Liverpool for the ages

Drawing with the relegation zone

A Liverpool draw with Stoke confirms what I said about the league.  There goes 2 points to Chelsea and there’s no use getting upset about it, because, like the Mets, they’re not that good.  And that’s also what makes the Champ’s League runs so much more amazing~!  Because they can’t beat a side that will struggle to stay up, but on certain nights they can slug with the best sides in Europe.  You want to win the League?  Then you destroy these kind of clubs and get the 3 points.  30 shots for Liverpool vs 2 for Stoke.  76% time of possession for Liverpool~!  That’s ridiculous and yet, you came away with a goaless draw.

I see Benayoun on for Riera and Babbel for Keane.  Can these two get in the first team and stay there?  And exactly what has Keane done in Red so far?  Skrtel got his usual yellow card.  I love the guy but sooner or later he’s pulling someone down in the box and it’ll cost 3 points.

There’s always the Champ’s League [said on Sept 20].

***

Reading a little more about this and now I realize that AGAIN the referees have made a bad decision that cost Liverpool 2 points.  Read this on Gerrard’s mysteriously disallowed goal

I can’t recall a team more abused by bad officiating over a stretch than Liverpool.  You can’t win the league with the refs grabbing your points!

Gerrard: Better than Beckenbauer

Click here to see Gerrard’s goal against Marseille in the Champ’s League in a new window

Gerrard is back in the side after groin surgery.  I’ll never understand that, but apparently, that’s the deal.  And he scored both goals in the first group-stage game, vs Olympique Marseille.  The PK was scored twice, because apparently Dirk Kuyt was in the box before it was struck.  It made me think WHERE was THIS REFEREE when Michael Essien was shaking hands with Liverpool set piece and corner takers in last May’s Champ’s Leauge semis?  I still maintain that the UEFA wanted NO PART of Liverpool in that final.  Not again; not after finishing 4th in their league and having to qualify in each year.

The goal that you point to on May 25th, when Liverpool is hoisting their 6th European Cup, is THIS one.  You can not count this man out.  I’ve seen breathtaking footy from the Brazillians over the years.  I’ve seen the creativity and sheer audactity of Eric Cantona.  I’ve see wonderful touch and footwork by Thierry Henry.  And years ago, I saw Franz Beckenbauer’s elegance and inteligence on the field.  But I was thinking.  If I had to play one game for my life and I could choose anyone…you know how this goes.  Would my first pick be Beckenbauer or Gerrard?  Not sure anymore.  Of course I start at forward and come off after 1 minute for the 1995 version of Robbie Fowler…or Keegan?  Hmm.  Check out the goal and realize that it is right after a Marseille goal.  Take that!  YNWA.

Liverpool will NOT win the league

Just watched the Villa-Liverpool match and I’ve come to the conclusion that Liverpool will not win the league.  Don’t hold your breath.  Don’t sweat it.  They aren’t up there in quality like Chosee and ManU.  Not from what I saw today.

Torres went off mildly hurt, it looked like, and Keane underwhelmed me as the feature guy for 2/3’s of the match.  His big chance was squandered when he took an eternity to put a settling touch on a great through ball, as if he were looking for a PK (which he didn’t get but might have if his crest said “Man U” on it).

Keane: You need to look for goals and not whistles; the whistles will come as the defenders fear the goals!  Not the other way around.  I think Torres buries 3 of 5 of those and maybe 4 of 5: THAT’s how good the ball and pace and the space were.  Wide open.

Liverpool made very few good penetrating runs up into the Villa defense.  You need to do what Benayoun did in the Chelsea C-Lg game last year and penetrate on the ground and by doing THAT, you will get the defense to open up space that you can use as well as force them into penalties and mistakes.  You don’t win a footy match by having every goal be a perfectly drawn up cross or through ball.  You need to work and grind to earn the occasional picture perfect goal.  Make them work.  Make them fear.  Give them no space.  Grind and grind and make them feel pressured.  THEN you can capitalize on errors and fatigue.  Liverpool played that game like no one wanted to take the ball in HARD on the GROUND through the MIDDLE.

Like to see more Benayoun and Babbel, as they are more prone to do that, and less prone to think, “…Fernando will think of something”.

C’mon you Red Men! You only play for a tie against Chosee, ManU and Arsenal.  All Else, you play for 3 points.  THAT’S how you win the league.  Draws are great to stay out of relegation zone.  Stoke loves ‘em.

–Same old.

–Fog

Over the Top Reds

After Liverpool took the 1-0 lead and held it the game was in the extra time after the extra time. The crowd had already started into “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and it was wrapped. But Chelsea got a ball across the goal inside the 6 and Riise tried to dive-head it out and back where it came from. It went in. Totally, totally deflating.

So now, after looking to go to Stamford Bridge next Wednesday up a goal, where any draw sends you through and 0-1 means extra time; now, you have to score there and they haven’t scored there in many matches. Let’s see: 0-0 is a Liverpool out. 1-1 is extra time. 1-0 takes it and 2-2 puts Liverpool through on away goals. But that first one is the problem. That’s hard.

Torres needs to be thinking about his game because he missed at least 3 good opportunities. I’m sure he is. Gerrard was very much out of things and well marked. That is a given if you’re going to stop them. Kuyt got lucky, let’s face it, but I’ll take it because the ref was calling all sorts of diving nonsense Chelsea’s way. My goodness they dive like Italians there. Drogba is a better actor than half of Hollywood. And there were a lot of nasty little fouls that Chelsea specialize in. Hands to the face on 50-50 headers and Torres took some shots that the ref wasn’t interested in. But let Drogba go down and there’s the whistle. And Terry’s late cross check…ahh, it’s disgusting. They can play nice football and take your breath away but they are such jerks that you just want to put your foot through the TV. That’s why I enjoyed Kuyt’s goal. Serves them right.

The good thing to take away from this is that Liverpool acquitted themselves well and as equals of Chelsea all night. They are in this match. They can win it. And if they do, it is not a fluke. They are RIGHT THERE. And they seem to know what to bring to these European nights. I just hope the refs aren’t buying what Drogba is selling. He is looking to dive in the box first, second and third choice. Scoring is only an afterthought with him.

Other good takeaway is Torres: he has to be blind with rage at himself and his performance. They could have had a laugher if he buried his chances. Dirk Kuyt has to be feeling good but the trump card is this: I think that Riise is a well-liked and respected veteran of the wars and I think that lads will not want to allow that his legacy at Anfield be this own goal. They will go over the top and charge machine guns on Wednesday for the redhead’s legacy and for their season. They will carry it and move on.

From Soccernet dot com: Benitez:

Benitez said: ‘We must now be positive and clear our minds. If we play like that at Stamford Bridge next week and take those chances, we will go through.

‘We have confidence in ourselves. I am confident we can do it, I will recall the first 20 minutes of the second period when we were very much on top of Chelsea. ‘If we can do that again at Stamford Bridge, we can still get to the final.’ Benitez was critical of Austrian referee Konrad Plautz for giving so much added time. He was also upset by the stream of free-kicks awarded by the official – who also refereed the group-stage home defeat by Marseille – against his side. The Spaniard added: ‘It was a difficult match and I was very disappointed with the referee. This was not the first time. ‘We knew what to expect because we’d had him before against Marseille. He gave just one minute injury-time in the first period and four in the second – it was hard to understand. ‘All the free-kicks seemed to go against us. The first four free-kicks against us were for pushing, and then when one of their players (Ashley Cole) pushes one of our players in the back with both hands in the box, there’s nothing.

The Sammis begin on Tuesday

Here he is: Sammi Hyppia, hero of the Quarterfinal 2nd leg. He’s older, he’s slower, but he’s hoisted the Reds’ last European Cup and he’s a winner. He makes up in smarts and experience what he gives away in youth.

Tuesday the 22nd at Anfield 14:45 ET. Wow, soccernet is now using ET or Eastern Time. Getting these match times right for taping is not easy for a dopey American. Usually it’s 17:45 UT or GMT. That’s “Universal Time” aka “Greenwhich Mean Time” which is the time zone the UK is in. They are 5 hours ahead. So you deduct 5 hours to get it to New York time and then deduct 12 hours to get rid of the goofy military time they use there and you have, what? 2:45? As in Pee Em? Ok, got it.

The 2nd leg is the following Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. For the uninitiated, in the Champion’s League (winner gets the European Cup), the knock out stages are a home-and-home series in which the two game scores are combined. But away goals break ties. The final is a one game winner-take-all game at a neutral venue. That game goes extra time and PK’s if there is a tie. The knock out rounds (Round of 16, Quarters and Sammis) don’t go extra time unless the aggregate score is tied (and away goals don’t break it) after the second leg. Then you need a winner so sure, you’ll do the extra time and PK’s ritual. And I say ritual because who plays for the win in extra time? Everyone’s knackered and the subs are to align for kicks and no one wants to get hit on the break trying to go forward and win there. Everyone wants to get to that magical flip of the coin that is PK’s. Can you blame them? It seems like it ought to easy on paper, no? And who can forget Jerzey Dudek in Istanbul doing the Grobbelaar wobbly knees act. What a night that was. Buckle up. Here we go. YNWA.

Hoop, Hoop Hyppia! On to the Sammis!

Sammi Hyppia scored the goal that made it possible to come back last night. I know, I know–it was 4-2 as a final but that score does not tell the story. Arsenal played some of the fastest one-touch football I’ve ever seen and Liverpool were out of it and dragging until Hyppia nailed the header off the corner. It was a great goal from pretty far out and perfectly placed.

After the equaliser 1-1 from Sammi, Arsenal NEVER got back up to that gear and that was the difference, as Liverpool could not have hoped to cope with it!

The penalty was not a penalty but it was given so what are you going to do. Babbel did his job and drew the PK and Gerrard buried it. I was really, really worried about Gerrard because he was totally knackered by that point that you could see he was a mess. And if Arsenal fans are upset, realize that Babbel did hit them on the break even though I realize that would not have been the situation if they had the lead (which they did with the away goal and the PK took that from them so they fling themselves forward).

Torres’ goal was tremendous! Just amazing. He knew exactly where he wanted to put it when he took the ball with his back to the goal. He’s so great up front–let Peter Crouch go–set him free. Buh-bye, big boy. I was glad to see Crouch come off because in a game with this kind of pace, Crouchy just can’t do anything fast enough up there. He’s just a fixed target on set pieces. That won’t do against Arsenal.

So now the Reds go to the semis to play Chosee for the 3rd time in 4 years. You think Chelsea wants to avenge the past now? Yea, just a little. And the first leg is at Anfield. I’d love it if it were the other way around. And if they should somehow get in the finals, just as I predicted, Manchester United will be waiting for them. I think they could beat Chelsea but I do not feel so good about Man U at all. Was the last meeting in a cup final 1995-6 FA Cup? With Cantona drilling the winner off Rush for Rushie’s last touch in Red? Love to avenge a little of that. Tall order. But that’s what they do there.

The Draw

Arsenal – Liverpool

Fernebache – Chelsea

Shalke 04 – Barcelona

Roma – Man United

Quarters.

[Fernando Torres after his away goal.  We love the away goals. YNWA]

Just watched the away leg of the Rd of 16 and Torres put it away after a double yellow sendoff, described as “harsh” on soccernet. Banana oil. The foul was clearly bookable and the Italians play the fouling game and playing the ref for a sap better than anyone. Diving is like a national art form with these guys. If you LOOK at an Italian soccer player, he is capable of going down, looking hurt and getting bystanders to actually believe that you were responsible. It’s epidemic.

Thankfully, this ref, and the one at Anfield (when he wasn’t missing Inter handballs in the box) did not allow the diving tradition to have any traction. Still there was a “giveback” call (right after a sendoff, the ref will usually throw the 10 man side a “makeup” or “giveback” call to somewhat dampen the effect of the sendoff) right after where the Inter player came ripping into a Liverpool man, clearly the aggressor, and yet went down writhing and drew the call just outside the 18. By then, all they could do was sky their chances over the bar. As my old coach used to say, “…make him the captain, he kicks it the highest!”

Now Liverpool are one of 4 teams in the final 8 who play in the Premiership. If that isn’t proof that the EPL is the strongest league in the world now, I don’t know what is. I think Liverpool is the weakest side of the four, but they have the great Gerrard (Old Man and the Sea reference) and you just can’t bet against the Reds in the Champs League, because somehow, they get it done. And right now, with Torres feeling good and hooking up with Gerrard, they have a puncher’s chance.

Torres’ goal was lovely. Amazing in some ways. He collected a ball behind him calmly with a man on. With his back to the goal and the defender, he planned to turn and hit it blind and executed the strike quickly and it was perfect. What vision. This is stuff Peter Crouch only dreams of, never mind that he doesn’t have the turning speed of Joe Torre in a golfcart. All in all, a good show. Bring on Chelsea! Bring on Man United. Bring on Arsenal! Actually, United scares me the most. Then Arsenal. Sorry Chosee.

He’s just a man, and not a freak…

Nothing much new today. Seeing the oil refinery explosion and realizing that oil isn’t going to pull back below $90 anytime soon. My strategy is to wait for the next big pullback, hopefully into the mid 80’s and then, assuming that that pullback pulls down MRO Marathon Oil to a nice, sub-45 price, I load up on some Marathon Oil and am pretty certain I’ll see it at 60 sometime in the next 12 months. Remember though, I’m no Jim Kramer.

Also trying to figure out a way to see Liverpool-Inter tomorrow at 2:45pm here Eastern Standard Time or Daylight Time or whatever. Options now are to see if Fox Soccer Channel will air it and tape it while at work. The other option is to go to work at 5am and not take a lunch (mostly don’t anyway) and then ride down to the Bronx at 2:30 and go to Rory Dolan’s and watch it. That’s where I saw them win the European Cup in 2005. Which reminds me. I had thought to list my “top greatest sports thrills” list, for anyone who cares. Here goes:

And this is just me, ok?