Fields of Anfield Road: MiddlesBoro 0 Liverpool 0

Fields of Anfield Road: MiddlesBoro 0 Liverpool 0

Carling Cup Quarter Finals

In the draw made on Saturday 11th... Southend Utds reward for knocking out Man Utd is an away tie at Tottenham Hotpurs. Chelsea will play Newcastle in a repeat of the FA cup game which Newcastle won last season. Charltons first sojourn into the heady heights of the quarter finals sees them paired with Wycombe Wanderers and the final tie sees old rivals Arsenal and Liverpool in another epic struggle at Anfield. After Sundays demolition at the Emirates Rafa must be hoping Wenger puts out his second string at Anfield!

Premiership round up weekend 11/12th Nov

Well the top of the premiership is starting to take on a familiar look.Man Utd stay top with a 1-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers a ground where they have not won at for the last 6 matches...so is that an omen? Chelsea predictably turned over their less celubrious neighbours Watford 4-0 with A hat trick from Drogba and another from Shevchenko.Drogbas form has been outstanding all season.I think he may be the key between Chelsea retaining their title or not.

Just when Liverpool had strung 5 wins together and we thought they were on the way back,it all went pear shaped again at the Emirates..while Rafa Benitez continues to kid himself "we were in control of the game..then"........ i dont know if his view of the game is distorted from the bench but i didnt see Liverpool in control at any time in the whole game.The game i saw consisted of Liverpool trying to stem the oncoming tide of Arsenal from start to finish.Gerrard was conspicuous by his absence from most of the proceedings ( a common occurence when Liverpoolplay the top sides) with just one effort on goal.Mark Gonzalez on the left was well out of his depth against such an experienced and physically strong Arsenal defence but his time will come.Ive never agreed with Rafas treatment of Peter Crouch, for me he should be in every week except...yes you guussed it against Arsenal at their place. Arsenals defenders are tall and strong and Crouch was always going to be up against it.I think this was Crouches least effective game this season.

This was an exceptional opportunity for Rafa to get his first win away this season.He just got the team wrong.Garcia and Bellamy shouild have been on from the start.if there is one thing big defenders dont like,it is agile nippy players like Garcia and Bellamy.

Personally i think Liverpool as a team are still way off the pace.They dont have a quality left back which is a major problem for them.Reina , for me , is not good enough to be in a Liverpool jersey. Gallas goal was laid on Gerrard and Rise as the scapegoats both players seen to be arguing after the goal...but the pundits never criticised Reina.....the ball was headed in from the 6 yard line at only slightly higher than head height.Im sorry but in all the top sides i have ever seen and im sure in goalkeeping manuals, that was the goalies ball.Reina never moved off his goal line so Gallas had a free header!Another reason Liverpool arent up to it is their wooden approoch to the tactics laid down by Benitez. Finnan who has had a fine season was at fault with one of the Arsenal goals staying planted to the spot looking to play the Arsenal player offside instead of cutting off the play.Also Rafa please take note we dont have enough quality in midfield..BOZO ZENDEN has outlived his sell by date.Ive never seen a guy give the ball away so much as a professional player.PLEASE take note and bring in Danny Guthrie...he is the reseve skipper and has got more about him than any of the current midfield.He can pass, he can tackle , he breaks up the play , he can get forward and score...his day had beter come soon or Liverpool willlose a quality player....

Meanwhile Reading took care of Spurs.. 3-1 in the end...Spurs are such an enigma .. definite quality in their team but just cant string the results together!!

Evertons loss to Villa was their third 1-0 deficit of the week!With Cahill carried off injured and Johnson scared to take on chances because of his "dive " reputation..things are looking a bit rocky at goodison.

Wigan continue in their good run of form.They certainly look like consolidating their premiership status for another season and Middlesboro popped up a late winner to take the points from West Ham.Newcastle Utd are now in the bottom three and never looked like taking anything from their game this weekend.....magpies are looking abit sorrowful at the moment..and nothing on the horizon!

thats it for now... boring midweek coming up....why do we have to suffer these stupid so called "friendly" internationals....

Carling Cup..continued

Well the Carling cup was its uusal mediocre self.I still dont know why the premiership clubs dont view this trophy as anything but a minor inconvenience! To say they are full of squad players and you need big squads to win anything, well what a load of ole cobblers innit? The authorities should state categorically to the Premier clubs that they have to field a team that has maximum appearances in the season so far, allowing for current injuries....this would guarantee full strength teams playing in a meaningful trophy.After all there is the prestige of winning it plus the extra reward of guaranteed European Football.

Anyway back to the games!!.... Arsenal progressed at the expense of a ten
man Everton courtesy of Graham Polls sending off of James Mcfadden for calling him "an f******* Cheat " when in actual fact McFadden said "f********* s*******"...forgive me if im wrong here but isnt foul language a sending off offence this season? So really the content of Mcfaddens verbals are irrelevent..in fact if what he said is true then his version is worse becasue there are two foul words!! Anyway Adebayor got the only goal to put the Gunners in the quarter finals.

NO souless draw at stamford bridge to replicate the last time villa and chelsea met Chelsea wered ominant from start to finish and well deserved the win.Shevchenko was on the mark again so thats roughly 10 million quid a goal so far...hmmm not bad economics eh Jose.

Liverpool saw off Birmingham at St Andrews with a second goal for the young Dane Daniel Agger.Liverpool were always in the box seat for this one.Dudek made a couple of fine saves but the ineptitude of Craig Bellamy in front of goal never really made any difference as Birmingahm were lacking in ideas .Bellamys missed penalty (why did he take it anyway) was the poorest piece of finishing since Jack and Vera Duckworth got their house clad!! The luckless Sissoko is going to be out for a couple of months with a dislocated shoulder.The way he is going he is going to rival Kevin Moran (ex Man utd) for the title of most injury prone player! Still , solid displays from the youngsters in the team, Peltier and Parletta bode well for the future and we saw a better performance from Mark Gonzalez whoose speed on the wing contributed to the penalty award.

Newcastle scraped through against a spirited Watford and it took penalties for Charlton to see off Chesterfield.

So the last 8 have a familiar ring to it, Liverpool , Spurs, Chelsea. Arsenal, Newcastle, Charlton from the premier join Southend and Wycombe in the quarter final draw on Sky Sports Saturday 12 pm.

Carling cup Round Up

This week saw the last 16 of the Carling Cup.The usual plethora of second team and fringe players representing the premier clubs ( and yet the managers all they how much they value this competition..yeahh righhhttt!!)Three shocks and nearly four as Port Vale came close to upsetting the odds against Spurs.Biggest shock of course was the demise of Man Utd against lowly Southend who currenly wallow amongst the stragglers at the bottom of theb Championship. A relatively strong side by Carling Cup standards was embarassed by a resolute performance by Southend or the Shrimpers as they are known.Although Utd had their fair share of chances and the Southend goalie had a great night Southend could have won with more to spare as two excelent chances were spurned in the last 20 minute as Utd attempted to get an equaliser.So the holders are out and the agents are out for Freddy Eastwood the Striker who scored the winning goal! Watch the January transfer window with interest!

to be continued

Premier League Round Up..Nov 5th

Another weekend of contentious decisions and drama with Messrs Mourino, Wenger and Ferguson (and Poll according to Mourino) taking centre stage again.
John Terry getting the "red"...seems unfair???How many times has he stayed ON when he should have gone? This one doesnt even go halfway to redress the balance.


In the Saturday games a workmanlike performance from Liverpool secured a 2-0 win over a spirited Reading.Dirk Kuyt was the Johnny on the spot for the two liverpool goals where Peter Crouch claimed the sidekicks role with his contribution. Home form is no problem for the reds and one or two players previously out of sorts are starting to tick over again.Premiership over? Dont make me larrrrrffff!!!

Watford got off the mark with a 2-0 victory over Man City who really had a blue moon day! Newcastle United current form took another turn for the worse when Sheffield United scored their first away goal and their first away win.Well deserved. If the writing is not quite on the wall for Roeder then the pen is getting refilled with ink!! Owen no sign of returning, Ameobi injured...where are the goals coming from..the January window cant open too soon for the Magpies!

Away day "blues" was the order of the day at Craven Cottage where a game of two halves saw Everton lose only their second game of the season.A clear penalty was denied Everton in the first half as Johnston was sent sprawling in the box.Ref apparently saw no contact .Suggest he keeps his contacts in in future! Fulham probably just edged it with their second half display.

The Lancashire derby Bolton V Wigan threw up another surprise but yet again the officials were at fault .This time Stelios denied a goal for offside when it was haj Diouf offside .The linesman was clearly not in line with the play at the time the flag went up. A Lee Mcullogh goal cleverly crafted by Kilbane seperated the teams at the final whistle.

Aston Vanilla got back to winning ways with a long overdue goal for Pablo Angel and another for Barry (pen).Hapless |blackburn sit comfortably mid table..they will win a few , lose a few..but nothing specia at Ewood these days..

Meanwhile over at Old Trafford Alex ferguson celebreated 20 years at the club with a convincing win over Harrys lads. An early penalty and a quick follow up goal was always going to be too much for Pompey to claw back. Utd look ominous at the moment, oozing coinfidence and playing the style of football that even neutrals warm to!!

Fergusons weekend was to get even better.He must have been rubbing his hands with pre Xmas glee after the two sunday London derbies both went in utds favour.

Alan Pardew and Arsene Wenger wwere nearly at fisticuffs with each other when Harewood blasted in a winner right at the death.Apparently Pardew`s celebrations were abit "over zealous".....jeez ..wouldnt you be over zealous ...8 games on the trot whacked...worst run in 70 years of Hammers History then two results on the bounce and one against their biggest London rivals...blimey i think Wenger got off light!! I`d have offered to marry him!!! Dont think Arsenal could complain though...good football from both teams and a great game to watch..its a funny ole game!!

Meanwhile Spurs fans had even more to cheer. First win over Chelsea in 32 games at White Hart lane and when you consider Cheslki have only been on top a couple of seasons it show you how pants Spurs have been these last few years or more!!
Needless to say Mourino is at it again.....at least he didnt come out with his usual garbage...."we didnt loose....Spurs only beat 10 men routine" but he still had a pop at Graham Poll..According to Mourino Poll was too much center stage and he thinks it should be the players of Spurs and Chelski.....funny that as there are more pics of Mourino in the sporting press than any individual football player from ANY TEAM!!



So Utd sit 3 points clear with Xmas fixtures looming.plus what a great day for the bottom sides.All three winning.Good old watford, Charlton and Blades.By the way ...why did Liverpool get rid of Carson! Stood out for Charlton!

Another great advert for premier league this weekend plus more nails in the coffins of those dinosaurs that dont want video replays to decide major incidents in games!!Every week there are players sent off or booked or goals allowed, disallowed that should not be. Wake up FOOTBALL video is here to stay and it should be used!!

More Champions League..

Arsenal are at it again....walk in football...how many chances were missed..? Incredible!!They will probably qualify for the last 16 but they definitely have made it harder for themselves.Meanwhile over in Hamlet land Man Utd came unstuck in the city of Hans Christian Anderson....an unlikely story....still looks like all four premiership teams should contest the last 16.Cant wait for Feb?March!

Rafa...Revolution...The Teams They Are A changing...

LIverpool v Bordeaux.......same team as v Villa...astonishment in the liverpool dressing room one hr before the game when team announced according to Stevie G. Well it was the 100th game , maybe Rafa was celebrating.....!!!!

Result 3-0 Liverpool in last 16 along with psv who defeated Galatasaray 2-0!

Three wins on the bounce now for the reds, 10 goals too...now only if we could actually score away from home , now that would be progress!For the record we havent scored from open play in any away game in the premiership,penalty agaoinsy the blades on the opening day is all weve got to show for our efforts..is this going to be anif only season? time wil tell..At least Stevie G got off the mark tonite and MOMO also had a go and nearly broke his duck!!! Have you noticed the way Rafa brings players off if they have scored two goals...can only assume he doesnt want them to get too big for their own boots....meanwhile in the Nou Camp Chelsea have made life difficult for the Catalans..A late Drogba equaliser leaves Barca in 3rd a point behind Bremen.The Bremen game may well decide if Barca progress in this competition or drop to the eufa cup!!

By the way take a look at the antics of Mourino on the touchline if you catch the game on Sky or wherever...i dont know about you but i cant abide the man...who does he think he is saying people should be thrown in jail just for throwing a bottle at Frank Lampard...think of the good that man did for the Club....Now no one can accuse the southern softies of having no bottle!!!


Interesting note in the sports press today as Alex ferguson celebrates 25 years at Man U...apparently it still wrankles him that LFC have won 5 European Cups to Utds 2!As if it would make any difference....bottom line is Alex Liverpool are the most successful team in English Football history and that is despite Utds dominance in the last ten years while Liverpool have been languishing..The real thorn in his side is that even when Liverpool are rubbish THEY can still bring home the major club trophy in Europe!!

Another goalkeeping error ..An absolute beaut.!Makes Paul Robinsons effort look pants!!Did you see it on sky..?18 years old keeper has a blooper !!! I was laughing so much i cant remember who the keeper was or who he played for.. Think it ws in the Werder Bremen game...anyway to keep you amused click here for some great goalie gaffs!!!! Let me know the name of the keeper and who he plays for if you saw the match last night..just put it in the comments.

See Denis Wise "new Leeds" got the mallet last night,,couldnt have happened to a nicer bloke!! And what about Mick McCarthy , what a hypocrite!!! Just becasue Keeno is now a manager and Mick always speaks to managers about possible transfers the Yorkshire leopard changes his spots...Mick im so disapointed in you where are your principles.,or were you wrong in the first place?


Thats it for now guys ..Anycomment s are welcome ..any supporters are welcome too..you probably guessed im a RED and im old enough to remember alan a court so i know class players wheni see em.Alf Arrowsmith too!!!

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