Come on Liverpool!

So with two matches to go both United and Chelsea beat their respective opponents.

Chelsea have Liverpool next week and then Wigan the next.  United will face Sunderland followed by Stoke.  One of the few bright spots this weekend would be Stoke’s performance.  From what I could see (just look at the final result 7-0) they have packed up for the season.  At least United can look forward to 3 points on the 9th. 

It’s all essentially down to Liverpool this weekend.  They will have to do the business for us if anything is going to come of this season.  Wouldn’t it odd for Liverpool to play a decisive role in United 19th title ultimately taking the crown as England’s most successful club?  Bizarre business and truly I can’t much coming of it.  They may be urging forward towards fourth but they may also have a hangover from there European outing.

It’s too bad that Mourinho has gone; there was a period just over 2 years ago now where United were seen as preferable champions over Chelsea.  Now this Italian guy shows up and suddenly people don’t really mind them that much.  Oh how things can change.

Things to Love

Alright so lets talk about great things.

1. Barcelona are a beautiful team.  As a United fan there is only one, and I mean only and just barely at that, team that I can stomach losing to in the Champions League Final. 
2. Messi happens to be extraordinarily gifted and we are truly lucky as a result.
3. Winning is winning and even an unconvincing win still feels good.  Manchester United won against Burnley Saturday albiet unsatisfyingly so.  Berbatov continues to promise but not deliver and you look at the team and wonder, “How long can it really last?” But at the end of 90 minutes they run out 3-0 and a healthy win is on paper.  This will temporarily, a respite to be grateful for, ease the growing “crisis” talk.
4. Liverpool are not good.  Again and again I keep saying this but for some reason there are some who  are not surprised by Liverpool’s continued and increasingly amusing downfall.  I have repeatedly said that without Gerrard and Torres they are mediocre at best and with them both they are a good team.

Money and endless talk of debt cast a dense shadow over the beauty that is football. 

Would you rather see a Man United free of debt and struggling for midtable or see them enjoy short term success with impending CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. 

Now let’s all enjoy a picture that magnificently demonstrates the humbling of Real Madrid at the hands of Athletic Bilbao.

The wonderful thing about Football is you get to see those rich bourgoisie beaten at the hands of the unfancied proletariet.

Spectacular fun.  All for now.

Just One Match

Oh come on! It isn’t as if Jermaine Defoe reinvented the sport by scoring 5 goals in a match. So after this weekend what have we been told? Some new things…some old things:

Liverpool are in a whole heap of trouble and should be concentrated on damage control.

Jermaine Defoe is super fantastically awesome after … well just one really good game. Oh and Tottenham are better than Liverpool. HOLY CRAP!! I know what I just said.  Check out what I lifted from ESPNSoccernet.

But Redknapp believes no other Englishman can match Defoe for poise and calm in front of goal.

“He’s an amazing finisher,” Redknapp said. “When you look at England strikers, Wayne Rooney’s fantastic – a complete all-round player – but as a finisher, Defoe is the best out there.

Mr. Redknapp with all due respect…no he isn’t.  He’s just not.  He had a great game and will go to the World Cup as a substitute.

Chelsea are boringly good. They seem to just dispatch teams without thinking or breaking a sweat.

Arsenal are yet again proving that they are not the finished product.

Boring boring boring. Bring on the World Cup already. Let’s see some upsets and unsung heroes. I can’t wait to see unpaid players playing for nothing more than the glory of their country. There’s nothing more pure and excellent than that.

Impending Failure, Liverpool are still Crap

Everyone once in a while I whip out one of my “Season Review” DVDs to remind myself of how far my club has come.  Everything has to come to an end though.  Life, and Football, is all about cycles.  In Sport its impossible to maintain total dominance.  There is always a flux where certain players do well, others do poorly and some circumstances just can’t be replicated (I’m thinking a beachball on the pitch that magically deflects a save-able shot into the net).  Sport always changes. That’s why we love it.

I can’t help but think that Chelsea will win the League this year much in the same way United won last year.  They will be the only team that is able to show consistency and therefore limp over the finish line before any of the other teams can drag themselves across.

Liverpool are crap, Arsenal are great at smashing anyone who doesn’t actually matter, Manchester United win despite their best efforts and  Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City are fooling themselves if they think they’ll get anywhere near the pinnacle of England.

Manchester United will prove to be a challenger but will fail.  As a club they have a wonderful ability to beat teams despite appearing to not care either way (Wayne Rooney apart).  The only way Chelsea won’t win is if they manage to trip themselves up as they have done in the previous two seasons.

The Conclusion:

Chelsea are still winning convincingly

Arsenal are happy to beat teams when they’re allowed to

Manchester United have the momentum of three straight titles pushing them forward and over their opposition, but will it last?

And Liverpool: you may have noticed through the number of times I bring it up but Liverpool are crap.  They most definitely peaked last season.  They should be proud of their runner-up spot to Manchester United last year.  It will certainly be their best finish for some time to come.

Love at First Loss

I don’t know why I love the club that I do.

I’ve thought long and hard about that sentence.  It didn’t take long to realize that I don’t know why but the second part made me really think.  It’s that “L” word that everyone hates to love and loves to hate.  Love.  That’s really how I feel despite all their failings, errors and ineptitudes. 

Love isn’t easy when you’re in a long distance relationship.  You don’t get to see them in person.  You aren’t able to smell them, touch them, or throw an appliance at them to display your displeasure.  Often there are emotions that have no outlet. 

When loving from afar little things can take on a life of their own; you hear what other people are saying about the other and you don’t know who to believe.  They’re much closer after all.

Then it comes down to a crap game where the team you love betrays everything you thought you knew.  What do you do with that?  I know there’s always next weekend and a part of me knows that they’ll win again soon but I feel betrayed all the same. 

It all won’t matter the next day though.  I’ll wake up and I won’t remember the worst parts of it or the complete embarassment of the debacle. 

It must be love.

Sweet Validation

As this Sunday comes to a close we’ve learned something more.

First of all, I was right about Liverpool. Granted they were beaten by a freak goal but ultimately without Gerrard and Torres they are mediocre at best and at their worse, as they were on Saturday, they belong in the middle of the pack.

Second we saw that Rooney-less Manchester United can still find ways to win: credit to Sir Alex for building a respectable team outside of the recognized superstars.

And we’ve also seen that all the superstars and planning in the world can’t prepare you for a bad day as Chelsea realized. All praise should be given to Aston Villa who have adequately filled their own gaps and made great strides this season.

Manchester United were poor despite their win and Liverpool will be craving domestic redemption come next weekend. Liverpool v. United are the top bill for certain.

4 Reasons why Liverpool won’t challenge anytime Soon

What to do now?

Liverpool were soundly beaten by Chelsea this weekend.  This raises the question: Are Liverpool a realistic title challenger?

As far as I can see the answer is “NO”.  Below are my reasons why.

1.  Too reliant on 2 Players:  Liverpool have long been accused of depending Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres for goals and impetus.  This might seem like the easy answer but…well its entirely true.  They have no alternative in midfield to replace Gerrard and where would their goals come from if not Torres?

2.  Lack of a Supporting Cast:  Compare to Manchester United who have a reliable squad surrounding Wayne Rooney, Vidic, and Berbatov.  Or Chelsea who have successfully built a squad of players that can swap places as needed and consistently support Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba.  Chelsea  are leading the way in terms of squad strength.  For Liverpool there are few supportive options beyond Yossi Benayoun.

3.  Defensive Frailty:  Liverpool have lost a lot of their former strength at the back.  Hyppia and Carragher were once a strong partnership but that seems like  a distant memory.  Compare Carragher and Skrtel to Ferdinand/Vidic of United and Carvalho/Terry of Chelsea.  There is no match

4.  Poor Acquisitions:  Rafa Benitez is thought of as a tactical genius but he hasn’t shown much ingenuity when it comes to buying players.  His attempts to bulk up his squad have been disasters.  Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin, Luis Garcia, Robbie Keane, Lucas Leiva, Sebastian Leto, Alvaro Arbeloa…and on and on

That’s all I’ve got.  I don’t think Liverpool are anywhere near being a title challenger on a consistent basis.  Last year will ultimately the closest they will come for

The Weekend Past

Another exciting weekend in the world of football. 

Real Madrid lost for the first time this weekend without their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.  Their name will be added to list of “clubs in crisis” which features any top club who hasn’t crushed someone in the past week.  To that list we will also add Liverpool since surely they can’t recover now can they?  Manchester United are officially out of the tital race after failing to score twice in stoppage time against Sunderland.  It isn’t as if Sunderland are a vastly improved club under a newly upgraded manager.

I almost feel liberated. With Chelsea’s name already written down in the annals of the Premier League as the 09/10 Champions we can finally move on and start thinking about the 2010 Winter Olympics and the World Cup in South Africa. 

Now to find my vuvuzela and brush up on my technique.