Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Wilson Aurelio
Pacheco Poulsen Shelvey Jovanovic
Cole
Babel
Goals:
Jovanovic 19'
Bonfim 61'
For 60 minutes, it was an archetypal Hodgson performance, a poor copy of Fulham in last year's Europa League. Liverpool were living on a knife's edge, with Steaua bossing possession and creating chances, yet the away side were in front. Then Reina committed a howler that put the Arsenal own goal to shame for the inevitable equalizer. But, as I'm sure the manager will remind us in his post-match conference, a draw was always enough for qualification. The most uninspiring qualification in history.
Pharmacists around the world will prescribe DVDs of this match for insomnia in lieu of Ambien. Criticizing individual players, or even the tactics, is marginally unfair because the majority of the starting XI had seen so little time this season, but that was still a fairly painful spectacle.
Steaua controlled the game for long stretches – as the commentators on GolTV frequently pointed out, 'absorb but don't concede' was today's mantra – but Liverpool had the lead at the interval thanks to an excellent counter attack from Babel and Jovanovic. The out-of-favor Serbian's strong run led to Babel with the ball in space on the right. Checking onto his left foot, the striker's cross found Jovanovic, who continued his run into the box, with the header perfectly placed into the bottom corner.
Liverpool could have scored a second seven minutes later, the side's only other chance of the half, but Cole clumsily stood on the ball after Babel's pass put him through. Meanwhile, Steaua had opportunities of their own: an open Bicfalvi headed over in the 19th and Stancu shanked a six-yard shot wide after beating Kyrgiakos to a long ball in the 44th. Play continued in the same vein in the second half, aided by Steaua bringing on Angelov for Bicfalvi, as Gerardo Alves put another free header too close to Reina from a short corner five minutes after the interval.
And then disaster struck. Angelov's cross deflected to an open Bonfim, who headed at Reina from 12 yards out. But obscured by Stancu (who was played onside by Wilson attempting to close down Angelov), Reina made an utter hash of it, allowing the ball to squirm between his legs and just over the goal line. An auspicious captaincy debut for an undoubtedly talented goalkeeper. As I wrote after the Arsenal match, he'll assuredly make up for it with saves in the future.
From there, Liverpool had one more chance at a winner, with Kyrgiakos heading a corner onto the crossbar in the 66th, and Hodgson sent on both Ngog and Eccleston looking to add pace to Liverpool's attack, but neither side deserved the victory.
Steaua created 10 shots to Liverpool's three. The home side had 10 corners to Liverpool's four; the margin was eight corners to one at half time. But if not for a regrettable, out of the ordinary mistake, Liverpool would have held on for the win, and Steaua would have been hard-pressed to complain having been unable to take the chances they were presented with.
No player really stood out today. Jovanovic faded after his goal, replaced by Eccleston with 10 minutes to play. Babel, whose task was utterly thankless today, was probably the best of the lot, setting up the goal and denied a second assist by Joe Cole's lack of match fitness. The less said about the returning Cole, the better. Pacheco struggled on the right, often drifting centrally to little effect and providing little cover to a consistently under threat Martin Kelly. Shelvey did adequately in a deeper role, often watching the ball fly over his head and with Poulsen chasing play like a puppy after a tennis ball. Wilson had promising moments combined with some hands over face frights, as we'd expect from most inexperienced youngsters.
Yes, it's job done, qualification assured with a game to play, but it was again difficult viewing. We can't forget how rarely many of these players have featured this season, but it's still yet more disappointing, embarrassing, stale football. It was nice to see players like Wilson, Shelvey, and Pacheco, and I still hope to see them again in the future despite the overall team performance. At least, because of the result, they can't be sent back into purgatory as after Northampton.
But once again, we're left with a sour taste in our mouths, wondering if Liverpool will ever lose the 'sit back, try not to concede, eventually concede' tactics Hodgson's used in almost every away match.
Showing posts with label Steaua Bucharest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steaua Bucharest. Show all posts
02 December 2010
01 December 2010
Liverpool at Steaua Bucharest 12.02.10
1pm ET, live in the US on GolTV
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-2 Spurs (a); 3-0 West Ham (h); 0-2 Stoke (a)
Steaua: 2-2 Cluj (h); 1-0 Târgu Mureş (a); 0-1 Gaz Metan Mediaş (h)
Group Stage so far:
Liverpool: 3-1 Napoli (h); 0-0 Napoli (a); 0-0 Utrecht (a); 4-1 Steaua (h)
Steaua: 3-1 Utrecht (h); 1-1 Utrecht (a); 3-3 Napoli (h); 1-4 Liverpool (a)
Goalscorers (Europe):
Liverpool: Ngog 5; Gerrard 4; Babel, Cole, Kuyt, Lucas 1
Steaua: Stancu 3; Kapetanos, Tanase 2; Gardos 1
Referee: Bülent Yıldırım (TUR)
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Wilson Aurelio
Shelvey Poulsen
Babel Cole Jovanovic
Ngog
As has become commonplace in the Europa League, Hodgson's basically announced the line-up in advance and will rely heavily on the 'B-Team.'
19 players made the trip to Romania this morning:
Torres, Meireles, Kuyt, Johnson, and Konchesky are the key names rested. Reina, Lucas, Kyrgiakos, and Skrtel are Liverpool's 'senior players,' Joe Cole returns from injury, and Dani Pacheco's finally been located.
But whether Pacheco will start remains in doubt. Aside from the announced backline, Hodgson singled out five players in the first linked article, from yesterday's press conference: Cole, Babel, Jovanovic, Poulsen, and Shelvey. That appears to mean those five are nailed on to start, which leaves room for one more in the front six. Pacheco's name was tacked on at the end of the article, stating that he's "expected to feature." And the choice will probably come down to Pacheco or Ngog; whether Hodgson's willing to start Babel as a lone striker.
Poulsen and Shelvey should be the central midfielders unless Hodgson wants Lucas' experience and believes that the Brazilian doesn't need the rest. Cole will almost certainly play in his preferred role behind the striker, while Jovanovic would start on the left. Babel can either play on the right, with Ngog up top, or Pacheco can feature on that flank with the Dutchman as the striker. But it's hard to see Ngog, who's Liverpool's top scorer in the competition, being left out unless his calf injury from the weekend is worse than expected. And that leads me to believe Pacheco, unfortunately, will be on the bench. But stranger things have assuredly happened this season. Let's hope this is just my usual cynicism.
The back four that Hodgson announced yesterday is the back four I want to see – specifically Wilson at center-back for the first time (and his first match since Northampton), and Aurelio and Kelly at full-back. Wilson has a role to play because of Carragher's injury, especially since Agger's out until at least Christmas. Kelly's clearly a promising talent. And, ideally, Aurelio will have a blinder and establish himself as first choice left back, although I'm not holding my breath.
Steaua currently sits seventh in the Romanian League and second in the Europa League group. They beat a tough Utrecht side at home in the last round to become the only other team besides Liverpool to win a group game; Napoli and Utrecht both have three draws and a loss.
Steaua's equalizer in the previous meeting, set up by Stancu (Steaua's top scorer in the competition) and converted by the captain, Tanase, demonstrates that the Romanian side has players capable of punishing Liverpool. Stancu scored twice in Steaua's last match, a 2-2 draw with Champions League side Cluj. Steaua have played five games since besting Utrecht in early November, winning twice, drawing twice, and losing once. Both wins came away from home.
Even with a weakened team, Liverpool has the talent needed to win tomorrow. Or, at the least, take the point needed to qualify from the group stage. While the last meeting was at Anfield, and was closer than the 4-1 scoreline suggests, Liverpool deployed a similar, if slightly stronger, side. But Liverpool's also in far better form than they were in mid-September. We've seen baby steps toward progress, even considering Sunday's gut-punch result. Despite Liverpool likely to make 10 changes from the side that lost at Spurs, that progress (and ambition) needs to continue. And with players looking to force their way into Hodgson's 'A-Team,' it's absolutely possible.
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-2 Spurs (a); 3-0 West Ham (h); 0-2 Stoke (a)
Steaua: 2-2 Cluj (h); 1-0 Târgu Mureş (a); 0-1 Gaz Metan Mediaş (h)
Group Stage so far:
Liverpool: 3-1 Napoli (h); 0-0 Napoli (a); 0-0 Utrecht (a); 4-1 Steaua (h)
Steaua: 3-1 Utrecht (h); 1-1 Utrecht (a); 3-3 Napoli (h); 1-4 Liverpool (a)
Goalscorers (Europe):
Liverpool: Ngog 5; Gerrard 4; Babel, Cole, Kuyt, Lucas 1
Steaua: Stancu 3; Kapetanos, Tanase 2; Gardos 1
Referee: Bülent Yıldırım (TUR)
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Wilson Aurelio
Shelvey Poulsen
Babel Cole Jovanovic
Ngog
As has become commonplace in the Europa League, Hodgson's basically announced the line-up in advance and will rely heavily on the 'B-Team.'
19 players made the trip to Romania this morning:
Pepe Reina, Brad Jones, Martin Hansen, Fabio Aurelio, Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Ryan Babel, Lucas, Danny Wilson, Christian Poulsen, Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Pacheco, David Ngog, Martin Kelly, Nathan Eccleston, John Flanagan, Jack Robinson.
Torres, Meireles, Kuyt, Johnson, and Konchesky are the key names rested. Reina, Lucas, Kyrgiakos, and Skrtel are Liverpool's 'senior players,' Joe Cole returns from injury, and Dani Pacheco's finally been located.
But whether Pacheco will start remains in doubt. Aside from the announced backline, Hodgson singled out five players in the first linked article, from yesterday's press conference: Cole, Babel, Jovanovic, Poulsen, and Shelvey. That appears to mean those five are nailed on to start, which leaves room for one more in the front six. Pacheco's name was tacked on at the end of the article, stating that he's "expected to feature." And the choice will probably come down to Pacheco or Ngog; whether Hodgson's willing to start Babel as a lone striker.
Poulsen and Shelvey should be the central midfielders unless Hodgson wants Lucas' experience and believes that the Brazilian doesn't need the rest. Cole will almost certainly play in his preferred role behind the striker, while Jovanovic would start on the left. Babel can either play on the right, with Ngog up top, or Pacheco can feature on that flank with the Dutchman as the striker. But it's hard to see Ngog, who's Liverpool's top scorer in the competition, being left out unless his calf injury from the weekend is worse than expected. And that leads me to believe Pacheco, unfortunately, will be on the bench. But stranger things have assuredly happened this season. Let's hope this is just my usual cynicism.
The back four that Hodgson announced yesterday is the back four I want to see – specifically Wilson at center-back for the first time (and his first match since Northampton), and Aurelio and Kelly at full-back. Wilson has a role to play because of Carragher's injury, especially since Agger's out until at least Christmas. Kelly's clearly a promising talent. And, ideally, Aurelio will have a blinder and establish himself as first choice left back, although I'm not holding my breath.
Steaua currently sits seventh in the Romanian League and second in the Europa League group. They beat a tough Utrecht side at home in the last round to become the only other team besides Liverpool to win a group game; Napoli and Utrecht both have three draws and a loss.
Steaua's equalizer in the previous meeting, set up by Stancu (Steaua's top scorer in the competition) and converted by the captain, Tanase, demonstrates that the Romanian side has players capable of punishing Liverpool. Stancu scored twice in Steaua's last match, a 2-2 draw with Champions League side Cluj. Steaua have played five games since besting Utrecht in early November, winning twice, drawing twice, and losing once. Both wins came away from home.
Even with a weakened team, Liverpool has the talent needed to win tomorrow. Or, at the least, take the point needed to qualify from the group stage. While the last meeting was at Anfield, and was closer than the 4-1 scoreline suggests, Liverpool deployed a similar, if slightly stronger, side. But Liverpool's also in far better form than they were in mid-September. We've seen baby steps toward progress, even considering Sunday's gut-punch result. Despite Liverpool likely to make 10 changes from the side that lost at Spurs, that progress (and ambition) needs to continue. And with players looking to force their way into Hodgson's 'A-Team,' it's absolutely possible.
16 September 2010
Liverpool 4-1 Steaua Bucharest
Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Agger Konchesky
Spearing Meireles
Maxi Cole Babel
Ngog
Goals:
Cole 1'
Tanase 13'
Ngog 55' (pen) 90+1'
Lucas 81'
Scoring four should be cause for a Mardi Gras-esque celebration, complete with nudity and dancing in the streets, considering Liverpool's goal return so far this season. But that resounding result is also resoundingly flattering, and it's difficult to decipher its value with two fortunate goals and two in the final ten minutes with the game seemingly in the bag. Not to mention how many changes Liverpool made to the starting XI or that Steaua hadn't won any of their last 25 matches in European competition if we're not counting qualifying stages.
It was a dream start thanks to some magnanimous charity from the visitors, with Abrudan's soft back pass allowing Cole to sneak in and score his first competitive goal for the club within 26 seconds. An early strike seemed just the prescription for Liverpool's recent maladies, but the sides were level little more than ten minutes later. Steaua's equalizer came against the run of play and right down the middle of the pitch: center-back Gerardo ran around Ngog, Spearing slipped to leave Stancu open, and the midfielder's throughball dissected a flat-footed Kyrgiakos and retreating Kelly, leaving Tanase to cleverly chip past Reina.
Unsurprisingly, the goal knocked Liverpool back, and the home side struggled to match the Romanians for the rest of the half. Babel, Cole, and Maxi appeared as if they were in competition to see who shoot straight at the keeper and/or give the ball away the most times. Spearing played in the style of a stray dog with the ball covered in raw hamburger meat. Liverpool were disjointed, impotent, and on the back foot for far too much in the first 45 minutes, and those are all familiar attributes no matter the XI on the field.
But the second half, like so often this season, was completely different – the best Liverpool's looked this season. But an unfamiliar line-up needing time (and a manager's revised instructions) to find its way isn't all that surprising. Charging in the direction of the Kop, Liverpool pegged Steaua back from the post-interval whistle. It only took the home side ten minutes to go back in front, thanks to some Greek-on-Greek crime as striker Kapetanos pushed Kyrgiakos on a corner, with Ngog nonchalantly converting the spot kick.
You can't say Liverpool were comfortable – no team is ever comfortable with a one-goal margin, especially this one – but Steaua rarely looked like getting back in the game, and more goals finally came in the final ten minutes. Like against Birmingham (and Trabzonspor and City...) Hodgson waited until after the 75th minute to make changes, but the change turned out to be inspired. Lucas came on for Babel in what appeared to be a defensive move, but the Brazilian ended up rifling a wonderful goal in from 25 yards with his second touch of the game. It was an absolute bullet the likes of which Gerrard would be proud of, and a small reminder that the kid does pack shooting boots every now and then. If only he could deliver similar more often...
Ngog added the requisite gloss in injury time, showing yet another glimpse of that strength and finishing ability that has many defending his potential, while Pacheco and Eccleston received cameos, on for Maxi and Cole respectively. And while it's a heartening win considering the changes and first-half display, there's not a lot to be learned because of the "makeshift" lineup and the opposition's second-half tenacity.
The positives are clear – confidence boosts for Cole, Ngog and Lucas, Meireles' full debut, and Maxi's vast improvement in the second half. Youth was on display in Ngog, Kelly, Spearing, and sub appearances for Pacheco and Eccleston, and that bodes well for the future. Four goals is always a positive, no matter the opposition or when they're scored; that's twice as many goals as the team's scored in its four Premier League matches this season. And for all of Liverpool first-half impotence, Reina could have parked a deck chair in the goalmouth after Steaua's equalizer.
But whether Liverpool will be able to build on this display, especially in time for Sunday's match – with a starting line-up that will probably look a lot more like last Sunday's than today's – remains to be seen. The morale boost surely doesn't hurt, but when eight changes were made for this match, it's tough to divine what it augurs for the league campaign. Let's hope, with man-of-the-match Cole and Meireles in the line-up (both soon to be first-team regulars), it portends Hodgson's team beginning to come together.
Kelly Kyrgiakos Agger Konchesky
Spearing Meireles
Maxi Cole Babel
Ngog
Goals:
Cole 1'
Tanase 13'
Ngog 55' (pen) 90+1'
Lucas 81'
Scoring four should be cause for a Mardi Gras-esque celebration, complete with nudity and dancing in the streets, considering Liverpool's goal return so far this season. But that resounding result is also resoundingly flattering, and it's difficult to decipher its value with two fortunate goals and two in the final ten minutes with the game seemingly in the bag. Not to mention how many changes Liverpool made to the starting XI or that Steaua hadn't won any of their last 25 matches in European competition if we're not counting qualifying stages.
It was a dream start thanks to some magnanimous charity from the visitors, with Abrudan's soft back pass allowing Cole to sneak in and score his first competitive goal for the club within 26 seconds. An early strike seemed just the prescription for Liverpool's recent maladies, but the sides were level little more than ten minutes later. Steaua's equalizer came against the run of play and right down the middle of the pitch: center-back Gerardo ran around Ngog, Spearing slipped to leave Stancu open, and the midfielder's throughball dissected a flat-footed Kyrgiakos and retreating Kelly, leaving Tanase to cleverly chip past Reina.
Unsurprisingly, the goal knocked Liverpool back, and the home side struggled to match the Romanians for the rest of the half. Babel, Cole, and Maxi appeared as if they were in competition to see who shoot straight at the keeper and/or give the ball away the most times. Spearing played in the style of a stray dog with the ball covered in raw hamburger meat. Liverpool were disjointed, impotent, and on the back foot for far too much in the first 45 minutes, and those are all familiar attributes no matter the XI on the field.
But the second half, like so often this season, was completely different – the best Liverpool's looked this season. But an unfamiliar line-up needing time (and a manager's revised instructions) to find its way isn't all that surprising. Charging in the direction of the Kop, Liverpool pegged Steaua back from the post-interval whistle. It only took the home side ten minutes to go back in front, thanks to some Greek-on-Greek crime as striker Kapetanos pushed Kyrgiakos on a corner, with Ngog nonchalantly converting the spot kick.
You can't say Liverpool were comfortable – no team is ever comfortable with a one-goal margin, especially this one – but Steaua rarely looked like getting back in the game, and more goals finally came in the final ten minutes. Like against Birmingham (and Trabzonspor and City...) Hodgson waited until after the 75th minute to make changes, but the change turned out to be inspired. Lucas came on for Babel in what appeared to be a defensive move, but the Brazilian ended up rifling a wonderful goal in from 25 yards with his second touch of the game. It was an absolute bullet the likes of which Gerrard would be proud of, and a small reminder that the kid does pack shooting boots every now and then. If only he could deliver similar more often...
Ngog added the requisite gloss in injury time, showing yet another glimpse of that strength and finishing ability that has many defending his potential, while Pacheco and Eccleston received cameos, on for Maxi and Cole respectively. And while it's a heartening win considering the changes and first-half display, there's not a lot to be learned because of the "makeshift" lineup and the opposition's second-half tenacity.
The positives are clear – confidence boosts for Cole, Ngog and Lucas, Meireles' full debut, and Maxi's vast improvement in the second half. Youth was on display in Ngog, Kelly, Spearing, and sub appearances for Pacheco and Eccleston, and that bodes well for the future. Four goals is always a positive, no matter the opposition or when they're scored; that's twice as many goals as the team's scored in its four Premier League matches this season. And for all of Liverpool first-half impotence, Reina could have parked a deck chair in the goalmouth after Steaua's equalizer.
But whether Liverpool will be able to build on this display, especially in time for Sunday's match – with a starting line-up that will probably look a lot more like last Sunday's than today's – remains to be seen. The morale boost surely doesn't hurt, but when eight changes were made for this match, it's tough to divine what it augurs for the league campaign. Let's hope, with man-of-the-match Cole and Meireles in the line-up (both soon to be first-team regulars), it portends Hodgson's team beginning to come together.
15 September 2010
Liverpool v Steaua Bucharest 09.16.10
3:05pm ET, live in the US on DirecTV channel 481 (and should be in HD on 481-1).
Last 3 matches:
Liverpool: 0-0 Birmingham (a); 1-0 West Brom (h); 2-1 Trabzonspor (a)
Steaua: 0-1 Unirea (a); 1-1 Timisoara (h); 0-1 Grasshoppers (a)
Qualifying Rounds:
Liverpool: 2-1 Trabzonspor (a); 1-0 Trabzonspor (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (a)
Steaua: 0-1 Grasshoppers (a); 1-0 Grasshoppers (h) [Steaua wins tie on penalties 4-3]
Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (ESP)
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Agger Konchesky
Meireles Spearing
Maxi Cole Babel
Ngog
This is tomorrow's team according to one of the "in the know" posters on RAWK – one that's almost always correct. While I assumed that multiple players would be rested – and would have guessed a line-up without Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, and Johnson prior to seeing this – the amount of first-teamers missing (if the above is the case, which I'd bet it is) still comes as a bit of a shock.
What jumps out is the inclusion of both Babel and Ngog, despite Hodgson publicly claiming to see the Dutchman as a striker (which makes me wonder if Liverpool will play two up top) and the exclusion of Pacheco, one who seemed certain to start these sort of matches. And Spearing starting in place of either Lucas and Poulsen, which hopefully means both aren't being rested to start in tandem again on Sunday. But it's not a line-up I'd be upset with; I don't mean to take anything away from the opposition, but Hodgson promised to use the full squad in the Europa League, and it's a lot easier to rest the big names in a home match against Steaua instead of away to Napoli. There's talent, experience, and potential in the above team.
Otherwise, Meireles will make his debut in the starting XI, Maxi keeps his place in an attempt to find form with Kuyt injured, Cole seemingly goes straight back into the hole (again, unless it's 4-4-2), Kelly thankfully gets another chance at right back, Kyrgiakos is still in plans as a defensive behemoth (despite my desire for an Agger/Skrtel pairing), and it'll be nice to see Reina with the armband (he has to captain that XI). It's not Liverpool's strongest XI by any stretch, but it's still a team that are odds-on favorite to win, with some interesting facets. I'm most interested in Meireles' performance, but also both Babel and Ngog involved, and Kelly with another chance to demonstrate his talents.
Like I wrote when the draw was made, I won't pretend to have any familiarity with Steaua Bucharest – currently third in the Romanian League, behind the two other big Bucharest sides. Instead, I'll point you in the direction of the blogosphere's go-to site for Romanian football, and what he wrote about Steaua yesterday. As the author notes in that link, Steaua have a fair few players familiar to Liverpool from last year's matches against Unirea Urziceni. I'll also air what Agger said in today's press conference, because it's probably coming from the manager's instructions: "Steaua are a typical Eastern European team. We played in Macedonia earlier and obviously Steaua are a bigger club and a stronger team, but they're similar kind of players."
Ideally, no matter the line-up, Liverpool will replicate the result from those two matches against the Macedonians.
Last 3 matches:
Liverpool: 0-0 Birmingham (a); 1-0 West Brom (h); 2-1 Trabzonspor (a)
Steaua: 0-1 Unirea (a); 1-1 Timisoara (h); 0-1 Grasshoppers (a)
Qualifying Rounds:
Liverpool: 2-1 Trabzonspor (a); 1-0 Trabzonspor (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (a)
Steaua: 0-1 Grasshoppers (a); 1-0 Grasshoppers (h) [Steaua wins tie on penalties 4-3]
Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (ESP)
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Kyrgiakos Agger Konchesky
Meireles Spearing
Maxi Cole Babel
Ngog
This is tomorrow's team according to one of the "in the know" posters on RAWK – one that's almost always correct. While I assumed that multiple players would be rested – and would have guessed a line-up without Torres, Gerrard, Carragher, and Johnson prior to seeing this – the amount of first-teamers missing (if the above is the case, which I'd bet it is) still comes as a bit of a shock.
What jumps out is the inclusion of both Babel and Ngog, despite Hodgson publicly claiming to see the Dutchman as a striker (which makes me wonder if Liverpool will play two up top) and the exclusion of Pacheco, one who seemed certain to start these sort of matches. And Spearing starting in place of either Lucas and Poulsen, which hopefully means both aren't being rested to start in tandem again on Sunday. But it's not a line-up I'd be upset with; I don't mean to take anything away from the opposition, but Hodgson promised to use the full squad in the Europa League, and it's a lot easier to rest the big names in a home match against Steaua instead of away to Napoli. There's talent, experience, and potential in the above team.
Otherwise, Meireles will make his debut in the starting XI, Maxi keeps his place in an attempt to find form with Kuyt injured, Cole seemingly goes straight back into the hole (again, unless it's 4-4-2), Kelly thankfully gets another chance at right back, Kyrgiakos is still in plans as a defensive behemoth (despite my desire for an Agger/Skrtel pairing), and it'll be nice to see Reina with the armband (he has to captain that XI). It's not Liverpool's strongest XI by any stretch, but it's still a team that are odds-on favorite to win, with some interesting facets. I'm most interested in Meireles' performance, but also both Babel and Ngog involved, and Kelly with another chance to demonstrate his talents.
Like I wrote when the draw was made, I won't pretend to have any familiarity with Steaua Bucharest – currently third in the Romanian League, behind the two other big Bucharest sides. Instead, I'll point you in the direction of the blogosphere's go-to site for Romanian football, and what he wrote about Steaua yesterday. As the author notes in that link, Steaua have a fair few players familiar to Liverpool from last year's matches against Unirea Urziceni. I'll also air what Agger said in today's press conference, because it's probably coming from the manager's instructions: "Steaua are a typical Eastern European team. We played in Macedonia earlier and obviously Steaua are a bigger club and a stronger team, but they're similar kind of players."
Ideally, no matter the line-up, Liverpool will replicate the result from those two matches against the Macedonians.
27 August 2010
Europa League Draw, Mascherano finally sold
It's been an eventful morning.
We'll get the inevitable Mascherano news out of the way first. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool's statement didn't mention the price tag, but the BBC's reporting that Barcelona will pay £17.25m, which is £750,000 less than Liverpool spent to get him from West Ham's reserves. And almost £7m less than City paid to take Yaya Toure from Barca. There might be the usual add-ons that eventually bump the fee up higher, but still. Fantastic. I hope lube was included in the deal or else that raping will be exceptionally uncomfortable.
Unlike I usually do with departing players, there'll be no eulogy for a mercenary who forced his way out of Liverpool at the worst possible time. I loved the player while he was here, but in contrast to the likes of Alonso, Garcia, and Hyypiä, among others, I couldn't care less how he fares in Spain. He was marvelous on the pitch almost every time out, but the fee and the way he left will ruin my memories forever. Hope your wife's happier in Barcelona. But I also hope Busquets keeps you out of the side except for Spanish Cup games, and you rot in the reserves, just like at West Ham.
I'd also hope that Hodgson gets to spend at least half of that £17m or so, but I'm not holding my breath. Adding that £17.25m to my back-of-the-envelope calculations, Liverpool's made around £23m in transfer fees this summer, and that's not including the supposedly imminent Insua sale. The transfer market closes on Tuesday. It's safe to assume it'll pass without Tom Hicks' so-called "big summer" of spending. But with a current midfield of Gerrard, Lucas, and Poulsen (not counting Spearing, sorry), Liverpool simply has to buy someone. And they'll be linked with every available player in the meantime. "We've got the best midfield in the world..."
Now, more important to the immediate future was this morning's Europa League draw, where we learned Liverpool's group stage opponents.
Group K
Liverpool
Steaua Bucharest
Napoli
Utrecht
There's a bit of history and some tasty ties in that group, even if it's not the easiest. Dossena was sold to Napoli in January. Kuyt's first professional club was Utrecht, where he spent five years. Liverpool's been to Bucharest four times, but only faced Steaua once, in the 03-04 UEFA Cup campaign, drawing 1-1 in Romania before a 1-0 win at Anfield. You'll also remember they faced Romanian opposition last year in the form of Unirea Urziceni.
Napoli's clearly the toughest side. There's the aforementioned Dossena, but more importantly, a fair few names you'll remember from the World Cup: Slovakia's Hamsik, Uruguay's Cavani (on loan from Palermo) and Gargano, and Italy's Quagliarella. They also have Argentinean Ezequiel Lavezzi, who was a rumored transfer target in the summer of 2009. Oh, and Cristiano Lucarelli, on loan from Parma, a striker I've always had a soft spot for. Both legs will be challenging, especially the away leg, as Napoli's always been a difficult destination for English teams.
I know a lot less about both Steaua and Utrecht. I'm unfamiliar with almost all the players in the Bucharest team, and highly recommend the Scouting Romania blog for information about Steaua in the run-up to those matches. Utrecht absolutely wiped the floor with Celtic last night to qualify, winning 4-0 at home to cancel out Celtic's 2-0 result in Glasgow. Supposed Liverpool target (if we're believing Goal.com) Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored three of the goals – two from the spot – while Utrecht's keeper, Michel Vorm, was an understudy for Stekelenburg at this summer's World Cup. Otherwise, I'm fairly in the dark on these sides for now.
The match-ups are as follows:
September 16: Steaua (h)
September 30: Utrecht (a)
October 21: Napoli (a)
November 4: Napoli (h)
December 2: Steaua (a)
December 15: Utrecht (h)
Liverpool opens and closes at home, with the crucial ties against Napoli third and fourth. United away will follow Steaua at home, Blackpool at home will follow Utrecht away, Liverpool will play Blackburn at home after Napoli away and Chelsea at Anfield after Napoli at Anfield, while Villa at home comes after Steaua away, and Fulham at home comes after Utrecht at home. That's about as good a draw as Liverpool could get with the subsequent league fixtures. For once, Platini comes through.
We'll get the inevitable Mascherano news out of the way first. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool's statement didn't mention the price tag, but the BBC's reporting that Barcelona will pay £17.25m, which is £750,000 less than Liverpool spent to get him from West Ham's reserves. And almost £7m less than City paid to take Yaya Toure from Barca. There might be the usual add-ons that eventually bump the fee up higher, but still. Fantastic. I hope lube was included in the deal or else that raping will be exceptionally uncomfortable.
Unlike I usually do with departing players, there'll be no eulogy for a mercenary who forced his way out of Liverpool at the worst possible time. I loved the player while he was here, but in contrast to the likes of Alonso, Garcia, and Hyypiä, among others, I couldn't care less how he fares in Spain. He was marvelous on the pitch almost every time out, but the fee and the way he left will ruin my memories forever. Hope your wife's happier in Barcelona. But I also hope Busquets keeps you out of the side except for Spanish Cup games, and you rot in the reserves, just like at West Ham.
I'd also hope that Hodgson gets to spend at least half of that £17m or so, but I'm not holding my breath. Adding that £17.25m to my back-of-the-envelope calculations, Liverpool's made around £23m in transfer fees this summer, and that's not including the supposedly imminent Insua sale. The transfer market closes on Tuesday. It's safe to assume it'll pass without Tom Hicks' so-called "big summer" of spending. But with a current midfield of Gerrard, Lucas, and Poulsen (not counting Spearing, sorry), Liverpool simply has to buy someone. And they'll be linked with every available player in the meantime. "We've got the best midfield in the world..."
Now, more important to the immediate future was this morning's Europa League draw, where we learned Liverpool's group stage opponents.
Group K
Liverpool
Steaua Bucharest
Napoli
Utrecht
There's a bit of history and some tasty ties in that group, even if it's not the easiest. Dossena was sold to Napoli in January. Kuyt's first professional club was Utrecht, where he spent five years. Liverpool's been to Bucharest four times, but only faced Steaua once, in the 03-04 UEFA Cup campaign, drawing 1-1 in Romania before a 1-0 win at Anfield. You'll also remember they faced Romanian opposition last year in the form of Unirea Urziceni.
Napoli's clearly the toughest side. There's the aforementioned Dossena, but more importantly, a fair few names you'll remember from the World Cup: Slovakia's Hamsik, Uruguay's Cavani (on loan from Palermo) and Gargano, and Italy's Quagliarella. They also have Argentinean Ezequiel Lavezzi, who was a rumored transfer target in the summer of 2009. Oh, and Cristiano Lucarelli, on loan from Parma, a striker I've always had a soft spot for. Both legs will be challenging, especially the away leg, as Napoli's always been a difficult destination for English teams.
I know a lot less about both Steaua and Utrecht. I'm unfamiliar with almost all the players in the Bucharest team, and highly recommend the Scouting Romania blog for information about Steaua in the run-up to those matches. Utrecht absolutely wiped the floor with Celtic last night to qualify, winning 4-0 at home to cancel out Celtic's 2-0 result in Glasgow. Supposed Liverpool target (if we're believing Goal.com) Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored three of the goals – two from the spot – while Utrecht's keeper, Michel Vorm, was an understudy for Stekelenburg at this summer's World Cup. Otherwise, I'm fairly in the dark on these sides for now.
The match-ups are as follows:
September 16: Steaua (h)
September 30: Utrecht (a)
October 21: Napoli (a)
November 4: Napoli (h)
December 2: Steaua (a)
December 15: Utrecht (h)
Liverpool opens and closes at home, with the crucial ties against Napoli third and fourth. United away will follow Steaua at home, Blackpool at home will follow Utrecht away, Liverpool will play Blackburn at home after Napoli away and Chelsea at Anfield after Napoli at Anfield, while Villa at home comes after Steaua away, and Fulham at home comes after Utrecht at home. That's about as good a draw as Liverpool could get with the subsequent league fixtures. For once, Platini comes through.
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