Monthly Archives: October 2010

Match of the Week: Whitehawk 1 – 2 Hendon

“The latter qualifying round stages of the FA Cup have a habit of rather creeping up on us. One week, village teams are playing each other in front of a handful of men and their dogs, but before you know it there is something altogether more significant at stake. This weekend it’s the Third Qualifying Round stage, and everybody involved this weekend has something to play for. The relative giants (and it is relative – Luton Town or Darlington, say, look like goliaths on the horizon if your club struggles to bring in a three figure crowd on a regular basis) of the Blue Square Premier enter the competition in the final qualifying round, and the winners of this afternoon’s matches also pocket £7,500 – a tidy sum for a small club, and on top of that lies the opportunity to profit still further from involvement in the next round, at least.” (twohundredpercent), (The Football Association – Video)

New-look youthful Brazil continues to impress under Mano Menezes

“The Mano Menezes roadshow rolls on. Brazil’s new coach and his young side chalked up their second triumph with a 3-0 win over Iran in Abu Dhabi Thursday. But though the margin of victory was greater than August’s 2-0 win over the U.S., this was the tougher game — and all the more fascinating for it. Brazil’s central idea was the same as for the debut match of Menezes against Bob Bradley’s team — a fluid, attacking game plan using a 4-2-3-1 system. (SI – Tim Vickery)

Liverpool’s Reina wants focus amid takeover chaos

“Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina claims that all he and the other players can do is focus on football to stop the takeover ‘chaos’ at the club distracting them from their ambitions this season. Reina has been vocal about the state of the club in the past but, after signing a new long-term deal this summer, he now finds himself waiting for New England Sport Ventures (NESV) bid of £300 million to be ratified by the High Court after a dispute with current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.” (ESPN)

Jones starts strong, but U.S. team’s flaws on display against Poland

“Tinkering and a desire to experiment is a good thing as another World Cup cycle commences, especially when it comes from a noted anti-tinkerer. United States coach Bob Bradley typically prefers his “something old” over his “something new” when it comes to the marriage of personnel and tactics. But the changes made Saturday in his team’s 2-2 draw with Poland in Chicago do beg a vexing question: how much assessment and subsequent development can you really do around a tweaked formation when several players are out of their best positions? (Or, when a player or two just aren’t up for the job in certain spots?)” (SI)

United States (USA) 2-2 Poland – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

A Sigh of Relief for France, and the Arrival of Loic Remy

Stade Velodrome, Marseille.
“Yes, the European Cup of 2012 is still 21 months away, and the fact that the qualifying games are already underway seems slightly obscene: I’ve barely recovered from the drama of the World Cup, and now I’m supposed to start thinking, and, hoping about this tournament? But no matter: I’m awake. Today’s match between France and Romania, played in the Stade de France finally offered up a tiny glimmer of light. Romania has been a serious problem for France in the past years, particularly in the European Cup qualifiers and the group play in 2008. They haven’t been able to defeat France, but they’ve battled time and time again to a draw. And they are clearly France’s most serious opposition in the qualification group. So winning tonight was really important.” (Soccer Politics)

It’s not the players…it’s the managers

“Starting from the notion that the main responsibility lies on the AFA for all their atrocious decisions and the mafioso-like way in which they deal with many of the matters that go through their hands, I thought it was interesting to try and establish who is more to blame for the lack of trophies and even the absence of a clear and established style of play. Is it the players or is it the managers?” (Mundo Albiceleste)

Why Do We Root for Underdogs?

“The underdog phenomenon is a complicated one, and I want to do it justice, but even sketching the outlines of what it entails is a herculean task, or perhaps Aristotelian. To follow up on what Supriya said in her last post, one can argue that all stories are either tragic or comic. Human beings, being narrative animals, understand all events in terms of the story they fit into. Underdogs are comic heroes, forever fighting superior forces: Jackie Chan against overwhelming numbers, Jerry against Tom, Josef K against the system. That seems to be true even though, unlike Jerry and Jackie, underdogs in the footballing world rarely win it all. In fact, underdogs rarely win anything at all in football, even in cup competitions, which are much less predictable than leagues. In the five major footballing countries of Europe there has only been one stunning underdog win these past ten years: En Avant de Guingamp winning the the Coupe de France in 2009, when the team was in Ligue 2.” (Run of Play)

Ireland 2-3 Russia: Irish outpassed & outclassed

“Ireland staged a comeback in the last twenty minutes, but were second best for the majority of this game. Giovanni Trapattoni named the same side for the third consecutive qualification game, setting out in a standard 4-4-2, with Robbie Keane dropping slightly off Kevin Doyle, and both strikers tirelessly running the channels.” (Zonal Marking)

Estudiantes go further ahead, San Lorenzo lose their chance to keep up

“I’m late with Friday’s goals, for which I apologise. Estudiantes went five points clear at the top of the Torneo Apertura on Friday with a 2-0 win over Olimpo. On Saturday, San Lorenzo lost away to Lanús by the same score, thus missing the chance to go second. Arsenal de Sarandí beat Banfield 1-0 on Friday, but Saturday’s other three matches all finished in draws – Argentinos vs Godoy Cruz is the only goalless match so far. You can see highlights of all six matches so far this weekend right here.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

Spain 3-1 Lithuania – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying

“Without Xavi and Fernando Torres available, Spain would get a 3-1 win to remain unbeaten in qualifying. Fernando Llorente led the way with two goals while David Silva had the third for Spain. Llorente’s goals were in the 47th minute and 56th minute and Silva’s was in the 79th minute.” (The 90th Minute)

Portugal 3 – 1 Denmark
“Nani grabbed two goals in the space of three minutes to set Portugal on course to victory over Denmark in coach Paulo Bento’s first game in charge. Although Ricardo Carvalho’s own goal 11 minutes from time gave Denmark a lifeline, Cristiano Ronaldo made sure of Portugal’s first win in Euro 2012 qualifying Group H with five minutes left.” (ESPN)

Portugal 3-1 Denmark – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Portugal earned their first win of the group stage behind two goals from Nani. It was a much need for Portugal who had a draw and loss in their first two matches. They are now with four points, two behind leaders Norway, while Denmark are in third place with three points.” (The 90th Minute)

Ireland 2-3 Russia – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Russia would get a much needed win as they scored three goals in the first 50 minutes and held onto that lead. It was a poor start for the Irish who conceded two first half goals. The goals were from Alexander Kerzhakov in the 11th minute and Alan Dzagoev in the 28th minute. Russia’s third goal came in the 50th minute from Roman Shirokov.” (The 90th Minute)

Czech Republic 1 – 0 Scotland
“Craig Levein’s decision to drop Kenny Miller and play a defensive line-up failed to pay off as Scotland suffered the first defeat of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Czech Republic in Prague tonight.” (ESPN)

Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“The Czechs would get their first win of qualifying while Scotland suffered their first defeat. It was a conservative start for Scotland who didn’t start Kenny Miller and were in a very defensive formation. Many will question if they weren’t aggressive enough and should have played a regular 4-4-2 formation.” (The 90th Minute)

U.S. Team, Drawing on the Recent Past, Looks Ahead

“Bob Bradley has a new contract and a new mission, but Bradley, the United States national team coach, is caught in a strange sort of limbo. ‘It’s a balance between the long term view, which is always focused toward the final round of qualification and then the World Cup in 2014, but also the things that happen along the way, the short-term vision,’ Bradley said ahead of the Americans’ friendly against Poland on Saturday in Chicago.” (NYT)

Playing Global Political Football

“For most of world football’s 208 nations, winning the World Cup is a distant dream: Four countries—Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina—have won 14 of the 19 World Cups since the competition began and only eight different teams have ever lifted the trophy. This is the ultimate old boys’ club. Winning the right to host the World Cup isn’t such a grand ambition, but for most of the planet, it remains a more realistic objective. Nine countries are bidding to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022, including four bidders from Europe, four from the Asian confederation, and the U.S., representing Central and North America.” (WSJ)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy: Pirlo a class above, but poor finishing from both sides

“Both sides had chances to win the game, but Northern Ireland emerge with a well-earned point. Northern Ireland made one change from their previous qualification game, bringing in Jonny Evans at left-back in place of Craig Cathcart. They played a 4-4-2 shape that often looked like 4-4-1-1 when Warren Feeney dropped deep into midfield when Northern Ireland lost the ball.” (Zonal Marking)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Both sides remained unbeaten in Group C as the match ended in a scoreless draw. Italy are now 2-1-0 with seven points through three matches while Northern Ireland are 1-1-0 with four points through two matches.” (The 90th Minute)

A Points Deruction For Liverpool: Theoretically Possible, But Almost Certainly No

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Check out the hunting unit, Philips Wouwerman
“The lead story on the BBC Football website this afternoon may have given Liverpool supporters (who, it has to be said, are now getting close enough to feelings of perpetual panic to be able to warrant the soubriquet ‘long-suffering’) further palpitations. After the confirmation that a sale of the the club to John W Henry’s New England Sports Ventures had been agreed, the BBC is now reporting that the ongoing legal wrangles that have inevitably followed the confirmation of the sale agreement may yet force the club into administration and that this may mean that the club incurs a nine point deduction.” (twohundredpercent)

FC Utrecht 0 – 0 Liverpool: A paradox of players committing themselves and managers holding their horses
“FC Utrecht qualified for European Football by winning last year’s Eredivisie play-off and their Europa League qualification campaign, starting back in July, saw them defeating KF Tirana, FC Luzern and last but not least, former European Champions Celtic. Especially notable was the 4-0 home triumph over the higher rated Scottish side that featured in the Champions League group stages in three out of the past five seasons.” (11 tegen 11)

Hodgson overwhelmed by high expectations as Liverpool manager
“Roy Hodgson always was likely to face two problems at Liverpool: that his football was too boring for the fans, and that his training was too boring for the players. A certain stodginess leading to long-term grumbling was perhaps to be expected, but what nobody predicted was that Liverpool would be as bad as it has been so far this season, and that there would be immediate outrage.” (SI)

Deluded Liverpool fans off-target
“Like many of you I have been astounded by the shocking situation at Liverpool this season. Beaten last weekend by Blackpool, which is the football equivalent of Muhammed Ali being beaten up by a dwarfer, they find themselves in the bottom three and the fans are not happy.” (Three and In)

Chairman holds the cards but Tom Hicks vows to come out fighting
“Tom Hicks, the embattled co-owner of Liverpool, maintained today that he will fight the high court action launched by the Anfield chairman, Martin Broughton, to force the American to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures, the owners of the Boston Red Sox.” (Guardian)

Football Manager 2011: Sneak Preview (Video)

“It’s incredible to think of all of the enhancements that are made to Football Manager year after year. The game becomes closer to real life football management with each release. And now we have a sneak peek of what will be featured in Football Manager 2011 which will be released before the end of 2010.” (EPL Talk)

Football Manager 2011
(Football Manager)

Japan 1 – 0 Argentina: match highlights

“Argentina lost to Japan for the first time in their history on Friday, thanks to an 18th-minute goal from Shinji Okazaki. Only Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano really did themselves any sort of credit, and a side clearly as worn out by the long voyage from Europe as were Spain when they travelled to Buenos Aires last month left the pitch deflated. Diego Milito, Esteban Cambiasso and Mario Bolatti were all injured. Seba over at Mundo has some thoughts on what this means for Sergio Batista as manager, and here are the match highlights for your viewing pleasure (if you’re Japanese, or Diego Maradona, that is).” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

A Glorious Education In Italian Football

Alessandro Del Piero
“There’s an advert on television at the moment asking what information overload has done to us. If you haven’t seen it already, two women are having lunch together in what appears to be a fashionable restaurant when a question from one of the pair causes her friend to apparently short-circuit and begin spewing random irrelevant facts with alarming speed, drawing the bemused attention of the other restaurant-goers and embarrassing her companion. The advert then poses its key, pertinent question, before somewhat confusingly plugging a new search engine on this here internet.” (Who ate all the Pies)

Lilliput’s Revolt

“International qualifiers might now lack the quality of top flight European football, but they more than match the major leagues for drama and unpredictability. In the qualifiers for Euro 2012, one feels that anything and everything could happen and probably will. For the likes of Italy and France, things are going to get worse before they get better. Both the fading powers are stuck in what could easily be described as groups of death, were it not for the fact that almost every group contains three or four sides that could finish first or second.11 The exception is Group E, which looks like it’ll be a fairly straightforward Netherlands-Sweden qualification. Only Spain (obviously), England, and Germany look certain to win their groups. Uncertainty lurks in every game—what has happened to the predictable march of the old élite?” (Run of Play)

Borghi; Nice, Falconi; “Pissed Off”

“There’s something of the ‘Pre-Italia 90 Robert Robson’ about Claudio Borghi. A good man, with a fine record at Colo Colo and Argentinos Juniors, Bichi is now in the extreme glare at stuttering Boca. Sam Kelly reports from Argentina.” (In Bed with Maradona)

Ajax 1 – 1 AC Milan: Recurrent midfield problems for Ajax

“Back from a short holiday! Totally refreshed and ready to pick up the pace of a determining phase of the season. The coming months will see which jump starts will turn out to be true overachievers and which slow starts will prove a lost year to the club. Picking up the action I’ve missed starts with last week’s midweek UEFA Champions League (UCL) action. Match day 2 of the UCL saw Ajax face AC Milan at home, with the hosts aiming for their first points after a disappointing performance away at Real Madrid in their first UCL match in four years. Milan did win their UCL opening match against Auxerre, albeit trough a rather narrow 2-0 victory with two Ibrahimovic goals shortly after the hour-mark.” (11 tegen 11)

Liverpool Football Club Prepares For The Takeover End Game

Tom Hicks, George Gillett
“The day started with a co-ordinated attempt to saturate the American media with a video decrying the behaviour of the – for the time being – owners of their club, but it has ended with something even more extraordinary with a statement of near-unprecedented bluntness on the official club website which seems to indicate a state of near civil war at boardroom level. Welcome to the world of Liverpool Football Club in October 2010. As long time observers will be aware, October the 15th is said to be the deadline for George Gillett and Tom Hicks to secure the funding to complete their takeover of the club, in the face of increasingly militant objections from supporters’ groups but, with only a week and a half left before the bank can step in and take control of the club, hopes of a clear resolution to the issue of the future of the club are being clouded by a situation that is rapidly starting to resemble chaos.” (twohundredpercent)

Liverpool civil war erupts as owners reject two buyers
“The simmering war in the Liverpool boardroom between the American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and the three other directors, broke dramatically into the open last night after Hicks and Gillett turned down two bids, described as ‘credible’, to buy the club and attempted to remove two directors from the board.” (Guardian)

Boardroom blitz; and mutual hate
“1970s British glam rockers The Sweet are still doing the rounds but no one pays much attention to them any more even though their lead guitarist moonlights as manager of Brentford FC. The Fiver, however, found itself humming the melody to their catchiest hit last night as it followed the bloody hi-jinks at Anfield, which can only be described as a Boardroom Blitz. Oh yeah it was electric, so frightfully hectic, and the Americans started leaving, because their fellow directors stopped believing. Boardroom blitz (de-dum-dum-dum). Boardroom blitz (de-dum-dum-dum). Boardroom blitz (de-dum-dum-dum).” (The Fiver)

Liverpool FC’s celebrity fans protest against owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett
“Liverpool fans in the entertainment industry offer their support to the campaign to oust the club’s current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett” (Guardian)

Tactics: Can France play without a playmaker?

“The team that Laurent Blanc aligns against Romania on Saturday may herald a significant change of direction in the tactical evolution of the French national side. Teams representing the country have long been built around a single, richly talented creative player, from Raymond Kopa in the 1950s through Michel Platini in the 1980s to Zinedine Zidane at the turn of the last century. But that could be about to change.” (Football Further)

Nigel de Jong’s News Assault

“So it’s easier to get dropped from your national team than it is to get a yellow card these days. And that’s all to the good, in my opinion. I hate it when referees try to inject themselves into the game. I prefer it when nature, and the intensive care unit, are allowed to take their course. Seriously, just let the players play until full time rolls around, or until they’re incapacitated with injuries that could have been avoided if you occasionally sent someone off. Either way, there’s no need to go occasionally sending people off. Everyone who’s making a big deal about this is just jealous of Manchester City anyway.” (Run of Play)

AFCON Qualifying: Matchday 2 Preview

“This weekend, the qualifying for the next African Cup of Nations in 2012 starts and, as usual, there’s intrigue all round. The first round of games saw some surprises, with 2010 AFCON hosts Angola, Algeria, Mali, Morocco, Egypt and Togo hitting bumps on the very long road to Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. We had injuries galore, politics, new appointments and the potpourri that makes African football so colourful. In a guest piece for The Equaliser, Gary Al-Smith runs the rule over the upcoming fixtures and assesses the prospects of Africa’s qualification hopefuls.” (Equaliser Football)

How Manchester City Could Break Even

Robinho
“Just a week after Arsenal reported record profits of £56 million, the other side of the football finance spectrum was seen when Manchester City announced a massive loss of £121 million for the year ending 31 May 2010. This is not quite the worst loss ever reported in Premier League history – that dubious honour belongs to Chelsea, who lost £141 million in 2004/05, the first full year after the acquisition by their Russian benefactor Roman Abramovich. However, to put this into context, City’s deficit is more than the combined loss for every other team in the Premier League if you exclude Chelsea (or Liverpool).” (Swiss Ramble)

Video of the Week: Match of the Eighties 1981/82

“This week’s Video Of The Week continues a series of the Danny Baker hosted BBC series ‘Match Of The Eighties’. This week, the BBC flexes its archive muscles for the 1981/82 season. It was – and this seems difficult to believe, even now – the first season of three points for a win in the Football League. It was also a season that saw one of the most remarkable come-backs in the history of English football. Liverpool had a disastrous start to the season and were in tenth place in the table at Christmas before going on an oustanding run throughout the second half of the season and grabbing the title from Ipswich Town on the last day of the season.” (twohundredpercent)

Man City 2-1 Newcastle: tactical weaknesses exploited early on, before Johnson’s winner

“A close game that Newcastle were slightly unfortunate to lose. Manchester City continued with their now-established 4-5-1 system, with David Silva and James Milner switching flanks. Jerome Boateng and Joleon Lescott came into the backline. Newcastle’s system (taken after Hatem Ben Arfa’s early injury) was also a 4-5-1, with two wingers either side of a compact three-man midfield of Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Cheick Tiote.” (Zonal Marking)

The Russian Revolution

“It was always there. We knew about the academies, and we saw the players. We knew the clubs, but were things faltering after capitalism took hold? For a while maybe, but Russia is ready to dominate football. Domm Norris looks at some history.” (In Bed with Maradona)

My Favourite Footballer…Steven Gerrard

“Being a young lad, it’s hard to remember even the end of what were the best years at Anfield. Sure, I remember Robbie Fowler and the spice boys, as well as Michael Owen’s debut with his boyish charms. But it has been Steven Gerrard that best represents everything it is to be a Liverpool fan to my generation. Steven Gerrard is an enigma of a footballer.” (The Equaliser)

Didier Drogba and Chelsea take advantage of Arsenal’s defensive inefficiency

“Some things over time become more and more difficult to defend. Like refusing to ever use a public bathroom despite buying those twelve tacos off that dodgy vendor. Or insisting on reverse looking-up the phone numbers of every person that calls. And it increasingly feels that way about Arsenal too. They have become the purist’s team – great to watch but teething problems at the back that, for Arsene Wenger apologists, seem offset by a promise of a brighter future. Chelsea, in more ways than one, seems determined to wreck the Utopian dream and in Didier Drogba have a player who loves doing damage to Arsenal.” (Arsenal Column)

Bolivia’s Morales Aims Low On Soccer Field

“It was supposed to be a friendly game. One team, led by the president of Boliiva, Evo Morales, versus a team led by a political foe, the Mayor of La Paz, Luis Revilla.” (npr)

An Argentine Kaka

“To label Javier Pastore as the Serie A revelation of the season so far would be slightly inappropriate. For those who are familiar with calcio, El Flaco has long been a boy to keep an eye on. Nevertheless, for many in Europe, he was almost unknown before links with Real Madrid and Manchester City were established.” (Italia)

Barcelona 1 – 1 Mallorca

“Emilio Nsue headed a shock equaliser to sting Barcelona as Pep Guardiola’s fell three points behind Primera Division leaders Valencia after a 1-1 draw with Real Mallorca. Lionel Messi gave Barcelona the lead after 20 minutes on his first league start since injuring an ankle in the 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid two weeks ago.” (ESPN)

FC Barcelona 1-1 Mallorca – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – La Liga
(The 90th Minute)

Derby date for new-look Brazil

“I’m flying to back to Rio and feeling a bit jealous of people who live in the Midlands – not a sentence you’re likely to come across every day. The reason? Next Monday, Brazil come to Derby to face Ukraine, giving fans at Pride Park the chance to have a close look at a fascinating moment in the development of the five-times world champions.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Apertura 2010: a great weekend for Estudiantes, and plenty of goals

“Last weekend was somewhat lacking on the goals front, but Saturday and Sunday more than made up for that with an absolute deluge. Only two matches featured fewer than two goals: Arsenal’s 1-0 away win over Quilmes on Friday, and Estudiantes’ win by the same scoreline away to San Lorenzo, which leaves Seba Verón & Co. five points clear at the top of the table. Saturday’s goals didn’t get posted last night because I was celebrating a friend’s birthday, but you can watch them here along with Sunday’s, and all the scores. Boca Juniors lost, River Plate drew away to Banfield in a highly-charged match, and Gimnasia La Plata and Argentinos Juniors served up a partidazo on Saturday. All this and more, right here…” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

English Premier League Match Of The Day (MOTD) Video Highlights For 3 October 2010

“There were three Premier League matches on October 3 including Chelsea v Arsenal. In that match, Chelsea won 2-0 while Liverpool lost at home to Blackpool and Man City edged Newcastle United.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter 0-0 Juventus: defences come out in top in a disappointing Derby D’Italia

The Country Concert, Tiziano Vecellio
“An entertaining first half, but a second period where both sides were happy to take a point. Juventus were broadly in Luigi Delneri’s favoured 4-4-2 shape, with Fabio Qugliarella dropping to the left, just off Vincenzo Iaquinta. Milos Krasic played on the right and stayed high up the pitch, whilst Claudio Marchisio was tucked in on the opposite side. Rafael Benitez didn’t consider Diego Milito fit enough to start, so Samuel Eto’o was used upfront with Jonathan Biabiany and Coutinho either side. Ivan Cordoba continued at the back with the captain’s armband.” (Zonal Marking)

Premier League chalkboard analysis

“Chelsea’s defending, Rafael van der Vaart’s passing, Manchester United’s shooting and Liverpool’s predictability in the final third” (Guardian)

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Arsenal suffer from Cole-Drogba combination yet again

“You saw this one coming – Arsenal dominated possession, but Chelsea were more clinical. Chelsea’s side was unchanged from last week’s defeat to Manchester City – Yuri Zkirjov had replaced Ramires in midweek for the win over Marseille, but dropped back to the bench. Arsenal fielded the expected line-up, with Lukasz Fabianski starting in Manuel Almunia’s absence, and Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci at the back.” (Zonal Marking)

Which Way Now For Liverpool?

“It has now gone far enough to stop even being amusing to the neutral. Supporters of Manchester United and Everton may seek to disagree, but there was something sombre about Liverpool’s home defeat at the hands of Blackpool this afternoon. We are some way from reading the last rites of the club, but there is something in the air at Anfield. That familiar stench of dry rot hangs over the club this evening. The spirit of Liverpool Football Club feels broken. With each passing week, the feeling that this is but a mere blip has receded further and further into the distance and the dread reality for Liverpool supporters, that a season of having to fight the unthinkable fight – the fight to hold onto the club’s place in the Premier League itself – might be looming on the horizon.” (twohundredpercent)

Hodgson under pressure as Liverpool fans turn
“Just weeks after hailing Roy Hodgson’s arrival as Liverpool manager and predicting a return to glory, fans have turned on the veteran coach and started chanting the name of the man who once led them to domination of the English game.” (Yahoo)

More Than Two Teams In La Liga!

“With Barcelona and Real Madrid hogging every inch of Spain’s media duvet, it’s easy to get the impression that la Liga shares the philosophical poser of whether falling trees make any noise when there’s no-one around to hear them. For the most part, news of managerial hirings and firings, injuries or even matches taking place far from the attention-demanding duo are covered by a couple of sentences stuck away on page 37 of the country’s main sporting pages.” (Football 365)

FIFA 11

“FIFA 11 reinvents player authenticity – on and off the ball – for every player and at every position on the pitch with Personality+, an all-new feature that sees individual abilities reflected in game, enabling clear differentiation for every player.” (EA)

The twohundredpercent FIFA 11 Review
“Football games on consoles. FIFA vs Pro Evolution Soccer. There was a time when it was all so much easier than it is now. EA Sports had spent all of the money for FIFA on the licences and seemed to have very little left over for the game itself. Konami, on the other hand, knew that with Pro Evolution Soccer, if you wanted something that felt like the real thing, you would put up with Merseyside Blue playing against Connaught. With the seventh generation – the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 – of consoles, however, the balance tipped dramatically in the other direction. Pro Evolution Soccer stood still, while FIFA 2008, FIFA 2009 and FIFA 10 made quantum leaps in terms of the actual game-playing experience itself.” (twohundredpercent)

FIFA 11 – Demo Impressions
“It’s that time of year again football fanaticos. It’s FIFA time. Europe’s top leagues are now all underway and the transfer window has just slammed shut. The World Cup is now nothing but a memory, and a great one at that. While fans get used to their favorite European club’s new players and lineups, this time of year is full of hope, ambition, and potential for soccer fans the world over. There’s only one thing missing: an up to date FIFA!” (mmomfg)

FIFA ’11 Features You Won’t See
“It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of our super-secret-sources has given us the heads up about some of the features that DIDN’T make it into FIFA ’11. So when you put your brand spanking new copy into your PS3/Xbox today, you can think about what could have been.” (Cheeky Chip)

FIFA 11 – Arsenal vs Real
(YouTube)

Liverpool 1 – 2 Blackpool

“Liverpool’s much-publicised issues off the pitch have been eclipsed by their problems on it as the side slumped to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at home to Premier League newcomers Blackpool. Thousands of fans staged a pre-match protest march against the continuing ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett but there was a real danger of revolt inside Anfield at the final whistle.” (ESPN)

Pressure mounts on Roy Hodgson as Liverpool lose to Blackpool
“Fourteen games as Liverpool manager and the Kop has returned its verdict on Roy Hodgson. It was 11 minutes before five o’clock, Blackpool were seconds from a thoroughly merited win that cemented the Anfield club’s position in the bottom three and then it started: ‘Dalglish. Dalglish, Dalglish!’ came the chant. On current form it will not be the ownership that changes hands in mid-October but a manager who is looking increasingly out of his depth.” (Guardian)

Blues beat Gunners, Reds shock

“Chelsea moved four points clear at the top of the table as they beat Arsenal 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Didier Drogba, who has relished his appearances against Arsenal down the years, broke the deadlock as a tight first half was drawing to a close, neatly flicking the ball beyond Lukasz Fabianski.” (ESPN)

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)

Parma 0-1 Milan: Pirlo’s 40-yard strike wins it

“Andrea Pirlo’s wonderul goal gave Milan all three points at the Tardini. Dino Marino used a 4-2-3-1 formation, although it was lopsided, as Jose Marques stayed high up the pitch supporting Hernan Crespo, whilst Angelo (usually a right-back) made his debut on the right of midfield. Massimo Gobbi played as a holding player with license to come forward.” (Zonal Marking)

Roy Hodgson already under pressure at Liverpool

“As one of the most liked and respected managers in English football, Roy Hodgson would probably have expected a little more time to settle in after deservedly taking his seat at the highest profile job of his career. As it is, his Liverpool side welcome Blackpool to Anfield today in dire need of a result, and with less confidence in achieving it than might ever have been anticipated. It wasn’t supposed to be this way, of course. Hodgson arrived as the reliable, steady hand to settle things after the turbulent final year of Rafa Benítez’s reign.” (WSC)

My Favourite Footballer…Dennis Bergkamp (II)

“I guess it must be Dennis Bergkamp. He may have never won any of football’s major prizes – there were three UEFA Cups, but no Champions League, no European Championship, no World Cup – but who cares? Playing football should never be just about winning trophies, Johan Cruyff’s ‘best to be remembered by the style’ approach was one to be admitted, and Bergkamp was all about style – poise, control, use of space, thought and action.” (The Equaliser), (The Equaliser)

Panathinaikos 0-2 Copenhagen: Gilberto v N’Doye battle decides the outcome

“Dame N’Doye scored the first, created the second, and Gilberto Silva received two yellow cards for fouling him twice. Nikos Nioplias selected his usual 4-2-3-1 formation. Gilberto Silva dropped into a centre-back position alongside Josu Sarriegi, leaving Kostas Katsouranis playing just ahead of Simao in the centre of midfield. Luis Garcia started in a central playmaker position.” (Zonal Marking)

Itchy-trigger-finger season

“Another week, another club left without a manager. The weekend was an uneventful one in Argentina, with few goals and a surfeit of draws to balance out the excitement of the previous round. All the same, there was a change of managers in midweek, as Wednesday brought the completion of the fourth round of matches (yes, the weekend just gone was round eight, you’ve not missed anything) when Estudiantes and Gimnasia La Plata met in the clásico (derby) of the city that’s the capital of Buenos Aires Province.” (In Bed with Maradona)

Why CONCACAF is killing the best rivalry in North America (cont.)

“Here’s how it would work: The six lowest-ranked teams in the region would have a home-and-home playoff to trim the field to 32. Then eight groups of four teams would play a six-game quarterfinal stage, with the top two in each group advancing. Then four groups of four would play a six-game semifinal stage, with the top two again advancing. Then two groups of four would play a six-game final stage. The two teams that win those groups would earn bids to World Cup ’14. If CONCACAF successfully lobbies FIFA for four spots in Brazil (instead of the previous 3.5), then the two second-place teams would also receive World Cup bids.” (SI)

Schalke 2-0 Benfica: two diamonds, little sparkle

“Schalke eventually found a way past Benfica, in a game between two sides lacking confidence. Schalke played a 4-3-1-2 / 4-4-2 diamond system, with Raul dropping off Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Jefferson Farfan was the midfielder with most inclination to get out wide.” (Zonal Marking)

FC Utrecht 0 – 0 Liverpool

“Liverpool escaped with a goalless draw in their Europa League Group K clash in Utrecht after another disjointed and disappointing performance. A point in the Stadion Galgenwaard, where the hosts had won their previous six matches, was no disgrace but it was hardly one of those classic, gritty away performances in Europe.” (ESPN)

FC Utrecht 0-0 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Europa League
(The 90th Minute)

La semaine en France: Week 7

“Ask any football fan how they’d prefer to beat their fiercest rivals, and they might not say a 5-0 thrashing or a thrilling 4-3 victory with a dramatic winner deep into injury time. For some, there is nothing sweeter than beating your worst enemies in unjust and controversial circumstances after a match in which you’ve been completely played off the park from start to finish. Fans of Saint-Etienne have been celebrating just such a victory this week.” (Football Further)