This weeks Premiership Action(scores)

therecklessone

He should have been interviewed for his elbow on Tainio...:mad:

MrJoeSoap

Davei141 wrote:

At least it wasnt a leg, your right.

Ah the lack of an apostrophe. Check out this book, its great.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592400876?v=glance

Just heard that the Chelsea game was the first time they have conceded more than one in the Premiership under Mourinho. That to me is just incredible.

You can say whatever you want about the money they have spent, but, for me, there is no better collective squad of footballers in the world. Real Madrid have the flair and the superstars, but Chelsea have the solidity and the spirit. Mourinho is a great manager, its just such a pity he can't handle losing (or drawing) well. His comments after the Everton and Charlton matches were so disrespectful that he brought himself down a lot in my and many others estimation.he

Mark

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Just heard that the Chelsea game was the first time they have conceded more than one in the Premiership under Mourinho. That to me is just incredible.

This season, yes. Last season both Bolton and Arsenal scored 2 against them off the top of my head. Of course in the Champions League they were a disgrace defensively as the tournament went on, conceding 9 goals against Barca and Bayern.

Is it just me remembering selectively when I think that Chelsea often go vast streches without conceding, but when they do they tend to concede in the next few games? I'm thinking of now and in February I think it was after Cech had broken the record for longest clean sheet, after Huckerby scored against them they weren't as airtight, or am I wrong?

MrJoeSoap

Mark wrote:

This season, yes. Last season both Bolton and Arsenal scored 2 against them off the top of my head. Of course in the Champions League they were a disgrace defensively as the tournament went on, conceding 9 goals against Barca and Bayern.

Sorry yeah, don't know how I forgot that. Think I heard it on RTE, that should automatically have alarm bells ringing.

You're right about them conceding in sequences, they didn't concede in the first six this season and have now conceded in the last five domestic games, against Liverpool, Bolton, Everton, Charlton and Blackburn (by no means world beaters).

That said, they haven't lost any of those games (well, according to Jose anyway, ) and won 3 of them fairly convincingly. It will be interesting to see them up against a good attacking team over two legs in Europe, will they concede plenty as they did last season, or will they improve?

Helix

you left out villa, who were the first team to score against them in the league this season

therecklessone

MrJoeSoap wrote:

its just such a pity he can't handle losing (or drawing) well. His comments after the Everton and Charlton matches were so disrespectful that he brought himself down a lot in my and many others estimation.he

What took you so long, he's been down in estimation since day one...;)

Lemlin

Mark wrote:

This season, yes. Last season both Bolton and Arsenal scored 2 against them off the top of my head. Of course in the Champions League they were a disgrace defensively as the tournament went on, conceding 9 goals against Barca and Bayern.

Is it just me remembering selectively when I think that Chelsea often go vast streches without conceding, but when they do they tend to concede in the next few games? I'm thinking of now and in February I think it was after Cech had broken the record for longest clean sheet, after Huckerby scored against them they weren't as airtight, or am I wrong?

I think its the first time they conceded two at home though? Maybe I'm wrong but I heard some sort of statistic about that on the radio yesterday.

What took you so long, he's been down in estimation since day one...

Alot of people don't like him but I think he's a legend. His press conferences are the funniest I've ever seen for a manager and its no wonder alot of the press love him. He reminds me of Brian Clough in that he has no problem saying something controversial and giving his opinion at all times.

Mark

Nay, twas at home Chelsea conceded 2 to Bolton.

Chelsea - Bolton Wanderers 2-2
20/11 2004 16:00
1-0 01 min. Duff
2-0 48 min. Tiago
2-1 52 min. Davies
2-2 87 min. Jaidi

Regarding Mourinho, he's a legend, nice to hear a manager giving an opinion when he's asked questions rather than trotting out the same old fig time and time again.

Davei141

Lemlin wrote:

That's why I quit. It was lighthearted anyway. Just seen on MOTD that Sol Campbell was interviewed by the police after trouble with a fan going down the tunnel.

Haven't seen reports of it anywhere on the net though.

Exactly, just a bit of fun. The reports were on SSN. And how the hell did the fan get in the tunnel? if sol gets charged with anything he should be able to do something with the stewards.

recklessone wrote:

He should have been interviewed for his elbow on Tainio...

Had his eyes firmly on the ball, not once did he look at tainio.

Regarding Mourinho, he's a legend, nice to hear a manager giving an opinion when he's asked questions rather than trotting out the same old fig time and time again

His opinion is honest when he wins (not hard), and cries like a baby when he draws and loses. it actually gets quite annoying knowing hes never lost a match in his life according to him.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Well as far as he is concerned he has never lost a game, it is either the linesman, referee, length of the grass colour of the oppositon strip, hairstyle of the opposing manager or some other such crap. One day he will be beaten by a better team

PHB

Chelsea concede when they attack.

The reason they didn't concede in the first five games is cause they weren't openly attacking like they were in the last couple of games.
When they attack they tend to score more than the other team, but when they defend, they nick goals.

Lemlin

Exactly, just a bit of fun. The reports were on SSN. And how the hell did the fan get in the tunnel? if sol gets charged with anything he should be able to do something with the stewards.

The fan wasn't in the tunnel. It showed it on MOTD. He was standing at the edge of the stand roaring abuse as Campbell walked past down the tunnel. Campbell said something back and went to walk back but a policeman stopped him.

therecklessone

Davei141 wrote:

Exactly, just a bit of fun. The reports were on SSN. And how the hell did the fan get in the tunnel? if sol gets charged with anything he should be able to do something with the stewards.

As Lemlin said, the fan was in the stand roaring something down at Campbell. He said something back and was led away. A wholelot of nothing TBH, newspapers looking for controversy where none existed. If the fan made a complaint against Campbell that led to Campbell haveing to answer police questions then the fan is a prat, if he wants to hand it out he should be able to take it back.

Davei141 wrote:

Had his eyes firmly on the ball, not once did he look at tainio.

Someone was watching Jimmy Hill this morning...

I'll grant you that, but when Mido got a red against Chelsea for his clash with Del Horno, Mido's account of the clash was that he raised his arm to protect himself in the challenge. Thats what Campbell was doing with his arms up for the challenge, protecting himself (whether he saw Tainio or not). The one difference was that Mido did look at Del Horno (just the once IIRC), but IMO neither deserved a red card.

Bennet was awful yesterday. Lauren (how was that jump all over Mido in the 2nd half not a free???) and Toure got away with persistent fouling, Flamini was lucky not to get a 2nd yellow, and Tainio should have walked for the challenge that he got a yellow for (on top of one or two ther wild challenges that he wasn't cautioned for). Spurs had a number of chances in the 1st half for advantage that Bennet blew up for (though I won't complain about the one that led to the free Ledly scored from...:D ) In addition, the linesman on the east stand side (TV camera side) was appaling, waiting for Bennet to signal before he dared raise his flag for anything from a throw upwards.

In general, the standard of officiating in the EPL is getting worse. Last weeks lineos for Everton-Chelsea were sh*t, the ref for Fulham-Wigan yesterday should be relegated a-la Uriah Rennie a few seasons back.

redspider

I watched the game live and in full on RTE and watched some of the highlights again on MOTD. Liverpool get a result, at last, but no more than a result. The faults within the team, as pointed out on numerous occasions, remain, and whilst there were some improvements by some players, Liverpool’s victory was made all the more easier by a West Ham display that was well below what they have been doing so far.

In a previous post I categorised the players usefulness as follows:
Good enough: (any goalie), Finnan, Carragher, Riise, Warnock, Gerrard, Alonso
ok: Hamann, Cisse, Pongolle
barely ok to fill a gap: Sissoko, Traore, Garcia, Josemi
Not good enough: Crouch, Morientes, Hyppia, Kewell

The team lined out in a 4-4-2 with Gerrard being asked to play wide at times and Garcia:

---

Reina

---

Finnan – Hyppia – Carragher – Riise
Gerrard – Sissoko – Alonso – Garcia

---

Cisse – Morientes ----

This was clearly a stronger selection and formation than what Benitez has “thrown on” in previous matches. There is clear correlation between this team and the better players I have identified, and which many of you may agree with. Is Benitez learning from his mistakes? Time will tell, but for me it was encouraging to see that he only brought on Crouch for 3 mins. A token gesture at best.

Reina - did ok but had very little trouble but once again showed uncertainty and was uncomfortable for a couple of crosses.

Finnan – was very good, very dependable, and got up a couple of times to deliver in quality crosses

Hyypia – his slowness nearly let them in a few times, he got away with it in this match, but is a disaster waiting to happen. If I was Benitez I would stick in any other defender in the back who has some pace, such as Warnock perhaps or Josemi. But Hyypa is still strong aerially and Zak Whitbread was weak-ish in the B Cup.

Carragher – did most things right but for his standards he didn’t make any brilliant last ditch tackles, he didn’t miss anything, but perhaps overall, West Ham didn’t stretch him enough. Briliant all the same.

Riise – did his left back job well enough and got up and down well on the flank, without leaving Liverpool over-exposed (ie: Hyppia covering). Benitez was smart by moving Carr over to the left CB. I did note that he moved them back to the other way around for the 2nd half (ie: Hyppia LCB and Carra RCB, their favoured and more comfortable positions).

Gerrard – did an ok job, but many of the things he tried didn’t come off. If anything he tried to bring the other players into it too much, as in Morientes and Cisse and probably should have on many occasions taken an extra touch and gone for a shot himself. Not one of his better games, but as his capability is much higher than most of the others, he still was better, if you catch my drift.

Sissoko – he had one of his poorer games I thought, definitely a standard not up to what we need. Just like Traore’s poor days. If Hamann was 3 years younger he should get a place before Sissoko. Once Gonzalez comes on board, if he performs according to what he’s cracked up to be, Sissoko will be a sub and Gerrard will be moved back to the centre of the park.

Alonso – well, what can I say about this guy. Brilliance, both tackling and creatively. He had a fantastic game and if there is one thing I am grateful to Benitez about apart from winning the CL, and that’s bringing Alonso to Liverpool. We need him though. He can improve his shooting, I realise he got the goal, as he definitely has enough skill to be popping in driving goals as regularly as Frank Lampard.

Garcia – he definitely had one of his better games. He was doing his usual drifting and losing the ball, but he did a lot more creatively, got around a few players, yes, he was beating the opposition and making things difficult for West Ham. And he got in some good telling shots. Try as he might through he couldn’t get much inter-linking play with Morientes nor Cisse. But who can really? He definitely went up a few points on my rating scale after this performance. He had some good performances last season, but if he wants to stay at Liverpool and get into the 1st eleven on merit, then he needs to keep this up, improve on it but really keep consistently better.

Cisse – well, I guess you could say he played his own game. He was his usual self, fast, quick, direct. He shot when he could, quickly and from wherever. Morientes and himself cant play together. I think any player would find it hard to play with Cisse. He lacks close ball control. But he is quick. He was causing West Ham difficulties, much more so than Morientes, and probably much more so than Crouch.

Morientes – I feel sorry for him. He’s like a gunfighter who is now at a stage where he is the slowest draw. His reactions are slow, his mind is slow, and although he has some neat touches, and ball control, at this level, he is just not at the races. His finishing, if anything could redeem him and warrant a place in the team, alas has also left him. He had a clear header, which he tamely failed to direct home from very close range. His linkage play was every poor, Gerrard would give him the ball, he would lose it. Himself and Cisse are like chalk and Cheese and this partnership will never work.

Subs
Zenden – did ok, having Riise behind him, didn’t have to do much for the goal, the ball broke to him kindly and he shot, and it went in, just as much a surprise to Liverpool who had seen chance after chance go a-begging in the 2nd half without reward, only for Zenden to get it from long-range. I wouldn’t expect to see him score many like this week-in week-out.


Overall, a win is a win, 3 pts, Liverpool now on 13 pts with 9 games played, which fares ok when compared with Man U (18 pts, 10 games) and Arsenal (17 pts, 10 games). It may be a crisis of sorts at Liverpool, and last week I didn’t have the time to join the lively discussion that was/is taking place on what to do with Liverpool, etc, but from 2nd place down, the league is fairly open. I think we can all forget about Chelsea, no team needs to compare to them anymore as financially and now on the field, they are playing in a different league altogether.

The ladder attached makes interesting viewing. It shows the played-10 status, although Liverpool have only played 9. I will update it after the next match. Even though high-flying Wigan are on 22 pts, they have a much more difficult quarter coming up with games against all the other big teams (Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and Liverpool), so this peak may be a statistical anomaly due to the order of fixtures. There is a long way to go, but if Benitez sticks with 4-4-2, and we keep getting results like this, the race to 4th is very much back on the cards.

redspider

Lemlin

therecklessone wrote:

As Lemlin said, the fan was in the stand roaring something down at Campbell. He said something back and was led away. A wholelot of nothing TBH, newspapers looking for controversy where none existed. If the fan made a complaint against Campbell that led to Campbell haveing to answer police questions then the fan is a prat, if he wants to hand it out he should be able to take it back.



Someone was watching Jimmy Hill this morning...

I'll grant you that, but when Mido got a red against Chelsea for his clash with Del Horno, Mido's account of the clash was that he raised his arm to protect himself in the challenge. Thats what Campbell was doing with his arms up for the challenge, protecting himself (whether he saw Tainio or not). The one difference was that Mido did look at Del Horno (just the once IIRC), but IMO neither deserved a red card.

Bennet was awful yesterday. Lauren (how was that jump all over Mido in the 2nd half not a free???) and Toure got away with persistent fouling, Flamini was lucky not to get a 2nd yellow, and Tainio should have walked for the challenge that he got a yellow for (on top of one or two ther wild challenges that he wasn't cautioned for). Spurs had a number of chances in the 1st half for advantage that Bennet blew up for (though I won't complain about the one that led to the free Ledly scored from...:D ) In addition, the linesman on the east stand side (TV camera side) was appaling, waiting for Bennet to signal before he dared raise his flag for anything from a throw upwards.

In general, the standard of officiating in the EPL is getting worse. Last weeks lineos for Everton-Chelsea were sh*t, the ref for Fulham-Wigan yesterday should be relegated a-la Uriah Rennie a few seasons back.

The referee for Fulham vs Wigan was the backup referee. Still no excuse for how bad he was though.

Jivin Turkey

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Ah the lack of an apostrophe. Check out this book, its great.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1592400876?v=glance

It's very ironic you should say that.

And if you are going to correct someone on their English at least get it right, there is a lack of more than an apostrophe.

Necronomicon

The lads from the Carling Cup should have been put out at the Riverside, at least they look like they want to wear a Man United shirt. Awful, unnacceptable performance. Bring on Chelsea........:(

MrJoeSoap

Jivin Turkey wrote:

It's very ironic you should say that.

And if you are going to correct someone on their English at least get it right, there is a lack of more than an apostrophe.

Haha, I was only having a laugh!

Chucky the tree

redspider wrote:

Hyypia – his slowness nearly let them in a few times, he got away with it in this match, but is a disaster waiting to happen. If I was Benitez I would stick in any other defender in the back who has some pace, such as Warnock perhaps or Josemi. But Hyypa is still strong aerially and Zak Whitbread was weak-ish in the B Cup.



redspider

you think we should stick warnock in the centre of defense?!


oh christ.

Dr. Nick

Chucky the tree wrote:

you think we should stick warnock in the centre of defense?!


oh christ.

Was at the ManU match last month and Sami was MOM, but he's damn slow, and he'll only get slower. Rafa'a idea (as he would say himself) is probably to play the new* CB in where he perceives pace is more vital. AWAY to ManU being one such game.

*In January, PLEASE!