Another international break (official site’s report on who’s in action where), in the midst of a crucial run in the league, has meant there’s been little Liverpool news to discuss. And since the England/France friendly costs something like $25 on PPV (ha!), I won’t be seeing that.
But I can’t stand to see “Liverpool 0-3 United” at the top of the blog any longer. So here’s what I’ve found interesting today. I’ll also apologize in advance for writing even more about Mascherano.
• It’s been fairly quiet on the part of the owners, but MLS Rumors reports of an article in the Canadian press (which, unfortunately, is in French) claiming Gillett wants to be part of a Montreal MLS team. He's got Montreal ties with ownership of the Canadiens, but it's still strange given he’s supposedly financially-strapped. That is, unless he planned on selling the shares of one of his other “franchises.” There’s an English translation of the article in the post. Update: And now there's an English version.
• Surprise, surprise, Masch was officially charged with improper conduct. We’ll find out Friday if he’s suspended further and for how many games. Personally, and I’m clearly aware of his reaction, I’ll be interested to see how leaving the pitch within 30 seconds of being shown the red card is an “indecent amount of time” and how he acted "aggressively." Being aggressive is a bit different than being furious and needing to be pulled off the pitch. I mean, even Andy Gray defended Mascherano (the video’s been taken down, but RAWK’s helpfully provided a transcript).
• FA Chair Lord Triesman thinks Steve Bennett did the right thing. I’ve said enough as it is, but I’ll add that it’s little surprise he chose to give the interview to a reputable publication like the Daily Mail.
• Hyypia’s signing a new deal, which is excellent news. Since a couple of shaky moments and strange own goals soon after Agger’s injury, he’s adjusted to playing regularly and probably been Liverpool’s most consistent defender. Although I imagine he’ll see a lot less time next season, with Skrtel settling in and Agger hopefully healthy, it’s reassuring to know he’ll be there if needed.
• Kewell’s injured again, and it’s another groin problem. I’ve written a lot of stupid things this year, but this Kewell post welcoming his “return” and imagining his impact was probably the most misguided. There’s a reason Benitez let him travel to Australia at this stage of the campaign, the same reason Kewell’s only had 15 appearances (9 starts) this season and hasn’t played since coming on against Barnsley.
• The top-20 Premiership underperformers according to Who Ate All the Pies. Voronin’s way too high, given that he was a free transfer and always going to be 4th choice striker, while it’s sad to see Alonso on the list, but otherwise I can’t argue with much.
• Finally, while there’s no specific post to highlight, I want to link Unprofessional Foul, which is a blog I’ve really enjoyed recently. As they’ve been around for a few months now, I’d imagine most, if not all of you visiting this site have seen it, but if you haven’t, it should be a daily visit.
Predictions for this weekend’s games tomorrow. Everton preview Friday.
Showing posts with label Miscellany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellany. Show all posts
26 March 2008
18 March 2008
More fun facts about this season
In the same vein as the earlier Torres post, highlighting tidbits I’ve found interesting, here are a few more things that have struck me recently. Most of these facts are the ones brought up in the mid-season review.
• In 30 games so far this season, Liverpool’s scored 55 goals. Liverpool scored 52 in 04/05 and 57 in both 05/06 and 06/07. With eight games to go, Liverpool is only 3 goals away from the high water mark of Benitez’s tenure.
• Conversely, Liverpool conceded 41 in 04/05, 25 in 05/06, and 27 in 06/07. They’ve conceded 21 so far this season. Similarly, Liverpool kept 7 clean sheets in 04/05, 22 in 05/06, and 20 in 06/07. There have only been 14 kept this campaign.
• After 30 games, Liverpool had 47 points in 04/05, 58 in 05/06, and 54 in 06/07, finishing 5th, 3rd, and 3rd respectively. They have 59 so far this season, the highest ever under Benitez at this point of the season.
• Liverpool has eight games remaining: United (a), Everton (h), Arse (a), Blackburn (h), Fulham (a), Brum (a), Man City (h), and Spurs (a).
Birmingham was in the Championship last season; in the other seven games, Liverpool only earned 8 points, with losses to United, Arsenal and Fulham (late in the season, when nearly the entire first team was rested), draws against Everton and Blackburn, and wins against City and Spurs.
• In 30 games so far this season, Liverpool’s scored 55 goals. Liverpool scored 52 in 04/05 and 57 in both 05/06 and 06/07. With eight games to go, Liverpool is only 3 goals away from the high water mark of Benitez’s tenure.
• Conversely, Liverpool conceded 41 in 04/05, 25 in 05/06, and 27 in 06/07. They’ve conceded 21 so far this season. Similarly, Liverpool kept 7 clean sheets in 04/05, 22 in 05/06, and 20 in 06/07. There have only been 14 kept this campaign.
• After 30 games, Liverpool had 47 points in 04/05, 58 in 05/06, and 54 in 06/07, finishing 5th, 3rd, and 3rd respectively. They have 59 so far this season, the highest ever under Benitez at this point of the season.
• Liverpool has eight games remaining: United (a), Everton (h), Arse (a), Blackburn (h), Fulham (a), Brum (a), Man City (h), and Spurs (a).
Birmingham was in the Championship last season; in the other seven games, Liverpool only earned 8 points, with losses to United, Arsenal and Fulham (late in the season, when nearly the entire first team was rested), draws against Everton and Blackburn, and wins against City and Spurs.
27 February 2008
So... what’s going on?
Once again, there’s a week in between games, and all the talk is back to Gillett, Hicks, and DIC. It looks like DIC is possibly buying out Gillett’s 50%, as word is the partnership’s gone far south. Even the BBC’s gotten involved, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen so many “it is believed…” or “BBC Sport understands…” in an article. I thought the BBC dealt solely in news.
As when the last round of speculation occurred, I’m of a mind to ignore much of what’s been written until something concrete comes out. Once bitten, twice shy and all.
In the meantime, absolutely everyone should check out That’s on Point. Sometime commentator Ace Cowboy was lucky enough to be at Anfield for the Inter Milan match, and wrote up the results of his trip. As usual with Ace, it’s an outstanding read; I can't recommend it enough.
Normal service will most likely resume tomorrow.
As when the last round of speculation occurred, I’m of a mind to ignore much of what’s been written until something concrete comes out. Once bitten, twice shy and all.
In the meantime, absolutely everyone should check out That’s on Point. Sometime commentator Ace Cowboy was lucky enough to be at Anfield for the Inter Milan match, and wrote up the results of his trip. As usual with Ace, it’s an outstanding read; I can't recommend it enough.
Normal service will most likely resume tomorrow.
16 November 2007
Another round of applause for mid-season international breaks
As usual, an international break leads to tumbleweed rolling through these parts. This week’s led to me paying less attention to news around the football world than usual during these breaks, what with the media vacillating between doom and gloom and burying their heads in the sand over England, a shed-load of meaningless friendlies (and Liverpool players playing in said friendlies), and Gerrard’s lovely condemnation of foreigners in the press (let's call a spade a spade).
I did however watch today’s under-21 England match. Which was fairly boring outside of Theo Walcott’s play and Agbonlahor’s possibly serious injury (gotta love the international break). But it did give me the chance to see Nikolay Mihaylov for the first time.
Despite letting in two goals, I thought Mihaylov played well, and showed some of the reasons why Benitez went after him this summer. There was little he could do about England’s first, and he went the right way on Milner’s penalty only to see it slip under him. He made a great save on Walcott, showed good positioning, and came off his line well. The couple of bobbles under pressure on corners were just a symptom of his age. And yet I don’t know if we’ll ever see him play for Liverpool.
It might be reading too much into it, but in the articles recently regarding the sale of Carson, Benitez said "At the moment we have Pepe, Charles Itandje and David Martin as goalkeepers so we can manage the situation okay." I know Mihaylov has work permit issues, and his loan to FC Twente lasts until the end of the season, but it looks like Rafa’s saying the keeper position is set for the near future.
Martin and Mihaylov are close in age and experience. With the youth and potential of the two, it makes little sense to have them both on the books, even if one will end up on loan for the next couple of seasons. Not to mention that Hansen, Gulacsi, and Bouzanis are on the books as well.
I have a sneaking suspicion Mihaylov was bought to replace Carson when he went on loan, and once the work permit became an issue, Benitez shifted his attention to Itandje. However, given Mihaylov’s age and Benitez’s apparent desire to buy young keepers like they’re going out of style, I might just be making something out of nothing.
But then again, if this new rule that Liverpool’s captain supports comes into effect, the team will need players like Martin to satisfy the quota. And who knows what his valuation would rise to then, being English and all. Sigh. It's times like these I'm thankful for the European Union.
England’s just started one of those meaningless friendlies I referenced above, which I refuse to spend money on to watch or even recognize the outcome of. I may pop back in after Israel/Russia tomorrow and assuredly before England/Croatia on Wednesday, but otherwise it’ll continue to be quiet around here until the next weekend’s fixtures unless something newsworthy actually happens.
I did however watch today’s under-21 England match. Which was fairly boring outside of Theo Walcott’s play and Agbonlahor’s possibly serious injury (gotta love the international break). But it did give me the chance to see Nikolay Mihaylov for the first time.
Despite letting in two goals, I thought Mihaylov played well, and showed some of the reasons why Benitez went after him this summer. There was little he could do about England’s first, and he went the right way on Milner’s penalty only to see it slip under him. He made a great save on Walcott, showed good positioning, and came off his line well. The couple of bobbles under pressure on corners were just a symptom of his age. And yet I don’t know if we’ll ever see him play for Liverpool.
It might be reading too much into it, but in the articles recently regarding the sale of Carson, Benitez said "At the moment we have Pepe, Charles Itandje and David Martin as goalkeepers so we can manage the situation okay." I know Mihaylov has work permit issues, and his loan to FC Twente lasts until the end of the season, but it looks like Rafa’s saying the keeper position is set for the near future.
Martin and Mihaylov are close in age and experience. With the youth and potential of the two, it makes little sense to have them both on the books, even if one will end up on loan for the next couple of seasons. Not to mention that Hansen, Gulacsi, and Bouzanis are on the books as well.
I have a sneaking suspicion Mihaylov was bought to replace Carson when he went on loan, and once the work permit became an issue, Benitez shifted his attention to Itandje. However, given Mihaylov’s age and Benitez’s apparent desire to buy young keepers like they’re going out of style, I might just be making something out of nothing.
But then again, if this new rule that Liverpool’s captain supports comes into effect, the team will need players like Martin to satisfy the quota. And who knows what his valuation would rise to then, being English and all. Sigh. It's times like these I'm thankful for the European Union.
England’s just started one of those meaningless friendlies I referenced above, which I refuse to spend money on to watch or even recognize the outcome of. I may pop back in after Israel/Russia tomorrow and assuredly before England/Croatia on Wednesday, but otherwise it’ll continue to be quiet around here until the next weekend’s fixtures unless something newsworthy actually happens.
10 October 2007
Couple of links...
Normal service will resume shortly (stupid international breaks), but I really enjoyed this Tony Barrett article, and wanted to pass it along (although I imagine nearly everyone reads the official site).
I don’t agree with every word, but most of it is utterly spot on, and Tony Barrett is probably the best local Liverpool writer around.
Contrast that will the typical talking points promulgated by Kevin McCarra in the Manchester Guardian.
Ugh. Has he watched Liverpool on set plays?
I don’t agree with every word, but most of it is utterly spot on, and Tony Barrett is probably the best local Liverpool writer around.
So the message is simple - support the manager and support his methods. Let the critics have their say but never lose sight of the fact that we have one of the most tactically astute coaches in European football who has a record of success that few can get near and most envy.
Contrast that will the typical talking points promulgated by Kevin McCarra in the Manchester Guardian.
“The fear has re-emerged that the Spaniard's detailed, mechanistic approach is fitted to set-piece occasions but does not allow the spontaneity that made United champions last season and that has installed Arsenal at the head of the table.”
Ugh. Has he watched Liverpool on set plays?
11 September 2007
Is the international break over yet?
Apologies for the radio silence, but after about a week, I’m always sick of the international break and completely ready for the Premiership to restart. I try to fill my brain with England instead of Liverpool, but I’m not an England blogger by any stretch of the imagination.
However, I may end up paying $20 for the “privilege” of watching England against Russia tomorrow, so fair warning.
To compensate, here’s some links about what’s going on with Liverpool players:
- Carra’s back in training.
- As is Aurelio, who participated in a reserve game against Crewe today (along with Alonso, Pennant, Arbeloa, Benayoun, Sissoko, Lucas and new boys Damien Plessis and Dani Pacheco, among others).
- And maybe even Kewell (what, is there a final coming up soon?), although this article reckoned he’d play against Crewe, which he did not.
- But now Finnan looks likely to miss more than just the internationals.
- In the “things I did not know" category, Gerrard attributes his excellent partnership with Gareth Barry to their close friendship.
- And while I’m quite late posting this, Jonathan sent in a link from the Liverpool Echo about how every single Liverpool player, as well as Rafa Benitez, is for sale.
Where are all the Liverpool players playing this week?
Gerrard, Crouch, Carson – Gerrard is the only one likely to start against Russia (although predicting McClaren has become nigh on impossible), but I assume we’ll see Crouch as a sub.
Alonso, Reina, Torres – Spain hosts Latvia in a must-win game. Alonso is suspended after his red card on Saturday and is back on Merseyside, Torres will probably start despite coming off after 57 minutes on Saturday, and Reina will back up Iker Casillas.
Babel, Kuyt – Holland is at Albania in a Group G qualifier. Babel started on Saturday, but Kuyt was dropped in place of van Nistelrooy.
Voronin – Ukraine hosts Italy in a match they’ll need to win to get qualification back on track.
Hyypia – 2nd place Finland hosts 1st place Poland in Group A qualifying.
Riise – Norway hosts Greece in another 2nd v 1st matchup (Greece is two points ahead with a game in hand).
Agger – Denmark should canter over Lichtenstein in Group F qualifying.
Mascherano – Mascherano’s Argentina played a friendly in Australia early this morning and won 1-0. I’m absolutely thrilled he flew halfway around the world for that; I’ll be surprised if he’s involved against Portsmouth.
However, I may end up paying $20 for the “privilege” of watching England against Russia tomorrow, so fair warning.
To compensate, here’s some links about what’s going on with Liverpool players:
- Carra’s back in training.
- As is Aurelio, who participated in a reserve game against Crewe today (along with Alonso, Pennant, Arbeloa, Benayoun, Sissoko, Lucas and new boys Damien Plessis and Dani Pacheco, among others).
- And maybe even Kewell (what, is there a final coming up soon?), although this article reckoned he’d play against Crewe, which he did not.
- But now Finnan looks likely to miss more than just the internationals.
- In the “things I did not know" category, Gerrard attributes his excellent partnership with Gareth Barry to their close friendship.
- And while I’m quite late posting this, Jonathan sent in a link from the Liverpool Echo about how every single Liverpool player, as well as Rafa Benitez, is for sale.
Where are all the Liverpool players playing this week?
Gerrard, Crouch, Carson – Gerrard is the only one likely to start against Russia (although predicting McClaren has become nigh on impossible), but I assume we’ll see Crouch as a sub.
Alonso, Reina, Torres – Spain hosts Latvia in a must-win game. Alonso is suspended after his red card on Saturday and is back on Merseyside, Torres will probably start despite coming off after 57 minutes on Saturday, and Reina will back up Iker Casillas.
Babel, Kuyt – Holland is at Albania in a Group G qualifier. Babel started on Saturday, but Kuyt was dropped in place of van Nistelrooy.
Voronin – Ukraine hosts Italy in a match they’ll need to win to get qualification back on track.
Hyypia – 2nd place Finland hosts 1st place Poland in Group A qualifying.
Riise – Norway hosts Greece in another 2nd v 1st matchup (Greece is two points ahead with a game in hand).
Agger – Denmark should canter over Lichtenstein in Group F qualifying.
Mascherano – Mascherano’s Argentina played a friendly in Australia early this morning and won 1-0. I’m absolutely thrilled he flew halfway around the world for that; I’ll be surprised if he’s involved against Portsmouth.
21 August 2007
Recommended Reading
- There’s talk today about leaving 96 seats empty in Liverpool’s new stadium as a memorial to the Hillsborough victims. This is an incredibly laudable idea, but even better is Rushian’s (from RAWK) to give tickets for said 96 seats to different groups of school children from the area. Superb suggestion. Just superb.
- Luis Garcia is a classy, classy fellow
- Gabriel Heinze’s not coming. Sven’s got the details.
- Guillem Balague on Torres’ debut
- Ian Rush’s Liverpool Echo column on the Chelsea match and Torres
- Paletta’s finalized his loan to Boca Juniors over the weekend, which I had been unaware of (thanks, official site!).
England’s friendly against Germany (3pm EST) is delayed on FSC, and will be shown at 5pm. after the US’ friendly against Sweden, which starts at 2:30. Soccerlens has a preview of the Germany game.
If you have FSC, tomorrow will be a full day of international football.
Torres, Alonso, Reina, Crouch, Riise, Mascherano, Finnan, Hyypia, Voronin, Agger, Babel, and Kuyt have all been called up for the midweek international games.
- Luis Garcia is a classy, classy fellow
- Gabriel Heinze’s not coming. Sven’s got the details.
- Guillem Balague on Torres’ debut
- Ian Rush’s Liverpool Echo column on the Chelsea match and Torres
- Paletta’s finalized his loan to Boca Juniors over the weekend, which I had been unaware of (thanks, official site!).
England’s friendly against Germany (3pm EST) is delayed on FSC, and will be shown at 5pm. after the US’ friendly against Sweden, which starts at 2:30. Soccerlens has a preview of the Germany game.
If you have FSC, tomorrow will be a full day of international football.
Torres, Alonso, Reina, Crouch, Riise, Mascherano, Finnan, Hyypia, Voronin, Agger, Babel, and Kuyt have all been called up for the midweek international games.
05 August 2007
Port of Rotterdam Tournament and the Community Shield
Apologies for the radio silence over the weekend. Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to catch either game in the Port of Rotterdam Tournament. I’ve got a plethora of excuses, but I doubt anyone really cares.
I don’t know what bothers me more. That I’ve missed both games this weekend or the fact that I’m upset about missing two preseason games. This isn’t healthy. It’s the preseason.
Friday’s game was one thing. It wasn’t a full-strength line-up, unlike today’s game, although players like Torres, Crouch, and Finnan were involved. And while I would have loved to see Torres’ first goal, Leto’s debut, and the new boys get more time to settle, it sounds like it had all the hallmarks of a preseason game, especially with the weaker opposition (did the chairman really play the first 5 minutes?). I’m pleased to hear Leto and Insua looked handy down the left though, and especially that Leto sounded impressive.
I’m actually glad I missed today’s game. Okay, that’s a lie, I’m never glad to miss a Liverpool game, even in the preseason, but from what I can tell, there’s little to take away other than another good Gerrard goal and some amusing handbags at the end. It was full of yellow cards, a Kuyt goal wrongly ruled out, a dubious penalty (although saved by Reina), and overall petulance. There are the standard ‘Liverpool are unimaginative, and can’t break down negative teams’ rants on the various forums. I’ll just reiterate my belief that preseason is for gaining fitness, varying personnel to see what options you’ve got, avoiding injuries, and building team spirit. All of those things happened today.
In lieu of summarizing what little I saw through highlights and read, I’d rather point you in the direction of the match reports at the Liverpool blog at The Offside, the Liverpool Echo (Bascombe’s match reports are usually the best in the business), and even those at the official site (although they’re always somewhat Orwellian).
I did however catch the Community Shield. As the game did little to capture my full attention, I just want to share a few thoughts that struck me.
- At least the goals were well taken. The match was dreary and disjointed, but both goals were nicely executed. Giggs’ was the culmination of very good team play, while Malouda’s showed the quality the player has. Admittedly, Malouda worries me. From the look of him during preseason, I don’t think he’ll take long to settle. And while that was a pretty goal, what was more impressive was the way he held off Rio Ferdinand, who’s supposedly one of England best defenders.
- Malouda, Mikel, Vidic, Evra and yes, Van der Sar were the only players who impressed at all today. Today’s game was a lot like last season’s FA Cup final, except this time the teams went at an even slower pace as we’re still in preseason mode. United were better over the course of the match, but Chelsea was missing more of their first-team regulars.
- While I’m well aware that the Community Shield is still the preseason and I’m not putting too much stock in it, I still don’t see anything that makes me think that Liverpool will be completely unable to keep pace with United and Chelsea this season. Yes, we’ve yet to see Hargreaves, Tevez or Anderson in a Manchester shirt, but I still don’t think they will perform at the level they consistently did over last season, while Chelsea looks likely to have problems achieving harmony and balance in their squad.
- Chelsea is awful at penalties. This was even worse an effort than against Liverpool in the CL semis last season. Pizarro and Lampard put their penalties in the exact same place, Wright-Phillips shot straight at Van der Sar after telegraphing it the entire run-up, and for being “the best keeper in the Premiership,” Cech sure doesn’t save many spot kicks. Although it was amusing to see him take his helmet off for them.
- Since 2000, the only time the Community Shield winner went on to win the Premiership was 05-06. Just saying.
For the rest of the week, I’ll have a couple preview articles on the coming season going up. It’ll start tomorrow with my guess at a table and an explanation of how I think the Premiership in general will go, on to Friday when we’ll finally be back in the regular groove with a preview of Saturday’s opening match against Aston Villa. Good times.
I don’t know what bothers me more. That I’ve missed both games this weekend or the fact that I’m upset about missing two preseason games. This isn’t healthy. It’s the preseason.
Friday’s game was one thing. It wasn’t a full-strength line-up, unlike today’s game, although players like Torres, Crouch, and Finnan were involved. And while I would have loved to see Torres’ first goal, Leto’s debut, and the new boys get more time to settle, it sounds like it had all the hallmarks of a preseason game, especially with the weaker opposition (did the chairman really play the first 5 minutes?). I’m pleased to hear Leto and Insua looked handy down the left though, and especially that Leto sounded impressive.
I’m actually glad I missed today’s game. Okay, that’s a lie, I’m never glad to miss a Liverpool game, even in the preseason, but from what I can tell, there’s little to take away other than another good Gerrard goal and some amusing handbags at the end. It was full of yellow cards, a Kuyt goal wrongly ruled out, a dubious penalty (although saved by Reina), and overall petulance. There are the standard ‘Liverpool are unimaginative, and can’t break down negative teams’ rants on the various forums. I’ll just reiterate my belief that preseason is for gaining fitness, varying personnel to see what options you’ve got, avoiding injuries, and building team spirit. All of those things happened today.
In lieu of summarizing what little I saw through highlights and read, I’d rather point you in the direction of the match reports at the Liverpool blog at The Offside, the Liverpool Echo (Bascombe’s match reports are usually the best in the business), and even those at the official site (although they’re always somewhat Orwellian).
I did however catch the Community Shield. As the game did little to capture my full attention, I just want to share a few thoughts that struck me.
- At least the goals were well taken. The match was dreary and disjointed, but both goals were nicely executed. Giggs’ was the culmination of very good team play, while Malouda’s showed the quality the player has. Admittedly, Malouda worries me. From the look of him during preseason, I don’t think he’ll take long to settle. And while that was a pretty goal, what was more impressive was the way he held off Rio Ferdinand, who’s supposedly one of England best defenders.
- Malouda, Mikel, Vidic, Evra and yes, Van der Sar were the only players who impressed at all today. Today’s game was a lot like last season’s FA Cup final, except this time the teams went at an even slower pace as we’re still in preseason mode. United were better over the course of the match, but Chelsea was missing more of their first-team regulars.
- While I’m well aware that the Community Shield is still the preseason and I’m not putting too much stock in it, I still don’t see anything that makes me think that Liverpool will be completely unable to keep pace with United and Chelsea this season. Yes, we’ve yet to see Hargreaves, Tevez or Anderson in a Manchester shirt, but I still don’t think they will perform at the level they consistently did over last season, while Chelsea looks likely to have problems achieving harmony and balance in their squad.
- Chelsea is awful at penalties. This was even worse an effort than against Liverpool in the CL semis last season. Pizarro and Lampard put their penalties in the exact same place, Wright-Phillips shot straight at Van der Sar after telegraphing it the entire run-up, and for being “the best keeper in the Premiership,” Cech sure doesn’t save many spot kicks. Although it was amusing to see him take his helmet off for them.
- Since 2000, the only time the Community Shield winner went on to win the Premiership was 05-06. Just saying.
For the rest of the week, I’ll have a couple preview articles on the coming season going up. It’ll start tomorrow with my guess at a table and an explanation of how I think the Premiership in general will go, on to Friday when we’ll finally be back in the regular groove with a preview of Saturday’s opening match against Aston Villa. Good times.
23 July 2007
Recurring Monday Roundup
Before I get to the spattering of news and notes that took place over the weekend, I’d like to invite any and all of you to participate in the Fantasy Football league I’ve recently set up. I know a lot of people use Yahoo’s version, but for the past four or so years, I’ve used the Premier League’s, so that’s what I’m going with.
The address, if you're too lazy to click the link, is http://fantasy.premierleague.com. Once you get to the mainpage, you have to register with the site and create a team, at which point you can choose to join a private league.
The league name is “Oh You Beauty” and the passcode is 70973-17577
I hope to get a few people in this, and I anticipate the lot of you beating my brains in throughout the course of the season.
Now then...
- Steve Finnan, the lone holdout amongst those who had been discussing contract renewals, has finally joined Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Alonso, and Sissoko in signing a new deal. To my surprise (and delight), Finnan’s new deal runs for the next 3 seasons, instead of the 2-year deal I thought he’d get. Yes, he’s 31, and yes, he doesn’t get credit for the job he does, especially on the attacking side of the field, but I will continue to reiterate my belief that Finn is the best right back in the league. You hear an awful lot about his “consistency,” and rightfully so, but that doesn’t nearly come close enough to describing what he does for the team. The most common complaint is that Finnan doesn’t get forward enough, but he’s always combined well with Gerrard on the right, and improves his partnership with Pennant every time out. He’s also one of the best crossers of the ball on the team period. Long may it continue.
- Meanwhile, Robbie Fowler’s signed a two-year deal with Cardiff City. Even though it somewhat hurts to say, this is probably one of the best situations Robbie could have found itself in. It is very strange referring to Fowler as a Championship-level player, but unfortunately, that’s what we’ve come to. I still maintain that he’s too good of a player for the Australian A-League or MLS at this stage of his career, and that MLS would probably have been bad for Robbie’s career, while Cardiff was near the top of the Championship for the first half of last season before finishing in 13th, has improved every year under Dave Jones, and is looking to replace their main striker (Michael Chopra, who’s off to Sunderland). Yes, I realize it’s a Welsh team, in the Championship, but they’re a good team with promise and potential. It really is a good situation for Fowler, and I’m excited to see what he can do there. All the best, Robbie.
- Last night, Emiliano Insua was part of the Argentinean team that won Under-20 World Cup, beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final. Insua played another full 90 minutes, and while Argentina was expected to win, having won five of the last seven Under-20 World Cups, the experience he’s gotten coupled with the confidence of winning the title can only be a good thing for Insua and Liverpool.
- Liverpool’s pursuit of Gabriel Heinze is in the news again. The BBC is reporting that Liverpool’s lawyers are attempting to work out a deal with United despite their extreme reluctance to sell a player, any player (no matter the fact he’s not in their plans and was told he could leave), to Liverpool. It comes down to the fact United supposedly sent a letter to Heinze’s agent that set out the conditions under which Heinze could leave, with no mention of any restriction on where he could go, including to Liverpool. Liverpool supposedly have met those conditions.
Admittedly, I have little desire to see a Manc play for Liverpool. I’m well aware that only one player has transferred between clubs in the modern era (Phil Chisnall, 1964). I’m worried that Heinze hasn’t recovered from the knee injury that kept him out for nearly a full season, as he did not play well last season at either left back or center back (he was worse at CB). And £7m seems like a good deal too much. But I also think that he could return to form, or at least improve, under Benitez. It sure doesn’t hurt that he’s Argentinean, with Rafa’s apparent fondness for players from that country. With the players Liverpool already has, what they need is a squad player who can fill in at LB or CB, which is supposedly what Heinze offers. He shouldn’t be completely past it being only 29. And honestly, the fact that Ferguson is so dead-set against the move makes me want him more.
- Finally, a reminder that Liverpool plays South China in Hong Kong tomorrow in the Asia Trophy, live on Setanta at 8:15am. The 3rd place game is Friday at 5:30, with the title game at 8:15. Portsmouth and Fulham are the two other teams involved. Thanks to work, I’ll be unable to see tomorrow’s match, but I’ll try to record it (no promises; thanks ITVN). A match report, if possible, will be late though.
The address, if you're too lazy to click the link, is http://fantasy.premierleague.com. Once you get to the mainpage, you have to register with the site and create a team, at which point you can choose to join a private league.
The league name is “Oh You Beauty” and the passcode is 70973-17577
I hope to get a few people in this, and I anticipate the lot of you beating my brains in throughout the course of the season.
Now then...
- Steve Finnan, the lone holdout amongst those who had been discussing contract renewals, has finally joined Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Alonso, and Sissoko in signing a new deal. To my surprise (and delight), Finnan’s new deal runs for the next 3 seasons, instead of the 2-year deal I thought he’d get. Yes, he’s 31, and yes, he doesn’t get credit for the job he does, especially on the attacking side of the field, but I will continue to reiterate my belief that Finn is the best right back in the league. You hear an awful lot about his “consistency,” and rightfully so, but that doesn’t nearly come close enough to describing what he does for the team. The most common complaint is that Finnan doesn’t get forward enough, but he’s always combined well with Gerrard on the right, and improves his partnership with Pennant every time out. He’s also one of the best crossers of the ball on the team period. Long may it continue.
- Meanwhile, Robbie Fowler’s signed a two-year deal with Cardiff City. Even though it somewhat hurts to say, this is probably one of the best situations Robbie could have found itself in. It is very strange referring to Fowler as a Championship-level player, but unfortunately, that’s what we’ve come to. I still maintain that he’s too good of a player for the Australian A-League or MLS at this stage of his career, and that MLS would probably have been bad for Robbie’s career, while Cardiff was near the top of the Championship for the first half of last season before finishing in 13th, has improved every year under Dave Jones, and is looking to replace their main striker (Michael Chopra, who’s off to Sunderland). Yes, I realize it’s a Welsh team, in the Championship, but they’re a good team with promise and potential. It really is a good situation for Fowler, and I’m excited to see what he can do there. All the best, Robbie.
- Last night, Emiliano Insua was part of the Argentinean team that won Under-20 World Cup, beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the final. Insua played another full 90 minutes, and while Argentina was expected to win, having won five of the last seven Under-20 World Cups, the experience he’s gotten coupled with the confidence of winning the title can only be a good thing for Insua and Liverpool.
- Liverpool’s pursuit of Gabriel Heinze is in the news again. The BBC is reporting that Liverpool’s lawyers are attempting to work out a deal with United despite their extreme reluctance to sell a player, any player (no matter the fact he’s not in their plans and was told he could leave), to Liverpool. It comes down to the fact United supposedly sent a letter to Heinze’s agent that set out the conditions under which Heinze could leave, with no mention of any restriction on where he could go, including to Liverpool. Liverpool supposedly have met those conditions.
Admittedly, I have little desire to see a Manc play for Liverpool. I’m well aware that only one player has transferred between clubs in the modern era (Phil Chisnall, 1964). I’m worried that Heinze hasn’t recovered from the knee injury that kept him out for nearly a full season, as he did not play well last season at either left back or center back (he was worse at CB). And £7m seems like a good deal too much. But I also think that he could return to form, or at least improve, under Benitez. It sure doesn’t hurt that he’s Argentinean, with Rafa’s apparent fondness for players from that country. With the players Liverpool already has, what they need is a squad player who can fill in at LB or CB, which is supposedly what Heinze offers. He shouldn’t be completely past it being only 29. And honestly, the fact that Ferguson is so dead-set against the move makes me want him more.
- Finally, a reminder that Liverpool plays South China in Hong Kong tomorrow in the Asia Trophy, live on Setanta at 8:15am. The 3rd place game is Friday at 5:30, with the title game at 8:15. Portsmouth and Fulham are the two other teams involved. Thanks to work, I’ll be unable to see tomorrow’s match, but I’ll try to record it (no promises; thanks ITVN). A match report, if possible, will be late though.
16 July 2007
Bits and Pieces
Crushed for time recently, and it’s come as a bit of a surprise, so apologies for lack of a friendly write-up over the weekend (Liverpool won 3-0, Voronin looked handy, Putterill and Peltier scored their first goals for the club, and it’s still a pre-season friendly) as well as other content. Coverage of tomorrow’s friendly, which should see Torres’ first game for Liverpool, should be a different story.
In lieu, I’d like to point you to a few things I’ve seen sailing through the tubes on this “internet.”
- First, Being Sven, which should be utterly required reading for American Reds, has a great post on all of Rafa’s youth buys and the system they’ve created at Liverpool over the past couple of seasons.
- Harry Kewell continues his fine form in fairly meaningless games in which he’s not playing for Liverpool, scoring Australia’s 4th in a 4-0 win over Thailand. Coming on a sub around the 60th minute, Kewell, along with the completely detestable Tim Cahill, opened up the game and Australia managed to put three past the Thais after their entrance. The win sees Australia move on to the quarterfinals, where they’ll most likely lose to Japan. Taking shots at Kewell is a pastime for all Liverpool fans, but I will continue to reiterate that I’m still of the belief that his presence would have greatly benefited Liverpool last season, and he’s also got a key part to play for the Reds in the future.
- Brazil whomped Argentina yesterday in the Copa America final, despite Rafa’s best wishes for Mascherano, who scored his first two goals for the national team earlier in the tournament. Brazil played Dunga’s style of football -- tough-nosed, compact defense, very little space in the midfield, and blazing counter attacks -- to a tee, and the introduction of Dani Alves off the bench as a right midfielder (stunningly, where Benitez wanted to play him…) sealed the win.
- Meanwhile, in more international action yesterday, Emiliano Insua’s Argentinean Under-20s advanced to the semi-finals after beating Mexico 1-0. Despite my crush on Insua beginning last season, I’ve been unable to catch any of Argentina in this tournament (naturally, my digital cable package is adding ESPNU at the end of the month), but I’ll go out of a limb and guess that Insua’s been great, as I usually think he is. With Aurelio out for at least another month, possibly more, and Liverpool yet to purchase a back-up for Riise outside of Arbeloa, Insua's going to have a bigger role to play in '07-08.
- YNBA, along with Footie Girl, have done their second annual end-of-the-season awards.
- And finally, even though it’s not Liverpool, I’d like to highlight the blog “Culture of Soccer.” It’s one of my favorite reads throughout the entire blogosphere that’s developed, as it combines politics, sociology, and football, three of my most frequent discussion topics. You should be reading it regardless, but the reason I bring this up is in the hopes of possibly helping out. The author is going on a cross-country road trip, and is looking for possible stories to be explored. I wish I had some ideas, but since I don’t, hopefully that’s where you guys come in.
The friendly tomorrow versus Werder Bremen is on Setenta at 2:15pm, and barring any unforeseen nonsense, I should have a review up soon after, ideally like after matches last season. Which reminds me, I’ve yet to see how Liverpool’s new deal with Setanta will affect American coverage, specifically for those of us unlucky enough to watch via ITVN, but hopefully actually having a friendly on the air is the start of what this deal will bring for us Yanks.
In lieu, I’d like to point you to a few things I’ve seen sailing through the tubes on this “internet.”
- First, Being Sven, which should be utterly required reading for American Reds, has a great post on all of Rafa’s youth buys and the system they’ve created at Liverpool over the past couple of seasons.
- Harry Kewell continues his fine form in fairly meaningless games in which he’s not playing for Liverpool, scoring Australia’s 4th in a 4-0 win over Thailand. Coming on a sub around the 60th minute, Kewell, along with the completely detestable Tim Cahill, opened up the game and Australia managed to put three past the Thais after their entrance. The win sees Australia move on to the quarterfinals, where they’ll most likely lose to Japan. Taking shots at Kewell is a pastime for all Liverpool fans, but I will continue to reiterate that I’m still of the belief that his presence would have greatly benefited Liverpool last season, and he’s also got a key part to play for the Reds in the future.
- Brazil whomped Argentina yesterday in the Copa America final, despite Rafa’s best wishes for Mascherano, who scored his first two goals for the national team earlier in the tournament. Brazil played Dunga’s style of football -- tough-nosed, compact defense, very little space in the midfield, and blazing counter attacks -- to a tee, and the introduction of Dani Alves off the bench as a right midfielder (stunningly, where Benitez wanted to play him…) sealed the win.
- Meanwhile, in more international action yesterday, Emiliano Insua’s Argentinean Under-20s advanced to the semi-finals after beating Mexico 1-0. Despite my crush on Insua beginning last season, I’ve been unable to catch any of Argentina in this tournament (naturally, my digital cable package is adding ESPNU at the end of the month), but I’ll go out of a limb and guess that Insua’s been great, as I usually think he is. With Aurelio out for at least another month, possibly more, and Liverpool yet to purchase a back-up for Riise outside of Arbeloa, Insua's going to have a bigger role to play in '07-08.
- YNBA, along with Footie Girl, have done their second annual end-of-the-season awards.
- And finally, even though it’s not Liverpool, I’d like to highlight the blog “Culture of Soccer.” It’s one of my favorite reads throughout the entire blogosphere that’s developed, as it combines politics, sociology, and football, three of my most frequent discussion topics. You should be reading it regardless, but the reason I bring this up is in the hopes of possibly helping out. The author is going on a cross-country road trip, and is looking for possible stories to be explored. I wish I had some ideas, but since I don’t, hopefully that’s where you guys come in.
The friendly tomorrow versus Werder Bremen is on Setenta at 2:15pm, and barring any unforeseen nonsense, I should have a review up soon after, ideally like after matches last season. Which reminds me, I’ve yet to see how Liverpool’s new deal with Setanta will affect American coverage, specifically for those of us unlucky enough to watch via ITVN, but hopefully actually having a friendly on the air is the start of what this deal will bring for us Yanks.
13 December 2006
Morning news and notes
• Curbs will be announced as Hammers gaffer at 3pm today. Shocking. That didn't take long, Alan must be getting fairly sick of gardening.
• In addition, Reo-Coker seems to be laying the groundwork for leaving West Ham. He was Pardew’s man through and through, with the gaffer making him the youngest captain in the Premier League and in West Ham’s history. He was rumored to make a big money move last off-season (with Arsenal the most likely candidates), and it appears Nigel’s making sure no one has forgotten about him.
• Lord Stevens given a second extension to complete the inquiry into illegal transfers. The presentation was made to the Premier League board yesterday, and will be made public next week. A previous extension was given a little over two months ago to further investigate 38 dealings. They’re really digging deep to try and find some examples of shady dealings, and the results of this inquiry are going to be the lasting reminders on BBC’s exceptionally silly Panorama exposé. That, and ingraining the word "bung" into our subconscious. Thanks.
• Two PL games this afternoon:
Chelsea v Newcastle (3pm, FSC): Newcastle may have rallied round the flag, delivering decent results the past couple of weeks despite the rash of injuries plaguing the club, but this is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea the game after a disappointing draw against the Arsenal. As per usual, every expected Chelsea win’s predicted to be 2-0, which is when Mourinho usually shuts them down. Chelsea 2-0
Wigan v Arsenal (3pm, Setanta): Despite the fact that Liverpool and Man United are the only two clubs to leave the JJB with all three points, I’m expecting a traditional Arsenal footballing display. Wigan is 1-2-2 in their last five outings, and will miss Paul Scharner through suspension, although Chris Kirkland looks to return to the team following his injury at Boro. For the Arse, Kolo Toure comes back from suspension, which will send Djourou or Senderos (hopefully Senderos) back to the bench. Arse 3-1
• In addition, Reo-Coker seems to be laying the groundwork for leaving West Ham. He was Pardew’s man through and through, with the gaffer making him the youngest captain in the Premier League and in West Ham’s history. He was rumored to make a big money move last off-season (with Arsenal the most likely candidates), and it appears Nigel’s making sure no one has forgotten about him.
• Lord Stevens given a second extension to complete the inquiry into illegal transfers. The presentation was made to the Premier League board yesterday, and will be made public next week. A previous extension was given a little over two months ago to further investigate 38 dealings. They’re really digging deep to try and find some examples of shady dealings, and the results of this inquiry are going to be the lasting reminders on BBC’s exceptionally silly Panorama exposé. That, and ingraining the word "bung" into our subconscious. Thanks.
• Two PL games this afternoon:
Chelsea v Newcastle (3pm, FSC): Newcastle may have rallied round the flag, delivering decent results the past couple of weeks despite the rash of injuries plaguing the club, but this is Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea the game after a disappointing draw against the Arsenal. As per usual, every expected Chelsea win’s predicted to be 2-0, which is when Mourinho usually shuts them down. Chelsea 2-0
Wigan v Arsenal (3pm, Setanta): Despite the fact that Liverpool and Man United are the only two clubs to leave the JJB with all three points, I’m expecting a traditional Arsenal footballing display. Wigan is 1-2-2 in their last five outings, and will miss Paul Scharner through suspension, although Chris Kirkland looks to return to the team following his injury at Boro. For the Arse, Kolo Toure comes back from suspension, which will send Djourou or Senderos (hopefully Senderos) back to the bench. Arse 3-1
16 November 2006
Assorted Fun
Okay, I was planning on doing a roundup of all Liverpool players in action yesterday in the European qualifying and friendly matches. The official site beat me to it.
In lieu of this, I’ll point you to a couple of things around the soccer blogosphere that I’ve found interesting recently. And I’ll apologize for the lack of words on my end; don’t fear, I’ll return to my usual, excessively verbose self by the weekend.
• EPL Talk, an excellent site with an excellent blog and podcast, is making the trip across the pond to see 4 games, highlighted by Manchester United at Chelsea. Not content to simply write about the experience, the Gaffer will be uploading tons of photos, and doing frequent podcasts from England, all in the hopes of showing American fans the experience of live Premier League soccer. Fantastic idea.
One thing I found fascinating in the build-up of this trip is the Gaffer’s difficulty in obtaining Liverpool tickets. Local Liverpool fans complain about troubles obtaining tickets (and rightfully so), but I can personally attest how difficult is it for visitors to get to games at Anfield. Despite living in England for over 6 months, the only time I was able to see Liverpool play was at Upton Park. The fancard process does not work unless you live in the area, and/or attend a number of games. The fact remains there’s simply not enough seats at Anfield to satisfy everyone. This is a roundabout way of saying it, mostly in the hopes of avoiding all the sentimentality surrounding the debate, but it’s simply another example of the need for a new stadium with a greater capacity.
• I’m bad at keeping completely up to date on the MLS, and it shows in the content I put up here, but the MLS Cup that took place over the weekend is worth mentioning. Which is why it’s nice that du Nord, the New England Revolution blog My Very Brain, and The Dcenters have it more than adequately covered.
• Soccernista goes some way in explaining why many, like I, are so bad about following the MLS. First, the MLS institutes the so-called “Beckham rule,” in an attempt to get star players on this side of the ocean. And it appears its first use will be to sign the long-past it Luis Figo, who’s looking for a last big payday and won’t get it from many other places.
•Meanwhile, in Liverpool news, the doctors are claiming Momo Sissoko’s operation was a success, and we’ll know the exact time-table for his return in a few days
In lieu of this, I’ll point you to a couple of things around the soccer blogosphere that I’ve found interesting recently. And I’ll apologize for the lack of words on my end; don’t fear, I’ll return to my usual, excessively verbose self by the weekend.
• EPL Talk, an excellent site with an excellent blog and podcast, is making the trip across the pond to see 4 games, highlighted by Manchester United at Chelsea. Not content to simply write about the experience, the Gaffer will be uploading tons of photos, and doing frequent podcasts from England, all in the hopes of showing American fans the experience of live Premier League soccer. Fantastic idea.
One thing I found fascinating in the build-up of this trip is the Gaffer’s difficulty in obtaining Liverpool tickets. Local Liverpool fans complain about troubles obtaining tickets (and rightfully so), but I can personally attest how difficult is it for visitors to get to games at Anfield. Despite living in England for over 6 months, the only time I was able to see Liverpool play was at Upton Park. The fancard process does not work unless you live in the area, and/or attend a number of games. The fact remains there’s simply not enough seats at Anfield to satisfy everyone. This is a roundabout way of saying it, mostly in the hopes of avoiding all the sentimentality surrounding the debate, but it’s simply another example of the need for a new stadium with a greater capacity.
• I’m bad at keeping completely up to date on the MLS, and it shows in the content I put up here, but the MLS Cup that took place over the weekend is worth mentioning. Which is why it’s nice that du Nord, the New England Revolution blog My Very Brain, and The Dcenters have it more than adequately covered.
• Soccernista goes some way in explaining why many, like I, are so bad about following the MLS. First, the MLS institutes the so-called “Beckham rule,” in an attempt to get star players on this side of the ocean. And it appears its first use will be to sign the long-past it Luis Figo, who’s looking for a last big payday and won’t get it from many other places.
•Meanwhile, in Liverpool news, the doctors are claiming Momo Sissoko’s operation was a success, and we’ll know the exact time-table for his return in a few days
09 November 2006
Liverpool News and Notes
• Sissoko set to miss 3 months. Not. Good. I said a bit about this last night, and I’ll have more to say over the weekend about the impact this will have on the Arsenal game. I’m having a hard time coming to terms with 3 months. That means we won’t see Momo until February at the earliest. The only game Liverpool has against the ‘big 3’ over that period is Chelsea at home in January, and the Champions League knockout round doesn’t begin until late February, but this is still a massive, massive blow. He will definitely be out for the remainder of the League Cup and approximately 15 or so Premiership games by my count (about a 1/3 of the season), at the least.
With Hamann in the team, Liverpool would have a ready-made replacement, but now Liverpool will be heavily reliant on Bolo Zenden. Maybe Zenden will improve with more playing time; he was a lot better yesterday versus Birmingham, but playing well against a second-string Championship side isn’t the reassurance I’m looking for. I don’t reckon Rafa will frequently use Gerrard and Alonso together in the center unless they really impress or he really must.
• Liverpool dismiss Benitez report. Evidently Rafa’s agent claimed that Benitez wants to manage in Italy, and would leave Liverpool to do so. That’s bad enough, and almost assuredly bollocks, but can someone explain to me why he’s telling this to The ***? Agents may do this all the time, and while it bothers me that the club is forced to come out every month or so and deny that their manager is going to Madrid or Italy, it’s par for the course when you have one of the best managers in the world. But his agent giving those quotes to THAT paper? Learn your history, Manuel.
• Ipswich want Danny Guthrie on loan. I’d be surprised if this happens. Not only does the Sissoko injury leave Liverpool lighter in central midfield, but Guthrie has begun to get games in the Carling Cup, which is usually the first step towards breaking into Benitez’s plans. Of course, at age18 (whoops, 19), more first team football would help his development, but I find it hard to believe that Rafa would want him to go or that Guthrie would spurn an opportunity for more playing time at Liverpool.
• Daily Mirror claims Liverpool in for Valencia goalkeeper. Ah, the Mirror. Must be a slow news day. Liverpool seemingly can’t get enough keepers, with Reina, Dudek, Carson, David Martin, and David Roberts on the roster. News flash: Liverpool isn’t selling Reina. It’s not as if Benitez has lost faith in him, nor is it as if Rafa has a reason to lose faith in him. And Pepe’s the same age as this mystery keeper. More nonsense, what is it with today’s papers? I’ve never heard of Butelle, does anyone know who he is?
With Hamann in the team, Liverpool would have a ready-made replacement, but now Liverpool will be heavily reliant on Bolo Zenden. Maybe Zenden will improve with more playing time; he was a lot better yesterday versus Birmingham, but playing well against a second-string Championship side isn’t the reassurance I’m looking for. I don’t reckon Rafa will frequently use Gerrard and Alonso together in the center unless they really impress or he really must.
• Liverpool dismiss Benitez report. Evidently Rafa’s agent claimed that Benitez wants to manage in Italy, and would leave Liverpool to do so. That’s bad enough, and almost assuredly bollocks, but can someone explain to me why he’s telling this to The ***? Agents may do this all the time, and while it bothers me that the club is forced to come out every month or so and deny that their manager is going to Madrid or Italy, it’s par for the course when you have one of the best managers in the world. But his agent giving those quotes to THAT paper? Learn your history, Manuel.
• Ipswich want Danny Guthrie on loan. I’d be surprised if this happens. Not only does the Sissoko injury leave Liverpool lighter in central midfield, but Guthrie has begun to get games in the Carling Cup, which is usually the first step towards breaking into Benitez’s plans. Of course, at age
• Daily Mirror claims Liverpool in for Valencia goalkeeper. Ah, the Mirror. Must be a slow news day. Liverpool seemingly can’t get enough keepers, with Reina, Dudek, Carson, David Martin, and David Roberts on the roster. News flash: Liverpool isn’t selling Reina. It’s not as if Benitez has lost faith in him, nor is it as if Rafa has a reason to lose faith in him. And Pepe’s the same age as this mystery keeper. More nonsense, what is it with today’s papers? I’ve never heard of Butelle, does anyone know who he is?
27 October 2006
News and Notes 10.27.06
• It’s rumor at best, and the sources are sketchy, but supposedly Jurgen Klinsmann has begun talks to become the US National Team manager after months of speculation. The far superior MLS blogs around the internet will have more I’m sure, but let me just say I’m skeptical, and I don’t know if Klinsi really is the best man for the job.
• Chris Kirkland signs 3-year deal with Wigan. Well, that’s one goalkeeper off the books. Both Kirkland and Dudek signed on the same day in 2001, and despite Jerzy’s excellent first season, it seemed only a matter of time before Kirkland was the number one keeper for both Liverpool and England. However, he had the absolute worst luck with fitness, with successive injuries to his back, finger, ankle, wrist, and a host of other body parts. He had a decent season out on loan at West Brom last year despite their relegation, and hopefully he’ll remain healthy and first choice for Wigan. It still amuses me that his father and other family bet on him to eventually earn an England cap (at 100/1 odds) when Chris was 11. It was paid off last year, to the tune of £10,000 per bet. Nice move, Kirkland family.
• Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic was suspended five games by UEFA for racially abusing Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy during last week’s UEFA Cup tie. Nice to see UEFA finally get serious about punishing racism in soccer. Kick it out.
• This weekend’s PL schedule:
Saturday, 28 October 2006
Sheffield Utd v Chelsea, 7:45am (live on Setanta Sports)
Arsenal v Everton 10am (live on Setanta Xtra)
Bolton v Manchester Utd 10am (live on Setanta Sports)
Fulham v Wigan, 10am
Liverpool v Aston Villa, 10am (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Portsmouth v Reading, 10am
Watford v Tottenham, 10am
Newcastle v Charlton, 12:15pm (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Sunday, 29 October 2006
West Ham v Blackburn, 11am (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Monday, 30 October 2006
Man City v Middlesbrough 3pm (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
• If you’re not reading Ian Holloway’s weekly column for the BBC yet, you should be.
• Chris Kirkland signs 3-year deal with Wigan. Well, that’s one goalkeeper off the books. Both Kirkland and Dudek signed on the same day in 2001, and despite Jerzy’s excellent first season, it seemed only a matter of time before Kirkland was the number one keeper for both Liverpool and England. However, he had the absolute worst luck with fitness, with successive injuries to his back, finger, ankle, wrist, and a host of other body parts. He had a decent season out on loan at West Brom last year despite their relegation, and hopefully he’ll remain healthy and first choice for Wigan. It still amuses me that his father and other family bet on him to eventually earn an England cap (at 100/1 odds) when Chris was 11. It was paid off last year, to the tune of £10,000 per bet. Nice move, Kirkland family.
• Wisla Krakow defender Nikola Mijailovic was suspended five games by UEFA for racially abusing Blackburn’s Benni McCarthy during last week’s UEFA Cup tie. Nice to see UEFA finally get serious about punishing racism in soccer. Kick it out.
• This weekend’s PL schedule:
Saturday, 28 October 2006
Sheffield Utd v Chelsea, 7:45am (live on Setanta Sports)
Arsenal v Everton 10am (live on Setanta Xtra)
Bolton v Manchester Utd 10am (live on Setanta Sports)
Fulham v Wigan, 10am
Liverpool v Aston Villa, 10am (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Portsmouth v Reading, 10am
Watford v Tottenham, 10am
Newcastle v Charlton, 12:15pm (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Sunday, 29 October 2006
West Ham v Blackburn, 11am (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
Monday, 30 October 2006
Man City v Middlesbrough 3pm (live on Fox Soccer Channel)
• If you’re not reading Ian Holloway’s weekly column for the BBC yet, you should be.
19 October 2006
Random News and Notes
As always, the day after a Liverpool game, I’ve calmed down somewhat. I’m still not pleased with the performance by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s worth repeating that a win’s a win, especially away in Europe. Looking at the Champions League tables is also pacifying, as Liverpool and PSV easily sit atop Group C with 7 points while Galatasaray and Bordeaux have 1. Also merits mentioning that two out of the three remaining games in the group stage are at home, while the other is in a stadium where Liverpool has fond, fond memories.
Hopefully, the win will restore some of Liverpool’s confidence for Sunday’s game, which will be one of Liverpool’s most important all season. The Manchester United matches are always one of the biggest fixtures on the calendar, and it’s always a struggle to get points at Old Trafford, but if Liverpool lose this game, they will be 11 points behind United before November. While no gap is too large this early in the season, it will be one tall mountain to climb. As per usual, I’ll do a full preview the day before the game.
Other news:
Champions League Matchday 3 round up:
• Dynamo Kiev 0-3 Lyon
• Steaua Bucharest 1-4 Real Madrid
• Celtic 3-0 Benfica
• Man United 3-0 FC Copenhagen
• CSKA Moscow 1-0 Arsenal
• Porto 4-1 Hamburg
• Lille 3-1 AEK Athens
• Anderlecht 0-1 AC Milan
• Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
• Werder Bremen 2-0 Levski Sofia
• Inter Milan 2-1 Spartak Moscow
• Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Bayern Munich
• Galatasaray 1-2 PSV
• Valencia 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
• Olympiakos 0-1 Roma
• No FA action will be taken to discipline either Stephen Hunt or Ibrahima Sonko after their challenges on the two Chelsea goalkeepers. Which is a good decision. There’s no way to provide there was malice in either of those challenges from the video evidence, and punishing either player on suspicion alone would be a huge mistake and would set an awful precedent. I’m also hopeful we’ll soon hear the end of complaints that goalkeepers need to be more protected. Goalkeepers are already more than adequately protected by the rules. If referees consistently applied said rules, it would go a lot further than creating more rules that may or may not be followed, depending on if the ref is bothered.
• Four British teams are currently in action in today’s UEFA Cup games. As I write this, Tottenham lead 1-0 through a Hossam Ghaly goal at Besiktas, and Blackburn has already beaten Wisla Krakow in Poland 2-1 after goals from Robbie Savage and David Bentley. Newcastle hosts Fenerbache and Rangers travel to Livorno within the hour.
The rest of today’s UEFA Cup games:
• AZ Alkmaar v Braga
• Austria Magna v Zulte-Waregem
• Basle v Feyenoord
• Club Brugge v Bayer Leverkusen
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Palermo
• Liberec v Sevilla
• Maccabi Haifa v Auxerre
• Odense BK v Parma
• Osasuna v Heerenveen
• Panathinaikos v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
• Rapid Bucuresti v PSG
• Sparta Prague v Espanyol
Hopefully, the win will restore some of Liverpool’s confidence for Sunday’s game, which will be one of Liverpool’s most important all season. The Manchester United matches are always one of the biggest fixtures on the calendar, and it’s always a struggle to get points at Old Trafford, but if Liverpool lose this game, they will be 11 points behind United before November. While no gap is too large this early in the season, it will be one tall mountain to climb. As per usual, I’ll do a full preview the day before the game.
Other news:
Champions League Matchday 3 round up:
• Dynamo Kiev 0-3 Lyon
• Steaua Bucharest 1-4 Real Madrid
• Celtic 3-0 Benfica
• Man United 3-0 FC Copenhagen
• CSKA Moscow 1-0 Arsenal
• Porto 4-1 Hamburg
• Lille 3-1 AEK Athens
• Anderlecht 0-1 AC Milan
• Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
• Werder Bremen 2-0 Levski Sofia
• Inter Milan 2-1 Spartak Moscow
• Sporting Lisbon 0-1 Bayern Munich
• Galatasaray 1-2 PSV
• Valencia 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
• Olympiakos 0-1 Roma
• No FA action will be taken to discipline either Stephen Hunt or Ibrahima Sonko after their challenges on the two Chelsea goalkeepers. Which is a good decision. There’s no way to provide there was malice in either of those challenges from the video evidence, and punishing either player on suspicion alone would be a huge mistake and would set an awful precedent. I’m also hopeful we’ll soon hear the end of complaints that goalkeepers need to be more protected. Goalkeepers are already more than adequately protected by the rules. If referees consistently applied said rules, it would go a lot further than creating more rules that may or may not be followed, depending on if the ref is bothered.
• Four British teams are currently in action in today’s UEFA Cup games. As I write this, Tottenham lead 1-0 through a Hossam Ghaly goal at Besiktas, and Blackburn has already beaten Wisla Krakow in Poland 2-1 after goals from Robbie Savage and David Bentley. Newcastle hosts Fenerbache and Rangers travel to Livorno within the hour.
The rest of today’s UEFA Cup games:
• AZ Alkmaar v Braga
• Austria Magna v Zulte-Waregem
• Basle v Feyenoord
• Club Brugge v Bayer Leverkusen
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Palermo
• Liberec v Sevilla
• Maccabi Haifa v Auxerre
• Odense BK v Parma
• Osasuna v Heerenveen
• Panathinaikos v Hapoel Tel-Aviv
• Rapid Bucuresti v PSG
• Sparta Prague v Espanyol
17 October 2006
News Briefs 10.17.06
• CSKA Moscow beat Arsenal 1-0 in Moscow today in the early Champions League match, just having now finished. Daniel Carvalho, who I remember well (too well) from the 2005 Super Cup, scored midway through the first half from a free kick.
The rest of the Matchday 3 Champions League games:
Today:
Steaua Bucharest v Real Madrid
Dynamo Kyiv v Lyon
Celtic v Benfica
Manchester United v Copenhagen
Porto v Hamburg
Lille v AEK Athens
Anderlecht v AC Milan
Tomorrow:
Chelsea v Barcelona
Werder Bremen v Levski Sofia
Inter Milan v Spartak Moscow
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Bordeaux v Liverpool
Galatasaray v PSV
Valencia v Shakhtar Donetsk
Olympiakos v Roma
Full preview of the Liverpool game tonight.
• Icelandic businessman Magnusson improves his group’s takeover offer of West Ham. Having gone this far, I will be surprised if all this takeover talk comes to nothing. Well, I guess it’s better than Kia Joorabchian.
• Didier Drogba follows Mourinho’s lead and accuses Steven Hunt of trying to injure Petr Cech. I know when I think of sportsmanship, Didier Drogba’s the first name that comes to mind. Meanwhile, Mourinho claims the ambulance took over 30 minutes to arrive for Cech, and in the interim, he feared for Cech’s life. Of course, the NHS immediately refuted this, and blamed the Chelsea doctor for not using the stretcher as well. Overreaction meet Jose, Jose this is overreaction. Oh, you’ve already met? And yes, it does appear that Chelsea is doing all they can to throw away the good will they recieved following the Cech and Cudicini injuries.
The rest of the Matchday 3 Champions League games:
Today:
Steaua Bucharest v Real Madrid
Dynamo Kyiv v Lyon
Celtic v Benfica
Manchester United v Copenhagen
Porto v Hamburg
Lille v AEK Athens
Anderlecht v AC Milan
Tomorrow:
Chelsea v Barcelona
Werder Bremen v Levski Sofia
Inter Milan v Spartak Moscow
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Bordeaux v Liverpool
Galatasaray v PSV
Valencia v Shakhtar Donetsk
Olympiakos v Roma
Full preview of the Liverpool game tonight.
• Icelandic businessman Magnusson improves his group’s takeover offer of West Ham. Having gone this far, I will be surprised if all this takeover talk comes to nothing. Well, I guess it’s better than Kia Joorabchian.
• Didier Drogba follows Mourinho’s lead and accuses Steven Hunt of trying to injure Petr Cech. I know when I think of sportsmanship, Didier Drogba’s the first name that comes to mind. Meanwhile, Mourinho claims the ambulance took over 30 minutes to arrive for Cech, and in the interim, he feared for Cech’s life. Of course, the NHS immediately refuted this, and blamed the Chelsea doctor for not using the stretcher as well. Overreaction meet Jose, Jose this is overreaction. Oh, you’ve already met? And yes, it does appear that Chelsea is doing all they can to throw away the good will they recieved following the Cech and Cudicini injuries.
12 October 2006
News Briefs, etc 10.12.06
And people wonder why I hate international breaks. Kuyt out (ankle), Sissoko out (ankle), Agger out (broken hand). Maybe Dirk will play Saturday, it looks more likely today than it did yesterday, but Momo and Agger are assuredly ruled out. And Liverpool was lucky! Gerrard, Carra, Crouch, Bellamy, Alonso, Reina, Garcia, Finnan, Hyypia and Riise came back healthy! Arsenal lost Ljungberg, Eboue, and Baptista for at least a couple of games, which will affect them more than it should the Reds. But now Liverpool will be without three important players for at least Saturday’s game, and it’s vexing to say the least.
Full preview of the Blackburn game tomorrow.
Other news and notes:
• Gerrard, along with Rooney and Lampard, makes the shortlist for FIFA’s World Player of the Year. Chances are it’s not going to be an Englishman though. As it’s a World Cup year, I expect the winner to be Cannavaro, who was clearly the best player throughout the summer (and captain of the winning team), but Henry and Ronaldinho (last year’s winner) are always in contention.
• West Brom looks to have captured Tony Mowbray from Hibernian. I predicted that wrong a week or so back, thinking Mowbray would refuse, or already had refused, the job. Looks like he’ll take the first serious route he can find into a Premier League job, thinking he’ll be able to get West Brom back up this season. They have the players to win the Championship, despite their inconsistent form, and I really do think Mowbray is an excellent manager. Like all who come from Scotland to England, people are going to question whether he’ll make the step up, but I think it’s obvious he knows what he’s doing, having forced Hibernian into the mix in the SPL and helping to break up the Old Firm dynasty.
• Speculation continues to swirl around a takeover at West Ham. As a Liverpool fan, I’m obviously skeptical of any takeover rumors until something’s concrete, but vultures have been circling around West Ham for some time now, the completely dodgy period only started with the arrival of Tevez and Mascherano. I don’t know who, if any, are trustworthy, whether it’s the head of the Icelandic FA (whose proposal has been reported to be heavily reliant on debt) or the Iranian businessman who had his hands in the transfer of the Argentine lads. I’d be more than cynical if I was a Hammer, I don’t like the smell of this at all.
Full preview of the Blackburn game tomorrow.
Other news and notes:
• Gerrard, along with Rooney and Lampard, makes the shortlist for FIFA’s World Player of the Year. Chances are it’s not going to be an Englishman though. As it’s a World Cup year, I expect the winner to be Cannavaro, who was clearly the best player throughout the summer (and captain of the winning team), but Henry and Ronaldinho (last year’s winner) are always in contention.
• West Brom looks to have captured Tony Mowbray from Hibernian. I predicted that wrong a week or so back, thinking Mowbray would refuse, or already had refused, the job. Looks like he’ll take the first serious route he can find into a Premier League job, thinking he’ll be able to get West Brom back up this season. They have the players to win the Championship, despite their inconsistent form, and I really do think Mowbray is an excellent manager. Like all who come from Scotland to England, people are going to question whether he’ll make the step up, but I think it’s obvious he knows what he’s doing, having forced Hibernian into the mix in the SPL and helping to break up the Old Firm dynasty.
• Speculation continues to swirl around a takeover at West Ham. As a Liverpool fan, I’m obviously skeptical of any takeover rumors until something’s concrete, but vultures have been circling around West Ham for some time now, the completely dodgy period only started with the arrival of Tevez and Mascherano. I don’t know who, if any, are trustworthy, whether it’s the head of the Icelandic FA (whose proposal has been reported to be heavily reliant on debt) or the Iranian businessman who had his hands in the transfer of the Argentine lads. I’d be more than cynical if I was a Hammer, I don’t like the smell of this at all.
05 October 2006
News Roundup 10.5.06
Sorry about the light posting recently. Tough workweek, and we’ve stumbled headlong into another international break as well. So it’ll probably continue to be light posting for the next week or so; I’ll probably attempt to do a roundup of all the news that I actually have something to say about at least bi-daily.
• Johnson injured; Bent called up
Old news by now, but I jinxed Andy Johnson I guess, who has picked up a hamstring knock. Turns out we won’t be seeing him paired with Rooney, we’ll get Crouch and Rooney with Bent called up from the under 21s. It’ll be interesting to see how they play together. Will their styles overlap too much? Who will drop deep and who will play higher up the field? Will Gerrard, Lampard, and Downing provide enough support in the penalty area from midfield? I’ll have more on this before the game against Macedonia, but I’m skeptical to say the least.
• Dempsey named US Player of the Year
There are mountains of other bloggers more qualified than I that cover the ins and outs of the US players, but Dempsey was clearly the standout for me during the World Cup. In fact, I’d go so far as to say he was the only player who really impressed, or at least, lived up to his billing. There’s no other choice this award could have gone to. It’s a pity Dempsey couldn’t negotiate his release from MLS during the summer, he’ll do well in Europe and I really hope he ends up in England.
• Stan Collymore thinks he can still play in the Prem
The funniest thing about this, besides Stan the Man’s comprehensive delusions of grandeur, is it has forced Martin O’Neill to come out and deny rumors he’s going to return to Villa. I’m positive the thought had never remotely crossed O’Neill’s mind until Sky Sports phoned him up asking for comment. Collymore hasn’t played since walking out on Real Oviedo in 2001. Another reason why international breaks are awful for the game, the tabloids are forced to make up even more news than usual. I’ll run naked through Goodison Park if Collymore lines up for a PL squad this season, I can’t even see any of the relegation candidates this desperate.
• Joey Barton’s ass not going to jail, but will have to pay a visit to the FA
This probably deserved it’s own post, and I’m late to the party anyway, but I’m going to strike a different line than nearly every other commentary I’ve read. I found it funny at the time, and I still find it funny. Joey Barton is a psychopath, and most normal people wouldn’t display their buttocks in the middle of an arena, let alone poke a youth player in the eye with a cigar or punch a teenage Everton fan in Thailand. What Barton did certainly was unprofessional, but he’s getting stick, and he gave them stick back. It’s barely bringing the game into disrepute (the fact that Arjen Robben is allowed to play brings the game into more disrepute), and if Barton’s anything more than fined, it’s a travesty. I just cannot look at his face while he's dropping trousers and not laugh. Maybe it amuses me so because it reminds me of friends from college, which is probably a bad thing, but this is a mountain out of a molehill. Guaranteed, every supporter in that crowd has seen a naked ass before, whether they’re 7 or 79, anyhow.
I’m not the biggest fan of posting YouTube videos unless it’s something I want to remember or really want to be seen, because if someone wants to see the incident, I’m certain they know how, but this needs to be put up in as many places as possible for posterity.
• Johnson injured; Bent called up
Old news by now, but I jinxed Andy Johnson I guess, who has picked up a hamstring knock. Turns out we won’t be seeing him paired with Rooney, we’ll get Crouch and Rooney with Bent called up from the under 21s. It’ll be interesting to see how they play together. Will their styles overlap too much? Who will drop deep and who will play higher up the field? Will Gerrard, Lampard, and Downing provide enough support in the penalty area from midfield? I’ll have more on this before the game against Macedonia, but I’m skeptical to say the least.
• Dempsey named US Player of the Year
There are mountains of other bloggers more qualified than I that cover the ins and outs of the US players, but Dempsey was clearly the standout for me during the World Cup. In fact, I’d go so far as to say he was the only player who really impressed, or at least, lived up to his billing. There’s no other choice this award could have gone to. It’s a pity Dempsey couldn’t negotiate his release from MLS during the summer, he’ll do well in Europe and I really hope he ends up in England.
• Stan Collymore thinks he can still play in the Prem
The funniest thing about this, besides Stan the Man’s comprehensive delusions of grandeur, is it has forced Martin O’Neill to come out and deny rumors he’s going to return to Villa. I’m positive the thought had never remotely crossed O’Neill’s mind until Sky Sports phoned him up asking for comment. Collymore hasn’t played since walking out on Real Oviedo in 2001. Another reason why international breaks are awful for the game, the tabloids are forced to make up even more news than usual. I’ll run naked through Goodison Park if Collymore lines up for a PL squad this season, I can’t even see any of the relegation candidates this desperate.
• Joey Barton’s ass not going to jail, but will have to pay a visit to the FA
This probably deserved it’s own post, and I’m late to the party anyway, but I’m going to strike a different line than nearly every other commentary I’ve read. I found it funny at the time, and I still find it funny. Joey Barton is a psychopath, and most normal people wouldn’t display their buttocks in the middle of an arena, let alone poke a youth player in the eye with a cigar or punch a teenage Everton fan in Thailand. What Barton did certainly was unprofessional, but he’s getting stick, and he gave them stick back. It’s barely bringing the game into disrepute (the fact that Arjen Robben is allowed to play brings the game into more disrepute), and if Barton’s anything more than fined, it’s a travesty. I just cannot look at his face while he's dropping trousers and not laugh. Maybe it amuses me so because it reminds me of friends from college, which is probably a bad thing, but this is a mountain out of a molehill. Guaranteed, every supporter in that crowd has seen a naked ass before, whether they’re 7 or 79, anyhow.
I’m not the biggest fan of posting YouTube videos unless it’s something I want to remember or really want to be seen, because if someone wants to see the incident, I’m certain they know how, but this needs to be put up in as many places as possible for posterity.
28 September 2006
News Briefs 9.28.06
A bunch of things happened today, but nothing that really deserves to be its own post.
• Liverpool secures £9m European Union grant. Promising, very promising. More in-depth thoughts on the stadium are here, but this is another good sign. The fact that the EU has confirmed the grant, which is to only be used for the revitalization of the surrounding area, not the stadium, means that Liverpool must have shown something akin to concrete proof of funding for the entire project. Not only would the EU have had to seen something substantial, but there’s no way the club would have let this much out and gotten this much press if they weren’t convinced they could pull it off. It still could be that Parry’s decided to rely on loans instead of outside investment, but I have to believe they’ve done due diligence either way, and I’m excited to see it go forward.
• DC United and MLS furiously deny speculation linking Freddy Adu with Reading. Supposedly a six-month loan signing, with a view towards a £5m permanent move in January. I know, MLS shouldn’t sell their stars if they want to be taken seriously as a league, but I’m of a firm belief that if America wants its national team to succeed, its star players should be playing in Europe. And Manchester United and Chelsea have both been trawling after Adu before. But going to a big club, where Adu will toil on the bench or in the reserves is an awful idea. However, Reading doesn’t make much sense either. I understand both Convey and Hahnemann are there, and they would be crucial in helping him settle. And it’s a good size club for Adu, and in the Premier League. But I just don’t really see where he fits into a team with a midfield of Ki-Hyeon, Sidwell, Harper, and Convey, with other attacking players like Doyle, Kitson, and Lita. Adu would add both skill and credibility, but Reading needs help defensively. Plus, and no offense meant, I’d love to see them stay up, but it’s Reading, and Adu is supposedly the best US prospect we’ve had in generations.
• No one wants to be West Brom’s manager. After firing Bryan Robson, who surprisingly saved them from the drop in 04-05, but couldn’t last year and had struggled this year, everyone seems to be running away from the position. Coventry won’t allow the Baggies to speak to Micky Adams (not that he wants the job anyway, mind you, says the club), Alan Curbishley’s refuted absolutely all conjecture that he’d be interested, Steve Round (Boro asst.) removed his name from consideration, and Tony Mowbray (Hibernian), Steve Cotterill (Burnley), and Dave Jones (Cardiff) are all mystified as to how their names came up. Not a good sign.
• UEFA Cup Round-up
- AS Nancy (Fra) 3-1 Schalke 04 (Ger). AS Nancy wins 3-2 on aggregate.
- Ajax (Ned) 4-0 IK Start (Nor). Ajax wins 9-2 on agg.
- Austria Magna (Aus) 1-0 Legia Warsaw (Pol). Magna wins 2-1 on agg.
- Auxerre (Fra) 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Cro). Auxerre wins 5-2 on agg.
- Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 3-1 FC Sion (Swz). Bayer wins 3-1 on agg.
- Blackburn (Eng) 2-0 SV Red Bull Salzburg (Aus). Blackburn wins 4-2 on agg.
- Brondby (Den) 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger). Frankfurt wins 6-2 on agg.
- CSKA Sofia (Bul) 2-2 Besiktas (Tur). Besiktas wins 4-2 on agg. after extra time
- Celta Vigo (Spa) 3-0 Standard Liege (Bel). Celta wins 4-0 on agg.
- Chievo (Ita) 2-2 Braga (Por). Braga wins 3-2 on agg. after extra time.
- Club Brugge (Bel) 1-1 SCP Ruzomberok (Slo). Brugge wins 2-1 on agg.
- Crvena Zvezda (Ser) 1-2 Liberec (Cze). Liberec wins 4-1 on agg.
- Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) 4-1 FC Xanthi (Gre). Dinamo wins 8-4 on agg.
- Espanyol (Spa) 3-1 Artmedia Bratislava (Slo). Espanyol wins 5-3 on agg.
- FC Groningen (Ned) 1-0 Partizan Belgrade (Ser). Partizan wins 4-3 on agg.
- FC Superfund (Aus) 0-1 Livorno (Ita). Livorno wins 3-0 on agg.
- Feyenoord (Ned) 0-0 Lokomotiv Sofia (Bul). 2-2 on agg, Feyenoord wins on away goals.
- Grasshoppers (Swz) 5-0 Atvidabergs FF (Swe). Grasshoppers wins 8-0 on agg.
- Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Isr) 3-1 Chornomorets (Ukr). Hapoel wins 4-1 on agg.
- Heerenveen (Ned) 0-0 Vitoria Setubal (Por). Heerenveen wins 3-0 on agg.
- Iraklis (Gre) 0-2 Wisla Krakow (Pol). Wisla wins 2-1 on agg. after extra time.
- Kayserispor (Tur) 1-1 AZ Alkmaar (Ned). AZ wins 4-3 on agg.
- Lens (Fra) 3-1 Ethnikos Achnas (Cyprus). Lens wins 3-1 on agg.
- Liteks Lovetch (Bul) 1-3 Maccabi Haifa (Isr). Haifa wins 4-2 on agg.
- Metallurg Zaporizhzhya (Ukr) 0-1 Panathinaikos (Gre). Panathinaikos wins 2-1 on agg.
- Mlada Boleslav (Cze) 4-2 Marseille (Fra). Mlada wins 4-3 on agg.
- Nacional (Por) 1-2 Rapid Bucuresti (Rom). Rapid wins 3-1 on agg. after extra time.
- Newcastle (Eng) 2-1 Levadia Tallinn (Est). Newcastle wins 3-1 on agg.
- Odense BK (Den) 1-0 Hertha Berlin (Ger). Odense wins 3-2 on agg.
- Osasuna (Spa) 0-0 Trabzonspor (Tur). 2-2 on agg, Osasuna wins on away goals.
- PSG (Fra) 2-0 Derry City (Ire). PSG wins 2-0 on agg.
- Palermo (Ita) 3-0 West Ham (Eng). Palermo wins 4-0 on agg.
- Parma (Ita) 1-0 Rubin Kazan (Rus). Parma wins 2-0 on agg.
- Rabotnicki Kometal (Mac) 0-1 Basle (Swz). Basle wins 7-2 on agg.
- Randers FC (Den) 0-3 Fenerbahce (Tur). Fenerbache wins 5-1 on agg.
- Rangers (Sco) 2-0 Molde (Nor). Rangers wins 2-0 on agg.
- Sevilla (Spa) 4-0 Atromitos (Gre). Sevilla wins 6-1 on agg.
- Sparta Prague (Cze) 0-0 Hearts (Sco). Sparta Prague wins 2-0 on agg.
- Tottenham (Eng) 1-0 Slavia Prague (Cze). Tottenham wins 2-0 on agg.
- Zulte-Waregem (Bel) 2-0 Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus). Zulte wins 3-2 on agg.
• Liverpool secures £9m European Union grant. Promising, very promising. More in-depth thoughts on the stadium are here, but this is another good sign. The fact that the EU has confirmed the grant, which is to only be used for the revitalization of the surrounding area, not the stadium, means that Liverpool must have shown something akin to concrete proof of funding for the entire project. Not only would the EU have had to seen something substantial, but there’s no way the club would have let this much out and gotten this much press if they weren’t convinced they could pull it off. It still could be that Parry’s decided to rely on loans instead of outside investment, but I have to believe they’ve done due diligence either way, and I’m excited to see it go forward.
• DC United and MLS furiously deny speculation linking Freddy Adu with Reading. Supposedly a six-month loan signing, with a view towards a £5m permanent move in January. I know, MLS shouldn’t sell their stars if they want to be taken seriously as a league, but I’m of a firm belief that if America wants its national team to succeed, its star players should be playing in Europe. And Manchester United and Chelsea have both been trawling after Adu before. But going to a big club, where Adu will toil on the bench or in the reserves is an awful idea. However, Reading doesn’t make much sense either. I understand both Convey and Hahnemann are there, and they would be crucial in helping him settle. And it’s a good size club for Adu, and in the Premier League. But I just don’t really see where he fits into a team with a midfield of Ki-Hyeon, Sidwell, Harper, and Convey, with other attacking players like Doyle, Kitson, and Lita. Adu would add both skill and credibility, but Reading needs help defensively. Plus, and no offense meant, I’d love to see them stay up, but it’s Reading, and Adu is supposedly the best US prospect we’ve had in generations.
• No one wants to be West Brom’s manager. After firing Bryan Robson, who surprisingly saved them from the drop in 04-05, but couldn’t last year and had struggled this year, everyone seems to be running away from the position. Coventry won’t allow the Baggies to speak to Micky Adams (not that he wants the job anyway, mind you, says the club), Alan Curbishley’s refuted absolutely all conjecture that he’d be interested, Steve Round (Boro asst.) removed his name from consideration, and Tony Mowbray (Hibernian), Steve Cotterill (Burnley), and Dave Jones (Cardiff) are all mystified as to how their names came up. Not a good sign.
• UEFA Cup Round-up
- AS Nancy (Fra) 3-1 Schalke 04 (Ger). AS Nancy wins 3-2 on aggregate.
- Ajax (Ned) 4-0 IK Start (Nor). Ajax wins 9-2 on agg.
- Austria Magna (Aus) 1-0 Legia Warsaw (Pol). Magna wins 2-1 on agg.
- Auxerre (Fra) 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb (Cro). Auxerre wins 5-2 on agg.
- Bayer Leverkusen (Ger) 3-1 FC Sion (Swz). Bayer wins 3-1 on agg.
- Blackburn (Eng) 2-0 SV Red Bull Salzburg (Aus). Blackburn wins 4-2 on agg.
- Brondby (Den) 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Ger). Frankfurt wins 6-2 on agg.
- CSKA Sofia (Bul) 2-2 Besiktas (Tur). Besiktas wins 4-2 on agg. after extra time
- Celta Vigo (Spa) 3-0 Standard Liege (Bel). Celta wins 4-0 on agg.
- Chievo (Ita) 2-2 Braga (Por). Braga wins 3-2 on agg. after extra time.
- Club Brugge (Bel) 1-1 SCP Ruzomberok (Slo). Brugge wins 2-1 on agg.
- Crvena Zvezda (Ser) 1-2 Liberec (Cze). Liberec wins 4-1 on agg.
- Dinamo Bucuresti (Rom) 4-1 FC Xanthi (Gre). Dinamo wins 8-4 on agg.
- Espanyol (Spa) 3-1 Artmedia Bratislava (Slo). Espanyol wins 5-3 on agg.
- FC Groningen (Ned) 1-0 Partizan Belgrade (Ser). Partizan wins 4-3 on agg.
- FC Superfund (Aus) 0-1 Livorno (Ita). Livorno wins 3-0 on agg.
- Feyenoord (Ned) 0-0 Lokomotiv Sofia (Bul). 2-2 on agg, Feyenoord wins on away goals.
- Grasshoppers (Swz) 5-0 Atvidabergs FF (Swe). Grasshoppers wins 8-0 on agg.
- Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Isr) 3-1 Chornomorets (Ukr). Hapoel wins 4-1 on agg.
- Heerenveen (Ned) 0-0 Vitoria Setubal (Por). Heerenveen wins 3-0 on agg.
- Iraklis (Gre) 0-2 Wisla Krakow (Pol). Wisla wins 2-1 on agg. after extra time.
- Kayserispor (Tur) 1-1 AZ Alkmaar (Ned). AZ wins 4-3 on agg.
- Lens (Fra) 3-1 Ethnikos Achnas (Cyprus). Lens wins 3-1 on agg.
- Liteks Lovetch (Bul) 1-3 Maccabi Haifa (Isr). Haifa wins 4-2 on agg.
- Metallurg Zaporizhzhya (Ukr) 0-1 Panathinaikos (Gre). Panathinaikos wins 2-1 on agg.
- Mlada Boleslav (Cze) 4-2 Marseille (Fra). Mlada wins 4-3 on agg.
- Nacional (Por) 1-2 Rapid Bucuresti (Rom). Rapid wins 3-1 on agg. after extra time.
- Newcastle (Eng) 2-1 Levadia Tallinn (Est). Newcastle wins 3-1 on agg.
- Odense BK (Den) 1-0 Hertha Berlin (Ger). Odense wins 3-2 on agg.
- Osasuna (Spa) 0-0 Trabzonspor (Tur). 2-2 on agg, Osasuna wins on away goals.
- PSG (Fra) 2-0 Derry City (Ire). PSG wins 2-0 on agg.
- Palermo (Ita) 3-0 West Ham (Eng). Palermo wins 4-0 on agg.
- Parma (Ita) 1-0 Rubin Kazan (Rus). Parma wins 2-0 on agg.
- Rabotnicki Kometal (Mac) 0-1 Basle (Swz). Basle wins 7-2 on agg.
- Randers FC (Den) 0-3 Fenerbahce (Tur). Fenerbache wins 5-1 on agg.
- Rangers (Sco) 2-0 Molde (Nor). Rangers wins 2-0 on agg.
- Sevilla (Spa) 4-0 Atromitos (Gre). Sevilla wins 6-1 on agg.
- Sparta Prague (Cze) 0-0 Hearts (Sco). Sparta Prague wins 2-0 on agg.
- Tottenham (Eng) 1-0 Slavia Prague (Cze). Tottenham wins 2-0 on agg.
- Zulte-Waregem (Bel) 2-0 Lokomotiv Moscow (Rus). Zulte wins 3-2 on agg.
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