The Barclays Premiership / Champions League Thread
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Breyton
Well-Known Member
Re: The Barclays Premiership / Champions League Thread
Rooney made it 7 headed goals in a row... before finding his scoring feet again. Excellent crosses by Neville and Nani for both. But what the heck, he can use his third leg to score for all I care, as long as he scores scores and scores.... lol
Rooney made it 7 headed goals in a row... before finding his scoring feet again. Excellent crosses by Neville and Nani for both. But what the heck, he can use his third leg to score for all I care, as long as he scores scores and scores.... lol
Re: The Barclays Premiership / Champions League Thread
I'm not a MU supporter but Rooney is really in super duper top form.
MANCHESTER - Wayne Rooney scored twice again as Manchester United cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 4-0 win over a feeble AC Milan sent them through 7-2 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Rooney double dumps out Milan - FourFourTwo
I'm not a MU supporter but Rooney is really in super duper top form.
MANCHESTER - Wayne Rooney scored twice again as Manchester United cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 4-0 win over a feeble AC Milan sent them through 7-2 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Rooney double dumps out Milan - FourFourTwo
Re: The Barclays Premiership / Champions League Thread
05:55 AM Mar 11, 2010 by David Ngiau
IT SUCKS to be a die-hard Liverpool supporter right now, enduring sleepless nights grappling with the biggest mystery in football: What the hell is wrong with Liverpool?
Rafael Benitez' men were so good last season that many Reds fans - and some neutrals like myself - felt they were ready to end their 20-year wait for another league crown. Liverpool finished four points behind champions Manchester United, some felt only inexperience had cost the Reds in the end. Talk was they had learnt from last season's run-in and were set to be English kings.
You've Gone Backwards, Baby - Liverpool lost just two games in the last campaign. Last March, the Reds beat Sunderland 2-0 at home, spanked Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield in the Champions League, stunned United 4-1 at Old Trafford and finally, back on Merseyside, thumped Aston Villa 5-0 to come within a point of the Premiership summit. Today, a year and a few hours since handing Real their worst European defeat, Benitez' men are pale shadows of their previously imperious selves. As United, Arsenal and Chelsea do battle for the title and continue to progress in the Champions League, the Reds will be in action tonight in the Europa League at Lille. Liverpool are sixth in the table and their closest rivals in the race for a top-four finish have all played fewer games than them. It's looking likely they won't feature in the Champions League next season. Following their 1-0 loss at Wigan on Monday, their ninth league defeat of the campaign, even Benitez refused to guarantee Liverpool would win their next Premiership engagement.
That's on Monday, when bottom club Portsmouth visit Anfield.
This from a manager who guaranteed fourth spot just a couple of months ago.
This Ship Is Sinking - The Reds' startling decline is the result of a perfect storm, the confluence of several unfortunate circumstances, and the crisis escalated exponentially from "cor blimey" to "WHERE ARE THE LIFEBOATS?" even before Christmas. While Benitez has not had to work with a radically different squad from last season, the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid has really hurt. The purchase of Alberto Aquilani from Roma for £20 million ($41.7 million) was meant to fill the breach but, bizarrely, the Italian had hardly figured in Benitez' side even when fit. One less leader in the team has increased the pressure on captain Steven Gerrard and, when he is fit, star striker Fernando Torres.
And then there is the alarming number of injuries, preventing the squad from achieving any consistency. Centre-back Jamie Carragher, goalkeeper Pepe Reina and winger/striker Dirk Kuyt are the only players to have started more than 90 per cent of Liverpool's games this term, while Torres has been in the first XI only 51 per cent of the time. Benitez' other major signing last summer, England right-back Glen Johnson, has started just 49 per cent of their games.
Last season, Carragher and Martin Skrtel were imperious at the back for Liverpool. This season, Skrtel has started only 56 per cent of his side's matches, with three other players shuffling through that position so far. To top it off, Carragher has at times been deployed as an emergency right-back, even though his effectiveness is almost negligible once he leaves his own half.
Reds Can't Live On Gerrard Alone - Successful teams are not built around just one or two leaders, the sort who give a damn and refuse to let team-mates' heads droop. When a man is down, there should be no shortage of guys ready and willing to step into the breach to provide cover. With Liverpool, beyond Gerrard and Torres, there are few players the squad can rally around, especially with Carragher enduring a poor season and looking as "composed" as John Terry was against Manchester City. Gerrard remains Liverpool's most influential player. Last season, he always seemed to pop up at the right time, with a goal or a sublime final pass, to rescue the Reds. But as one shocking result has followed another this term, Gerrard's frustrations have clearly grown. The 29-year-old is human, after all, and he's shouldering too much of the burden.
Benitez must shoulder much of the blame for Liverpool's woes.
His measured approach to the game, using all manner of numbers and figures, has served him well in the past. But the "X-factor", leadership and psychological strength, cannot be quantified, and the Reds' current woes highlight Benitez' poor record in the transfer market. His ability as a man-manager has also been called into question. Benitez' lack of faith in Alonso forced the Spaniard to leave. He spent a fortune on Aquilani and hardly plays him. On Monday he blasted his players, saying they lacked "game intelligence" and "character". He will have to pray for a miracle, and that his men find within themselves that character and intelligence, in order to come out of this with his reputation intact.
And his job.
TODAYonline | Comment | This time, it's personnel
05:55 AM Mar 11, 2010 by David Ngiau
IT SUCKS to be a die-hard Liverpool supporter right now, enduring sleepless nights grappling with the biggest mystery in football: What the hell is wrong with Liverpool?
Rafael Benitez' men were so good last season that many Reds fans - and some neutrals like myself - felt they were ready to end their 20-year wait for another league crown. Liverpool finished four points behind champions Manchester United, some felt only inexperience had cost the Reds in the end. Talk was they had learnt from last season's run-in and were set to be English kings.
You've Gone Backwards, Baby - Liverpool lost just two games in the last campaign. Last March, the Reds beat Sunderland 2-0 at home, spanked Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield in the Champions League, stunned United 4-1 at Old Trafford and finally, back on Merseyside, thumped Aston Villa 5-0 to come within a point of the Premiership summit. Today, a year and a few hours since handing Real their worst European defeat, Benitez' men are pale shadows of their previously imperious selves. As United, Arsenal and Chelsea do battle for the title and continue to progress in the Champions League, the Reds will be in action tonight in the Europa League at Lille. Liverpool are sixth in the table and their closest rivals in the race for a top-four finish have all played fewer games than them. It's looking likely they won't feature in the Champions League next season. Following their 1-0 loss at Wigan on Monday, their ninth league defeat of the campaign, even Benitez refused to guarantee Liverpool would win their next Premiership engagement.
That's on Monday, when bottom club Portsmouth visit Anfield.
This from a manager who guaranteed fourth spot just a couple of months ago.
This Ship Is Sinking - The Reds' startling decline is the result of a perfect storm, the confluence of several unfortunate circumstances, and the crisis escalated exponentially from "cor blimey" to "WHERE ARE THE LIFEBOATS?" even before Christmas. While Benitez has not had to work with a radically different squad from last season, the sale of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid has really hurt. The purchase of Alberto Aquilani from Roma for £20 million ($41.7 million) was meant to fill the breach but, bizarrely, the Italian had hardly figured in Benitez' side even when fit. One less leader in the team has increased the pressure on captain Steven Gerrard and, when he is fit, star striker Fernando Torres.
And then there is the alarming number of injuries, preventing the squad from achieving any consistency. Centre-back Jamie Carragher, goalkeeper Pepe Reina and winger/striker Dirk Kuyt are the only players to have started more than 90 per cent of Liverpool's games this term, while Torres has been in the first XI only 51 per cent of the time. Benitez' other major signing last summer, England right-back Glen Johnson, has started just 49 per cent of their games.
Last season, Carragher and Martin Skrtel were imperious at the back for Liverpool. This season, Skrtel has started only 56 per cent of his side's matches, with three other players shuffling through that position so far. To top it off, Carragher has at times been deployed as an emergency right-back, even though his effectiveness is almost negligible once he leaves his own half.
Reds Can't Live On Gerrard Alone - Successful teams are not built around just one or two leaders, the sort who give a damn and refuse to let team-mates' heads droop. When a man is down, there should be no shortage of guys ready and willing to step into the breach to provide cover. With Liverpool, beyond Gerrard and Torres, there are few players the squad can rally around, especially with Carragher enduring a poor season and looking as "composed" as John Terry was against Manchester City. Gerrard remains Liverpool's most influential player. Last season, he always seemed to pop up at the right time, with a goal or a sublime final pass, to rescue the Reds. But as one shocking result has followed another this term, Gerrard's frustrations have clearly grown. The 29-year-old is human, after all, and he's shouldering too much of the burden.
Benitez must shoulder much of the blame for Liverpool's woes.
His measured approach to the game, using all manner of numbers and figures, has served him well in the past. But the "X-factor", leadership and psychological strength, cannot be quantified, and the Reds' current woes highlight Benitez' poor record in the transfer market. His ability as a man-manager has also been called into question. Benitez' lack of faith in Alonso forced the Spaniard to leave. He spent a fortune on Aquilani and hardly plays him. On Monday he blasted his players, saying they lacked "game intelligence" and "character". He will have to pray for a miracle, and that his men find within themselves that character and intelligence, in order to come out of this with his reputation intact.
And his job.
TODAYonline | Comment | This time, it's personnel
Re: The Barclays Premiership / Champions League Thread
In the beggining it could have been alonso, but now its down to poor form, everyone is playing badly, the confidence is low. I am a liverpool suporter, this season i think we will finish 7th and have nothing to show for. I think in the summer there will be alot of changes.
In the beggining it could have been alonso, but now its down to poor form, everyone is playing badly, the confidence is low. I am a liverpool suporter, this season i think we will finish 7th and have nothing to show for. I think in the summer there will be alot of changes.
