Blowing Bubbles on a Monday!

I knew the Hammers had something special coming given the quality of numerous, well-negotiated signings and a manager who had a clear vision of what to do with a newly promoted team. 

To think that the Hammers would have broken top 6 at this point was at the best case scenario range, and it certainly has been that. 

The signings that management have put together over the course of a summer has been of the utmost quality, both in terms of the actual talent, but also experience, and most importantly to West Ham United, price. 

You’re never going to change how Big Sam plays. He puts together mean teams. Angry teams that will go at you, and keep up high pressure with substitutions. And he will put the ball in the box by any means necessary and hope that sooner or later, the ball will end up in the back of the net. What can I say, its working. 

The unexpected, pleasant surprise is that the Hammers have been able to improve the fluidity of last year’s championship grade 4-3-3. The addition (free I must emphasize) of Momo Diame has added tremendous steel and the much enhanced ability to keep the ball. Having the combination of a more wily noble in contrast to the power of Diame has been a blessing. Some of the football played against QPR was unbelievable, and certainly not something of the old 4-4-2 Big Sam. Everyone laughed when he declared that his methods were akin to that of Arsene Wenger, myself included, but he may just prove a point at the end of the season. 

Things are early indeed, and its too early to get hopes up, but there is reason for optimism at Upton Park. Matt Jarvis, in continuance of his days at Wolves, is a premier league grade winger. No question about it. Some of his crosses today, from seemingly impossible angles, curled straight into the danger zones with unerring accuracy. In the short time that Andy Caroll was on the pitch, his constant praises and thumbs ups to the winger is indications of a healthy partnership to come. Andy Carroll himself, was magnificent. Sometimes as a spectator, you only need one moment of a game to understand a player’s quality, and that came in the 89th where he leaped to execute a perfect chest trap mid-air, after which he turned the ball and fired an absolute hand breaker at Julio Cesar. Julio Cesar is a European Champion, and palming straight shots down should be routine. But such was Carroll’s power from outside the box that it forced the former Inter man to simply push it away. I am thoroughly excited for what Carroll can demonstrate as a West Ham player. 4-3-3s are different for every manager, and for this one, Andy Carroll will flourish. He is required to be angry, to be mean, to push defenders around like Kevin Davies did for Big Sam for many years. Not only is he better than Kevin Davies, he is younger, more energetic, and hungry to prove a point. He might not fit in a Brendan Rodgers 4-3-3, but he sure will like the more direct 4-3-3 of Big Sam. I can’t wait. 

QPR. Worst team in the EPL by points. I don’t relish the job that Mark Hughes has to do. He has some incredibly difficult players to deal with on his squad, most of whom are packed with quality but with inconsistency to match. If I were a manager, I couldn’t play an Adel Taraabt over a Shawn Wright Phillips on a regular basis. With SWP, you know exactly what you’re gonna get. With an Adel Taraabt, you might get sheer, unadulterated brilliance (today), or you might get selfish, poor decision-making, garbage (every other day). So he does what he should do. He plays the experienced, the proven. I think he did well to do that. But it seems that he doesn’t have the best idea on how to use his players. 

Lets start with the skipper. Ji Sung Park. His CV/reputation needs no rehashing. What does need consideration is his age. He no longer has any knee cartilage. He won’t be darting past fullbacks anymore on a regular basis. But what he can do is control the game with his touch and passing. He needs to play in the center of midfield as part of a 3 man midfield. Used in specific roles, he has been the best on a pitch in multiple CL semi-finals. All Mark Hughes needs to do is watch those games and see what Sir Alex did with him. The way Ji Sung Park is, is that he will always give you a decent performance. Even at his worst, he won’t really let you down, won’t give the ball away, won’t do anything stupid. But that’s not enough to win against a determined, hungry West Ham side who are clearly more organized. You need a Captain’s performance from your captain, and he didn’t give one today because his old position of youth didn’t allow it. In his age, he needs to play in the hole. 

Despite his clear desire to make it work, one of Faurlin and Granero have to sit because they are the exact same players. And he needs some steel to back them up in the form of either M’Bia or Diakite. Cisse and Zamora can’t both play in the same way that Demba Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba have trouble coexisting in a starting lineup. Watching QPR so far this year has been like watching myself in football manager 06 when I tried a formation simply for the sake of making sure all my big names and new signings could play, rather than thinking about tactical balance. Depending on the game, on the opponent, certain people must sit. That is the way the game is. You can’t force the formation for the sake of putting down a good looking team sheet. QPR this season has been a myriad of good names in an XI, but one where balance could not be found. A good QPR team against West Ham today would have looked like this:

 

—————————–Zamora——————————

Taraabt—————–Park (C)———————Hoilett

—————–Diakite————-Faurlin——————–

Hill————-Nelsen————Onouha————Mbia

Key Subs: Granero, Cisse, Traore.

 

It’s a shame that Sparky doesn’t have good left backs. Clint Hill is far from his best two seasons, of which one was in the Championship. The marauding, powerful performances are a thing of the past from him. His replacement Traore, is as idiotic as he was at Arsenal. And Fabio is out. In the modern game, in a 4-4-2 no less, having a winger defend full time alongside a hapless fullback was a recipe for disaster. QPR was doomed the minute Sparky decided to continue that 4-4-2 from the past 3 games. It simply too ambitious, and its showing in the table. Its going to be interesting if QPR changes their tactics after a defeat to a newly promote team, in their own ground. 

Nonetheless, it was a fantastic game in the second half, and West Ham getting an away victory was priceless. The season has started well from West Ham, and the Hammers are getting points where they need to get points. It will only get tougher, but surely a group containing the likes of Matt Jarvis, Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Mark Noble, Momo Diame, and Yossi Benayoun in good harmony can scrounge up enough points to survive the long road ahead. Up Hammers!

 

Exciting EPL

What a great weekend of football. It was one of those weekends where staying in and watching football was the best possible thing I could have done. 

 

Team of the Weekend: Liverpool. Granted they played a Norwich that inexplicably sat Grant Holt, 5-2 is a 5-2. All the talk of a new style and revamped philosophy is starting to show some substance, and at the heart of it, are some very exciting, energetic youngsters. Melwood can be proud of its sons today. 

 

Shitty Team of the Weekend: Manchester united. Possibly one of the most embarrassing first halves I’ve ever seen in my life. To play Scholes and Carrick in a traditional 4-4-2, against a three man midfield flanked by Bale and Lennon…I could see doom before kickoff. I don’t know what Sir Alex thinks sometimes, but surely, he won’t try that one again. Defenders who are scared of the opposition’s pace will back off. Ferdinand and Evans are two examples of such defenders, and it hurt us very badly. It’s about time that we quit this Kagawa Van Persie partnership, because it is awful. It is clear that Kagawa is having a difficult time adjusting to the physicality of the english game. In Germany, the defenders will put pressure on you. In England, they jump on your back. Hit the weights son. 

Forward of the Weekend: Luis Suarez. Nikica Jelavic gives him a run for his money, but on an overall gameplay level, Suarez was tough to top this weekend. Of course, a mixed bag as always. A brilliant hat trick. Yet some inexplicable missed chances. Constant hassling of defenders. Typical playacting. A sublime second goal. Needless yelling at Norwich supporters. A mixed bag, but an atomic bomb of attacking prowess for Liverpool. Matter of fact, he could have and should have had more. I love how Liverpool supporters are whining about how his reputation precedes him on penalty calls. Today was a fine example of that, but who is to blame for his awful reputation? Scousers: so much whining, no responsibility taken. If only he had the slightest semblance of a decent human being. I suppose all-around class is hard to expect. An incredibly entertaining and exciting performance from the Uruguayan.

Midfielder of the Weekend: Ki Sung Yueng. This was a hard one. After Sir Alex decided to reshape the team after a garbage first half, Paul Scholes was like an artillery sergeant, bombing 40-50 yard balls left and right, though the forwards didn’t do his service justice. But like the rest of the team, his first half was unexciting, though he was the best of us. Then, there is Joe Allen. Another man who hardly put a foot wrong. But Joe Allen, like Xavi on most weekends, didn’t really accomplish anything outside of a 5 yard passing radius. But he was an outstanding metronome, and kept Liverpool’s play balanced and safe. The final vote goes to Ki. Amidst the difficult battle against Stoke, Ki Sung Yueng was class personified. Never put a foot wrong, two outstanding shots, countless hollywood through passes with a defensive solidarity to boot. The finest box-to-box performance I have seen from the EPL this season. Swansea’s midfield trio has to yield points on their own at some point even if their forwards are as erratic as they are.

Defender of the weekend: Shockingly, it goes to the much maligned Titus Bramble. The perennial sack of defending garbage actually looked like Titus Bramble of his Wigan days. Strong in the tackle, impregnable in the air, he was largely flawless. Jan Vertonghen is close, but is marking led to our equaliser, and for that he loses some credibility in an otherwise impressive performance. Already one of Tottenham’s stalwarts.

Goalkeeper of the Weekend: Petr Cech. What more can you say about the European Champion. A fine performance to keep Arsenal at bay, who had opportunities in abundance to equalize. 

 

 

A Delayed Return

Summer has gone by without a word of blogging. Lets just say it was satisfactory. Spain won the Euros, Korea won the Olympic Bronze. It was hard to swallow the fact that Mexico took home the Gold, considering we dominated them in the group stages, but they beat Brazil and we didn’t. Our medal was fair. After all, third best in the world under 23 years of age is nothing to cry about.

United’s summer haul was satisfactory. Robin Van Persie will be a great buy as long as he stays healthy, but if history is any indicator, I have good cause for concern. Given the potential of homegrown Welbeck and not-so-howegrown Chicharito, I would still trade the 23 million pounds spent for a midfield warrior like Cheick Tiote, but I don’t have a knighthood and 19 titles. We also renewed Scholes and got Buttner and Kagawa for under 30 million total. That’s not bad considering I’d gladly spend 30 million for a 37 year old Scholes alone. 

Park and Berbatov left, and both will be missed. I hate how Sir Alex ruins strikers from time to time, and at great expense to the club, and I pray Berbatov will have been the last. On that basis, is it so criminal that I felt sour about buying Robin Van Persie for 25 mil? After Tevez, after Berbatov…the talent leaves fuming while United’s debt grows. Good strikers, loyal ones that would have stayed and played their heart out. Its just a bloody waste and I’m tired of it. Robin Van Persie better not fall into that pile. 

My post-mortem on Ji Sung Park…the full truth: I always felt sorry for him when he was in the red shirt. Before he came to us, he was PSV’s finest. He was known as a skilled, creative, technical attacker, and quite rightly so. Being recognized by UEFA as one of the top five forwards in Europe doesn’t come by being a stamina man. He was just that good. He’d eventually lose to Ronaldinho for that award. But he changed when he comes to us. Before he even made the move, it was dubbed a marketing move on our part. United buying an Asian? Has to be marketing. I was frustrated at that accusation, but asian football was not was it is now. And so he did the Asian thing. He worked his ass off. Flew into tackles. Chased every ball. Park absolutely does not have more stamina than white, black, or latino players. But he had to prove something that their nationality proves for them. So then the world started to “type-cast” him in a way. He became “the hard-working guy.” Sounds like a compliment but its a tag that implies that you have effort but no touch. Kuyt was the same. As was Nedved back in the day. To me, it was an insult because I had seen his technical qualities. He just never showed them for United because the shot he would have taken for PSV, he instead passed at United. The dribble he would have attempted at PSV, he backpassed at United. All for fear of being dubbed a market move, a farce. So he became “three-lungs park.” Even if he scored and played more creatively and technically than anyone else at United, all media outlets called it a hard-working performance. It just became their lazy, easy way to praise him and I always hated it. My Korean side wishes he had stayed and never come to us. If he had, he would have developed his technical potential and become known as a great technician rather than a workhorse. Considering he once shoved Robben to the bench at PSV, his ability might have been as lauded as much, if not more than Robben’s. But my United side is stronger, and I am thankful for his long service. Despite the handicap of his nationality, he left a hero of Old Trafford, and with so many amazing memories to justify it. I am peaceful with his departure for 2 reasons: 1) It was his choice, and Sir Alex tried for months using financial means to get him to stay. 2) He is now QPR’s Captain, and more importantly one of the EPL’s most creative players in the season thus far. For United, its a good move to move on a highly paid veteran and bring in Carrington’s young blood. For Park, its good that he can break out of a shell that’s confined him for the better part of his career.

Northwest Derby…Oddly enough, what prompted my return to writing. United is in trouble. Gameplay is garbage. Midfield is shit. Why do we invest in forwards like Robin van Persie when we don’t have a single holding midfielder? Why does no one realize the obvious tactical imbalance in the midfield? It’s so infuriating. It makes me want to punch something. We need a large, angry, hungry man in the midfield to win the ball back as though his life depends on it. And yet no one realizes this at Old Trafford. Liverpool didn’t make any decent scoring chances, thanks to a wonderful Rio Ferdinand, but we were outplayed most of the game. Utterly embarrassing, considering they played most of it with a man down. Days like this make victories seem like a defeat. Instead of being happy at winning the Northwest Derby, I felt like crap. Something has to be done about this bite-less midfield, and I just cannot understand why nobody else sees that there is an obvious fix.  

 

 

Friday

The alarm clock wakes me up at 6 in the morning in the hotel room. Time to prepare for the day, prepare instructions for my staff, get my administrative professionals in order, overview my client binder to see what we have to take care of as a team today. Then hit the coffee pot, restroom, put on the morning news, and boot up the ol’ laptop. Once I get on the computer, I should immediately review my calendar and emails. But not this week. Every day this week, the first thing I do is load up no less than eleven browsers. Three forums, daily mail, telegraph, manutd.com, goal.com, tribal football, soccernet, blue moon, and red wednesday. 

The general sentiment of both camps are quite different. 

For the City fans, its all confidence. They are certain that they will win, and by some distance. Its not a matter of talking about whether it will be a win, draw or loss. They are betting each other what the winning margin will be. 3-0? 4-0? 5-1? City fans are not arrogant people. So its interesting to see that they are so certain of dominating United on Monday. I suppose its not unreasonable considering that they are in flying form, they will be at home, and they have momentum. Certainly having dominated us at Old Trafford helps their confidence. I wonder if any football match should garner that much forgone conclusion though. The ball is round after all. Just as managers and players act from experience, I feel fans do as well. I think that City fans are new to being a big team in this league, and don’t know that caution is best exercised when all is going well.

On the other hand, the mood on the United side is somber. Supporters are cautious, even pessimistic. United forums are full of discussing what lineups should be used in this unique fixture, as though we are trying to figure out how to defeat a better opponent. I think that’s the appropriate position to take on our end, and i’m glad other United fans are seeing the fixture as a great challenge rather than a match of two teams in equal standing. We are not on equal standing, we are genuine underdogs in this one. And we will need to pull out every stop to make secure a good score line.

If its possible to be both optimistic and pessimistic, I am both. My heart tells me we will win, my brain tells me we will not. I suppose its the act of having faith. I have absolute faith in the never-die attitude of Manchester United, and know that we will not lose easily. After all, that attitude which has won us trophies in the past has served this season as simply making us difficult to defeat. In any case, it goes a very long way. As long as Paul Scholes starts, we won’t lose. Of that I’m absolutely sure. Both my heart and brain agree on that one. 

Before City counts their chickens, they should be cautious of the two below. They have some really amazing players, whether it be Aguero, Tevez, Balotelli and Silva. These virtuosos of attack against Evans and Rio make us underdogs automatically. But if these two pictured below play at their best, its over for City. There are world class players, but above them are the a different echelon, and these two are in it. I can only pray that they will be at their finest. 

 

As FSC says: TITLE WEEK

Brian Fantana: Panda Watch. The mood is tense; I have been on some serious, serious reports but nothing quite like this.

Manchester Derby Mind Barf pt. 1 (Wednesday)

The lead up to THE GAME (YES, ALL CAPS) on monday thus far has been strange. From the City camp, almost all the players have spoken as to their confidence and determination going into this game, in unilateral disagreement with wily Roberto Mancini who has spent the last four weeks playing a highly successful mind game of stating that the title race is over.

On our side, everyone is dead silent. Not a peep. Other than Sir Alex saying that now the derby is greatest of his life, there has not been a single utterance on our attitude or prospects going to the Etihad.

I’m not quite sure what to make of it. A couple things are clear. City does not handle pressure very well. Roberto did a brilliant job of relieving his squad of that pressure and now they are back in the race after a series of wins reminiscent of their first half of the season massacres. On the other hand, United deals with pressure too well for our good, whereby a consistent theme of complacency has led us to playing poorly pretty much all season. Complacency is the league, complacency in europe, complacency is cups, and pretty much complacency in literally every game other than Villa two rounds ago. Complacency with no logical basis, considering the squad is no where near amazing enough to be complacent against European or premier league teams.

So here we stand, at the season’s title defining moment. Position against position, if we were to throw out a best XI, we are at a disadvantage. We are equal at the GK position. Joe Hart is better in the air without question, but De Gea’s is ahead on shot stopping. City’s backline is more reliable than ours. Evans is solid but gangly and clumsy, a trait which Aguero will take advantage of at some point. Rio is adequate at the highest level, but no longer has the physical attributes to recover from a missed tackle. Evra is good as ever going forward, but his defensive tracking back has been on the decline this season. Rafa is a fantastic one-on-one marker, but is prone to lapses of concentration and discipline. The midfield is comparable if Scholes starts. Despite his age, he is still the best midfielder in this league. Unfortunately, our attack is less consistent than City’s because of the day-by-day fluctuating forms of Welbeck, Nani and Rooney. Only Valencia shows any sort of consistency, while Young seems to be out of the running for the time being while Sir Alex disciplines him for his diving antics. So best XI against best XI, City is the better bet. And they are at home. All this is reflected in the betting books as City head into the fixture as favorites by quite some margin.

So for United, it really comes down to the mental state of the players. Go to the Etihad with the same mindset as we have done all season, and it might be a 10-0 loss this time. Go there with a healthy dose of nerves and genuine sense of urgency, and we just might get a win in a very harsh away environment. That mental state alone is the difference between terrible form and excellent form for our key players. It is just the way that they are, and I fucking hate it, but its true. When Rooney is at his best, he is unplayable. Unfortunately, his best has not come out of him this season due to his complacent nature. Nani at his best, is better than any of City’s wingers at their best. But again, his mental state largely determines his game. Welbeck has no rhyme or reason to his consistency, but that’s often the curse of a young player. If these three can come into this game as nervous players, they can win the game for us. But if they approach it like they have approached all other games this season, United will lose the title at the Etihad.

A couple things will happen. Sir Alex will talk up this game. He has to know about our mentality issue. So he will try to do his best to get the squad up on their toes. This game being our biggest of the season, bar none, Park will play some part. A sturdier, more disciplined defender like Phil Jones or Chris Smalling may be preferred at right back to Rafael.

My preferred lineup, if City maintains their recent lineup at the Etihad.

4-4-2, Rooney withdrawn role.

——————-Rooney———–Welbeck——————

Young———–Carrick———–Scholes————-Nani

Evra—————-Rio—————Evans———-Valencia

——————————De Gea——————————–

Subs: Smalling, Jones, Amos, Giggs, Hernandez, Park, Rafa

More brain farts, venting, anxiety outbursts to come soon.

YES! Chelsea

(above) Torres clarifies to the press that he has deliberately missed open goals just to throw off Barcelona’s scouts.

On an unrelated note, heartfelt, joyous congratulations to Chelsea FC. Karma hasn’t truly reached the Nou Camp yet as Chelsea won fair and square without the help of a referee. That has yet to come around. Only when Chelsea beats Barcelona again next year with the help of some atrocious calls, will then justice truly have been served for the injustices of 08/09. But for this year, they have deservedly beaten Barca and given us an amazing two legs of football.  Chelsea’s old guard (John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, and Petr Cech) are a generation of world class, premier league footballers that deserve some form of European success. Despite coaching changes, despite instability, they have stayed loyal as a group to the Blue shirt. And that loyalty deserves recognition. As a collective, they are too good to not get a single European trophy in their long careers. So full, deserved respect to the old guard of Chelsea football club. God speed in the finals, and thank you for representing the   strength of the barclays premier league so well.

In a season where many uneducated, article-reading, highlight watching, non-match watching football fans have been obviously to quick to suggest a decline of the English game, Chelsea has just  massive favor by beating World’s best team of the past four years, as only the sixth best team in England. La Liga’s biggest proponents have just lost the fundamental basis of their argument. England is still the home and standard of football.

(above) Lampard gets a sugar high from a jelly donut provided at half time.

The Dilemma of Pep and I, documented.

Feeling once again guilty of having to witch hunt Pep Guardiola, I’m relieved that I don’t have to do so on this occasion. Fortunately for me, he showed his tactical weaknesses as a coach to the world in a definitive, indisputable manner last night.

Having to point out, what is to me, a clear lack of tactical nous in comparison to other top managers of our time has been a very difficult ordeal, particularly because many fans on the forums that I battle on don’t really the see the tactical side of the game. Because he has a fantastic trophy case, because his teams maintain possession and play one touch, and consistently against a variety of teams, it is easy to assume to the layman that he must be a genius. Whereas I would beg to differ, whereas I have long maintained, (despite being branded as villainous), that some day that very weakness that I have observed for years will show blatantly, painfully, and in an extremely taxing manner to Barcelona football club. Not just that Barcelona will lose, but that they will lose in a manner specifically where his tactical decisions are the reasons for their downfall. This season was it. At long last, teams finally figured it out. It showed in Barca’s league form, it showed at the Nou Camp in both El Clasico, and against Chelsea. It is without question that I am being snooty about this tactical blabber. I am 150% being snooty. But my position that Pep lags in comparison to Sir Alex, Mourinho, Hiddink, Bielsa, Unai, Cuper, or Pellegrini or any other tactically astute managers that I’ve admired and appreciated over the years, is a position that has found agreement even among some very loyal Barca fans, and that shows me that I am an educated minority. Again snooty, but unless these fools who oppose me can prove that they know more about the game than I do, I’m going to have a right to be. Anyway – sword wagging aside, I have been, and always will be unequivocally confident in my position, but I lament the fact that it is seen by many, both online and offline, as an attack on Pep. I resent that because all I’m doing is deflating the overrating of Pep by idiotic fans who only see the surface of the game. I resent it because I actually genuinely like and am excited by the young, energetic, decorated coach that is Pep. Sir Alex likes him, and that’s more than enough for me. I’m not attacking him in the slightest, but rather the blithering idiots who don’t see a single inch further into a Barcelona match than Messi’s dribbles or a possession stat at the end of a game.

In my mind, like any other coach I follow on a consistent basis, I have Pep judged at a certain level. I’ve ranked him as a manager in different categories, whether it be eye for talent, tactician, and man management. And it is a good level for his age, but more importantly, it is fair. These fucking idiots put him at a much, artificially higher level most often on the amateurish bases of possession, shots on target, and trophy wins. This careless overrating act by these fans is what makes me angry –  because them doing so unjustly and unfairly gives Pep a higher, widespread (as there are more uneducated fans and educated supporters of the game) reputation over other coaches in the world. And I will not have simpleton fans, however numerous, create this unfair perception that Pep is better than those gentlemen who I so admire, based on shallow, uneducated knowledge of the game. It’s unfair, and its wrong, and I will gladly be snooty and obnoxious to educate numbskulls who would think lower of greater managers due to their own ignorance of the game.

On my part, I wish he leaves Barcelona at the end of this season. I want him to come to England. A team where he doesn’t benefit from having possibly the best player of all time, certainly the best player of our generation. I want to see him implement fresh tactics, customize a system, and showcase what he’s got in a country and team where the football is different. He once said that he would be coaching in the third division of Spanish football if he didn’t have Lionel Messi. For the sake of those idiots I mentioned, and for my own hopes for this talented young coach, I hope that that is not the case. Everyone knows that I love a good footballing prospect.

 

Midweek

In light of the penalty row in the United Fulham game, I found that this fun fact found on Gary Nev’s twitter would be well worth the repeat. 

————————–

G.Neville ‏Penalties for since 03/04: Arsenal 49, Chelsea 46, Liverpool 44, City 39 and United 38.” Interesting Stat!!

————————–

 

Amidst all the whining we get from supporters of other big teams, it turns out we are awarded the least penalty calls! How about that ya clowns? Maybe everyone else needs to take a cold, hard look at how their team performed before blaming referees for United’s trophy cabinet?

Speaking of penalties however, the one un-called in our favor at Old Trafford was indeed a bad call. Fulham deserved a penalty. Soft? More than a baby’s bottom. But definite contact by Carrick. As someone said, these calls tend to even themselves out over the course of the season. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t, but at the end of the day, all teams get the same amount of calls. That’s why as far as the league games are concerned, its moot point to argue against penalty calls anymore. At some point, you know you are gonna get one in your favor. 

Milan – Barcelona. What a game. It is surprising how scoreless draws can be more exciting than high scoring games. As soon as I saw that Seedorf and Nesta were playing, I knew Milan were on to something. Despite’s Italy’s decline in league quality, one thing that will always stay with them is being the pioneers of a catenaccio. From defenders like Nesta, to a rigid defensive structure will full concentration for 90 minutes, the Milan defense held like Helm’s deep against the Uruk-Hai. The usually unspectacular Luca Antonini did his job wonderfully time and time and again, as well as Bonera who I thought was harshly done by in last week’s derby d’italia. The greatest praise however, must go to Alessandro Nesta, who is someone that clearly shows that age and form have temporary effects, but class is indeed forever. He was stunning, and just a sheer joy to watch. I feel like I was in a daze. I can’t remember how many rewinds I did. There are some parts in this world, where artistry in defense still exists. Pristine tackles, precisely-timed, strong, and decisive. It was like watching a well-drilled orchestra. His awareness of where to position himself, to close which players off to their weaker sides, the countless interceptions that drove Xavi and Iniesta’s passing completion down…and most importantly, his 100% shackling of Messi. This feat is remarkable given the Messiah’s recent rampaging form, and it still gives me hope that even the likes of Messi can be rendered useless by a quality defender. It just goes how much more defense is than speed and muscle. As for the penalty discussions, yes, Barca should have been awarded a penalty. How the last linesman chose not to call that one was beyond comprehension. Then again, a lot of decisions in that match were beyond comprehension. I think all in all, bad decisions flew in both directions. And I’m not sure if one side can complain more than the other. I’d like to write a letter to Ibrahimovic and Robinho. “Please do not miss any 1 on 1 chances against the goalkeeper in Barcelona.” How many do they need? Honestly? If you are going to paint yourselves as the best in the world, then maybe a first step to actually proving that is to sink a shot that resembles a training ground drill. Honestly. Milan could have won 3-1. Robinho who decided to sky a shot 2 yards from the goal, unmarked. Zlatan who had a one on one against Valdes, at which he decided inexplicably to go near post with his weaker foot. And then finally Urby Emanuelson, who having been put clean through against Valdes, decided to trap it so that the ball would fly out to the right. Complete idiots. 

Benfica – Chelsea. THE EPL LIVES! I have one wish to Sir Alex. Don’t buy Gaitan. We don’t need Gaitan. We have so many wingers that we are having to stick the older ones in center midfield. So don’t buy some Portuguese winger that was owned by Ashley Cole. Let’s just look to Young, Nani, and Valencia, and use Larnell and Lingard when backup is needed. For the longest time, I have maintained my belief that Evra is the best left back in the world. Defensively, he was on par with Ashley Cole. Offensively, he was better. This season, the ratio has skewed a little bit. He has suffered on the defensive end, while his offensive abilities have maintained their potency. Now, it just may be that Ashley Cole is the better left back as his defensive abilities are as strong as ever. it’s clear to me that going forward, Patrice Evra is still the best fullback in the world, but at the end of the day, fullbacks were made to defend. He has a lot of work to do to get himself back on that pedestal over Ashley Cole. What a good rivalry that is. Tangent aside, credit to Di Matteo to pulling out an away win. Like everyone else, I was also baffled by the team selection. I didn’t know that Paulo Ferreira was alive. But there he was, standing next to the ghost of Salomon Kalou. The game wasn’t the smoothest as far as Chelsea going forward, but Benfica struggled more. They couldn’t get their front three to work, while Torres made himself livelier than in any other game this season. It makes me wonder what would have happened if he had stayed on against City. What a great, unselfish assist to Kalou, and what a willingness he showed to help his team when he celebrated so emphatically after Kalou scored. Well played Torres. On all fronts. 

This weekend will be yet another great one. With Peter Crouch’s spectacular volley last week, we have been put in a better position against City. And this week, hopefully Sunderland can use some of that belief they have against a team they have already beaten. City’s lack of width is really a good platform that the likes of Mclean and Larssen can use. While Kompany is missing, they really need to throw every inch of Bentdner’s height against that City backline. Newcastle and Liverpool will fight for that 6th spot, while Tottenham needs to gain ground against Arsenal by deciding who plays the best football in the Premiership against Swansea City. 

 

 

 

 

 

Uncensored

This article is directly copied and pasted from the The Sun. The link is: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4201639/Frank-Lampard-talks-to-SunSport-about-his-relationship-with-Chelseas-ex-boss-Andre-Villas-Boas.html. It is wrritten by Shaun Custis and contains interview content from one Frank Lampard.

I’m going to try something new whereby I read an article and I write what is going through my head as I read it. I have a sworn mission to try to maintain objectivity to any event in soccer, whether it pertains to one of my teams or not. I figured: how else is anyone going to truly respect what I say?

In any event (be it a foul, or call, or controversial event), much like everyone else, I have an immediate judgment, and I will maintain that judgment. Thankfully, through keeping an open mind I think I’ve managed to be fair in those judgments. But every once in a while, like Nero in the Matrix (I’m kidding, its more often than that), a subjective, unfair judgment from my gut will kick in. When this happens, immediately afterwards, I will give it some thought, and think about what is/or should be, the objective, fair judgment on the situation. As a very simplified scenario, lets say a player goes down during a game. There are times, where without looking at a better replay or giving it the proper due diligence that I should, just by human nature, I have a preconceived notion of whether the player was either probably fouled or probably dived, thought its never definitive in one direction or the other. I just have an inkling based on my past viewership of the player. I don’t reveal that inkling so to speak, and often choose to stay quiet until I see a replay, but it is there. It exists. But this reaction is forgotten immediately in my mind because then the customary due diligence will be made right after  (rewinding for a replay, in this example) and I will have automatically made a more informed decision within seconds. I feel the need to bring up those forgotten, gut reactions, so I can actually identify where my biases lie. I need to do this because if I really want to be truly objective, I need to confront those.

Games are fleeting, and foul calls go by in seconds. So the easier place to analyze these “x-files” is when I read soccer news. What I’m going to start to do is – whenever I read an article or an interview where there is opportunity for lots of thoughts, I will simply put my reaction down. Whatever it is. Good judgement, fair judgment, bad judgment. It is very likely that I’ll embarrass myself at some point because at some point I’ll reveal some raw reaction of gut bias to the world without putting them through the complete filter of my judgement. But that is the whole point! As someone who publishes his thoughts and professes to have a respectable amount of knowledge about soccer, achievement of my goal of objectivity (if it is even possible, that is) surely cannot come without some embarrassment or humiliation. Even if it one can never be 100% objective about soccer, I’m willing to undergo the trials and tribulations that come with the attempt!

So this is the first article. Lets give this a go. And if can maintain this exercise regularly, then I’ll need to come up with a catchy name as well. Custis and Lampard are in Gray, I’m in Blue.

—————————–Article Beginning——————————–

Lampard said: “The boss was an intelligent fella and very across everything. In his short time at Chelsea, he attempted to do everything right. He was there from seven in the morning until seven at night and maybe through the night. Rumors of Villas Boas’s stress levels and obsessiveness were true…poor guy…

“He was looking to the future and his plan was long-term. But somewhere in the middle of that, the present didn’t go so well — and that’s where the problems came. Surely you are referring to cutting the old boys too quicky…

“It became the thing that Chelsea needed a revolution and to move out the older players. To be fair to AVB, that was part of the remit and I get that we need to move on and change. So you do know that at some point, you Mourinho boys have to go? And that maybe its you guys not moving out after your peaks that is perhaps preventing the development of another successful Chelsea era of the early 2000s? It surprises me that you actually realize that. 

“But you can’t lose sight of the present, as a team like Chelsea, with the quality we have, can’t be fifth in the league. We should be pushing higher and there’s a lot of strength in our squad which you can hold up against any in the Premier League. So in many sentences, you are saying at some point, the old boys will leave, but it won’t be for a while. I feel bad for people like Villas Boas who felt the transition point was sooner-the-better (which I agreed with) but couldn’t prove his point. I guess its means credit to you old boys after proving yourselves right with that Napoli game. Maybe Villas Boas and I were wrong and you guys were right. I still want to think that it was bad management that made Villas Boas discredit himself. I still want to think, maybe had he done a better job with the young Chelsea squads, you guys would still be sulking on the bench.    

“You can’t force change. It has to be a more careful process. You guys walked the walk. The Chelsea old boys win. For now at least. 

“If young players are coming through, who deserve to be in the team, I have no problem with that and would stand aside. But they have to earn their place and show they deserve to be in. I feel that that’s your way of saying there is still no one better at your positions than you guys at Chelsea football club. Regardless, yes, that much has proven to be true. 

“I know I can’t play every game. But I look at Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs and see no reason why I can’t play on as long as them.” Do not even dare sully their names by comparing your unworthy self to them you fat, repugnant twat. Mere mortals are not allowed to utter the names of Gods. Keep your envy within. Matter of fact, in this case, even envy should be forbidden. 

Lampard publicly admitted his relationship with AVB was ‘not ideal’ and there was a frank exchange of views when he was dropped for the first leg of the last 16 Champions League clash in Naples.

He added: “It wasn’t just me left out but Ashley Cole as well. That is the sort of game where you want your experienced players in. The manager and I had a conversation, though I wasn’t disrespectful. I just told him I thought I should be playing. Definitely fair. I sympathize. At any other club other than Manchester United, this is a very appropriate player-to-coach, employee-to-boss conversation.

“I wouldn’t be me and I wouldn’t have got this far in football if I had said ‘OK, no problem, I’ll sit on the bench, have a jolly time and pick up my wages. Word.

“I told him what I felt and he had no problem with me saying it. I did say our relationship wasn’t ideal and it’s true it wasn’t fantastic.

“I’ve had closer relationships with other managers. But what I was also trying to get across is that’s not important. What is important is the group.

“I wasn’t making a stand. The fact we might not have seen eye to eye was irrelevant to me.” I think that’s a little tunnel-visioned in a way, if that’s even the right term. Frank, you do sulk when you are unhappy. You know this. Everyone knows this. So even if it were irrelevant to you, if other players saw you and the manager not seeing eye-to-eye, does that come truly come across as a unified dressing room? It is possible that unbeknownst to you, your clear “un-ideal” relationship with the boss was affecting younger players in a negative way? 

Despite their differences, Lampard revealed: “I didn’t see the manager after he left but I sent him a message wishing him all the best and, yes, he did send me one back. He didn’t blank me.

“He thanked me for being a top professional, which I appreciated. A lot of people think the players didn’t play for him or respond. We did but it just didn’t work out and the team didn’t play well enough.” AVB is clearly a good coach, given his accomplishments at such a young age. But maybe he wasn’t a great one. Because a great one would have been able to produce results while handling the senior players appropriately. AVB’s issue was never that he was cutting senior players, some Chelsea fans still embrace that notion. His issue was that the results never came. This reaffirms for me more and more that whoever takes over Sir Alex’s throne definitely needs top experience at a top club, and with top players and huge egos. Managing clubs like United or Chelsea requires more than eye for talent and tactical nous. 

Since Di Matteo has taken over, Chelsea have won three out of three and will be expected to make it four with a home FA Cup quarter-final against Leicester today.

Lampard said: “I’ve heard the argument we shouldn’t have been playing that badly. But there has to be a catalyst to a change in form and it has come with Robbie in charge.

“It happens a lot when a team changes the manager. You saw it at Liverpool when Roy Hodgson left and Kenny Dalglish came in.

“It might not be working for whatever reason and it might be no one’s fault but as soon as a new man takes over, the crowd is lifted and results change.” The new manager effect really is a curious effective one. It’s funny how Sparky never has that effect on any of his clubs. Poor QPR. 

Abramovich blamed the players for getting AVB the sack and Lampard accepts the Russian billionaire had the right to say what he felt. But the writing was on the wall for the young boss once Abramovich started making regular trips to the training ground.

Lamps admitted: “Anyone at any club will tell you that when the owner turns up you jump a bit. I’ve never heard of it. Matter of fact, I’m pretty certain that the Glazers don’t know who Giggs is.  

“Roman hadn’t been to the training ground in quite a while and the Press made a lot of it, which was understandable in the circumstances. Yuuuup.

“He obviously wasn’t happy with us and I agree with that.

“He’s right to say ‘I’m the owner and I expect a level of play higher than we’re getting’. No one can argue with that, nor would they. You need that pressure at a top club.” It’s his money, his club, his choice. All true. But maybe Roman should have met AVB and Di Matteo alone. Just by showing himself, it undermines the players. And you yourself say that his presence signaled a cause for worry on the players. Even the most hands-on Bill Kenwright just meets with Moyes alone after bad results. Never show yourself on the training pitch!

But what about the accusation it is actually the players who run the show and that skipper John Terry confirmed it by barking orders from the dugout during extra time in the win over Napoli?

Lampard insisted: “It’s really out of order the criticism John has had for shouting the team on. Perhaps if JT was simply yelling LETS GO…but it wasn’t that was it Frank? He was pointing out positions, telling people where to go. That’s beyond a captain-esque rally cry, that’s a tactical shout. I don’t think the criticism is out of order. Even I cringed when I saw that scene. And everybody else for that matter.

“He couldn’t stay on because of injury but wanted to keep involved.

“He was trying to do something in a really critical situation and I don’t think it’s undermining anyone. As a fan, I’d want to see that. I would too like to see a passionate captain on the sidelines. Gary Nev spurred players on after he left the pitch, but I never once saw him do what JT did during Napoli. There is a clear difference.

“Everybody is bringing up this thing about player power and how we think we are the managers. But if John sees something as a captain and a senior player, why shouldn’t he say something? Because by doing that it shows that he doesn’t think Di Matteo is saying sufficiently what needs to be said. The underlying assumption for a person watching that is a lack of trust. The action itself screams a lack of respect. The sequence as a whole is called undermining. Consider this, Fatty. A professor is lecturing. The PA jumps in mid-lecture and says “actually i should also add…” What would you call that? How would you feel about that as a student watching?  

“We do have a strong dressing room. Yet it’s being made out we take liberties which we shouldn’t — and that’s not true. You may say that, but having seen the number of top coaches come and go…I can’t believe you. And JT proved my reaffirmed our beliefs at Stamford Bridge. 

“This is a group of players which wants to win and knows what it takes to win. We try to portray that on the training ground, on the pitch and in the dressing room “There are strong personalities. But I hate it when people go on about big egos. If you’re a big player you should be a strong personality. I don’t agree with the label ego when it comes to the Chelsea old boys. None of you are what I would call egotistical. But I do think the strong personality you speak of has proven negative effects when it comes to the authority of the man in charge. And that’s not right. Call it what you will, egotistic personality, strong personality, supersonic personality, whatever, but it’s gotta be fixed. 

“When someone asks me, as a senior player at 33, what my opinion is I would be letting myself down if I didn’t say what I think.” And if you were at United, as a senior player, in your late thirties, saying what you think and not letting yourself down, you end up like Roy Keane. Transferred to Celtic within hours. I don’t know what to say though I do agree with you in principle.  

SunSport columnist Roy Keane claimed last Sunday there was a falseness in how Chelsea try to show they are all together when they are not.

Lamps hit back: “I’ve loads of respect for Roy but he’s wrong. That spirit has always been one of the things which is special about Chelsea. Fair, you have a right to say that. Keano is often hot-headed and doesn’t think about what he’s saying. You want Ego? Keane here now. 

“When something gets on Roy’s nerves, he has a rant about it. But I like that. It shows he’s passionate about the game, just as he was when he was a player.” You just don’t want to piss off Roy Keane. Don’t blame you one bit. 

Keane questioned whether the Chelsea team would be mucking around and playfully flicking each other’s ears after the Napoli match, because he expected them to go out.

Lampard noted: “We were doing a lot more than just flicking each other’s ears after such an amazing night. Sounds kinky Frank. 

“When our backs were against the wall, we responded. I don’t think there’s anything false about that.” That’s the great thing about winning. People can hurl anything at you, and you can just hurl the result back at them to win the argument. Credit for the amazing night at Napoli. Well done. 

—————————-Article End—————————–

That was fun! I’ll read it in a couple of hours.

 

Champions League Quarter Final Draw

Picture Source: goal.com. 

What do you do when you sleep late because of work and realize you only need to stay up another hour to watch the Champions League draw? You stay up on watch the Champions League draw.

APOEL vs Real Madrid

Marseille vs Bayern Munich

Benfica vs Chelsea

AC Milan VS Barcelona

If Madrid were to meet Barca, it would only be in the finals.

And, Chelsea does not have a chance to meet Real in that same vein.

Obviously the bookies will now think of an El Clasico final. Yowza.

Call me crazy, but I think there is a chance, not a large one, but still a chance that Barcelona will not make it the final. AC Milan was not kind to them in the group stages, and if they meet Chelsea in the semi’s, the motivation from the bad blood might turn the tie in Chelsea’ favor. On the other side of the draw, I can’t see past Madrid making it to the final considering how ruthless they have been, but then again, Bayern’s attackers make them a very inconsistent side. Meaning that on the day, Bayern can either be terrible, or awesome.

 

Chelsea: Our Beacon of Hope

One of Stamford Bridge’s greatest nights – a Champions League classic

I found myself in one of those rare positions these days where I cheered hard and loud for Chelsea Football Club. There is only two situations wherein I will somehow end up cheering for a rival English Club.

Situation 1: It is a European competition, and United is not participating.

Situation 2: When during our regular league or a tournament, Chelsea winning their fixture leads United to having a more favorable result.

Today was situation 1.

Despite the decade of domination that we have had on the Champions League, this season has been the anomaly for the EPL. Like two power-drunk, complacent idiots, the two Manchester clubs embarrassed the league with their group stage exit. United is the biggest embarrassment because we had the easier group compared to City. But sometimes, that’s the harsh price to pay for complacency and a high concentration of young players on the pitch.

So I cheered hard for Arsenal last week. Praise their brave souls for crushing the Italian Champions and losing by a solitary home goal. Anyone who watched both games saw that over 180 minutes, Arsenal was the better team. It wasn’t that RVP should have shot that lost attempt instead of chipping it, but rather that Arsenal’s defense should have stopped slipping comically at San Siro.

And today Chelsea. I was particularly more motivated to cheer for Chelsea, more so than Arsenal because of Napoli’s stature. Admittedly, its a point of pride. Since last year, I’ve maintained that the EPL deserves a fifth Champions League slot. Four automatic qualifiers and one playoff spot. Its simple. We have top, Europe-grade teams like United, City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham. Our youngest and least experienced Champions League grade team knocked out the former European champions. To have these 6 quality teams battle it out for 3 automatic qualifiers and 1 playoff spot? Call it bias, call it whatever, but for me personally, these 6 teams are too big in talent and stature to be cut down to 4 teams. Fortunately for me, UEFA recognizes the EPL’s superiority through their coefficient placing, and that gap continues to widen between us and La Liga. So I have reason to believe that this fifth playoff spot will be ours soon enough. In any case, the tangent stems from my point that I cheered particularly hard for Chelsea because they played Napoli. To have Serie A’s third placed team from last season beat Chelsea would have gone against my campaign in a big way. Thankfully, Chelsea put in their proven old guard, and the fixture went as it should have in the first leg. Despite Chelsea, playing in the shambles that they are in, against a high flying, injury less Napoli, the fixture proved that Serie A’s third best had no business progressing beyond this round.

Looking to their future, Chelsea continues to be a difficult problem to solve. They can’t play consistently well without their old guard. But with them, there is no progress. On one hand, its a tremendous credit to Chelsea’s old guard. On the other hand, it was again cause for worry for a time when they will no longer be with the team. Didier Drogba was unbelievably infuriating in his bullshit antics tonight. The diving, the whining, the play-acting, the fully Drogba bag of tricks. But he was also the magnificent target man that he can be and without a doubt the best I have seen him this season. Terry, despite literally just coming back from injury, basically told skinny Cavani to scamper off home. Lavezzi who tormented Ivanovic in the first leg, couldn’t get half a yard on Ashley Cole. Lampard played relatively poorly against Napoli’s midfield, but he still managed to deliver one and hit the equalizing penalty. As tonight would once again, they are all fantastic players. If they weren’t they wouldn’t have won titles over United. It’s really that simple. So who can solve the Chelsea problem? Who is the man can oversee the shift of generations?

EDIT: I nearly forgot, in over time, Di Matteo wonders how to reshuffle the defense. John Terry explains something to him, proceeds to step ahead of him in the technical area, and yells at the players himself on how to move around, while a confused Di Matteo watches on with his arms folded. Sign of things to come? Is Di Matteo the real authority in Chelsea’s dressing room? How long until we see John Terry wearing the overcoat and scarf?

Shout out to Merseyside for a highly entertaining derby! Reason no. 940194921 why the EPL rules. Go to another country and find a regular league fixture between the 7th and 9th place team with a better crowd, atmosphere, footballing quality, hype, and tv coverage. Oh, and Good luck.

Everton started brightly enough, but I think it was a case of mismatched talent. People argue that had Leon Osman, Drenthe, and Jelavic been on the pitch, it would have been a much different story. Maybe, maybe not. I don’t think Osman as a big upgrade over Rodwell, Drenthe gave away the ball that led to Liverpool’s third goal, and Jelavic has a long way yet to go to prove that he deserves a spot over Victor Anichebe. A single, early career goal doesn’t justify a starting spot. Ji Dong Won scored a skillful winner against City, and last I spotted him, he was concentrating so deeply at toasting the bench at Sunderland. I think Everton played a strong squad given the inclusions of Hibbert and Jags, two experienced veterans that I rate. Further, they clearly showed an intent to attack, given that their usual one top switched to a two. I think the above two reasons alone prove the Moyes wanted something out of this game. The very fact that people are saying that he didn’t just proves ignorance of the lay fan. Moyes has never been a cup whore, never will be one, and has been very single-minded at improving Everton’s league position for the last ten years. And I have ten years of viewership to prove that.

Unfortunately, Skrtel was doing as well has he has all season, and Carragher was shockingly back to his old ability. Everyone will ooze and gush over the hat-trick hero, but I think there were other people on the pitch that deserve an Ostradamus-style shout out. Sure, Gerrard was fantastic in his finishing, but as he has admitted, both of his second and third goals were created by Suarez. Suarez deserves at least equal praise for his trickery and hard work to lay the ball of for Gerrard…twice I might add, and a third was possible had Andy Carroll had shot with his dominant right. Of all the games that Suarez has played, this may be the one where he showcased his best qualities, and avoided his worst. There were STILL two incidents, the more notable one being the utterly infuriating, expletive worthy dive for the free kick around at the 78th, but lets face it – just the two isn’t bad considering the man in question. So a huge amount of credit to him for not only playing for the team, but cutting down the usual antics noticeably as well. His doing that was a large part of the reason why the derby stayed an open, entertaining game, rather than a choppy mess filled with incidents that fans would have to argue about for days. Even from a selfish perspective, he did himself a giant favor. He played relatively cleanly, and he got much praise from fans around the league for that performance. Everyone noticed. United messageboards, Arsenal’s messageboards, Chelsea’s, Newcastle’s…who else did I read that day. The game proved that he doesn’t need to be a garbage human being in order to play really well. So why be a garbage human being?? Anyhow, had he played not-so-clean, his 2 assists would have been overshadowed by the media’s penchant to publicize the ugly side of footballers than the good ones. If anything, this game should prove to him that may be its worth it to cut the ugly side of his game down, and just focus on doing what he’s good at. Perhaps there may be one day when Luis Suarez becomes a player that is wholly a hard working, tricky forward, rather than 1/4 good forward, and 3/4 garbage human scum. That’s the day I look forward to, and the day premiership defenders fear.

The other player that deserves praise is the other forward. Andy Carroll. Or as I repeat the nickname that one Gazetto (italian print) announcer gave him, Andee Carollo. Yeah, so he didn’t score. And yes, he should have finished Suarez’ layoff in the early second half. But apart from that, he showed composure, technique, and shockingly, passing ability. I didn’t think Andy Carroll could play a deeper role than Suarez. Maybe its time for Dalglish to reconsider their configurations? Maybe its time for the trickier Suarez to full time advanced forward, and Andy Carroll to play a deep, target man role. Certainly unconventional to have a deep target man role, at least not since Shearer, but Liverpool needs a unique system considering their collection of players.

The third and final praise that I will dish out to Liverpool tonight goes to Liverpool’s fullbacks. Both were dominating their side of the defensive end, and both got forward well. What more credit is there to give to fullbacks? They did their job, and they excelled at their extracurricular activities. Glen Johnson would do well do improve his defensive game considering Martin Kelly’s shackling of Steven Pienaar.

That’s enough Scum praise for the day. But having rivals are only heated and exciting if they remain rivals. It’s not in my interest for our greatest rival of the past 20 years to fall below 7th. And it certainly doesn’t help my pro-EPL Champions League argument either.

I will leave this post with a couple twitter posts I found that made me warm and fuzzy inside. I’m so happy to know that I’m definitely not alone in supporting our last remaining beacon of hope, Chelsea Football Club, in Champions League this season. I’m so happy to see that others are willing to cheer on Chelsea for the good of our league, the finest in the world. Without further ado, these are the comments, with my comments italicized!

Joseph Barton ‏ @Joey7Barton

Fancied Chelsea tonight, had a massive task and pulled it off. Fair play RDM. Napoli did themselves proud mind.

Joey Barton, apparently bet on Chelsea for the game and won a bunch of dough. 

Jack Wilshere ‏ @JackWilshere

Great result for Chelsea, flying the English flag high in this years champions league! Shame we couldn’t join them, was so close!

Credit to someone who can enthusiastically cheer on rival team players after his own exit. Class.

Piers Morgan ‏ @piersmorgan

Actually want #Chelsea to win. Quite extraordinary, disturbing emotion.

Described my mood exactly. 

Benik Afobe ‏ @Afobe

How I’d love a Fernando Torres winner in extra time! Can El Nino step up to the plate and produce?! #StageIsSet

Young forward who watched Torres during his formative footballing years. Respect of other players, whether it be player or supporter, transcends the boundaries of clubs. 

Jack Wilshere ‏ @JackWilshere

Just jumped up when Lamps scored! I want chelsea through….English and proud! Come on you blues!

Chelsea’s most ardent twitter fan. I jumped too Jack. We both did the very thing that the Fatty’s weight doesn’t allow him to do. 

Wayne Rooney ‏ @WayneRooney

Hope torres scores winner here. Great game.

A long-standing, great rival forward. For a man he has competed against, argued against, nearly fought against, for the better half of a decade, for both club and country, Wayne shows his support in the Spaniard’s time of need. Class.  

 

Ahead of Merseyside

Ahhhh Merseyside. So many scousers in one place. Blegh, makes me shudder just to picture it.

Club	Pld	Pts
Man Utd	28	67
Man City	28	66
Tottenham	28	53
Arsenal	28	52
Chelsea	28	49
Newcastle	28	44
Liverpool	27	39
Sunderland	28	37
Everton	27	37
Fulham	28	36
Swansea	28	36
Norwich	28	36
Stoke	28	36
West Brom	28	35
Aston Villa	28	33
Blackburn	28	25
Bolton	28	23
QPR	28	22
Wolves	28	22
Wigan	28	21

In any case, this Merseyside Derby is actually significant. Liverpool stands at 7th with 27 games, and Everton stands at 9th with the same count. The two teams are only 2 points apart.So that’s what the table looks like ahead of today’s match. Notice the league leaders. Notice how right the table looks now. It finally looks like how everyone thought it should look like. Like balance has been returned to the world, a grave injustice has been corrected, and the proper order is restored to mankind.

Before I go on, I have to reiterate my continued admiration for the genius that is David Moyes. The guy spends an average of 3-5 million a year and puts the team in the top 8 every season. If you think about all the other teams, newly promoted, or mid-table, (who spend the same or more) but end up back in relegation zone, it really demonstrates his value as a manager. First off, he is loyal. Despite being at a club where he gets pennies for transfer budgets, he sticks at it, works hard at it, and never complains. That is something that I value very highly. There are plenty of managers who would have left after a few seasons in that situation. I know that he has good tactical instincts from watching him the minute he came into the league. He has a good range of formations, makes timely substitutions that actually make sense, and also ensures that the workrate is high across the pitch. On his human side, by all player accounts, he is firm but fair. I admired how he dealt with the Rooney libel suit. Wayne was a idiot for writing that garbage and Moyes handled the situation perfectly by going through legal channels to clear his name. He just went about his business, didn’t talk much to the press, and it ended up with Wayne apologizing. Wayne was of course already with us at the time, and I remember feeling embarrassed about the situation, and even apologetic to David Moyes during that lawsuit. On top of all this, his eye for spotting talent at a bargain is top drawer. I think some weeks ago I wrote about how I marveled at his recent signings of Velios and Stracqualursi – rare cases where I literally had no idea of their existence prior to their transfer to Everton. If only Moyes had more european experience and management experience with difficult personalities, I’d have him succeed Sir Alex. Unfortunately, I think the limits of Everton’s well-documented financial troubles will always stop him from venturing into Champions League. I’m not entirely sure why Bill Kenwright has trouble finding investors, considering that the club has a solid supporter base and puts out a competitive team every season.

Back to the derby. For both teams, it is a crucial fixture. Everton could potentially jump into Europe contention with a win, while Liverpool needs a win right now to keep their Champions League hopes alive. The Merseyside Derby has always been a fixture key to morale. Liverpool’s morale is at an all-season low, while Everton has been winning left and right for the past month. This could either dent Everton, or boost Liverpool. Dalglish certainly seems to be banking on it and he continues to stress the significance of this fixture to the media. Daglish is a cautious man when it comes to saying anything definitive to the media, so the fact that he is talking about shows that he is willing to take the risk of placing pressure on his players in order to influence a positive result. As the table indicates, 13 points separates Liverpool and Arsenal, with Liverpool having a game in hand. If they cut it down to ten, its game on again. Arsenal has a tough run in with City still left in their fixtures, Chelsea will be inconsistent to the end, and Newcastle isn’t really producing their early season form anymore. Having said this, if the gap is still 13 after this game, its probably is safe to say that Champions League is gone for Liverpool.

I remember a time when not much was made of the Merseyside Derby. This was when I first started watching, and it was one of the tamest derbies that I saw. I specifically remember Everton that year because that’s when we gave away ak14. In any case, I would later be informed that this was because even within families in Merseyside, some can be Everton fans and some can be Liverpool fans. Essentially, friends and families sit it different sections. Furthermore, when I started watching, Everton was the Wigan of today. They were terrible and constant relegation candidates. I think its always harder to fuel a derby match when one team is significantly better than the other in league position. The only instance in England that I’m aware of that has kept the fire going even despite a vast difference in league position is West Ham Mill Wall. Over the years, the Derby did continually get more more intense with Everton climbling up the table under Moyes, and games in the 06′ and 09′ stretch becoming more booking heavy. And today, we have a derby where that really is no love lost between the two sides, with the two sets of supporters clearly divided for at least 90 minutes.

It should be a good game at Anfield, and I think a difficult one for Liverpool. The blue half of Merseyside is currently fearless, so I expect them to really have a go. Having said that, Anfield is Anfield, so anything can happen. I expect Steven Gerrard to return to the starting lineup, and I expect to see Andy Carroll. For the visitors, I expect Jelavic to retain his starting spot, but also Steven Pienaar to return to that left wing role. If that happen, Martin Kelly will have a good test. The return of Jags is not the best news for Liverpool, but I think they can trouble him enough with Suarez. Kenny knows that his one is a must-win, so I’m keen to see a more open game on both sides.