Pacheco,Aquilani
Strikers - Suarez,Carroll,Kuyt, Ngog (but he needs to go on loan)
The rest as far as I am concerned can go, reasons below. Hell we still have El Zhar and Degen on our books!
Left Back - Konchesky and Insua arent good enough and Aurelio is always broken.
Centrebacks - Soty is too rash under pressure (Spurs and West Brom to name but 2) and Agger like Fab is always broken.
Rightback - Degen, why oh why did we ever buy this clown????
Midfield - Jovanovic not good enough. Maxi not really offering anything going forward simply a disciplined midfielder. Joe Cole, waste of time, money and effort. We have young Pacheco who will be ten times the player Cole thinks he is! Poulsen completely useless. If you offered him to Forest Green Rovers they wouldnt take him! El Zhar - Pigmy Morrocans are not what is required in the Premier League.
So that leaves us requiring at least 1 left back preferably 2. 1 or 2 centrebacks, 4 wingers and possibly another striker. I cant see us generating too much income from the dross we have to sell. Mr Comolli will certaily have to start and earn his crust.
My wishlist follows bearing in mind the '8 homegrown' rule I have highlighted those in the keepers who qualify. We dont have to name those that are under 21 (So Darby,Pacheco and Shelvey may remain un-named in the 25 man squad) So that would leave us with only 6 players who qualify.
Leftback - Baines - more rumblings at Everton that Moyes will have to sell as Mr Kenwright has nothing to give.
Centreback - Cahill at Bolton, Shawcross at Stoke and Roger Johnson at Birmingham come to mind. If we want a footballing centrehalf we will need to look abroad. Cant see any obvious candidates in the PL at the moment. One of these three would be good, 2 would be great.
Wingers - N'Zogbia,Podolski,Etherington,Eagles. There are plenty options here, I would like to see 2 or 3 of these type of players brought in. Add in the likes of Ecclestone,Amoo,Ince and Sterling and we have a good healthy crop of exciting players who can change a game.
Strikers - If Ngog is going out on loan, suggest a swop with Leicester, we get Connor Wickham for a season they have Ngog we get 1st option to buy Wickham.
I also wouldnt mind a cheeky bid to Chelsea for Daniel Sturridge, big, strong, quick and shot like a rocket, we could always give them Joe Cole back!!!
YNWA
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Braging about the Black Cats?
Well a missed few days for us, a poor performace and result for us on Thursday and a much better one today.
Thursday we lacked any ideas and kept lumping aimless longballs at Carroll. We started brightly in the first 15-20 minutes and then lost our way again. Our midfield was full of players who want to face our own goal, so they simply squeezed the play with a high line and that nullified us. The purpose of Joe Cole on the pitch wasnt clear to me, he was the best player Braga had! He kept turning blindly into Braga player, giving away posession and then when he did have time and space he wanted for too long and too many touches. Joe Cole will always take 3 touches when 1 will suffice. By all means he wasnt the only one even Meireles struggled. He also gives ball away when asked to play a more disciplined central role.
I do think Kenny got the tactics wrong. Braga were always going to come and play on the counter and with our squad sadly lacking in pace we didnt have single player on the pitch who could stretch the game in behind. We played the ball to frequently and early to Carroll and when he did win the ball, we were very rarely first to the second ball. The only positive was that we got 90 minutes out of Carroll and he certainly does look a threat in the air however he does lack mobility. Hindsight is a great thing but surely giving one or two of the wingers in the reserves team a run might have been an idea?
Its something we will have to address in the summer cant have someone like Carroll in the team and have no wingers to deliver the ball. We also need leftback desparately. Johnson is doing a good job there but its worrying that we dont really have one. It does make you wonder why we ever sold Riise. Rumours in the press today suggest a seaky bid for Leighton Baines is in the offing, think that would be a good shout. Adds to the English quota required under the new rules and as he already plays in the PL and in Liverpool could hit the ground running. Other options would be Luis Enrique at Newcastle or perhaps Prasnic at Bayern, seeing as they wont be playing in Europe next season.
On the winger front, Ribery would be a great signing but with us not playing top table football next year, highly unlikely we can attract someone of that quality. Podolski would still be available as Stuttgard are in a relegation battle in the Bundesliga. Down the right not sure, Ashley Young seems to be Legion of Doom bound. Nzogbia would still be top of my list as he can play on either flank and is very direct. Still think someone like Eagles or Snodgrass could do a job for us as well. Maybe even Seb Larsson at Birmingham, he would add goal threat from freekicks which we dont really have even with Gerrard, when last did he score or did we score from a freekick from him???
On the Stevie G front, glad he has had Op to sort out his groin, perhaps he will be of some use to us next season. To be honest he hasnt done much in the last 18 months at 31 we have start think about using him more wisely. He clearly doesnt need to play every week when he is fit, sure we are better with him to a degree but the newer boys are doing a good job.If I am beig honest I wouldnt mind if we sold him in the summer. I know that might seem a bit premature but really how many more seasons in the centre of midfield does he have in him? And if someone will give is 20-25 million we surely couldnt say no.
Spearing was immense today and was only just shaded by Suarez for man of the match today. Good to see another Scouse Scally in the team. Today's game was strange one. We were under pressure for large periods in the 1st half but created the better chances. Clearly Suarez and Carroll need to develop as a partership there was a lot of crossed wires in the first half. The 1st goal was always going to be key and we were fortunate to get the pen. I thought the ref got it right originally, it was freekick outside the box. Even after his linesman flagged he could still have went with his original decision. Still thats 2 lots of payback for the beachball goal last season.
Anyway feed the Gurkha and he will score, Dirk is proving to be a serious goal threat this season although to be fair in the last 4 seasons he has only been outscored by Stevie G and Torres. He is the only player in double figures for goal at the moment.
Suarez's goal was a peach and was reminiscent of the goal Torres scored against Spurs a couple of seasons ago and obviously his mazy run last week against the Scum. He is going to be crucial for us in the next 3 or 4 seasons. Like the fans Depeche Mode tribute signing his name to the tune of 'Just Cant Get Enough'.
Stupid International break now.The second half of the season just never seems to get going. Play 2 or 3 games then stop. Lets see how many walking wounded we get back from that, then off to the Hawthorns to see uncle Woy. I would like West Brom to stay up but cant see it happening with Woy there. They should have beaten Arsenal out of sight yesterday. Unfortuately with the way results have gone over the weekend ManUre are stumbling and bumbling their way to the title which their play and lack of quality just dont deserve. They will go down as the worst team to ever with the Premier League, especially gallig as it will take then past us. Hopefully the bulbous nosed Prick will retire and give us all peace after that.
YNWA
Thursday we lacked any ideas and kept lumping aimless longballs at Carroll. We started brightly in the first 15-20 minutes and then lost our way again. Our midfield was full of players who want to face our own goal, so they simply squeezed the play with a high line and that nullified us. The purpose of Joe Cole on the pitch wasnt clear to me, he was the best player Braga had! He kept turning blindly into Braga player, giving away posession and then when he did have time and space he wanted for too long and too many touches. Joe Cole will always take 3 touches when 1 will suffice. By all means he wasnt the only one even Meireles struggled. He also gives ball away when asked to play a more disciplined central role.
I do think Kenny got the tactics wrong. Braga were always going to come and play on the counter and with our squad sadly lacking in pace we didnt have single player on the pitch who could stretch the game in behind. We played the ball to frequently and early to Carroll and when he did win the ball, we were very rarely first to the second ball. The only positive was that we got 90 minutes out of Carroll and he certainly does look a threat in the air however he does lack mobility. Hindsight is a great thing but surely giving one or two of the wingers in the reserves team a run might have been an idea?
Its something we will have to address in the summer cant have someone like Carroll in the team and have no wingers to deliver the ball. We also need leftback desparately. Johnson is doing a good job there but its worrying that we dont really have one. It does make you wonder why we ever sold Riise. Rumours in the press today suggest a seaky bid for Leighton Baines is in the offing, think that would be a good shout. Adds to the English quota required under the new rules and as he already plays in the PL and in Liverpool could hit the ground running. Other options would be Luis Enrique at Newcastle or perhaps Prasnic at Bayern, seeing as they wont be playing in Europe next season.
On the winger front, Ribery would be a great signing but with us not playing top table football next year, highly unlikely we can attract someone of that quality. Podolski would still be available as Stuttgard are in a relegation battle in the Bundesliga. Down the right not sure, Ashley Young seems to be Legion of Doom bound. Nzogbia would still be top of my list as he can play on either flank and is very direct. Still think someone like Eagles or Snodgrass could do a job for us as well. Maybe even Seb Larsson at Birmingham, he would add goal threat from freekicks which we dont really have even with Gerrard, when last did he score or did we score from a freekick from him???
On the Stevie G front, glad he has had Op to sort out his groin, perhaps he will be of some use to us next season. To be honest he hasnt done much in the last 18 months at 31 we have start think about using him more wisely. He clearly doesnt need to play every week when he is fit, sure we are better with him to a degree but the newer boys are doing a good job.If I am beig honest I wouldnt mind if we sold him in the summer. I know that might seem a bit premature but really how many more seasons in the centre of midfield does he have in him? And if someone will give is 20-25 million we surely couldnt say no.
Spearing was immense today and was only just shaded by Suarez for man of the match today. Good to see another Scouse Scally in the team. Today's game was strange one. We were under pressure for large periods in the 1st half but created the better chances. Clearly Suarez and Carroll need to develop as a partership there was a lot of crossed wires in the first half. The 1st goal was always going to be key and we were fortunate to get the pen. I thought the ref got it right originally, it was freekick outside the box. Even after his linesman flagged he could still have went with his original decision. Still thats 2 lots of payback for the beachball goal last season.
Anyway feed the Gurkha and he will score, Dirk is proving to be a serious goal threat this season although to be fair in the last 4 seasons he has only been outscored by Stevie G and Torres. He is the only player in double figures for goal at the moment.
Suarez's goal was a peach and was reminiscent of the goal Torres scored against Spurs a couple of seasons ago and obviously his mazy run last week against the Scum. He is going to be crucial for us in the next 3 or 4 seasons. Like the fans Depeche Mode tribute signing his name to the tune of 'Just Cant Get Enough'.
Stupid International break now.The second half of the season just never seems to get going. Play 2 or 3 games then stop. Lets see how many walking wounded we get back from that, then off to the Hawthorns to see uncle Woy. I would like West Brom to stay up but cant see it happening with Woy there. They should have beaten Arsenal out of sight yesterday. Unfortuately with the way results have gone over the weekend ManUre are stumbling and bumbling their way to the title which their play and lack of quality just dont deserve. They will go down as the worst team to ever with the Premier League, especially gallig as it will take then past us. Hopefully the bulbous nosed Prick will retire and give us all peace after that.
YNWA
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Sweet Little Victory
I hope Fergie crys,cry, crys (Title and first line to be sung to tune of Wet,Wet,Wet's Sweet Little Mystery - Please)
What a great performance today! Thankfully Kenny doesnt read this blog and didnt select personnel or formation that looked anything like my suggested line-up!
We were in their faces from the get-go and as I have been telling anyone in the Universe who will listen (and those who wont) that is the best way to beat them. Every team in the PL that has had a go at ManUre has got something out of it. I have watched them come to Fulham thrice and they have left with only 1 point. Why? Simple. Danny runs the game and they dont get 2 seconds peace in posession. It really rattles them and they lose focus. For too long teams have let them play. Wolves,Chelski and us have shown the way now the rest of the League must follow suit.
Their line-up suprised me, not the Back 4 or up front but the midfield.Carrick (like Barry sideways and backwards - is it any wonder England struggle when these 2 clowns have loads of caps and Scotty Parker has bugger all??), Scholes (305 years old), Giggs (307 years old) and Nani. Perhaps Scholes and Nani were to be expected, but the other 2? Fletcher always plays in the big games for them. Thats where we won the game, Maxi,Dirk,Meireles and Lucas never let them settle. I dont include Stevie as his contribution was muted with little cameos at the end of each half. Even Van Der Sar looked panicked, I have never seen him come out to clear his lines so much.
Our 2-0 lead was fully deserved. Suarez's mazy dribble for the 1st goal was Messi-esque. Whether we deserved to have 11 men on the pitch at that stage is debatable. Carra's tackle on Nani was shocking, especially as he had kindly given Dirk his 2nd goal with a beautiful header to the far post!! Clearly Phil Dowd got that wrong and the fall-out caused another flashpoint a couple of minutes later with Maxi,Rafael and Lucas. Had the ref sent Jamie off perhaps the latter wouldnt have happened. I wish I could have sympathy with the MoanUers but they get so many dodgy decisions and an extra 66 minutes per season to score goals they can go fuck themselves!
What were The Legions of Doom thinking wanting to get involved in a brawl with us? Think about it, from the players they had on the pitch only Scholes and Rooney would have been capable of throwing a punch. Skrtel and Spartacus (Soty) would beaten them all to a pulp on their own!!
Would a red card have changed the result? I dont think so. Sure we would have been under pressure but we were better than then all over the pitch and other maybe 15-20 minutes in the middle of the 2nd half they didnt create a thing worth talking about.
Dirk was magnificent and I swear he has picked up a yard or so of pace, perhaps he is no longer bulking up at the gym. Suarez was mesmerising, along with Dirk they are going to be a formidable partership. Carroll may have to wait for a long run in the team! Meirleles was class again and yes I am going to say it Lucas was immense. He won almost every tackle, Scholes even shat out of a few with him. His passing was magic and he was even giving Stevie G gyp again. Perhaps we will make a player out of him yet! Great to see Carroll get on, his first touch was header on target and his second a nod down to Dirk. We certainly look better going forward these days.
Shrek did nothing again in a big match. (Another overhyped England player). Carra kept showing him inside and he kept trying to shoot even Scholes lost his rag with him towards the end. I think Scholes and Van Der Sar can say they put a shift in. The rest showed what we know already they arent that good. Long may the poor form continue for the residents of the Theatre of Delusions.
On the negative side for us, Fabio broke down again. Perhaps Benitez was right to let him go. The guy cant run for more than 10 minutes without falling apart. Stevie G still isnt right. Hopefully he can get some rest over the next few weeks. Hopefully we wont need him for the Europa home leg against Braga. We have been playing well without him. It was was also a little disappointing to let them score at the death.
On the whole 'A Perfect Day'
YNWA
What a great performance today! Thankfully Kenny doesnt read this blog and didnt select personnel or formation that looked anything like my suggested line-up!
We were in their faces from the get-go and as I have been telling anyone in the Universe who will listen (and those who wont) that is the best way to beat them. Every team in the PL that has had a go at ManUre has got something out of it. I have watched them come to Fulham thrice and they have left with only 1 point. Why? Simple. Danny runs the game and they dont get 2 seconds peace in posession. It really rattles them and they lose focus. For too long teams have let them play. Wolves,Chelski and us have shown the way now the rest of the League must follow suit.
Their line-up suprised me, not the Back 4 or up front but the midfield.Carrick (like Barry sideways and backwards - is it any wonder England struggle when these 2 clowns have loads of caps and Scotty Parker has bugger all??), Scholes (305 years old), Giggs (307 years old) and Nani. Perhaps Scholes and Nani were to be expected, but the other 2? Fletcher always plays in the big games for them. Thats where we won the game, Maxi,Dirk,Meireles and Lucas never let them settle. I dont include Stevie as his contribution was muted with little cameos at the end of each half. Even Van Der Sar looked panicked, I have never seen him come out to clear his lines so much.
Our 2-0 lead was fully deserved. Suarez's mazy dribble for the 1st goal was Messi-esque. Whether we deserved to have 11 men on the pitch at that stage is debatable. Carra's tackle on Nani was shocking, especially as he had kindly given Dirk his 2nd goal with a beautiful header to the far post!! Clearly Phil Dowd got that wrong and the fall-out caused another flashpoint a couple of minutes later with Maxi,Rafael and Lucas. Had the ref sent Jamie off perhaps the latter wouldnt have happened. I wish I could have sympathy with the MoanUers but they get so many dodgy decisions and an extra 66 minutes per season to score goals they can go fuck themselves!
What were The Legions of Doom thinking wanting to get involved in a brawl with us? Think about it, from the players they had on the pitch only Scholes and Rooney would have been capable of throwing a punch. Skrtel and Spartacus (Soty) would beaten them all to a pulp on their own!!
Would a red card have changed the result? I dont think so. Sure we would have been under pressure but we were better than then all over the pitch and other maybe 15-20 minutes in the middle of the 2nd half they didnt create a thing worth talking about.
Dirk was magnificent and I swear he has picked up a yard or so of pace, perhaps he is no longer bulking up at the gym. Suarez was mesmerising, along with Dirk they are going to be a formidable partership. Carroll may have to wait for a long run in the team! Meirleles was class again and yes I am going to say it Lucas was immense. He won almost every tackle, Scholes even shat out of a few with him. His passing was magic and he was even giving Stevie G gyp again. Perhaps we will make a player out of him yet! Great to see Carroll get on, his first touch was header on target and his second a nod down to Dirk. We certainly look better going forward these days.
Shrek did nothing again in a big match. (Another overhyped England player). Carra kept showing him inside and he kept trying to shoot even Scholes lost his rag with him towards the end. I think Scholes and Van Der Sar can say they put a shift in. The rest showed what we know already they arent that good. Long may the poor form continue for the residents of the Theatre of Delusions.
On the negative side for us, Fabio broke down again. Perhaps Benitez was right to let him go. The guy cant run for more than 10 minutes without falling apart. Stevie G still isnt right. Hopefully he can get some rest over the next few weeks. Hopefully we wont need him for the Europa home leg against Braga. We have been playing well without him. It was was also a little disappointing to let them score at the death.
On the whole 'A Perfect Day'
YNWA
Saturday, 5 March 2011
The Honeymoon is over!
Jeez I cant believe its a month since I blogged, where does the time go.
Well Torres performed exactly as expected at Chelsea against us, other than Maxi's gift in the first couple of minutes he was a non-event. He couldnt hit a cow in the arse with a banjo on the day and that seems to have continued his subsiquent performances for Chelski. He is no longer our problem and good luck to him with his 'Bigger and Better' club.
Just to draw a line of sorts under the Torres affair, the highly respected pundit (by me anyway!) Paul Merson made a statement on Soccer Saturday before our game with Chelski that Torres would comfortably outscore Suarez and Carroll over the next year. So I have created the 'Mersonometer' on the right-hand side to keep score. I will update this after League games if any of the 3 players score. The cut-off date will be the end of next January's window and we shall see if Merson know his onions!
So why is the honeymoon over?I dont mean King Kenny,no I am talking about the players. Since our victory over Chelski, we have turned in 4 Benitez/Hodgson-esque performances. The draw with Wigan, the Europa double header with Sparta Prague and lastly the pathetic dispaly against relegation fodder West Ham. This is not acceptable, we have seen this under the previous 2 clowns where we have 1 excellent result and then dont bother our arses again until the next big game.
Dont understand whats going on in the players heads. We should be equally motivated for every game. Sure, Everton, Manure and Chelski games come in a little higher on the emotion scale but the core requirements to perform to our potential are the same. Our players lack the ability to be consistent. Probably why we are where we are.Hell even Pepe is starting to look a bit dodgy.
On the positive side Meireles is proving to be a gem. Martin Kelly is showing Glen Johnson how to be a rightback, both going forward and defensively. Stevie G is back although he was well below par last week against West Ham it was his 1st game back after a 6 week lay-off. Rumours abound that Carroll will be ready to start tomorrow. That would be a huge boost. Especially in light of the Legions of Doom's defensive issues. Smalling and O'Shea wont relish Suarez and Carroll.
I would play 4-5-1 and do exactly what Chelski did to them.Get in their faces and press,press,press,press. Fletcher ,Scholes ad Carrick dont like that. Our problem is if we have no Meirles and Carroll isn't fit. Lets assume that is where we will be tomorrow, I would go as follows.
Reina
Johnson-Skrtel-Carra-Wilson
Kuyt-Gerrard-Lucas-Spearing-Aurelio
Suarez
Think that gives us a nice balance, Fab can help Danny with Nani if he plays left and if he plays right, Johnson has the pace to keep up. I would go with Spearing rather than Poulsen or Shelvey in the middle of the pitch. Poulsen is useless and Shelvey is not a box-to-box kind of player. Spearing may be short but he works hard and doesn't mind a tackle or five. With the above personnel we can always go to 5-3-2or 4-4-2 without having to sub anyone. If its still tight with 25 to go the throw on Carroll. I wouldnt play Joe Cole, I dont think he is the kind of player for the blood and thunder of tomorrrow. cerrtainly worth a cameo appearance if we are chasing the game of are already 5-0 up!
Obviously the ref will be under pressure after Sith Lord Fergie's rants this week. The man is a hypocritical fool. Neville should have walked twice this season when they were 1-0 down against Stoke and West Brom. They won both those games. Shrek should have walked on Saturday, result they score 4 and he was involved in all of them. So what if Atkinson gave then nothing on Tuesday and didnt send of Luiz. Thats 1 game in a season they havent got the rub of the green. They have 9 points that they possibly wouldn't have got, so losing out on 1 against Chelski isnt a huge loss for them, especially since the Gooners made a mess of their game today.
Perhaps if the geraitic git didnt insult the refs so much he might get more from them. Lets hope we have top drawer performance tomorrow, we will need it. Our goal has to be to finish 6th and hope that one of the top 4 win the FA Cup. Bolton have a pretty easy run-in playing mostly teams in the bottom half of the league, so they will push us hard for that 6th spot.
Come On You Reds!!!
YNWA
Well Torres performed exactly as expected at Chelsea against us, other than Maxi's gift in the first couple of minutes he was a non-event. He couldnt hit a cow in the arse with a banjo on the day and that seems to have continued his subsiquent performances for Chelski. He is no longer our problem and good luck to him with his 'Bigger and Better' club.
Just to draw a line of sorts under the Torres affair, the highly respected pundit (by me anyway!) Paul Merson made a statement on Soccer Saturday before our game with Chelski that Torres would comfortably outscore Suarez and Carroll over the next year. So I have created the 'Mersonometer' on the right-hand side to keep score. I will update this after League games if any of the 3 players score. The cut-off date will be the end of next January's window and we shall see if Merson know his onions!
So why is the honeymoon over?I dont mean King Kenny,no I am talking about the players. Since our victory over Chelski, we have turned in 4 Benitez/Hodgson-esque performances. The draw with Wigan, the Europa double header with Sparta Prague and lastly the pathetic dispaly against relegation fodder West Ham. This is not acceptable, we have seen this under the previous 2 clowns where we have 1 excellent result and then dont bother our arses again until the next big game.
Dont understand whats going on in the players heads. We should be equally motivated for every game. Sure, Everton, Manure and Chelski games come in a little higher on the emotion scale but the core requirements to perform to our potential are the same. Our players lack the ability to be consistent. Probably why we are where we are.Hell even Pepe is starting to look a bit dodgy.
On the positive side Meireles is proving to be a gem. Martin Kelly is showing Glen Johnson how to be a rightback, both going forward and defensively. Stevie G is back although he was well below par last week against West Ham it was his 1st game back after a 6 week lay-off. Rumours abound that Carroll will be ready to start tomorrow. That would be a huge boost. Especially in light of the Legions of Doom's defensive issues. Smalling and O'Shea wont relish Suarez and Carroll.
I would play 4-5-1 and do exactly what Chelski did to them.Get in their faces and press,press,press,press. Fletcher ,Scholes ad Carrick dont like that. Our problem is if we have no Meirles and Carroll isn't fit. Lets assume that is where we will be tomorrow, I would go as follows.
Reina
Johnson-Skrtel-Carra-Wilson
Kuyt-Gerrard-Lucas-Spearing-Aurelio
Suarez
Think that gives us a nice balance, Fab can help Danny with Nani if he plays left and if he plays right, Johnson has the pace to keep up. I would go with Spearing rather than Poulsen or Shelvey in the middle of the pitch. Poulsen is useless and Shelvey is not a box-to-box kind of player. Spearing may be short but he works hard and doesn't mind a tackle or five. With the above personnel we can always go to 5-3-2or 4-4-2 without having to sub anyone. If its still tight with 25 to go the throw on Carroll. I wouldnt play Joe Cole, I dont think he is the kind of player for the blood and thunder of tomorrrow. cerrtainly worth a cameo appearance if we are chasing the game of are already 5-0 up!
Obviously the ref will be under pressure after Sith Lord Fergie's rants this week. The man is a hypocritical fool. Neville should have walked twice this season when they were 1-0 down against Stoke and West Brom. They won both those games. Shrek should have walked on Saturday, result they score 4 and he was involved in all of them. So what if Atkinson gave then nothing on Tuesday and didnt send of Luiz. Thats 1 game in a season they havent got the rub of the green. They have 9 points that they possibly wouldn't have got, so losing out on 1 against Chelski isnt a huge loss for them, especially since the Gooners made a mess of their game today.
Perhaps if the geraitic git didnt insult the refs so much he might get more from them. Lets hope we have top drawer performance tomorrow, we will need it. Our goal has to be to finish 6th and hope that one of the top 4 win the FA Cup. Bolton have a pretty easy run-in playing mostly teams in the bottom half of the league, so they will push us hard for that 6th spot.
Come On You Reds!!!
YNWA
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Treachery abounds on Deadline Day
Where do I begin, so much has happened in the last 10 days or so.
I think I will deal with the football first and then the comings and goings.
The Fulham game was tough one as I predicted and we were hanging on at the end. We must look at that result in context of where we are and where we are going and also our opponents. I think with the benefit of hindsight it was a excellent result. Just 5 days after our result I watched Fulham decimate Spurs,our replacements in the CL,4-0.
So again we are moving forward nicely there are clean sheets appearing now which is what we need and Meireles is relishing his responsibility and has show that from any distance or angle he will shot and it will be on target! Magic, takes the pressure off of Stevie G and adds to the strike forces contribution.
Another good result against STOKE a complete sea change from the limp, weak performance at The Brittania in November. I haven't watched the game yet but 2-0 at home is always a nice score, and our new boy is off the mark, allegedly. My dad tells me that it is probably an own-goal. I did remind him that Tevez and Berbatov have been credited with similar dodgy goals this season. We need to sort this out. If the deflection or touch from the defender wrong foots the keeper or significantly changes direction of the ball, its an own-goal. Finished.
So to the matter at hand. Last Saturday we were all anticipating the possible signing of Suarez, no hint of the mayhem to come, sure Chelsea had made a derisory bid of 30 million but surely we wouldn't entertain selling the crown jewels in January to a major rival, would we?
Apparently Mr Torres had other ideas. I have mentioned in several of my previous blogs that I expected him to leave in the summer after we fail to finish in the top 4. That would have been the dignified way to leave the club.I, along would most other Reds fans would have thanked him for his service and wished all the best, maybe not so much if he still ended up at Chelsea. You get my drift though, the club have gone backwards in the last 18 months, most of which he has been injured or as with this season so far completely ad utterly dis-interested. So 6 months more effort from him and au revior Fernando.
No, Torres instead decides he wants to jump now just as things are starting to move in the right direction for the team and for him. For any worldclass stiker surely working under someone of the calibre of Kenny Dalglish is an honour and an opportuity to learn from one of the best players ever? Obviously not, clearly I am a football romantic. It does beg the question whether Torres' recent upswing in form and attitude was indeed not a result of Kenny's arrival but rather a show to his prospective new club that he was worth making a bid for?
The whole sordid affair leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. He has shown total lack of respect towards to the club,the fans and I think most importantly himself. We have all shown and given him support for his numerous Aragones induced injuries on duty for his country. Even when his attitude and commitment have been questioned (To think how Jamie Redknapp was vilified after the BHM game), the fans stuck by him.
Not only is his leaving a kick in the teeth but his subsiquent comments are a full 2 finger 'Fuck You' to a club and city that has done nothing but adore him and provide him with a stage to show his considerable talents.
I quote:
1) 'I am moving to a bigger and better club.'
2) 'It is my destiny to score on Sunday against Liverpool.'
3) 'Chelsea fans have always treated me with respect.'
Replies -
1) Fernando - Chelsea's 'big' club status is down a purchase a rather rich Russsian made some 6 or 7 years ago. Before that Chelsea were a decent cup team with a tendency to underperform in the league. They had won the league title once and the European Cup once before this purchase. Their entire clubs achievements and history can be written on the back of a fag packet.
So the clearly cannot be a 'bigger' club. They have no global identity and no fanbase outside the council estates of West and South West London and teh 'Johnny come lately' glory hunters. They are an aging squad who are showing signs that most of the player are bored or not willig to try anymore (you will fit well then). So I am also struggling with the 'better' part of your statement. Unless 'Bigger and Better' really means they are paying £200K a week!
2) The concieted arrogance of that statement is baffling. It is something you say when you are generally coming up against a foe who you feel has wronged you in some personal way. I dont begin to understand why he said it. It assumes he will play and that we are so utterly inept without him that our defenders will crumble at the mere sight his magnificent presence on the field. WHAT A COMPLETE AND UTTER CUNT!
3)Well Fernando check out the You-Tube clips of the Chelsea fans 'respect' for you when you have scored against them. Unless of course the 'wanker' gesture, raised middle finger and faces so filled with hatred and rage, all mean something else in Spanish........
If Ancelotti is dumb enough to play him on Sunday, it is all the motivation we will need and I would not be suprised to see at least one of our players and Torres get sent off,or someone break his leg. He will have brought it on himself and I will have no sympathy for him at all.
So is 50 million a fair price. According to the FSW, when he was in charge Torres was worth £70 mill and we all know Rafa knows the value of a player, having pissed so much money away on donkeys!!! I think it is,we have got the most we can out a situation thrust upon us at the 11th hour.
Mr Comolli and King Keny certainly earned their crust, bringing in Suarez and Andy Carrol. Sure £35 mill for Carrol is probably 15-20 mill too much based on his fledgling start and goal tally so far this season. We have signed both these players on long term contracts in attempt to secure a stable strike force which could become world class. It is also a huge statement of intent by the owners. Hicks and Gillet talked a good game but Henry and Werner are delivering. So we have in effect spent 8 million quid and have 2 very good strikers. I dont think we can complain. If Man U sold Berbatov for £50 mill would they be able to attract 2 player of the quality and potetial we have just signed, I dont think so.
There are other areas of the team taht need strengthening however I think we have addressed the biggest issue - upfront. The midfield and defence can be sorted in the summer. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season and I have a sneaking suspicion that we will do Chelsea tomorrow. A win would leave us only 6 pts behind them, hardly beliveable 3 months ago. A fact that makes Torres' decision even more bizarre.
Just in from the Oxford Pictorial Dictionary -
Cunt - Picture of Torres
Prick - Picture of Torres
Traitor - Picture of Torres
Unauthorised Entry - Picture of JT slipping Mrs Torres one!
YNWA
I think I will deal with the football first and then the comings and goings.
The Fulham game was tough one as I predicted and we were hanging on at the end. We must look at that result in context of where we are and where we are going and also our opponents. I think with the benefit of hindsight it was a excellent result. Just 5 days after our result I watched Fulham decimate Spurs,our replacements in the CL,4-0.
So again we are moving forward nicely there are clean sheets appearing now which is what we need and Meireles is relishing his responsibility and has show that from any distance or angle he will shot and it will be on target! Magic, takes the pressure off of Stevie G and adds to the strike forces contribution.
Another good result against STOKE a complete sea change from the limp, weak performance at The Brittania in November. I haven't watched the game yet but 2-0 at home is always a nice score, and our new boy is off the mark, allegedly. My dad tells me that it is probably an own-goal. I did remind him that Tevez and Berbatov have been credited with similar dodgy goals this season. We need to sort this out. If the deflection or touch from the defender wrong foots the keeper or significantly changes direction of the ball, its an own-goal. Finished.
So to the matter at hand. Last Saturday we were all anticipating the possible signing of Suarez, no hint of the mayhem to come, sure Chelsea had made a derisory bid of 30 million but surely we wouldn't entertain selling the crown jewels in January to a major rival, would we?
Apparently Mr Torres had other ideas. I have mentioned in several of my previous blogs that I expected him to leave in the summer after we fail to finish in the top 4. That would have been the dignified way to leave the club.I, along would most other Reds fans would have thanked him for his service and wished all the best, maybe not so much if he still ended up at Chelsea. You get my drift though, the club have gone backwards in the last 18 months, most of which he has been injured or as with this season so far completely ad utterly dis-interested. So 6 months more effort from him and au revior Fernando.
No, Torres instead decides he wants to jump now just as things are starting to move in the right direction for the team and for him. For any worldclass stiker surely working under someone of the calibre of Kenny Dalglish is an honour and an opportuity to learn from one of the best players ever? Obviously not, clearly I am a football romantic. It does beg the question whether Torres' recent upswing in form and attitude was indeed not a result of Kenny's arrival but rather a show to his prospective new club that he was worth making a bid for?
The whole sordid affair leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. He has shown total lack of respect towards to the club,the fans and I think most importantly himself. We have all shown and given him support for his numerous Aragones induced injuries on duty for his country. Even when his attitude and commitment have been questioned (To think how Jamie Redknapp was vilified after the BHM game), the fans stuck by him.
Not only is his leaving a kick in the teeth but his subsiquent comments are a full 2 finger 'Fuck You' to a club and city that has done nothing but adore him and provide him with a stage to show his considerable talents.
I quote:
1) 'I am moving to a bigger and better club.'
2) 'It is my destiny to score on Sunday against Liverpool.'
3) 'Chelsea fans have always treated me with respect.'
Replies -
1) Fernando - Chelsea's 'big' club status is down a purchase a rather rich Russsian made some 6 or 7 years ago. Before that Chelsea were a decent cup team with a tendency to underperform in the league. They had won the league title once and the European Cup once before this purchase. Their entire clubs achievements and history can be written on the back of a fag packet.
So the clearly cannot be a 'bigger' club. They have no global identity and no fanbase outside the council estates of West and South West London and teh 'Johnny come lately' glory hunters. They are an aging squad who are showing signs that most of the player are bored or not willig to try anymore (you will fit well then). So I am also struggling with the 'better' part of your statement. Unless 'Bigger and Better' really means they are paying £200K a week!
2) The concieted arrogance of that statement is baffling. It is something you say when you are generally coming up against a foe who you feel has wronged you in some personal way. I dont begin to understand why he said it. It assumes he will play and that we are so utterly inept without him that our defenders will crumble at the mere sight his magnificent presence on the field. WHAT A COMPLETE AND UTTER CUNT!
3)Well Fernando check out the You-Tube clips of the Chelsea fans 'respect' for you when you have scored against them. Unless of course the 'wanker' gesture, raised middle finger and faces so filled with hatred and rage, all mean something else in Spanish........
If Ancelotti is dumb enough to play him on Sunday, it is all the motivation we will need and I would not be suprised to see at least one of our players and Torres get sent off,or someone break his leg. He will have brought it on himself and I will have no sympathy for him at all.
So is 50 million a fair price. According to the FSW, when he was in charge Torres was worth £70 mill and we all know Rafa knows the value of a player, having pissed so much money away on donkeys!!! I think it is,we have got the most we can out a situation thrust upon us at the 11th hour.
Mr Comolli and King Keny certainly earned their crust, bringing in Suarez and Andy Carrol. Sure £35 mill for Carrol is probably 15-20 mill too much based on his fledgling start and goal tally so far this season. We have signed both these players on long term contracts in attempt to secure a stable strike force which could become world class. It is also a huge statement of intent by the owners. Hicks and Gillet talked a good game but Henry and Werner are delivering. So we have in effect spent 8 million quid and have 2 very good strikers. I dont think we can complain. If Man U sold Berbatov for £50 mill would they be able to attract 2 player of the quality and potetial we have just signed, I dont think so.
There are other areas of the team taht need strengthening however I think we have addressed the biggest issue - upfront. The midfield and defence can be sorted in the summer. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season and I have a sneaking suspicion that we will do Chelsea tomorrow. A win would leave us only 6 pts behind them, hardly beliveable 3 months ago. A fact that makes Torres' decision even more bizarre.
Just in from the Oxford Pictorial Dictionary -
Cunt - Picture of Torres
Prick - Picture of Torres
Traitor - Picture of Torres
Unauthorised Entry - Picture of JT slipping Mrs Torres one!
YNWA
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