Arsenal 0 -2 Liverpool. But there is still hope!

After a summer of unrest, Cesc finally leaving for Barca, Nasri on the verge of going to Man City, the Gunners had a lot of questions to answer. Over the summer, the struggling Denilson and the effervescent, versatile Eboue had also departed. Wilshere, Rosicky, Gibbs were out injured. Song and new signing, Gervinho were serving suspensions. As if that was not enough, the improved Koscielny injured his back 10 minutes in the game. There was no lack of effort from Arsenal. Theo Walcott, Arshavin tried to make runs, but could not quite penetrate. Nasri starting the game was surprising to me. But, Wenger did say that "Samir has been 100% committed ever since he joined the club". I don't think the fans should berate players looking for a transfer. Would you not go to another employer if he offered you twice of what you are earning? "Part of our job" is how Wenger described the Nasri situation. Can Wenger convince Samir to stay just like the United gaffer did last year with Rooney? Unlikely, but possible.

Happy times ahead?




Back to the game. Frimpong came in for Song and had a decent game considering that it was his debut and he is not even 20 yet. Carl Jenkisnon and Ignasi Miquel, another couple of teenagers had impressive games and would definitely be good backups to Kosh and Gibbs (although Jenkinson is a right-back). Arsenal competed well with a really depleted team for 70 minutes before they lost Frimpong, who got a deserved red card. (another red card on debut for a gunner after Gervinho and Kosh). With 10 tired men on the pitch, Arsenal finally went down to a freak own goal from Ramsey. 'Rambo' certainly did not have a good game and the own goal summed up a bad day for him. Looking for an equalizer the Gunners committed men forward and were punished by Suarez. The gunners lost 2-0.

Arsenal's best player on the pitch was Vermaelen. The Belgian was a ROCK and kept Carrol ( and the Liverpool attack) quiet for the most part. Along with Sagna and a fit Gibbs, and an improving Kosh, Arsenal seem to have a solid back four. Schzeny has been stable. With Wilshere coming in, I believe there is still light at the end of this tunnel. With the current squad of players (assuming everyone is fit and Nasri and Bendtner leave), our starting eleven would be:
Schzeny
Gibbs
Sagna
Vermaelen
Koscielny
Song
Wilshere
Rosicky/Ramsey
Arshavin/ Walcott
Van Persie
Gervinho

on the bench:
Jenkinson
Squilacci
Miquel
Arshavin/ Walcott
Rosicky/Ramsey
Ryo Miyachi
Chamberlain
Chamakh


I think this is definitely a top 4 team. If Wenger can pull out a creative midfielder or convince Nasri to stay, we will be right in the mix for a push for the title.

I would still urge all the gunners to get behind our team. Wenger said before the game. "You can question my decisions for the club, but not my loyalty towards the club"

With some caution I say, "Bring on Udinese"

Chelsea vs Liverpool (4-4) UEFA Match Highlights

Watch the highlights below

Chelsea v Liverpool

2 days to go!!

We are almost there.......Its the 8th of August and in a couple of days, when referee Graham Poll, puts his whistle to mouth, Tottenham and Sunderland will set the ball rolling to start off one of the most eagerly awaited English Premier League ever.



Yes, every time it looks like--"This" time is the most awaited EPL. But, to me there have never been as many contenders to the EPL. Well, speaking from my brain, I would say Chelsea are favorites--simply because of the depth in their squad. There have
been very few notable exclusions apart from Robben(Has his transfer to Madrid finalised?), and yet they have signed Florent Malouda, Sidwell, Telal Ben Haim. And I wont be surprised if Ballack and Sheva have a bigger impact this time round.




Generally, the foreign players take an year or two to settle down in the EPL. Everyone do their normal business. Terry will be a rock, Cech will be reliable as ever, Dargar,oh sorry Drogba will continue from where he left last season.....etc etc. But, to me, what puts them ahead of Man Utd is, the one year of English football experiance that Ballack and Sheva will carry. No one ever doubted the quality that these two possessed. I think these 2 are too good players to perform badly for two season in a row. (Lots of 'to's eh!!)

Manchester United to me, are second favorites, marginally behind Chelsea. While they will welcome with open arms, the Paul Collingwood of English football--Owen Hargreaves





and the highly talented Nani(I assume he is highly talented since he is from Portugal and the Brazilians speak Portugese right!!) and Pederson(was that the other guy's name?), they will be praying that their solid back four of Vidic, Fedinand, Evra and Neville carry on from where they left last season. I thought, the form and more importantly, the injury free'ness of these four was a reason often overlooked because of the huhaha behind Cristiano Ronaldo.






No doubt, Mr.Basu had a great season, but defence is such a non-glamorous part of football, that I wont blame people if they forgot the United back four.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is that it is very very unlikely that these four will be as injury free as last season and hence the defence might just struggle.

Liverpool......well I thought I would leave this for Raja or Abhishek to complete. Anyway, I will make an honest attempt to assess their chances. On first sight, it looks like they are too much dependent on Gerrard. But they have made a couple of decent signings, in Babel and Benayoun. While Babel brings some fresh legs into the Liverpool strike force, Benayoun's experiance of playing in England and the





creativity he posesses might just be what Liverpool may be looking for. Solid defence and disciplined football has always been their forte, and i dont expect that to change. Like Shave and Ballack, I expect Kuyt(probably Liverpool's best player last season) to improve and the arrival of fellow dutchman, Rayen Babel, might just make him feel better. I think Torres will be a flop. Big statement?? May be. But, anyway.....lets see.


Totenham look good, with the ever improving Berbatov threatening to replace Henry as premiership's best striker. They have been improving consistently over the past few years. This might be the season, where they might break into the top four.

Last season's surprise package was Portsmouth. Remember, they were second in the league for a couple of monhts into the season. And to finish in the top 10 after almost being relegated the previous season was a commendable achievemnt. This season's surprise package could be West Ham. Yes, they have lost Tevez. But a look at their strike force of -- Bobby Zamora, Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole and the midfield of Freddie Ljungberg and Scott Parker tells me that they could be a force to reckon with. Dont be surprised if they make a top 8 finish


I will come to MY team in another post!!!

Torres moves to Anfield

Benitiz's three years at Liverpool have been full of signings, the shopping bills more than any other manager in Liverpool history. The items in shopping bag have been little more than exciting and their performances have not been the same either. Especially Liverpool I have always felt has been into a de-glammed shopping mode which obviously produces less excitement than buying stars. Finally it seems to have made the right choice by picking up Fernando Torres from Athletico Madrid with a 20 Million pounds price tag.

Torres is undoubtedly the best of Spanish next-gen lot. Last year ManUtd had a chance to catch hold of this guy but talks failed to materialize. Although I am happy that he chose Liverpool as this makes EPL a more level playing field, Liverpool for sure needs to rise above the Steven Gerrard influence and have more players other than him running the game. Players like Crouch and Kyut have shown promise but nothing more than that. Winning EPL requires a year long performance which Liverpool has failed to deliver.

Torres sure has the potential to be Liverpool great like Alan Hansen or Gerrard what he will require is a great team support. Good that after Henry going to LA Liga EPL finally has something to compensate for him, but I am sure he will be lot more than a mere compensation, putting my money on Torres to be the Bestest Player in the coming years.

Torres gives hope to Liverpool Fans, and he for sure will never walk alone now.

Technorati Tags: Fernando Torres, Liverpool, EPL

A Prelude to Glory!

UEFA Champions League Semi Finals!!!!

Tonight Manchester United hosts Milan and tomorrow Liverpool goes to Chelsea's Home . Just before the semis, people speak:

"We're not far from winning the Champions League, even if it's not this season then next," the striker told uefa.com. "The team is getting more experience. We don't give up and we will win it." – Drogba

“We have enough quality but you can say that about all four teams in the semi-finals – everyone has to be at their best and show it on the pitch," – Sir Alex Ferguson

"They play wonderful football, especially here, so what happened against Roma will have no impact on our dressing room and how we approach the game. I'm proud to be here and be captain of my team. We're motivated by the fact we want to win the Champions League, which has been our main aim throughout this season. We have always been a leading club in Europe, and Italy, over the last 20 years and we want to show why."- Maldini

Source : UEFA

And all the roads lead to Anfield....

Amidst all the cricketing action, we are all set to face a sudden splash of an expectedly great contest, when Liverpool takes on Arsenal at Anfield tomorrow. While Manchester United and Chelsea play their 'jump-avoid-six-points' at the top of the table, Gunners and Reds tussle for the still very respectable third place in the premiership. As always, these two teams raise the expectation bar to some level and its always a treat for the fans.

For the gunners, this match is of utmost importance, after getting knocked out of the champions league, losing to Chelsea in the league cup final and facing crucial injury issues time and time again for last few months now, they would like to win this one and end the season on a positive note and on the podium as well.

The reds have their eyes on the upcoming quarter final contest, which is for obvious reasons on the top of their priority list. Driven, by the football field's ubiquitous master Steven Gerrard, Liverpool looks good to win this match on current form, but such games are never meant for prediction and betting, they'd rather be fit as the showcased events of the season.

In last few encounters, Wenger boys have had the better off the Rafa boys; we all remember how they humiliated them 6-3 in league cup on their home ground earlier this year. And won against them 3-0 playing back home at the Emirates Stadium on 12 Nov. in the first of the two premiership matches.

Give cricket some rest, soccer season is now on a high, go go go!!

Image src: google, bbc
Tech Tag(s): Arsenal, Liverpool, EPL

World after UEFA Matchday 7 - I

Matchday 7, first leg, teams travelling around the europe and eight pretty close matches, I don't say this, this stats speak, 1 draw of the opening day and 3 on the following, and the victories also of just single goal margin. Platform is pretty well laid for the first week of february encounters. Lets have a brief look at the matches.

Day - 1

Celtic hosts European giants Milan, and share honours on their home ground, Celtic is an unpredictably good team strengthened by players like Nakamura and Naylor and they were able to keep Milan devoid of any outside success that they were hoping, but life will not be easy for the scottish when to travel to Milan. No prizes for guessing, my money on Milan. (Celtic 0-0 Milan)

Gunners, love you hate you. Being an avid Indian cricket fan, Arsenal has to be my favourite club, it's so much like Indian cricket team, too unpredictable for their ability. PSV, lost their last game and came back strongly to beat the previous year finalists just to keep their hopes on, but remember, I said unpredictable, and at home gunners can be demoralizingly brutal, PSV wants a draw, Let's see. Ah, 60-40 Arsenal! (PSV 1-0 Arsenal)

History and Revenge, Controversies and Chaos, game on! Lille home, Giggs dido and Manchester United continues the 20 year celebration of great manager-giri. Life seems to be difficult for the French club after losing their backyard encounter. And if Lille plays this years quarter final, book a DVD of Manchester United - Lille 7th Mar match already, because it will be a miracle.(Lille 0-1 Man U)

And finally the match we Indian could see live (Thank you so much Ten Sports), Two historic European champions ( Read UEFA retrospect articles) and a expectedly fan treat on plate. The match started and it started raining goals! Raul, then Lucio equalizes, then Raul again (lucky he, it should have been Helguera's) making it 2-1 and then Rudd van taking it to a comfortable 3-1, and it says only 34 minutes, and when it looked like a landslide, Van bommel appeared and made the scene look different a late goal and the scoreline says 3-2. A real victory but with 2 away goals makes Bayern happy, they just need to get a 1-0 victory when real visits them. Wearing a cannavaro t-shirt right now, but I think it will be Bayern to proceed. (Real 3-2 Bayern).

Technorati Tags
UEFA Liverpool ManchesterUnited Arsenal Helguera Giggs Celtic AcMilan

Is this the beginning of the End??

Is this the beginning of the End??
That’s was the lingering thought in my mind when they lost to Valencia over weekend , but suddenly after watching them against Liverpool it seems like a reality waiting to just explode.
Sometimes I wonder, who is success biggest competitor, is it fear of failure or something like that, but watching the events unfold at Barcelona I have to the conclude that its success itself which is its biggest competitor. Can you imagine a team which is Spanish Champ plus European Champion and most important of all the world best Football Team, even Jose Mourinho admits that, fighting like that. Something, somewhere is seriously wrong. I don’t know who is at the wrong side nor I am interested in knowing , I don’t care what is happening between Eto and Rjikard , what matters to me is football and at present I don’t think they are playing that good football.
Coming to last Night match Liverpool once again showed why they are considered so esteemed in Europe, they never play spectacular football just keeps the basic right, absorbs pressure and hit other teams on the break. The turning point of the match was undoubtedly the blunder by Valdes, the header by Bellamy was nothing but easy catch, but he made total mess of that. That was the moment which turned the match upside down; it not only gave Liverpool confidence but also completely broke the Barca’s confidence. Second half was no contest, completely dominated by Liverpool.Barca seems like a demoralized side.
Coming to individual performance Momo Sisoko was outstanding running everywhere, Gerrard as usual consistent, Bellamy with his pace always created problems for barca defense, but that golf swing which he did after scoring that goal, will be the one most remembered. Otherwise it was clinical performance by Rafa’s sides.
Barcelona nothing much to write about, deco was brilliant, ronaldinho and saviola good whenever they got the ball. The problem for me was the supply from Mid field which wasn’t up to the mark. Defense has never been Barcelona strength, but if goalkeeper is also in a state of nervous disorder, then it can be a big problem.So is it all over for the reigning champs, not for me …ya its difficult to defeat Liverpool in Anfield, but Barcelona in form can score in any stadium around the world. But the question is of the psychological state they are in, they are looking vulnerable and that is the problem. Eto, in probability will be back for the second leg, is he that crucial link they are missing so badly . Only time will answer that question , but till then we all pray that sanity prevails in Nou Camp because we don’t want the end to happen so soon,as End usually is ugly and Barca plays this Beautifull game real beautifully.

Technorati Tags
Liverpool Barca UEFA

UEFA Champion's League Schedule

Analysis, Criticism, Predictions, Teams, Coaches, Practices, Transfers, Rivalries, Away Goals, Fans, Articles and another hundred kinds of blah blah, the game is back and those 90 minutes which matter the most. So all those critics, experts Shhhhhhhh, sit back, grab your beer cans and watch the action. And ask your secretaries to schedule your meetings accordingly!

Matches on 20 Feb and 7 March

Celtic - Milan

PSV - Arsenal

Lille - Man. United

Real Madrid - Bayern

---------------------------

Matches on 21 Feb and 6 Mar

Roma - Lyon

Barcelona - Liverpool

Porto - Chelsea

Internazionale - Valencia

Who's getting your support?

Gunners fire 6 Bullets at Liverpool's Home

2 defeats in two matches at the hands of Arsenal this is what happened to Liverpool.
Arsenal young guns have started to fire bullets now and they fired 6 in liverpool''s home with Julio Baptista scoring 4 though he missed a penalty also. Jeremie Aliadiere and Alexandre Song scored the other tow goals. With this win arsenal has booked a semifinal place in the League Cup and now will face spurs in the semis. Livepool are out of the FA , out the Carling Cup, in no position to challenge for the league and Barcelona meet them in the Champions League.

Espnstar