Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Kenny in Boston
Kenny Dalglish has apparently flown to Boston to have talks with FSG. In a bid to squash the uncertainty surrounding his position, Kenny has opted to speed up the review process rather than wait for the owner's Liverpool visit next week. It is said that the next 24 hours will bring news of his role at the club. Methinks Kenny is taking this too seriously and should just wait and bide his time. After all, these are people who believe in cold numbers and with business interest at heart, and if the numbers don't add up, then there's no mercy. Surprisingly for me, in a straw poll on the Guardian, most people would rather see Kenny go. Oh well.
Monday, May 14, 2012
A Season in Tatters
Listening to King Kenny, Liverpool have done well this season. Despite that, it feels that the campaign has been left in tatters, with records falling mainly for the wrong reasons. The latest abject display against Swansea shattered another, that of never having lost to that team. Apart from some rare occasions, most of the movement was insipid and the team bereft of ideas. Now, all the uncertainty centers on Kenny's role in the club, if any.
Swansea City 1-0 Liverpool | Premier League match report | Football | The Guardian
Swansea City 1-0 Liverpool | Premier League match report | Football | The Guardian
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Liverpool's season summarized in one game
This article says just enough. A tale of two halfs and two teams at one club.
It was the moment Liverpool had dragged themselves back into a game that they had all but lost. Luis Suarez crossed from the right and Andy Carroll met it with a firm header. Carroll ran off in celebration, Kenny Dalglish leapt up and punched the air. Liverpool were level. Only they weren’t.
The cheers from the red end suddenly went stereo as the blue half realised what was happening; referee Phil Dowd had not given the goal.
It had not crossed the line. Liverpool’s players were in disbelief and Dalglish seemed to indicate it had gone about three feet over. It was much closer than that.
Replays could not clarify if the whole ball had crossed the line. One thing was sure: Petr Cech had done superbly to push the ball up on to the bar and create the doubt in Dowd’s mind. It was only from the over-head camera that it looked like the ball might have gone far enough.
In the semi-finals Chelsea had been credited with a goal that did not cross the line, in the final it looked like they had been spared one that had.
Chelsea were relieved. They had dominated this game for over an hour and then nearly thrown it away as Liverpool belatedly awakened.
Ramires had punished Liverpool’s early mistakes and then Didier Drogba had scored his eighth Wembley goal, becoming the first player to score in four different FA Cup finals. Roberto di Matteo made history in becoming the last player to score in the FA Cup at the old Wembley; Drogba tightened his grip on the new.
The game ended frantically but it had begun almost sedately. Then, with 11 minutes played, Chelsea pounced. Jay Spearing gave away the ball in midfield and Juan Mata was on to it. The Spain midfielder rolled the ball out to Ramires on the right and Enrique was caught between going in for the challenge and holding off. Ramires slipped past him and his acceleration left the Liverpool left-back in his wake.
Pepe Reina should not have been left so easily exposed but the Liverpool goalkeeper should have offered greater resistance. He seemed to anticipate Ramires shooting across him towards the far corner and, off balance, could only deflect the Brazilian’s shot in at the near post.
He pounded the turf in anger as Ramires wheeled away in celebration.
Liverpool sought a response. Glen Johnson twisted and turned on the right before putting in an excellent low cross which Branislav Ivanovic had to dive low to head clear. The Serb sprang back to his feet and blocked Craig Bellamy’s volleyed follow up.
That attack aside, the Chelsea defence were barely troubled for much of the first half. Liverpool were being suffocated by Di Matteo’s team in midfield and, under that pressure, started misplacing passes and falling out of sync, with huge gaps opening between the lines and Suarez isolated up front. Liverpool needed Gerrard in the game but Chelsea’s players were not making it easy.
Chelsea began to dominate. Ramires and Salmon Kalou were full of confidence, running with the ball at their feet while Liverpool’s midfielders were struggling to track the movement of Mata, playing centrally.
Kalou almost put Lampard through and then had the Liverpool defence backtracking as he went dribbling into the area. Drogba, full of confidence, was shooting on sight.
The urgency to close down Gerrard went too far as half-time approached, when John Obi Mikel went in late on the Liverpool captain, his studs catching Gerrard’s boot after he had struck the ball. Phil Dowd, after making sure Gerrard was not injured, booked Chelsea’s holding midfielder. Dan Agger followed Mikel into the book shortly after, clumsily sliding into the Chelsea player after the ball had gone.
There were some flickers of improvement from Dalglish’s side as half-time approached – Stewart Downing and Craig Bellamy put in crosses that required astute defending – but Liverpool needed to find substantial improvement in the second half. It came in the game's final third but by then it was too late.
There was momentary optimism they could get back into it quickly – Gerrard went surging forward, past two men and into the Chelsea box, where he crashed into Ivanovic. Was he obstructed? Or did he simply run into the Chelsea defender? Dowd took the latter view. Moments later, the game looked out of Liverpool’s reach.
Lampard span away from Spearing and fired the ball into Drogba’s feet. The Chelsea striker controlled with his right, let the ball run out of his feet and then shot low with his left foot through Martin Skrtel’s legs and into the far corner. It was a superb clinical finish and Drogba celebrated with gusto.
Chelsea were full of confidence now. Kalou curled one shot over after a fine series of passes and then Lampard hit a cross field pass, Mata juggled and passed to Drogba, whose volleyed smashed into the side-netting.
Liverpool were floundering and needed a change – Dalglish sent on Andy Carroll for Spearing and switched to a more aggressive 4-4-2 and then with one moment, the whole complexion of the game changed. Liverpool were making progress down the left but it looked like Jose Bosingwa would clear. Downing got his boot in, though, and the ball flew straight to Carroll.
The big Liverpool No 9 completely wrong-footed Terry with a sort-of step-over, bringing the ball back on to his left foot and thumping it high into the net, the speed of the ball giving Cech no chance.
Liverpool were enlivened, Carroll was a menace and Chelsea were on the back foot. Carroll had a two chances to head an equaliser; Suarez cut inside from the left along the edge of the box and forced Cech to push his low shot behind.
Then came the controversial moment. Liverpool fuelled by their sense of injustice, piled the pressure on. Only a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Terry stopped Carroll scoring from close range. Chelsea were clinging on but they have become rather expert in rearguard actions and they made it to the final whistle.
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1: match report - Telegraph
It was the moment Liverpool had dragged themselves back into a game that they had all but lost. Luis Suarez crossed from the right and Andy Carroll met it with a firm header. Carroll ran off in celebration, Kenny Dalglish leapt up and punched the air. Liverpool were level. Only they weren’t.
The cheers from the red end suddenly went stereo as the blue half realised what was happening; referee Phil Dowd had not given the goal.
It had not crossed the line. Liverpool’s players were in disbelief and Dalglish seemed to indicate it had gone about three feet over. It was much closer than that.
Replays could not clarify if the whole ball had crossed the line. One thing was sure: Petr Cech had done superbly to push the ball up on to the bar and create the doubt in Dowd’s mind. It was only from the over-head camera that it looked like the ball might have gone far enough.
In the semi-finals Chelsea had been credited with a goal that did not cross the line, in the final it looked like they had been spared one that had.
Chelsea were relieved. They had dominated this game for over an hour and then nearly thrown it away as Liverpool belatedly awakened.
Ramires had punished Liverpool’s early mistakes and then Didier Drogba had scored his eighth Wembley goal, becoming the first player to score in four different FA Cup finals. Roberto di Matteo made history in becoming the last player to score in the FA Cup at the old Wembley; Drogba tightened his grip on the new.
The game ended frantically but it had begun almost sedately. Then, with 11 minutes played, Chelsea pounced. Jay Spearing gave away the ball in midfield and Juan Mata was on to it. The Spain midfielder rolled the ball out to Ramires on the right and Enrique was caught between going in for the challenge and holding off. Ramires slipped past him and his acceleration left the Liverpool left-back in his wake.
Pepe Reina should not have been left so easily exposed but the Liverpool goalkeeper should have offered greater resistance. He seemed to anticipate Ramires shooting across him towards the far corner and, off balance, could only deflect the Brazilian’s shot in at the near post.
He pounded the turf in anger as Ramires wheeled away in celebration.
Liverpool sought a response. Glen Johnson twisted and turned on the right before putting in an excellent low cross which Branislav Ivanovic had to dive low to head clear. The Serb sprang back to his feet and blocked Craig Bellamy’s volleyed follow up.
That attack aside, the Chelsea defence were barely troubled for much of the first half. Liverpool were being suffocated by Di Matteo’s team in midfield and, under that pressure, started misplacing passes and falling out of sync, with huge gaps opening between the lines and Suarez isolated up front. Liverpool needed Gerrard in the game but Chelsea’s players were not making it easy.
Chelsea began to dominate. Ramires and Salmon Kalou were full of confidence, running with the ball at their feet while Liverpool’s midfielders were struggling to track the movement of Mata, playing centrally.
Kalou almost put Lampard through and then had the Liverpool defence backtracking as he went dribbling into the area. Drogba, full of confidence, was shooting on sight.
The urgency to close down Gerrard went too far as half-time approached, when John Obi Mikel went in late on the Liverpool captain, his studs catching Gerrard’s boot after he had struck the ball. Phil Dowd, after making sure Gerrard was not injured, booked Chelsea’s holding midfielder. Dan Agger followed Mikel into the book shortly after, clumsily sliding into the Chelsea player after the ball had gone.
There were some flickers of improvement from Dalglish’s side as half-time approached – Stewart Downing and Craig Bellamy put in crosses that required astute defending – but Liverpool needed to find substantial improvement in the second half. It came in the game's final third but by then it was too late.
There was momentary optimism they could get back into it quickly – Gerrard went surging forward, past two men and into the Chelsea box, where he crashed into Ivanovic. Was he obstructed? Or did he simply run into the Chelsea defender? Dowd took the latter view. Moments later, the game looked out of Liverpool’s reach.
Lampard span away from Spearing and fired the ball into Drogba’s feet. The Chelsea striker controlled with his right, let the ball run out of his feet and then shot low with his left foot through Martin Skrtel’s legs and into the far corner. It was a superb clinical finish and Drogba celebrated with gusto.
Chelsea were full of confidence now. Kalou curled one shot over after a fine series of passes and then Lampard hit a cross field pass, Mata juggled and passed to Drogba, whose volleyed smashed into the side-netting.
Liverpool were floundering and needed a change – Dalglish sent on Andy Carroll for Spearing and switched to a more aggressive 4-4-2 and then with one moment, the whole complexion of the game changed. Liverpool were making progress down the left but it looked like Jose Bosingwa would clear. Downing got his boot in, though, and the ball flew straight to Carroll.
The big Liverpool No 9 completely wrong-footed Terry with a sort-of step-over, bringing the ball back on to his left foot and thumping it high into the net, the speed of the ball giving Cech no chance.
Liverpool were enlivened, Carroll was a menace and Chelsea were on the back foot. Carroll had a two chances to head an equaliser; Suarez cut inside from the left along the edge of the box and forced Cech to push his low shot behind.
Then came the controversial moment. Liverpool fuelled by their sense of injustice, piled the pressure on. Only a brilliant last-ditch tackle from Terry stopped Carroll scoring from close range. Chelsea were clinging on but they have become rather expert in rearguard actions and they made it to the final whistle.
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 1: match report - Telegraph
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Final Prep
The stage is set, as they say, and all is ready for arguably the biggest game of Pool's season. Having been at the Carling Cup Final, and feeling we were lucky that day, there is a strange feeling of dread that things may not go the scripted way this time. Ah well, I have resolved to enjoy the day and hope for the best without any great expectations. Being the tournament it is, the FA Cup is very unpredictable and we can put aside all the analyses and predictions from pundits, which nowadays, everyone is. On the telly, it seems Pool are the favourites, though everyone keeps referring to the "strange season" Liverpool have had. It really is not, as most hype is media generated and overly dissected, and I would put in its proper perspective as a fair season with cup wins and a good opportunity to see the extent of rebidding required. So, let us enjoy the moment and hope for the best and offer a prayer for a positive outcome with long reaching consequences for the team in red, no matter what the score. Go, the reds!
FA Cup - Matchpack: Chelsea v Liverpool - Yahoo! Eurosport
FA Cup - Matchpack: Chelsea v Liverpool - Yahoo! Eurosport
Debate about nothing
Whilst Liverpool go about preparing for the Cup final this evening, two media men out in print an academic and worthless discussion on what could be better in their twisted dream world. Winning something is always an achievement so don't denigrate the occasion with worthless drivel.
Liverpool fans debate: winning two cups or reaching Champions League? | Marcus Christenson and Sachin Nakrani | Football | guardian.co.uk
Liverpool fans debate: winning two cups or reaching Champions League? | Marcus Christenson and Sachin Nakrani | Football | guardian.co.uk
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Liverpool do well away from home again
We should all be familiar by now of the trend this season. A bad home performance followed by world beaters unrecognizable from the previous week. So it was no surprise that expectations were fulfilled with a performance that is sorely lacking at home. And possibly a preamble to the cup final, although there is the home game against Fulham just before, and we shudder to think of what might happen then. But let's concentrate on the good things, and they don't come any better than Luis Suarez's hattrick, capped by a brilliant long range effort that took his league tally into a respectable double figures. This got the Anfield crowd singing his praises, not least his manager, but we hope this continues on tonight until the coming weekend. Ominously though, Suarez's predecessor in red, also took this time to hit his stride in a similar manner. Torres struck three against QPR and it is not the best time for that to happen if you are a Liverpool fan. Anfield tonight and Fulham the next victims?
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has final word with wonder goal against Norwich to seal hat-trick - Telegraph
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has final word with wonder goal against Norwich to seal hat-trick - Telegraph
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)