The Soccer Blog: Miscellany

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Saturday, 13 November 2010

Thursday Miscellany

By: Noel | November 11th, 2010
cage stache

With the games coming fast and furious this week and a hugely disappointing show put on yesterday one might expect a great deal being talked about involving Liverpool. Which of course means that everybody is busy staring at the bottom of their pint and feeling vaguely surly and disinterested. Still, there’s always something or other floating out in the tubes somewhere, so let’s get on with your Thursday links and whatnot, brought to you as always by Nicholas Cage’s killer pornstache. Because god damn that’s a killer pornstache. Can I get a bwow-chicka-bwow-bwow? No? Fine, on with the linkage, then…

* While Hodgson was busy shifting blame to the young players in our now understaffed squad, Gerrard decided to shoulder the blame for the team’s failings against Wigan. A tired side and ten camped behind the ball at the edge of your own eighteen yard box, and afterwards the manager passes the buck while the man who set up the first goal and almost pulled an unlikely three points out of the bag at the end faces the firing squad. Seems fair.

* Squad rotation is the work of foreign devils. Until the day it maybe isn’t. Roy Hodgson brings in Poulsen to bolster Lucas’ image, he brings in man-marking to show people how foolish Andy Gray is, and he refuses to rotate to show just how daft it is to not give players sufficient rest in the modern game. It’s a damnably thin silver lining, but he is singlehandedly doing more than anybody to discredit the footballing outlook of the Glory of ‘66 sorts so common amongst the English media, at least for those amongst Liverpool’s followers who hadn’t long ago bought into the Liverpool way being different than the English way.

* With it still being November 11th in some parts of the world, this seems as good a time and place as any to note that Liverpool’s shirts will be affixed with an embroidered poppy for the match against Stoke on Saturday.

* In probably meaningless agent musings, Frank Rijkaard’s has hinted that he’d like the Liverpool job, which hardly seems a shocking thing to say and does nothing to speak to the club’s intentions. I remain unconvinced on the Dutchman, though all the mentions of Chile surrounding his future do put me in the mind of a certain quite possibly batshit insane but undeniably top-class manager who is available right now.

* And a longer read for you to pass the time with, a recently updated excerpt from Pay as you Play for those still looking for a bit of insight into the role Damien Comolli played with spurs.

Well, this was fun. We should do it again some time. Still, I should probably go and get my head wound looked at now, and–what’s that, Roy?

“MISTER HENRY! I CAN WALK!”

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Wednesday Miscellany, Dropbear EditionThursday TidbitsMonday MiscellanyMatch Preview: Liverpool v. Bolton, 10.31.10Matchday: Liverpool v. Manchester United

Category: Team News

Tags: Chile, Christian Poulsen, Frank Rijkaard, Lucas Leiva, Marcelo Bielsa, Media Watch, rotation, Roy Hodgson, Steven Gerrard, Stoke City, Team News, Through the Looking Glass
« Tuesdays With Roy | Home | Match Preview: Liverpool v. Stoke City, 11.12.10 »GalahadThreepwoodI've been in a funk since Wednesday...it seemed like Liverpool were finally moving forward, and then they took a big step backward, complete with Roy putting his foot in his mouth again. The win over Chelsea was stirring, but it looks like the problems we've all noticed are still there, and are unlikely to show any real sign of improvement until a new manager arrives. If we do get a new, forward-thinking manager, I think things can be turned around really quickly--Sunday's win showed what this team is capable of when playing to its strengths. I hope NESV will move, and soon, before we actually lose someone like Pepe or Torres.EdPepe committed, Maddock confirmed as a cunt, I hang my head lower for getting caught up in the Twitter madness last night:

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/reina-i-m-fully-committedRedtrev73That's more like it Pepe...Didn't hurt himself with the ferocity of his statement or even clarify that he envisaged staying for the duration but at least Mirror-Monkey looks like a twat...so that's nice.Redtrev73David Maddock has proven himself an even worse hack than Chris Bascombe...and whilst we all know where the News of the Scum gimp sources his info inside Anfield ( take a bow Mr. Liverpool ), I am unconvinced that Maddock has any such insider knowledge, such is the regularity with which he spews forth inane inaccuracies. Losing Pepe would be a tragedy and his comments are immensely disappointing as they only encourage the kind of paper-selling tosh beloved of both of the afore-mentioned 'journalists'.Rusty1404UK press would tear Marcelo Bielsa apart. Not 4-4-2, those ungodly heathen devils.GrubbIf Reina leaves, no amount of curse words, masturbation jokes and references to boobs will brighten my outlook.

Hopefully Pepe is taking Rafa's place of standing against the wrongs of the club. He should probably wind his neck in and think of us fans, but if he's trying to shake Roy loose then I appreciate it.

I really hope NESV act and make everyone happy.EdHey this is cool:

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Pepe-Reina-wants-out-of-Liverpool-and-could-move-as-early-as-January-Exclusive-article626727.html

If that's true, and assuming it's the presence of Roy Hodgson and the talk of his stress on English goalkeeping (emphasis on howlers and the like), NESV need to go into damage control mode and get rid of him immediately. Can't happen.NoelOh, a Mirror EXCLUSIVE!!! without quotes that rehashes older Mirror EXCLUSIVE!!! rumour mongering point for point except with more urgency? Have you been looking at .tv's rumours feed again, Ed? Because we can get you help for that; maybe stage an intervention or something.EdTwitter has warped my mind, it's no use resisting. Social media will be the death of me.NoelAnd here I was thinking convincing your wife to set up a netnanny program to block tribalfootball and caughtoffside might be the thing to help you sleep at night.EdListen you bastard, sometimes the shimmer off Maddock's curls makes it difficult to tell truth from fiction.

Apropos of nothing, netnanny programs are no good when those in control use the same password for everything.

KERZHAKOV AND HONDA TO LIVERPOOLNoelNOT IF SCHWARZER AND PIENAAR GET THERE FIRST!

And as has been said before, it's not exactly an outlandish rumour. There's probably some grounds for being nervous about the general idea that Reina and others could leave if X, Y, or Z happens or A, B, or C doesn't, but no more or less now than a month ago, and no more or less regardless of whether the Mirror's throwing shit at the walls to get people wound up. But this is just a repackaged version of their escape clauses "article," and I expect they'll repackage the Torres half of it separately over the next few days, too.NoelOh, and apropos of nothinger, it strikes me that even if there are legal reasons why the club crest can't be used for any current EPL sides except for Wolves, we should still be able to use the red Liverbird. Though I imagine there's already been some conversation about that at one time or another.steven.to be quite honest, i was more excited about Stevie's pass than Torres scoring .. that was a hell of a pass....BillHe's a total prat and John henry needs to sack him now before he causes any further damage.redtrev73Pwat Bill...he's a total pwatRed2deathWell pointed out. For that, you get a bwoy-chicka-bwoy-bwoy...NoelAll three of you get pwawn sandwiches for stringing that together.blog comments powered by Disqus

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Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Wednesday Miscellany, Dropbear Edition

By: Noel | November 2nd, 2010
rafa-sugar-priest

Goodmorning, Liverpool. Seeing as how much people seemed to like like like it when new content went up during prime daylight hours for Brisbane and Bejing, here’s what’s going around in the news right now:

* They don’t always get it right, but it was nice to see the Guardian come out of the gates with a headline that didn’t deride Benitez, instead saying Hodgson had been “whining” while all the other outlets twisted the truth to take shots at the current Inter manager. A bit of scaremongering that attempts to get Liverpool fans worked up by pulling the possibility of debt being placed on the club out of their ass would be one of the worst recent examples of them getting something very wrong. Thankfully it’s also one of the only recent examples of such, and considering all the good work they’ve done of late I’m willing to cut them a bit of slack.

* Speaking of the whole Rafa v. Roy Showdown in Motown, Nate at OYB had an enjoyably prickly rant in response to the situation.

* And to round out the topic, a Liverpool Echo poll saw 88% of LFC fans siding with Rafa in this little back and forth, which goes to show that even while the BBC can write him off as cryptic and bitter at a time when large segments of the media are still looking to prop up England’s next manager, it’s Liverpool’s last manager whose take on the situation is much closer to that of the club’s supporters. If I might be allowed a rueful moment, it is a little depressing to think that it’s taken all of this for some amongst Liverpool’s followers to realise that the former manager cared–and still cares–more about the club than the talking heads on Sky so many allow their opinions to be swayed by.

* In other news, it’s been confirmed that Joe Cole is likely to only be out for two weeks. Which is a relatively good thing, under the circumstances.

* Cole has also been named one of the flops of the season so far by a Sports Illustrated collumnist. Perhaps a little unfair, given the tactics and that he was brought in on a free, but it still represents a growing shift away from Carragher’s foolish talk of Cole coming in as some kind of Anfield God before he’d kicked a ball. Still, for me the author’s honourable mention Christian Poulsen remains quite possibly the worst Liverpool signing of the last six or so years given then money involved in that transaction–not to mention sending Aquilani the other way on a free loan with the option of a knock-down purchase price as part of getting the deal done.

* And last but not least, media outlets in Spain are reporting that Pellegrini signing on to manage Malaga is imminent. Seems an odd sort of job for a top manager to hold out for, but perhaps he was only ever holding out for a position somewhere everybody spoke English.

Have yourselves a good morning, or evening, or whatever it may be wherever you may be, and Ed will be along in the not too distant future to preview Thursday’s Napoli match…

p.s.: Ed and I are both having intermittent troubles with Disqus–mine more serious than his by the look of it–so there have been a number of comments I would have liked to reply to over the past 24 hours or so but have been unable to. For all those who have been taking part in the comments conversations lately, then, I just thought I should tack on a note to say all y’all done good.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Monday MiscellanyMatch Preview: Liverpool v. Bolton, 10.31.10State of the Blog, Purslow Steps Down, and a Napoli PreviewMatchday: Liverpool v. SunderlandMatchday: Liverpool v. Manchester United

Category: Team News

Tags: Alberto Aquilani, Christian Poulsen, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Manuel Pellegrini, Media Watch, Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson, Team News
« Tuesdays With Roy | Home | Damien Comolli Joins Liverpool and Previewing Napoli »lfc4eternityJust a follow up to my Comolli comments earlier...I've been assured that he was also responsible for finding Kolo Toure, Eboue and Clichy while at Arsenal...did'nt even know they were lost!GalahadThreepwoodNESV have appointed Damien Comolli as director of football strategy for Liverpool. Am hearing positive things about Comolli in general (he was responsible for signing Gareth Bale at Tottenham, for one), although his last stint as Director of Football (at Spurs) was a mixed bag. There's also speculation that this is a step in moving Roy toward the door, although I agree with Grubb that NESV won't make a managerial move anytime soon. There are some encouraging quotes from Comolli and John Henry on the official site (I ignore quotes from Roy these days--who cares what he thinks?). Could be a good move for LFC.lfc4eternityHmmm, not so sure about this one Galahad. Comolli 'scouted and signed' Bale...admittedly they got the signing, but scouted?...anyone could see how good he was as a kid at Saints..even a girl guide, let alone a scout...did'nt need to be Einstein.
Can't think of any others, can you?
What worries me is that in the same role for Spurs, he and Ramos left them rock bottom of the prem, both got the elbow and Harry rescued them with his signings!GalahadThreepwoodYeah, I know, and I can't think of any other signings he's made offhand. I know Wenger thought highly of him, but not sure how much of a recommendation that is. His record at Tottenham is worrying, but that might have been a one-off. It's not an exact comparison, but John Henry had a rough spell as the Marlins owner before turning the Red Sox around...everybody screws up once in a while. The way I look at it is, he can't be any worse at picking players than Roy, and he might very well be better. I'm willing to give this a chance.lfc4eternityAgree, he can't be worse than Roy...ther'es a deal of speculation on 'kopsource' about january signings, listing;
Taiwao (LB-marseille) £4/6m age 25
Mexes (Def -roma) £4/6m age 28
Taylor (Def-newcastle) £2/4m age 23
Affellay (winger-psv) £6/8m age 24
Pienaar (mid-toffees) £4/6m age 28
Kranjcar (mid/winger-spurs) £7m age 26
Shaquiri (winger -basel) £5/7m age 19
A Young (wing-villa) £14m+ age 25

Anyone's thoughts?NoelMy thoughts would be we don't need center backs, as we have enough quality depth for a brave manager to move Carragher down the depth chart without worrying what would happen if he storms out at the thought of being fourth choice. Pienaar wouldn't improve the squad either, and I can't imagine Everton selling him to us. Think there are better otpions that Taiwao out there. Really the only name that gets me excited there is Affellay, as he'd provide something we don't currently have, and if we can't afford to make the Hazard rumours into reality he'd be a good signing.GalahadThreepwoodLiked this quote from Nate (of Oh You Beauty), via his Twitter: "At least this means Liverpool won't be signing Carlton Cole in January." True, and thank God.SairaxRafa seemed a bit upset when talking about all the Hodgson stuff. I'm not a huge Benitez fan (of course I'm looking from the outside unlike all of you) but I always got the sense that Rafa really cared about Liverpool and that it bothered him more than anyone when things were going wrong.RoscoSee the mirrors at it again. Lucas will apparently be playing in the red and White of Stoke come January.
And Shaun wright-Phillips at anfield.GrubbJust to continue the conversation about NESV, having read through John W Henry's email to RAWK again, and also having read that Guardian piece doing the rounds by David Conn, I have come to a sad but sorry conclusion.

I think NESV intend to build gradually, and while investment will be strong and steady over the next few transfer windows, starting in January, I really think they will take a while to replace Roy.

It's not what I want, nor what I think is best for the club. But I think Roy will only be sacked if we are still in relegation trouble come January. As much as I'd love to see us develop a philosophy as a club (based on our heritage of course) of rich, attacking, pass-and-move football, I can only think that this year NESV intend to evaluate, plan, and begin investment in the playing squad.

Sad, but I can't see him being replaced as early as I'd hoped for, or as early as I think his conduct has deserved.Noel...and hey, apparently I can comment again. Good times.KaiAnyone care to explain what's the deal with a priest on Mount Sugar?NoelPriests wear black, sugar is white. So a priest in black in front of a mountain of white would/should be easy to see, and to not see it would make one either blind or stupid.KaiThanks Noel! Great job on the Photoshopping as well.NoelHeh, thanks. And it looks like Ed liked it, too.EdYeah, I stole it.

The Tracey Jordan werewolf is only topical for so long--same goes for Rafa as a priest on a mountain of sugar. Strike while the iron's hot, etc.NoelSteal is such a harsh term. I prefer re-appropriation.

(Yeah, I wanted to go with something about the means of production and the good of the many, perhaps using Ayn Rand's individualism as a counterpoint, but my Marx is rusty as all get out and I'm nursing a bottle of Russian Standard, so you'll get re-appropriation and you'll like it. Also, re: recent twattings, that I used Rand in a negative light, ie., that she'd f'ing hate Lucas, probably meant a Rand biographer wouldn't be keeping that follow for very long. And if there are any huge Rand fans around here I'll scream about Shankly socialism and Thatcher being the enemy of Liverpool to defend bringing something half-way political up on a footy blog. And that's a long enough bracketed bracket. End of.)Kaihttp://www.goal.com/en/news/1716/champions-league/2010/11/02/2194841/inter-boss-rafa-benitez-may-not-sugar-coat-his-words-but

Quite a nice read.Russell RCOME ON!!! We need to pick up Pellegrini NOW. He's top class, attacking manager who really transformed Villareal and their whole mindset into that of a top, winning club. Then he went to Real and came in very close second to one of the best teams (barcelona) of the last 10 years. He impresses me, and surely a Liverpool side, begging for a top manager with some attacking intent and definitely still mouldable in his playing philosophy, must be better than Malage. Please God, please NESV, bring us Pellegrini.EdI think the ship has sailed on immediate action, unfortunately. Doesn't mean I disagree with you, but I'm resigned to hoping that he's still available come January.Red2deathTo be honest, I'm really hoping for more common sense from NESV (and I know maybe that could be a lot to ask).

Roy's record of his time in charge of Liverpool is by anyone's standards abysmal. 3 wins from 10 games is relegation form, and certainly sackable form for a club that would eventually have title aspirations. That 2 of those wins came in the most recent 2 games shouldn't make a difference to anything. It's not like we've become a fantastic team overnight, and certainly not like Roy has changed his style overnight after 35 years of the same game. They have this current window to sack him with minimal financial loss. After that, it's going to cost more to show him the door.

Although, my fear is that NESV really don't see the big picture. That they think somehow Liverpool might have turned a corner. How on earth they can continue with a manager that has over 90% of the fans against him is anyone's guess.GrubbAaargh! If they let Pellegrini go I'll go on a beserk rampage. Or weep like a schoolgirl.CSDHe's taking over at Malaga. Sorry Grubb. http://www.thirdage.com/news/malaga-fires-coach-jesualdo-ferriera-after-losing-streak_11-2-2010GrubbEd and Noel - can I request a Pellegrini-watch segment? We could track Roy's performance from now until the end of his time here (hopefully no further than the end of the season) and compare it to Manuel's performance with a significantly weaker squad. Could be fun (and interesting to compare).

Too tragic? Yeah probably.NoelWell, CSD's link doesn't say he's actually signed, either--it's still all about reports reporting. It seems likely, but who knows. Pellegrini and his agent were both talking about talking to LFC last week, and there was the talk of him going to a club in Qatar in the meantime (and seriously, I think I've got the tactical nous to manage a club in Quatar... and anybody who gives me and my tactical rants a character reference gets to come along as assistant manager/booze smuggler), so the only thing that seems 100% clear is that his name is in the news.

I hope it's a sign he'll be joining LFC soon, too, but it's all rather up in the air. I just thought too many places were talking about the Malaga thing to not mention it at all.GrubbI've given up hope today. Think NESV might be too patient on this one and spend much of the season doing evaluations and planning before they do anything drastic. Though you would think a top-class manager would be a key ingredient in all of that, and clearly our current manager is sub-par.

Still I think David Conn alluded to NESV being patient with Roy, and while it wasn't a quote, it seemed like a nail in the coffin of my hope. I keep telling myself "long term we will see glory" but it sounds pretty shallow with these tactics in place.RoscoUnfortunately I'm totally with you on that one grubb, its rather depressing.
Though I guess we should know more than others how quickly fortunes can change in football.(ahhhh blind optmism, its been a while!)Russell RRecently my tearducts have been just about bottomless. Not really a manly feeling.EdThis I can believe.Red2deathNo worries. I'm sure there's still a chance for Pellegrini. Probably just Fergie's cronies putting out that report cos he desperately wants Hodgson to stay. Best thing that ever happened to Utd since Hicks & Gillett.blog comments powered by Disqus

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Saturday, 13 November 2010

Thursday Miscellany

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Wednesday Miscellany, Dropbear Edition