Goals Video!

English Premiership

Newcastle 0 - 3 LIVERPOOL

Scorers:
LIV - Gerrard, Kuyt, Babel

1-0 Gerrard:

Vnewc_1_gerrard
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2-0: Kuyt

Vnewc_2_kuyt
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3-0: Babel

Vnewc_3_babel
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Why & Where Did England Fail

Before you turn away from this page following the rather generic title up there (yea, I mean above this), I would encourage you to read on because it isn't generic and won't be the same old shite you read on The Sun or The Daily Mail.

England failed to qualify. I think the dust have yet to settle and it's still quite a choas over at Blighty. A mention of Wayne Bridge or Steve McClaren might incur an almighty wrath of any male on the street.

So I'll cheer you up by joining you at laughing at the lot of them.

McClaren failed. He was sacked.

Brian Barwick failed. He appointed that failure.

Steven Gerrard and John Terry failed. They didn't lead the team by example.

Wayne Bridge actually didn't do too badly in being rubbish.....

The Wembley pitch was utter disgrace. Like a woman spending thousands of dollars on plastic surgery (fake boobs, etc) yet with a face of Marilyn Manson. To quote Silvan Bilic, it's the 'most expensive plowed field he's ever seen.

But the following is the funniest yet:

'The British singer who sang the Croatian anthem before last night's match accidentally sang 'My penis is a mountain'.

Tony Henry was trying to sing the national anthem in Croatian, but reportedly got the words wrong...The line in which Henry slipped up should have been "mila kuda si planina" (You know my dear how we love your mountains). But what he actually sang was "mila kura si planina" which means "Dear Penis, you are a Mountain" or "My Dear, my penis is a mountain".' - Ananova

Even the opera singer was rubbish..... Oh dear...

*Latest - McClaren Axed

The English FA have decided to sack Steve McClaren after an abysmal Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Decision was made after an emergency meeting between the FA executives and it is reported that McClaren will get a massive payout of 2.5million GBP.

Despite his insistence on staying on the job, the FA clearly have no more patience as they saw the Euro qualifiers turned out to be a national catastrophe. McClaren is now officially the shortest serving manager of the English national team.


Insights: How the meeting went

Barwick: Morning lads, so are we sacking that grinning ginge?
The Rest: Yes, boss.
Barwick: Alright, meeting over.


Right from the start, I've never believed that McClaren is the one to take England to the next level. I mentioned that it's no point killing the weed without exterminating the root. They sacked Sven but kept his assistant (which is him) on and appointed him the head coach.

Hindsight is always a blessing and we can all talk about his shortcomings and mistakes he made. Ultimately he'll go down into England's annals of shame, the one who saw their fall from grace.

No England At Euro 2008

Despite Israel's Help, McClaren's Men Stumbled At Crucial Time

Euro 2008 Qualifier

England 2 - 3 Croatia

Scorers:
ENG - Lampard (pen 51), Crouch (65);
CRO - Krancjar (8), Olic (14), Petric (77);

With an imminent death sentence delayed, glimmers of hope filled the hearts of the Englishmen after seeing Russia haphazardly lost to Israel on Saturday. The supposed inevitable was avoided in much of a fortunate manner seemingly...

But England's chance of qualifying for next summer's European Championship was finally guillotined in front of their home fans after an abject 3-2 lost to Croatia, who will be heading over to Austria/Switzerland as the group leader.

The cold winter rain fell on the muddled heads of the English players as a packed Wembley watched in horror. Chanting like a mantra prior to the match, players came out to say that they'll go on for the kill and secure qualification.

But with a 4-5-1 formation set out, who truly believes they're not playing for a draw?

The disastrous 2-0 defeat in Croatia months ago still seemed to be a spectre, haunting the English players and just as Paul Robinson comically 'air-kicked' a Gary Neville backpass, Scott Carson continued the tradition of England's 'goalkeeping-killing act'.

With the freezing rain all over the sticky Wembley pitch, it adds an extra tilt to the game. For a 22 year old Carson, what a night to make his competitive debut for England. It took Croatia only 8 minutes to found him out sadly.

Confidence bruised and broken, his back line didn't do him any good either. Minutes later, a two-men breakaway was enough to find the chink in England's defence. Arsenal's Eduardo drew the entire defence to him before making a defence splitting pass for the magnificent Ivica Olic to round Carson and send shock wave across the nation.

Hopes seemed lost and difficult words must have been exchanged in dressing room during half time. 'Nothing to lose now' was on McClaren's mind when he sent on Defoe and Beckham on for a disappointing Shaun Wright-Phillips and the out-of-place Gareth Barry.

It surely was a gamble. But it has been a gamble all along.

England did find their way back early in the second half through a magnanimous penalty after substitute Jermaine Defoe was adjudged to have his shirt pulled inside the area. Up step Frank Lampard and the Chelsea man made no mistake.

Beckham then proved his point when he assisted Peter Crouch in scoring the all important equaliser, just enough to send England through to the finals. Crouch controlled the ball with his chest brilliantly before slotting it past Stipe Pletikosa.

He turned out to be one of the few players whom escaped with any sort of credits and he deserved the goal to be fair.

But England's fate was penultimately sealed late in the game when substitute Petric hit a fearsome shot with his left and it whizzed past the diving Scott Carson. Croatia's never-say-die attitude epitomised.

They gave so much when so little mattered. Probably riled after the moronic England fans jeered their national anthem, the Croatians brought the English nation to the ground, in shame. Past glory was all that it is and now the bare truth is staring right in the face of McClaren, his players and the FA.

The cleverness and deft movement of the Croatian outsmarted the English, who are all about blood and thunder. Traditionally a team that plays at break-neck speed, England players doesn't possess the required technical abilities and brains to execute it.

All we saw was the old route one football of Wimbledon back in the early 90s. Aimless 40 yard balls or lumping balls towards Peter Crouch. There was no flair and there was no guile. Blood and thunder couldn't get them any further.

Failure to qualify this time could also be a good news to many England fans as now it is a possibility that the English FA will have a long hard look on the organisation structure and address the obvious flaws that had been on cover since God-knows when.

McClaren might have his brolly to shield the rain from him but it wouldn't be able to withstand the flak he's going to get from the English media and public. It might not be his fault totally but much responsibility must be shouldered by the grinning one.

Expect him to be sacked in an hours time.

England Player Ratings:

Carson (4/10) - You thought Robinson was bad....Like a rabbit caught in the headlight

Bridge (2) - Shambolic. One of the worst performance I've EVER seen
Lescott (4) - Was all over the place yet not found when needed
Campbell (5) - Didn't marshal his defence well at all
Richards (4) - All running but with no effect. Poor positioning sense

Cole (4) - Plenty of trickery as usual but no guile and no thrust. 'Owned' by Corluka
Gerrard (4) - Hollywood balls and all, the captain did nothing inspiring...Poor
Lampard (5) - Didn't notice him until stepping up for the penalty. Credit for not bottling it
Barry (3) - Fish out of the water. Found out. Passing was abysmal and fail to offer protection to defence.
Wright-Phillips (4) - Running head-on like a headless chicken. Poor delivery and finishing.

Crouch (7) - Only player to walk off Wembley with head held high. Scored a good goal and worked extremely hard. And to think he was boo-ed by the England supporters a year ago...

Subs:
Beckham (7) - With him on, there is no lack of energy and commitment.
Defoe (5) - Didn't threaten the Croatian defence other than the penalty incident
Bent (5) - Should have taken the half chance

Ronaldo's Back....

Seriously, Diego. Is that you?


By the way, Zidane was involved in the match as well.
At least he still looks like a proper footballer!

Memoirs Of A Liverpool Fan

Came across this article and it's really worth a read, though a little lengthy.

50 Hell’s angels, February 26, 2002
There was plenty of apprehension for any British fans going to Istanbul in the early years of this decade. After all, two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death in 2000 before playing Galatasaray and the locals’ ‘Welcome to Hell’ banners had sent shivers down Manchester United spines. However, Liverpool’s visit to Gala in the second Champions League group was different. The visiting fans’ approach was summed up with a banner; “Welcome to hell my arse. If you think this is hell, try the Grafton on a Friday night.”

The Grafton is a nightclub, famous for ‘grab-a-granny’ nights, where innocent young scallies find themselves at the mercy of predatory Liverpool divorcees. But the attitude was perfect: no fear, no aggressive confrontation and a slice of humour. It sums up the best attributes of the modern Liverpool fan. And, since then, every time the Reds have played in Istanbul, the local supporters have joined their party. And this is the essence of this list. The culture of football is about more than players and managers – in ten years, most of them will have moved on. It exists and grows through the supporters as much as the team.


24 Liverpool 1 Real Madrid 0, European Cup final, May 27, 1981, Paris
To really play with the big boys, you need at least three European Cups. After all, small clubs can win two – Nottingham Forest, FC Porto, Manchester United. This was the hat-trick in the Parc des Princes, against one of those big boys. Alan Kennedy completed the job with a late goal at a time when no team in Europe relished playing Liverpool.

3 Half-time, Liverpool v AC Milan, European Cup final, Istanbul, May 25, 2005
“That’s it. Game over,” Andy Gray said, unable to keep the tone of satisfaction out of his voice. Of course, no one in the Ataturk could hear the television commentary but, at 3-0 down as the break loomed, Liverpool looked beaten. Then, with the players trooped down the tunnel, someone started singing You’ll Never Walk Alone. It started hesitantly, with an undertone of anger, but suddenly turned into the ultimate assertion of culture and belief. When it finished, the tension had lifted and the 40,000 Liverpool fans were no longer broken and defeated, even if the team was. Did this act of faith inspire the subsequent comeback from the team? If it didn’t, they don’t have a shred of soul between them.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article2778185.ece

Star Men Earned Reds Victory

English Premiership

LIVERPOOL 2 - 0 Fulham

Scorers:
LIV - Torres (81min), Gerrard (pen 85min);

A late show from the deadly duo of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a hard fought 2-0 win at Anfield. They struck in the final 10 minutes of the game and secured all 3 points just when the home side thought it was not going to be their day.

The match was a stark contrast to that 8-0 demolition of Besiktas in the midweek Champions League game as Liverpool found it difficult to break down a resilient and organised Fulham side.

This game, once again, epitomises Fulham's Achilles heels, which is the final 10 minutes of the game when players tire out and loses concentration. A shocking statistic showed that if a Premiership game would last only 45 minutes, the London side would've been on top of the league.

Their current league position tells the story, really.

Rafa Benitez, perhaps listening to his 'rotation' critics, named an unchanged side, to the surprise of many including the fans. Yet in this game, Liverpool struggled to keep up the tempo of the game and didn't look as fluid as they did on Wednesday.

For 80 minutes, Liverpool laboured and found it extremely frustrating, trying to break down the wall that Fulham had put to mitigate them yet it was the class of Fernando Torres and the composure of Steven Gerrard that ultimately breached the defence of Fulham.

Coming on as a substitute for the ineffectual Andriy Voronin, Torres latched onto a clearance from goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, before putting the ball past Antti Niemi, something which Liverpool struggled to do for the whole game.

The goal frame did deny Liverpool a chance to go ahead though. Peter Crouch headed a Fabio Aurelio freekick onto the crossbar just before half time while Sami Hyypia and Yossi Benayoun forced Niemi to pull off some decent saves.

The goal gave Liverpool belief and relieved the pressure and tension that was building up around the Kop End.

As Liverpool upped their tempo, they began to impose themselves more and as fortune favours the brave, they were awarded a penalty for a foul which looked to be outside the box. Carlos Bocanegra was adjudged to have clipped Peter Crouch on his heels and referee pointed to the spot straight away.

With several penalties missed against London sides, Gerrard didn't let past experience haunt him and he sent Niemi the wrong way, planted the ball into the right bottom corner of the net.

The Kop was in full voice and the elation of the fans were apparent.

A game which summed up pretty much about the gulf of quality between the clubs, which without a doubt, exist in the Premiership. Yet for Fulham to hung on for 80 minutes against a rampant Liverpool side, they must be given some credit.

But what is the point of playing well for 80 and then lose it all in the final 10? This is when the difference in quality comes in.

Fernando Torres came to Liverpool as a scorer and yesterday, we could say he did his job. He came on, he made an impact and all three points in the bag. It was the quality that oozes out of the 23 year old that really impresses everyone, his maturity and his adaptiveness to the hustle and bustle of the Premiership is admirable.

His finishing was clinical and his movement supreme. His pace gave Liverpool something more, an extra cutting edge. Credits should go to him, remembering that he just came back from an injury.

Like a heavy weight boxing match, it wasn't, at times, the best match to watch as chances are at premium. Yet when Liverpool smash the final blow, it was just enough to finish the opponents off.

It was a fairly equal match but as we know, it only takes a second to score and a quality player like Torres is all that is needed to turn a game around.

So Big A Win, I Don't Quite Know Where To Start

The LED Ain't Broken, Mind You

Scorers:
*takes in deep breath*

LIV - Crouch (19, 89), Benayoun (32, 53, 56), Gerrard (69), Babel (78, 81);

Liverpool broke the Champions League record by scoring a mind-blowing 8 goals past Besiktas, the very team that defeated the Reds just only 2 weeks ago in Istanbul. The victory definitely painted a very different pictures depending on how you see things.

The Besiktas we saw was SO bad that I've absolutely no idea how did we 'managed' to lose to these bunch, so convincingly, in the last round.

But we all know at the way we play in recent weeks, I shall quote Russell Peters and say 'somebody's gonna get hurt REAL bad!'. We played okay and created enough chance but just not putting them into the net.

Liverpool kicked off the game knowing that the European nights in Anfield are numbered because the Liverpool City Council has given a go-ahead for their new stadium and what a way to commemorate the milestone, with a record win.

After a cagey start, Liverpool started to gather momentum and Yossi Benayoun seemingly, at the thick of action most of the time. A sign of a great performance, perhaps?

Liverpool v besiktas 06.11.07 itv brief highlights
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Through some serendipity and luck, Liverpool got the opening goal, one the relieves the tension and pressure of the players and the fans heaved a collective sigh of relief. Peter Crouch went through and though his initial shot was blocked, he was able to follow up and the out-of-favour striker finally found his scoring touch again.

Yossi Benayoun added a second with a highly controversial build-up to the goal but take nothing away from that finish. It was dead accurate, leaving Hakan Arikan with no chance. Well, he didn't have much for the entire 90, did he?

Flood gates opened and Liverpool relentlessly pounded Besiktas and all was over when Benayoun added a second after half time. Besiktas' players head dropped and looking like a caged animal, trapped and no way out.

Benayoun got what he fully deserved with a simplest of hat trick and Gerrard scored from probably the move of the game, combining excellently with Andiry Voronin before Ryan Babel coming on to make some major impact.

Two goals from the Dutch forward and both weren't conventional goals you'll see in a match. A brilliant Henry-esque back heel goal and also his determination allowed him to pressure Toraman into hitting the ball straight into his back and very fortunately, beyond Arikan's reach.

Crouch rounded things up with a 'rare' headed goal after a brilliant cross from who else but Yossi Benayoun and it indeed, concluded a night of massacre of the highest order.

Besiktas was frankly 'pants' and clueless most of the time but to smash 8 goals past a professional team is no mean feat. Credits to where it is due and although I've been critical on Liverpool for the past however long it is, I must say 'what a performance'!

Plenty still to do though. Porto win means we really need to win the remaining two games while Rafa will have to work a way as to how to bring this form back to the Premiership this weekend.And the man of the moment, Yossi Benayoun. A hat trick and two assists. He was the hero and played a vital and pivotal role to Liverpool's biggest Champions League win. What a performance. That'll certainly keep Pennant out for the side (despite his injury) for quite some time.

Silly Medic

Have a laugh :D

Wasteful Reds Held

English Premiership

Blackburn 0 - 0 LIVERPOOL

Liverpool's unbeaten run this season continues as they were held to a dull nil-nil draw by Blackburn Rovers. But the visiting Reds will surely be disappointed by the outcome as well as the overall performance as they huffed and puffed their way through.

There was a apparent lack of urgency from the away side and only started to pound on the Blackburn goal in the last 10 minutes of the game, especially when Rafa Benitez decided to throw on the out-of-favour Peter Crouch and the injury-proned Harry Kewell.

Given the nickname as a 'cup final' player, Kewell came on to make an impact but still looked a long way from full match fitness.

Crouch, too, came on and nearly gave an undeserving lead after connecting well with Steven Gerrard's corner but it was cleared off the line.

Despite impressing in his previous outing against Arsenal, Dirk Kuyt was preferred by Benitez to play upfront on his own and it took only a glance to tell that Kuyt was ineffective as a one man strike force.

He couldn't be blamed for much of the game as the Liverpool midfield were stifled by an organised and tenacious Blackburn team and it is of common knowledge that Liverpool lacked the spark and creative force within. There was no movement and the passing was appalling at times.

Yet when presented with chances, Dirk Kuyt fluffed it all and Liverpool will travel back to Anfield with only a point. A hard fought one indeed. As a striker at the top level, he is expected to take the chance and put Blackburn to the knife for their carelessness but as we all know, he isn't the best finisher out there.

As a striker, he is supposed to score goals but apparently, not being the 'sharpest knife in the drawer', he skied one of the best chance Liverpool had in the entire game and two others.

I personally admire his never-say-die attitude, desire, determination and mental strength but when the 'knife meets the butter', he's expected to cut it but as profligate as Liverpool had been for the past month or so, he didn't help the situation.

Especially when Torres is out with an injury and Crouch out of favour.

But to be fair, Liverpool didn't deserve to win this game as Blackburn, too, had their fair share of chances and came closer to scoring than the visiting team. Both David Dunn and David Bentley skinned the Liverpool defence and were unlucky not to score as both their shots found the frameworks instead.

As one of the 'Top 4' of England, it's apparent that Liverpool doesn't seemed to be on the same level as the other 3 teams in Chelsea, Arsenal and ManYoo as they possessed a balance team with a couple of players capable of changing the game just with a moment of magic.

Arsenal is a joy to watch and they have shrugged off their impotency and exchanged it with sharpness and maturity while ManYoo grew from strength to strength. Chelsea moved on from Jose's era and are steadily improving.

While Liverpool at times, looked like 11 strangers, clueless on the pitch and even with a tactics set by Benitez, there was no shape and players don't make runs and create space for each other, making life difficult for every players.

There were times when I thought I was watching England but at least we could control possessions better.

Though we know that Ewood Park is a tough place to visit, it is no excuse that they are there for the taking and that as a club contending for the Premiership, we ought to start to play well and get the right results. Continuing with this form is only going to make us fall backwards from the pack.

It already looked as if we're falling further away in terms of quality and that many believe that players like Kuyt, Crouch, Sissoko or Riise won't get us anywhere near the Premiership crown and it is true in some way.

But I believe Rafa has bought himself plenty of time, contrary to the tabloid reports about his job on the line, and he is capable of turning things round. But maybe he just needs to learn his lesson and stop being so stubborn and sticking to his own principles and guidelines.

Rotation or whatever the ideology is, it might work in the La Liga which he won the title, it might not happen in the Premiership.