UK Football

What is going on at Liverpool?  Rafa Benitez, the normally brilliant tacticion looked absolutely clueless on Saturday when Liverpool were outclassed by Fulham 3-1.  The match started off well enough for Liverpool, with the Reds dominating their hosts for the first twenty minutes.  That is until their shoddy defending allowed a great Fulham attack in which Zamora was allowed to tap in Damien Duff’s cross on 24 minutes.

Here is my first point about where Benitez just has it wrong these days, Jamie Carragher.  Carragher was a fantastic defender a few years ago.  But now every year that Carragher ages, that’s one more year he just looks more off the pace, trying to compete with younger attackers.  Sure Carragher had a career performance against United last week, but what matters most is how well you play against the clubs Liverpool should easily dominate.  The first goal showed that Carragher just cannot cover the ground the way that your star center back is expected anymore. 

From there Liverpool looked decidedly shaky, and only equalized when a terrible Voronin header ricocheted off a Fulham defender and was met by a typically sublime Fernando Torres volley.  A thing of beauty, and what you would expect from the no. 1 striker in the world.  Torres had Liverpool equal after 42 minutes, against the run of play.  That’s what Torres does, that’s why he’s brilliant.

Then, against the run of play as Liverpool had finally found their flowing passing, Fulham strike once more, taking the lead once more.  And worse, only four minutes later Degen receives a straight red for a terrible challenge on Clint Dempsey.  So how does Rafa respond to try and secure at least a point?  Well, by taking off Liverpool’s most creative and talented midfielder save Gerrard himself, as Yossi Benayoun makes way for the great Nathan Eccleston.  Because Nathan Eccleston is the man to turn around the match for Liverpool right?

Rafa went on to further embarrass himself by taking off Kuyt in the 84th minute, sealing Liverpool’s fate.  Not a decent attacker in sight, and a game strategy that I can’t explain.  Once again Rafa has got it horribly wrong.  Which confuses me.

That revenue is vital to Liverpool’s survival, and Benitez just doesn’t look capable of ensuring the Reds receive the money that they need.  

Villarreal, who are not a bad club by any standard but actually a ridiculously strong one, have made probably the most random player I could ever think of as their number one transfer target in Bobby Zamora.  Sure Zamora is talented, he’s done a great job for Fulham, but Villarreal have real ambitions for success in La Liga and the Champions League, and are perfectly capable of acquiring both, but not by recruiting Bobby Zamora to strengthen your side.  If for no other reason than just the fact that Zamora can’t really be counted on when the team desperately needs him.

Villarreal should spend their money elsewhere, because Zamora isn’t the sort of player you want a highly ranked club to depend on.  

photo: Nick

Poor Phil Brown, the guy finally gets to spend big money on a player that Hull City desperately needed in Jimmy Bullard, and now almost immediately after the deal is done, Bullard will be out for the rest of the season after requiring surgery on his knee.  Hull City spent a club record £5million for the England hopeful, and Bullard only played 37 minutes in a Tigers shirt before re-injuring the same knee that caused him so much trouble at Fulham.

But good news is, Hull are in a great position to stay afloat after this season, meaning Bullard will have the chance to make the same sort of return he made for Fulham.  After his injury is through, should Bullard be able to soldier on and continue his football career, I’d bet he’s still got enough in him to become that vital midfield player Phil Brown wants him to be.

Eduardo almost made a dream return for Arsenal, but not quite.  Eduardo’s long awaited return did start well however, the Croatian scored 2 goals in Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Cardiff in their fourth round FA Cup replay.  And then the dream story ended, as Eduardo had to come off, having picked up a hamstring injury, meaning Eduardo has returned only to face another three week layoff.  But at least he’s proven to be the same goal scoring Eduardo Arsenal have been missing.  When they can get him to stay healthy again, no doubt Eduardo will once again play a vital role in Arsene Wenger’s first team.

And finally, for any argument as to why Wayne Rooney should always start ahead of Tevez, should there be no mitigating factors like injury, was proven without a doubt yesterday during Manchester United’s 3-0 stomping of Fulham.  Rooney had missed the last seven matches with a hamstring injury, Fergie finally let him take the pitch in the 60th minute, Rooney is on for two minutes, and with his first touch, Rooney scores United’s third goal off a brilliant Ji Sung Park cross.

Sure it was a poachers goal so any striker worth their weight in the team could have put it away, but Rooney did, and Tevez didn’t.  In fact Tevez was United’s one weak link in that match last night, which saw the resurgence of Paul Scholes, the emergence of Gibson as a great midfield threat, and the significance of Berbatov playing as United’s lead striker.  I guarantee the scoreboard would have read a different result had Rooney started in place of Tevez.  Because all those times Tevez gets a pass and is then immediately tackled because he sits on the ball, or those times Tevez puts a pass astray because he can’t read his teammate’s intentions very well, would have been played differently with Rooney’s foot on the ball.  Fulham are lucky the England striker was only given thirty minutes, or else you could chalk up at least another two goals for United on the night.

photo: Nigel Wilson

Well, I’m going to have to change my tune about Liverpool apparently, considering their conviction to stay top of the league this season. The route of Newcastle, at St. James Park no less is the most clear statement of intent I’ve seen from Liverpool in some time. And they did it all without, as I would call him, pretty much useless striker Robbie Keane. Keane spent the entirety of the match on the bench, and Liverpool dominated a talented Newcastle side for 90 minutes anyway, looking better in attack than they ever have with Keane or even Fernando Torres on the pitch.

Newcastle looked pathetic under the constant Liverpool pressure which saw the reds net 5 before all was said and done, and sure Newcastle got one back, but is that even a consolation goal at that point. The Geordies got completely thrashed, that’s all there is to it. Kinnear has one or two things to think about now, and Chelsea having again dropped points with a draw, need to do some serious damage control or they could find themselves out of the title race in no time.

I would draw your attention to the fact that United always finish strong, and being three games behind Chelsea, theoretically United can already overtake them, and step within one point of Liverpool. Scolari had things so easy at the beginning of the season, I’m beginning to seriously wonder if the Brazilian has the managerial chops to help Chelsea out of the hole they’re digging. Too many draws has been Chelsea’s problem the last two seasons, and they’re setting up for another troublesome record this year if something doesn’t change soon.

And considering Chelsea drew level with Fulham 2-2, my point about Chelsea needing to spend money on defenders and not attackers seems much more valid now eh?

Photo: Gordon Flood

Well it was a boring day for the Premiership if you’re a fan of one of England’s elite clubs, as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal all failed to score on the day. With Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United all drawing level after ninety minutes in their fixtures, and Arsenal being completely demolished by Mark Hughes’ reinvigorated Manchester City side.

Despite Manchester United’s absolute dominance they just couldn’t take a point away from the fixture, and Aston Villa should be proud of their valiant effort to deny the champions three points despite Villa not having won against Manchester United since 1995. And despite Manchester United’s 63% possession and 12 shots on goal the champions still could not offer a real effort during the match’s entirety, never looking like a side that could have legitimately won the match.

Chelsea did not fare much better, as despite 70% possession and a whopping 33 shots on goal with 9 on target, still the Blues could not find the back of the net. Liverpool also with basically the same statistics, dominating possession and shots on goal, but feeling the force of a Fulham side in for a fight. That and Torres really never looked on target during the match, and when Torres is having a bad day, Liverpool has a bad day.

Arsenal, well Arsenal had a rough day at the office, as Manchester City gave them a lesson Wenger may never forget, in Premiership humility. Arsenal haven’t fared to well this season, with many players struggling against each other from within, and today was no different, as the Gunners still lack that team passion despite their flowing attacking play. Wenger seriously needs to do some damage control, because Arsenal have already approached 5 losses on the season, and no team in Premiership history has won the league with more than 5 losses, meaning if Arsenal really hope to challenge for the title, they are in serious trouble.

photo: thetelf

Tottenham’s resurgence faces it’s biggest test this weekend, as they come up against a very good Fulham home side. Sure Tottenham have miraculously drawn at Arsenal, and even more shockingly beaten Liverpool in the League and Carling Cup, but Fulham at home is a huge challenge for any club, as if Fulham can give you a fight anywhere, you can surely expect one at Craven Cottage.

Andy Johnson has been on fire, with three goals in the last three matches, really four as he earned Fulham the penalty which earned their second goal against Newcastle, and now that the former Everton striker has hit is stride he will be hard to stop, especially with the backing of the Fulham faithful. Redknapp’s men I don’t think have been tested the same way yet, because they won’t be expected Fulham to play as well as they are capable of doing at home.

And also, let’s face it, Darren Bent isn’t good enough to run a team around, and the bottom has to still drop out for Spurs. Redknapp refuelled them and their confidence, good for him, but Spurs have been on a good run and just like Hull City are bound to be brought back down to earth eventually. Tottenham just don’t have a team that can compete with the Premiership’s finest at the moment, and the degree to which Fulham can function at home may just punish them for that.

So sorry Redknapp, but I have to rule against you for this fixture and say that Fulham will grind out a 3-2 victory with at least two goals from an Andy Johnson that Everton never should have sold.