A Review Part I: Premiership Achievments As we reach the end of the season and looking forward to the World Cup at Germany, why not take a chance to look back at the memorable 05/06 season before we move on. It has been a fantastic season especially for Liverpool because of the improvement we've made and bringing home not one, but two cups and they'll forever stay in our Anfield trophy room. Finally after years and years of obscurity and under-achieving, we've came to the most important and crucial period of our club history and Rafalution. We need to move on to another level and challenge Chelsea for the Premiership title. Signings WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT this summer and I hope Rafa won't make a mistake Houllier made 5 years ago. Well now let's take a look at what the 'Big 3' has won this season.
Firstly, we have Chelski winning Premiership 2 in a row:
Then we have our very own, Liverpool, going into 3 finals and winning 2, including the European Super Cup:
And the English FA Cup:
so, how did ManYoo fare you're thinking. Well, they got kicked out of the Champions League in the group stage by finishing last in the group that includes the super-powers like Lille, Villarreal and Benfica. But credits to them, at least they won something!
Congratulations on the Mickey Mouse Cup eh! Gary Neville definitely deserve it! Oh sorry, it's the Carling Cup! I forgot!
Rafa: Look at my hand, Fergie, i said 5 TIMES, WE WON IT 5 TIMEEEES, IN ISTANBUL, WE WON IT 5 TIMESSS!! Haha...
Pepe Reina And His Newly-wed Wife, Yolanda:
Looks pretty hot, eh. Good on you Pepe, have fun this summer.. ha ha ha...
Funny & Saddistic Jap Video This video actually reminds me of the days we played the 'number game' in school and in chalets. Each person will have to guess a number and someone will have to think of a number. If you correctly guessed the number, you're in luck! I remembered we had punishment like chewing a leaf for 15secs, drinking down a soup mixed with various stuff during a steam boat. It's fun when you're the spectator but it sucked when you're the one getting punished. Anyway below is a video featuring a few Japanese guys and an American baseball player.
Quite sick, but entertaining though. by the way what are all those people around them doing. They seemed oblivious of what's happening.
Good News Arsenal Fan! Thierry Henry Stays At Arsenal After months and months of tiring speculation about his future, the king of Ashburton Grove has finally spoken and his desire to stay with the North London club. He's at fault actually, for keeping really quiet and keeping everyone else in the dark. It's selfish, but ah well, I've expected that all along. Although the Champions League is not going to London, but he'll still be a proud captain, leading Arsenal out for their first match at the Emirates stadium. He's already a legend at the club and by leaving Arsenal this time will make it less memorable. So by staying for a season or two more, it has already cement his place as the greatest of all Arsenal players. Good on ya Thierry. Just hope that Stevie G don't do too many backpass to you.
Funny Transcripts Between Customers & Operators (MUST READ!)
Customer: "I've been ringing 0700 2300 for two days and can't get through to enquiries, can you help?". Operator: "Where did you get that number from, sir?". Customer: "It was on the door to the Travel Centre". Operator: "Sir, they are our opening hours". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Samsung Electronics Caller: "Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?" Operator: "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about". Caller: "On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?" Operator: "I think you mean the telephone point on the wall". ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- RAC Motoring Services Caller: "Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia?" Operator: " Doesn't the product give you a clue?" ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Caller (enquiring about legal requirements while travelling in France): "If I register my car in France, do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?" ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Directory Enquiries Caller: "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please". Operator: "I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?" Caller: "Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off". ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven. Operator: "Woven? Are you sure?" Caller: "Yes. That's what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland". ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- On another occasion, a man making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box told a worried operator:
"I haven't got a pen, so I'm steaming up the window to write the number on". ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Tech Support: "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop". Customer: "OK". Tech Support: "Did you get a pop-up menu?". Customer: "No". Tech Support: "OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?" Customer: "No". Tech Support: "OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?". Customer: "Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'". ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Tech Support: "OK. In the bottom left hand side of the screen, can you see the 'OK' button displayed?" Customer: "Wow. How can you see my screen from there?" ------------------------------------------------------------ --------- Caller: "I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?".
A Brain Teaser, And A Birthday Wish... Got an email from Cecelia and it's up to her usual self la, sending rubbish mails..just kidding! So..what do you do if you're in the guy's shoes?
Stay Tune.....
Here you go.....
Haha! Quite funny actually. I was thinking of all logical way of how to escape and when I say the solution, maybe we think too much sometimes. Life is THAT easy, we humans complicate it. Anyway I shall take this chance to wish Cecelia Tan a BLESSED BIRTHDAY AND SWEET 19! Well i really miss those days when we had our mini cell group weekly and share lots of stuff and still nice to see you growing strong in Christ! Shall meet up one day again and have a chat! If you haven't wish her, please do so. Or she'll haunt you.....
Liverpool To Be Blamed For Arsenal's Loss Okay not really, and NO we're not gonna have a replay of the Champions League Finals match. Barcelona's Cameroonian hit-man, Samuel Eto'o says his team drew their inspiration from Liverpool's superb fightback in last season's Champions League Finals. Liverpool as well all know, were 3-0 down at half time before they rosed from the dead to level the score to 3-3 and beat Milan on penalties finally. So Arsenal, blame Liverpool, not the weather, the referee and th lasagne has nothing to do with it.
Official OPTA Stats Shows.... I'm not at all surprised by the stats that has been released by the official statistic for the Premiership, that Liverpool had a fantastic season of 05/06. Below are a few points to take note:
- Liverpool battled with Manchester United throughout the season for that valuable second place in the table, however, despite eventually having to settle for third spot, The Reds' haul of 82 points is their best-ever points total in The Premiership and a massive improvement of 24 points on least season's total.
- The first five games of the campaign saw Liverpool experience just one victory and interestingly it is this period of the season where The Reds may well have lost the chance to win the title, as if the season had begun in October, then Liverpool, not Chelsea would have finished the campaign as Premiership champions.
- While Liverpool kept four clean sheets in those opening fives games, a defensive parsimony that was to serve them well in the season, their failure to find the net in three of their first four league games gave some cause for concern. The arrival of beanpole striker Peter Crouch from Southampton initially failed to ignite a misfiring forward line. However, by the time the lanky striker had bagged his first top tier goals for the Reds, in early December, Liverpool had started to find the net on a more regular basis.
- Indeed, by the end of the season, the Merseysiders had bagged 57 goals, the fourth-highest tally in the division. While their overall haul of 229 shots attempted topped the season rankings.
- At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool were in outstanding form all season, keeping a Premiership club record 22 clean sheets, including a magnificent run of nine home leagues games in a row without conceding.
- Central to that run was the form of new goalkeeper Jose Reina who needed no time to adjust to The Premiership. The Spanish shot-stopper ended the season with 20 clean sheets to his name, a divisional-high while also posting the best saves to shots ratio of any regular 'keeper (76.4 percent). Overall the Anfield side shipped a total of just 25 league goals in the campaign, the second-lowest figure, after champions Chelsea.
- Throughout the campaign, Benitez was also quick to look to his bench for inspiration, bringing on subs 107 times in The Premiership, a figure only topped by Jose Mourinho. However, the Spaniard's tinkering was rewarded with 10 goals by substitutes, the second-highest tally in the division and three more than gained by his fellow Iberian.
So it's a fantastic season for the Reds. Finished with the European Super Cup, the FA Cup and a HUGE improvement in terms of our form and performance in the Premiership. I'm so looking forward to next season!
I wrote a less formal one yesterday, on the thoughts of the game, at 5am! So was pretty tired then and my brain juice are running dry. Anyway we, the neutrals wake up expecting to watch a game that is free-flowing and attacking football. The 2 teams are reknown for their being attacking minded with flair players like Ronaldinho, Henry, Deco and Pires. But a fine footballing spectacle was spoiled by some controversial decisions by the Norweigian referee and this Finals might go down as one that is over-hyped, and forgettable in the end.
Starting Tactic: From the start, by looking at the squad list of Barca, you could say that Barca played into the hands of Arsenal by playing van Bommel instead of Iniesta. Van Bommel, more defensive minded, started ahead of an attacking playmaker, tells you that they're worried about Arsenal and therefore chose a more conservative approach to the game. Oleguer starting ahead of Belletti stumped me as well. Barcelona tried to cause confusion to the Arsenal defence by swapping Ronaldinho's position with Eto'o's, which means Ronaldinho found himself a centre-forward while Eto'o is being dragged to the left. This doesn't cause Arsenal problem, but it confuses their own players instead. To sum it up, their attack are in a mess in the first half. First Half: Arsenal, being the underdogs, started brightly and should have been ahead through Theirry Henry. He nipped infront of Rafael Marquez and took a shot from a Hleb's cross. It was well saved from Valdes though. Then he worked Valdes again, this time round from outside the box. It seemed like Arsenal are fired up and Barcelona showing a little less hunger than them. Soon, Barca settled down and starts to take control of the game, but Arsenal never lose grip and still seemed pretty comfortable. The turning point of the game came in the 18th minute when Ronaldinho sent a through ball and Eto'o racing towards the ball before Lehmann came off his line and brought down the little Cameroonian. Below is the video of what happened.
Obviously tripped. The ball then bobbled to an unmarked Giuly on the right, who makes no mistake in slotting the ball into an empty net. But no, wait. The referee pulled out a red card and sent Lehmann off, the first ever player to be sent off in a Champions League Finals. Could the ref have done something else? I'll leave it to the expert of the law to judge it as I'm not really sure about it. Anyway down to 10 men, Arsenal had to take off Robert Pires, who is playing his last game in the Arsenal shirt, and replace him with a keeper, this time Manuel Almunia. We know what is to come. Arsenal, down to 10 men, were pegged back at their own half for most of the time before a quick break down the right by Emmanuel Eboue changed the score of the game. He took the ball past Puyol, but sad to say, he dived for the free-kick. Referee had no choice but to give a freekick just outside the box.
Seeing Henry on the ball before the free-kick and Sol Campbell in the penalty box, I've just got this bad feeling for Barca. My mind tells Barca defenders "watch campbell! watch him!". But the inevitble happens. He made an excellent run into the box before rising up and thumping the ball into the top right corner of Valdes' goal. 1-0 Arsenal. 1-0 to the 10men team. Reminds you of something? Liverpool 3-1 Everton, when Gerrard was sent off and we went 1-0 up. Seemed like a good omen to Arsenal! More so when Eto'o did a 180 deg infront of Sol Campbell leaving him helpless before hitting a shot that was saved and back off the Arsenal post. Arsenal survived and they went into the half time break with a goal in hand.
Second Half: Barcelona brought on Andrés Iniesta for Edmilson, who's clearly struggling. It was an inspired move by Frank Rijkard frankly. But he should have started him, that's my thought. He's a technically gifted player with a very white face, he moves the ball around gracefully like most Spanish playmakers do and has an eye for a killer-ball. As usual, Arsenal were pinned back to their own half for most of the 2nd half. They made Barcelona's life difficult by putting loads of men behind ball (that's the only thing they can do actually) and Toure as commanding as ever, put up an excellent display. Ronaldinho, whom everyone said before the match that he would turn on style and perform failed to break down the Arsenal defence and was very frustrated as you could see from his face. Henry faired no better as he squandered another 1 on 1 chance with Valdes and shouldhave done better with it and also the one he missed in the opening period of the game. And then another turning point of the game came, when Riijkard decided to throw on Henrik Larsson, a goalscoring machine in Scotland, and a Swedish legend. Little did Riijkard know what he did would change the face of the game.
The weather was all fine until around the 70th minute. It started to pour. Was it a sign I asked myself. Looking back, maybe it is. Iniésta threaded a ball to Larsson, who used him vast experience, flicked the ball onto a on-rushing Eto'o before the Cameroonian hitman stopped the ball before slotting it calmly past Almunia's near post. GAME ON!
Barca then brought on another Brazillian, Juliano Belletti to replace a lacklustre Oleguer, who doesn't know how to cross the ball properly the entire game and was piss poor when defending. The rain never stop. It got heavier and that's when Barcelona finally struck and took the last breath out of Arsenal, who have been hanging on for the last 60minutes or so. Henrik Larsson, yes, the substitue again was the provider of the 2nd Barcelona goal. He got the ball at the edge of the area before sending a defence splitting pass into Belletti's path, while Ashley Cole looked on in despair. Belletti then hit a shot at the direction of the goal before it went in between Almunia's leg and into the Arsenal's net. The 2nd only goal conceded in 10 games. A proud record broken, by perhaps the finest team in Europe currently. Barca then hung on the lead by playing the ball around while Arsenal couldn't do much as they're 10 men down and haven't got much option up front. So the European reign of Liverpool has ended and a new era has begun, the era of the Catalonians, the empire of Barcelona, who has just won the Spanish Primera Liga, did the double and crowned the 50th European Champion. Final Thoughts: To all Arsenal fans, don't be too disappointed. You guys defended really well and showed grittiness. You could see the hunger in some of the players, but you guys were just being beaten by one of the best sides in Europe currently. Sometimes it's not the end product that matters, but the journey. You guys came a long way, from a rubbish European team that constantly get kicked out in the quater-finals and semis into a conqueror of Europe(almost) this season, a big well done.
Highlights:
Congratulations to FC Barcelona on winning the prestigous European Cup, or the UEFA Champions League for the 2nd time.
FC Barcelona 2 - 1 Arsenal FC (Eto'o, Belletti) ; (Campbell)
And this is Drogballs 'reporting' in at 5.10am! Just finished watching the finals and all I'm gonna say is tough luck Gunners. Although Barcelona DO deserved to win it, but the turning point of the game was when Lehmann was sent off. Why ref?? Come on, it's a final and we know we want to watch a final, not a one-sided kick-a-bout tournament. Why not just let Giuly's goal stand and carry on with the game? This incident actually brings back the incident that happened at Anfield where Liverpool met Chelsea during the Semi-finals. Baros was through on goal before Cech brought him down. Luis Garcia was on hand to slot the ball...almost..into the goal. So the referee let the run plays on. 1-0 Liverpool and never sent off Cech.
Why didn't he handle it this way? If he didn't sent Lehmann off, I would think that the game will turn into a hyper fast paced game where 2 sides attack at high tempo instead of the team in yellow hiding behind their shell due to their shortage in numbers. It could have been so open and a footballing spectacle for all the neutrals like me. But it ended really sluggishly and taken away all the excitment to the game. Thanks ref.
Anyway Congratulations to Barcelona. You managed to break down a stubborn Arsenal defence even when Ronaldinho was not at his peak of his form, or rather off-form. Made mistakes with the startng 11, but the substitutions made wonders. The way the football moves under some of the players feet is a joy to watch, a sight to behold. You're the worth winners of the 50th UEFA Champions League.
Stevie G: I Hope Gunners Win Steven Gerrard is hoping Thierry Henry can follow in his footsteps and lift the Champions League trophy for his club tonight. Henry will captain Arsenal against Barcelona in Paris as both sides compete to land the title won so gloriously by Liverpool just twelve months ago.
Gerrard has revealed Henry offered constant support for the Reds during their road to Istanbul and he's now keen to see the brilliant Frenchman enjoy the taste of Champions League glory himself.
"Once Arsenal were eliminated, he wanted Liverpool to win it," Gerrard said. "He was texting, making phone calls before and after games, wishing us good luck and congratulating us when we won.
"I remember having a text message from him after the final and he was really pleased for us.
"It is vice-versa now, I have been texting and phoning, wishing him well.
Drogballs: Well in, Stevie. It's nice to see that sometimes players put aside club rivalries and wished each other luck. Although it will not be Gerrard that's holding the cup tonight, there will always be one winner, and the winner tonight will be football. (hope and pray there wont be some bugger that gets sent off and a mass brawl during the match or my blog is gonna close down soon :x)
And The Winner Smicer Offers Some Advice. Are You Looking, Arsene? He scored the 2nd of the 3 goals that brought Liverpool back to life. He might not have achieve alot during his stay at Liverpool, but that goal from outside the box and his penalty is enough to erase all memories of him under-performing. Its Vladimir Smicer that offers Arse some advice. CLICK HERE, ARSENE!
Newcastle Fans, Start Praying.... Nope, not that Newcastle is really signing van Nistelrooy. But I stumbled across an interesting fact on their newly appointed manager, Glenn Roeder. Start praying you geordie faithful...
Glenn Roeder took charge of Watford and finished 7th. Next year they got relegated. Glenn Roeder took charge of West Ham and finished 7th. Next year they got relegated.
Where did Newcastle finish under Roeder this season? You guessed it... 7th...
World Cup Preview: Sweden Alright time to get serious. No more joking about havin a squad of "-sons". Sweden will join England, Trinidad & Tobago and Paraguay in Group B. As some of us will know, Sweden is a jinx to England. IF I'm not wrong, England haven't beaten them for quite awhile. So beware, the Scandinavians are not as COOL as they seemed to be!
Sweden
Keepers: Andreas Isaksson (Stade Rennes), John Alvbage (Viborg), Rami Shaaban (Fredrikstad);
Defenders: Erik Edman (Stade Rennes), Petter Hansson (Heerenveen), Teddy Lucic (BK Hacken), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Karl Svensson (IFK Gothenburg), Mikael Nilsson (Panathinaikos);
Midfielders: Fredrik Stenman (Bayer Leverkusen), Daniel Andersson (Malmo), Niclas Alexandersson (IFK Gothenburg), Kim Kallstrom (Stade Rennes), Tobias Linderoth (FC Copenhagen), Christian Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht), Anders Svensson (Elfsborg), Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal);
Strikers: Marcus Allback (FC Copenhagen), Johan Elmander (Brondby), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus), Mattias Jonson (Djurgarden), Henrik Larsson (Barcelona), Markus Rosenberg (Ajax Amsterdam).
Facts: * Aston Villa captain Olof Mellberg will skipper the Swedish side. * Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson are set to spearhead the attack.
Man to Watch: Henrik Larsson. Has always been performing consistently and a class finisher. Watch Ibrahimovic, Elmander, Ljungberg and Kallstrom (CM legend!).
Youth To Watch: Markus Rosenberg. Had a pretty good season at Ajax and good physically.
Alternative World Cup Squad! Alright I stumbled across a satirical website made for World Cup by presumably an English football fan. What he did was he replaced players from the national teams with names that are related to the country and some are stereotypical (something like what I've did with the Sweden squad yesterday). Interesting ones are the Argentina squad where all the players are on the ground and it means they are divers and the entire Ivory Coast have their names replaced with N'something and N'something..becuase a lot of their players have 'N'' infront of their names like N'Diaye etc.
for the good of all man-kind, i'll post the funniest one. The Koreans!
GK: Pak It In LB: Suk Mi Cok (self-explanitary...M18.) RB: Too Lef Feet CB: Yoo Wan Sum, Fuk Yoo Too (!!) LW: Mek It Up RW: Mee Luf Dog (me love dog) CM: Fal Wen Takl (fall when tackle?), Cry Wen Foul FW: Wai No Gol, Sing Wen Win (why no goal, sing when win)
I cannot stop laughing after reading it. So go on and have a laugh!
Champions League Finals Preview
UEFA Champions League '06 Finals Arsenal vs FC Barcelona Stade de France, Paris Wednesday 17th May, 20:45pm
Latest team news has filtered through that Jose Antonio Reyes will NOT start against Barcelona. Instead, Pires will be played in the centre of midfield along with Gilberto Silva and Cesc Fabregas. Hleb will be on the right and Ljungberg on the left. A 4-5-1 formation is expected from Arsenal and a 4-3-3 from Barcelona. Sol Campbell will retain his position in the centre of defence along with Kolo Toure while Ashley Cole will start in the left-back ahead of Matthieu Flamini and Gael Clichy.
1) Man mark Ronaldinho. Man-marking him will mean 1 less player from your team. He'll get sucked all over the place by Ronnie and leaving gaps for people like Deco and Giuly to exploit. 2) Sit too deep / defensive line too forward. If the Arsenal defence lacked discipline and allow any of this to happen, then good game to you. If you sit too deep, they'll surround you like vultures and supply lines will be cut, leaving Henry on himself upfront. Push it too forward might leave heaps of gap behind your defence where Eto'o can use his speed to exploit, especially Saint Denis is a huge stadium. 3) Tries to play their beautiful game. Win it not by style and substance, but please, do it efficiently and then defend like you guys did against Real Madrid and Villarreal. 1 goal migt not be enough though.
World Cup Preview Actually the next team in line is Costa Rica. But do you think I know anything about them? Or do you really care? So I will shift my attention to everyone's favourite. England from Group B.
England:
Keepers: Robinson (Tottenham), James (Manchester City), Green (Norwich);
Defenders: G Neville (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Terry (Chelsea), Cole (Arsenal), Campbell (Arsenal), Carragher (Liverpool), Bridge (Chelsea);
Extras: * Young Theo Walcott of Arsenal has never started a top-flight game. * Jermaine Jenas and Owen Hargreaves are the worst player to attend this, or any, World Cup.
Man to Watch: Unlikely to be fit, but Rooney is my pick, along with Captain Marvel Steven Gerrard and John Terry.
Youth to Watch: Aaron Lennon and maybe Theo Walcott?
Prediction: Semi Finals...they seemed to be quite over-rated. But if they can play well together, its hard for teams to stop them.
The WTF Moment It happened in a Polish petrol station. A man doing what he is doing in the petrol station...then....
1 CRonaldo vs Entire ManYoo In PES Thank you vandti for the really odd video. Someone that has nothing better to do used CRonaldo and dribbled past all his ManYoo players and then went on to score a goal. Tricks and flicks all over the place.
Jamie Carragher: A Man For All Seasons He might have failed to help Liverpool defend its European crown and scored an own-goal on Saturday, but the vice captain of Liverpool is immense. As a local Scouser, he was being played at various positions, right-back, left-back and even as a holding midfielder, but under Rafa, he prospered and thrived when Rafa decided his best position is centre-back. Together with the big Finn Hyypia, they formed a wall of stone and under his commanding presence, we only conceded 25 goals in the league this season, just 3 more than moneybags Chelski. An ever-present, passionate and consistant performer. Let's give credits to where it is due:
And Also... Watch The Crouchinho & Carragher's Interview: Their Views On Their Team-mates
Your World Cup '06 Guide: As of today, I'll start the coverage of the upcoming World Cup @ Germany. I'll post the squad list and some random facts about the nation. We'll start off with Group A and the first national team in Group A would of course be Germany, host nation of thw WC '06.
Group A: Germany Goalkeepers:Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich), Timo Hildebrand (Stuttgart);
Defenders: Robert Huth (Chelsea), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Marcell Jansen (Borussia Monchengladbach), Per Mertesacker (Hannover), Christoph Metzelder (Borussia Dortmund), Jens Nowotny (Bayer Leverkusen), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich);
Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Thorsten Frings (Werder Bremen), Tim Borowski (Werder Bremen), Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Sebastian Kehl (Borussia Dortmund);
Strikers: Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Gerald Asamoah (Schalke), Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), Mike Hanke (Wolfsburg), Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach), David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund).
Random Facts: * Uncapped Borussia Dortmund striker David Odonkor is included by Klinsmann. * Chelsea's Michael Ballack will captain the side, while Jens Lehmann will start in goal
Man To Watch: Ballack, Klose(remember him?), Odonkor; Youth To Watch: Lukas Podolski. Watch him, he'll come good, trust me.
Drogballs: Certainly fired up for the World Cup because of all the expectations. As a host country, the Germans would surely want to win it on thie home soil. But a look at their defence will make you go.."they can't make it, can they?" Most of them are inexperience and Robert Huth? How many games did he play for Chelsea? Their midfield isn't much better either. Amongst the names, only Ballack and Schweinsteiger stands out. And as I have mentioned, watch Lukas Podolski. He'll be one of the best strikers in Europe soon.
Prediction: Quater-finals. With the home support they'll be tough to beat. But too inexperience to reclaim the crown from Brazil.
I've been slacking around and waiting for the England World Cup squad to be named but apparently Sven is not as quick as a squirrel therefore I might only update you tomorrow. Anyway loads of rumours and gossips around. So i'll start off with...
Ballack At Chelsea For Sporting Reasons? Michael Ballack has completed his move to Chelski on a free transfer. The German midfielder, who has signed a three-year deal, has come for 'sporting reasons', apparently, not the reported 130,000 pounds-a-week(390,000 SGD).
Drogballs: Ya right. Sporting reasons! Only the first day at Chelski and already spilling bollocks like Moan-inho does for the whole 2 years. Can't wait for more of him!
Spanish World Cup 23 Named: Morientes, Baraja Out
The Spain squad for the 2006 World Cup is:
Keeper: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Santiago Canizares (Valencia),Jose Reina (Liverpool);
Defenders: Michel Salgado, Sergio Ramos (both Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Pablo Ibanez (Atletico Madrid), Juanito (Real Betis), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Antonio Lopez (Atletico Madrid), Asier del Horno (Chelsea);
Midfielders: David Albelda (Valencia), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Joaquin (Real Betis), Luis Garcia (Liverpool);
Strikers: Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid), Raul (Real Madrid), David Villa (Valencia).
Benayoun In, Garcia Out?? According to the Dail Mail of England, Yossi Benayoun is apparently targetted by Rafa after putting up an excellent display at the FA Cup Finals last Saturday. A fee of around 6 million is expected and he would be an ideal player on the empty right-wing spot in Liverpool.
On the other hand, Luis Garcia, the scorer of important goals MIGHT be on his way back to Spain after his wife complained that she is not adapting to the life in Merseyside well. This could be the chance for Rafa to do swap deals with some Spanish teams like Valencia and Athletico Madrid, for Aimar, Villa or even Fernando Torres.
Drogballs: Benayoun would be a good signing in my opinion. He's composed and really athletic as you could see in the Cup Final. I think he was the only player that is running during the extra time and he is a pain in the arse for 'Pool throughout the game. But would he leave the Hammers after 1 season? I have my doubt.
Luis Garcia, he drinks Sangria..If the rumours are true and he's really on his way, I'll be gutted. He had 2 fine seasons in the Red shirt and have put up many outstanding performances like the one against Chelsea and Arsenal. He might be one of the most irritating and frustrating player, but when he turns on style, he's a magical player. We'll wait and see...
F365's Move Of The Week: Steven Gerrard's 40-yards Piledriver:
Drogballs: Do i still need to describe it for you? One of the best goals scored. EVER.
Random Stuff: Cock-up By The BBC (It's Non-Football Related And Extremely Funny)
Apparently what happened was there was supposed to be an IT-Specialist on the show. But the cabbie who was sent to fetch the IT-specialist turned up at the studios instead! Strangely he finished the interview and EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO!
Sack the Spanish boss I say! Always make Liverpool fan like us suffer heart attack during Finals! And.........
He dropped the prestigious FA Cup!! HOW COULD HE!!
Nah, just kidding lads. We love Rafa and no matter what, he'll always be a legend in our eyes. (Just don't screw up the summer signings like Ged did).
Pictures Galore #2:
Yup, That's Little Luis in his suit. Why didn't he suck his thumb?
Victory Parade in Liverpool City:
Around 200,000 people crowded the streets of Liverpool as the FA Cup returned to town with the trophy and paraded it on top of their open-top bus. The home-coming parade is of course, not as huge as the one they held last year after they won the Champions League, which the turn out was estimated to be around 800,000 to almost a million.
These are for people who missed the most exciting FA Cup Finals and also those who want to experience it once again. 2nd chance?
Gerrard's 1st Equaliser:
Reina's Save From Reo-Coker's Header In Extra-Time:
The Penalty Shootout:
Herr Ballack Confirms Move To Chelski On A Free
Chelsea are set to complete the free transfer of Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Michael Ballack this weekend and will hold a news conference with the player on Monday. Ballack, a superb all-round midfielder, played his final match with German champions Bayern on Saturday and was jeered by the team's fans.
Drogballs: So the Premiership is getting more 'exciting' eh? Good talented players continue to flood to the Stamford Oil Rig to be breast-feeded by the Russian billionaire. Ballack you money faced merceneries. Hope you rot in Stamford Oil Rig together with Robert Huth!
.So, this match report are for people like JANICE who missed the game and asked me to update them through my blog. But of course I wouldn't mind doing it since this is really worth it, because it is a day not to be forgotten. This is one of the best, if not the BEST FA Cup Finals EVER in the 125 years of FA Cup history. This will go down into the history books as the most entertaining Finals ever in a football game and will always be remembered by every single footie fan.
West Ham U: Hislop, Konchesky, Gabbidon, A.Ferdinand, Scaloni, Etherington, C.Fletcher, Reo-Coker, Benayoun, Harewood, Ashton;
20min: WEST HAM GOAL (0-1) - Jamie Carragher (Own Goal) An uncharacteristic mis-placed pass from Alonso gifted the ball to Benayoun whom run head on into the Liverpool defence, before giving the ball to Ashton and he threads the ball through to the galloping Scaloni. His run confuses the Liverpool defence and sent a cross into the box. Carragher tried to flick the ball off his right boot but fumbled and push the ball into the net instead.
26min: WEST HAM GOAL (0-2) - Dean Ashton Matthew Etherington ran rings round Sami Hyypia before turning him and hit a hopeful left-footed shot that went through Jamie Carragher and Finnan's legs. Jose Reina seemed to have saved it, but instead spilled the ball onto the path of the on -rushing Dean Ashton, who toe-pokes it into an empty net.
30min:LIVERPOOL GOAL WRONGLY RULED OFFSIDE (0-2) - Peter Crouch Steven Gerrard's quick free-kick found Peter Crouch on the left hand side of the box. He cooly volleyed the ball past Hislop, but was disallowed due to offside. Later replays shows he was onside.
31min:LIVERPOOL GOAL (1-2) - Djibril Cisse Again, Steven Gerrard's 30-yard long pass found Cisse right at the spot where Crouch 'scored'. With his lightning speed, ran past Scaloni before slotting the ball past Hislop with a half scissors kick. GAME ON!
45min:Half Time - Liverpool 1-2West Ham
52min:LIVERPOOL GOAL (2-2) - Steven Gerrard Captain Marvel strikes and now we're leveled at 2-2! Alonso's ball into the box was nodded down onto the path of the on-rushing Steven Gerrard inside the box before unleashing and unstoppable volley into the top left corner of the net. Hislop, no chance. (Pictured above).
63min:WEST HAM GOAL (2-3) - Paul Konchesky A very lucky goal. Konchesky on the left, tried to float a ball into the back post for Marlon Harewood, who was waiting to pounce, but it went into the top corner of the net instead. Reina was caught cold. Time is running out for Liverpool!
90min:LIVERPOOL GOAL (3-3) - Steven Gerrard All hopes seemed lost until the skipper onced again rescued Liverpool single-handedly. He recieved a knockdownfrom within the box before unleashing an unstoppable shot from 30 yards out past a helpless Hislop. Unbelievable stuff! He's supposed to be down with a cramp!
117min:WEST HAM HITS POST - REO-COKER Zamora was fouled on the left wing and free-kick was taken by Benayoun. He floated an inch perfectfree kick into the box and Reo-Coker headed the ball towards the top corner. It looks certain that the ball is ending up in the net, but miraculously Reina pushed the ball against the post! The rebound got to Harewood's knee but he was unable to get any sort of direction in his shot.
PICTURES GALORE! I think the Liverpool players did all the cupboard with their faces on it. Looked damn funky!
HAHAHA.
Celebrations Video:
Somethings worth noting: -Cisse danced around the cup like he did in the CL Finals. -After Gerrard lifted the cup, the lid of the cup fell off! It was picked up by Traore! -Garcia was left with the bottom part of the cup and watch his reaction!
And...The Final Montage...Summary...:
This wraps up the aftermath of the match and a truly fantastic day and one that wll never be forgotten. Thank you Rafa, the Liverpool players, THE WEST HAM PLAYERS AND ALL THE FANS IN THE STADIUM. YNWA.
Founded on the 25th March 2006, this blog is not only for the Liverpool fans, but for anyone who loves football. Latest stories, banters, personal thoughts, up to date match reports, videos, pictures and a whole lot more!
If you have any stories to share or wishes to contact me, please mail to:skyjames87@gmail.com
Posts
