Daily Archives: November 8, 2010

Liverpool vs Chelsea – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.


The Battle of San Romano, Paolo Uccello
“Liverpool got their best result under Roy Hodgson by beating Chelsea 2-0 at Anfield on Sunday. The performance was far from vintage, but with Chelsea being unusually poor, the Reds rarely looked troubled. Let’s take a look at the tale that the chalkboards tell us.” (Tomkins Times)

16 Conclusions On Liverpool v Chelsea
” After Liverpool’s past couple of wins, the opinion has been voiced by a number of their fans that they had mixed feelings about the victories – happy with the points, but frustrated that the successes would buy Roy Hodgson some extra time in charge. So will this win be enough to convince those who still doubt? And if not, how many wins will it take before they cast aside their stubborn stance and accept Hodgson as their own?” (Football 365)

Winning, the Liverpool Way
“After the draw at St. Andrews I contended that Liverpool needed to change the way they played to get results. They were too narrow, with no pace and their full-backs went nowhere. It led to a dour game of football and a nil all draw that kept Liverpool in the lower regions of the table. The problem then was a lack of invention, a resistance to change and a team still getting to know each other, yesterday that all changed.” (EPL Talk)

Good Day, Bad Day: Incredible Carvalho and Devastating Depor

“Shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, maybe because much of the forward’s game is played in the 30-metre ‘zone of terror’ where little Leo has scored in five consecutive matches for Pep’s Dream Boys.” (FourFourTwo)

Real Madrid 2-0 Atletico Madrid: early goals and a routine victory for Real“Ricardo Carvalho and Mesut Oezil’s first half goals gave Real a commanding lead.
Jose Mourinho kept the same side as in the 2-2 draw in Milan in midweek. No change in formation either – 4-2-3-1. Qique Sanchez Flores went for the usual 4-4-2 with inverted wingers, Simao Sabrosa on the left and Jose Antonio Reyes on the right. Luis Perea was out, so Tomas Ujfalusi moved over to the centre-back position he made his name in, whilst Juan Valera started at right-back. Mario Suarez made his second start for Atletico in the centre.” (Zonal Marking)

Bielsa’s early exit such a waste for Chile


“A successful and promising relationship has come to a premature end with the news that Marcelo Bielsa will not continue as coach of Chile. There is little point in appointing a foreign coach unless he brings something fresh – which the eccentric, but highly respected Argentine certainly has in the course of his three years in charge.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Ten steps: how Newcastle coped with Arsenal in the centre of midfield (whilst playing a 4-4-2)

“Not many sides keep a clean sheet against Arsenal. Newcastle’s 1-0 win at the Emirates was only the second time Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to score this season. In most wins in football there is an element of the victorious side being good, and the losing side being bad. Arsenal’s poor performance cannot be overlooked – the whole team were sluggish with their passing and not creative enough. Cesc Fabregas gave the ball away far too often and didn’t look fit, and on the rare occasions he plays badly, Arsenal struggle.” (Zonal Marking)

Frans for the memories

“It must have been a good day yesterday at the Spakenburg as I woke up with my feet in the mini bar and a Ijsselmeervogels temporary tattoo on my arm. How did I get here? It is all a bit of a blur but I do remember a man with a goat at some point and a taxi driver called Willem who claimed he was once an extra in Coronation Street, buying a bag of bomboms from Mavis Riley no less. I remember a school disco, a bloke dressed as a pope, Stoffers walking around with 25 beer glasses on his head and finally Smullers spicy crockets. Danny Last helps me remember some of the events in his report here but I still cannot fill in the blanks. I remembered I was in Utrecht, Holland’s 4th largest city and home to the Museum of Automatically Playing Musical Instruments. And why were we here? – for another game of course.” (The Ball Is Round)