On Jonjo, Sideshow Raheem, and Young England

Contingent on tomorrow's medical and negotiations, we've seen Liverpool sign two highly-rated English teenage midfielders within the last two months: Raheem Sterling and now Jonjo Shelvey. Not only was I told Liverpool were a sinking ship without money, but I thought Benitez never bought British. And yes, I'm aware I'm basking in the arrival of two youngsters whose combined fee is less than £3m, but any silver lining during a monsoon.

It wasn't long ago Liverpool were memorably missing out on the likes of Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. Both went to Arsenal, and while both cost a good deal more (and were further along in their development) than Sterling or Shelvey, it's been far too long since Liverpool were snapping up some of Britain's best and brightest.

It's yet another sign that Liverpool are restoring from the foundation and fixing the vaunted assembly line. It sputtered to a halt under Evans and Houllier, but we're seeing it rebuilt little by little, as Ed and I discussed in March. We've seen Liverpool recruit potential talents from across the universe – the likes of Insua, Pacheco, and Nemeth, among others – but few from the UK.

Thanks to recent UEFA and Premier League regulations, "homegrown" players are utterly necessary. Any nationality counts as homegrown if trained by the club – or any English club – for three years, but an English passport removes all barriers. And buyers pay well for it, as we found out when Liverpool "chased" Walcott and Ramsey. £5m for Ramsey or the £8m Aston Villa paid for a 19-year-old Fabian Delph could make the fee for Shelvey or Sterling look like peanuts. Pity the emphasis is on "could."

There's no guarantee either player will turn out a star, let alone feature for the first team. I do think Shelvey will be in the mix next season – he's already played in the lower leagues, so there's little use in sending him on loan (as Darby, Spearing, and Eccleston currently are) – but my best, barely informed guess is that he'll mainly see time in the Cups and for the reserves. And regardless, there's no guarantee any signing will work, whether the fee is £2m or £20m (wave to the nice people, Robbie).

Shelvey is 18, costing an initial £1.7m. While he was Charlton's youngest player, debuting more than two years ago, and has made 48 appearances for the Addicks, the majority of those came in League One. Sterling is only 16, costing an initial £500,000, and has mostly played for the U-18s since his arrival. As tempting as it is to go overboard, both evoke the phrase "hope" as much as Obama (and now Nick Clegg!). But both are laden with potential, with other big clubs sniffing for their signature, and English. "God Save the Queen" singing, smog breathing, blessedly English.

Even if we're only familiar with these kids from Football Manager and FIFA 10, it's satisfying; a sign that Liverpool's competitive in this crucial market, and that King Kenny Dalglish is earning his paycheck. I doubt it's coincidence both Sterling and Shelvey will arrive the same year that Dalglish returned to head up youth development. But make no mistake, Rafa must of had his hand in this signing – Shelvey should get some first-team opportunities next season, and I doubt Liverpool would be negotiating signings, even if they're only £1.7m, if Benitez were on his way out.

Unless that's the summer transfer budget gone (can't rule anything out with the Chuckle Brothers still in control), there are few ways for Liverpool to lose on these deals.

Liverpool 2-2 Charlton

The universe has a delicious sense of humor. Up until the 89th minute, it was a supremely frustrating day. Liverpool hadn’t played well, was down 1-2, and took out Robbie Fowler to soak in the applause in what’s probably his last Liverpool game, at least at Anfield. And a minute later, Liverpool won a penalty at the Kop end for Bougherra’s handball. Harry Kewell, out with injury for ages but who had looked lively since coming on in the 55th minute, slotted it away instead, and the resulting draw sees Liverpool attain 3rd place, taking a fair bit of sting off of what was still a frustrating performance.

Fowler’s last stand at Anfield, where he was fittingly made captain even though both Gerrard and Carragher started, began in the worst possible manner. Charlton was up 1-0 through Matt Holland before 2 minutes were gone after Mascherano gave away possession and Holland converted Zheng’s cross.

From there, it seemed to be a matter of who could be more wasteful with their chances. Liverpool could have equalized soon after Holland’s goal, but Arbeloa fired wide one on one with the keeper with Fowler lurking in the box. Arbeloa, playing on the right wing, missed another chance later in the half, as did others, and Charlton had even more opportunities of their own. Ambrose scuffed a shot, Finnan cleared off the line from Song, and in the second half, Zheng failed to take advantage of two very good openings.

Liverpool got back in the game through the substitutes. The home team looked much improved after Kewell entered, and Alonso, who came on in the 60th minute, equalized through a side-footed shot after good work from Kewell and Kuyt. However, soon after, Charlton were back in front thanks to Darren Bent and another defensive lapse. And despite Liverpool’s superiority, it looked as if it was going to stay that way. But every now and then, fortune does truly favor the brave, and even though Charlton had more gilt-edged chances, a draw is probably a fair result in what was a fairly meaningless game with most eyes on Athens.

Even with what’s been achieved, this wasn’t exactly what you’d want to see before a Champions League final. The team, even though it will be different in Athens, featured far more first-team regulars than in recent outings. Mascherano was at fault for the first and wasn't at his best today, and I’d have to imagine that he’ll start in Athens, while the defense, featuring Finnan, Carragher, Agger, and Riise, looked uncharacteristically shaky. But that was mainly down to Daniele Padelli receiving his first Liverpool start.

If Liverpool had lost, in the hunt for a usual scapegoat, one probably would have been made of rookie goalkeeper Padelli. And it wouldn't have been right. Admittedly, he made mistakes, and Charlton took advantage. They may be relegated, but any Premiership team should be able to punish such errors and Bent is a very good striker. I also really don’t want to criticize a goalkeeper in his first start, who is 21 years old, unfamiliar with the players around him, and probably barely speaks the language. Regardless of the result, if it wasn’t for the sentimentality surrounding Dudek, Padelli needed to start. Ideally it would have been earlier in this run of games with little meaning, but he’s on loan, and Liverpool needs to see what they have. And with young keepers, especially foreign players, games like today can happen. It can still be a learning experience.

All I can really take away from today is that it’s Fowler’s last game, and to a lesser extent that Kewell played quite well. It may be the last game of the season, but it certainly doesn’t feel as if it’s time to reflect. There will be a time and place for it, but it's not yet. It still hasn’t sunk in that the league’s over, and it’s impossible to try and look back with Athens on the horizon. I guess that says a fair bit about how important the league’s been to finish the season, but nothing can be done about that now. 3rd place has been achieved. It’s not where Liverpool wanted to end the season, but given how the year’s panned out, it’ll do, and as a matter of pride, it certainly is nice to edge Arsenal to the spot. Now all attention can finally be turned to Milan.

Roll on May 23rd.

Liverpool v Charlton 05.13.07

10am. Chances are the only opportunity to see this in entirety on US television will be Tuesday at 4pm on GolTV, which carries LiverpoolTV. GolTv is carried on ITVN, and a few digital cable packages I believe.

Liverpool: 3rd place; 67 points out of 37 games
Charlton: 19th place; 33 points out of 37 games

Last 3 meetings:
3-0 Liverpool (a) 12.16.06
0-0 (h) 03.04.06
2-0 Charlton (a) 02.08.06
2-1 Liverpool (a) 02.01.05

Last 3 games:
Liverpool: 0-1 Fulham (a); 1-0 Chelsea (h); 1-2 Portsmouth (a)
Charlton: 0-2 Tottenham (h); 1-4 Blackburn (a); 1-1 Sheffield (h)

Goalscorers (league; more than one goal):
Liverpool: Kuyt 12; Crouch 9; Bellamy, Gerrard 7; Alonso, Fowler, Garcia 3; Agger, Gonzalez, Hyypia 2
Charlton: Bent 12; Ambrose, El Karkouri, Thomas 3; Hasselbaink, Reid 2

Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Guess at a squad:
Dudek
Finnan Carragher Agger Riise
Pennant Gerrard Mascherano Kewell
Kuyt Fowler

The actual line-up may not be this strong, but it will not be like the last two league outings. Pay no mind to the fact that Charlton’s already relegated; there are still 10 days until the final, and Rafa will not want players to lose match fitness. If those like Gerrard, Carragher, and Kuyt don’t start, Athens will be their first game in 3 weeks. And not to rub salt in any wounds, but I’m glad that if Charlton had to be relegated, it was academic before this game. Hopefully we won’t see anyone charging into tackles and running around like madman as we did Monday.

The only real “back-ups” I’d like to see are Dudek and Fowler, as both will probably be playing their last game in a Liverpool shirt (although Fowler has a shout to make the bench in Athens). I still hold Jerzy’s poor performances this season against him – the Carling Cup match against Arsenal sticks out the most – but his comments over the past couple of weeks have not only softened my stance but made me want to see him amble towards the Kop clapping one last time. Unfortunately, news today from the official site casts some doubt on Dudek due on injury, but there’s always hope.

Fowler may very well come on as sub instead of starting; we’ve seen over the last two league games that he had trouble performing for the full 90 minutes, and hasn’t even shown the sharpness in front of goal that was on display last season. Either way, Robbie will certainly show up at some point to say goodbye to the Kop, unlike when Houllier forced him out in the dead of night to Leeds.

It’s also worth giving Kewell a start if Benitez holds any thoughts about actually giving Harry a run out in Athens. This is becoming a tricky subject to bring up, with Harry trying to be fit in order to limp off from his third straight final (I know, I know, but it’s too easy of a joke), and I’m happy to hold off criticism until Kewell sees some sustained actions, which he should on Sunday. I’ve said for a while now that Liverpool missed Kewell quite a bit this season, and I sincerely do hope that Harry proves it.

Even though Liverpool looked to get out of Fulham without any injuries, post-match Rafa revealed knocks to Reina, Gonzalez, Sissoko, and Arbeloa, and for that reason, I’m not expecting to see them on Saturday.

Charlton will be missing Scott Carson, who’s unable to start due to loan conditions, but otherwise, they’ll have a fairly full squad. And Pardew should have them pumped up for their last game in the Premiership for at least a year. But without them still fighting for survival, the game won’t be as hectic as it could have been, which certainly benefits Liverpool. I will also have my eye on Darren Bent. I hate mentioning transfer gossip, because it is just gossip, but with Liverpool always in the market for a striker and Bent probably being good value for money due to Charlton's relegation, it's something to watch.

So this is it. The last game of the league, and I’m hoping for no injuries, and a warm sendoff for a couple of players. Oh, and sealing third place in the Premiership. That’s somewhat disappointing given the quality in the team, but this league campaign was wrapped up ages ago. It truly is all about keeping players healthy for Athens, and then securing 3rd place.

So let’s see it done.

How the other half lives

In 20th place, with the draw against Manchester City yesterday, Watford’s long-assumed fate in dropping back down to the Championship was sealed. I will be very surprised if they don’t return within 3 seasons at the most.

However, the rest of the weekend’s games involving teams at the bottom of the table have made the relegation fight a touch more interesting. First and foremost, Sheffield’s draw at Charlton.

If any of the three teams who’ve inhabited the relegation zone were to escape the quagmire, Charlton was the hot pick. Having sat at the foot of the table for most of the first half of the season, they’ve steadily improved throughout Alan Pardew's tenure, and have only lost once in the last eight games. Admittedly, when he was hired, I thought Pardew’s rebuilding project would take place in the Championship next season, but since February, he’s looked capable of keeping the team in the Premier League, which is an accomplishment not to be understated.

Victory over Sheffield on Saturday would have seen them leap past their opponents into safety. They looked likely to achieve it when they finally took a 1-0 lead after 60 minutes, but soon after, Jonathan Stead pulled back a priceless goal on the road, and Sheffield held off Charlton for the remainder. Now, with 3 games left, Sheffield’s not out of the woods, but they maintain a 2 point advantage over their closest pursuer, one better on goal difference.

Over the next three games, Charlton will travel to Blackburn before hosting Tottenham and finishing against Liverpool at Anfield. Sheffield will take on recently-relegated Watford at Brammall Lane before going to Aston Villa, and facing 16th placed Wigan at home on the final day of the season.

West Ham also stirred matters up more with a victory over Everton, which sees them only one point behind Charlton, 3 behind Sheffield. Thanks to that win, they’re not out of it by any stretch of the imagination either, and if they stay up, home wins over United (1st), Arsenal (4th), and Everton (5th) may have sealed it.

The aforementioned Wigan welcomes West Ham next Saturday in yet another six-pointer that will go a long way towards deciding how this will all pan out. After that, the Latics are at home against Middlesbrough and away to Sheffield. It’s seems as if we’ve had matches between the bottom five or so teams every week over the final couple of months. Meanwhile, West Ham will host Bolton and then visit Manchester United, where they could not only change the dynamics of the relegation fight, but the title race as well.

Fulham is probably the only other team that could be drawn into this mess. Middlesbrough’s draw with Manchester United sees them join Aston Villa and Manchester City in getting to 40 points, which is usually what’s necessary for safety, in the last couple of games. Right now Fulham are only 3 points ahead of Charlton and still must travel to Arsenal and Boro and host Liverpool. They’ll honestly have to better their previous results to get any points from those fixtures.

I fully maintain the right to change my forecasts game-by-game for my usually inane weekly predictions, but just looking at the final fixtures, it’s tempting to try and figure how it’ll all fall out Against Blackburn, Tottenham and Liverpool, Charlton probably won’t be favored to pick up any points despite their recent achievements. Sheffield, meanwhile, has to look at the Watford and Wigan matches as opportunities to least come away with something, if not all three points. Other than in the upcoming Wigan contest, West Ham won’t be preferred by many punters; both Bolton and Manchester United are very difficult matches for a run-in to save top-tier status.

Both Charlton and West Ham will have tough times staying in the Premiership. It’s a credit to them that we’re still having this discussion given they’ve been in the relegation zone nearly all season, but that will bring little consolation. Both teams will have to win games where they won’t be favored, and still hope that Sheffield or Wigan slip up in comparatively easier matches. If anything, Wigan looks most liable to take one of their places, and even Fulham is probably more threatened than the Blades with their past results and difficult run-in. However, being a full three points ahead of Charlton while with a better goal differential may just save Lawrie Sanchez’s new squad.

With Chelsea unable to take advantage of Manchester’s slip up yesterday, it looks like the bottom end of the table should be a fair bit more exciting than the top; the Blues will need help even if they win against United. Thankfully though, we should at least have one fight that will make for a fun final few weeks.

Liverpool v Charlton, the day after

• Official Site: Match Analysis
• Official Site: Rafa reaction
• Youtube goals: Alonso, Bellamy, Gerrard
• BBC write-up, with video from Benitez and Reed
• Guardian: Match write-up
• The Times: Match write-up
• Daily Telegraph: Match write-up
• The Independent: Match write-up
• Eurosport stats and match commentary
• Sky Sports: Match write-up
• Sky Sports: Player Ratings
• RAWK: KevC’s pictures
• RAWK: Post-match thread

Liverpool 3-0 Charlton

This could have been worse than Tottenham’s 5-1 battering of the Addicks. Seriously. Stop laughing. The two goals in the last 10 minutes made the scoreline a closer reflection of the game, and two or three more honestly wouldn’t have flattered Liverpool.

For once, the early goal failed to set the right tone. Pennant was brought down in the box by Djimi Traore (Cheers Djimi!) and Alonso stuck it away. As an aside, Liverpool would do well to settle on a penalty taker. There was little wrong with Xabi’s effort straight down the middle, but with both his and Stevie’s reticence to take spot kicks on record, I’d have thought Kuyt would be in with a shout.

The Charlton defense was at sixes and sevens for the majority of the first half. Luke Young and Traore (marginally making up for the peno) both had to clear shots off the line. They were very lucky not to concede more, but at the same time, Liverpool needed to have a better final touch, and I’m certain Benitez’s halftime talk centered on that.

Charlton’s best player of the first half, Andy Reid, was forced to come off at halftime due to a hamstring problem for Darren Ambrose, but it didn’t do much to change the tone or the theme of the game. Liverpool continued to boss left, right and center, with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Kuyt missed a couple of very good chances early in the second half in addition to those in the first. He really could have had 5 or so himself. I hate singling out players, especially one I fancy as much as Kuyt; every player has off games (and for strikers at this club, they seem to come more frequently), and Dirk’s quality is obvious. Give him more time, and we'll see him banging in away goals (his sole so far was against Wigan) as regularly as at Anfield.

Charlton had two chances to undeservedly snatch a draw around the 75th minute, which spurred Liverpool into action (although bringing Garcia, Aurelio, and Crouch on helped as well). First, Ambrose missed a sitter, which was Charlton’s first shot of the half, and less than 4 minutes later, Darren Bent, unmarked at the back post, pushed a serious opportunity wide. Up until that point, I couldn’t have imagined Charlton getting anything out of this game, but those two chances show how close soccer can be.

In the 82nd minute, Bellamy (who had another excellent game) scored a lovely volley from a very tight angle, and Stevie finished it off with a strike soon after. Gorgeous goal by Gerrard to be sure, but after Bellamy’s, Charlton’s heads dropped knowing they’d lost what little chance they had, and Stevie’s shot was pretty much uncontested.

A few other scattered thoughts. Thrilled to see Gonzales get 70 minutes, and am certain with more time and experience that he’ll be key part of the team. He adds so much with his pace and gives the team more natural width on the left. Also, and similarly, it was great to see Aurelio get in. He’s missed the last two months with unspecified niggling injuries (which was frequently the case when he was at Valencia as well), but his return only adds to Rafa’s “possibilities.” Finally, we're finally seeing Pennant settling in and playing better. He was one of those in for some serious stick when things weren’t going right, but he’s played a key role in the last couple of games and certainly shown improvement.

In the last three league games, Liverpool has scored 11 and conceded none, two of those games away from Anfield. I don’t care who they were up against, you can’t ask for much more than that.

Alonso for man of the match, but it easily could be Bellers or Pennant as well.

Liverpool at Charlton 12.16.06

7:45am. Available in the US live on Setanta Sports.

Liverpool: 5th place; 28 points out of 17 games
Charlton: 19th place; 12 points out of 17 games

Last 4 meetings:
0-0 (h) 03.04.06
0-2 Charlton (a) 02.08.06
2-1 Liverpool (a) 02.01.05
2-0 Liverpool (a) 10.23.04

Last 3 games:
Liverpool: 4-0 Fulham (h); 2-3 Galatasaray (a); 4-0 Wigan (a)
Charlton: 1-5 Tottenham (a); 1-0 Blackburn (h); 1-2 Sheffield Utd (a)

Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Kuyt 6; Bellamy 3; Crouch, Garcia, Gerrard, Gonzalez 2; Agger, Alonso, Carragher, Fowler, Riise 1
Charlton: Bent 6; Reid 2; M Bent, El Karkouri, Hasselbaink 1

Referee: Howard Webb

Guess at a squad:
Reina
Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise
Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Gonzalez
Crouch, Bellamy

I’m pretty sure that as of the terms of his loan, Scott Carson can’t play for Charlton. Pity for them, he’s been their best player. Neither that fact nor Charlton’s form should mean that this game is taken for granted, however. Neither of last year’s fixtures gave Liverpool any joy; Charlton deservedly won at the Valley and the game at Anfield was exhibit A of Liverpool’s profligacy in front of goal.

I’ve gone with Crouchy up front instead of Kuyt because he’s been out of the team for what seems to be a while now and Kuyt probably could use a break, despite being rested away at Galatasaray. As always though, picking from the three forwards is a crapshoot when they’re all healthy, and all have assets (Bellamy’s pace, Crouch’s height, Kuyt’s never-say-die attitude) that could trouble the Addicks’ shaky backline.

Seeing Gonzo return as a sub against Fulham was quite reassuring; his absence, along with Aurelio and Kewell’s, has left Liverpool light on the left. The stunning free kick in the 90th minute last match was icing on the cake; I’ll be content to see him continue to adjust to the English game while giving Liverpool increased width, and hope that he gets a start. My major and really only concern is that his need to improve his crossing while he’s running at pace, because far too often this season we’ve seen those passes end up in row Z.

Hopefully Charlton’s need for points, coupled with Les Reed’s promise to play more attacking footie, will mean that Charlton will actually come out of their own half and Liverpool won’t be forced to play against 10 men behind the ball. It’s getting annoying to be repetitive, but Liverpool still must prove they have what it takes to break teams down in this situation, especially on the road. And as always, the earlier the goal, the better for the team; there’s no better example than the last game. Once Liverpool put one past Fulham, they got two more in less than 10 minutes, and another to close the half. A repeat of that would certainly be welcomed.

The race is over

And Iain Dowie is your winner. Congrats, Iain.

Charlton part company with Dowie

Charlton have announced that manager Iain Dowie has left the club.

Dowie took over from long-standing boss Alan Curbishley at the start of the season and has only been in charge for 12 Premiership games.

But the Addicks have only won two league matches and are currently bottom of the table with eight points.

The former Crystal Palace boss did lead Charlton to the Carling Cup quarter-final last week but it was not enough to save his job.

The club said on their website that they would make a full statement on Tuesday morning.

Dowie is the first Premiership manager to lose his job this season.

Stuart Pearce, Gareth Southgate, and Glenn Roeder's days were just made that much brighter. There's still ages of time left though.

Simon Jordan's also having a laugh, I'm sure.