All Articles - Most popular for September 2009
Viewing all posts which authors have tagged ‘All Articles’.
You can also subscribe to this tag's feed.
Fernando Torres - what a player. Here is his superb hat-trick from today's game at Anfield.
First goal
Second goal
Third goal
Two great assists from Yossi Benayoun too. As I've argued for ages - start Benayoun and he will
invariably score or create goals.
In the wake of the recent new sponsorship deal with London-based bank Standard Chartered, new
Liverpool-Kop writer Joe Rimmer believes it's about time somebody praised the job that 'managing
director' Christian Purslow has done since he arrived at Liverpool in June 2009.
Image via Wikipedia
Criticise the Americans all you want, but the one thing they seem to have done well since they
arrived from across the pond is to increase the commercial value of the club.
In an amusing display of off-field petulance (makes a change, eh?) Manchester United's resident
diver, Wayne Rooney, threw a massive strop last night after being substituted against Besiktas. We
feel for you Wayne, we really do.
Karma for being such a massive diver, perhaps?
Rafa Benitez has revealed the five players from his current squad that he would have in an LFC
5-a-side team. And, as is often the case with Rafa's team selections, you may be surprised at who
is omitted from the starting line-up.
Members of Liverpool's ALL RED official membership scheme receive, amongst other things, an
exclusive 'The Real Rafa Benitez' DVD, and it is on this DVD that Rafa makes his selections.
What is Liverpool's form like in domestic games that immediately follow international breaks? To
find out, I've examined all of the club's post-international games since the 2005-06 season. The
results, surprisingly, are rather encouraging, which is great news ahead of the must-win Burnley
game this weekend.
Rafa Benitez's rather dubious explanation for Yossi Benayoun's perennial bench status over the last
two seasons is (arguably) as ludicrous as it is inaccurate.
In a recent interview, Rafa made the following observations:
'I was talking to Yossi about how he has always been fantastic coming off the bench and he told
me he could do even more if I gave him a chance from the start'.
I had to include Klinsman's infamous dive in the series as it is arguably one of the most shameful
examples of football play-acting ever.
Argentina's Pedro Monzón admittedly hurls himself into the tackle, but as you can see from the
video, there is no contact. Klinsmann theatrically vaults the tackle, and upon hitting the deck,
writhes around in apparent agony, his body squirming as if he's having some kind of seizure.
..from taking corners and (some) free kicks for Liverpool. Why Rafa Benitez allows one of
Liverpool's key match-winners to continue taking them is beyond me, especially since Gerrard is
often very effective at getting on the end of balls into the box.
Gerrard is a fantastic player but let's be honest, his corners are not the greatest.
Romanticism and nostalgia - both are integral to the Liverpool fan experience, and when one hears
the words "Liverpool Football Club", you almost expect the word ‘history' to pop up somewhere.
But what exactly does history mean in this day and age, and is it actually important to the club's
prospects of success?
What is it about Liverpool FC and its cocky, self-congratulatory overconfidence whenever the team
goes on a good run? The last few weeks has been filled with tedious eulogising in the press, but
just like previous seasons, it has all come crashing down; and with the defeat to Fiorentina,
Liverpool players once again look stupid after weeks of massaging each others' egos.
Whether it is player rotation, Steven Gerrard's best position or how much was spent on transfers,
there has always been press criticism of Rafa Benitez's decisions. And with Liverpool conceding a
number of goals from set-pieces this season, the tiresome 'zonal marking' myth has been resurrected
yet again.
Over the last few seasons, Liverpool's ability to consistently challenge for the title has been
undone by a variety of different things, with one issue in particular becoming a major recurring
problem. Not this season though! Things appear to be changing and he curse may have finally been
lifted (touch wood!
The net is awash with 'rumours' that Liverpool are to mount a - wait for it - €49m bid for
Valencia striker David Villa. This absurd story is clearly nonsense, but what's funny about it is
how many Liverpool/football sites have jumped on the bandwagon and reported it.
The probably origin of this 'story' was the 'The Daily Mail', who published a typically unfounded,
sourceless article on the 21 September titled: 'Manchester United and Liverpool put on alert as
David Villa hits out at Valencia boss'.
Rio Ferdinand's catastophic mistake against Manchester City last Sunday surely makes a mockery of
Sir Alex Ferguson's contention that he is 'the best centre-half in the world'.
Let's marvel at the silky skills of the alleged best defender in the world:
That was almost as good as Nemanja Vidic's calamitous mistake last season when Liverpool
annihilated United at Old Trafford:
Ferguson recently claimed that Ferdinand was "The best centre-half in the world by far".
As Liverpool transformed itself into an unstoppable juggernaut at the end of last season, one of
the primary factors was the dazzling form of Yossi Benayoun. This season, it is crucial that
someone else emerges from the pool of inconsistent and underachieving talent currently in the squad
and follows in the little midfielder's footsteps.
In 55 years of competitive football, Liverpool have never lost a game against Hull City. Let's hope
this record continues at Anfield this weekend.
There is no reason why Liverpool should not emphatically win tomorrow's game, is there? At the very
least, last season's infamous home draw must not be repeated.
