Having been a rabid football fan for as long as I care to remember, following my infection as a child, the FIFA World Cup has almost always been something to look forward to. The greatest sporting spectacle on Earth.
I remember “staying up late” to see an 18-year-old Michael Owen charge through a helpless Argentine defence, that David Beckham petty kick and resulting red card, and England’s eventual loss on penalties in 1998.
Continue reading A FIFA World Cup BoycottAt 22 minutes past nine on Saturday evening, referee Michael Oliver’s whistle blew and the inevitable social media outrage commenced. A throw in, an apparent tangle of legs, and a penalty to Manchester United, duly converted by the new saviour of The Red Devils, Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes. It was his 11th goal in the Premier League this season and the 5th he has dispatched from the penalty spot.
The goal won United the game and saw them draw level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Continue reading Gamechanger: The evolving role of penalties in the Premier LeagueWhilst Chelsea limp to their title defence, Jose Mourinho complains that the bus he so frequently parks isn’t expensive enough, and Arsenal continue to stagnate, things are looking a lot more positive at Anfield, and not just because of the recent record-breaking capture of Virgil van Dijk.
There are two things that drive me to write about Liverpool, the first is optimism, and the second is frustration. As you can imagine, after limping out of the FA Cup this is a piece very firmly inspired by the latter.
Perhaps I am being a little harsh on Aston Villa by saying that we limped out, because the truth of the matter is that we were never in it to begin with. Even after taking the (undeserved) lead – a lead which lasted just six minutes – we looked a team that was lacking in confidence, imagination, and ability.
What began as a poor start to the season, is now rapidly becoming a crisis. These were the words of my uncle following Liverpool’s defeat today against Crystal Palace.
It’s a sign of the times that I am not terribly surprised by the fact Liverpool have just lost. Despite the fact Palace were in the relegation zone, and despite the fact Palace had not won any of their last 5 games.
I like Brendan Rodgers, I think he can be a good manager and has a lot of potential, but he seems insistent on ignoring the lessons from the past.
Time and time again Rodgers is making the same mistake, and doing nothing about it. If Liverpool were getting beaten, but they were experimenting with things, then I wouldn’t mind as much, but they are not. As the famous phrase goes insanity is “repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Trouble & Squeak 