“Sometimes you just want to see the highlights all over again. For others, you may have had a busy day and didn’t get a chance to watch the Premier League matches. Whichever boat you’re in, here are the match highlights from all eight Premier League matches on Saturday, September 15.” EPL Talk (Video)
“After what has been a monumental and emotional week on Merseyside, football was something of an afterthought. The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel have shocked the nation, but it merely highlighted what the families of the victims and the survivors of the disaster have known all along. The club, though, had to focus on the task at hand: a trip to Sunderland, as Brendan Rodgers went in search of his first league win as Liverpool boss.” Sabotage Times
Rush: Rodgers needs time to build Reds
“Liverpool legend Ian Rush is adamant that Brendan Rodgers will be a success at Anfield if he is given time. Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as manager in June but has failed to win any of his first four league games at the Reds helm. Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland has left Liverpool with two points from a possible 12, their worst start to a season since 1911. But Rush, who won five league titles during two spells at the club in the 1980s and 1990s, sees signs that Rodgers is starting to pull things together.” ESPN
“Fourteen years later, and getting settled in Stoke, 600 miles and a world away from St Etienne, Owen will struggle to find a preview that does not mention his goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. What the ITV commentator Brian Moore described above, in the rising pitch that gilded a thousand similarly spectacular goals, was not just a moment for Owen’s early career, but what would become the enduring reference point. It is not a bad one to be stuck with, though Owen can be forgiven for wishing he had something a little more recent in contention. Instead he signs for Stoke City on a free transfer, as he did for Manchester United three years ago, once again keen to prove that his football career does not exist solely in the past tense.” SI
“They say the darkest hour comes before the dawn, although whether or not that includes false dawns — of which there have been a few at Anfield in recent times — isn’t entirely clear. It has been confusing not only for Liverpool’s battered and bruised supporters to figure out whether the pale sun above them was rising or setting, but also for the Reds’ talisman, Steven Gerrard.” ESPN
“This week, the results of a near three-year long inquiry by the Hillsborough Independent Panel are publically released. The panel, chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, was set up in 2010 to examine all of the evidence relating to the events of the disaster on April 15th, 1989, with the remit of bringing ‘full public disclosure’ of all relevant documentation and to report how ‘the information adds to public understanding of the tragedy and its aftermath.’ After going over more than 450,000 previously unseen documents released by as many as 80 different organisations including the South Yorkshire Police, emergency services, the coroner and Sheffield City Council, will deliver a presentation at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday morning with their findings.” Sabotage Times
Hillsborough disaster: David Conn analyses report – video
“Guardian sports writer, David Conn, analyses the contents of the report on the Hillsborough disaster 23 years ago that left 96 dead. The report by an independent panel, established three years ago and chaired by the bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, found that there was a failure of authorities to protect people and an attempt to blame fans” Guardian (Video)
Hillsborough disaster
“The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush which occurred during the semi-final FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs on 15 April 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. The crush resulted in the deaths of 96 people — 94 died on the day and two more victims died later in hospital. Another 766 persons were injured. All of those were fans of Liverpool Football Club. The Hillsborough disaster remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the world’s worst ever football accidents.” W – Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster: new inquest likely after damning report
“A new inquest into the Hillsborough disaster is likely to be ordered after the full scale of the establishment cover-up in the wake of the 1989 disaster was revealed for the first time. Criminal prosecutions of key figures are also possible after the Hillsborough Independent Panel – which was chaired by the bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, and had unrestricted access to 450,000 documents over three years – revealed the depths of a police cover-up that swung into action the morning after the disaster.” Guardian
Hillsborough: prosecutions likely over ‘the biggest cover-up in history’
“The Hillsborough stadium disaster led to the “the biggest cover-up in history”, it has been claimed as a new report disclosed the extent to which police doctored statements and tried to blame innocent fans.” Telegraph
Hillsborough disaster: the independent report, in full
“An independent panel has concluded that the police and ambulance services made “strenuous attempts to deflect blame” for the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. The full report is below…” Telegraph
” Last night, BBC North West and BBC Yorkshire aired a brand-new documentary entitled ‘Hillsborough – Searching For The Truth.’ If you missed it, here it is in its entirety. According to the synopsis from the BBC, the documentary filmmaker speaks to police officers, Hillsborough victims’ family members and the author of an infamous article in the Sun newspaper which blamed Liverpool fans for the disaster. The 30 minute documentary was released last night in the build-up to Wednesday’s much-awaited report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel, where the Panel had access to more than 400,000 previously unreleased documents.” EPL Tale (Video)
“So the transfer window is finally over after the customary twists and turns and, as always, has raised some intriguing questions. Perhaps most perplexing is the decision of previously big spending Manchester City to slam on the brakes (by their own recent standards) much to the disappointment of manager Roberto Mancini. On the fairly safe assumption that this is not due to Sheikh Mansour struggling for cash, the culprit is likely to be UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, a particularly delicate issue for the blue side of Manchester.” Swiss Ramble
“Arsenal suddenly firing goals not blanks. Chelsea utterly humiliated in Monaco, ridiculed by a splendid Colombian striker named Falcao – after the once-famed Brazilian midfielder – who now seems eager to join them. Spurs failing yet again to win a Premiership match despite the expensive late arrival from Fulham of the talented Moussa Dembele and the usually prolific Clint Dempsey. Villas-Boas was booed by Tottenham fans after the uneasy draw with a Norwich team, which on its previous visit to London had been thrashed 5-0 at Fulham. Watching Fulham crash at West Ham, one wondered how they had ever got all those goals.” World Soccer
“The two big games on Sunday provided us with some further insight into how the respective teams will approach this season. Here are some tactical points that proved to be key in determining the results, and some things that may be worth keeping an eye on for the upcoming campaign…” EPL Talk
“If Lennon’s hymn of homage was to Mia Farrow’s reclusive sister, Henry’s homily was a love letter to the similarly elusive soul of financial restraint. Henry’s open missive to the Kop sought to justify the contentious actions of his Fenway Sports Group in the newly-closed transfer window. Admirable in his intent, namely communicating with the club’s lifeblood, Henry provided a window on the owner-manager-player-supporter dynamic in the modern game. Some of Henry’s observations defied belief. Others introduced some welcome perspective in the ‘Greed Is Good’ world of the Premier League.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
“Arsenal started nervously but eventually got into their stride to record an impressive win over Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers brought Daniel Agger straight back into the team after he was suspended for the draw against Manchester City, while Nuri Sahin was given his debut in midfield, in place of the injured Lucas Leiva. Arsene Wenger kept his back four intact despite the return to fitness of Laurent Koscielny. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Gervinho on the right. Liverpool dominated possession – 53% – but Arsenal were more penetrative with their passing, thanks to the positioning and use of the ball by Santi Cazorla between the lines.” Zonal Marking
Liverpool could move for Michael Owen following defeat to Arsenal
“A fitting end to a dreadful few days in the Liverpool reign of Brendan Rodgers stemmed from a superior Arsenal display, carelessness and another error from the once formidable José Reina. But it was strikers in absentia who hogged the limelight. The Liverpool manager admitted he would never have loaned Andy Carroll to West Ham United had he foreseen Friday’s non-transfer deadline day and will consider an Anfield return for Michael Owen.” Guardian
Arsenal wins 2-0; Reds still winless
“Liverpool were condemned to their worst start to a season for half a century as Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory at Anfield. On what would have been Bill Shankly’s 99th birthday, the Reds equaled the record of his newly promoted side in 1962-63 by collecting just one point from their opening three games.” ESPN
Liverpool’s style is taking shape, but problems loom
“There was a time when folks joked that Arsenal was the best Spanish team in the Prem. Pretty passes, triangle after triangle, keeping the ball on the floor — the Gunners were lovely to watch, a poor-man’s Barcelona. Leave it to their opponents to rely almost exclusively on fast, and sometimes crude, counterattacks. Arsenal would bring the sizzle. Except, of course, its style of play has rendered its trophy cabinet threadbare for seven years and counting.” ESPN
Good Riddance to a Grim Week
“There’s no point in me submitting a piece to the official site this week, as I can’t think of anything good to say about the past seven days. (It takes about five times as long to delicately word a piece at a time like this, and I don’t have the energy.) Aside from the bright sparks offered by Raheem Sterling, Joe Allen and a late cameo from Jonjo Shelvey (average age of 19.7 for that trio) against Arsenal, it’s been a quite wretched week.” Tomkins Times
“At least, we might surmise, the waves of panic might be starting to recede from lapping against the walls of Anfield now. On Sunday afternoon, Liverpool put in about as complete a performance as could have been hoped for considering their wretched start to the season against West Bromwich Albion eight days previously in holding Manchester City to a two-all draw in front of the television cameras. There was plenty for Liverpool supporters to be optimistic about, as well. The debut of Raheem Sterling, after three appearances from the substitutes bench, showed off a player with a sack of potential, while Joe Allen, whose signature from Swansea City for £15m raised eyebrows at the amount of money paid, put in about as accomplished a performance as Liverpools midfield has seen since the club started its slide down the Premier League table a couple of years ago.” twohundredpercent
“Liverpool scored from two dead ball situations, Manchester City scored after some poor defending. Brendan Rodgers gave a full league debut to Raheem Sterling on the left wing, and played Sebastian Coates rather than Jamie Carragher at the back. Lucas Leiva started in midfield despite getting injured in the warm-up, and was replaced after three minutes by Jonjo Shelvey, with Joe Allen dropping into the Lucas role.” Zonal Marking
Man City salvages tie vs. Liverpool
“Carlos Tevez pounced on a Martin Skrtel mistake to continue his Manchester City rehabilitation by snatching a draw for the champions at Liverpool. The Argentinian, now firmly back in favor, seized on a backpass to strike his side’s second equalizer and prevent City from slipping to their first Barclays Premier League defeat of the season. Liverpool was much improved after crashing 3-0 at West Brom in its opener and twice led a pulsating clash with goals from Skrtel and Luis Suarez on either side of a Yaya Toure effort.” ESPN
“An own goal from Andy Webster was all that separated the two sides as Liverpool scraped a narrow 1-0 victory over Hearts in the Europa League play-off at Tynecastle. Hearts impressed for much of the tie before suffering a late blow against their Premier League visitors, who made the trip across the border without a number of star players.” ESPN
“The grand opening of Manchester City’s player data archives last week was, they pronounced, ‘for the benefit of analytics in football,’ aimed at creating a ‘data culture in the UK.’ There was something giddily optimistic, even futuristic, about what is (to some people at least) a relatively worthy, earnest ambition.” Tomkins Times
“The surprise opening day thrashing is becoming a routine part of the Premier League’s opening weekend. In 2010-11, newly promoted Blackpool beat Wigan 4-0 away from home. Last year, Bolton also recorded a surprise 4-0 road win over Queens Park Rangers. This time, we saw three big wins — Fulham defeated Norwich 5-0; Swansea traveled to QPR and was victorious by the same score line; West Bromwich Albion recorded a 3-0 win over Liverpool.” ESPN
“The new Premier League season is about to begin, which means it’s time to dig out the Magic 8 ball, give it a shake and ask: How will things go this year? In recent seasons, teams have been separated into four groupings: top four, the chasing few, the bottom five and the rest. That doesn’t seem like such a good breakdown in 2012, as only a few clubs stand a probable chance at winning the title. A far greater number approach the season with at least a tang of apprehension as the rest of the table is concerned.” SI
“The England national side may have battled bravely through the Euro 2012 group stage this summer before their limitations were exposed, but there can be no doubting the strength of the English game at club level.” World Soccer
“West Brom stunned 10-man Liverpool with a resounding victory to mark the start of the Steve Clarke era in style in this Premier League encounter at the Hawthorns. A superb strike from Zoltan Gera, Peter Odemwingie’s penalty plus a header from on-loan newcomer Romelu Lukaku made it a miserable day for new Reds boss Brendan Rodgers. Liverpool also had defender Daniel Agger sent off early in the second period and looked a shambles at the back in the final half hour.” ESPN
“Manchester United took more corners than any other team bar Liverpool in the EPL last season. They also scored 20% of their goals from headers. On top of this only Blackburn and Manchester City scored more goals from set-pieces than United. For these reasons Differentgame thought they’d be the best team to have a look at to set some things straight about the corner kick. Actually, mainly just one thing: ‘How can a professional footballer not even beat the first man from a corner?'” Different Game
“When I look ahead to the 2012-13 Premier League season — which starts Saturday, if you can believe that — when I gaze into the swirling void of the future, and try to answer urgent questions like ‘How many points will Manchester City win by’ and ‘Reading: ??’ — when I think about the Premier League at all in terms other than Robin van Persie, nightclub groping incidents, and money, I see a darkness, and the name of the darkness is Liverpool.” Grantland
“Paul Lambert, Aston Villa. A large part of Lambert’s success at Norwich was his ability to switch seamlessly between systems – between and within matches – using a 5-3-2, a 4-4-1-1, a midfield diamond and a 4-4-2 at various points last season. Three of his summer recruits, Brett Holman, Karim El Ahmadi and Matthew Lowton, are versatile, indicating that Lambert intends to continue this approach at Villa Park. But these reactive tactics do not necessarily result in defensive football – last season, only the top six scored more goals than Lambert’s side, only the bottom three conceded more. Having seen Alex McLeish’s side score only 20 goals in 19 home games last season, Villa fans will enjoy the entertainment. …” Guardian
“They called it The Greatest Season Ever, and in terms of drama, the 2011-12 Premier League campaign will be hard to beat. A little more than three months, another Spanish tournament victory and a successful Olympic Games later, and the Premier League is back and likely to dominate the British sporting agenda — like it or not — for the next nine months. Here are 10 storylines to monitor in the run-up to kickoff.” SI
“18th May 2012: Relief. Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers has rebuked an approach from Liverpool FC. Relief. Unlike his predecessor Roberto ‘they kicked me out as a player, they’ll have to kick me out as a manager’ Martinez, Rodgers had always stated that he was highly ambitious and I felt that an approach by Liverpool would probably turn his head. Amazingly, he chose to stick with the Swans and we looked forward to the good times and the stylish football continuing. Just over a week later, much of the local press had confirmed that Swansea had all but secured the permanent services of their highly talented loanee Gylfi Sigurdsson, subject to the usual medical, agreeing personal terms etc. on the Monday following. All was rosy in SA1.” Tomkins Times
“he countdown is in full swing: in just nine days’ time the Barclays Premier League returns to action after its annual summer hiatus and the anticipation is building for what promises to be the most exciting season to date. Manchester City’s stunning title victory in the dying breaths of a rollercoaster 2011/12 season signalled a renaissance for the self-proclaimed ‘Greatest League In The World’, for so long monopolised by Manchester United and a small coterie of clubs whose title wins have peppered a landscape otherwise traditionally swathed in the distinctive red of the Manchester monolith.” Sabotage Times (Video)
“Earlier in the summer, TTT, as part of a new era of open communications between the club and its fans, was invited to ask Liverpool’s principal owner, John Henry, some questions. Recently I felt the time was right to submit a series of questions, which were devised by contributors to this site.” Tomkins Times
“It wasn’t meant to be this way. From the moment he became part of Roma’s youth system Alberto Aquilani was identified as one of the brightest prospects to emerge in years and yet now, just over a decade later, he moves to Fiorentina looking to rediscover that early promise. Having finally ended a Liverpool career that was always ill-fitting and never truly began in earnest, the 28-year-old moves to a club now synonymous with rebuilding the reputation of fallen stars. He will be hoping the famous Viola shirt can do the same for him.” ESPN
“The city of Gomel can be traced back to the time of the first millennium where the medieval western Slavic tribe widely known as the Radimichs developed, upon the naturally fortificated banks of the Sozh River, a homestead that would gradually develop into one of eastern Belarus’ most prominent cities. Gomel’s tumultuous history has seen it captured and recaptured, over the past few hundred years, by various Slavic princes who viewed the area as a potentially important location for trade and commerce before eventually becoming the city that it is today, within one of the most controversial nations in Europe.” Slavic Football Union
“New boss Brendan Rodgers looks to oversee a revolution in style at Liverpool this summer, as Kenny Dalglish’s under-performers are given a much needed revamp. Alex Keble, editor of tactics website TheChalkBoard.org.uk, asks: what changes will Rodgers make? Who will be leaving, who will be joining, and which current players will come to the fore?” FourFourTwo
“He arrived in France on deadline day, greeted by fanfare and trumpets and great expectations. By the end he left almost under the radar, the attention of most Lillois occupied more by the departure of golden child Eden Hazard. Joe Cole’s season long stay in the North of France was in many respects a curious one. But can it be deemed successful, and what is the next step for the man once hailed as the future of English football?” Just Football
“The current cases of Luka Modric, Robin van Persie and Andy Carroll illustrate the dramas, tedium and sheer frustrations of our top-level game. These cases are not on all fours. Van Persie, a prolific scorer for Arsenal last season even if he disappointed so surprisingly in the Dutch Euro 2012 team, has a contract which runs out next summer and, thanks to the Bosman decision (Bosman himself, the root of it all, seems to have fallen neglected, on hard times) can walk out in a year’s time free of a fee.” World Soccer
“Liverpool’s continued absence from the Champions League is dangerously becoming something of a self-defeating cycle. Without the prestige and, more importantly, the revenue from competing in Europe’s elite club competition, the Reds lack both the financial clout and the pulling power to compete with the top sides for the big names – and, on top of that, they’re now becoming vulnerable to other teams coming in for their star players, with the lure of big-money contracts and Champions League football potentially turning the heads of key members of Brendan Rodgers’ squad.” Sabotage Times
“There are two main ways to approach the selection process. The first is to pick each player by ‘type’ and select men who will complement each other on the pitch, producing a balanced and cohesive team. The manager simply gives these players a general framework to play in and lets them play. This method is not very detailed; the trick is in signing the right archetypes. We can broadly call this the ‘macro’ method. The second approach is much more sophisticated and requires a much deeper understanding of tactics and the ability to translate these ideas into instructions the players can absorb and understand. They will need to know precisely what they are expected to do in any given situation. Player types become less important as specific instructions can govern behaviour – but the balance and detail of the manager’s plan has to be spot-on. This, then, is the ‘micro’ method.” Tomkins Times
“In some recent interviews, Simon Kuper has suggested that Liverpool established a data-driven style of play focussed around crossing last season. He theorised that Liverpool attempted to cater to Andy Carroll’s heading strengths by buying players with good crossing statistics, such as Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson. Kuper then goes on to state that such an approach is flawed due to crossing being an inefficient means of scoring goals.” EPL Index
“Liverpool’s decision to sign Andy Carroll, in January 2011, was logical in the context of the transfers that followed that summer. The £35million fee may have been high, but as Liverpool pointed out at the time, they essentially got him and £15million for Fernando Torres and that was consistent with a switch from an approach based on counter-attacking to one based on crossing. Whether or not Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing really were bought through some quasi-moneyball logic because they had created the most chances of any players realistically available, the acquisitions seemed to make sense: they could deliver balls for Carroll to use the aerial ability he demonstrated in scoring a classical header for England against Sweden in the Euros. That goal, stemming from a perfectly timed leap and a powerful flex of the neck muscles showed just what Carroll is good at.” ESPN – Jonathan Wilson
“Kenny Dalglish was not the world’s greatest tactician, so it was only natural to expect Liverpool to struggle tactically under him. But before we explore these problems in detail from 2011/12 – what they were, why they occurred, how they could have been fixed – it would be instructive to look at the first six months of his second spell in charge of the club. What can we see from here that will help us draw useful conclusions about his performance last season?” Tomkins Times
“Football is a folk game in the truest sense of the word; it is of the people, by the people and for the people. Therein resides its power and longevity. The Victorians lay claim to codifying and defining the sport but the game itself has existed in some form or another all over the world for centuries. The Romans and ancient Greeks played a ball game with their feet, as did the Chinese; indeed the practice of Cujo (literally kick-ball) dates back to 1BC. There are variations in most cultures that are region-specific and as different from each other as football is to rugby. There seems to be something enduring and fascinating across the world about these team ball-games played with the feet. However, the game in England evolved from games that involved neighbouring towns and villages attempting to move a ball to a specific geographical location, the balls were usually carried and involved an unlimited amount of participants and resembled localised riots rather than a hobby or pastime.” Tomkins Times
“As the players that participated in the latter stages of Euro 2012 lie on a beach in an exotic location somewhere and perhaps reflect upon a long, gruelling campaign, many of their club colleagues have already returned to pre-season training ahead of a new season. The first week of pre-season training is year zero for many a footballer. For some it is the first opportunity to impress a new manager, for others it is an opportunity to display that they deserve a future at a club. Spare a thought perhaps for those players that did not return to training this past week. These types of players are categorised by the dreaded term, ‘unattached.’” In Bed With Maradona
“Football fans hover on the edge of insanity all year round. But the summer seems to push many over the precipice. It’s the time of hope and imagination, and that can be dangerous. The massive increase in newspaper space dedicated to football, allied to the rise of the internet, has helped turn the summer into a stress-fest. But the advent of Twitter has given voice to a thousand wind-up merchants, pranksters and wannabe transfer scoopers, the result of which is to multiply the insanity.” Tomkins Times
“We continue our summer series of historical video compilations this afternoon with another of the giants of English football, Liverpool FC. Liverpool started the 1962/63 back in the First Division after eight years away, during which they finished in third place in he Second Division four times and fourth place twice – back in the days when promotion and relegation were limited to just two clubs each – before winning the Second Division title in 1962. Our first match is the first Merseyside derby after their return to the First Division against Everton – and yes, those kits with black and white pictures are a little confusing! Liverpool are in the red shirts. Our second match skips forward to the end of the decade, and extended – very extended – highlights of a trip to Molineux to play Wolverhampton Wanderers in March of 1968.” twohundredpercent (YouTube)
“Roy Hodgson has based his England side around organisation, discipline and a good shape without the ball. It’s not a system that brings the best out of individuals, particularly flair players, and as a result, it’s been difficult to name a standout man of the match in any of England’s three Euro 2012 matches so far – despite England topping their group comfortably with seven points. But over the three games, Steven Gerrard has been England’s star performer, from his deep midfield role alongside Scott Parker.” FourFourTwo
“When Sergio Aguero crashed home the injury time winner to secure Manchester City’s Premier League title, he almost certainly gave little thought to the financial ramifications of his well taken goal, but it could be argued that this sublime moment provided the impetus for last week’s record television deal, which has climbed around 70% to £3 billion over the next three-year cycle. As the Premier League’s chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said, ‘We couldn’t have gone to market at a better time.'” Swiss Ramble
“The UK’s wartime leader undoubtedly had many virtues, but an interest in football was never amongst them. Nonetheless, however unintentionally, his above quote accurately summarises the current position of Liverpool FC, because if ever a football club has reason to be proud of its history and traditions, it’s Liverpool. At the same time, if ever a football club was at risk of that same tradition becoming an unintended euphemism for inertia and underachievement, it’s also Liverpool. Churchill is perceptive in his counselling that the past is there to be respected but should not be allowed to dictate the present.” Tomkins Times
“Once a turnip, now reincarnated as a goldfish. Suppose they’re roughly the same colour. At the back end of 2010 few people would have predicted that come the end of the following season Roy Hodgson would be announcing his first England squad on the day his successor at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish, was being handed his P45 by the Fenway Sports Group.” World Soccer
“I can’t stand the noise. Please, make it stop. In the old days we wanted Liverpool FC to do its business in private and only release it to the world when it was complete. Now, in life in general, no news is bad news. Indeed, no news is terrible news. No news is an excuse for mass hysteria. I’ve been guilty of it, too; Twitter, in particular, does that to you. You stare at the screen as it updates … and still no news! It’s been five seconds! Refresh, refresh.” Tomkins Times
“Like everyone else, I blacked out when Manchester City scored two goals in stoppage time to snatch the Premier League title from Manchester United. In my case, I woke up three days later, in a bathtub full of ice. My right kidney was missing, and a piece of paper containing the following text was folded in my hand. I have no idea what to make of this.” Grantland – Run of Play
“Kenny Dalglish walked away from Anfield yesterday but he knows he will never walk alone. For all the mistakes he made, for all the poor PR, misguided handling of the Luis Suárez saga and the meagre league form, Dalglish’s love affair with Liverpool will never end. He may have gone but the fans will still sing his name.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Joe Hart, Manchester City
“To change an old football cliché slightly, this was a season of two halves. The likes of Demba Ba and Jose Enrique were superb before Christmas but then faded badly, while Papiss Cisse and Paul Scholes had a superb impact but played only in the second half of the campaign. Then there are players like Lucas Leiva and Alejandro Faurlin, who excelled early on but saw their seasons end prematurely due to injury. This season, more than any other, highlighted the importance of consistency. With that being a crucial consideration, here is a Premier League team of the season, complete with two backups at each position.” ESPN
“Joey Barton doesn’t need legal aid but we typical Guardian do-gooders are going to give him free advice anyway. When he appears in front of the FA Committee of Investigation into Sustained Attacks on All and Sundry following the misunderstanding in Manchester on Sunday, Barton might try to curry sympathy among the powers-that-be by pointing out that Opta statistics show that, despite incurring a record-equalling nine red cards, Queens Park Rangers were the most fouled team in the Premier League this season. And Barton was their most fouled player.” Guardian
“A club’s ability to win silverware, whether it is Chelsea or Liverpool, has always been used by both fans and pundits as a litmus test for measuring footballing success but, as is often the case, this season’s Premier League success stories have in fact come from many of the teams whose trophy cabinets’will remain empty this year.” Sabotage Times
Liverpool 4 Chelsea 1: In-Depth Tactical Analysis
“This is the 32nd meeting between Liverpool and Chelsea in the past eight seasons, more than any other fixture in any eight year period in English football history. Liverpool have won five of the last seven Premier League meetings between the teams, and the last three in a row.” Tomkins Times
“This coming Sunday we will all be overwhelmed by an overwhelming amount of Premier League football. I’m seriously overwhelmed just thinking about it all. All the Premier League teams will take part in matches, all kicking off at the same time so that no competitive advantage can be had by any one club. We’ll get to Manic Sunday in a bit, but for now, let’s take a different kind of look at this past weekend’s proceedings: three snapshots of three goals in three games that hugely impacted the Premier League’s second-to-last weekend.” Grantland (YouTube)
The Reducer, Week 35: Manchester Civil War (YouTube)
“Marcus Christenson: Is it more difficult to take Newcastle to the brink of the Champions League or Manchester City to the brink of the title?” Guardian
“Gus Poyet was recently remembering the advice he received when he joined Chelsea 15 years ago. ‘I had a team-mate at Zaragoza who had spent four or five years in England and he told me all the things that I shouldn’t do,’ he said to the Uruguayan press.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“This has been a strange season for Liverpool. On the one hand, they have won their first trophy since 2006 by beating Cardiff City to secure the Carling Cup, which guarantees them European football next season, and have the chance of more silverware, having reached the FA Cup final. On the other hand, their form in the Premier League has been disappointing to say the least and they currently lie in eighth place, which is far below the expectations of their fans.” Swiss Ramble
Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool: Chelsea lift the trophy
“Chelsea won their fourth FA Cup in the last six years. Roberto Di Matteo went for his usual 4-2-3-1 system with no real surprises – Didier Drogba was upfront and Saloman Kalou got the nod on the left. Kenny Dalglish left out Andy Carroll and went for a 4-3-3 system with Luis Suarez upfront alone. There was also no place for Jamie Carragher at the back. This was basically two completely separate games – Liverpool before Carroll, and Liverpool with Carroll.” Zonal Marking
England appoint Roy Hodgson
“If the decision was between Harry Redknapp and Roy Hodgson, England were choosing between two very different coaches. The debate should not have been about ‘experience at big clubs’ or ‘how much the players like him’, but about the style of coach required: in Redknapp and Hodgson, the FA were choosing between two men at complete opposite ends of the football coach’s ideological spectrum, the most stark contrast of managerial philosophies you can find.” Zonal Marking
“I will not invent light sabers. I will not be able to pull off the Ryan Gosling satin jacket from Drive if I decide to start rocking it. I will not grow old with the grace and dignity of John Slattery. I will not retire to an island off the coast of Dubai where I entertain myself in my latter days by watching robot greyhound races. Secretly, I fully expect all these things to happen. Hell, if it works for Roberto Mancini, why can’t it work for me?” Grantland
“Liverpool have won all five previous home games against West Brom in the Premier League without conceding a single goal. Going back further, the Baggies haven’t won any of their last 21 trips to Anfield (since 1967) in the top-flight (D4, L17). Overall, the Baggies have lost 10 of their 11 PL clashes with the Reds without troubling the scorers, winning the other 2-1 last season. Roy Hodgson’s win percentage as manager of West Brom (37%) is now higher than it was during his spell with Liverpool (35%). Liverpool have drawn a league-high nine home games this term.” Tomkins Times
“Roy Hodgson’s West Brom completed the ultimate smash-and-grab raid to record their first win at Anfield for 45 years as Liverpool dominated but dropped yet more points at home. Had the hosts converted all their chances they would probably have made it into double figures but their season-long goalscoring problems cost them dearly once again.” ESPN
Venetian School, Francesco Guardi
“From Ashley Young’s unpopular testing of Newton’s theory of gravity at Old Trafford to some Chelsea fans’ ugly chants and Juan Mata’s ‘ghost goal’ at Wembley, Sunday demonstrated graphically how much the match-going experience has been transformed by the social-networking revolution.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
“Liverpool’s much-maligned record signing Andy Carroll went some way to justifying his huge price with the goal which put his side into their first FA Cup final since 2006 and ended the dreams of Everton in the all-Merseyside encounter at Wembley. The £35million striker had endured a testing afternoon, heading one straightforward chance wide, but came up with the winner four minutes from time at Wembley.” ESPN
Five points on Liverpool 2-1 Everton
“Liverpool fought back from 1-0 down to book their place in the final. Kenny Dalglish went with Andy Carroll upfront and Luis Suarez behind. Jordan Henderson started on the right of a four-man midfield, and at the back Jamie Carragher was selected at centre-back, which meant Daniel Agger moving to left-back. David Moyes selected Magaye Gueye on the left of midfield, Darron Gibson in the centre of midfield, and Phil Neville at right-back. This was a rather poor game lacking in technical quality – the goals came from two huge defensive mistakes and then a set-piece. There were a few individual areas of interest, however…” Zonal Marking
Liverpool 2 Everton 1: In-Depth Tactical Analysis
“This was to be the fifth FA Cup semi-final between the two Merseyside giants. Everton won the first (in 1906), but Liverpool have progressed through the last three. No other fixture in FA Cup history has seen more than three semi-finals. On all three occasions Liverpool have beaten Everton in an FA Cup semi-final, the Reds have gone on to lose the final. [not so keen on that one Mihail – time to end that sequence] Liverpool and Everton have been drawn together 16 times before in FA Cup history, with The Reds emerging victorious on nine occasions and the Toffees on seven.” Tomkins Times
Liverpool’s ‘work in progress’ must translate into Premier League success, starting at Anfield
“A record of only five home wins, as many as QPR and Blackburn Rovers, is too poor for a club with a proud European past and enduring Champions League ambitions. As Kenny Dalglish observed on the day Liverpool reached the FA Cup final by beating neighbours Everton 2-1, his team remain a ‘work in progress’. They won on Saturday but it was a semi-final long on noise but short on technical poise, Luis Suárez apart. Overall, Liverpool have the framework of a decent team.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
“Since taking over at Liverpool Kenny Dalglish has spent almost £100 million on buying the ‘best’ of British players within the Premier League in a bid to instigate an overhaul of Liverpool and return them to their former glory. Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, Adam, Craig Bellamy and Andy Carroll were all brought in to start a British revolution at the club.” Just Football
Scissors Kick 