African Cup of Nations After going four-for-four in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations it was just too good to last and although both my semi final picks have made it through to a final game it has turned out to be for third place rather than the actual final.
Although Ghana enjoyed an edge in the play a lack of sharpness in the penalty box cost them a place in the final. Cameroon was bound to create and take a chance and sure enough it happened. Apart from the goal an outstanding moment was Geremi's 30+ yard free kick that hit the junction of the bar and the post - an absolute cracking shot.
I thought the Egyptian back four looked a bit perturbed by the physical play on Angola’s Manucho in the quarter finals and felt that Drogba would cause the defense nightmares. As it turned out the defense played exceptionally well and overall I thought the Egyptians were outstanding for ninety minutes.
They got a couple of breaks from deflections but even so they showed as a well drilled and composed side that were worth their 4-1 win. However, I would be amiss not to mention the rocket of a shot from Keita cutting in from the left that looked to have got the Ivory Coast back in the game.
After handling Cameroon in the group stage and then the semi final victory over the Ivory Coast, Egypt will start as favourites to take their 6th African Cup of Nations title. At the risk of hexing Egypt I will take them to win 2-1.
Serie A One of the best games in prospect in Serie A is Juventus at Udinese. Udinese have only one win in their last six games and are slipping down the table. On the other hand Juventus is unbeaten in their last twelve games but six draws in the run means that although they remain in third position their points total has suffered.
When compared to Inter and Roma Juventus have slipped behind by 8 points and 3 points respectively. If history is a pointer then this game is good news for Juventus. Juventus has only lost three times in 33 visits.
Bundesliga The Bundesliga may have only been back for one week but the second round of the second half has a thrown up a top of the table clash between leaders Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Werder went into the winter break tied on points with Bayern but an unexpected loss to Bochum last week (the first Bochum win at Bremen in 31 tries) means they trail the Munich side by three points.
Bayern defensive home record is impressive with only two goals conceded in eight games. However, three draws means that their home points total does not necessarily reflect their defensive dominance.
On the other hand Werder Bremen’s away form has been poor with only 12 points from 8 games. Diego is Werder Bremen’s leading scorer with 9 to date and he is tied at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose. Werder Bremen has also been buoyed by the return of Croatian international striker Ivan Klasnic after a second and this time successful kidney transplant.
La Liga The top game in Spain would appear to pit Sevilla against Barcelona. Sevilla is up to 7th position but is still making heavy weather of this season. As a precaution they also announced this week that they will take part in the Intertoto Cup if necessary in order to find a route to next season’s UEFA Cup.
Fabiano is having an outstanding season and has more than carried the goal scoring load so far this season with 16 goals to Freddie Kanoute’s 8. Previous to signing for Sevilla in 2005 Fabiano had been a bust at Rennes in France (2000) and then after returning to Brazil he signed for Porto in 2004. With a record of only 5 goals in 20 plus games he was not considered a success in Portugal. But since moving to Sevilla he has now made over 100 appearances and has scored around a goal every two matches.
Barcelona, on the other hand, has spread their scoring around with 13 different players contributing at least a goal so far this season.
Premiership What are the chances of getting through the minute of silence at Old Trafford without a Neanderthal contributing to the occasion? Not very good I am guessing. City has not had much success at Old Trafford and you have to go back to 1974 for their last league win.
It was the game decided by Denis Law’s back heeler with only a couple of minutes left. United fans then invaded the field, the game was abandoned, the result stood and six years after winning the European Cup Manchester United was relegated. Law’s goal is often described as one that relegated United but the fact is that United would have gone down anyway.
Although City is winless in 34 years and obviously without a win in ten Premiership visits they have drawn four times when visiting Old Trafford on Premiership business. City’s form has dropped off and when you look at the points they have garnered in blocks of five games it becomes quite clear - (from start of season) 9 pts, 13 pts, 8 pts, 6 pts, 5 pts.
Chelsea is hoping to extend their unbeaten home record and based on Liverpool’s record over the last number of years at Stamford Bridge it is a record that looks like being extended. Liverpool has been blanked on their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge and has only scored two goals in the last 12 visits in all competitions.
The only current Liverpool player to have scored at Stamford Bridge is Sammi Hyypia and Liverpool has only one win in 14 Premierships trips to Stamford Bridge. Over the last six league games Chelsea has picked up 16 points (best in the Premiership) against Liverpool’s record of four draws combined with a loss and a win – only good for 12th in the current form table.
So you have Chelsea riding the crest of a wave in terms of their recent premiership form against a team that they have largely owned in Premiership meetings at Stamford Bridge. Looks like a banker home win but this might just be the match that brings Chelsea’s unbeaten home run to an end.
Bobby 3 paragraphs explaining in detail why Chelsea will beat Liverpool and one sentence to avoid a raft of comments from all of us. As is, I agree a snowball has a better chance of not melting ...........
OK Craigy here's the Barclays Premier League and my guess work:
Aston Villa v Newcastle, 12:45 2-2
Bolton v Portsmouth, 15:00 1-2
Derby v Tottenham, 15:00 1-3
Everton v Reading, 15:00 2-2
Middlesbrough v Fulham, 15:00 3-1
Sunderland v Wigan, 15:00 2-0
West Ham v Birmingham, 3-1
Thats me with my neck stuck out so I will see if I do better than Lawrenson and you all.
With many of the bottom clubs aways from home how many will actually surprise their hosts?
As for City at Utd? Sven will have watched the Spurs game a few times and will go to Old Trafford with a game plan that includes locking Ronny out of the game. I reckon it will be a 1-1 bore draw and not a pretty sight.
Last edited by redfan2000 on February 8th at 5:54 PM.
Glad you pointed that out Bobby ,that's one of the biggest myths in football ,that Denis Law scored the goal that relegated United.
If I remember right they still had two of three games to play after the scheduled last day of the season ,and could have still stayed up.
I do believe the City supporters will respect the minutes silence ,if only to disprove all those who have been questioning and doubting them over the last few weeks.
And then it's time minutes of silence where done away with.
It used to mean something ,but when more games than not have one it has become pretty meaningless.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Liverpool win on Sunday ,they are due a win at the Bridge ,and the unbeaten home record has to go sooner or later.
What I do find very surprising is the idea that Liverpool beating Chelsea could ever be considered an upset.
That said ,home win.
Looking at the seven games being played tomorrow ,I wonder if any cities would bid to host games if they knew that was what they could end up with.
BOBBY
Serie A : - perhaps.
"one of the best games in prospect" is hardly sticking your neck out though. Trezeguet's inclusion or not may be vital
Chances are the black and white derby will be tight and decided by one goal. Good if you like a defensive game.
Last week Juve weren't much cop.
I'd go for Sampdoria V Napoli - Cassano and Lavezzi are in fine form - both are young and exciting to watch. Could be goalfest. Good if you like that sort of things.
ACoN
No one (i think) fancied Egypt much because they have no STARS. They barely even got much media attention as holders, it was all about the "African" players blah blah blah. Now just let me get my atlas...
...OMG What country is that in the North East of Africa, hot and sandy with a big river running through it...
OLD TRAFFORD
Yawn! Will the mancs get another bunch of yellows and will city have a penalty claim denied whilst a ronaldo dive sees Webb point to the spot.
I see aunty ommitted to mention the ex city goalkeeper that died - seemed only to remember the mancs.
GORDON BROWN LOOKS LIKE HE NEEDS A BLOOD TRANSFUSION
Anybody a couple of spare virgins lying around they could spare...
GERMANY AND SPAIN
Ta for the brief looksee bobby.
Werder Bremen might have been the team that Bayern handed their arses to in the pre-season German tournament. They were. And both the top teo german sides have imminent and winnable UEFA Cup ties shortly.
LGB
Too harsh on the Villa - remember they are good one week and cack the next.
Megson is actually using your post as motivation.
Jewe
HELLO RINGO! I was just looking for a broom handle!
Jewell is using your post as bog paper
DM is using your post to wipe Yak's blood from his knuckle duster
Southgate is happy he has a supportive chairman and follows a complete muppet.
Two ex mancs go toe to toe - Bruce is so much a better manager than keane but are his players capable?
Hammers stuff squealing money grabbing scot - now that one I'd actually pay to see - oh right - actually I am paying to see that one.
IN THE RED CORNER THE MASTER OF DISASTER - COMING TO A DOLE OFFICE NEAR YOU SHORTLY!
¡El hijo del diablo - el camarero gordo!
IN THE BLUE CORNER THE MAN WITH NO BADGES
That bloke who followed Jose!
LETS GET READY TO PLAY POORLY BUT NOT HAVE SOME BRILLIANT SPANIARD BAILING OUT ARE ARSES.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF DISTINCTION THE LATEST AND GREATEST IN COMFORTABLE LOUNGE FURNITURE
COUCHY
A DRAW WILL BE AS GOOD AS THREE POINTS AT THE BRIDGE. BUT NIL POINTS IS ZERO IN ANY LANGUAGE.
EVERTON V READING
Well come on, it all depends on whether I'm in the mood for a good book.
EVERTON V WRITING
Everton every time.
Come now LGB, have you never made a smowball in the darkest depths of bleak midwinbter, stuck it in the freezer and used it to ambush someone you really like in June. You know the snowball will just be a damp squidge in moments but that brief slushy flight, the wonderful and suprising impact...who are we to deny this snowball one chance at glory!
TRYING TO REMEMBER RINGO
...eh John, George, come 'ere.. I need you're help in getting Ringo off the ceil
TRYING TO REMEMBER RINGO
...eh John, George, come 'ere.. I need you're help in getting Ringo off the ceiling, I need a broom or something...he said he's got a great idea for a song...yellow tambourine or something like that...
COUNTERPOINT TO ALL BOLLOCKS ABOUT A THIRTY NINTH PREMIER LEAGUE GAME
Bournemouth go into administration (they owe 4million quid) and are likely to be docked 10 points which should seee them struggle not to drop a division.
West Ham will be the only team that actually want to play the mancs thrice.
They'll be a queue to see who gets to play derby (or their future equivalent) three times (although it's already been decided the mancs will get them in Tokyo.
If this ever kicks off and doesn't sink like the Titanic smacking into an iceberg or the Belgrano being smegged by the one british torpedo that actually worked then red fans will still be chanting, "just one more season is all we need, next year we'll be good enough"
Last edited by craigy_f on February 8th at 7:45 PM.
Here's what happened with Bikey(cameroon DEF).Song(CAM Captain)is down recieving treatment from Camerron medic , while ghana is down.Ghanaian medics want to carry Song out as fast as possible so their side wont lose momentum.That clearly upset cameroon medic and Bikey reacted. Mateen(IRAN)
I have always admired Ghana although they seem to aid their opponents in losing to them. Ghana has never been sharp upfront but for the exploits of Essien and Muntari from midfield whic seems to pay off. I hope their manager works hard on their forwards in the goal scoring department.
Congratulations to Cameroon for making it to the finals however, i have seen loads of bufoonery in soccer in my day but nothing like the king of all bufoons Bikey. This guy is the dumbest of them all for his shoving of the paramedic. I hope FIFA,CAF and Reading punish him for disgracing the beautiful game. Shame on you Bikey, Shame.
Well Big Kev blew it today! No help what so ever and defo no Christmas card for him next winter.
Do tell Craigy, how many McEwans before you wrote that lot?
Go Reading! Fat Yak sulking for a new sofa? Whoops AJ is awake.
Rafa won't get fired for losing at the Chavs after 75 previous games have gone the way of the hosts.
However, if we miss the champs league by season's end he might, always assuming we don't see a repeat of 2005 and win the CL thing, while finishing 5th behind Everton.
The rules are set now and we would play CL football next year, not the 4th placed team, so under such circs Rafa might just be retained.
Drat just dropped the crystal ball.......... oh well, one result way off so far today but maybe I will get one right?
"It's a nonsense idea... Soon you will have in England no English presidents (of clubs), you already have no English (national team) coach, you have no English players and maybe now you will have no clubs playing in England. It's a joke."
Michel Platini, UEFA President.
He also compared the idea to him creating a plan to move UEFA headquarters to China!!! Now that's pretty funny.
(sorry, I just loved the comment. I'm sure most of you have already read this quote)
Craigy, the Jag got you the 3pts. Don't Reading miss Sidwell. Their midfield is woeful.
Fulham, Wigan, Derby, Reading and Bolton all lost and Brum drew. Bobby could be right, Keano might well keep the black cats up.
Battle to stay up is clearly heating up.
I got four results the right way, but only one exact score. Mark Lawrenson got 4 out of 7 results with no exact scores.
Clearly I am not giving up my day job to be a pundit.
Last edited by redfan2000 on February 9th at 9:13 AM.
I'm praying to God Liverpool wins tomorrow not just because I love them but because I'm sick of hearing the lame #### excuses being dished out this season.
Fellow Reds...Let it go! We've been #### this season and it has nothing to do with the owners. If you want to believe the morale reasoning than you obviously aren't watching the games.
There is too much talent for there to be the reasoning of "low morale".
LGB I agree with you on the debating of it all. As you say, so much quality at the club that can still play so badly, so often.......well like it or not, it's a confidence or morale problem, nothing else.
What's more, even a win at the bridge tomorrow will not sort it. It will take time, lots of games and stability to get hings back on track.
Last edited by redfan2000 on February 9th at 10:36 AM.
Sevilla will have Kanouté back from ACoN. He'll be paired up front with Luis Fabiano, the league's highest scorer at the moment. Keita is also back. Adriano & Navas are also available.
Barcelona are always a threat, but they will be without Puyol, Deco, Bojan, & Eto'o.
I'd actually prefer a Barcelona win or draw because if Sevilla win, then they'd only be 3 points away from Atletico.
Last edited by atleti on February 9th at 12:03 PM.
LGB: "There is too much talent for there to be the reasoning of "low morale"."
A lot of talent and "low morale" are NOT mutually exclusive.
The Carragher quote does nothing for your position- all he says is that LFC has not been playing well, and not for one particular reason. That just begs the question of what the reasons are- which he does not elaborate. But in prior articles he HAS been quoted as saying the the Dynamic Duo issues have been a distraction ...
No one here believes the Duo are THE cause- but only if you think players are automatons could they not have contributed. If Stevie G's passion often helps the team to greater heights (= MORALE), then why wouldn't negative influences have the opposite effect? Morale is not only a one-way street ...
Give it up, LGB- whatever torch you are carrying for the Dynamic Duo, they've been a disaster for LFC so far, and the effects have been felt throughout the organisation, including at the sharp (playing) end.
Of the players missing for Barca, I worry most about Puyol- I just cannot summon as much confidence in the Barca defence with him out as I would like (and I'm really not happy at all with Thuram at the moment ...).
Ursus-Carra's comment says it all. He says, "It is not one particular 'this' or 'that'. It is just that other teams have been playing better than us. We have obviously got to improve both as individuals and as a team."
That right there says that its not the owners but the players. Read it until you understand it.
Take a look at Kuyt's situation of being dropped from the Holland squad. Van Basten's quote of, "He is just not good enough at the moment" is something that could be applied to the whole of the Liverpool team.
As for the "torch I'm carrying"...What? I haven't said anything good about the owners except for they have brought us Fernando Torres(which would refute your "they haven't done anything for us" argument). In fact, I said that Tom Hicks needs to keep his yapper shut.
I'm just not one who follows crowds and I'm not going to jump on the "crucifying the american owners" bandwagon when those aren't the real problems of this squad when on-the-pitch.
Redfan-I agree that they lack confidence but I think they lack confidence because of a lack of results that started in September and a lack of playing time for guys that aren't "stars".
Hi, Man. Utd plays Man. City tomorrow. does anybody know in which city they are playing? the last time i checked Tokyo was leading the bid, but i have a feeling New York must have overtaken them. We are raising the money to have the match played in Vancouver.
Yeah - hopefully the Manchester derby is still going to be played in England. Both teams are owned by foreigners, managed by foreigners, and we'll be lucky if we see 3 or 4 English players. Hopefully the ref and linesmen will be English too!!!
If Chelsea score first, especially if it's early in the first half, this game could get very ugly for Liverpool. I could see them losing 3-0 or worse.
They look vulnerable and this is where Abramovitch would love to extract maximum payback for Liverpool's CL triumphs over Chelsea in recent years. Especially in front of the home fans.
Consider, too, that Frank Lampard is back from a leg muscle tear and would love to shine for Fabio Capello going head to head with Steven Gerrard.
I can't imagine Ashley Cole playing any worse than he has recently, so this, too, is a big moment for him to straighten out his playing status with both club and country.
With everyone focusing Manchester on Sunday, Chelsea have a big opportunity to make a loud statement on their intentions for the league this year.
Never mind a bus, Chelsea are going to park a tank in front of goal. Liverpool's goal.
OMG it is so damn cold in Minnesota... anyways draws at Old Trashford and at the Bridge will do for me, coz I don't see Liverfools or the other Mancs doing Arsenal a favor and winning.
As for the A.C it really has been a very unpredictable tourny and I've really sucked in my prediction so I'll go for one last guess as I got todays right. Egypt to win in extra time 3-2.
Injuries are piling up and Wengerman is paying for not buying a defender now he has to ship Kolo in early and put him into the mix so soon. Hopefully will have more players back by Sat. when the schedule gets really messy.
Why the hell do they have those stupid sensless inter.. frendlies in the middle of the wk.
LGB: "I haven't said anything good about the owners except for they have brought us Fernando Torres(which would refute your "they haven't done anything for us" argument)... I'm just not one who follows crowds..."
Poor LGB. For someone who doesn't follow crowds, you sure do subscribe quite willingly to conventional (read: "crowd") "wisdom".
So the owners brought Torres to LFC, did they? And where did the money come from, exactly- their generous and bulging pockets, or borrowed from the bank? Here's a hint, LGB- it wasn't from their pockets (see the provision of part of the recent refinancing loans to cover the prior borrowing cost of player acquisitions).
But of course, the Dynamic Duo were at least willing to put a lot of other peoples' money on the line to improve the club, right LGB? Well, not really all that much. Mostly what they did is to trade one set of assets for another:
Disclosed cost of Summer 2007 player transfers IN- £21.5m (Torres) + £26.3m (Babel, Benayoun, etc) = £47.8 million.
Disclosed cost of Summer 2007 player transfers OUT- £19.7 million (Luis Garcia, Cisse, Bellamy, etc)
Net outlay- £28.1 million. In other words, almost the entire cost of the Torres transfer was covered by selling a bunch of other forwards deemed surplus to requirements. (N.B. this is the figure LFC detractors should use when referring to the Summer outlay, NOT the deceptive £47.8 million)
As a comparison, for 2007 Summer transfers United had disclosed NET spending of almost exactly £40 million, NOT including Carlos Tevez (which was undisclosed) ...
If you are grateful for the acquisition of Torres (and I sure am), then you should be praising Benitez for bringing him in, not the Duo, because the owners contributed very little to making it happen, and not much else to strengthening the team.
As for on-field performance, LGB: "Carra's comment says it all. He says, "It is not one particular 'this' or 'that'. It is just that other teams have been playing better than us. We have obviously got to improve both as individuals and as a team."
That right there says that its not the owners but the players. Read it until you understand it."
Of course, LGB is correct in his oft-repeated assertion that morale is NOT an issue for LFC performance ... except when it is, such as when Stevie G lifts the team to a success that did not look expected. Note, LGB, "lifting the team" means improving their confidence and, er, their ... morale ... But of course, morale affects play when Stevie G lifts it, but it is irrelevant to results when it is low from a bunch of problems with the team both on AND off the pitch. Gotcha ...
As for Carra, he does NOT elaborate on WHY "other teams have been playing better than [LFC]" in the extract you quoted- you can read all you want into the article, but the "why" is not there. He mentions the responsibility of "individuals" (presumably meaning players), but nowhere does he say or imply "but not also the owners". Read it until you grasp that point.
And LGB, do you think it is possible that Carra was just publicly trying to rally the troops (and the supporters)- increase morale before a tough match, if you know what I mean (...)- and not analyse the reasons for team performance in depth?
Finally, a couple of questions, LGB:
You said that "Tom Hicks needs to keep his yapper shut." Since according to you what Hicks says has no affe
You said that "Tom Hicks needs to keep his yapper shut." Since according to you what Hicks says has no affect on team performance, why does it matter what he says? Could it be that ... [quiet now] ... it really does matter ...?
Have you found the missing LFC profit that you were ####ing on about for so long?
EDIT: "b.a.n.g.i.n.g is bleeped?!
Last edited by Ursusarctos on February 9th at 11:28 PM.
polar bear: It gives me no pleasure to be siding with the Headhunters. I choose my words carefully in this matter, as you'll soon see why.
I just feel that, when the mood strikes them, Chelski are capable of playing the most physically powerful brand of football in the Prem. Not even the absence of Drogba or Essien changes their attitude. Just watch Lampard or Ballack play hard when they're cranky.
So I'll bet this week they heard plenty about a big chip on Abramovitch's shoulder that only a really punishing defeat of Liverpool will remove. Kinda like what happened after Spurs beat Ar5ena1.
Spurs will likely feel the full effect of this when they meet Chelski at Wembley later this month.
Anyways thanks for the laugh. Its good to know that you take everything so personal.
So its conventional(read:crowd) wisdom that the owners brought in Torres? No thats a fact, not conventional wisdom. It didn't happen on any other owners' watch. I'm sorry you wasted your time dropping numbers but it doesn't matter.
As for being thankful that Benitez brought him in, I am. Fergie has been trying to bring him to England for God knows how long and he even admitted that the reason he was brought to England was because of Benitez being Spanish.
Yes I have still refuted your argument. Doesn't matter how many numbers you drop you still can't deny the fact that the "Dynamic Duo" brought in Torres. You just can't.
Back to Carra's comment he says "teams have been PLAYING better than us..." PLAYING!!! Read it again. He does state the WHY, its inferred. Its the PLAYERS because they do the PLAYING! And from there he says we need to improve as individuals which would also be inferred from his previous comment meaning the players.
You are allowed to read what want into it but it still won't change what Carra actually said.
And now to Tom Hicks...He needs to keep his yapper shut because of the effect it has on players coming in like the fact we lost a U-21 Croatian starlet in the transfer window because he didn't want to come join us. It still doesn't effect the way you kick a ball. Also read what Rick Parry said about hanging our dirty laundry in public.
And finally the lost profits I've been ####ing on about...Again, what? I asked once IF they HAVE to report their full earnings and it was never brought up again. Nice try though!
A great tribute to the Munich Air Disaster -- it was great to see the minute's silence respected. A lot of journos owe City supporters a big apology for suggesting it would be IMPOSSIBLE for them to stay quiet.
What followed by an even better game by City. Sven is now three for three against Fergie, with his Lazio side beating the Treble winners in the 1999 Super Cup. Hamann, Dunne, Richards and Hart were super.
United missed Evra as much as Rooney -- his pace and technique really give United more width going forward and it's no more mystery City's goals both orginated with attacks down United's left flank
As for Chelsea and Liverpool, Peter Crouch needed to do better with one of his many first half chances. Liverpool supporters who defend him are crazy, especially if they think he's better than Yakubu, who might miss flights but doesn't miss those kinds of chances in front of the sticks.
I think it was fat Franks first game since boxing day? Big game tomorrow. An Arsenal win would put Chelsea 8 points off with 12 games to go...
The next 2 weeks will be a roller coaster for Arsenal fans. 2 Prem games that should be wins to keep the pace up, away to Man U in the Fa cup and home to AC Milan. Last year it was a heart breaking month hopefully it will be tears of joy instead this year.
Zip zip and nothing to choose. Two points each for this season's exchanges with the Chavs. Pity we cannot play like that against the lesser mortals.
Flash where was that tank? Must have broken down somewhere. Carragher, Skrtel and Mascherano in front of them, did wonders today. Much better defensively and another clean sheet.
We did not win but we did not disgrace ourselves either. I hope this gives the team confidence for the two games coming up with Barnsley and Inter Milan.
Onto the next game and the next round of the FA cup I hope.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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