The Soccer Blog: Wrap-Up

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Saturday, 20 November 2010

Friday Whatsit and Poll Wrap-Up

By: Noel | November 19th, 2010
poulsen

Stare into his hair and imagine it caressing you,
holding you, telling you how much it loves you.
His hair will never leave you. His hair is true.

There’s been laughter, tears, and the occasional misguided Beckett pastiche, but before I close out my contributions for the week and Ed takes over in the run up to West Ham I wanted to pass along, tie-up, or otherwise sort out a couple of odds and ends. Or just a pair of them, really. But I guess a couple would have been two anyhow. First of all, last week’s poll on which of Roy Hodgson’s transfer dealings was the absolute worstest is now closed, and it wasn’t even close: Aquilani being loaned to Juventus with a sweetener clause allowing the Italian club to buy him at the end of the season for a cut rate of £13-14M demolished the competition and racked up over 60% of the votes.

Meanwhile the collection of little idiocies that added up to Paul Konchesky’s arrival nabbed just over 20% and Christian Poulsen finished the race in last place with a touch over 18%. Last to loose balls on the pitch, and last in the polls–though I guess in this case coming in last is a good thing. Sort of.

In better news for Poulsen, he still has a silky, sexy mane of hair that could conceivably, occasionally, blind opponents with its reflective luminescence on sunny days. When it’s not busy impregnating women from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, that is. So as long as he doesn’t give in and join Liverpool’s bald brigade he’s got at least one thing going for him. Though I guess Pepe Reina might be able to blind opponents, too, especially if he rubbed some kind of waxy lotion on his head? Like maybe Turtle Wax or one of those sorts of things you use on your car? I mean, I’m not sure if an interior leather polish or something you’d use on the exterior would be the better option, but in any case now that I think of it that might actually be his secret to being such a good penalty stopper–that he has the ability to squint a little all cool and whatnot and then BAM! he’s aimed his laser-forehead cannon at strikers, temporarily blinding them on the road to great victory.

Where was I?

Right, on to something from the “I meant to highlight it in Wednesday’s link roundup, but sometimes I’m an idiot and forget things–like my keys and what it looks like when Liverpool plays flowing, attacking football” department: This is Anfield risked long term damage to their mental health and picked out their picks for the ten worst Hodgson quotes (so far). A pull:

No. 3: Defending the indefensible

“Unbelievable. What do you mean by that? In 35 years, how many clubs have I had? What do you mean do my methods translate? They have translated from Halmstads to Malmo, to Orebo to Neuchatel Xamax, to the Swiss national team, so I find the question insulting. To suggest that because I have moved from one club to another, that the methods which have stood me in good stead for 35 years and made me one of the most respected coaches in Europe don’t suddenly work is very hard to believe.”

All your old favourites are there, along with a few you might not have come across before, so break out your preferred liver-destroying libation and relive Roy’s grandest foot-in-mouth moments in front of the microphones.

Looking ahead, Ed will have the match preview in a little bit, and so for the next day or two I’ll see you in the comment sections. In the meantime have a bit of God putting on a show last weekend and remember back to better days…

p.s.: Today’s phrase of yesterday’s today is “Hodgson for England.” Because I spent a lot of time trying to track down a clip of Blackburn fans chanting that and not because a part of me hopes I’ll hear it aired on Saturday. Why do you ask?

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Hodgson Presser and Friday Wrap-UpVictory, Friday Wrap-Up, and a Moment for RafaFriday News and RamblingsRoy Gets Something Right and Friday Cache ClearingQuick Friday Thoughts and News Run-Down

Category: Team News

Tags: Alberto Aquilani, Blog Pollin', Christian Poulsen, Emiliano Insua, Juventus, Pepe Reina, Puppy Love, Robbie Fowler, Roy Hodgson, Team News
« A Roy Hodgson Caption Contest: The Winners | Home | Match Preview: Liverpool v. West Ham, 11.20.10 »NatalyaI could be off here, but the more I hear a manager defend his alleged "credentials", the more he rants about his experience, the more excuses he makes ahead of a match due to an injury to a player...........the more desperate I take the fellow to be!

If we are forced to live with this muppet, pardon but I feel it is accurate in this case, as our manager for several more months....can he please at least keep quiet? Keep his nonsensical rubbish spouting to himself?

Poulsen's hair though, top class ;-)
cheeky fellowhttp://i.imgur.com/PeBGt.png

Thought he was actually sold when I saw this....

RoscoHa! Now THATS an epic swindleRoscoLiked the video Noel. Though it highlights, more than anything else . . .

The distinct lack of hot females in engilsh football.Rusty1404Poulsen's golden locks are magnificent. I have great hair, I cut it myself so I should know but Poulsen's arrow straight Scandinavian hair is in a league of it's own.EdHey, Spearing's hurt now too, cool. No disrespect to him, but when this is news, this is trouble.Redtrev73Jebas M Cripes!! Just shoot me...when will it END????!!!! I presume that means the beautifully coiffeured dane partnering the not-coiffeued-at-all portugeezer in our engine room?? Laughing - Boy Grant must be beside himself with boyish glee.....blog comments powered by Disqus

England vs France liveblog! Previewing England Vs France, and Where We Stand England Squad Announced for the Friendly more news...

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Friday, 5 November 2010

Hodgson Presser and Friday Wrap-Up

By: Noel | November 5th, 2010
gerrard

I’ll admit to being a little worried over what Hodgson might come out with in his press conference last night, but in the end it was largely innocuous. A small miracle, then. It still showed signs that he didn’t really understand the failings of the first sixty minutes, or the changing dynamic of added width and a tiring opponent growing more defensive that played a large role in the eventual reversal, but that’s two press conferences in a row for Roy where he’s managed to hit borderline acceptability. Baby steps towards glory, then?

“Certainly in the second half [Gerrard's] entry onto the field was a catalyst. It galvanised the crowd and the team. The way he scored the first goal epitomises the energy and spirit the team showed in the second half.

“I’m delighted we got a reward for it but we do owe a big debt of gratitude to him. But I’m sure he’d be the first to join me in saying that it was a good team performance in the second half as well.”

As touched on last night, that’s only half the truth. Gerrard coming on saw the side given a slight boost in energy, though it never seemed any more likely to result in a goal until Eccleston was introduced to bring some semblance of width back to the side. And to be honest, it wasn’t really about Eccleston’s performance, which though nothing to complain about was also nothing to get especially excited about. It was about unpacking a midfield that Roy had made unnecessarily compact by taking off Jovanovic for Gerrard rather than subbing off one of the central mids. If the sub had been more tactically aware, one imagines that the more incisive Liverpool seen from the 60th minute on could have been on display from the start of the second.

At least he got it right in the end, I suppose, and praised Gerrard and the other players out there for it rather than looking to talk himself up.

He also said, “But Steven likes to play. He’s like Jamie Carragher and Pepe Reina–they want to play. They don’t seek rest periods. They understand what I’m trying to do but they don’t seek it themselves.” Which is all well and good except that it implies he’s rested Carragher for significant periods. Aside from the second half against Napoli on the road, I really don’t think that has been the case, and Roy would buy a little more slack in my book at least if what he was trying to do involved giving the vice-captain more time to recuperate and showing a bit of faith in the Dane with short hair and large quantities of ink.

It’s always awkward to discuss a player with a legacy like Carragher’s, but with his refusal to keep the ball moving, to make the easy pass and utilize the midfielders right in front of him to retain possession, he is currently a liability. This isn’t even about legs or age or the way he can berate those around them when they’ve done little wrong. It’s about his seeming desire to play Hollywood balls that sees him hold onto the football for ages looking for a killer pass before becoming frustrated, saying fuck it, and launching it hopelessly up the pitch while two or three open players stand ten or fifteen yards off looking puzzled.

But enough of those happy thoughts, let’s get on with a few links to wrap up the work week…

* In the comments to the last post, lfc4eternity alerted me to the rather amusing story about Dirk Kuyt having his car sat on by a police horse during last night’s match. The actual body of the article makes it hard to tell if the police horse simply backed into his mirror, knocking it off, or if it really did sit on the hood of his car. I choose to believe the latter, because it’s a much better image.

* Goal Exclusive? I didn’t know they did any actual reporting, but they’re the only place the quotes are turning up so maybe they didn’t simply transcribe it off the telly. Maybe. Anyhow, said Lucas after the match:

“I’m really pleased with my form at the moment for Liverpool and Brazil, and I’m improving as I get older and gain more experience.

“Am I appreciated more? By the media, I don’t know. By the fans, definitely. Everyone can see when you are doing well on the pitch.”

It’s good to hear that a growing acceptance–and appreciation, even–of his game is taking place amongst supporters, even if it still seems that daily a wheezing “take a shot at Lucas” line appears in some media hack or other’s article while the talking heads on Sky continue to chuckle about how terrible a player they think he is, in the end only managing to show what horrible commentators they are.

* And though most of the rumours of the past 48 hours were nothing more than rehashing the original talk of it being “immanent” on Wednesday, it actually is official now: Manuel Pellegrini is the manager of Malaga. To my mind, this really cuts down on the likelihood of a new appointment before next summer, but we’re still in that window where Hodgson can be sent packing for a knock-down rate, so who knows.

Well, on that exceptionally uplifting note, enjoy the rest of your Friday and have a good weekend. And for those of you just a little too excited by Mrs. Pizzuti’s presence in the stands last night, all I can say is down boy, down…

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Victory, Friday Wrap-Up, and a Moment for RafaSpain Through, Jovanović Signs, and Hodgson on Gerrard and TorresWorld Cup Quarterfinals, Ownership, and Player Reactions to HodgsonFriday News and RamblingsEuropa League Draw, Hodgson on Gerrard and Torres, and a Deal for Insua?

Category: Team News

Tags: Dirk Kuyt, Jamie Carragher, Lucas Leiva, Manuel Pellegrini, Roy Hodgson, Steven Gerrard, Team News
« Gerrard Rescues Liverpool from Hodgson’s Incompetence | Home | JoelAccording to Dan Roan on Twitter, Henry expects Hodgson to be around next year, stated he "has no problem" with Roy. Perfect.GalahadThreepwoodHave to hope that's just PR-speak, and not a sign of his real intentions. If he's really listening to the fans, he has to know there's major discontent out with Roy out there, recent results notwithstanding. If that is a sign of his real intentions, the outlook for the next few seasons just got really bleak...JoelYep, my hope is that this is just the standard 'I support the manager' speak, especially since the best option (Pelligrini) is now off the market. My only hope is that Roy is not given free reign in the transfer markets in January and enough is done to keep Torres and Pepe around until next year.GalahadThreepwoodSecond that. Whatever it takes, we have to keep them until next season (and hopefully beyond).blog comments powered by Disqus

Russia gets Nasty in World Cup Bid Panic on the Streets of London, Panic on the Streets of Birmingham Injury List Lengthens Ahead of Montenegro more news...

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Saturday, 20 November 2010

Friday Whatsit and Poll Wrap-Up

Friday, 5 November 2010

Hodgson Presser and Friday Wrap-Up