Well a disappointing one first:
Liverpool 0-1 West Brom
A bitterly disappointing defeat and I'm frankly bored of typing the same things on this blog. So much wastefulness and so many missed chances and so many hitting the sodding woodwork. I didn't watch this (fortunately) so am unable to give more detailed ratings but suffice to say this was not good...and more proof that Glen Johnson can't defend.
Norwich 0-3 Liverpool
I did watch this. Much was made of this victory but in truth Norwich were poor and the difference was a bit Steven Gerrard but mostly of course Luis Suarez who delivered three astounding finishes, the latter a serious contender for goal of the season. Suarez's audacious play makes him borderline unstoppable when on form and while his finishing can occasionally be wayward and unneccesarily elaborate (an example was a pointless attempt at a chip in this very game) he can be lethal. Otherwise this was a reasonably unremarkable game but a good result.
Ratings:
Reina - 7
Little to do but solid as always.
Johnson - 6
As ever, good going forward and lousy in defence.
Enrique - 6
His alarming end of season slump didn't really abate in this game.
Carragher - 7
Very solid display.
Agger - 7
Good going forward and at the back.
Henderson - 5
He played?
Downing - 5
Not his best at all...which is not good.
Shelvey - 6
I remain unconvinced that this guy is anything special at all.
Gerrard - 8
Provided the creativity apart from Suarez.
Bellamy - 7
Full of running.
Suarez - 9
Almost a 10, an outstanding display.
Subs:
Kuyt - 6
Little time to make an impact.
Coates - 6
No time.
Sunday 29 April 2012
Friday 20 April 2012
Scholes: I stand corrected
I posted some time ago that the return of Paul Scholes was a little desperate and unlikely to be a success given he had faded some time before his retirement. Well I have been proved monumentally wrong! Scholes has been arguably the player of the season since his return and has been one of the main reasons for Man United pulling away from City in the title race (that and all the overpaid planks spitting their dummies out of course).
His ability to pick out a pass is of course beyond the comprehension of most and he seems to have been utilised very well in a slightly deeper role where he can dictate the whole shape of the game in the manner that Alonso did for Liverpool (before we annoyed him to the point where he wanted to leave so we could not sign Gareth Barry). He also seems to have refound his shooting boots after a dwindling goal record before his retirement. Maybe the guy was just in need of a rest I don't know, but even as an ardent Liverpool fan I have to admit I have enjoyed seeing him back in the league because he is quite simply, an outstanding footballer.
His ability to pick out a pass is of course beyond the comprehension of most and he seems to have been utilised very well in a slightly deeper role where he can dictate the whole shape of the game in the manner that Alonso did for Liverpool (before we annoyed him to the point where he wanted to leave so we could not sign Gareth Barry). He also seems to have refound his shooting boots after a dwindling goal record before his retirement. Maybe the guy was just in need of a rest I don't know, but even as an ardent Liverpool fan I have to admit I have enjoyed seeing him back in the league because he is quite simply, an outstanding footballer.
Technology etc
Ah technology, the never ending debate that goes through football...of course it doesn't have to anymore but that would involve FIFA updating anything...the ludicrous Chelsea 'goal' against Tottenham in the FA cup semi-final was just the latest example of the breathtaking stupidity of still fighting against using technology. On this particular goal by the way, I do have to comment on the poor refereeing by an official who has not exactly covered himself in glory this season. Often I defend refs in this situation because the job that they do is next to impossible and I don't blame them for getting decisions wrong, but on this occasion there was no need to award the goal. It was clearly guess work as no-one could possibly see it well enough and the Chelsea players didn't even appeal and let's face it if John Terry doesn't surround the ref you know something's fishy. In addition, there were people lying on the goaline and it hit them!
Anyway, that's kind of beside the point. The main crux of the technology argument for me is it doesn't even have to be that technical. The fourth official currently does little besides tick off managers for not being statues and holds up a board telling us how much stoppage time is to be added which whilst useful and important could quite easily be indicated by someone else. My argument is that the fourth official would be far more useful if he was sat in a box, watching the game on the TV with the ability to speak to the referee (they already have these devices).
Perhaps to explain my argument, it's actually best to argue against the usual defences of maintaining the status quo. 'It would slow the game down'. I'm sorry, it won't. Let's face it all that happens at the moment is the players surround the ref for a while and complain and by the time we've finished watching three replays they're still complaining. You can watch a replay that gives you the answer in about ten seconds flat so I believe that is a daft argument.
'It wouldn't be the same for people just playing in the park'. Erm...so what?! With respect to them, the top league followed by millions and the international tournaments are kind of a little more important sorry...'It would take out all the debate' is another one. Oh well wouldn't that be a shame if we all talked about football players and teams instead of bad refereeing decisions yes that would be such a bugger...
The only postscript to this I guess is that there does need to be a definite decision on which decisions could be affected by this. Well the amount of ludicrous red cards we've had, the number of daft penalties given when Ashley Young practices his vaulting, the number of phantom goals....tell you what how about the refs use common sense and any big decision he gets a little bit of help from someone watching a TV. One of the most farcical things I've ever seen was in the last World Cup when Harry Kewell was sent off for Australia in a daft decision and then watched the replay on the big screen with the ref, pointed out how wrong the decision was...but the ref still had to send him off. I rest my case.
Anyway, that's kind of beside the point. The main crux of the technology argument for me is it doesn't even have to be that technical. The fourth official currently does little besides tick off managers for not being statues and holds up a board telling us how much stoppage time is to be added which whilst useful and important could quite easily be indicated by someone else. My argument is that the fourth official would be far more useful if he was sat in a box, watching the game on the TV with the ability to speak to the referee (they already have these devices).
Perhaps to explain my argument, it's actually best to argue against the usual defences of maintaining the status quo. 'It would slow the game down'. I'm sorry, it won't. Let's face it all that happens at the moment is the players surround the ref for a while and complain and by the time we've finished watching three replays they're still complaining. You can watch a replay that gives you the answer in about ten seconds flat so I believe that is a daft argument.
'It wouldn't be the same for people just playing in the park'. Erm...so what?! With respect to them, the top league followed by millions and the international tournaments are kind of a little more important sorry...'It would take out all the debate' is another one. Oh well wouldn't that be a shame if we all talked about football players and teams instead of bad refereeing decisions yes that would be such a bugger...
The only postscript to this I guess is that there does need to be a definite decision on which decisions could be affected by this. Well the amount of ludicrous red cards we've had, the number of daft penalties given when Ashley Young practices his vaulting, the number of phantom goals....tell you what how about the refs use common sense and any big decision he gets a little bit of help from someone watching a TV. One of the most farcical things I've ever seen was in the last World Cup when Harry Kewell was sent off for Australia in a daft decision and then watched the replay on the big screen with the ref, pointed out how wrong the decision was...but the ref still had to send him off. I rest my case.
Monday 16 April 2012
Andy Ruddy Carroll...
Well...what can I say. The player in the title is not my favourite as any readers will well know but two winning goals...he's still shite but at least he's done something now. I was pleased to see the back of Commolli, I couldn't help but be dubious that Kenny really wanted those over-priced, frankly not very good players and I share many English fans' concerns about the director of football role however it's termed.
Anyway 1-1 against Villa was disappointing, another typical display with domination, poor defending and missed chances. Still we got a point, but really should have won against a dismal Villa side.
Blackburn 2-3 Liverpool, regrettably I had to miss most of this thanks to work but managed to catch the end and Carroll's dramatic winner! A remarkable game by all accounts though and a gritty, hard earned win even if it was against a poor side. I've never been a Maxi fan but to give him his due he has scored his share of goals in recent times despite rarely appearing. Henderson had probably his best game so far although the competition is not fierce. And of course Carroll...
Liverpool 2-1 Everton
Well would you believe it he did it again! The miss of the century followed by a well taken goal although eclipsed by Suarez's sublime finish. Disastrous defending for the first goal of course, dear dear dear. It was a funny game and we weren't great in the first half but I thought we did very well in the second and deserved the win although Everton missed some good chances.
Anyway 1-1 against Villa was disappointing, another typical display with domination, poor defending and missed chances. Still we got a point, but really should have won against a dismal Villa side.
Blackburn 2-3 Liverpool, regrettably I had to miss most of this thanks to work but managed to catch the end and Carroll's dramatic winner! A remarkable game by all accounts though and a gritty, hard earned win even if it was against a poor side. I've never been a Maxi fan but to give him his due he has scored his share of goals in recent times despite rarely appearing. Henderson had probably his best game so far although the competition is not fierce. And of course Carroll...
Liverpool 2-1 Everton
Well would you believe it he did it again! The miss of the century followed by a well taken goal although eclipsed by Suarez's sublime finish. Disastrous defending for the first goal of course, dear dear dear. It was a funny game and we weren't great in the first half but I thought we did very well in the second and deserved the win although Everton missed some good chances.
Wednesday 4 April 2012
Oh dear
Well things aren't exactly going all that well lately. A dominant performance against QPR and a 2-0 lead somehow turned into a ten minute capitulation resulting in a dismal 3-2 defeat. There followed an utterly wretched home performance against Wigan and a 2-1 defeat and then an arguably equally bad display at Newcastle losing 2-0. Thankfully I wasn't able to watch any of these three games but clearly things are seriously wrong. That said, I stand by this: Kenny should not go. Every team has a poor run, and don't get me wrong this has been shocking in the exteme but sacking the boss is not always the solution. The fact is we overspent vastly on squad players: Henderson, Downing , Carroll and Adam have not worked basically because they're not good enough. In fairness to Downing, I can't fault his work ethic but the other three are just dire although Adam did better earlier in the season. I was watching Milan last night and when Aquilani came on I thought why on earth did we buy Adam when he is still our player?! Hey it's not good, but I do like the way we play under Dalglish and as I've said before there's no doubting we have dominated a lot of games this season and not got the results we should have done because of a lack of goals. We badly need a competent, preferably pacey striker in the Bellamy mould but younger and able to play week in week out. We also need creativity on the wings then we can look at a leap up the table. I never thought that the aforementioned disappointing players were going to win us the title or be the solution to our problems but I would love to know whether Kenny or Commolli were the real driving force behind those transfers. Let's not sack the boss, but let's get the right players.
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