Fanhouse UK Football - liverpool

Liverpool v Lille Preview: Forget Man United, Rafa Benitez Tells Players

Chris Brereton — 2010-03-17T11:46:00-05:00

by Chris Brereton

Filed under: Liverpool, Europa League (UEFA), Match Previews

EUROPA LEAGUE: ANFIELD, THURSDAY MARCH 18, 2010. KICK-OFF: 2005 GMT

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

He May Have Been Mad But Phil Brown Deserves To Be Appreciated

Mark Watson — 2010-03-17T07:29:00-05:00

by Mark Watson

Filed under: Arsenal, Hull City, Liverpool

So Phil Brown has been placed on "gardening leave", this season's euphemism for "laid off without good reason". Even in this beautiful weather, he won't be doing much in the way of hedge-trimming. He'll be sitting dolefully in front of his "Greatest Goals of Dean Windass" DVD, wondering how he managed to be sacked from the club he turned into the unlikliest Premier League team of all time.

Two years ago, Brown masterminded one of the most disappointing days of my Bristol City-supporting life, when his 85-year-old centre-forward Windass chose the Championship play-off final to score his first goal from outside the box and shot Hull into the top flight. That makes it hard to admit this, but there's no doubt that Brown is a genius. By taking a club of Hull's non-existent pedigree from the bottom three of the Championship to the summit of English football, and then keep them there against colossal odds, he achieved one of the Premier League's most bizarre fairytales. And by getting rid of him before he's had the chance to complete another relegation battle, Hull surrender the "everyone's second-favourite team" tag they won last year with their eccentric conquest of the laws of probability.

Yes, there's no denying that - as Jeremy Cross observed in his article - Brown is mad. He made the players march up and down the Humber Bridge, bollocked them on the pitch at halftime, sang karaoke to celebrate their escape from the drop. It wouldn't have been a huge surprise to see him dressed in a giant panda costume or streaking to celebrate a late equaliser. But these strokes of lunacy, in the often sterile and risk-free modern Premier League, were part of the overall package which made Hull's performance (even to a Bristol City fan) such a delightful surprise. Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez have given us some fun over the past few years, but since Gordon Strachan left we've been missing a genuine eccentric on Match Of The Day. By filling that role, Brown mirrored the team he'd created as they served up unbelievable results against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. So, mad, yes - but Brown was no joke.

The rumour is that he'd "lost the dressing room", but this is largely conjecture based on a fight involving Jimmy Bullard, who, being totally nuts himself, is hardly a good litmus test of a manager's discipline. If the blood-and-guts display against Arsenal was a team that didn't care about playing for their manager, I wouldn't like to see them when they were fired up. Oh, hang on, I did. At Wembley. It was the worst day of my life. The point stands, anyway: if Brown lost his motivational powers, there wasn't much sign of it. Hull have a lot of problems, but only a board of directors could have looked at the shattered players after Nicklas Bendtner's injury-time winner and said "well, this team just doesn't care any more."

But then, the Premier League is more distant from reality now than at any point in the game's history. Even five years ago the idea that Hull would sack a manager for being slightly too far down the Premier League table would have seemed as likely as Noel Edmonds assuming control of the England team. And rightly so. Hull have no business being up there. Something, though, happens to clubs as soon as they cross the threshold into the big league. The likes of Wigan and Bolton begin to wonder why they're not in the Champions League. The teams who are in the Champions League start to believe they should be in it every year, even if they finish 11th. And the price of failing to meet these inflated standards is the sack - even for someone like Phil Brown. It's the neutral fan's loss, as well as Hull's. Let's hope he's singing the Beach Boys at a ground near you before too long.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Alberto Aquilani's Overdue Goal is Only the Start of his Liverpool Mission

Neil Johnston — 2010-03-16T05:20:00-05:00

by Neil Johnston

Filed under: Liverpool

Just as one win against inept opposition does not transform a season, Alberto Aquilani's goal against the same inferior team does not suddenly make him a Liverpool success.

The relief etched across the Italian's face when he scored his first long overdue goal in a red shirt, and Liverpool's third, in Liverpool's 4-1 thumping of doomed Portsmouth was there for all to see.

Seven months of pent-up frustration came pouring out as Aquilani punched the air and invited the Kop to join in his celebrations on a rare night of unqualified success for Liverpool.

Rafa Benitez's side remain in the hunt for a top four finish while Aquilani's Anfield career is officially up and running.

Crisis, what crisis?

Yet while few will begrudge Aquilani his moment of joy after a difficult start to life on Merseyside, the jury is still out on one of the most expensive import's in the club's history.

Aquilani's first year in English football has been blighted by injury to such an extent that, almost eight months after a £17m move from Roma, his agent is willing to concede that it could be next season before Liverpool see the best of the 25-year-old.

Benitez maintains that he has not lost faith in Aquilani and insists that the player understands the situation, in which Liverpool's search for peak form and their desperate need to secure a top-four place mean that the team cannot afford to carry a player who is facing a personal quest for improvement.

The Liverpool manager's strategy means that, despite his contribution in front of goal, Aquilani is again likely to be denied a run of starts as Liverpool enter the business end of a long and painful season.

Monday's appearance was only his fifth start on the Premier League stage and seasoned observers are already predicting that he is unlikely to start the next league game at Manchester United.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Liverpool 4 Portsmouth 1: Torres Bags Two as Aquilani Gets off the Mark

Neil Johnston — 2010-03-15T17:56:00-05:00

by Neil Johnston

Filed under: Liverpool, Portsmouth, Match Reports

Alberto Aquilani's first goal in English football was the highlight of a rare night of unqualified success for Liverpool against struggling Portsmouth.

Three goals in six first half minutes ensured Liverpool romped to three points as they scored three goals-plus for the first time in six months in front of the lowest Anfield league crowd for five years.

Fernando Torres was also on the mark, starting the rout in the 25th minute after a dreadful error from keeperJamie Ashdown whose clearance was charged down by Steven Gerrard.

Two and a half minutes later, Ryan Babel claimed his first goal in 13 league games after a selfless pass from Torres.

Just after the half hour, Gerrard and Torres linked neatly and Aquilani finished well after the latter's backheel.

The only surprise over the remainder of the game was that it took Liverpool until the 78th minute to score again, as an Aquilani pass found Torres just inside the area and the Spaniard finished into the bottom corner.

Nadir Belhadj steered in a late, meaningless consolation for the visitors after Frederic Piquionne drove the ball across goal.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Liverpool - Portsmouth Minute-By-Minute Report

Ciaran Baynes — 2010-03-15T14:00:00-05:00

by Ciaran Baynes

Filed under: Liverpool, Portsmouth, Min-By-Min Reports

Minute-by-minute commentary from Anfield.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

The Big Match Was One Football Highlights Programme Worth Revisiting

Scott Murray — 2010-03-14T10:03:00-05:00

by Scott Murray

Filed under: Liverpool, Manchester United, FA Cup

Hidden away on the farthest reaches of your EPG - your Sky box's Electronic Programme Guide (that name never really caught on, did it?) - is a channel called Men & Motors. As you'd imagine, Men & Motors transmits predictably eyebleeding fare: cars, men driving cars, former lad mag employees having thundering mid-life crises, and scantily clad women. It's not exactly life affirming stuff though it is popular enough with students, the unemployed and terminally indolent freelance journalists.

Happy to say, however, some Withnailian logic applies: even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And Men & Motors, this cavalcade of tat and tit, is saved by the mighty presence of The Big Match Revisited. Old editions of London Weekend Television's famous soccer show The Big Match that instantly transport the viewer back to Sunday afternoons in the 1970s. Dangerous territory, of course - it's all too easy to turn into the illegitimate offspring of Stuart Maconie and Danny Baker, eulogising the virtues of space hoppers, Chopper bikes, Oxford bags and early-era Pacers without the green minty stripes on them - but for once Going Back To The Seventies is a worthwhile enterprise.

God, but The Big Match was an excellent programme. This week's episode showcased an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester United from 1979. It was a hell of a game: Liverpool missed a contentious penalty, Kenny Dalglish scored a snaking classic, and a United team in transition (Joe Jordan, Micky Thomas and the Greenhoff brothers) dominated against one of Europe's best-ever sides, only to be denied by a late Alan Hansen equaliser. But it was the way the match was presented that really shone - and proved that The Big Match is a programme present-era Match of the Day would do well to learn a few lessons from.

Firstly, Brian Moore's presentation skills and commentary (yes, the poor sod had to do everything). Full of excitement yet a wee bit more understated than the screaming Jonathan Pearces of this modern world, Moore was also an avuncular presence. Unlike Gary Lineker and the lads, he wasn't trying to be your best mate, the wide boy at the bar trading quips with the barmaid. Instead, he was the old boy in the corner of the snug who'd seen it all before, had a few stories to tell, and knew how it all related to today's whippersnappers. Anathema to those on MotD, where banter is king, but there's nothing wrong with a bit of old-school knowledge, you know.

The highlights were longer. Sure, this was solely down to LWT only having cameras at one or two matches at the weekend. It still worked, though. Match of the Day - and the clue is in the title - would benefit greatly from spinning out their top game each week, so viewers can get a real sense of what went on, how the game ebbed and flowed. Not everything has to be chopped up into bite-sized chunks.

The interviews were less sensational, and more in-depth. The Big Match featured long rambling chats with Bob Paisley and Dave Sexton, both of whom had enough room to confound preconceived notions about them. Paisley was asked if he could recall a better FA Cup tie involving Liverpool. Usually noted for monosyllabic bumbling, he dryly flashed back: "There was one in 1946 when I headed one in at the last minute at Nottingham Forest, but that's before your time, no doubt."

Meanwhile, the stereotypically dour Sexton was all smiles and twinkles when "accepting the referee's decision" over the penalty, his eyes telling a different story to his chirpy cockney gob.

The analysis was less self-conscious, too, Moore was not interested in whipping up a controversy over the penalty decision resulting from Martin Buchan's light shove in Dalglish's back. "It's a foul, but if referees give penalties for that we'll see about 14 in every game," was Moore's only comment, leaving the viewers to reach their own conclusions.

But these are all picky criticisms of Match of the Day compared to the important one. After the United-Liverpool game, The Big Match went up to Scotland for highlights of the Scottish League Cup final between John Greig's Rangers and Alex Ferguson's emerging Aberdeen. For the record, Rangers won it after the, ahem, "combative" Doug Rougvie got himself sent off after an off-the-ball stramash. A match well-worth watching, and one that mixed the programme up a bit.

Next weekend, will Match of the Day - oh alright, Match of the Day 2 - set aside 15 minutes for this year's Scottish League Cup final between Rangers and St Mirren, for which they have the rights? What do you think? It's a shame, though, and a policy the BBC would do well to address. Football fans like football, after all, not just specific leagues.

Match of the Day would benefit from being a broader church. In fact, imagine how good a mega three-hour Saturday-evening show comprising the best Premier League highlights, The Football League Show and the SPL action from Sportscene would be. And, despite what the separate league spokespeople would argue, it would be more logical from an editorial point of view. This weekend's Saturday night Premier League action wasn't up to much, for example - the show led with predictable wins for Chelsea and Arsenal - while the game of the day, a preposterous 6-5 comeback win for Cheltenham at Boston in League Two, wasn't even transmitted until well past the witching hour. Nobody's asking for extended highlights, but that belonged near the start of an All Football show.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Liverpool v Portsmouth Preview: Crunch Time for Rafa Benitez's Men

Graham Chase — 2010-03-14T07:29:00-05:00

by Graham Chase

Filed under: Liverpool, Portsmouth, Match Previews

PREMIER LEAGUE: ANFIELD, MONDAY MARCH 15, 2010. KICK-OFF: 2000 GMT

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Latest Bulletin on Martin Skrtel is Boost for Slovakia's World Cup Chances

Ian Edwards — 2010-03-13T04:34:00-05:00

by Ian Edwards

Filed under: Liverpool, Slovakia, World Cup 2010

Martin Skrtel will be a key figure in Slovakia's first ever participation at the World Cup Finals this summer.

So claims from the Liverpool defender that he is healing faster than anticipated from a broken metatarsal will be music to the ears of coach Vladimir Weiss.

At the age of 25, Skrtel is still developing and maturing as a central defender, but his 37 caps are an indication of the importance to Slovakia of the imposing figure, the two-time winner of his nation's Footballer of the Year award.

He is recovering from a broken metatarsal in his right foot suffered in Liverpool's Europa League win at Unirea Urziceni last month.

Initial estimates urged Skrtel to prepare for a lengthy absence and the injury could not have come at a worse time as Weiss tries to put in place a squad that can emerge from a difficult group, behind favourites Italy.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Lille 1 Liverpool 0: Hazard Warning for Rafa Benitez as Reds Slump Again

Chris Brereton — 2010-03-11T14:55:00-05:00

by Chris Brereton

Filed under: Liverpool, Europa League (UEFA), Match Reports

Liverpool's season hit a new low as Lille's Eden Hazard curled home a free kick five minutes from time.

Rafa Benitez's side, who arrived in France aiming to erase memories of their 1-0 defeat at Wigan, can have no complaints about the outcome of the first-leg of this final 16 tie in the Europa League.

The closest they came to a goal was when forward Fernando Torres had a close range header clawed away before half-time.

But Lille's winger Hazard was superb, and should have had a goal when he was wrongly adjudged to be offside midway through the second period.

However, he made amends as his inswinging free kick, which was surely meant as a cross, bounced and crept into the far corner of the net.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Lille - Liverpool Minute-By-Minute Report

Evan Fanning — 2010-03-11T12:15:00-05:00

by Evan Fanning

Filed under: Liverpool, Europa League (UEFA), Min-By-Min Reports

Minute-by-minute commentary from Villeneuve d'Ascq.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Premier League Rankings

Ian Whittell — 2010-03-11T07:05:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Filed under: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan, Wolverhampton, FanHouse Rankings

Welcome back to our regular look at who's hot and who's not in the world's best football competition.

The real drama seemed to be away from the league this week - with the FA Cup quarter-finals and Champions League last 16 taking centre stage - but, quietly, there were a couple of league results that appear likely to have a bearing on big issues, particularly at the foot of the table.

Teams like Bolton, Wigan and Sunderland looked like big winners but what has that done to their places in our Rankings?

FanHouse UK has used the latest, most in-depth objective statistical data, balanced with the purely subjective views of our expert staff, to come up with the answers.

All this - and much more - is revealed below ...

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Lille v Liverpool Preview: Yet Another Crucial Game for Rafa Benitez

Chris Brereton — 2010-03-10T08:00:00-05:00

by Chris Brereton

Filed under: Liverpool, Europa League (UEFA), Match Previews

EUROPA LEAGUE: LILLE METROPOLE, THURSDAY MARCH 11, 2010: KICK-OFF 1800 GMT

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Wigan 1 Liverpool 0: Hugo Rodallega Heaps Misery on Faltering Reds

Graham Chase — 2010-03-08T16:57:00-05:00

by Graham Chase

Filed under: Liverpool, Wigan, Match Reports

Hugo Rodallega struck at the end of the opening period to consign Liverpool to a ninth Premier League defeat of the season that leaves a major dent in their Champions League hopes.

The Columbian took full advantage of a slack pass from Dirk Kuyt to fire the Latics in front and the Reds rarely looked like pulling themselves level as Wigan move clear of trouble.

The form of Fernando Torres, the prolific striker whom Rafa Benitez believed would help his team secure the sorely-needed top four finish, added to the misery for the visiting manager.

Five half-chances came his way without the Spaniard looking seriously likely to equalise as Liverpool saw a halt to their recent improvements and lost yet more ground in the chase for Champions League football.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Wigan - Liverpool Minute-By-Minute Report

Ciaran Baynes — 2010-03-08T13:00:00-05:00

by Ciaran Baynes

Filed under: Liverpool, Wigan, Min-By-Min Reports

Minute-by-minute commentary from the DW Stadium.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Wigan v Liverpool Preview: Pitch Perfect for Fit-Again Fernando Torres?

Neil Johnston — 2010-03-07T07:40:00-05:00

by Neil Johnston

Filed under: Liverpool, Wigan, Match Previews

PREMIER LEAGUE: DW STADIUM, MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010. KICK OFF: 2000 GMT

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Serbia's Milan Jovanovic Shows Why Liverpool are Lucky to Land Him

Dean Jones — 2010-03-04T09:46:00-05:00

by Dean Jones

Filed under: Liverpool, Serbia, World Cup 2010, World Cup Teams

Milan Jovanovic is set to arrive at Liverpool from Standard Liege this summer, but before then he will light up the World Cup if he continues to turn in displays like the one he produced in a convincing 3-0 success over Algeria.

His wing play was terrific, and will give Rafael Benitez reason to hold out hope that next season will be far less troublesome on Merseyside.

It was his clever play that led to their 16th minute opener with a cross that left Algerian goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui flapping in his six yard box as Marko Pantelic added a simple finish.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Premier League Rankings

Ian Whittell — 2010-03-04T07:42:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Welcome back to our regular look at who's hot and who's not in the world's best football competition.

It was a typical weekend at the office for the Premier League, what with jilted lovers taking it out on their torturers; x-rated injuries; a team re-entering the title race and even the distraction of a Wembley final thrown into the mix for good measure.

Manchester United beating Villa in the Carling Cup does not factor into our FanHouse Rankings but everything else does which probably explains why there is a new No. 1, a new No. 20 and plenty of movement in between.

FanHouse UK has used the latest, most in-depth objective statistical data, balanced with the purely subjective views of our expert staff, to come up with the answers.

All this - and much more - is revealed below ...

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

The Sad Decline Of Soccer Saturday And Its Once-Great Host Jeff Stelling

Scott Murray — 2010-03-03T06:17:00-05:00

by Scott Murray

Filed under: Burnley, Chelsea, Liverpool

Time blunts everyone's creative sword in the end, making no exceptions for talent. Just look at the Beatles: the visceral rush of She Loves You changed rock and pop for ever, but it wasn't long before they were squeezing out Piggies and Revolution #9. Orson Welles, meanwhile, wrote, directed and starred in Citizen Kane, regularly voted the greatest film of all time; towards the end, he was barely capable of voicing a commercial for frozen peas without having a walloping nervous breakdown.

There's no shame in losing one's mojo; it happens to the best of them. And to this cursed roll-call we must pencil in Jeff Stelling and the cult Sky Sports scorefest Soccer Saturday. Whisper it, but the greatest football programme on television is slowly becoming a bit of a trudge.

Let's get one thing straight from the start: Stelling is a broadcasting genius. Presiding over the Soccer Saturday jabbering menagerie of former players, all simple folk but happy, he somehow manages to prise useful information from them. It's the equivalent of organising a faultless silver service at a chimps' tea party. Relying on his insouciant charm and uncanny knowledge of football, from the Premier League all the way down to the Scottish third division, Stelling turns what should be a completely unwatchable farce - Paul Merson pouring the contents of a teapot over his head, Chris Kamara face down in a cream cake - into one of the most enjoyable programmes on the box.

And if his talents were ever in doubt, he put the debate to bed in 2007 with this majestic salvo. Crucially, for someone you spend the best part of six hours with every Saturday afternoon, he's clearly a prince among men.

But this is Stelling's 16th season in the job now; the Beatles could only keep it up for six years, for goodness' sake, and needed a large pile of non-prescription drugs to even manage that. Thankfully, Jeff and the boys haven't resorted to heating up the spoons yet, but for a programme whose appeal has always been founded in its relaxed, off-the-cuff and sometimes shambolic nature, there are worrying signs that boxes are now being ticked, everyone going through the motions, doing what's expected.

The reaction to goals scored or conceded by Stelling's beloved Hartlepool United, the best illustration of this creeping torpor, was once heartfelt, spontaneous and genuine. Now it's a set-piece you could set the clocks by, Jeff mugging to camera, the "lads" cheering or mocking depending on who's scored (it's a blessed relief that James Brown hasn't scored since October; the piping out of I Feel Good got old very quickly).

The puns aren't quite what they were, either. Always painful, albeit endearing, they were at least sparingly used, a rare guilty pleasure. Now they're obsessively scripted, scattered liberally hither and yon, every other player a springboard for the sort of tenuous wordplay that would have shamed Richard Whiteley. Being a successor of the late, great Whiteley in the Countdown chair must surely encourage this habit. Last week, while introducing Burnley defender Clarke Carlisle with a litany of spectacularly lame soccer zingers, he cracked a joke about a football-obsessed man having been married "for 12 seasons" - ouch!

The programme also suffers from an increasingly boorish tone. Does everyone really have to get right up in Phil Thompson's grille every time Liverpool go a goal down? That's hardly news, these days, after all. Is it really beyond Merson's ken to pronounce a surname containing more than two syllables? And guffawing heartily at the impaired cognitive skills of ... but let's not pick on poor old Kamara again. Nobody wants the show to turn into Newsnight Review - although Germaine Greer at the Galpharm would be entertaining - but this proud anti-intellectualism is only endearing for so long. Some dignity here, please, chaps!

In the final analysis, Stelling is too nice, too easy on his pundits, letting things ride when he really should be forcing folk to up their standards. It's a trait he also occasionally displays on Sky's otherwise excellent Time of Our Lives, and to a lesser extent Countdown: the brave wearing of a fixed rictus while suffering the telling of a terrible anecdote. There's something to be said for politeness, but occasionally it would be nice if he called or even shouted for silence.

Over the course of a Saturday afternoon, Stelling has to coax his cohorts into coherence, and sweep up so many of their messes, that he's got no time to stretch himself. He's still capable of moments of sublime brilliance - the Boro rant came comparatively recently, in 2007 - but such moments are fewer and further between. His signature show is in danger of slipping into complacent self-parody, all lazy puns and forced banter.

It could do with a shake-up, and there's one pundit out there who would surely direct Stelling into uncharted waters. Overly earnest, absurdly pretentious and an acquired taste he may be, but the BBC's Garth Crooks is undoubtedly one of the most inadvertently entertaining men on television, capable of utilising the portentous pause to such an extent that he makes the most banal and trite observation - "One thing is certain ... they need ... a goal" - sound like he's just discovered the cure for three different types of cancer and scribbled out a roadmap for peace in the Middle East while he was at it.

Last Saturday, during the BBC's lamentable Soccer Saturday photocopy Final Score, Crooks exploded during a discussion about the booing Wayne Bridge received at Chelsea. "Who are these people?" he screamed, no quarter given to the rules of television debate whatsoever. There was clearly something bubbling away, but nobody picked him up on his ejaculation, and the conversation quickly petered out, a beautifully unhinged rant lost to the ether. Stelling, crack anchorman, would almost certainly have forced Crooks to extrapolate, teasing a surreal monologue out of him, spinning some more Soccer Saturday gold. And there's been very little of that lately.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Mystic Megson: Gary Megson's Predictions Ahead of the Final Furlong

John Percy — 2010-03-03T05:13:00-05:00

by John Percy

Filed under: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bolton, Burnley, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Wigan, Wolverhampton

Former Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson knows all about the Premier League. He has been studying what lies ahead in the final weeks of the season and gives FanHouse his predictions on what will happen at the top and bottom of the table.

THE TITLE RACE

CHAMPIONS - MANCHESTER UNITED
United have got an absolutely huge game against Chelsea coming up and whoever wins that will land the title - and I fully expect Sir Alex Ferguson's side to do it. They hav all the experience of the final furlong and possess big game players all the way through the team. That experience will prove vital and you just know that, while everybody else may be panicking, Sir Alex will be the calmest man in the place. All their big-name players are coming back at the right time as well and they have done really well to stay in contention while they have been sidelined. Wayne Rooney is the best player in the world at the moment and if he stops scoring they will have problems - but I just can't see it happening.

2nd - CHELSEA
Carlo Ancelotti has a few issues at the moment, which I think everybody will know about now! But I do think those issues have come at the wrong time and it will cost them. I'm not convinced that John Terry is struggling as much as people make out but the left-back problem is massive for them. No team could find an easy replacement for Ashley Cole and expect to make any easy transition. The goalkeeper issue is also a major blow and they really need Nicolas Anelka to start scoring again. I think United will just pip them to the title - but it will be close.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Steven Gerrard Must Demonstrate that England are not a One Man Team

Ian Winrow — 2010-03-02T10:22:00-05:00

by Ian Winrow

Filed under: Liverpool, Manchester United, England, World Cup 2010

Steven Gerrard's position as England's temporary captain reflects the turmoil that has hit Fabio Capello's squad recently.

The fall-out that has followed the lurid allegations about John Terry's private life, however would be dwarfed if Wayne Rooney was ruled out of this summer's World Cup finals in South Africa by injury.

Gerrard has been elevated rapidly through the ranks after Capello stripped Terry of the armband and then Rio Ferdinand, the newly installed captain, pulled out of the friendly with Egypt with a back complaint.

Suddenly the Liverpool man has found himself with the lead responsibility for knitting together a potentially fractured dressing room and maintaining team spirit among a group of players who will each have their own opinions about Terry's relationship with the former partner of Wayne Bridge.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments