Arsenal - Liverpool, Sunday Dec 13 2009 - Live updates blog

13 minutes into the game.

Torres has missed a golden chance to go up front.
The referee has possibly screwed up another (very silly attempt by Gallas on Gerrard. That was a penalty!).
Liverpool are the better side so far. Usually, Arsenal wouldn't want Denilson to jump into Mascherano and roll down to get possession.

18': Aurelio practices his shoot. Way off target there, mate.
19': Kuyt gives it away for the third or fourth time there, all within twenty minutes. Arsenal threaten. Good defending from the Anfield side.
22: Mascherano has decided on a physical game.
23': Kuyt has received some beautifully sent passes so far. Nothing has come out of it. One click and it'll be a goal.
24': Yellow for Denilson. Intentional kick, that?
26': Mascherano is still down. Badly hurt?
29': I have a feeling Denilson falls down whenever possible. Freekick taken by Fabregas.

Arsenal are not at their best now. That, according to me, is because Liverpool hasn't let them get in to the groove. Though I wanted Arsenal to win at the beginning, I can't help clapping for Liverpool at times.

Arsenal is letting me down here.

32': El NiNo is offside.
34': Sagna waits till Liverpool have eight defenders in the box. Beautiful run up to the moment wasted.

36': Arsenal begin to show glimpses of settling in, Liverpool take their feet off the accelerator here.

Is the TV transmission signal itself bad or what?

38': Alonso in the stands. There's a guy Liverpool will always miss.
40': Gerrard gives Denilson a taste of his own medicine. Freekick for liverpool
41': Kuyt scores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almunia punches out what he should have caught.
Kuyt slots into a net protected only by Gallas.
43': Wenger looks like he's frustrated. He should be.
44': Yellow for Aurelio. Cesc takes the freekick again.

Two minutes of added time.

46': Torres gets all aggressive here.
47': Everyone's defending for Liverpool. Let's see Arsenal crossing that!

HT
Arsenal 0 - 1 Liverpool

A win here will mean a lot for Liverpool. Their sign of arrival. All wins from here and who knows? They might win the league. Uh, that sounds improbable.

Liverpool might not lead by the most incredible of goals, but Liverpool should be leading in this game anyway.

If there's any visitor at all here, tell me if Arsenal's demand for compensation from Netherlands is justified. Looking at the first half, it sure looks justified to me!

Second half underway. Arsenal need to improve vastly to get away with a point or three.

50': Johnson - Own goal. Johnson makes up for the missing Arsenal striker. I was just thinking that Arsenal were getting into place and RVP would have made it perfect. Too many defenders spoil the broth for Liverpool. Nothing much that reina could have done.

53': Almunia gets his hands on the ball in this half. 'Round, is it?' he asks the attacker.
53': Long and good runup by Torres. The ball ends its journey in Almunia's hands.
56': Missed a couple of minutes reading up on the info provided by the only visitor on this blog. :)
57': Torres is offside.
58': ARSHAVIN Scores and how! Killer shot! A long pass missed by the defenders comes to pappa and it'sshot past Reina! 2 -1 for Arsenal. All odds have changed in a matter of minutes.
61': nasri is down after taking a Gerrard kick. He should be ok in a while.

Three entirely avoidable goals so far. The third was avoidable till Arshavin locked it on target.
63': Johnson is behaving like every other guy who has scored an own goal. Angry.
64': Aquilani gearing up to get some action.
64': Yet another offside - Torres.
65': You should have seen that take by Nasri.
65': Aquilani in before Cesc takes the kick. In for Mascherano. More of an attacking mood.
66': Arshavin tried a stunner of a pass, and failed.
67': Wenger still doesn't look particularly happy.
68': Loads of back passes from Arsenal. Not exactly Arsenal-ish.
69': Arsenal take back possession of the ball...and give it back.
70': Walcott off. Diaby in.
72': Will Arsenal take it till goal? Yes, but Reina blocks like Chetan there.
74': Change in possession over n over n over again.
74': corner for Liverpool after a near comic take by Almunia.
76': Torres would have fired that in, had Almunia not run in to take it.
77': Liverpool play with the ball for a while before taking it forward.
78': Five Gunners take it away from Gerrard. Nice wall there.
78': Would that Denilson mis-header prove costly? No.
80': Ngog for Yossi.
81': Yellow for Arshavin.
82': Nasri yellow for fouling Aquilani. Johnson out, Insua in. Eight min + injury time left.
83': Good start from Insua. Bad cross. I would consider that a missed goal.
84': Francesc with tha ball. Feels like near magic.
85': Lucas yellow.
86': A forward surge from either sides made up that minute.
87': Traore out, Silvestre in.
88': cesc vs three defenders. Crosses line for a liverpool throw in.
89': Wide header from torres.
90': Is Arshavin injured? Better not be... Four added minutes.
91': Beautiful effort to keep the ball in play by Ngog.
92': Starts with an Almunia kick.
92': Foul by Aurelio again. Arshavin out. Ramsey in.
93': Starts with a Reina kick.
94': gerrard fouls. Freekick Arsenal.
94': last chance for Liverpool. Nothing there.
95': Arsenal fans celebrating here, as Arsenal win 2 - 1 today.

FT Arsenal 2 - 1 Liverpool. Sure didn't see that coming midway through the game! Brilliant game for Arshavin and Arsenal. Liverpool's second half jinx continues...

Ivan: So it ends.
Me: For Liverpool, the saying's "So it ends again!"

Arsenal - Chelsea - Live text and updates!

Emirates, November 29 2009

One game I cannot take sides for. May the best team win.

Quick words:
Seven minutes into the game and Arsenal are in full control.
Arshavin, Song, Cesc, Cech and Essien are doing their job pretty well.

10:47 - Mikel gets a warning for targeting Cesc.
13th: Nasri wins a throw in from a fine position.
14th: Drogba is offside.
15th: Ashley Cole is still settling in.
16th: Arsenal look dangerous. Chelsea is clueless as people in red and white assume important positions all over the place.
16th: Drogba tries to sneak one in.
17th: Essien and Carvalho have a handful to handle, as Arsenal take a corner.
18th: Cech takes an easy one from the corner.
18th: Chelsea threatened one and HOW! Mikel takes one, pushes to Lampard, wonderful pass past Drogba to Anelka, who was, I think, tugged down just in time.
20th: Sagna's been having a busy day near the Chelsea box.
20th: Looks like Gallas pushed Anelka down. lampard takes a free kick, defenders clear it for a corner.
22nd: Lampard takes the corner as well, Essien taking what I call the central header place.
23rd: Drogba and Almunia's header/catch practice session.
24th: Nasri fires into Cech's hands.
25th: Essien's proving to be a big obstacle for everyone in Arsenal.
25th: Ivanovic runs faster than Traore. Traore doesn't like it, pulls Ivanovic down, and gets a yellow card.

Funny, but Chelsea get better with time.

27th: Essien misses one, takes Cech to stop an Arsha-win.
28th: Sagna believes Cesc's pass was too fast. I believe Sagna wasn't fast enough.
29th: Offside - Arsenal. Would have been a penalty if not an offside.
30th: Mikel's too...casual? Arshavin's literally taking the ball away from Mikel's feet.
32nd: Joe cole has been warned. 'No, you can't have Nasri's trousers'
34th: Drogba apologises to Anelka for picking a packed up Joe Cole instead.
35th: Confusion in the Chelsea box.
36th: Ivanovic is getting the bettrer of Nasri today.
37th: Yellow for Drogba! Medicos for the defender.
38th: ESPN shows the foul each team committed in its own D and how well they got away with it. Sagna definitely was the culprit there. (refer minute 18)
40th: Eduardo would have scored had Peter Cech not run in to scoop the ball!
41st: Traore can't understand what he should be doing anymore.
42nd: DROGBA SCORES. Terry to Ashley. Ashley to Drogba. Amazing followup. I can't decide which of the three is better. Terry's superb pass or Ashley's superb cross or Drogba's neat finish. I'll go with Ashley.

Ancelotti punches an invisible demon to show his happiness. Eleven appearences for Drogba against Arsenal; nine goals! And some people wonder why I am beginning to like Drogba!

43rd: Gallas ensures that Drogba doesn't get two in two minutes!
44th: When Mikel wins the ball from two Arsenal players, you can say Arsenal is shaken.
45th: GOAL TWO for Chelsea. Wonderful cross from J Cole. Vermaelen puts it in (OG) before Drogba can get anywhere near! Arsenal are repeating the same mistakes they did against ManU. The rule's "Don't get shaken so much!"

HT: Chelsea 2 - 0 Arsenal

Aswin's HT Analysis:
Outstanding first twenty minutes from Arsenal. Equally good performance from Chelsea in the next twenty five. Arsenal's last five minutes of the half was poor despite some valiant attempts; and these five minutes have been the difference.

SECOND HALF underway. Theo Walcott's here. Arsenal's in a definite attacking mood, no doubt.

47th: Good defending to stop Eduardo da Silva.
48th: Nasri hits in to the D, Terry heads it out. Arsenal try again. Essien's here.
49th: Commotion all around. Many hits. Many saves. Arshavin slots one. Not a goal.

Chelsea need time to settle in. Just like ever.

51st: free kick for Arsenal.
53rd: Arsenal want to attack. Chelsea's still 'analyzing', except for Carvalho, Essien and the man, John Terry.
54th: Anelka's the "name of the blog". Offside.
55th: Corner for Arsenal. Absolutely sorry, but no time to write about the finer details of the moments on screen (or I'll miss them! At least I get to watch this way!). If only I had a speech to text converter!
56th: Cleared just in time by John terry. JUST in time.
57th: Eduardo out. Vela in. Arsene's going for it on one hand, and saving Eduardo for the rest of the season on the other.
58th: Arsenal discover that beyond Terry, there's a man named Cech.
59th: Traore's not happy, I think, with his game.
60th: Lampard and the pass of grace.
60th: Anelka's offside, yet again.
61st: Arsenal freekick. Punched out by cech.
62nd: Freekick for Arsenal. Fabregas is wondering why the rest of Arsenal didn't put that into the net. Gallas is not able to reach the ball before Cech does.
64th: Almunia saves it one second before the ball creeps into the net off a Lampard deflection.
65th: Joe Cole thinks he deserves a free kick too.
66th: Terry's complaining that Vermaelen hugs him tight whenever he's in the Chelsea box and rightly so (TV replays show Terry's right). That's not football. This is not how you 'mark' people.
67th: Rosicky in for Nasri.
68th: Arsenal says Sagna can attack. Chelsea says anyone can defend that.
69th: Deco in for Joe cole.
70th: Free kick for Arsenal from close range. Yellow for Essien.
72nd: Ashley Cole is out. Ferreira's in.
73rd: People think they can jump on Drogba and push him down. Small boys.
74th: Deco gives it away. Arshavin threatens. Carvalho saves the day.
75th: No one knows who owns the ball.
76th: Two men down. Play continues. (Denilson and Drogba). Play finally stopped.
77th: Vela needs to realise that falling inside the box does not mean a penalty would be given. Someone needs to push him down!
78th: Desperate game from both sides. A little funny at the moment.
79th: The ball's stayed in the Almunia half for more than two mins now.
80th: Ivanovic's doing a great job out there. Nasri didn't read him. Vela's finding him difficult too.
81st: Goal kick for Arsenal.
81st: Lampard and Sagna play Shaolin soccer.
82nd: Noone knows who owns the ball now. How would they calculate possession percentage for this match?
83rd: Deco gives it away, yet again!
84th: Essien's thinking of attacking...finally!
85th: Some people start leaving the Emirates. They didn't come to watch this!
85th: Fabregas brings down Essien near the box. close range free kick for Chelsea.
86th: DROGBA fires it in! 3-0 Chelsea! Far end of the post. Almunia didn't have much of a chance there. Ten goals in eleven appearences for Drogba against the Gunners. People are walking out of the Emirates now.
88th: Deco does the first good thing of the day, wins a freekick. Drogba out. Malouda in.
88th: Gallas marshals the Arsenal. They begin to look good when Sagna fires it into the stands which are becoming increasingly empty now. Wait, is it the Chelsea crowd I am hearing?
91st: Essien's faster than anyone else on the ground now.
93rd: Why is Arsenal defensive now??
94th: Malouda misses what would have been a fourth for Chelsea.
95th: Fabregas is frustrated and eventually gets an yellow.

It's all over. Chelsea 3 - 0 Arsenal.
Chelsea have beaten the rest of the big four season so far and is on top of the table for good reason. Arsenal did not have it in them to convert efforts into goals and that's a reason they're going further away from the top of the table today.

FT words:
Barcelona or Madrid can not come up with anything better than what Arsenal did in their moments. if Arsenal had stuck to that attack and played like Gods, I doubt if things would have been different. The bottom line is that Chelsea survived, and they are all set to survive any further attacks. If only Deco improves his touch vastly, Chelsea need not worry about the African cup of nations. Losing Essien and Drogba will be hard, and Chelsea will look at extending their lead considerably before that.

Nobody visits this blog for live updates. I am just wondering why I am doing all this. :)
Heck, who cares?

Chelsea, ManU and Gabriel Obertan

Chelsea 1 - 0 ManU, Sunday Nov 8 2009

It wasn't the great game people thought it would be, at least in my opinion. It was a game that was full of energy channeled into all the wrong departments, tempers flying high, happenings that did not meet the referees' eyes, so on and so forth. It was a match right out of Bundesliga, what with all the hits and pushes.

To begin with, the blues deserve the lead they have at the moment, not for the effort they put in yesterday but for the effort they have been putting in all season. Yesterday though, they were mediocre compared to what they can do. Without Vidic and Rio, Chelsea should have ideally annihilated the Manchester United defence. Instead, they were left with problems in their own, unable to contain Antonio Valencia in many situations. ManU midfield was having a field day passing the ball into the Chelsea box at will. Terry and Carvalho had a tiring day clearing the ball by all means possible. Overall, it was no impressive performance from Chelsea, although credit has to be given to Ivanovic for a fine attacking(?) display.

To ManU's credit, they kept the opposition's defence busy, limited Ashley Cole's running time & space (worked wonders) and came up with an artistic midfield display. Fletcher, Rooney, Obertan and Giggs were impressive. I have a feeling Terry's goal can be attributed to missing Vidic and Rio. It wouldn't have been that easy with them around. Another positive point for ManU is that they did not concede a single corner. The number of shots off target is something SAF should look into. Only two of them even threatened to be a goal if hit right (esp the Rooney one).

Next, I must come to the case of Gabriel Obertan. The French Winger is clearly an amazing talent with an amazing Arsenal-ish style of play. He is still settling in, with his performance against Chelsea much better than his Blackburn outing. I am sure he would be a force to reckon with, post January, given time and importance. With Chelsea losing players to the african cup of nations and Obertan fitting in the ManU first team with Rooney and Fletcher, my opinion is that five points will not be a good enough lead. Hope SAF gives Obertan more playing time in the first team in local cups before that. He is clearly better than Macheda.

And oh, shouldn't forget an Arsenal waiting to swwwishhhh past the two teams. Arshavin & Fabregas together can create more opportunities than any other combo in England at the moment.

Chelsea
# 01 Cech - got the job done with one superb save
# 02 Ivanovic - Brilliant performance
# 03 A Cole - good, as usual
# 06 Carvalho - one amazing block, man-marked rooney very well, but had his bad moments.
# 26 Terry - Ref's eyes did not see him tugging Valencia. Saw Chelsea through.
# 05 Essien - Was all over the place. Very intelligent passes.
# 08 Lampard - The freekick that decided the result. Go Frank!
# 13 Ballack - A really wonderful cross into no man's land is what I remember of him from yesterday's game.
# 20 Deco - Lot of effort but ineffective due to many reasons. Will be the difference as the season progresses.
# (J Cole) - Nothing much to say
# 11 Drogba - Nothing much to say
# (Kalou 83) - Did not have enough time to prove anything
# 39 Anelka - Surprisingly good
# (Alex 90+3) - Did not have any time at all

ManU
# 01 Van der Sar - Good game. Had his moments.
# 03 Evra - Tried much to prove his talk off the pitch. Couldn't.
# 06 Brown - Good enough to block Chelsea yesterday
# 22 O'Shea - Nothing much to say
# 23 Evans - I really did not like the way he played
# 08 Anderson - lot of tricks. no results.
# (Owen) - Nothing much to say
# 11 Giggs - Very good. Except that I believe he should have taken on Cech initially when he had a go. Cech was clearly tensed when Giggs had the ball at his feet with no defender in between.
# (Obertan) - Very very impressive style of play.
# 16 Carrick - Somehow don't like him as much as I like Fletcher. Not half as impressive.
# 24 Fletcher - Developing into something solid.
# 25 Valencia - Brilliant stuff. In amazing touch.
# 10 Rooney - Lone fighter yesterday. Berbatov's presence would've unleashed rooney on Chelsea. If not for the harsh offside, ManU would have been ahead early.

India beat Syria to lift Nehru Cup!

Bhangra boys 1 - 0 Fate :) :) First step for Indian Football!

Arsenal vs Manchester United , Old Trafford, Aug 29, 2009

Not sure if it was a due for irritating Adhi, but I missed the first 30 minutes of the match. :(

But, heck, who cares, I got to see that magic shot. Arshavin rox!!

Manchester United beat Arsenal at Old Trafford and Emirates last year as Arshavin watched from home. Wow, Revenge sure is sweet! :)

Here we go!

Two super chances for Arsenal so far.. One saved, by luck or whatever!

Silly mistake from Almunia! Penalty!

Rooney scores from the spot! 1-1... So, this gets tense after all. How I wish eduardo would come on and save the match like RVP did two yrs back.

Brown gets a yellow. I've lost count here.

Free kick from not very far... POST! POST! Rotten luck!

64' : Own goal from Diaby .. under NO PRESSURE whatsoever. ManU 2 - 1 Arsenal

90': I want Magic!

It ends in defeat. Damn.

Chelsea 3 - 0 Burnley : Aug 29, 2009

Awesome display by Chelsea!

Awesome, but not perfect. Chelsea had so many shots on target not because of an imperious setup; it was just weak defence. Caldwell was heavily missed by Burnley defence today and they know it. They had no answer to Didier's speed or Essien's long passes. And boy! Essien was just on fire, sending in superb passes the likes of which I haven't seen of late. His excellent performance was matched only by the amazingly resilient brian jensen, who kept out too many good shots, which could have gone in, even past Van der Sar. The difference, here, is that VDS will never be alone with Vidic and Rio. Jensen was at bay.


Chelsea - Amazing team, this. On track for the title :)

* 01 Cech - Had nothing much to do today.
* 03 A Cole - Awesome. Superb enthu. His goal was a stunner, if I ever saw one.
* 06 Carvalho - Had a practice outing.
* 17 Bosingwa - Very good performance and involvement.
Belletti 66 - Practice game. Looked a little outta sorts.
* 26 Terry - Couldn't stay away from the ball too much that he lunged into an attacking mode as often as he could.
* 05 Essien - God.
* 08 Lampard - Amazing amazing passes. Two stunners to Ballack (one of which was a goal) and an amazing corner, again to Ballack, somehow saved by Jensen.
* 13 Ballack - Very good !
Mikel 83 - Practice run.
* 20 Deco - Superb involvement, great game. Will be an asset when we meet the rest of the big four.
* 11 Drogba - Super enthusiasm, missed one awesome pass from Essien, and made sure the second went in, deflected of carlisle/anelka. Good game overall.
Kalou 75 - Had a good game, given that he wasn't on the field for long. Got the ball past Jensen once intelligently, only to be saved on the line by Myers.
* 39 Anelka - Probably the slowest of the lot, rivalled only by Belletti. Took a pass in great style. A run or two. Nothing much apart from that.



Burnley - Forgettable day

* 12 Jensen - The best keeper in the league by far so far. Saved Burnley from sure hell.
* 02 Alexander - Tried a lot. Wasn't up to the standard.
McDonald 74 - Good show.
* 05 Carlisle - Again , tried a lot. I think the incoming passes were too much for him.
* 14 Mears - Good take off the line.
* 21 Bikey - Injured?? He was the only one in the Burnley defence who could match Drogba.
* 23 Jordan - Didn't notice.
* 11 Elliott - Didn't notice.
* 16 McCann - Good show.
* 09 Fletcher - Got frustrated towards the end. Let it go.
* 10 Paterson - Too much of a defensive outlook. More back passes than otherwise.
Gudjonsson 58 - Good show.
* 20 Blake - good show.
Guerrero 78 - good enthu.

If we forget the defence, Burnley wasn't so bad.
They'll be ready when Chelsea visit Turf moor. I could see that in Coyle's smile. ;)

UEFA Champions league draw 2009 - 2010

Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa
Group B: Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, Zurich
Group D: Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL
Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen
Group F: Barcelona, Inter, Dynamo Kyiv, Rubin Kazan
Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni
Group H: Arsenal, AZ, Olympiacos, Standard Liege

Source: goal.com.

My favorites, as in, teams I like:
Group A: Bayern Munich
Group B: Manchester United, Wolfsburg(I'd forget all my hate for this club if they beat ManU :) )
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid
Group D: Chelsea
Group E: Liverpool
Group F: Barcelona, Inter
Group H: Arsenal, AZ

Of course, I am already on google reading about debrecen and apoel :)

The Anfield Diary

Three points in three games. Beat Stoke, lost to Spurs and Villa. This is almost unacceptable even for relegation teams, but we're talking Liverpool.

A few quick points before I get back to work.

a) Shouldn't Voronin start? I saw many of his goals and games last season for Berlin. He should start for Liverpool's sake. he just can't find his feet coming in at 75'.

b) Babel and Benayoun should be in action at the same time. Substituting one for the other doesn't work. Benayoun should play his natural position behind the striker as much as possible, and Babel should be substituted for Kuyt, not Yossi. Makes sense?

c) I just can't understand Rafa's plans this season. I am sure he means good, but I just can't see it. Do you?

Burnley at it again!

A recent equation doing the rounds in forums around the World.

Burnley at Turf Moor = Liverpool at Anfield.

They sent ManU crying, and how! Even without Caldwell and half of the team's "Moor" defence. (The new guy's cool, though.)

Recent scalps : Arsenal, Chelsea and ManU.

Go on Coyle!

Forums believe that ManU lost because of :
1. Lack of pace.
2. lack of width.
1+2 = 3. In short, Lack of CR7.

I wouldn't say that. Though Cristiano was an incredible "presence" against weak teams, I still think ManU missed Carlos Tevez more.

Just wait and see what Tevez does for ManC when they visit Burnley. You'll see what I am talking about.

May the best team win!

=Arsenal vs Chelsea=

This is one fixture for which I have never managed to take sides for a few years now. It was Arsenal before Mourinho and Chelsea under the Special One. No particular side now. But then, I want the winenr of this match to take the FA Cup Home.

And much as I am crazy about this match, It sucks to think I won't be watching it. I need to check the news tomorrow morning...

All the best everybody!

Bayern Munich - Barcelona [Round 2] Ding!

As a fan of Bayern Munich, I have never seen a worse performance (or mindset) from the German Side. I couldn't watch the screen after the fourth goal. I was sooo down. Only a Chelsea victory kept me from crying.

At the end of Round 1 in this amazing match-up of a quarterfinal in the European boxing championship, Barcelona had punched four teeth out of its opponent Bayern Munich in the first half of the round, and the second half was more like Bayern saving the rest of its teeth from falling, rather than trying to exact some revenge.

Round 2 is gonna start and Bayern is well aware of all the criticism it has been getting from the World Media and old players, which all claim round 1 as the worst ever performance in Bayern's History. Bayern will not mind losing teeth anymore, and Round 2 will be about saving its face (figuratively) in the eyes of the World Media. A meek surrender of a German Champion has never been heard of in the past. Bayern will put its life on the line to get through this one. One hand of Bayern, which fans call Ribery, was of the mindset that it could never get to Barca's face in Round 1. Hope its confidence increases and reaches Van Bommel's. Oh yes, the left eye, Schweini, will be very keenly looking at let ups from Barca. Mind you!

Barcelona is a proud team. It had fun teasing, punching and seeing Bayern's blood in Round 1, and will look forward to repeating it. At the best form of its life, Bayern should be push overs, or so it thinks. All it needs to do is play safe and by the rules to get through Round 2 and emerge the winner.

Will it be able to? Or Will Barca's Mess(i)y Hand knock Bayern's jaw this time? Whew, Can't wait.

cool ! Shearer, Boss of Newcastle United!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7975700.stm

Possession Football

Possession football is a style of play that puts me off more often than not. For a huge fan of the counter-attack style, I hate to admit it. But Possession football has its own huge advantages, most importantly at the School level.

When I used to play at School, ahem, rewind many many years, my school team coach (read PT master :D) was singularly cross with me for not playing possession football even when he compelled me to. I was always looking to attack and run down the left flank, and possibly into the box. I never thought about anything else. Because I got to see so less of the ball. I remember being made to sit on the bench for the rest of the day. And the subsequent match against the Rajalakshmi school kiddos. (Are such matches still held? :))

Now that I think of it, I can blame neither. Every child wants to have the ball for a longer time. That's a natural urge. Whenever I had more of the ball, I was extremely confident with my passes. And whenever I had very few touches of the ball, I used to be shaky and was relieved to send it to someone in the D at the earliest.

I read one blog by BBC's Gavin Strachan recently (find the link a few posts below) questioning if it was really necessary to have long 11 on 11 matches on a full sized pitch for kids. Nail on the head. Not at all necessary. While it gives a realistic feeling, playing on a smaller ground would mean more of the ball. And subsequently more competition. And yes, more confidence.

The tricks that people learn during practice can never be tried on the field most of the time (Am not talking about Club football. This is School football). This is because we find it hard even to play a natural straight-forward game with the pressure of a real game. If only you have a lot of possession, you can even think of playing all those tricks on the opponent defence and check for ourselves if our tricks hold water.

Mindless Attacking and Counter attacking may work out at big leagues and clubs, but I believe possession football and trying your opponents' patience is the best choice for School team coaches in practice sessions. Making the guys more confident. Say, in a 30 minute game, the guys should mandatorily stick to holding the ball (well, maybe except the CF) and attacking only when absolutely necessary. This phase would be called Confidence-building. Defenders should be alerter during this phase. Atleast half of the midfielders should be in a defensive role. The CF and possibly one winger at a time can surge ahead. After this phase, In the next 15 minutes, the game will Evolve, no doubt. People will try their tricks out and start showing flashes of their free-flowing game. Goals will follow.

This is what I think. If there are any school-level football coaches, let me know if this thing can work for you. Of course, I am not that strong with the coaching terminologies.

PS: A lot many of you have asked me in the past why Schweini (Bastian Schweinsteiger) is among my most favorite players. Because he's a winger (and a left winger at that), and is everything I ever wanted to be. The difference is that, though a left winger by choice, I was played on both wings for my ability to drop crosses better than my team mates. (I can see you imagining how badly they'd play :P)

Liverpool 4 - 1 Manchester United : Old Trafford 2009

The title should actually read "Liverpool thrashes ManU : 4 goals to 1".

Whatay performance from the Anfield side.

They have proved again that they are an under-rated side. It was sheer torture meted out to the Old Trafford side's defence and Except Rio, the rest couldn't handle it at all.. The anger due to his helplessness got the better of Vidic, who hasn't been put to the test this hard in recent times..

Torres.. Running through a strong defence has become an habit of his, of late, and we are enjoying it! Gerrard was almost as good as he can get. Liverpool did their homework right, and ManU had it coming at them. And yes, I couldn't even spot ManU's midfield in this game.

An interesting point would be ManU's complacency. All Credit to Liverpool, but seriously, this was NOT the best that ManU could have done. A 7-point lead with a match in hand would be a comforting enough fact for anyone, and it did get to their head. The lead is 4 points now, and not very out of reach for Anfield or Stamford Bridge.

Yet, ManU can still run away with a league, even with mediocre performances. Performances against the relegation teams has been the difference this season, and if Manchester United wins, it will stay that way.

Happy for Liverpool!

Milan 2 -2 Werder Bremen (agg 3 - 3 ) --- Werder through on away goals

One word. Shock.

If talent was the only criterion, AC Milan is the Strongest team in the world today.

Milan Lineup against Bremen - Second leg (Age in brackets)
* Dida (35)
* Gianluca Zambrotta (31)
* Philippe Senderos (23)
* Paolo Maldini (40)
* Giuseppe Favalli (37) (Sub : Jankulovski (31) 77')
* David Beckham (33)
* Andrea Pirlo (29)
* Massimo Ambrosini (31)
* Clarence Seedorf (32)(Sub : Flamini (24) 54')
* Pato (19)
* Filippo Inzaghi (35) (Sub: Shevchenko (32) 62')

The average age of the players on field is 31, even with a 19 year old Pato on the field. Only two persons in the starting XI were under 25 and one of them is on loan from Arsenal. Sad story, but true. The team may boast of some of the greatest talents in the game and it was also evident by the way they went up 2 - 0 in the first half, but age gets up with people, however fit they may be. Diego, Frings and Rosenborg running through Milan only proves the same. Pizarro just had to head in a perfect free kick and a straight forward cross. The Milan wall is not something that can be broken by a newbie future-star like Diego Ribas da Cunha, but he did manage to do that on more than one occasion. Werder Bremen outplayed Milan, no doubt.

It is great news on one hand that yet another German Club is making waves in Europe, but Milan! Milan is one of my favorite teams and after this match, I would strongly vote AGAINST securing Beckham for over 10M. Milan needs young talent, people who can run 90 minutes and look for more (more people like Pato, that is). Beckham is immensely talented, no doubt, but he is 32 already and would be a waste of time and money, to say the least.

Let's see where the leak is.

To begin with, Ronaldinho (28). He is most definitely a great signing. Fits in well with the laid back style of Milan. Someone who can be brutal in counter attack. Great free kicks. Clap Clap Clap.

Dida (35). He's old. But he's still good. The point of great concern here, though, is that Abbiati is 31 and Kalac is 36. The only way out for Milan, now, is to sign a great keeper from another club once Dida decides to go. No other options.

Gianluca Zambrotta (31),Philippe Senderos (23), Paolo Maldini (40), Giuseppe Favalli (37), Jankulovski (31), Nesta (32) :
A defence with an average age of 35, and a loaned defender who's 23. Not a great sign either. Jankulovski is good, Zambrotta is terrific. Maldini and Favalli are Legends, but they are too old and should be utilised only for a max of 50 or 60 minutes in a game for greater efficiency. Senderos has to be signed if possible and another young defender needs to come in, depending on which of the two (favalli & Maldini) are leaving sooner.

David Beckham (33). Great talent. Fits in well, but we don't need him for that money. Unless, of course, if he decides Milan is his last club. It's not like there are no other great right wingers in the game.

Andrea Pirlo (29), Massimo Ambrosini (31), Clarence Seedorf (32) :
The Three Mid-skateers. Great Midfield. No doubts.

Flamini (24), Gattuso (31), kaka (26) :
Gattuso should feature in the previous list, but he is yet to be the presence in Milan that he is for Italy. These three are the future Legends of the club and should be treasured.

Pato (19) : Great talent. looking forward to seeing more of his tricks in the future. :)

Filippo Inzaghi (35), Shevchenko (32) :
These two players sharing 90 minutes of field time is most acceptable. The two styles are entirely different from each other and they can define Milan's counter-attacking / attacking mood respectively. A replacement like Sergio Aguero (Atletico) would be great for this position in the future.

Defence is where I see a leak. What do you think?

And we missed one Kaka in the midfield a lot at San Siro. Let's at least chuck Juve out of the top 2 in serie-A and save some face.

Any Milan fans out there? Your views please!

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

Sheesh, this is more boring than I thought. Happens.. Especially when there's no one who's gonna read it :P So, I am going to keep this short. If Someone at any football site is reading this, contact me! Most interested to write my life away. :)

Okay.

To begin with, Barcelona will definitely make it to the QF. Anyone who sees how they are performing as a team in La Liga will agree with me.

I do not know much about either Villareal or Panathinaikos to talk in length about their encounter.

Porto can get through if they can only manage to stop Sergio Aguero.

And yea, well..

First Leg : Liverpool 1 - 0 Real Madrid

Rafael Benitez has (once again) been hailed by the Media as the European Gold master, while I guess the same people were agreeing with the "Rafa has to go" campaign as recently as a week ago. Just a quick reminder. He has to put together his Premier League side too. And yes, another news in his favour would be parry leaving Anfield.

The Gates of Anfield have scared every major European team that walked through, and Madrid would be yet another one. Anfield on an European night is so Red that the visitors who come there don't even search for a win. And this time too, it will be no different.

If any man can make a difference to this equation, it would be Arjen Robben. Raul has been great as usual. But Liverpool can handle him with ease. I have lost any faith in Juande Ramos if at all I had any. But then, he needs more time to get his act together, and Anfield would be the most important match of the season for him. A win may not mean anything, but a loss would send him out crashing for sure.

Torres limping is NOT good news, on the other hand. Gerrard getting some taste of the ball is a good sign, and he has always been a great presence in European outings, much larger than life. Alonso has been exquisite with his long shots, and is a pleasure to watch, even when you don't support Liverpool.

Prediction? Tough one. Unless Robben runs through Liverpool, it's another 1 - 0 for the Anfield side. And the goal may come from Hyypia or someone. More prediction? A header, probably. :P

Gimme a treat if this turns out to be the case.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First Leg : Bayern 5 - 0 Sporting

Bayern rules! And it is the perfect time to show the world what they are capable of doing. The Germans are back on the European map and how!

The biggest concern for Bayern would be consistency. They lose one match miserably and dominate the next. This is not a great sign for a world class team. Given the immensely talented squad and an impressive home record, the Second leg would be more of a formality...Bayern's through!

I sincerely hope that this year, Bayern will do enough to get this bad feeling away from me.. The feeling that I am the only person in Bangalore who follows Bundesliga results.

Ribery's form reached its peak in the last match. Something I have not seen before from him. Klose, his usual composed self, Schweini & Rensing under performing a little, Lahm at his usual best and Luca Toni finally finding his feet. In the second leg though, my bet is that Klinsmann will give more field time to Altintop, Podolski and Borowski, and less time to van Bommel, given his booking status. Resting Toni would do their Bundesliga quest a world of good.

No comments about Sporting. There's no way out of this.

Prediction? It's a certainty.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First Leg: Chelsea 1 - 0 Juventus

One Straight point. I did not expect this first leg result. I was expecting a 0 - 0. Drogba put in an early goal, and that could just manage to take Chelsea through to the next round.

Guus Hiddink will be a happy man. There is always the fear of Juve squeezing a draw back home. And this victory will put that fear behind. Juve will have to attack now, atleast in the last 30 minutes. And judging by the first leg, blocking delPiero and Nedved could be an easier assignment to take care of for Guus than we'd have imagined. But then, accept the bitter piil, Chelsea were more unconvincing than ever before at Stamford Bridge, and that is a point of concern for the English Club.

That could well be the case Ranieri will be dreaming about.. Yet another such display from Chelsea. He has a biggg task on his hands, and unless Chelsea fail to deliver miserably, he can kiss this league Goodbye. Add to it the not so convincing recent home record for the Italians. The only thing he can harp on is the second place in Serie - A, ahead of AC Milan. If they can manage that, why not this! Also, Nedved will be ready to give his best ahead of his retirement. So, Juve can turn out to be that magic pot which doesn't even know what it will throw up next!

My Prediction. Chelsea's through, either with a draw or with an Anelka brace.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Manchester United FC 0 - 0 FC Internazionale Milano

Manchester United, going by reviews, looked every bit the better side at Milan, but the fact is, it could not get that elusive away-goal. Several media reports claim SAF won the first round against Jose Mourinho in this bout, but I seriously doubt it. Going by the game, yes. Going by results, No. Because at the end of it all, Results are all that matter.

Starting with Mourinho's side. Inter has got a consistent away record of late, winning all of their recent matches. Mourinho has been there at Old Trafford and done that before. Zlatan, for the second leg, should be in a freaking kicking mood, after he was criticised for failing 'again' against an English side. He's netted 14 times in the Serie-A this season so far and that's not bad by any yardstick. If I were SAF, I'd watch out. And I bet he will, too. Other people who could prove decisive are Zanetti and Cesar, with Cesar widely believed to be on top of his game, and a better bet than Edwin van Der Sar at the moment. One match of importance, leading up to the second leg, could be the upcoming Roma - Inter match this week.

ManU has been equally consistent of late too, if not better. Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov should prove a very tough challenge for the Inter defence, but given that Inter would look at drawing the match, if they get away with an early goal, it is ManU's defence that comes under the scanner. Again here, we are looking at consistency and a team that is setting a record of sorts with the number of clean sheets this season. Van der sar will be the key on the European Night, one more time.

ManU are comfortably placed, but one shocker of a strike from Zlatan or Adriano or the solid old Inter horses in the Midfield could just seal it then and there.

Prediction? Fingers crossed, that's all.

All the Best to Jose Mourinho, though. If he can pull this rabbit, he is most definitely "the Special One" out there.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Arsenal 1 - 0 Roma

We start with Arsene Wenger's side. A side, I'd say, that is very low on Morale and confidence, whatever you may say. A match without Fabregas or Arshavin will not be their pick, but it has to stay that way. Bendtner, though better than Ade, is misfiring more often than not, and that should remain on the top of Arsene's to-do list before sending the team out for the second leg. Arsenal's defence has been outstanding, to say the least. But their strikers find it increasingly difficult with every game. Eduardo's return match was the only saving grace. If he's in shape for the second leg without any further injuries, Arsenal could walk away with the away goal and the progression. If not, it's going to be a tough encounter.

Roma, on the other hand, have lost one and drawn one match out of the last two games away from home in Serie-A, but have convincingly won their home fixtures. This should be their confidence booster. When a club like Atalanta (the last game away from home) could beat them 3 - 0, Arsenal could manage only a 1 - 0. Oh, but I am not sure if they played their full strength in that league match. Roma has proven in the past that they could be deadly in set pieces, and given Chelsea found it hard at Rome last time it went there, we are in for a Roma Special!

My Prediction for the Second Leg.

It's either

Arsenal 0 - 0 Roma
(or)
Arsenal 1 - 1 Roma

Either way, We can hope to see more of RVP this year in Europe.

Gavin Strachan - Kids training

One useful post from Gavin Strachan for BBC..

Check it out

Arsenal 4 - 0 Cardiff

Eduardo : I am back!